Connecting to the School's file servers (Samba shares) from Windows XP

On a Managed Desktop machine, to connect to a "Samba share" (also often referred to as a "Shared drive" or "Shared space") called "UUN" (where UUN is your username) on one of the School's file servers, put:

\\UUN.home.geos.ed.ac.uk\UUN

in the Windows Explorer "Address" bar:

As a more permanent way to connect, choose "Map Network Drive" from the Explorer "Tools" menu:

Connect the the drive letter of your choice (e.g. "U:" or "H:") to the Share (in the "Folder" field above).
If you tick the "Reconnect at logon" checkbox, it should try and remake the mapping to the drive letter for you when you next log in.
If you need to connect from a machine outside Edinburgh University, e.g. from home, you will need to connect to the University network by using the University's VPN facility, then map a drive as above, but choose the "Connect using a different user name" option on the "Map Network Drive" dialog.

You will need to use your "Active Directory" username and password, e.g. use jbloggs@ED.AC.UK if the username you use to log on to the PCs is "jbloggs".