Proper way to set up networked storage?

orangecat · April 7, 2016

So i got this old 400GB sata drive and I put it in an external USB 3 enclosure. I want to use it as public storage for my network and I did get it working but I don't know if it's the optimal way to do so. Basically I made a homegroup and made all the PC's on my network join it then I added the drive to the share and on the other PC's I clicked map network drive and selected it. Is this the optimal way to set this up? I don't have a server so i'm just using my desktop PC.

It works just fine but I figured I'd ask and see if there is a better way to set this up.

Mycrafter5 · April 7, 2016

Yeah, as long as host computer is on and is hooked up to the network, all the other computers should be able to use it. One thing, if this is to be a permanent enclosure, might i recommend a NAS instead?

TaylorSwiftOrNon · April 7, 2016

Many Routers with USB Ports support light file server duty too. maybe have a look at yours.

orangecat · April 7, 2016

4 minutes ago, Mycrafter5 said:

Yeah, as long as host computer is on and is hooked up to the network, all the other computers should be able to use it. One thing, if this is to be a permanent enclosure, might i recommend a NAS instead?

Yea I'd like to setup a NAS but money is tight and the drive is old so if it dies it won't matter. I only really plan on using it to transfer files between PCs on my network.