New-PSDrive

Reference

Module:: Microsoft.PowerShell.Management

Creates temporary and persistent drives that are associated with a location in an item data store.

Syntax

New-PSDrive
   [-Name] <String>
   [-PSProvider] <String>
   [-Root] <String>
   [-Description <String>]
   [-Scope <String>]
   [-Persist]
   [-Credential <PSCredential>]
   [-WhatIf]
   [-Confirm]
   [-UseTransaction]
   [<CommonParameters>]

Description

The New-PSDrive cmdlet creates temporary and persistent drives that are mapped to or associated with a location in a data store, such as a network drive, a directory on the local computer, or a registry key, and persistent Windows mapped network drives that are associated with a file system location on a remote computer.

Temporary drives exist only in the current PowerShell session and in sessions that you create in the current session. They can have any name that is valid in PowerShell and can be mapped to any local or remote resource. You can use temporary PowerShell drives to access data in the associated data store, just as you would do with any mapped network drive. You can change locations into the drive, by using Set-Location, and access the contents of the drive by using Get-Item or Get-ChildItem.

Because temporary drives are known only to PowerShell, you can't access them by using File Explorer, Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI), Component Object Model (COM), Microsoft .NET Framework, or with tools such as net use.

The following features were added to New-PSDrive in PowerShell 3.0:

Mapped network drives. You can use the Persist parameter of New-PSDrive to create Windows mapped network drives. Unlike temporary PowerShell drives, Windows mapped network drives aren't session-specific. They're saved in Windows and they can be managed by using standard Windows tools, such as File Explorer and net use. Mapped network drives must have a drive-letter name and be connected to a remote file system location. When your command is scoped locally, no dot-sourcing, the Persist parameter doesn't persist the creation of a PSDrive beyond the scope in which the command is running. If you're running New-PSDrive inside a script, and you want the drive to persist indefinitely, you must dot-source the script. For best results, to force a new drive to persist indefinitely, add the Scope parameter to your command, and set its value to Global. For more information about dot-sourcing, see about_Scripts.
External drives. When an external drive is connected to the computer, PowerShell automatically adds a PSDrive to the file system that represents the new drive. You don't have to restart PowerShell. Similarly, when an external drive is disconnected from the computer, PowerShell automatically deletes the PSDrive that represents the removed drive.
Credentials for Universal Naming Convention (UNC) paths.

When the value of the Root parameter is a UNC path, such as \\Server\Share, the credential specified in the value of the Credential parameter is used to create the PSDrive. Otherwise, Credential isn't effective when you're creating new file system drives.

Some code samples use splatting to reduce the line length and improve readability. For more information, see about_Splatting.

Note

Unless you use the Scope parameter, PSDrives are created in the scope in which the New-PSDrive command is run.

Examples

This example creates a temporary PowerShell drive that's mapped to a network share.

New-PSDrive -Name "Public" -PSProvider "FileSystem" -Root "\\Server01\Public"

Name       Provider      Root
----       --------      ----
Public     FileSystem    \\Server01\Public

New-PSDrive uses the Name parameter to specify PowerShell drive named Public and the PSProvider parameter to specify the PowerShell FileSystem provider. The Root parameter specifies the network share's UNC path.

To view the contents from a PowerShell session: Get-ChildItem -Path Public:

Example 2: Create a temporary drive mapped to a local directory

This example creates a temporary PowerShell drive that provides access to a directory on the local computer.

$parameters = @{
    Name = "MyDocs"
    PSProvider = "FileSystem"
    Root = "C:\Users\User01\Documents"
    Description = "Maps to my My Documents folder."
}
New-PSDrive @parameters

Name        Provider      Root
----        --------      ----
MyDocs      FileSystem    C:\Users\User01\Documents

Splatting creates the parameter keys and values. The Name parameter specifies the drive name, MyDocs. The PSProvider parameter specifies the PowerShell FileSystem provider. Root specifies the local computer's directory. The Description parameter describes the drive's purpose. New-PSDrive uses the splatted parameters to create the MyDocs drive.

To view the contents from a PowerShell session: Get-ChildItem -Path MyDocs:

Example 3: Create a temporary drive for a registry key

This example creates a temporary PowerShell drive that provides access to a registry key. It creates a drive named MyCompany that is mapped to the HKLM:\Software\MyCompany registry key.

New-PSDrive -Name "MyCompany" -PSProvider "Registry" -Root "HKLM:\Software\MyCompany"

Name           Provider      Root
----           --------      ----
MyCompany      Registry      HKLM:\Software\MyCompany

New-PSDrive uses the Name parameter to specify PowerShell drive named MyCompany and the PSProvider parameter to specify the PowerShell Registry provider. The Root parameter specifies the registry location.

To view the contents from a PowerShell session: Get-ChildItem -Path MyCompany:

Example 4: Create a persistent mapped network drive using credentials

This example maps a network drive that's authenticated with a domain service account's credentials. For more information about the PSCredential object that stores credentials and how passwords are stored as a SecureString, see the Credential parameter's description.

