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With hard drives having such huge capacities these days, it’s not unheard Use your Web Brow
of for some people to have millions of files spread across their system. View Windows Hidd
When you have a lot of files it is really important that everything is stored Protected Files or Fo
in a well ordered directory structure so files can be found more easily. For

the less organized there are tools to quickly search the contents of your
drives.

Even if the overall directory structure of your system is efficient there


might be several folders you access often that are found several layers
down. An easy solution to get quick access to one of these folders is
mapping it to a drive letter. This is a simple method and means instead of
constantly drilling down through sub folders, just click on the drive in TRY PRE
Explorer and you are taken directly there.

Of the 26 drive letters available on your system, probably only a few are
in use. That leaves several free letters that could be used for this purpose.
Although it’s easy to map a network folder to a drive letter, mapping a SEARCH RAYMOND.CC
local folder to a drive letter is slightly more difficult. Here are some ways
to do it. Search the site

Using The Windows Subst Command Search

Windows has included a command to substitute a folder for a drive letter

since the days of Windows NT in the early 1990’s. The Subst command is
pretty much unchanged in how it works and is still present in the latest Like us on Faceboo
versions of Windows 10. 
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Usage is quite simple, open a Command Prompt (press Start and type 
cmd). Type Subst and as an argument supply the drive letter you want to
map the folder to, then add the full path to the folder. Subscribe to RSS
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 Subst [Drive:] [Pathtofolder]


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A simple example would be:
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 Subst X: D:\downloads\work\myfiles
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Make sure to enclose the folder path in quotes if it contains spaces. Type
Subst without arguments to check the mapping has worked as you are
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To remove the mapping enter the drive letter and add the /D argument:

 SUBST X: /D

Mapping a folder to a drive letter with Subst isn’t permanent and you will
lose the association after rebooting or logging off. Therefore, the delete
command is only needed to remove the mapping immediately without
TRY PRE
restarting.

Forcing Subst To Run On Startup

If you want the mapping to work all the time, a simple solution is to run RECENTLY UPDATED
Subst automatically during every boot. This can be done via the registry.
It is recommended less experienced users try one of the more automatic 6 Free
solutions before using this. Programs to
Check Your
1. Open Regedit and navigate to the following key: Video Card Memory For
Errors
 HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersi
on\Run 7 Ways To
Open Virtual
Hard Disk
For the permanent mapping to only affect the currently logged on user, go
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2. Right click on Run > New > String Value. Give it a name such as “Map
X” SUGGESTED READING

3. Double click on the name and for Value data enter the Subst command NEW ARTICLES
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like above. For example: Letter Missing from
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AVG Zen And
 Subst X: D:\downloads\work\myfiles
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Disconnection

Close Regedit and after you reboot or logon, the Subst mapping will
automatically be created.


A Subst GUI Frontend Tool


vSubst is a small, portable tool weighing in at only 18KB in size. The
original developer website is now gone but the program is still freely
available and perfectly usable. This is a pretty useful frontend GUI for the
Subst command.

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After launching vSubst, select the desired drive letter to map the folder to,
then click Add. A small dialog will popup where you can manually type the 
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4/13/2020 Map a Folder to a Drive Letter for Quick and Easy Access • Raymond.CC

path or locate it with the Select button. The new mapping will immediately POPULAR POSTS
appear in the substituted folders list. Just highlight an entry and press SUGGESTED READING
Remove to delete the drive and free up the letter. 10 Free
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The Persistent button will place an entry for vSubst in the Users Run Mount ISO
Letter Missing from
startup key in the registry, similar to the manual method above. The Image Files as Virtual
Computer
vSubst executable will be copied to the Windows folder so make sure to Drives
run vSubst as administrator or the copy to Windows might fail. 7 Ways to Hide Driv
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Run Subst From A Batch Script a Phone
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You can easily make your own batch script with just a couple of lines but Top 10 Best
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this ready made script called Psubst is more Advanced. Its main purpose Free Keylogger
and Dialogs
is to make drives mapped in Subst persistent so they survive a reboot. Software to
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Use this script from Command Prompt or another script (run as
administrator) like you would use Subst. WindowsView Windows Hidd
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The arguments are virtually the same as Subst. The only difference is
adding /P to the command will make the mapping persistent and it will
remain after a reboot. It does this by adding an entry to Dos devices in
the registry.

