This method allows you to reboot your Mac and have the mapped network drive / network share automatically connect and remount, appearing on the desktop of OS X or in the Finder sidebar. This is more persistent than the above method and is helpful for network shares you connect to frequently:
- From the Finder, hit Command+K
- Enter the path to the network drive you want to map, ie: smb://networkcomputer/networkshare and click ‘Connect’
- Enter your login credentials and click “OK”
- The drive is now mounted, but continue on to map for system reboot persistence
- Now enter into System Preferences, from the Apple menu
- Click on ‘Accounts’
- Click on “Login Items”
- Click on the + button to add another login item
- Locate the network drive you previously mounted and click “Add”
- Exit out of System Preferences
Your network drive will now be mapped and automatically remounted when you reboot your Mac. Keep in mind that if you leave the network where the mapped share is located, the drive/share will not automatically reconnect until that network is joined again, and the Mac is either rebooted or manually reconnected to the desired network share.
Nonetheless, the actual mounted network share works the same as usual, visible through Finder as a folder. You can also go to the Network window to see the connected shares.