Use H and I Drives on Windows

Owned by S Helms
Last updated: Dec 20, 2023 by Kelly Thomas
3 min read

Learn how to make use of your H and I drives on a Windows-based machine, including how to transfer files and map them to your home computer for convenient off-campus access.

On this page:

Access H and I Drives

The easiest way to access your H and I drives is to use the drag and drop interface:

  1. Open the Start menu and select File Explorer.

  2. Look for the drives you have access to listed under This PC.

  3. Select these drives to open them.

Map your H and I Drives

You can map your H and I drives from your home computer or while on campus with your laptop. When finished, your drives will look exactly as they would if you were logged in to a Windows 10 machine at PSU. If you are not connected to the Portland State network, before you do anything, you must connect to PSU’s  Virtual Private Network (VPN).

To map your drives on your personal computer:

  1. If you are not on campus, connect to PSU's network using the VPN.

  2. Open the Start menu, then select File Explorer.

  3. Select This PC from the left-hand sidebar.

  4. Select the Map Network Drive option at the top of the window. 

  5. In the dialog box that appears, choose the letter you would like to associate with this drive. 

  6. Specify the directory you want to connect to (full list is below, in the Directory addresses section). 

  7. Select Reconnect at sign-in, so you don’t have to reconnect the drive every time you power up your computer.

  8. Select Connect using different credentials. If you do not, Windows will attempt to use your computer's credentials to log on to your drive.

  9. Select Finish.

  10. Enter your Odin account username and password in the dialog box that appears.

    • If you are on a non-PSU owned and managed computer, enter your Odin username as PSU\YourOdinUsername

  12. Select Remember my credentials if you would like to save the password.

  13. A new window should appear, with the contents of the network drive you have just mapped.

The next time you turn on your computer, you may get a message saying Windows was unable to map the network location. You can solve that problem by connecting to the PSU Virtual Private Network. The VPN needs to be on before you can access your network drive. If you are on the PSU network with your laptop, you will not have this problem.

Note: On PSU managed Windows Devices, VLAB, and Employee Virtual Desktops please utilize the Map Drive tools available in Self Service. These tools will automatically mount your H and I drives to your machine.

Check your Usage

Once you've mapped your H drive to your computer, you can use the following steps to check your available free space.

  1. Open the Start menu and select Computer.

  2. Select the drive and access the folder Properties.

Your total free space and used space will be displayed under the General tab.

Directory Addresses

H Drive

In the file paths below, replace "u" with the first letter of your Odin username, and replace "user" with your Odin username.

  • Faculty/Staff Home Directories: \\emphome.psu.ds.pdx.edu\u\user

  • Student Home Directories: \\stuhome.psu.ds.pdx.edu\u\user

I Drive

Your department directories (I drive) are for department file share. 

  • Departmental Shared Directories: \\departments.psu.ds.pdx.edu\departmentShareName

  • Projects Share: \\projects.psu.ds.pdx.edu\projectShareName

  • Student Org Share: \\studentorgs.psu.ds.pdx.edu\studentorgsShareName

  • Instructor Share Directories: \\instructors.psu.ds.pdx.edu\instructorShareName

  • Research Share Directories: \\share.research.pdx.edu\researchShareName

  • Research Website Directories: \\share.research.pdx.edu\web

Note: The parent directory for I drive shares is \\psu\resources.

Further Resources

Troubleshooting

I'm receiving the message "Windows cannot access ... Check the spelling of the name. Otherwise, there might be a problem with your network."

This means your computer cannot communicate with the server. Verify that:

  • You are connected to the PSU campus network in one of these ways:

    • Through the VPN.

    • Physically located on campus, NOT in on-campus housing, and connected to Wi-Fi or an Ethernet jack.

  • You are entering the server address correctly. The server address should be: "\\emphome.psu.ds.pdx.edu\first letter of Odin username\Odin username".

I'm receiving the message "Windows cannot access ... You do not have permission to access ... Contact your network administrator to request access."

This means you are either trying to connect to something that you don't have access to, or you are entering your username and password incorrectly. Verify that:

  • You are entering in your username and password combination correctly, using the Portland State domain. Remember that your username must appear as: "psu\username".

  • You are entering the server address correctly. The server address should be: "\\emphome.psu.ds.pdx.edu\first letter of Odin username\Odin username".

Support

For additional assistance, contact the Helpdesk.