How to Disconnect a Mapped Network Drive

This wikiHow teaches you how to disconnect a mapped network drive from your computer network. You can do this on both Windows and Mac computers.

Method 1
Method 1 of 2:

On Windows

  1. Image titled Disconnect a Mapped Network Drive Step 1
    1
    Open Start
    Windows Start
    .     Click the Windows logo in the bottom-left corner of the screen.
  2. Image titled Disconnect a Mapped Network Drive Step 2
    2
    Open File Explorer
    Windows Start Explorer
    .     Click the folder-shaped icon in the bottom-left side of the Start window.
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  3. Image titled Disconnect a Mapped Network Drive Step 3
    3
    Click This PC. It's a computer-shaped item on the left side of the File Explorer window. You may have to scroll up or down here to find it.
  4. Image titled Disconnect a Mapped Network Drive Step 4
    4
    Click the Computer tab. You'll find this in the upper-left side of the File Explorer window. Clicking it prompts a toolbar to appear at the top of the window.
  5. Image titled Disconnect a Mapped Network Drive Step 5
    5
    Click Map network drive ▼. It's in the "Network" section of the toolbar. A drop-down menu will appear.
    • Make sure you click the bottom half of this icon and not the top half, as clicking the top half will open a new Network Drive window.
  6. Image titled Disconnect a Mapped Network Drive Step 6
    6
    Click Disconnect network drive. This option is at the bottom of the drop-down menu. Clicking it will prompt a window with a list of all connected network drives to open.
  7. Image titled Disconnect a Mapped Network Drive Step 7
    7
    Select a network drive. Click on the drive that you want to disconnect.
  8. Image titled Disconnect a Mapped Network Drive Step 8
    8
    Click OK. It's at the bottom of the window. This will disconnect the drive.
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Method 2
Method 2 of 2:

On Mac

  1. Image titled Disconnect a Mapped Network Drive Step 9
    1
    Open Finder. Click the blue, face-like app icon in your Mac's Dock.
  2. Image titled Disconnect a Mapped Network Drive Step 10
    2
    Locate your mapped drive. On the left side of the Finder window, look for the name of the network drive that you want to disconnect. You'll usually find this below a "Shared" heading.
  3. Image titled Disconnect a Mapped Network Drive Step 11
    3
    Select the drive. Click the mapped network drive that you want to disconnect.
  4. Image titled Disconnect a Mapped Network Drive Step 12
    4
    Click Disconnect. It's in the main Finder window. Doing so will disconnect your drive from the computer network.
    • If you don't see Disconnect, you can also click the "Eject" button to the right of the network drive.
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About This Article

Jack Lloyd
Written by:
Jack Lloyd
wikiHow Technology Writer
This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Jack Lloyd. Jack Lloyd is a Technology Writer and Editor for wikiHow. He has over two years of experience writing and editing technology-related articles. He is technology enthusiast and an English teacher. This article has been viewed 245,962 times.
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Co-authors: 18
Updated: July 12, 2021
Views: 245,962
Categories: Operating Systems
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