Mapping Network Drives/Folders via Group Policy In Server 2016
- Make sure the network drive/folder you wish to map is shared and accessible. You can test this by (in Windows 10 or server 2016) RIGHT clicking Start and selecting Run. Type in:
\\servername\sharename
If the contents of the share appear, you have the share correctly configured. - Start the Group Policy Management by left clicking Start -> Control Panel. Change the “View by” (in the upper right corner of Control Panel) to be “Small icons”. Click “Administrative Tools” in Control Panel. In the Administrative Tools window, select Group Policy Management
- In the tree on the left, expand the Forrest by clicking on the arrow that is pointing right so that it points down. Expand the Domains the same way.
- Right click on your domain in the tree on the left and from the menu select “Create a GPO in this domain, and link it here” Name it “Drive Mapping”
- Expand your domain by clicking on the arrow that is pointing right so that it points down. You should now see “Drive Mapping” under your domain name. Right click on “Drive Mapping” and select Edit
- You are now in the Group Policy Management Editor. In the tree on the left, drill down User Configuration > Preferences > Windows Settings > Drive Maps
- Right click on “Drive Maps” in the tree, then select New > Mapped Drive
- Fill in the Location with your shared format name and have the full file path e.g. \\servername\sharedfolder
- Check Reconnect, and set the Label to a user friendly description. Select “Use” and a drive letter that is not used on any client machine or any other other share. Select OK
- Repeat from step 7 above for each share you want to map1
- The Global Policy updates on a regular basis and is replicated to all domain controllers, but if you are impatient like I am, to make sure things are updated quickly, right click Start and select run. Type in CMD. Type in “gpupdate /force” You may be prompted to log off for it to complete the updates.
- You can deploy printers using User Configuration -> Policies -> Windows Settings -> Printer Connection.