Mapped drives disappear after logoff or reboot.

Anonymous
2010-01-21T23:45:28+00:00

I cannot get a mapped drive to stay mapped after a log off in Windows 7.  Whether I map the drive by right clicking My Computer or by command prompt (net use f: \sharename /persistent: yes), after the user logs off or reboots, the drives disappear. 

This is only happening to the users on Windows 7.  We have no problems with the users on XP.  Anyone have any idea?  I've tried logging in with different usernames, disabling 3rd party client firewalls, disabling UAC, etc.

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Internet and connectivity

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments No comments
Answer accepted by question author
Anonymous
2015-04-15T15:23:19+00:00

Hi CSholmire,

Thank you for letting us know your concern.

I would suggest you the below methods. Try performing these and check for the issue after each method:

Method 1:

  1. Open a Command Prompt as the user that the drives are not being remembered. Do not use the "Run as Administrator". In this case we don't want to do that. At the Command Prompt type: net use <enter>
  2. Does it say something like this: C:&gt;net use. New connections will not be remembered.
  3. If it says they "will not be remembered", then you need to change that. Type: net use /p:yes

That will change the system setting for the user to make the drives remembered all the time and will be the default action.

If the above is not the case then map the drive through the Command Prompt and see if the mapping is remembered.

net use /p:yes

net use r: \servername\sharename

You may change the drive letter R: above to any free letter you wish. However remember that if you use a letter that is too close to the beginning of the alphabet you may overlap with USB devices and then one or the other will be missing. You can replace the R: with * and it will start with the next free drive letter starting at the bottom of the alphabet. That should make the drive be remembered through log off and reboot.

Method 2:

The long-term fix is a registry edit that will make mapped drives visible in both standard and administrative sessions.

  1. Press Windows +R and type in : regedit
  2. In Regedit, navigate to HKLM//SOFTWARE//Microsoft//Windows //Current Version//Policies //System.
  3. Create a new REG_DWORD entry named "EnableLinkedConnections".
  4. Set its value to 1.
  5. Reboot after adding the registry entry and programs will be able to see mapped drives forever.

Note: This section, method, or task contains steps that tells you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 322756 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322756/ )

How to back up and restore the registry in Windows

Keep us posted if you face any issues on windows in future. We will be glad to help you.

Was this answer helpful?

100+ people found this answer helpful.
0 comments No comments
Answer accepted by question author
Anonymous
2010-01-22T21:00:30+00:00

Hi hanlee888,

I would suggest you to follow these steps and check if the issue is resolved.

1.      Open Computer by clicking the Start button, and then clicking Computer.

2.      Click Map network drive.

3.      In the Drive list, click a drive letter.

You can choose any available letter.

4.      In the Folder box, type the path of the folder or computer, or click Browse to find the folder or computer.

To connect every time you log on to your computer, select the Reconnect at logon check box.

5.      Click Finish.

For further information, visit the below mentioned link:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Create-a-shortcut-to-map-a-network-drive

 Hope this information helped!

 Thanks and regards

 Fouzan – Microsoft support

 Visit our Microsoft Answers Feedback Forum 

 http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-%20US/answersfeedback/threads and let 

 us know what you think.

Was this answer helpful?

80+ people found this answer helpful.
0 comments No comments

50 additional answers

Sort by: Most helpful
  1. Anonymous
    2016-08-01T16:12:29+00:00

    I had this problem on a Windows 7 desktop workstation. It does not have a wireless connection as an option.  I updated the OS to Windows 10 hoping the issue would resolve itself.  No luck.  Still fighting it and still looking for a solution.  Has anyone else had this problem on with Windows 10?

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments
  2. Anonymous
    2016-08-01T14:19:14+00:00

    I had a domain computer losing its home directory every time the user booted up.  The directory was mapped using Group Policy but no matter what letter we tried to use, it would disappear when she re-booted. 

    The laptop would normally be docked when she was on the network and she would have her wireless turned on also.  Apparently having her wireless card turned on when she was booting up while docked was confusing for the drive mappings.  We turned off her wireless and booted up and her drive was consistently there.  If we turned the wireless on and booted the laptop, it would not be there.

    I went into the BIOS and turned on the setting that says to disable the wireless LAN controller when a wired LAN connection is detected.  After this change, she has not had any problems with the dive not mapping. 

    Hi

    This solved parthe of my problem.having wi-fi turned on while docked, if I would log off and log back in, my drive would disappear. Disabling my wi-fi solved it. However if I unlocked my laptop and use my wi-fi then this drive disappear again. Your solution solved my problem while at the office but not on the go when I use my vpn.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments
  3. Anonymous
    2016-05-31T14:26:05+00:00

    I have found in my helpdesk job that the optional windows updates KB2830477 & KB2592687 periodically cause the following services to restart:

    DHCP Client

    DNS Client

    Network Location Awareness

    Remote Desktop Services

    Cryptographic Services

    Workstation.

    These services in turn affect the drive mapping and causes them to become unmapped. I know this for sure works for Windows 7, and am unsure of others.

    Try Uninstalling these 2 updates and it will hopefully help with the issue you're having.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments