16.1 NET USE

Source: Native NT command

Client OS: Windows NT

Target OS: Windows NT

Description:  NET USE utilizes NetBIOS to map a drive or establish a connection to a share on a remote system. This is particularly useful when trying to access a system share to obtain information or access to the system. NET USE is also used for a null session, which is described in further detail in Section 16.2.

Use:  The NET USE command uses the following syntax:

C:\>net use * \\servername\share$ password /user:domain\username

If the command is successful you will see the message, “The command completed successfully.” In this example, servername could be either the NetBIOS name or the IP address for the system. Switching from one to the other may cause some of the commands to not work properly. The * specifies that the next available drive letter should be used for the connection. For the user name, the domain is not necessary if the account you are using is a local account instead of a domain account. We recommend you be consistent with the use of the NetBIOS name or IP address during the test.

Benefit:  The tool enables you to map drives from the command line.

Con:  If you are used to using the GUI, it could take you some time to get comfortable with the command line syntax.