Mapped Network Drives don’t Show in Image for Windows

Problem:

Mapped network drives don't show in Image for Windows.

Cause:

When UAC is used, network shares mapped to drives in a normal session are not available in an elevated session. This includes an Administrator Command Prompt, Image for Windows, etc.

In Windows 10, this issue can also be caused by the KB4013429 update, which added a regression that broke support for the drives.

Solution:

The UNC path (\\Server\Share) should be used instead of a mapped drive.

If using Windows 10, make sure the system is updated current (the issue with KB4013429 was fixed in later updates).

Alternatively, the EnableLinkedConnections registry entry can be set to allow the mapped drives to be shared between sessions:

Instructions:

1. Run the Registry Editor.
   
   
2. Browse to the following location:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\
   CurrentVersion\Policies\System
   
   
3. Make sure System is selected.
   
   
4. Right-click in an empty area of the right side where the registry entries are displayed and select New from the menu (or click the Edit menu and select New).
   
   
5. From the New menu, select the DWORD (32-bit) Value option.
   
   
6. Enter EnableLinkedConnections for the name.
   
   
7. Double-click the EnableLinkedConnections entry you just created to open it.
   
   
8. Enter 1 into the Value data box and then click OK to close the dialog.
   
   
9. Restart Windows to apply the change.

Note: If you are using Group Policy Preference or logon scripts to map network drives during logon, the mapped drives may still not be available after using the above instructions. See the following Microsoft article for more information:
Mapped drives are not available from an elevated prompt when UAC is configured to "Prompt for credentials" in Windows