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Desktop Shortcut to UNC Path

Purpose: To deploy a shortcut to the desktop pointing to a network share's root path. (e.g. \\storage.bunny-lab.io). There is a quirk with how Windows handles network shares and shortcuts and doesn't like when you point the shortcut to a root UNC path.

Group Policy Location

graph LR
    A[Create Group Policy] --> B[User Configuration]
    B --> C[Preferences]
    C --> D[Windows Settings]
    D --> E[Shortcuts]

Group Policy Settings

  • Action: Update
  • Name: <FriendlyName>
  • Target Type: File System Object
  • Location: Desktop
  • Target Path: C:\windows\explorer.exe
  • Arguments: \\storage.bunny-lab.io
  • Start In: <Blank>
  • Shortcut Key: <None>
  • Run: Normal Window
  • Icon File Path: %SystemRoot%\System32\SHELL32.dll
  • Icon Index: 9

Additional Notes

Navigate to the "Common" tab in the properties of the shortcut, and check the "Run in logged-on user's security context (user policy option)".