Group Policy preference drive mapping tool failing to clean up old legacy network share links

Question

Hi admins, we retired an old file storage server and replaced it with a modern DFS namespace link. I adjusted our corporate login GPO preference setting to "Replace" the old drive mapping link with the new target path. However, client machines are displaying both the old dead drive letter mapping and the new link simultaneously.

Answer 1

Hi Laura Wagner,

The behavior you’re seeing usually happens because the old mapping was created with a different action type (like “Update” or “Create”), and the new “Replace” setting doesn’t fully clean up the legacy link. As a result, Windows ends up showing both the dead mapping and the new one.

To fix this, I recommend explicitly setting the preference item to “Delete” the old drive mapping first, then adding the new DFS path as a separate “Create” or “Replace” action. You can also enable the “Remove when not applied” option in the GPO preference item, which ensures that any drive mappings not valid anymore are cleaned up automatically. After making these changes, run gpupdate /force on a test machine to confirm the old mapping disappears.

Another tip is to check the item-level targeting conditions, sometimes a mismatch there can cause both mappings to appear. Cleaning up the legacy entry and re‑deploying the new one usually resolves the issue across all endpoints.

I hope the response provided some helpful insight. If you find this answer useful, please hit “accept answer” so I know it addressed your concern.

Jason.

Answer 2

Configure the Drive Maps preference so that it actively removes the legacy mapping instead of only adding the new one, and ensure no other GPO or script is re‑creating the old drive.

Use this approach:

1. In Group Policy Management Editor, edit the existing GPO that handles the login drive mappings.
2. Under User Configuration → Preferences → Windows Settings → Drive Maps, locate the old drive mapping item that points to the retired file server.
3. For that legacy mapping item, set Action to Delete (or create a new Drive Map item with the same drive letter and old path and set its Action to Delete).
4. Keep the new DFS mapping as a separate Drive Map item using Create or Replace for the same drive letter and the new DFS path.
5. Run gpupdate /force on a test client, sign out and sign back in, and verify that only the DFS mapping remains.
6. If the old mapping still appears, use Process Monitor as described to identify any logon script or additional GPO that is issuing a net use for the old path and remove or update that script.

If Resultant Set of Policy (RSoP) still shows the old Drive Maps preference after removal or disabling, enable the Configure Purge RSOP behavior policy so that stale Drive Maps data is purged:

1. In the same GPO, go to User Configuration → Policies → Administrative Templates → All Settings.
2. Open Configure Purge RSOP behavior.
3. Set it to Enabled and set the value to 0x00000001.
4. Apply the policy and refresh Group Policy on clients.

This combination ensures the legacy mapping is explicitly deleted, the new DFS mapping is applied, and stale RSoP data does not mislead troubleshooting.

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References:

• Drive Maps preferences are still displayed in Group Policy RSoP after they are removed or disabled
• Group Policy Preferences removes manual drive mappings if the use first available setting is enabled
• Scenario guide: GPO to map a network drive doesn't apply as expected