Where Windows Stores Mapped Network Drive Registry Keys

This article explains the exact Windows Registry location where user-specific mapped network drives and their persistent connection states are stored. It covers the specific registry path under the user hive, the individual values stored for each mapped drive letter, and how the operating system reads this information to restore network connections across user sessions.

The Registry Path for Persistent Network Drives

Windows records user-specific mapped network drives and their persistence settings directly in the HKEY_CURRENT_USER hive. The exact path is:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Network

Inside the Network key, Windows creates a dedicated subkey for every drive letter mapped by the currently logged-in user (for example, HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Network\Z for the Z: drive).

Recorded Registry Values and Connection States

Each drive letter subkey contains several values that define how the connection behaves and where it connects:

• RemotePath (REG_SZ): Stores the Universal Naming Convention (UNC) path to the shared network folder (e.g., \\ServerName\ShareName).
• ProviderName (REG_SZ): Identifies the network provider responsible for the share, typically set to Microsoft Windows Network for standard SMB shares.
• ProviderType (REG_DWORD): Specifies the network provider type code used internally by the Windows network subsystem (typically 0x00020000 for Lanman/SMB).
• ConnectionType (REG_DWORD): Defines the connection resource type, where 1 represents a standard redirected disk drive.
• UserName (REG_SZ): Stores the specific username used to establish the connection if different credentials from the current logon session were supplied.
• DeferFlags (REG_DWORD): Manages connection restoration flags, including deferred or asynchronous reconnection behavior at system logon.

How Windows Uses This Data

When a user maps a drive with the “Reconnect at sign-in” option enabled (or uses the net use <Drive>: \\server\share /persistent:yes command), Windows writes the configuration to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Network\<DriveLetter>.

During subsequent user logon events, the Windows shell queries this registry location to restore the assigned drive letters and reconnect to the specified network shares automatically. Removing a mapped drive via File Explorer or the command line deletes the corresponding drive letter key from HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Network.