Hi Neil,
The command prompt method still works on Windows 10 21H1, as I use it all the time. You might need to check some network and share settings on both systems. Are you getting any specific errors when you try to map the drive?
Here is some Windows share settings and the order I would normally check them when troubleshooting similar share issues when the shares are coming from a windows desktop machine or device that uses standard Microsoft/SMB sharing protocols. Shares coming from a Windows Server OS or Linux are a whole other topic. These steps are done on Windows 10 Pro 21H1, so they might be slightly different on different versions of Windows 10 as Microsoft keeps 'massaging' the Settings app.
![Rolling Eyes :roll:](./images/smilies/icon_rolleyes.gif)
You can check your Windows version by clicking Start and typing 'winver' and hit Enter.
Check Your Network Status- Open the Windows Settings app and click Network & Internet.
- Under the Status section, at the top of the screen there should be a graphical representation of your network. it should show your connection as 'Private network' or if you are connected to a domain, it should list your company domain.
- If your Network Status shows you are connected to a domain, you should get in touch with your network admin before proceeding in the following steps as they may have network policies in place that may limit your ability to access shares, your ability to share files or change the following settings. plus you don't want to get on their bad side. ![Laughing :lol:](./images/smilies/icon_lol.gif)
- If your Network Status shows you are connected to a 'Private network' jump on to the Network and Sharing Center section below.
- If your Network Status shows you are connected to a 'Public network', and you are on a public or open Wi-Fi connection, STOP - you should not access shares over a Public network connection. Talk with the owner of the shared resource and see what can be done to secure the access point or resources.
- If your Network Status shows you are connected to a 'Public network', and you are sure you are not on a public access point and are indeed connected to a secured network you trust, you can change the network type by clicking the Properties button below the graphical representation of your network and on the next screen set your Network profile to 'Private'. Once that is set click the back arrow in the upper left hand corner twice to return to the Network and Internet Status section.
Check Your Share Settings In The Network & Sharing Center- If you are not already there from the steps above, open the Windows Settings app and click 'Network & Internet'.
- Under the Status section Click 'Network and Sharing Center' (You can also access it by clicking the Start button and start typing 'Network and Sharing Center' and select it when available.)
- You should see your connected network and it should show that it is a 'Private network', if not look at the steps above.
- If your network is Private, on the left side of the screen click 'Change advanced sharing settings'.
- Use the arrows to open up the Private section of the dialog.
Under the 'Network discovery' section:
- 'Turn on network discovery' should ideally be turned on in most normal cases. This will let Windows search out resources that are shared on your current network. Without this enabled, you would have to know all the details about every resources on the network and how to set them up. That type of setup would normally be managed by a IT admin, in which case you should seek their help. ![Wink :wink:](./images/smilies/icon_wink.gif)
- The check box for 'Turn on automatic setup of network connected devices' can be checked or unchecked for the purposes of mapping a network share. This option is primarily used to auto install networked devices like printers and scanners. And since Microsoft keeps turning it back on anyway with each major upgrade of Windows 10, you can just leave it in it's current state for now.
Under the 'File and printer sharing' section:
- Select 'Turn on file and printer sharing' if it's not already selected.
- Use the arrows to open the 'All Networks' section at the bottom of the Advanced sharing settings dialog box.
Under the 'Public folder sharing' section:
- If you don't specifically know that you have shared any of the special "Public" folders on your own computer with others on your network, you can set this to 'Turn off Public folder sharing . . ' to help secure your computer a bit. It will not affect sharing normal files or folders which is usually what you want to do. ![Wink :wink:](./images/smilies/icon_wink.gif)
Under the 'File sharing connections' section:
- You should always have it set to 'Use 128-bit encryption . . . ' Unless you know for sure you are connecting to a resource like a really old server from the 60s - 90's. ![Rolling Eyes :roll:](./images/smilies/icon_rolleyes.gif)
Under the ' Password protected sharing' section - (This is usually the setting that blocks people from accessing a resource they know they have the correct credentials for, but don't realize they don't have a user account setup on the host sharing device. Most folks think, 'We are using passwords to protect the shares on the host device so this should be turned on.' when it usually should probably be turned off on the host device when you have with multiple different users on the network.
- Set 'Turn on password protected sharing' If you plan to only share files or folders with users who currently have local user account on your current share hosting computer on another computer or device using the exact same windows login credentials (same usernames and passwords) on the other devices. This will provide a little better security as only people on the same network, who have user accounts that match user accounts on the hosting computer will be able to access the shared resources, even if they have the required user name and password setup for the shares themselves. This would be most common for a small or home network where you want to share files securely with only a very small set of people and have accounts for each user on each device. it's more headache to manage and while it does provide another level of protection, it's usually not necessary. Strong, unique passwords are usually a better bet for this type of setup.
- Set Turn off password protected sharing' If you plan on sharing files or folders with other users on your network who do not have login accounts setup on the current computer sharing out the files. You can still set user name and password protections for your share, but it does not require that the user have a login account setup on the computer sharing the files. This is the most common setting when in an office environment using a workgroup vs a domain, as most users don't have an account on the file hosting server or device.
Check Current Shares and Mapped Drives- Open a new command prompt, (Click Start button, type CMD, hit ENTER)
- Type NET SHARE and hit ENTER
This should report back any shares or mapped network resources. Might help troubleshoot if a resource is improperly mapped or pathed.
If you need to remove a share that is incorrect, you can use the command below with the Share name that is reported back from the
NET SHARE command above.
NET USE sharename /DELETEfor example
NET USE Z: /DELETEwould remove a resource mapped to the Z:\ drive, the same as right clicking on the drive in File Explorer and clicking 'Disconnect'.