Win 11 Home Ver 24H2 Network Drive Connection Issues

Hello,

Thank you for reaching out

It sounds like you've already made some good progress troubleshooting your issue with connecting to your WD MyCloud network drive, but the automatic reconnection issue persists. Here's a more comprehensive approach to resolve the problem:

1. Check Windows Credentials Manager

Sometimes, even though you enter the correct credentials when mapping the network drive, Windows may not store them properly for reconnection. Go to Control Panel > User Accounts > Credential Manager, and ensure that your WD MyCloud credentials are saved there.

If you don't see them, add a new Windows Credential with the following:

Network Address: The IP address or network name of the WD MyCloud device (e.g., \<WD_MyCloud_IP> or \WDMyCloud).

Username: The username for the MyCloud device (usually admin or the one you created).

Password: The associated password.

2. Enable SMB v1 or v2 (if needed)

Windows 11 has dropped support for SMBv1, but some devices, especially older ones like the WD MyCloud, still rely on it.

To check if you need SMB v1:

• Press Win + X, then select Apps and Features.
• Under Optional Features, check if SMB 1.0 is installed. If not, you can install it.
• Alternatively, you may enable SMB v2 by ensuring that Windows Features have SMB 1.0/CIFS File Sharing Support enabled.

If you choose to enable SMBv1, be aware that it is not as secure as the newer versions, and should be used cautiously.

3. Configure Group Policy to Reconnect Network Drives Automatically

Open Local Group Policy Editor by typing gpedit.msc in the Start Menu.

Navigate to: User Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Logon.

Find Reconnect network drives at logon and ensure it is set to Enabled.

Apply the settings and restart the system.

4. Modify the Network Drive Mapping Script

Create a batch file that automatically reconnects the network drive after each restart. You can do this by:

• Open Notepad and enter the following script:
• net use Z: /delete
• net use Z: \<WD_MyCloud_IP>\Public /user:<YourUsername> <YourPassword> /persistent:yes

Replace Z: with the desired drive letter, and <YourUsername> and <YourPassword> with your MyCloud login credentials.

• Save the file with a .bat extension.
• Add this batch file to your Startup folder (to run it at login):

Press Win + R, type shell:startup, and hit Enter.

Place your .bat file in this folder.

5. Disable Windows Fast Startup

Fast Startup can sometimes interfere with network drive reconnections. To disable it:

• Go to Control Panel > Power Options > Choose what the power buttons do.
• Click Change settings that are currently unavailable.
• Uncheck Turn on fast startup (recommended) and Save changes.
• Restart your system to see if it resolves the issue.

6. Check WD MyCloud Settings

Ensure that your WD MyCloud device is configured correctly for network access, and there are no settings that would interfere with persistent connections (like timeouts or auto-disconnect).

Let me know if any of these steps work or if you're still having trouble!

I tried all but the gpedit option since I have Win 11 Home version and thought I would see if any of the other options worked before installing, perhaps unecessarily, the local group policy software. With gratitude, the Western Digital MyCloud drive and the shared Public folder now working on my new Win 11 PC., i.e., is available automatically upon restart without me having to manually connect to it Thank you for your help.