A network drive is a valuable asset in any organization, as it allows multiple users to access shared files and resources hassle-free.
However, sometimes you may encounter a situation when network drives may not appear on your device, causing inconvenience and disruption to your workflow.
Such instances can occur due to network compatibility issues, incorrect drive mapping, disabled network options, outdated drivers, or any similar reasons.
Luckily, there are several professional data recovery software as well as manual methods available that you can try to fix such network driver-related issues.
In this comprehensive guide, we will explore various easy ways to fix network drive not showing issues, ensuring that your shared resources are always accessible.
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What Causes Network Drive Not Showing Issue?
Before you proceed with the solutions, it is important to understand the common causes behind network drive accessibility issues. Some common reasons why network drive may not appear on your device are:
- Network Connectivity Issues: Poor or disrupted network connections can prevent the network drive from appearing.
- Turned off Network Discovery: If network discovery is disabled on your device, it may not detect the network drive.
- Outdated Drivers: Outdated or corrupted network drivers are also one of the main reasons why the drive may not appear.
- Windows Updates: Certain Windows updates might cause network drives to disappear or make them inaccessible.
- File Explorer Settings: Improperly configured settings in File Explorer can hide network drives.
Now that you are familiar with the causes for the network drive not showing error, it’s time to apply quick workarounds to get the issue resolved.
How do I Fix the Network Drive Not Showing Error?
Here are some commonly used easy ways to fix network drives not showing errors. So, let’s get started!
Method 01: Check Network Connectivity
The first method to resolve this issue is by checking and ensuring that your network connection is stable and functioning correctly. For this:
- Verify Network Connection: Check if your computer is properly connected to the network. For this, locate the network icon in the system tray and ensure that there is a proper connectivity status.
- Restart Network Devices: Some minor network-related issues can be resolved by restarting the router, and modem. If not, you can switch to refresh the network connection by disconnecting all the cables and then establishing the connection again.
Method 02: Configure Network Proxy Settings
Configuring the network proxy settings can sometimes resolve the network drive not showing an error.
This method best works when the proxy server, which manages and controls internet access is not configured correctly.
Improper configuration may lead to network connectivity issues, including problems accessing network drives.
To fix the network drive not showing error by configuring network proxy settings, you need to:
- Press the Windows + I keys on your device to launch Settings, and select Network & Internet.
- Now, click the Change adapter option from the Status pane.
- Right-click on Ethernet and then select the “Properties” option.
- After that, click on Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/Pv4) located under the Networking tab.
- Choose Properties and from the pop-up window that appears, select the “Obtain an IP address automatically” and “Obtain DNS server address automatically” options.
- Navigate back to the Status tab. Locate the “Change adapter options” option and then select “Sharing Options.”
- From the new window that appears, check if the “Network Discovery” section is on. Expand the “Private” section to confirm this. After confirming if the option is enabled, select the “Save Changes” option to save the changes.
Method 03: Enable the SMB Features
You also enable SMB (Server Message Block) features on your Windows device to fix the network drive not showing up error.
SMB is a network file-sharing protocol that allows installed software programs and users to read and write to files and request services from server programs in a computer network. Follow the below steps to enable SMB features to fix the network drive not showing error:
- Firstly, type “Programs and features” in the search box of your desktop.
- Now, locate and select the “Turn Windows features on or off” option from the left pane. From the pop-up window that appears, go through all the Windows features.
- Scroll down and select the box next to the “SMB 1.0/CIFS File Sharing Support” option. Also, expand it and check all the sub-options as well.
- Click the OK button to apply the changes. Once done, restart your device to enable the changes.
What if Files/Folders Get Deleted While Fixing the Network Drive Not Showing Error?
Instances may occur when you lose important files or folders on your Windows device while applying the above easy ways to fix the network drive not showing error.
In such cases, you can use professional data recovery software to get your deleted data back.
Stellar Data Recovery Professional is an all-in-one recovery software that can easily restore your data deleted from your laptop/PC, any external storage drive, SSDs, Hard Drives, etc.
You can use the Stellar Data Recovery Professional tool to restore lost data of any type, including photos, videos, documents, and many more.
The software supports the recovery of files deleted due to any reason, such as accidental deletion, formatting, lost partition, and many more.
Here’s how to recover lost files when mapped drives not showing in Windows:
Step 1: Download and install the Stellar Data Recovery Professional tool on your device. Launch the software and from the homepage, select the type of file you would like to restore and click Next.
Step 2: Select the folder location where your deleted files were earlier stored and click Scan. After successfully completing the scanning process, preview the recoverable files.
Step 3: Select the items you want to recover and click the Recover button to save them at the desired location.
Wrapping Up
Hope the above easy ways to fix the network drive not showing errors help you to resolve the issue. We have covered all the possible quick workarounds in this article.
However, if you experience data loss instances while applying these methods, you can use professional data recovery software like Stellar Data Recovery Professional to restore lost data.
The software can restore all types of deleted data, even if they are permanently removed in three simple steps.
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