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Connecting to a Windows file share

Off-Campus Access Pre-Requisite

File shares require VPN for off-campus access: https://notes.its.uri.edu/books/public/page/get-vpn

If you are on a Windows machine:

Connect (for most people)

From an Explorer window, right click on This PC and select “Map network drive…”


Drive: choose a drive letter (usually decided by your local department).  "U:" in this example.

Folder: enter the address to the share, usually given by ITS, and is usually the same for everyone in the same unit/dept.

Optionally, check “Reconnect at sign-in” if the machine you are using is personal to you, and you want this to be persistent through reboots.

Connect using command line:

* Usually this is used by IT/technical staff as an alternative way to connect.

* If you are unfamiliar with using a command line please use the method above

Disconnect a drive U:

net use U: /d

Connect to a drive U:

net use U: "\\uri.ds.uri.edu\DFS\WINFS\provost-aec" /user:URI\<your_user_id> * /PERSISTENT:Y

The asterisk in the above command will prompt you to enter the password.

Disconnecting a drive

This PC --> right-click --> Disconnect




If you are on a Mac machine:

1. Finder --> Connect to Server...

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2. Enter the address given to you:

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3. Enter your SSO username (not the full email address, just the username) and SSO password.

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