New-PSDrive

Syntax

New-PSDrive
   [-Name] <String>
   [-PSProvider] <String>
   [-Root] <String>
   [-Description <String>]
   [-Scope <String>]
   [-Persist]
   [-Credential <PSCredential>]
   [-WhatIf]
   [-Confirm]
   [-UseTransaction]
   [<CommonParameters>]

Description

The New-PSDrive cmdlet creates temporary and persistent drives that are mapped to or associated with a location in a data store, such as a network drive, a directory on the local computer, or a registry key, and persistent Windows mapped network drives that are associated with a file system location on a remote computer.

Temporary drives exist only in the current Windows PowerShell session and in sessions that you create in the current session. They can have any name that is valid in Windows PowerShell and can be mapped to any local or remote resource. You can use temporary Windows PowerShell drives to access data in the associated data store, just as you would do with any mapped network drive. You can change locations into the drive, by using Set-Location, cd , or chdir , and access the contents of the drive by using Get-Item, Get-ChildItem, or dir .

However, because temporary drives are known only to Windows PowerShell, you cannot access them by using File Explorer, Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI), Component Object Model (COM), or the Microsoft .NET Framework, or by using tools such as Net Use.

The following features are added to New-PSDrive in Windows PowerShell 3.0:

• Mapped network drives. You can use the Persist parameter of New-PSDrive to create Windows mapped network drives. Unlike temporary Windows PowerShell drives, Windows mapped network drives are not session-specific. They are saved in Windows and they can be managed by using standard Windows tools, such as File Explorer and Net Use. Mapped network drives must have a drive-letter name and be connected to a remote file system location. When your command is scoped locally (no dot-sourcing), the Persist parameter does not persist the creation of a PSDrive beyond the scope in which the command is running. If you are running New-PSDrive inside a script, and you want the drive to persist indefinitely, you must dot-source the script. For best results, to force a new drive to persist indefinitely, add the Scope parameter to your command, and set its value to Global.
• External drives. When an external drive is connected to the computer, Windows PowerShell automatically adds a PSDrive to the file system that represents the new drive. You do not have to restart Windows PowerShell. Similarly, when an external drive is disconnected from the computer, Windows PowerShell automatically deletes the PSDrive that represents the removed drive.
• External drives. When an external drive is connected to the computer, Windows PowerShell automatically adds a PSDrive to the file system that represents the new drive. You do not have to restart Windows PowerShell. Similarly, when an external drive is disconnected from the computer, Windows PowerShell automatically deletes the PSDrive that represents the removed drive.
• Credentials for UNC Paths. When the value of the Root parameter is a UNC path, such as \\Server\Share, the credential specified in the value of the Credential parameter is used to create the PSDrive . Otherwise, Credential is not effective when you are creating new file system drives.

Examples

Example 1: Create a drive mapped to a network share

PS C:\> New-PSDrive -Name "P" -PSProvider "FileSystem" -Root "\\Server01\Public"



Name       Provider      Root

----       --------      ----

P          FileSystem    \\Server01\Public

This command creates a temporary Windows PowerShell drive named P: that is mapped to the \\Server01\Public network share.

It uses the Name parameter to specify a name for the drive, the PSProvider parameter to specify the Windows PowerShell FileSystem provider, and the Root parameter to specify the network share.

When the command finishes, the contents of the \\Server01\Public share appear in the P: drive. To see them, type: dir P: .

Example 2: Create a temporary drive

PS C:\> New-PSDrive -Name MyDocs -PSProvider FileSystem -Root "C:\Documents and Settings\User01\My Documents" -Description "Maps to my My Documents folder."



Name       Provider      Root

----       --------      ----

MyDocs     FileSystem    C:\Documents and Settings\User01\My Documents

This command creates a temporary Windows PowerShell drive that provides quick access to a local directory. It creates a drive named MyDocs: that is mapped to the "C:\Documents and Settings\User01\My Documents" directory on the local computer.

It uses Name to specify a name for the drive, PSProvider to specify the Windows PowerShell FileSystem provider, Root to specify the path of the My Documents folder, and the Description parameter to create a description of the drive.

When the command finishes, the contents of the My Documents folder appear in the MyDocs: drive. To see them, type: dir MyDocs: .

Example 3: Create a drive for a registry key

PS C:\> New-PSDrive -Name "MyCompany" -PSProvider "Registry" -Root "HKLM:\Software\MyCompany"



Name       Provider      Root

----       --------      ----

MyCompany  Registry      HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\MyCo...

