I am a lateX user on a Windows 2000 machine,
trying to setup miktex in such a way as to update its packages from a
folder accessible on the above mentioned server.

The server is a TeX/LaTeX (CTAN Mirror),
but not listed on the list of web mirrors supported by the miktex package
manager. I am a student in South Africa and can not afford to manage
my latex system through our firewall. The ftp server is inside the firewall.

I can download the whole packet directory, but that is very messy.
According to our systemAdmin the network drive cannot be mapped because
the server is a Linux machine.

The miktex packet manager does not recognize the ftp site address as a local packet repository either.

I would like to map the ftp site to a local drive to see if the packet manager
will use it as a local packet repository.

Welcome to LQ.

You can map a windows share if that's what you mean. Just use the samba client:
http://www.samba.org

Not is not what I mean,
I need to map a windows network drive to a linux based ftp site.
The linux site is server I do not have access to.
I have tried the normal network drive mapping procedures on windows,
and they do not work.
According to the administrator of the mirror they do not work because
it is a linux based ftp site.

can any body help me please?

So this is your question?

How do I map a linux ftp site to my windows box?
This so you can access the ftp site from within windows explorer as if it was one of your hard disks?

In this case you will have to set up a new connection in "My Network Places". This is where you connect to ftp sites.

No, I need to map a linux ftp cite as a drive to my windows box.
I need to fool a program into acting as of the ftp cite is a folder on my local machine. Creating a ftp-cite foulder in my network places does not work.

This is a really a windows question so I will move it to the General forum.

As far as I know windows does not let you map ftp sites as drives. I think there is a shareware addon available that can do it - I remember testing it but not really using it.

What do you intend to do once the drive is mapped? Perhaps there is another way.