 Psubst [Drive:] [Pathtofolder] /P (e.g. Psubst X:

D:\downloads\work\myfiles /P)

“Psubst [Drive:] /D /P” will remove a persistent drive, “Psubst /P” will list
current persistent drives, and “Psubst [Drive:] /D” will just remove a
normal mapped drive. Adding a mapping with /P will only add its entry to
the registry which will take effect on the next reboot. To also map the
folder immediately you will need to run the same command again but
without /P. 
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Download Psubst 
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Using a program that can convert a batch file into an executable, Psubst
can be made into a standard .EXE file. You can do this yourself by using a Solutions to CD/DVD
Bat to Exe tool. Letter Missing from
Computer
Create A Mapped Folder With A Third Party Tool
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Visual Subst is a simple to use tool that allows you to create a number of Letters or Partitions
drive mappings quickly and easily. The program is portable and only Appearing in My Co
137KB in size. Although it uses the same API as Subst, the mappings and Explorer
created in Visual Subst are not visible when using Subst on the command
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Select the drive letter from the drop down menu and enter the path to the
folder manually or browse for it by pressing the magnifying glass on the
right. Then press the Plus button to assign the mapping and it will appear
in the main window.

Checking the box at the bottom will silently run Visual Subst during
startup to assign the drive letters. Delete the mapped drive with the X
button or save any changes to a current mapping with the disc icon.

Download Visual Subst 

Map A Folder To A Drive Letter Directly In The

Registry
This next method has a couple of advantages over the Subst command.
Not only does it add the mapped drive automatically on every boot, the
drive letter is associated with the folder before any applications are
launched. That means the drive letter can be used by other applications
during boot. This option is not recommended for inexperienced users. 
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1. Open Regedit and navigate to the following key:

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 HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session
Manager\DOS Devices Solutions to CD/DVD
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This key will associate virtual drive names with paths and it does so very Computer
early in the boot process. 7 Ways to Hide Driv
Letters or Partitions
2. Right click on DOS Devices > New > String value, enter the drive
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letter to map the folder to, including the colon.
and Explorer
3. Double click on the drive letter and enter the following as a path: 5 Tools to get Quick
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 \??\[Fullpathtofolder] and Dialogs

blockquote> Use your Web Brow

View Windows Hidd
For example: Protected Files or Fo


 \??\D:\Downloads\Work\MyFiles

blockquote>


4. Close the registry editor and reboot the computer as this key is only
read during startup. Upon rebooting, the mapping will show in Explorer in
the list of hard drives.

If you decide to create a .REG file to add or edit Dos devices, add a
second backslash to every backslash in the folder path. It won’t work
otherwise. An example .REG file of the above would be:

 Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 

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4/13/2020 Map a Folder to a Drive Letter for Quick and Easy Access • Raymond.CC

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session
Manager\DOS Devices] SUGGESTED READING
“X:”=”\\??\\D:\\Downloads\\Work\\MyFiles”
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Letter Missing from
Map A Folder Via The Windows User Interface Computer
There’s an option to map a network folder to a drive letter in Windows
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Explorer. It’s not possible to map a local folder in this window by using the
Letters or Partitions
browse button because it only displays network locations. However, with
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creative use of network paths, it’s easy to map a local folder to a drive
and Explorer
letter from the Map Network Drive window.
5 Tools to get Quick
1. In Windows Vista or 7 open Explorer, press Alt and go to Tools > “Map Access in Explorer W
network drive”. In Windows 10 or 8 open Explorer and make sure you are and Dialogs
in the Computer tab. Press “Map network drive”.
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2. In the Drive box drop down, select the drive letter to assign to the View Windows Hidd
folder. Protected Files or Fo

3. For Folder do not press Browse but Instead enter the following into the
text box using your own arguments:

 \\Localhost\[Drive]$\Pathtofolder

or:

 \\Computername\[Drive]$\Pathtofolder


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Using just Localhost should be fine for most users. Otherwise, use
Computername which is the computer’s name. Find the name in System SUGGESTED READING
Properties. Right click Computer/This PC > Properties or press
Win+Pause. Solutions to CD/DVD
Letter Missing from
For Drive you must use a drive letter in the path and substitute the colon Computer
for a dollar sign ($). A couple of examples would be:
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 \\localhost\D$\downloads\work\myfiles
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and Explorer
or using the computer name:
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 \\MyDesktopPC\C$\users\raymondcc\desktop\myfiles\downloads\app Access in Explorer W
s and Dialogs

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4. Leave the “Reconnect at sign-in” option checked if you want have the
folder mapped to the drive letter every time your computer starts or you
log on. Press Finish when done.

