Unleash The Full Potential Of Your Windows 7: Learn How To Mount A Drive As A Folder!

Windows 7 is a versatile and powerful operating system that has become an indispensable tool for millions of users worldwide. While it offers a wealth of built-in tools and features, there are still many hidden gems that most people never discover. One of these hidden gems is the ability to mount a drive as a folder, which can be a game-changer for anyone looking to improve their productivity and streamline their workflow.

Mounting a drive as a folder essentially means that you can access the contents of the drive as if it were just another folder on your computer. This can be incredibly useful if you work with a lot of files or frequently access files on an external drive or networked drive. Instead of having to navigate to the drive every time you want to access it, you can simply access it as if it were a part of your local file system.

So, how do you mount a drive as a folder? Fortunately, the process is relatively straightforward and can be done in just a few simple steps. Here’s how:

Step 1: Open Windows Explorer

To begin, you’ll need to open Windows Explorer (also known as File Explorer). You can do this by clicking on the Windows icon in the bottom left-hand corner of your screen and then selecting “File Explorer” from the menu.

Step 2: Select “Computer” from the left-hand menu

Once you’ve opened Windows Explorer, you’ll see a menu on the left-hand side of the screen that includes options such as “Quick Access,” “This PC,” and “Network.” Select “Computer” from this menu.

Step 3: Click on “Map network drive”

At the top of the window, you should now see a toolbar that includes a variety of options. Click on the option that says “Map network drive.”

Step 4: Choose the drive you want to mount

In the dialog box that appears, you’ll be asked to choose the drive you want to mount. This can be a local drive, an external drive, or a networked drive.

Step 5: Choose the option to “Connect using different credentials”

If you’re mounting a networked drive, you may be prompted to enter your login credentials. If so, choose the option to “Connect using different credentials” and enter your login information.

Step 6: Choose the drive letter you want to use

Next, you’ll be asked to choose the drive letter you want to use. This is the letter that will be used to access the drive as a folder.

Step 7: Choose the option to “Reconnect at sign-in”

Finally, check the box that says “Reconnect at sign-in” if you want the drive to be mounted automatically every time you log in to your computer.

That’s it! Once you’ve completed these steps, the drive will be mounted as a folder and you can access it just like any other folder on your computer.

In conclusion, learning how to mount a drive as a folder is a simple but powerful trick that can help you to work more efficiently and effectively. By following the steps outlined above, you can take full advantage of this hidden gem in Windows 7 and unleash the full potential of your computer.

Mounting a drive to a folder path can have its benefits and inconveniences. For example, if you’re already sharing content in your network, you probably have one or several network map drives. The problem is that as you add more drives to the network, you start adding more map points to the computer. This can quickly add-up and they can start getting you confuse (Music in drive M, Movie on X, Pictures on P, Documents on D, and so on), and it’s hard to keep-up.

Having a single drive with mount points to other drives can make it easier to host your content. The steps below will show you the process to mount a drive to an empty folder in Windows 7 using the Command Prompt and Computer Management.

  • How to mount a drive as a folder using Command Prompt
  • How to mount a drive as a folder using Computer Management

How to mount a drive as a folder using Command Prompt

  • Open File Explorer.
  • Create an empty folder in the location that you want the mount point to be. For example, C:\mountpoint.
  • Open Start.
  • Search for Command Prompt, right-click the result, and select Run as Administrator.
  • Type the following command to run DiskPart and press Enter:
  • diskpart
  • Type the following command to list all the volume in your computer and press Enter:
  • list volume
  • Type the following command making sure selecting the drive you want to assign to a folder path and press Enter:
  • select volume 4
  • In the command, remember to replace 4 with the number for the drive you want to mount.
  • Type the following command to mount a drive as a folder and press Enter:
  • assign mount=C:\mountpoint

You should now be able to see all the content of the new drive inside of the mounted folder.

Open File Explorer.

Create an empty folder in the location that you want the mount point to be. For example, C:\mountpoint.

Open Start.

Search for Command Prompt, right-click the result, and select Run as Administrator.

Type the following command to run DiskPart and press Enter:

diskpart

Type the following command to list all the volume in your computer and press Enter:

list volume

Type the following command making sure selecting the drive you want to assign to a folder path and press Enter:

select volume 4

In the command, remember to replace 4 with the number for the drive you want to mount.

Type the following command to mount a drive as a folder and press Enter:

assign mount=C:\mountpoint

How to mount a drive as a folder using Computer Management

Alternatively, you can use the Computer Management, which is a more user-friendly graphical interface that you can use to accomplish this task.

  • Open Start.
  • Search for Computer Management and click the result.
  • Select Disk Management from the left pane.
  • Right-click the drive you want to mount to a folder path and select Change Drive Letter and Paths.
  • Click the Add button.
  • Select the Mount in the following empty NTFS folder option.
  • Click the Browse button.
  • Locate the empty folder you have created to work as mount point, and click OK.

Assigning a mount point folder path to a drive you can virtually add more space to your network users without having the need of creating additional network maps, all users will only have to remember one drive letter.

Search for Computer Management and click the result.

Select Disk Management from the left pane.

Right-click the drive you want to mount to a folder path and select Change Drive Letter and Paths.

Click the Add button.

Select the Mount in the following empty NTFS folder option.

Click the Browse button.

Locate the empty folder you have created to work as mount point, and click OK.

These benefits are also true for storage locally attached to your computer and you don’t have a network. You can mount a drive to an empty folder inside your documents and you will only have to remember to go to one place, plus everything will be shown in a single path, a difference from shortcuts that will simply make a jump to the original drive path.