Net Use Error 67: The Network Name Cannot Be Found

Two lines, no explanation

C:\>net use Z: http://dav.example.com/
System error 67 has occurred.

The network name cannot be found.

Error 67 is ERROR_BAD_NET_NAME in Microsoft's Win32 error list, described there as "The network name cannot be found." File Explorer reports the same failure in hex, as error 0x80070043; 67 decimal is 0x43, and 0x8007 is the prefix Windows adds when it wraps a Win32 error in an HRESULT. One failure, two spellings.

The command line is the better place to debug it: one variable at a time, immediate feedback.

What Microsoft says causes it

The WebDAV redirector documentation lists six conditions that produce system error 67 on a drive mapping. The first three account for nearly every case on a non-IIS server.

Step 1: confirm the redirector is alive

Mapped WebDAV drives are handled by the WebClient service. Microsoft deprecated it in November 2023 and states in the same notice that "the Webclient service isn't started by default in Windows", so on a fresh install this is the answer more often than not.

Get-Service WebClient | Format-List Name, Status, StartType
Set-Service -Name WebClient -StartupType Automatic
Start-Service -Name WebClient

The command prompt equivalent needs a space after each =. Microsoft's sc.exe config reference says a space is required between an option and its value and that leaving it out makes the operation fail, which is exactly what the widely copied start=auto does:

sc.exe config WebClient start= auto
sc.exe start WebClient

Retry the mapping after the service is running. If you had already tried and failed, give it a minute: ServerNotFoundCacheLifeTimeInSec defaults to 60 seconds, and during that window WebClient returns a cached failure without contacting the server at all.

Step 2: get the command syntax right

net use accepts two forms for WebDAV. Microsoft's own walkthrough uses the plain URL: NET USE * http://www.example.com, where * picks the next free drive letter. The UNC form is documented with the DavGetHTTPFromUNCPath function as \\server[@SSL][@port][\path], in which @SSL requests HTTPS and @port is required for any port other than 80 or 443. DavWWWRoot addresses the root of the WebDAV server.

rem HTTPS on the default port
net use Z: \\dav.example.com@SSL\DavWWWRoot\files /user:alice *

rem HTTPS on an explicit port
net use Z: \\dav.example.com@SSL@443\DavWWWRoot\files /user:alice *

rem plain HTTP on a custom port
net use Y: http://dav.example.com:8080/remote.php/dav/files/alice /user:alice *

The trailing * is not decoration. The documented net use syntax takes either a password or *, and the asterisk makes Windows prompt for it, which keeps the password out of your shell history. Add /persistent:yes if you want the mapping to survive a reboot.

Three syntax mistakes produce error 67 all by themselves: omitting the scheme, so Windows tries SMB instead of WebDAV; omitting a non-default port; and mapping the site root when the server publishes WebDAV under a subpath such as /dav or /remote.php/dav/files/alice.

Step 3: allow Basic credentials over HTTP

If the endpoint is http:// and uses Basic authentication, Windows refuses before it ever prompts for a password. The switch is a DWORD called BasicAuthLevel under the WebClient parameters key, documented with three values: 0 disables Basic authentication, 1 allows it on SSL sites only, and 2 allows it on SSL and non-SSL sites. The default is 1.

reg query "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\WebClient\Parameters" /v BasicAuthLevel
reg add "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\WebClient\Parameters" /v BasicAuthLevel /t REG_DWORD /d 2 /f
net stop WebClient
net start WebClient

The restart is required; Microsoft's documentation says so explicitly for every value in that key. And understand the trade: level 2 sends your credentials in clear text. Sensible for 127.0.0.1, defensible on a LAN you own, wrong on the open internet.

When the error number is not 67

The same documentation lists the other numbers net use returns against a WebDAV endpoint, and they are far more informative than 67. Recognising them saves you from applying WebClient fixes to a permissions problem.

Error 1244's wording, typo included, is Microsoft's own.

Mappings that do not survive a reboot

If the mapping works but disappears after logoff, that is documented behaviour rather than a bug: Microsoft states that since Windows 7, Basic authentication credentials cannot be persisted by Credential Manager, and its own troubleshooting article recommends a logon script that re-issues the net use command. That is the practical answer for Basic-auth WebDAV, including a local server.

if (-not (Test-Path Y:)) {
  net use Y: http://127.0.0.1:3211/ /user:anystorage
}

Mapping a local WebDAV server, such as AnyStorage

AnyStorage runs a WebDAV server on the machine you are sitting at: Services in the sidebar, the WebDAV tab, Start, endpoint http://127.0.0.1:3211. Every connection open in the app appears as a folder under that root, so one drive letter reaches an S3 bucket, Cloudflare R2, Backblaze B2, MinIO, Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox or an SFTP host, with no filesystem driver to install.

The rules above still apply, because Windows does not care that the server is local. BasicAuthLevel must be 2 for an HTTP endpoint. The username defaults to anystorage and the password is 24 characters generated on first use, both visible with copy buttons in the WebDAV tab. On the free tier the mount is read-only; read-write is a Pro feature. And a connection only appears under the root once you have opened it in the app after launch, because connections connect lazily.

Next steps

• The File Explorer form of this error: WebDAV error 0x80070043
• Everything else that breaks a Windows WebDAV mapping: Windows cannot connect to WebDAV
• Copies that stop at 50 MB: the Windows WebDAV 50 MB limit