Take the 2-minute tour ×

Domain Controller OS - Window Server 2008 R2 Client OS - Window XP, window 7

Window XP client name - Client1

Window XP Client Name - Client2

I had login as "abc.local\Q2020" on Client1 and accessing other Client2 shared folder via start > run > \Client2

By defualt it is taking the Credential of the user which i have login i.e abc.local\Q2020, while accessing the shared folder on client2

I want that it must ask me a credential, so that i can give credential of different User, which has the rights of shared folder on Client2

Can you guide me - how can i give credential of different domain user while i am logged as abc.local\Q2020?

share|improve this question
add comment

2 Answers

up vote 4 down vote accepted

Map a network drive to that network path and choose the option to use a different username and password.

share|improve this answer
add comment

from the CLI: net use * \\server\share password /user:domain\user

note the * will use the next available drive letter. If you prefer to use a specific driver letter, replace * with X:

Also note that you cannot simultaneously make two connections to a single server using two different user accounts. Type net use at the command prompt to see what connections are already open then net use \\server\share /delete to remove them before mapping the new drive.

share|improve this answer
You can also use * instead of the password parameter. This will prompt you to type in the password in a prompt that does not echo the characters. This keeps you from having to type your password in plaintext. –  MDMarra Jul 6 '12 at 14:35
It's actually possible to connect to the same share using different accounts by using the FQDN and the IP address - Windows treats them as separate connections. So you could connect to \\Server1\Share, \\Server1.domain.com\Share and \\\Share using three different sets of credentials. –  Chris McKeown Jul 6 '12 at 14:38
@ChrisMcKeown - good one. I had forgotten about that. –  Paul Ackerman Jul 9 '12 at 1:21
@MDMarra, the danger of using \\server\share * to get prompted for password is that when you open Windows Explorer and begin typing the first few letters of the path... it shows the password in plaintext in the autocomplete dropdown for anyone looking at your screen to see. Security failure on Microsoft's part. (Tested using Win7 SP1 with latest hotfixes as of Mar-14-2013). –  Lee Grissom Mar 14 '13 at 23:29
@LeeGrissom The * in this example isn't to be prompted for the password. –  MDMarra Mar 15 '13 at 0:30
show 1 more comment

Your Answer


