How do I use my U drive?

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What is a U drive?

The U: drive is 10GB of file storage space attached to your VIU student or employee computer account.

Why should I use my U drive?

Files are saved instantly - in the event of a power failure, your data is good!
We do not recommend saving files to your desktop or documents folder. Always save your files in your U: drive.
Files saved to your desktop or documents folder may not be accessible on other computers, and may not be backed up.
Regular backups are done, so if you accidentally delete a file or need a previous version, you can restore it. For more information: How Do I Restore Deleted Files?

How do I access my U drive on a VIU computer?

U: Drives are mounted automatically on any VIU computer an employee or student logs into. If it's not mounted, try logging out and back in, or contact the IT Service Desk for support.

Click on the folder icon in the taskbar.
Then, click on "Computer" or "This PC" (depending on your Windows version) on the left pane. Your U drive will be listed here.

How do I access my U Drive on my personal computer?

Employees

Windows

If you are off campus you will first need to connect to the VPN.
If you are on a VIU computer and have recently been given access to the share, please log-off and re-login to your computer.
Click on the folder icon in the Windows taskbar to open File Explorer.
On Windows 10 or 11, click This PC on the left margin. On Windows 7, this will be Computer.
On Windows 10, click on the Computer tab from the ribbon menu (top left). On Windows 11, click the ellipses buttonfrom the ribbon menu (top).
Click Map Network Drive.
Enter shared drive details:
- Drive letter selection: It is better to select a drive letter from a letter further on in the alphabet (for example H:)
- Folder field: Enter the path to the share drive. Use the format \\viu.int.viu.ca\users\firstletterofusername\username (e.g. If your name is J. Doe, you would enter \\viu.int.viu.ca\users\d\doej)
Make sure "Reconnect at sign-in" is checkmarked.
Personal (non-VIU) devices only: If you are on a personal device, checkmark "Connect using different credentials", click Finish, then click more choices
Personal (non-VIU) devices only: Type in your username starting with viu\ (e.g. viu\doej) in the username field and your VIU password, then click OK.
Click Finish

macOS

If you are off campus you will first need to connect to the VPN: How Do I Create a VPN Connection to the VIU Network?
Open the Finder.
Click Finder -> Preferences...
Make sure "Connected Servers" is checkmarked
Click Go -> Connect to Server
Enter the complete path of the shared drive. Use the format smb://viu.int.viu.ca/users/firstletterofusername/username (e.g. If your name is J. Doe, you would enter smb://viu.int.viu.ca/users/d/doej)
Click on Connect
When prompted for your username use viu\username (e.g. viu\doej)
You should now be connected to the shared drive

Students

Windows (on campus only)

Please note that VIU no longer offers remote (off-Campus) access to Student U Drives. Alternative cloud services you can use are Microsoft OneDrive and Dropbox*

* Note that these services may not be FIPPA compliant. VIU IT does not provide any support for these services and the information provided here is informational only.

Please note that you can access your U drive files on your own laptop only when connected to viu-secure wireless
Click on the folder icon in the Windows taskbar to open File Explorer.
On Windows 10, click This PC on the left margin. On Windows 7, this will be Computer.
From the ribbon menu (top left) click on the Computer tab.
Click Map Network Drive.
Select an available drive letter (choose U: if it is available).
In the "folder" field, type: \\viu.int.viu.ca\users\2nd_last_number_of_your_student_number\last_number_of_your_student_number\your_student_number. For example: \\viu.int.viu.ca\users\8\9\123456789
Click the link to “Connect using a different user name” link right beneath the Folder field. Type viu\your_student_number (e.g. viu\123456789) in the Username field and your VIU computer account password in the password field. Click OK. Click the Finish button on the Map Network Drive dialogue box.
You will now see an icon in the "My Computer" window labeled "your_username on VIU". Double-click this icon to view and open the contents of your network folder. You can save to the folder by dragging-and-dropping files onto your network drive icon in My Computer or Windows Explorer, or by selecting your network drive in the Save dialogue box when saving files from specific applications such as Microsoft Word.

macOS (on campus only)