Search Our Support Knowledge Base

Find product articles and support information.

Windows: Unable to Reconnect Mapped Network Drives After Reboot



Description


When Windows is attempting to reconnect a Mapped Network Drive after a restart, the error Unable to reconnect mapped network drives may appear in the system tray (above your system clock).

Image



This can occur if the username and password of the WD Network Device do not match the current Window's username and password information. During the automatic reconnection process, Windows may attempt to send the username and password information for the current Windows username and password instead of the username and password specified during setup.

Resolution


Attempting to open the mapped network drive should prompt a new login window. Entering the WD Network Device username and password will reconnect the share, allowing it to be accessible again (until the next reboot).

Image


For Advanced Windows Users:

If Windows is unable to reconnect a WD Network Drive at login, a batch (.bat) file placed in the Startup Folder may provide an alternate way to reconnect devices on a restart. This method is not recommended for users with security concerns because the .bat file will have a plain text version of the password for the network drive:

  1. Open a new file in Notepad (or any other plain-text editor).
  2. Enter the following information into the file (include the quotation marks):
    	@echo off
    	net use drive_letter: "\\device_name\share" /user:username password
    			or
    	net use drive_letter: "\\device_IP\share" /user:username password
    

    For example:

    	@echo off
    	net use H: "\\wdmycloud\Public" /user:wdadmin wdadmin
    
  3. Additional lines will need to be added for each mapped drive share letter needed, for example:
    	net use I: "\\wdmycloud\Public\Shared Music" /user:wdadmin wdadmin
    	net use J: "\\wdmycloud\Public\Shared Pictures" /user:wdadmin wdadmin
    
  4. Image


  5. Once finished adding all the shares that are to be reconnect at startup in the text editor, save the file as mapped_drives.bat (the .bat tells Windows Startup to run this file rather than open it in another program).
  6. Drag the mapped_drives.bat file to the Startup folder in the Start menu. To do this, right Click the Startup folder in the Start menu and select Open. Once open, drag the mapped_drives.bat file into the Startup folder.
  7. Image


When saving the mapped_drives.bat file in Notepad, a .txt extension may be added if the option Hide extensions for known file types has not been previously disabled in Folder Options. Open an Explorer window, press ALT+T, and then select Folder Options. The View tab will have the Hide extensions for known file types option in its list- this needs to be unchecked.

Image


Image


Details
Answer ID 15314
Published 08/20/2018 02:10 AM
Updated 06/27/2022 10:15 AM

Please rate the helpfulness of this answer