<p>I often access shared network folders in Powershell to grab files etc. But if the share requires a username/password, Powershell does not prompt me for these, unlike Windows Explorer. If I connect to the folder first in Windows Explorer, Powershell will then allow me to connect. </p>

<p>How can I authenticate myself in Powershell?</p>

This is not a PowerShell-specific answer, but you could authenticate against the share using "NET USE" first:
```
```
net use \\server\share /user:<domain\username> <password>
```
```
And then do whatever you need to do in PowerShell...