How can I make a networked hard drive appear local to the computer?

Question

Hi everyone! Just setting up a medium size network but I want to remove employees access to the local hard drive (i.e C: Drive) but to make a networked hard drive (i.e in a server) appear as the local one?! The networked drive is a resource drive so anyone is free to access it. Any ideas?

Thanks,
J.

I have done "map networked drive" but I dont want it to appear as a "networked drive" I want it to appear as a "local" drive.

You can do it - have seen it done before.

Joseph C: Whats this "you called it server" business? It's the servers shared hard drive. Duh

Answer 1

Sheez... a "medium sized" network? Mapping drives, changing permissions, etc. on 50+ computers would keep you busy for a week.
1. Create a logon script in active directory, mapping your network drive to each computer whenever a user logs on. As soon as your users log on, the drive automatically maps to each computer.
2. Edit group policy to hide the C drive from users http://support.microsoft.com/kb/231289 tells you exactly how to do this.

1. Start the Microsoft Management Console. On the Console menu, click Add/Remove Snap-in.
2. Add the Group Policy snap-in for the default domain policy. To do this, click Browse when you are prompted to select a Group Policy Object (GPO). The default GPO is Local Computer. You can also add GPOs for other domain partitions (specifically, Organizational Units).
3. Open the following sections: User Configuration, Administrative Templates, Windows Components, and Windows Explorer.
4. Click Hide these specified drives in My Computer.
5. Click to select the Hide these specified drives in My Computer check box.
6. Click the appropriate option in the drop-down box.

I would also edit the GPO to deny users local administrative rights on their machines.

You'd be done in less than 5 minutes. 30 if you're totally inexperienced.

Answer 2

Easy.
Go to your PC shop and get an enclosure called "network hard drive enclosure". Get a a traditional hard drive and format it.
Stick the formated drive in the network enclosure and plug the the network enclosure into an internet port of your wireless or wired router.

Second solution
They access your main computer (you called it server)
tour first hard drive is local is you secured (XP automatically set the drive as NOT sharing capable.

For your network harddrive(second drive on your PC) right click on the second drive and click share & security then check share this folder on the network.

I will choose the second possibility. Now while sharing make sure firewalls are turn off and to prevent hacking making sure you are not on the net while sharing over a network.

Joe.

Answer 3

for whatever reason you don't want to drive to appear mapped you can not change that...all you can do is to format all the C: hard drives on your computers to NTFS and remove all permissions from users to those drives. you will have to change the default locations where any and ALL apps store data locally since the users won't have read/write permission to that drive.

there are a lot easier ways to do what you are trying to do...

Answer 4

The only way it's going to appear as a 'local' drive is if you physically install it into the computer. End of story.

Answer 5

open my computer on each computer and right click.
Select map network drive.
Enter the location you want and give it a name.

Answer 6

i dont comprehend one hundred%, yet i comprehend in case you acceptable click on the force, there's a record-sharing tab on there. possibly you are able to desire to permit different networked desktops permission on your force?