How to Share FOLDERS, Drives across computers and to mount Network Storage Array (NAS) Drives on Windows

1.     Right click on the drive or folder you want to share and select “Properties”

2.     If your system is Windows Vista or 7, go to step 3. Continue reading this step if you are on Windows XP

Select the “Sharing” tab and select “Share this folder on the network” and “Allow network users to change my files”. Enter any share name. We will use this name later to map it on another system.

3.     On Windows Vista or 7:

Right click on the folder or drive you want to share and select “ Properties”

Select “Advance Sharing” and click “Continue” if Windows prompts for permission to continue

Select “Share this folder” and click on permissions

Give the necessary permissions for others on this folder. In this case I have given full permission. Be careful with these permissions as this means anyone who can access this folder will be able to delete and write to it.

Now there are three ways to access this shared folder:

1)     Typing the pathname of the folder in Windows Explorer

2)     Map the folder into the computer you want to work on (both the computers should be on the same Local network LAN)

I have explained each of the methods below. You can choose which option works best for you.

1) Typing the pathname of the folder in Windows Explorer

If you want to just access the shared folder from another system, open Windows Explorer and type the below format.

\\<hostname or IP>\<Share name mentioned in step 2>

As you can see in the image, in my case the hostname was “Calvin” and share name was “J”

To find the hostname, Right click on “My Computer” and select “Properties”

To find IP address

a. Start

b. Run

c. Type “cmd” (without quotes) and hit enter

d. Type ipconfig. Look for the IP address associated with your adaptor (You will have different IP addresses for Wireless and Ethernet adaptops)

NOTE: The computers should be on the same LAN

2) Map the folder into the computer

To map the folder or a NAS drive, select “Map network drive”

Provide any drive label and select “Browse”

Navigate to the computer name and select the shared folder. If you are adding the NAS drive, select the NAS drive name. They should automatically show up under “Network” if they are on the same LAN and visible by this computer.

Alternatively you could directly enter

\\<hostname or IP>>\<Share name mentioned in step 2>

Select “Reconnect at logon” if you would like this share to automatically mount at login