$cred = Get-Credential -Credential Contoso\ServiceAccount
New-PSDrive -Name "S" -Root "\\Server01\Scripts" -Persist -PSProvider "FileSystem" -Credential $cred
Net Use

Status       Local     Remote                    Network
---------------------------------------------------------
OK           S:        \\Server01\Scripts        Microsoft Windows Network

Note

Remember, if you use the above snippet in a script, set the Scope parameter value to "Global" to ensure the drive persists outside the current scope.

The $cred variable stores a PSCredential object that contains the service account's credentials. Get-Credential prompts you to enter the password that's stored in a SecureString.

New-PSDrive creates the mapped network drive by using several parameters. Name specifies the S drive letter that Windows accepts. and Root defines \\Server01\Scripts as the location on a remote computer. Persist creates a Windows mapped network drive that's saved on the local computer. PSProvider specifies the FileSystem provider. Credential uses the $cred variable to get the service account credentials for authentication.

The mapped drive can be viewed on the local computer in PowerShell sessions, File Explorer, and with tools such as net use. To view the contents from a PowerShell session: Get-ChildItem -Path S:

Example 5: Create persistent and temporary drives

This example shows the difference between a persistent mapped network drive and a temporary PowerShell drive that is mapped to the same network share.

If you close the PowerShell session and then open a new session, the temporary PSDrive: isn't available, but the persistent X: drive is available. When deciding which method to use to map network drives, consider how you'll use the drive. For example, whether it has to be persistent, and whether the drive has to be visible to other Windows features.

# Create a temporary PowerShell drive called PSDrive:
# that's mapped to the \\Server01\Public network share.
New-PSDrive -Name "PSDrive" -PSProvider "FileSystem" -Root "\\Server01\Public"

# Use the Persist parameter of New-PSDrive to create the X: mapped network drive,
# which is also mapped to the \\Server01\Public network share.
New-PSDrive -Persist -Name "X" -PSProvider "FileSystem" -Root "\\Server01\Public"

# Now, you can use the Get-PSDrive drive cmdlet to examine the two drives.
# The drives appear to be the same, although the network share name appears only
# in the root of the PSDrive: drive.
Get-PSDrive -Name "PSDrive", "X"

Name       Provider      Root
----       --------      ----

PsDrive    FileSystem    \\Server01\public
X          FileSystem    X:\

# Get-Member cmdlet shows that the drives have the same object type,
# System.Management.Automation.PSDriveInfo.
Get-PSDrive "PSDrive", "x" | Get-Member

TypeName: System.Management.Automation.PSDriveInfo

Name                MemberType   Definition
----                ----------   ----------
CompareTo           Method       System.Int32 CompareTo(PSDriveInfo drive),
Equals              Method       System.Boolean Equals(Object obj),
GetHashCode         Method       System.Int32 GetHashCode()
...

# Net Use and Get-CimInstance for the Win32_LogicalDisk class,
# and Win32_NetworkConnection class find only the persistent X: drive.
# PowerShell temporary drives are known only to PowerShell.
Net Use
Get-CimInstance Win32_LogicalDisk | Format-Table -Property DeviceID
Get-CimInstance Win32_NetworkConnection

Status       Local     Remote                    Network
--------------------------------------------------------
OK           X:        \\contoso-pc\data         Microsoft Windows Network

deviceid
--------
C:
D:
X:

LocalName    RemoteName              ConnectionState          Status
---------    ----------              ---------------          ------
X:           \\products\public       Disconnected             Unavailable

Example 6: Create persistent drive in a script

PSDrives are created in the scope in which the New-PSDrive command is run. When the command is run within a script, the drive mapping is local to the script. When the script exits, the drive is no longer available.

New-PSDrive -Persist -Name "X" -PSProvider "FileSystem" -Root "\\Server01\Public" -Scope Global

To ensure that the drive is available outside of the script you must use the Scope parameter to create the drive in the Global scope.

Parameters

-Confirm

Prompts you for confirmation before running the cmdlet.

Type:	SwitchParameter
Aliases:	cf
Position:	Named
Default value:	False
Required:	False
Accept pipeline input:	False
Accept wildcard characters:	False

-Credential

Specifies a user account that has permission to do this action. The default is the current user.

Since PowerShell 3.0, when the value of the Root parameter is a UNC path, you can use credentials to create file system drives.

Type a user name, such as User01 or Domain01\User01, or enter a PSCredential object generated by the Get-Credential cmdlet. If you type a user name, you're prompted to enter the password.

Credentials are stored in a PSCredential object and the password is stored as a SecureString.

Note

For more information about SecureString data protection, see How secure is SecureString?.

Type:	PSCredential
Position:	Named
Default value:	Current user
Required:	False
Accept pipeline input:	True
Accept wildcard characters:	False

-Description

Specifies a brief text description of the drive. Type any string.

To see the descriptions of all the session's drives, Get-PSDrive | Format-Table Name, Description.

To see the description of a particular drive, type (Get-PSDrive <DriveName>).Description.

