Microsoft OneDrive is a way to store files in the cloud and share them with others for collaboration. Each user at UNC (faculty/staff/students) has access to 5TB of cloud storage via OneDrive as part of UNC's Microsoft Campus Agreement. What Is OneDrive? Microsoft OneDrive is a cloud storage service that is part of Microsoft Office 365. This service is available to faculty, staff and students. Bellow are some of the benefits that OneDrive can offer. 1 terabyte (TB) cloud storage. Access to Files Anytime, Anywhere via https://onedrive.unc.edu. To Access OneDrive, visit log in with your UNCW credentials and click the “App launcher” button in the top left of the screen to find the link to OneDrive. The Office 365 system is owned and operated by Microsoft. By using this system, you acknowledge notice of and agree to comply with ITS and University Policies, Standards and Procedures, which are available at: ITS Policies, Procedures and Guidelines and UNC Policies, Standards and Procedures.
These days, we are flooded with many online cloud file hosting services that we can use to save our files. But after Microsoft came up with the 100s of free GBs in promotions like Bing Rewards, I opted to go with it. The brand value of Microsoft that comes with OneDrive was an added advantage.
Every cloud hosting service has its online dashboard to upload/download and manage files. But nothing comforts a Windows user more than seeing the files in the familiar Explorer view. So let’s see how to map OneDrive as a Network Drive on Windows to manage files just like any other file we have on the OS.
In addition to that, I will also show you simple commands to connect and disconnect the files using the command prompt so that you can add the drive even without admin access.
Cool Tip: Want to access your Android files in Explorer view? Check this article to see how to map Android as a Network Drive.Mapping OneDrive to Windows
Step 1: Open the OneDrive home page on your desktop and log in to your account. After the OneDrive home page opens up, right-click on the option that says File just below the search option and copy the link to the clipboard.
Step 2: Now, open the Notepad or any other text editor and paste the copied link. The link will look something like:
https://onedrive.live.com/?cid=xxxxxxxxxxThe xxx represents some alphanumeric characters that are unique to your account. Now all you need to do is replace the OneDrive URL before the CID code with https://d.docs.live.net/. See example below.
https://d.docs.live.net/18dra28d5ssStep 3: Now we are going to map that link as a Network Drive. Open Computer on Windows 7 or 8 and click on the option Map Network Drive from the top bar. For Windows 8 users the option might be hidden under the ribbon.
Step 4: Now assign a letter to the drive and paste the link where it asks you to specify the server address. Finally, click on Finish and Windows will try to connect to the specified network drive. In the process, it will ask for your OneDrive login credentials. On a personal computer, you can check the option to remember the credentials, but for shared systems or public computers, leave the option unchecked.
Unc Onedrive Login
That’s all, after successful authentication, you should be able to access your OneDrive directly using Windows Explorer. Don’t worry about the used/free space you see on the drive, it’s just mirroring the space of your system drive and is not the actual data.
That was how you can map OneDrive as a Network Drive and access it directly from the Windows explorer. But let me tell you a quick command prompt trick that can map the drive without administrative rights and delete it from a public computer once the work is done.
Mapping Network Drive using Command Prompt
Assuming that you already have the OneDrive map link with your unique CID on the notepad, open the command prompt and give the following command.
net use y: https://d.docs.live.net/xxxxxxxxxxxxOne Drive Live
You will be asked to enter your OneDrive login credentials and once that’s validated, the drive will be mapped to the path on your Windows Explorer. To delete the mapped drive, you can use the following command.
net use y: /deleteThis is a clean and useful way to access your shared drive on any computer, be it shared or public, without leaving any footprints. The speed of file transfers depends on the speed of connectivity and you might get a ‘Windows Not Responding’ error while copying. But that should leave once the files are successfully copied. Still, this is just a workaround for public computers and cannot replace the OneDrive official app.
Conclusion
OneDrive is the only one that gives you the option to map network drives without downloading any additional software. If you are aware of tricks for Google Drive or Dropbox, please do share with us. If you are getting an error message, just reach out to me and we can try to fix it together.
The above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.
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Open a web browser and go to http://onedrive.unc.edu and log in with your onyen@ad.unc.edu Click the Sync icon This will open the OneDrive setup app. *If OneDrive does not launch you will have to download and install the app. Windows or MacOS Here you will use your onyen@ad.unc.edu to sign in. Once you have successfully authenticated you will be asked what files and folders you would like to synchronize with your computer. These items with be downloaded to your computer and will exists on both your computer hard drive and in the OneDrive cloud. Please note that while you have 1TB of cloud storage space with OneDrive, the hard drive you are syncing to may not have that much free space. Open a web browser and go to http://onedrive.unc.edu and log in with your onyen@ad.unc.edu Click the dotted menu next to the item you would like to share. Type the email address of the person you would like to give access and click send. You may share with someone within the UNC organization with no extra steps. If you are sharing documents with someone outside of UNC they will need to setup a free Microsoft account. They will be prompted to do so when attempting to view your shared documents the first time. If you have any questions that this guide does not cover please contact Biology IT Support here:https://go.unc.edu/bitsOneDrive File Syncronization
Document Sharing
Unc Onedrive Login