When working in Windows environments with multiple domain accounts, you'll often encounter situations where your current login credentials don't have access to specific network resources. By default, Windows automatically uses your current logged-in credentials when accessing network shares, which can be problematic when you need to authenticate with different permissions.

The most reliable way is through the command line using net use:

net use \\Client2\ShareName /user:abc.local\DifferentUser *

This will prompt you to enter the password for the specified user. After successful authentication, you can access the share through Explorer.

For Windows 7 clients, you can use Credential Manager to store alternate credentials:

1. Open Credential Manager (Start > Control Panel > Credential Manager)
2. Click "Add a Windows credential"
3. Enter the target computer name (Client2)
4. Specify the alternate username (abc.local\DifferentUser)
5. Enter the password and click OK

Create a shortcut with the following target:

runas /user:abc.local\DifferentUser /netonly "explorer.exe /separate"

This will open a new Explorer instance using the specified credentials for network access while maintaining your local desktop session.

For more advanced scenarios, PowerShell provides greater flexibility:

$cred = Get-Credential "abc.local\DifferentUser"
New-PSDrive -Name "X" -PSProvider FileSystem -Root "\\Client2\Share" -Credential $cred -Persist

When working with alternate credentials:

• Never store passwords in plaintext scripts
• Use the minimum required permissions
• Clear cached credentials after use with net use /delete \\Client2\ShareName
• For sensitive operations, consider using constrained delegation

If you encounter "Access Denied" errors:

1. Verify the target share permissions (both Share and NTFS)
2. Check if the user account is locked or expired
3. Ensure the client isn't caching old credentials (run net use * /delete)
4. Confirm network connectivity and name resolution

When working in Windows domain environments (especially mixed OS environments with Server 2008 R2 DCs), you'll frequently encounter situations where your current login credentials don't have access to target resources. The automatic credential passthrough behavior can be frustrating when you need to access resources with different permissions.

The most consistent way across Windows versions is using the net use command with explicit credentials:

net use \\Client2\ShareName /user:abc.local\AlternateUser *

The asterisk (*) will prompt for password input. After establishing the connection, you can access it through Explorer normally.

For GUI-based access, try these steps:

1. Open Windows Explorer
2. Right-click "My Computer" and select "Map Network Drive"
3. Check "Connect using different credentials"
4. Enter the path (\\Client2\Share) and alternate credentials

When you need to launch file manager with alternate credentials:

runas /netonly /user:abc.local\AlternateUser "explorer.exe /separate"

If previous connections interfere, clear them first:

net use * /delete /y
cmdkey /delete:Client2

For more modern systems, PowerShell provides better control:

$cred = Get-Credential "abc.local\AlternateUser"
New-PSDrive -Name X -PSProvider FileSystem -Root \\Client2\Share -Credential $cred -Persist

To modify credential prompting behavior system-wide:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa]
"DisableDomainCreds"=dword:00000001