Are you running out of space on your computer? If the only way to access your photos, videos, songs, and files is to keep your PC constantly running, a network drive may be the best solution. Through a network drive, you can keep all those files on a hard drive, access them even when your computer is turned off, and make them accessible to the entire household.
A Network Attached Storage (NAS) device is another option for storing files on a home network, and one that provides more features and capabilities. However, a network drive can be a less expensive and simpler approach if all you need is quick and convenient file storage, and you already have the right type of drive. Here’s how to set up and use an external hard drive as a network drive in both Windows and macOS.
Set Up a Drive in Windows
Find Your IP Address
If you choose to use a wired external hard drive, plug it into your router’s USB port. From there, use your browser to sign into your router’s firmware, typically via an IP address of 192.168.1.1. If that address doesn’t work, and you don’t know your router’s IP address, open a command prompt and type ipconfig. Look for the entry for Default Gateway and the number you see is your router’s IP address.
In Windows 10, you can also go to Settings > Network & Internet > Status and click the View hardware and connection properties link. The next screen will display details for your different network connections. Again, look for Default Gateway to find your router’s IP address.
Customize Your Drive
After logging into your router, check for an entry for USB storage. You should see the external drive listed. Typically, you can edit the settings for the drive to change its name and drive letter and set up a password for accessing it. Save any changes and then exit your router’s firmware.
Using a Wireless Hard Drive
With a wireless hard drive, make sure it’s fully charged or running off external power. Fire up the drive and follow the instructions in the manual to set up a wireless connection between it and your computer or mobile device. You will likely need to install and open the software for the drive if you want to change the name or establish passwords for access.
Ready to Go
After setting up your new network drive, you can now use it just like any other drive. You can create folders, copy and move files, or retrieve any stored photos, videos, and songs. Only now the drive is active and available at all times, letting you and anyone else in the household access it from any PC, Mac, or mobile device.
Map Network Drive
If you’ve created folders on the drive, you can also map a drive letter to a specific folder from File Explorer or Windows Explorer, depending on the version of Windows you run. In Windows 10 and 8.1, select This PC > Computer > Map network drive. On Windows 7, it’s Computer > Map network drive.
From the Map Network Drive window, choose the drive letter you wish to use. Check Reconnect at sign-in if you want to map the drive each time you log into Windows. If you set up a username and password for the drive different from the ones for your Windows account, check Connect using different credentials. Then either type the UNC path for the drive and folde—e.g., \drivefolder—or click the Browse button.
Using the Browse option, click the name for the network drive and then click the folder for which you want to create the drive mapping and click OK. Enter the username and password for your network drive, if necessary. Your new drive mapping should now show up. Click Finish to close the Map Network Drive window.
Now click the new drive letter in File Explorer or Windows Explorer, and you’ll be able to access that folder to view and work with the files contained within.
Set Up a Drive in macOS
To find the IP address of your router on a Mac, click the Apple icon in the upper-left corner and select System Preferences. Go to Network > Advanced > TCP/IP. The router’s address appears on this screen. Sign in to the router, then look for the USB storage entry. Edit the settings for the drive, if necessary. Save any changes and exit your router’s firmware.
After setting up your network drive, you can then map a letter to a specific folder from your Mac. To do this, click the Go menu and select Go to Server. Either type the UNC path for the network drive and folder or click the Browse button.
With the Browse option, click the name for the network drive, and then click the folder for which you want to create the drive mapping. Click the Connect As button and enter the username and password for your network drive, if necessary, and click Connect.
The mapped network should now appear under Locations in the left pane of the Finder window. From there, you can move it to the desktop as well.
To permanently mount the network share so that it’s always available, go to System Preferences > Users & Groups, select your user account, and click Login Items. Click the plus (+) button, then select your network share and click the Add button.
