How do I make a mapped drive persist after reboot?

Use the net use command with /persistent:yes so Windows restores the mapping for the user session.

Why does a mapped drive show disconnected after login?

This often happens when the network path is unavailable at sign-in or credentials are stale; reconnecting after network initialization usually resolves it.

What is the safest way to remove an old drive mapping?

Use net use with /delete for the specific drive letter, then confirm with net use that the mapping is gone.

Map and Delete Network Drives Using CMD (net use)

Summary: Practical quick-reference guide for mapping, persisting, and removing network drives with net use in CMD.

Introduction

net use is the core CMD command for mapping and managing SMB network drives. This guide is designed as a practical sysadmin reference for day-to-day use and scripting.

View current mapped drives

net use

net use Z:

net use shows all mapped drives and UNC connections.
net use Z: checks one specific mapped drive letter.

Map a network drive (basic)

net use Z: \\fileserver\shared

net use Z: \\10.0.0.20\shared

Make the mapping persistent

net use Z: \\fileserver\shared /persistent:yes

net use /persistent:yes

net use /persistent:no

Map with different credentials

net use Z: \\fileserver\shared /user:DOMAIN\svc_backup *

net use Z: \\fileserver\shared /user:DOMAIN\svc_backup * /savecred

Map to a subfolder

net use X: \\fileserver\shared\finance

Delete (unmap) drives

net use Z: /delete

net use * /delete

net use Z: /delete /y

Clean + remap pattern (scripts)

net use Z: /delete /y 2>nul
net use Z: \\fileserver\shared /user:DOMAIN\svc_backup * /persistent:no

Useful variants

net use * \\fileserver\shared
net use Z: \\fileserver\shared /persistent:no
net use \\fileserver\shared /delete

Troubleshooting (quick)

Error	What to check
53 / path not found	DNS, ping host, try IP, SMB/firewall
67	Share name spelling, hidden `$` shares
5 Access denied	Share + NTFS permissions
85 in use	`net use Z: /delete /y` first
1219 credentials	`net use \\fileserver\* /delete` then remap once

Syntax reference

net use [drive: | *] \\server\share [password | *] [/user:[domain\]user] [/persistent:{yes | no}] [/savecred]

net use [drive: | \\server\share | *] /delete [/y]

For every switch, run:

net use /?

Note: A longer printable version of this guide was previously published on NetCollege.co.uk; this file restores the operational commands and patterns for local builds.