Type:	String
Position:	Named
Default value:	None
Required:	False
Accept pipeline input:	True
Accept wildcard characters:	False

-Name

Specifies a name for the new drive. For persistent mapped network drives, use a drive letter. For temporary PowerShell drives, you aren't limited to drive letters, use any valid string.

Type:	String
Position:	0
Default value:	None
Required:	True
Accept pipeline input:	True
Accept wildcard characters:	False

-Persist

Indicates that this cmdlet creates a Windows mapped network drive. The Persist parameter is only available on Windows.

Mapped network drives are saved in Windows on the local computer. They're persistent, not session-specific, and can be viewed and managed in File Explorer and other tools.

When you scope the command locally, without dot-sourcing, the Persist parameter doesn't persist the creation of a PSDrive beyond the scope in which you run the command. If you run New-PSDrive inside a script, and you want the new drive to persist indefinitely, you must dot-source the script. For best results, to force a new drive to persist, specify Global as the value of the Scope parameter and include Persist in your command.

The name of the drive must be a letter, such as D or E. The value of Root parameter must be a UNC path of a different computer. The PSProvider parameter's value must be FileSystem.

To disconnect a Windows mapped network drive, use the Remove-PSDrive cmdlet. When you disconnect a Windows mapped network drive, the mapping is permanently deleted from the computer, not just deleted from the current session.

Mapped network drives are specific to a user account. Mapped drives created in elevated sessions or sessions using the credential of another user aren't visible in sessions started using different credentials.

Type:	SwitchParameter
Position:	Named
Default value:	False
Required:	False
Accept pipeline input:	True
Accept wildcard characters:	False

-PSProvider

Specifies the PowerShell provider that supports drives of this kind.

For example, if the drive is associated with a network share or file system directory, the PowerShell provider is FileSystem. If the drive is associated with a registry key, the provider is Registry.

Temporary PowerShell drives can be associated with any PowerShell provider. Mapped network drives can be associated only with the FileSystem provider.

To see a list of the providers in your PowerShell session, use the Get-PSProvider cmdlet.

Type:	String
Position:	1
Default value:	None
Required:	True
Accept pipeline input:	True
Accept wildcard characters:	False

-Root

Specifies the data store location to which a PowerShell drive is mapped.

For example, specify a network share, such as \\Server01\Public, a local directory, such as C:\Program Files, or a registry key, such as HKLM:\Software\Microsoft.

Temporary PowerShell drives can be associated with a local or remote location on any supported provider drive. Mapped network drives can be associated only with a file system location on a remote computer.

Type:	String
Position:	2
Default value:	None
Required:	True
Accept pipeline input:	True
Accept wildcard characters:	False

-Scope

Specifies a scope for the drive. The acceptable values for this parameter are: Global, Local, and Script, or a number relative to the current scope. Scopes number 0 through the number of scopes. The current scope number is 0 and its parent is 1. For more information, see about_Scopes.

Type:	String
Position:	Named
Default value:	Local
Required:	False
Accept pipeline input:	True
Accept wildcard characters:	False

-UseTransaction

Includes the command in the active transaction. This parameter is valid only when a transaction is in progress. For more information, see about_Transactions.

Type:	SwitchParameter
Aliases:	usetx
Position:	Named
Default value:	False
Required:	False
Accept pipeline input:	False
Accept wildcard characters:	False

-WhatIf

Shows what would happen if the cmdlet runs. The cmdlet isn't run.

Type:	SwitchParameter
Aliases:	wi
Position:	Named
Default value:	False
Required:	False
Accept pipeline input:	False
Accept wildcard characters:	False

Inputs

None

You can't pipe objects to this cmdlet

Outputs

PSDriveInfo

This cmdlet returns a PSDriveInfo object representing the created drive.

Notes

Windows PowerShell includes the following aliases for New-PSDrive:

mount
ndr

New-PSDrive is designed to work with the data exposed by any provider. To list the providers available in your session, use Get-PSProvider. For more information about providers, see about_Providers.

Share via

New-PSDrive

Syntax

Description

Examples

Example 2: Create a temporary drive mapped to a local directory

Example 3: Create a temporary drive for a registry key

Example 4: Create a persistent mapped network drive using credentials

Example 5: Create persistent and temporary drives

Example 6: Create persistent drive in a script

Parameters

-Confirm

-Credential

-Description

-Name

-Persist

-PSProvider

-Root

-Scope

-UseTransaction

-WhatIf

Inputs

Outputs

Notes

Additional resources

Share via

New-PSDrive

Syntax

Description

Examples

Example 1: Create a temporary drive mapped to a network share

Example 2: Create a temporary drive mapped to a local directory

Example 3: Create a temporary drive for a registry key

Example 4: Create a persistent mapped network drive using credentials

Example 5: Create persistent and temporary drives

Example 6: Create persistent drive in a script

Parameters

-Confirm

-Credential

-Description

-Name

-Persist

-PSProvider

-Root

-Scope

-UseTransaction

-WhatIf

Inputs

Outputs

Notes

Related Links

Additional resources