Using the command line to delete a Windows mapped network drive

Preface

I have to complain a bit—Windows is really a hot mess.

I've been criticizing Windows since college, and I can't believe it's still this bad now 🤣

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I recently upgraded my NAS.

Previously, these three network mapped drives (W:, X:, Y:) were mapped to the TKL FileServer via SMB.

Now that I've migrated to TrueNAS, I need to remap them.

But these right-click menus keep freezing.

Solution

Windows Explorer requests the shared status (capacity, thumbnails, context menu extensions) of these shares when you right-click. If the NAS is unresponsive or the network is slow, it can freeze.

You can remove them via the command line instead.

Open PowerShell with administrator privileges.

net use

Output

$ net use
New connections will be remembered.


Status       Local    Remote                     Network

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Disconnected W:       \\192.168.10.201\ssd      Microsoft Windows Network
Disconnected X:       \\192.168.10.201\data     Microsoft Windows Network
Reconnecting Y:       \\192.168.10.201\pan      Microsoft Windows Network
The command completed successfully.

Delete the corresponding network drives.

net use X: /delete
net use Y: /delete
net use W: /delete

If you encounter the prompt "The connection is currently in use," add /y to force the deletion.

net use X: /delete /y

Refresh File Explorer, and the drives will no longer appear.

Suggestion

I read on the forum that this issue has existed since the XP era.

I didn't expect Windows 10 to still not have fixed it 🤣

The suggestion is to place network drive mappings inside folders to avoid lag.

Additionally, Windows also has an issue where opening Task Manager causes lag. I used the system integrity check commands, which improved the situation afterward.

sfc /scannow
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

1. sfc /scannow

• SFC = System File Checker
• Checks whether protected files in the system have been modified or corrupted.
• If issues are found, it will attempt to repair them using copies from the WinSxS cache.
• However, this assumes that WinSxS itself is intact.

2. DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

• DISM = Deployment Image Servicing and Management
• Operates at a more fundamental level, primarily repairing the WinSxS component store (the system's "backup parts warehouse").
• Parameter explanation:
  • /Online → Applies to the currently running system (not an offline image).
  • /Cleanup-Image → Performs cleanup or repair on the system image.
  • /RestoreHealth → Checks and repairs corrupted files within WinSxS.
• If WinSxS itself is corrupted (which causes sfc /scannow to fail), DISM is needed first to repair WinSxS.

References

https://fast.v2ex.com/t/1002754