If you’re looking for a way to access your Synology NAS shared folder on your Windows PC, mapping a network drive is a great solution. In this post, we’ll discuss the steps involved in mapping a Synology drive on Windows 11 (the process is very similar on Windows 10).
Before we get started, it’s important to note that there are two parts to this process – setting up your Synology NAS and setting up your Windows PC. Let’s start with the Synology setup.
First, you’ll need to enable SMB (Server Message Block) in DSM (DiskStation Manager). To do this, open the Control Panel and select File Services, then SMB. Make sure the “Enable SMB service” option is selected. This will allow you to utilize SMB when you map a network drive in Windows.
If you’re using Synology’s firewall (which we recommend), you’ll also need to create an “Allow” rule for Windows file server. To do this, select “Security” and then “Firewall” in DSM, and then edit the rules.
With the Synology setup complete, let’s move on to mapping the network drive on your Windows PC.
Open “My PC” or “This PC” on Windows 11, and select the “Map network drive” icon at the top. Choose a drive letter and enter in the folder section: backslash, backslash, and then the server name of your NAS or the individual IP address. Remember to enter in the folder you want to connect to here.
At the bottom, select “Connect using different credentials” so that you can use a user account on your Synology NAS. Make sure the user account has permission to the folder you’re connecting to. If you want to automatically connect to this folder at sign-in, select “Reconnect at sign-in.”
Once you’ve finished, you’ll need to enter your NAS username and password. Select “Remember my credentials” to save them for future use. After you select OK, you’ll see the shared folder mapped under “Network Locations.” You can do this for as many folders as you like, and you’ll have a different drive for each one.
With the network drive mapped, you can quickly access the information you need, and any changes you make to files will be updated directly on the NAS. This is a great solution if you want to copy files quickly from your local PC to your NAS or if you prefer not to use Synology Drive.
We hope this post has helped you understand how to map a Synology drive on Windows 11. If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments.