How to Map a Network Drive on Windows 11?

Although Windows 11 lets you share a folder with someone else on your network. But if you want to share a folder more professionally, you can map it to a drive letter in File Explorer. It will then appear as a local drive, and you or someone else on your network will be able to access it quickly in the future.

To map a network drive in Windows 11, you must first enable “Network discovery” on your computer. We will walk you through how to enable Network discovery, mapping a network drive, and disconnecting a network drive from your computer in this risewindows article.

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How to Turn On Network Discovery on Windows 11?

Follow the below-mentioned steps to enable the network discovery on Windows 11:-

Step 1. First of all, open the Settings app.

Step 2. After that, when the Settings window appears, select Network & internet on the left side.Step 3. After that, click Advanced network settings on the right-side pane.

Step 4. Next, on the “Advanced network settings” page, select the Advanced sharing settings tile.

Step 5. From the following screen, expand your Private or Public profile according to your needs. Turn On the toggle switch beside Network discovery. Also, check the option, “Set up network-connected devices automatically.When you complete the above steps, network discovery gets enabled on your Windows 11 PC.

How to Map a Network Drive on Windows 11?

Follow the below-illustrated method to map a network drive on Windows 11 in your network:-

Step 1. First of all, open File Explorer by pressing the Windows + E keys on the keyboard by clicking on its icon at the taskbar. Alternatively, right-click the Start button and select File Explorer.Step 2. After that, click This PC from the left sidebar once the File Explorer opens.Step 3. Now, in the “This PC” window, select the ellipses button (three dots) in the toolbar and then click Map network drive in the menu that appears.Step 4. Then, in the “Map Network Drive” window, select any free letter from the drop-down menu of “Drive,” and then beside the “Folder,” enter the full address of the shared folder/drive. Once you’re done, click on the Finish button.

If you do not remember the path to a shared folder on your local network, click on the Browse button and choose one from the list. The option “Reconnect at sign-in” can be checked or unchecked based on your needs. When you select “Reconnect at sign-in,” your PC will automatically reconnect to these resources when you start it, so you need not have to repeat the steps.

Step 5. Further, Windows 11 will try to connect to the network drive, and a “Windows Security” window will appear. To access the folder/drive, enter the user name and password. Check the box Remember my credentials if you want Windows to remember this user name and password for shared resources all the time. Finally, press the OK button.Following the steps above, Windows 11 will connect to the drive and map it to the drive letter you chose. To access this folder in the future, open File Explorer and look for the mapped drive under “Network locations” under “This PC.”

How to Disconnect a Mapped Network Drive in Windows 11?

If you no longer need to access the shared folder or access to that folder/drive has been removed by the administrator, and you want to disconnect a mapped network drive, follow the below-mentioned method:-

Step 1. First of all, open File Explorer.

Step 2. When File Explorer opens, click This PC from the left sidebar.Step 3. Now, from the “This PC” window, select the ellipses button (three dots) in the toolbar and click Disconnect network drive in the menu seems.Step 4. Next, from the “Disconnect Network Drive” window, select the shared drive and click on the OK button at the bottom of the screen.Alternately, locate the mapped drive-in “This PC” window and right-click it. Select Show more options in the menu.Then, a classic menu will appear. Select Disconnect in that menu.That’s all! The mapped drive gets removed now, and Windows has forgotten the password and path. After that, it will no longer appear in “This PC.” You need to repeat the steps if you want to map that drive/folder again.