"The network folder specified is currently mapped using a different user name and password", when trying to connect to a drive remotely.

Anonymous
2010-11-08T20:31:13+00:00

Original Title: The network folder specified is currently mapped using a different user name and password.__To connect using a different user name and password, first disconnect any existing mappings to this network share.

I am trying to connect to a drive remotely. I have clicked to map to the drive, entered the name of the drive, entered the login name/password for the computer it resides on and then it give me this error message:The network folder specified is currently mapped using a different user name and password. To connect using a different user name and password, first disconnect any existing mappings to this network share.

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Internet and connectivity

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Anonymous
2010-12-22T17:45:15+00:00

In Windows 7 Enterprise, I would like to point out that if you map \\server1\share1 as drive letter X using "user1" and "password1", then try to map \\server1\share2 (a different share) as drive letter Y using the same "user1" and "password1", and you click the "connect using different credentials" checkbox in the Map Network Drive dialog box and specify "user1" and "password1", you will get this INCORRECT ERROR MESSAGE that says "The network folder specified is currently mapped using a different user name and password". 

The message is wrong because:

  1. The network folder specified (share2 in my example) is not mapped at all, and
  2. the server ("server1" in my example) is already mapped (to a different drive letter and different share) using the SAME userid and password. 

The error message is wrong on two counts!

This baffled me for a while until I realized that once you have mapped to "server1" using those credentials, you can map to different shares on the same server without re-specifying the credentials.  This is NOT CLEAR from the "Map Network Drives" dialog box, which leads to users (like me, and I'm a programmer by trade) trying to enter the credentials again and getting this incorrect error message.

David Walker

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  1. Anonymous
    2016-02-27T03:51:40+00:00

    windows 10 gave me the same error. "net use" came up empty as no maps on this profile.

    I logged my daughter off who had a map to the server. then my logging in with different username mapped in my account. Now I have write access and my daughters account if only read. And it works when both logged into the laptop.

    Seems a bit rough for version 10 but at least now working.

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  2. Anonymous
    2016-11-17T15:40:05+00:00

    David Walker

    You are a star.

    Thank you

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  3. Anonymous
    2017-03-21T22:46:40+00:00

    I found that if I map to the IP of the server, I can have multiple connections. From cmd prompt, ping the servername, and then use that IP to map to adding the different folders, i.e. //192.168.15.10/foldername

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  4. Anonymous
    2017-09-01T16:25:13+00:00

    I just encountered this problem while installing an accounting software package client on Windows 10.  It requires that you map a drive to the server where the server software and company data reside.  Knowing this, I pre-mapped the \server\share fine, but for some reason the software installer did not see the mapped drive at the associated dialogue, but allowed for a new mapping.  I opted to map a new drive letter through the dialog but encountered the "Network folder specified..." error.

    To troubleshoot, I canceled the installer, disconnected the drive, then opted again to map via the installer dialogue.  Same error.  After some hair pulling and Google searching I found this article and tried again without entering credentials.  Voila!  A very non-intuitive and frustrating "feature".  I'm surprised it's been around since 2010 and has not been addressed in Windows 10.  Boo!

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