Windows: Fix ‘Multiple connections to a server or shared resource by the same user’ Error – Technipages

When mapping a drive in Microsoft Windows, you may receive an error that says:

The mapped network drive could not be created because the following error has occurred:

Multiple connections to a server or shared resource by the same user, using more than one user name are not allowed. Disconnect all previous connections to the server or shared resource and try again.

Clicking “OK” yielded another error.

The network folder specified is currently mapped using a different user name and password. To connect using a different user name and password, first disconnect any existing mappings to this network share.

Fix 1 – Restart Workstation Service

1. Select the Start button, type CMD.
2. Right-click Command Prompt, then select “Run as Administrator“.
3. Type the following, then press Enter: net stop workstation /y
4. Type the following, then press Enter: net start workstation

Fix 2 – Delete the Drives

1. Select the “Start” button, then type “cmd“.
2. Right-click the “Command Prompt” option, then choose “Run as administrator“.
3. Type “net use“, then press “Enter“.
4. Look for any drives listed that may be questionable. In many cases where this problem occurs, the drive may not be assigned a letter. You’ll want to remove that drive.
5. From the Command Prompt, type:
   net use /delete \\servername\foldername
(where the servername\foldername is the drive that you wish to delete.)

In some extreme cases, you may want to simply use the command net use * /delete. This will delete all mapped drives though, so be careful that you know what you’re doing.

After trying each fix, you should now be able to map the drives as normal.

This post applies to most modern versions of Microsoft Windows.