To remove the mapped folder simply right click on its drive in Explorer and
select Disconnect.

Mapping Folders Using The Windows Net Command

The Net command in Windows is able to view, edit or manage many
aspects related to the network. It is even powerful enough to change user
account passwords or create/delete user accounts. Here we are using the

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Net Use command which manages shared resource connections. The

syntax is as follows: SUGGESTED READING

 Net Use [Driveletter:] \\Localhost\[Drive]$\Pathtofolder Solutions to CD/DVD

Letter Missing from
or: Computer

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 Net Use [Driveletter:] \\Computername\[Drive]$\Pathtofolder Letters or Partitions
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Enter the drive letter you want to map the folder to as Driveletter and Explorer
(including colon). For the path to the folder you can use either Localhost
or the Computername like the method above. Make sure to use a dollar 5 Tools to get Quick
sign instead of a colon for Drive. Access in Explorer W
and Dialogs

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Although a mapped drive should automatically appear the next time you
logon, an extra argument can be added in case it doesn’t. Simply append
“/P:yes” to make the drive persistent and force reconnect at logon. Use
“/P:No” to force the drive to disconnect at logoff.

To delete the mapping from the command line, simply use:

 Net Use [driveletter:] /Delete

Use an asterisk instead of a drive letter to delete all currently mapped

drives.

 Net Use * /Delete

The Net Use command has an advantage over Subst because it doesn’t
constantly try to connect if the folder is not available. Subst will constantly
try to connect which can have an adverse effect on system performance.


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 20 Comments - Write a Comment

Alan 2 WEEKS AGO

So, when I use subst, the new drive letter shows up in the
command prompt. I can access via drive letter there, but it is
not showing up in my Windows 10 GUI, I can’t navigate to it
to save files or anything like that. Anyone else have that
problem?

Reply

HAL9000 2 WEEKS AGO  Author

Try using a non-admin Command Prompt.

Reply

YD Forums 8 MONTHS AGO

These methods work well, but in Win 10, I have found that
whenever I delete a file from the “drive” it bypasses the 
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4/13/2020 Map a Folder to a Drive Letter for Quick and Easy Access • Raymond.CC

recycle bin and gets permanently deleted. Doesn’t matter

which method I use to map the folder, the behavior is the SUGGESTED READING
same.
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I never had this problem with mapped folders in Win XP.
Letter Missing from
Has anyone noticed this behavior and possibly found a Computer
workaround?
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Reply Letters or Partitions
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and Explorer
Ed Singleton 12 MONTHS AGO
5 Tools to get Quick
Thanks! I’ve not often forced to use Windows, but this has Access in Explorer W
just saved me so much effort! and Dialogs

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Poilaupat 1 YEAR AGO

Tried many tip, but your SUBST solution is the only one that
 worked within powershell scripts !

Thanks !

Reply

Byte 2 YEARS AGO

WOW..Simply superb..

Reply

Adriano 9 YEARS AGO

Great information!
I tried sharing a folder and then mapping it as a drive but it
doesn’t work if you’re not connected to a network.
This way is definitely the elegant way of doing it.
Thank you!

Reply

M 9 YEARS AGO

Thanks a lot for sharing this information!

using SUBST is definitely one of the fastest way of creating
mapped drives.
Thanks again 
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4/13/2020 Map a Folder to a Drive Letter for Quick and Easy Access • Raymond.CC

Reply
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Solutions to CD/DVD
eujenio 10 YEARS AGO
Letter Missing from
Great info, great tool. Managed to use up almost all of my Computer
drive letters :-)
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Reply Letters or Partitions
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and Explorer
Wayne 11 YEARS AGO
5 Tools to get Quick
Life saver, thanks!! Access in Explorer W
and Dialogs
Reply
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