Home and Shared Folders on Windows Accessing Home and Shared Folders on Active Directory File Servers Using Windows

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1 Overview Home and Shared Folders on Windows Accessing Home and Shared Folders on Active Directory File Servers Using Windows Ithaca College provides network file sharing for all faculty members, all staff members, and some students through Microsoft Active Directory accounts. This guide offers instructions for accessing home and shared folders the Active Directory file server from a computer running Windows XP or Windows 7 on the campus network. Home folders are accessible only to the owner of the individual account. Shared folders are accessible to groups of users who need to collaborate and share files, e.g., members of departments. All faculty and staff members have home folders. Most faculty and staff members have shared folders. Some students have shared folders (e.g., student employees in a department). The Active Directory file server that hosts home and shared Network Printing for Windows folders is called Mentor. When you log onto your computer, your Home and Shared Folders on Mac OS X home folder will always appear with the name Home. Shared Remote Access to Campus Resources folder names will vary, however, depending on the nature of your work. The two main shared sections of the Mentor file server are Shared and Academic. Folders in the section called Shared host shared folders for departments. Folders in the Academic section host shared folders for academic projects (e.g., an instructor may request a shared folder for members of a research team). Other shared sections with a variety of names are hosted for other groups of users who need to share files. Data on the Active Directory file server is password-protected, scanned for viruses, and backed up nightly. Using the file server is the safest and most reliable way to store work-related files. If you are using a network connection off campus, please refer to the Remote Access to Campus Resources quick guide for instructions on using your home and shared folders through a remote network connection. Requirements You may access your home and shared folders through file sharing if you are logging into Active Directory with a standard user account (faculty, staff, or student) using a college-owned computer or a personal computer running Windows XP or Windows 7 with a direct network connection on campus or a wireless network connection through ICAirnet-Secure. File sharing does not work with ICAirnet connections, however. Laptops In This Guide Overview... 1 Requirements... 1 Laptops... 1 Logging In... 2 Home and Shared Folders... 2 Recovering Files... 5 Using Mapped Drives... 5 Logging Off... 6 For More Information... 6 Related Guides If you use a college-owned Windows laptop, you will need to use a direct (not wireless) connection to the campus network the first time you log into the computer using Active Directory so that a local (on your computer) profile can be created. Quick Guide Information Technology Services - Ithaca College Copyright 2012 Ithaca College - All rights reserved

2 Logging In Use your Netpass username and password to log into Active Directory. Do not change your password using Windows XP/7. Instead, always use the IC Netpass Manager online at Follow the steps below to log into your college-owned computer. If you are using a personal computer, start up and log into your computer as you normally do. 1. At the login prompt, press the Ctrl-Alt-Delete keys simultaneously. 2. In the User name field, enter your Netpass username (e.g., jsmith for faculty/staff member Joe Smith, jsmith1 for student Jane Smith). 3. In the Password field, enter. 4. If you do not see the Log on to drop-down menu, click Options. 5. In the Log on to drop-down menu, choose CAMPUS (you only need to do this the first time you log into the computer). 6. Click OK. Accessing your Home and Shared Folders Access to your home and shared folders is defined and included in your Active Directory account. Your Active Directory credentials (username and password) are the same as your Netpass credentials. Once you have logged into Active Directory, you will have access to your home and shared folders automatically. Home Folder Home folders are accessible only to you, the owner of the individual account. By default, you have 1 GB of disk space in your home folder. On a computer running Windows, letters can be assigned to drives or network folders through mapping to make it easier to locate and use those resources. Your home folder is defined to be mapped as your H: drive. Once you have logged into Active Directory, double-click on My Computer (Windows XP) or Computer (Windows 7) on your desktop to see your H: drive. In Windows XP, it will appear with the name [username] on mentor\home (H:). In Windows 7, it will appear with the name [username](\\mentor\home)(h:). If you have multiple peripheral devices connected to your computer, or your H: drive is mapped to another resource, your home folder may not map to your H: drive. You still have access to your home folder, even if it is not mapped as your H: drive. If this is the case, ITS recommends that you re-map your H: drive or create a shortcut to your home folder. See the Using Mapped Drives or the Creating Shortcuts to Home and Shared Folders section of this guide for more information. College-owned Computers with a Direct Network Connection -- If you are using a college-owned computer with a direct network connection on campus, your home folder will appear as your H: drive automatically. To find and use your home folder: 1. Start up your computer and log into Active Directory using your Netpass username and password 2. Double-click on My Computer (Windows XP) or Computer (Windows 7) on your desktop to see your H: drive. In Windows XP, it will appear with the name [username] on mentor\home (H:). In Windows 7, it will appear with the name [username](\\mentor\home)(h:). Page 2 of 6

