Today, we are flooded with many online cloud file storage services that we can use to save our files. But after Microsoft offered 100GB free in promotions like Bing Rewards, I opted in. The Microsoft brand value that comes with OneDrive is an added advantage.
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Every cloud storage service has an online control panel for uploading/downloading and managing files. But nothing comforts Windows users more than seeing files in the familiar Explorer view. So let’s see how to map OneDrive as a Network Drive on Windows to manage files like any other file we have on the OS.
In addition, I will also show you simple commands to connect and unmount files using command prompt so you can add drives even without administrator access.
Hot Tip: Want to access your Android files in Explorer view? Check out this article to see how to map Android as a Network Drive.
Map OneDrive to Windows
Step 1: Open the OneDrive home page on your desktop and sign in to your account. After the OneDrive home page opens, right click on the option that says Document right below search option and copy link to clipboard.
Step 2: Now, open Notepad or any other text editor and paste the copied link. The link will look like:
https://onedrive.live.com/?cid=xxxxxxxxxx
The number xxx represents a unique alphanumeric character number for your account. Now all you need to do is replace the OneDrive URL before the CID with https://d.docs.live.net/. See the example below.
https://d.docs.live.net/18dra28d5ss
Step 3: We will now map that link as a Network Drive. Open Computer on Windows 7 or 8 and click the option Network drive map from the top bar. For Windows 8 users, this option may be hidden under the ribbon.
Step 4: Now assign a letter to the drive and paste the link where it asks you to specify the server address. Finally, click Complete and Windows will attempt to connect to the specified network drive. During this process, it will ask for your OneDrive credentials. On a personal computer, you can select the option to remember the login information, but for a shared system or a public computer, uncheck this option.
That’s it, after successful authentication, you will be able to access your OneDrive directly using Windows Explorer. Don’t worry about the free/used space you see on the drive, it just reflects the capacity of your system drive and not the actual data.
That’s how you can map OneDrive as a Network Drive and access it directly from Windows explorer. But let me tell you a quick command prompt trick that can map a drive without admin rights and remove it from a public computer once it’s done.
Map a network drive using Command Prompt
Assuming that you already have a OneDrive map association with your unique CID on notepad, open a command prompt and issue the following command.
use network y: https://d.docs.live.net/xxxxxxxxxxxx
You’ll be asked to enter your OneDrive credentials, and once it’s authenticated, the drive will be mapped to the path on your Windows Explorer. To remove the mapped drive, you can use the following command.
use network y: /delete
This is a clean and useful way to access your shared storage on any computer, whether shared or public, without leaving any trace. File transfer speed depends on connection speed and you may get ‘Windows Not Responding’ error when copying. But that will leave after the files are successfully copied. However, this is only an alternative to public computers and cannot replace the official OneDrive app.
Conclusion
OneDrive is the only app that gives you the option to map network drives without downloading any additional software. If you know tricks for Google Drive or Dropbox, please share with us. If you get an error message, just contact me and we can work together to fix it.
Categories: How to
Source: thpttranhungdao.edu.vn/en/
