Editing Openai/692c47be-1664-8012-80b8-2182a08b689e


{{DISPLAYTITLE:Sonarr mapped drive issue}}

''This conversation was exported from ChatGPT''<ref>{{cite web|title=Sonarr mapped drive issue|url=https://chatgpt.com/share/692c47be-1664-8012-80b8-2182a08b689e|publisher=ChatGPT|access-date=2025-12-01}}</ref>

== gpt-5-1 ==
=== User:  ===


=== Assistant: It looks like you're asking why Sonarr on Windows Server 2019 suddenly stopped seeing mapped drives, based on the Reddi… ===
It looks like you're asking why Sonarr on Windows Server 2019 suddenly stopped seeing mapped drives, based on the Reddit post screenshot.
This is a VERY common Sonarr/Radarr issue on Windows, and the cause is almost always the same:

=== ✅ Why Sonarr cannot see mapped drives ===

Mapped drives do NOT exist for Windows services — only for the interactive user session.
If Sonarr is running as a service, it will only see the real drives (C:, D:, etc.) and never the mapped ones (like X:, Y:).

That’s why it only sees C:.

Even if you change the service account, mapped drives won't appear because Windows does NOT mount them for services.

=== ✅ How to fix it (3 reliable options) ===

==== Fix 1 — Use UNC Paths instead of mapped letters ====

Instead of:

<syntaxhighlight>X:\Media\TV

</syntaxhighlight>

Use:

<syntaxhighlight>\\SERVER\Media\TV

</syntaxhighlight>

Sonarr fully supports UNC paths and this works even when running as a service.

👉 This is the BEST fix.

==== Fix 2 — Re-run Sonarr not as a service ====

If you run Sonarr as a normal app (tray mode), mapped drives WILL appear.

But:
* It won’t auto-start after reboot unless you add it to Startup
* It's not recommended for servers

==== Fix 3 — Create mapped drives for the service account (hacky) ====

You can manually map drives for the user that the service runs under by running:

<syntaxhighlight>net use X: \\SERVER\Media /persistent:yes

</syntaxhighlight>

But this only works if:
* The service is set to “Automatic (Delayed Start)”
* The network is ready before Sonarr starts

This method often breaks again later — so UNC paths are still better.

=== ⭐ Recommended: Use UNC paths and you're done ===

If the Reddit poster replaces their root folder paths inside Sonarr with UNC paths, everything will work instantly.

If you'd like, I can write a step-by-step fix for your exact setup.

== References ==
<references />


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