I would like to access other computers’ HDD on the network. AT my house, we have 4 computers and about 10 HDD total, and I want to be able to access them all. Basically an environment where everything is available to everyone all the time.
Windows 11 Pro, Home Network using Synology NAS
How can I do this?
Since you are on Windows 11 Pro across all machines, the simplest approach is Windows file sharing (SMB). On each computer, right-click the drive or folder you want to share, go to Properties > Sharing > Advanced Sharing, tick “Share this folder” and set the permissions to allow the users you want. Then from any other computer you can access the shared drives by typing \COMPUTERNAME in File Explorer, or mapping them as network drives for permanent access.
A couple of things to check first: make sure all four computers are on the same workgroup (Settings > System > About > Advanced system settings > Computer Name > Change — set the same workgroup name on all of them). Also under Network and Sharing Center > Advanced sharing settings, turn on Network Discovery and File and Printer Sharing for your Private network profile.
Since you already have a Synology NAS, another option is to centralise everything there instead. You could set up shared folders on the NAS and have all four computers map to them — that way the data is always available even if one computer is off, and the NAS handles backups in one place.