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Disconnect a User

  • Article

Applies To: Windows Server 2008

You can disconnect users from a shared folder by using the Shared Folders MMC snap-in or by using the command prompt. You cannot disconnect users through Windows Explorer.

Important

Users may lose data if disconnected without warning. When possible, notify users before disconnecting them.

Disconnect a user or users

  • Using the Windows interface

  • Using a command line

To disconnect a user or all users from a shared folder or drive by using the Windows interface

  1. Open Computer Management.

    • In Windows Vista: Click Start, click Control Panel, click System and Maintenance, click Administrative Tools, and then click Computer Management.

    • In Windows Server 2008: Click Start, click Control Panel, double-click Administrative Tools, and then click Computer Management.

  2. If the User Account Control dialog box appears, confirm that the action it displays is what you want, and then click Continue.

  3. In the console tree, click System Tools, click Shared Folders, and then click Sessions.

  4. To disconnect all users, on the Action menu, click Disconnect all users. To disconnect a specific user, in the Details pane right-click the user name, and then click Close Session.

To disconnect a user or all users from a shared folder or drive by using a command line

  1. To open an elevated Command Prompt window, click Start, point to All Programs, click Accessories, right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as administrator.

  2. If the User Account Control dialog box appears, confirm that the action it displays is what you want, and then click Continue.

  3. Type:

    net session \\<computer> /delete

    For example, to disconnect a user on a computer named user_computer, which is connected to a shared folder that you are managing, type:

    net session \\user_computer /delete
Value Description

Net session

Lists or disconnects users connected to shared folders on the computer.

\\<computer>

The name of the computer accessing the shared folder.

/delete

Ends the session, and closes all open files on the computer for the session. If you omit \\computer, the command ends the sessions on the local computer.

Note

To view the complete syntax for this command, at the command prompt, type: net help session

Additional references

Command-Line Syntax Notation