All Departmental network drives are accessed via:\\enterprise.gcal.ac.uk\gcu\
Each department has a common area that is accessible to all staff in the department, and a special area that is accessible by authorised request only.
If you need access to a common or special area, log a request via the GCU Service Now portal Please ensure that you have the full path syntax of the area you need access to. Examples of acceptable path syntaxes include:
- \\enterprise.gcal.ac.uk\gcu\staff\IS\special\reports
- ‘reports’ on \\enterprise\gcal.ac.uk\gcu\staff\IS\special
Note: we cannot accept the following path syntax:
This is a local drive mapping and does not give us enough information to locate the network area. If you do not know the full path syntax, please ask a colleague who has access to the share. They will be able to confirm the full path syntax by looking under 'Computer' on their PC.
For example, the full path for "V:\ITServices" is: "ITServices on "enterprise.gcal.ac.uk\gcu\"
Personal H: drive
Each member of staff has a secure, personal network area which is backed up overnight. This is linked to your domain login and is commonly known as your H: drive.
H: drive is not set up for authorised guest by default. This should be specified when you submit a new account request or log a request later for H: drive setup on the GCU Service Now portal
H: drive on PC
PC Systems automatically map the H: drive when you login. You can log into any PC in the University and have immediate access to this network area. Your H: drive is accessible via My Computer.
H: drive syntax (PC): \\Enterprise.gcal.ac.uk\gcu\Staff_Personal\a\abc1 (where "a" is the first letter of your username and "abc1" is your username).
H: drive on MAC
MAC Systems must connect to H: drives manually at every login. To make this process easier, follow the Mapping a network drive on a MAC instructions to access your H: drive.
H: drive syntax (MAC):smb://staffclus.enterprise.gcal.ac.uk/staff_personal$/a/abc1 (where "a" is the first letter of your username and "abc1" is your username).
Files on your H: drive
This area is scanned at each login for multimedia files; if you are not permitted to hold them, it logs their existence. If you do store multimedia files on your H: drive, please inform the IT Helpdesk.
This network area has a size limit of 100Mb. You will receive a warning email when your H: drive reaches this limit. At this point, you will not be able to save any more data to your H: drive until you clear some space. If you feel that you need more space on your H: drive, please contact the IT Servcie Desk.
First, make sure that you have the complete path of the area you need access to. If you are connecting to a departmental Storage Area Network (SAN) space, check with your colleagues to confirm you have the correct path syntax.
Follow the steps below to map a network drive:
- Select Start>Computer.
- Click the 'Map network drive' button
- In the 'Drive' box, select a drive letter.
- In the 'Folder' box, type the full path syntax for the SAN area, for example: \\enterprise.gcal.ac.uk\gcu\staff\CSV\Risk_Assessments
- Ensure 'Reconnect at login' is ticked.
- Click Finish.
- Your mapped drive will now appear in My Computer with the drive letter of your choice.
Make sure that you have the complete path of the area you need access to. If you are connecting to a departmental network drive space, check with your colleagues to confirm you have the correct path syntax.
Network drive path syntax is defaulted to Windows format. MAC users will need to convert the syntax before connecting to the server.
Follow the instructions below to map a network drive:
- Select Go>Connect to Server... from the menu bar.
- Next, copy and paste the server address, for example: \\enterprise.gcal.ac.uk\gcu\staff\CSV\Risk_Assessments into the 'Server Address' field - but don't hit the 'Connect' button yet.
- To convert the path to MAC format:
- Prefix the line with smb:
- Next, fully specify the staff server by adding staffclus. at the front of the address
- Next, delete the \gcu part
- Next, change the Staff part to Staff_Space$
- Finally, change each backslash character to a forward slash character.
Windows syntax:
\\enterprise.gcal.ac.uk\gcu\staff\CSV\Risk_Assessments
MAC syntax:
smb://staffclus/Staff_Space$/CSV/Risk_Assessments
- Next, Click the 'Connect' button
- At this stage, you may be prompted to log in. If so, enter your domain password. (The domain field and login name should already be entered.)
- The network drive will be mapped to your MAC and a folder will be placed on your desktop.
- Once the drive is mounted on the desktop, drag it to the dock so it is easily accessible on future logins.
Information Services back up network drives on a regular basis.
If you have lost a file from your personal H: drive or a departmental network drive, try searching for the file as it may have been moved from its original location. If the file was on a departmental network drive, check with your colleagues as someone else might have moved it.
If you cannot locate the file yourself, please log a missing or deleted files request job via the GCU Service Now portal with the following information:
- The complete file name
- The file type
- The full network drive path where the file was stored*, for example:
- \\enterprise.gcal.ac.uk\gcu\it\special\workfiles or
- \\enterprise.gcal.ac.uk\gcu\it\special
- The date when the file was last known to be 'good' or was deleted and so on.
*When sending the network drive path, please ensure you provide the full path syntax. You can see this by choosing 'My Computer' on your desktop.
