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Sharing an external hard drive over LAN

Sharing an external hard drive over LAN

I have a 1 TB external hard drive that I'd like to share over my local network. What is the best way to do this ? FTP, Windows sharing, etc. ? Most of the computers run Windows XP/Vista.

Asked by: Guest | Views: 177
Total answers/comments: 2
Guest [Entry]

"The easiest method is definitely Windows shares.

In My Computer, right click the drive and select Sharing and Security
You will see a screen like this:

Check the box that says Share this folder on the network
If you'd like users to be able to make modifications, also check off Allow network users to change my files. (Remember, you can also separately configure permissions on specific locations if needed)
Set the share name to something apparent so users know which share is your drive
Your firewall is probably already configured to allow shares, but if not, it will tell you in the bottom as seen in the picture so you can change it.

As for an external HD with networking capabilities, you'll want a NAS. These are great to have around and they allow you to use it without having a computer on. They have their own NIC and will be given an IP from your router just like any other network node:"
Guest [Entry]

I used openWRT router with build in usb port (Asus WL 500W) and hdd in usb enclosure. But I think I will buy Western Digital MyBook World Edition NAS soon.