3 College-owned Computers with a Wireless Network Connection -- If you are using a college-owned computer with an ICAirnet-Secure network connection on campus, you will need to make a connection to your home folder after you have started up, logged into, and established a network connection on the computer. To find and use your home folder, follow these steps: 1. Go to the Start menu, and choose Run 2. In the Open field, type \\mentor.campus.ithaca.lan 3. Press OK 6. Double-click on My Computer (Windows XP) on your desktop to see your H: drive. It will appear with the name [username] on mentor\home (H:). 1. Go to the Start menu 2. In the Search programs and files field, type \\mentor.campus.ithaca.lan 3. Press Enter 6. Double-click on Computer (Windows 7) on your desktop to see your H: drive. It will appear with the name [username](\\mentor\home)(h:). Personal Computers with a Direct or Wireless Network Connection -- If you are using a personal computer with an ICAirnet-Secure wireless or a direct network connection on campus, you will need to make a connection to your home folder after you have started up, logged into, and established a network connection on the computer. To find and use your home folder, follow these steps: 1. Go to the Start menu, and choose Run 2. In the Open field, type \\mentor.campus.ithaca.lan 3. Press OK 6. Double-click on My Computer (Windows XP) on your desktop to see your H: drive. It will appear with the name [username] on mentor\home (H:). 1. Go to the Start menu 2. In the Search programs and files field, type \\mentor.campus.ithaca.lan 3. Press Enter 6. Double-click on Computer (Windows 7) on your desktop to see your H: drive. It will appear with the name [username](\\mentor\home)(h:). Page 3 of 6

4 Shared Folder(s) Your shared folder is accessible to the group of users with whom you need to collaborate and share files, e.g., members of your department. The amount of disk space provided for shared folders varies by each group s needs. Shared folders are not mapped to network drive letters by default in Active Directory accounts, so your shared folder will not appear when you double-click on My Computer in Windows XP or Computer in Windows 7. To access your shared folder(s): 1. Go to the Start menu, and choose Run 2. In the Open field, type \\mentor 3. Press OK 1. Go to the Start menu 2. In the Search programs and files field, type \\mentor 3. Press Enter Creating Shortcuts to Home and Shared Folders ITS recommends that you create shortcuts to your home and shared folders on your desktop to make it easy to access them, as follows: 1. Connect to the campus network directly or through ICAirnet-Secure wireless and log into Active Directory. 2. If you are using a direct network connection on campus, go to Start, open Run enter \\mentor, and click OK. If you are using an ICAirnet-Secure wireless network connection on campus, go to Start, open Run, enter \\mentor.campus.ithaca.lan and click OK. 3. Click on Home, right-click on the folder with your username, and choose Create Shortcut. Click Yes at the prompt that asks if you want the shortcut to be placed on the desktop. 4. If you have access to the shared section of the file server called Shared, click on Shared, right-click on your shared folder, and choose Create Shortcut. Click Yes at the prompt that asks if you want the shortcut to be placed on the desktop. 5. If you have access to the shared section called Academic, click on Academic, right-click on your shared folder, and choose Create Shortcut. Click Yes at the prompt that asks if you want the shortcut to be placed on the desktop.you will now be able to double-click the shortcuts to your home and shared folders on the Mentor Active Directory file server whenever you want to open, upload, or download files. 1. Connect to the campus network directly or through ICAirnet-Secure wireless and log into Active Directory. 2. If you are using a direct network connection on campus, go to Start, enter \\mentor in the Search programs and files field, and click OK. If you are using an ICAirnet-Secure wireless network connection on campus, go to Start, enter \\mentor.campus.ithaca.lan in the Search programs and files field, and click OK. 3. Click on Home, right-click on the folder with your username, and choose Create Shortcut 4. If you have access to the shared section of the file server called Shared, click on Shared, right-click on your shared folder, and choose Create Shortcut 5. If you have access to the shared section called Academic, click on Academic, right-click on your shared folder,and choose Create Shortcut. You will now be able to double-click the shortcuts to your home and shared folders on the Mentor Active Directory file server whenever you want to open, upload, or download files. Page 4 of 6

