//////////////////////////////// string s = "\\\\myserver\\data\\images\\myimage.jpg"; //will not find this string lc_file1 = Server.MapPath(s) //Now it should find it string lc_file2 = "c:\\media\\images\\myimage.jpg"; //this will be found ///This hits the else statement because it can't find the file. if (System.IO.File.Exists(lc_file1) == true) { ///perform not found action } else { ///peform found action } ///This does find the file on the local drive. if (System.IO.File.Exists(lc_file2) == true) { ///perform not found action } else { ///peform found action } ////////////////////////////////