Mounting a WebDAV Share on Windows 7

The task:

In this tutorial we will learn how to mount a WebDAV share as a remote network drive on Windows 7. The setup on Windows 7 is not very straight forward, as it requires editing the registry. Those of you who have not edited a registry before, just follow the directions very carefully. It is important to note here that editing the registry incorrectly, may mess up your computer. So, follow the steps very carefully! If you are using a Mac, please refer to Mounting a WebDav Share on Mac OS X.

Caution:

Before we get going, we need to fix some bugs that Windows 7 so conveniently comes with! By default, Microsoft has kept the authentication level for WebClient to none. We need to fix this in the registry in order to avoid giving away our password to the online world. Secondly, we have to fix the File Attributes Limit bug, which prevents windows from enumerating more than 1000 files in a folder. Lastly, we will have to install an update from Microsoft that enables WebClientServices, which makes it possible for Windows 7 to connect to a WebDAV share.

If you have any questions about this article or find typos in it, please feel free to note it in your comment. Thanks.

Things required:

• Windows 7 64-Bit.
• Internet Connection.
• "WebDAV" address.
• Patience.

Fixing the Authentication bug in the registry: see video

1. Click on Start from the Taskbar. Type regedit and press Enter.
2. Click on Yes in the "User Account Control" pop up window.
3. Locate and click the following registry subkey:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\WebClient\Parameters
4. Once you are in "Parameters", find BasicAuthLevel.
5. If BasicAuthLevel is listed in the right half of the "Register Editor" window, skip to step 6. Else, in the Edit menu, point to New, and then click DWORD Value. Type BasicAuthLevel for the name of the DWORD, and then press Enter.
6. Right-click BasicAuthLevel, and then click Modify.
7. Set the Value data box value to 2 and click Ok.
   
   Note: By default the value is set to 0.

Now let's fix the File Attributes Limit bug in the registry: see video

1. Assuming you have not exited out of the "Register Editor", in Parameters, find FileAttributesLimitInBytes.
2. If FileAttributesLimitInBytes is listed in the right half of the "Register Editor" window, skip to step 3. Else, in the Edit menu, point to New, and then click DWORD Value. Type FileAttributesLimitInBytes for the name of the DWORD, and then press Enter.
3. Right-click FileAttributesLimitInBytes, and then click Modify.
4. Make sure Decimal is selected for "Base". Set the Value data box value to 4294967295 and click Ok.
   
   Note: If the default value is 1,000,000 (1 MB), Windows will enumerate a maximum of approximately 1,000 files in one folder. The actual maximum number of files may vary, depending on the number of file attributes or file properties. By default, the WebClient service does not ask for specific WebDAV properties. Therefore, the server returns all file attributes. The Microsoft Office-integrated Webfolders redirector does ask for specific WebDAV properties.
   
   
5. Exit Registry Editor.

Installing the KB907306 update from Microsoft:

1. Point your internet browser to: " http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=15123 ".
2. Click on the red Download button. The download will start.
3. Once the download has completed, locate the file on your computer hard disk. It is named Webfldrs-KB907306-ENU.exe and should be in your default downloads folder.
4. To start the Setup program, double-click the Webfldrs-KB907306-ENU.exe program file on your hard disk. The default installation location is \Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Folders.
5. Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the installation.
6. Restart your computer.

Mounting the WebDAV share in Windows Explorer: see video

1. Click on Start from the taskbar. Click on Computer in the start menu.
2. Click on Map network drive from the menu bar.
3. Select a drive letter next to Drive:, under Folder: enter the address of your WebDAV folder. (Example: http://server.bbc.com/path/to/shared/folder) or (http://108.211.78.190/Shared-Documents). If you want your computer to automatically mount the WebDAV folder at next logon, check the box next to Reconnect at logon.
4. Click Finish. An authentication window will appear, enter your credentials and click Ok.

You are done! The WebDAV share is now mounted. You can easily find it under Computer from the Start menu.