5 Recovering Files in Your Home or Shared Folder(s) You can use the Restore Previous Versions feature to recover missing files or folders in your home and shared folders, as follows: 1. Go to the Start menu, choose Run, type \\mentor in the Open field, and press OK. Go to the Start menu, type \\mentor in the Search programs and files field, and press Enter. 2. Click on Home, Shared, or Academic, right-click the containing folder of the missing file(s) or folder(s), then choose Properties. 3. Choose the Previous Versions tab. 4. Versions of your files and folders on Mentor are archived by date and time. Select the folder with the best (most recent) date and time to use to attempt data recovery. 5. Click the View button. (Do not click the Restore or Copy buttons because you may accidentally overwrite current data in your home or shared folder.) 6. Navigate to your missing data. When you locate the files and/or folders you need, right-click and copy each file and/or folder to a new folder on your desktop. Using Mapped Drives On a computer running Windows, letters can be assigned to folders on a network file server through mapping to make it easier to locate and use those folders. Your home folder, for instance, is mapped to the letter H: by default. The H: drive is reserved for the home folder in all faculty, staff, and student Active Directory accounts. Some applications require you to map a network folder with a certain letter in order to run properly. If you do use mapping, you are advised not to map a letter to your H; drive, My Network Places (Windows XP), or Network (Windows 7). Map a file server folder to a drive letter on your computer as follows. Mapping a drive in 1. Go to the Start menu, choose Run, type \\mentor in the Open field, and press OK. 2. Navigate to the folder you wish to map, then right-click it. 3. From the Tools drop-down menu, choose Map Network Drive From the Drive drop-down list, choose the letter to use to reference the network folder. 5. In the Folder field, enter the network path (e.g., \\server\share) or click Browse... to navigate to the network folder you are mapping. 6. Put a check in the Reconnect at logon checkbox. 7. Click OK, then click Finish. Mapping a drive in 1. Go to the Start menu, type \\mentor in the Search programs and files field, and press Enter. 2. Navigate to the folder you wish to map, then right-click it. 3. Click Map network drive. 4. From the Drive drop-down list, choose the letter to use to reference the network folder. 5. In the Folder field, enter the network path to the folder (e.g., \\server\share) or click Browse... to navigate to the folder you are mapping. 6. Put a check in the Reconnect at logon checkbox. 7. Click Finish. Page 5 of 6

6 Logging Off Once you have logged into Active Directory on a computer, anyone who uses it can access the data on the computer and the data in your home and shared folders on the file server. If you are on a computer that is in a public area or is shared by multiple users, it is important to log off when you have completed your work session to ensure the safety of your data. 1. Go to the Start Menu. 2. Select Log Off. 3. Choose Log Off from the menu. For More Information If you would like additional help, a variety of support services are available: Online documentation, training, and tutorials on IC-supported computing software and systems are available from ITS at Frontline computing support is available through the ITS Helpdesk in 104 Job Hall; send to helpdesk@ithaca.edu or call Backline consulting support is available in the Technology Learning Center, room 101 Friends Hall. Copyright 2012 Ithaca College - All rights reserved. This publication may be duplicated in its entirety for use in not-for-profit educational settings. All copies must include this copyright statement. Any other use requires permission from Information Technology Services at Ithaca College, , its@ithaca.edu. Page 6 of 6