This command creates a temporary Windows PowerShell drive that provides quick access to a frequently checked registry key. It creates a drive named MyCompany that is mapped to the HKLM\Software\MyCompany registry key.

It uses Name to specify a name for the drive, PSProvider to specify the Windows PowerShell Registry provider, and Root to specify the registry key.

When the command finishes, the contents of the MyCompany key appear in the MyCompany: drive. To see them, type: dir MyCompany: .

Example 4: Create a persisted mapped network drive

PS C:\> New-PSDrive -Name "S" -Root "\\Server01\Scripts" -Persist -PSProvider "FileSystem"

PS C:\> Net Use

Status       Local     Remote                    Network

---------------------------------------------------------

OK           S:        \\Server01\Scripts        Microsoft Windows Network

This command creates the S mapped network drive on the local computer. The S drive is mapped to the \\Server01\Scripts network share.

The command uses New-PSDrive to create the mapped network drive. It uses Persist to create a Windows mapped network drive that is saved on the local computer.

The command uses Name to specify a letter name that Windows accepts and Root to specify a location on a remote computer. It uses PSProvider to specify the FileSystem provider.

The resulting drive can be viewed in other Windows PowerShell sessions on the local computer, in Windows Explorer, and in other tools, such as Net Use.

Example 5: Create persistent and temporary drives

The first command uses the **New-PSDrive** cmdlet to create a temporary Windows PowerShell drive called PSDrive: that is mapped to the \\Server01\Public network share.

PS C:\> New-PSDrive -Name "PSDrive" -PSProvider "FileSystem" -Root "\\Server01\Public"



The second command uses the *Persist* parameter of **New-PSDrive** to create the X: mapped network drive, which is also mapped to the \\Server01\Public network share.

PS C:\> New-PSDrive -Persist -Name "X" -PSProvider "FileSystem" -Root "\\Server01\Public"



Now, you can use the **Get-PSDrive** drive cmdlet to examine the two drives. The drives appear to be the same, although the network share name appears only in the root of the PSDrive: drive.

PS C:\> Get-PSDrive -Name "PSDrive", "X"

Name       Provider      Root

----       --------      ----



PsDrive    FileSystem    \\Server01\public

X          FileSystem    X:\



The output of the Get-Member cmdlet shows that the drives have the same object type, System.Management.Automation.PSDriveInfo.

PS C:\> Get-PSDrive "PSDrive", "x" | Get-Member

TypeName: System.Management.Automation.PSDriveInfo







Name                MemberType Definition

----                ---------- ----------

CompareTo           Method     System.Int32 CompareTo(PSDriveInfo drive),

Equals              Method     System.Boolean Equals(Object obj),

GetHashCode         Method     System.Int32 GetHashCode()

...





However, a Net Use command, a Get-WmiObject command for the Win32_LogicalDisk class, and a **Get-WmiObject** command for the Win32_NetworkConnection class find only the persistent X: drive because Windows PowerShell temporary drives are known only to Windows PowerShell.If you close the Windows PowerShell session and then open a new one, the PSDrive: drive is gone, and the X: drive persists. Therefore, when deciding which method to use to map network drives, consider how you will use the drive, whether it has to be persistent, and whether the drive has to be visible to other Windows features.

PS C:\> Net Use



Status       Local     Remote                    Network

--------------------------------------------------------

OK           X:        \\contoso-pc\data            Microsoft Windows Network



PS C:\> Get-WmiObject Win32_LogicalDisk | Format-Table -Property DeviceID



deviceid

--------

C:

D:

X:



PS C:\> Get-WmiObject Win32_NetworkConnection



LocalName                  RemoteName                 ConnectionState            Status

---------                  ----------              ---------------               ------

X:                         \\products\public          Disconnected               Unavailable

This example shows the difference between a persistent mapped network drive and a temporary Windows PowerShell drive that is mapped to the same network share.

Required Parameters

Optional Parameters

Inputs

None

You cannot pipe input to this cmdlet.

Outputs

System.Management.Automation.PSDriveInfo

Notes

• New-PSDrive is designed to work with the data exposed by any provider. To list the providers available in your session, use Get-PSProvider . For more information about providers, see about_Providers .
• Mapped network drives are specific to a user account. Mapped network drives that you create in sessions that are started by using the Run as administrator option or by using the credential of another user are not visible in a session that was started without explicit credentials, or by using the credentials of the current user.

Related Links

• Get-PSDrive
• Remove-PSDrive