How to Add an External Hard Drive to a Network

Adding an external hard drive to your network is an easy way to give yourself additional data storage. Adding a hard drive externally means you don't have to open a computer to mount the drive and and you can move the same storage device from computer to computer. The disadvantage is that external drives often connect to your network via some technology which is slower than the throughput an internal connector would provide.

Instructions

1. Connect your external hard drive to a server or other computer which is always on. If you don't, your external hard drive will only be available when the computer it's attached to is turned on. Position the drive itself in a stable place where it has plenty of airflow and won't be bumped: an external drive is subject to overheating, just like an internal drive.

2. Follow the instructions provided with the external hard drive to ensure the computer identifies and mounts the new drive. An external hard drive should be auto-detected under most Windows operating systems, but older operating systems may require special software. If the drive isn't auto-detected, you may have to re-start the computer before you can use the new drive.

3. Share the drive or one or more of its sub-folders so that network users may access it from other computers. In a Windows environment, you can share the drive or sub-folder by right-clicking on it in Windows Explorer and choosing "Properties." On the "Sharing" tab, give the share a name. Click the "Permissions" button and provide the level of access you desire to the users you want to access the drive.

4. Set the permissions for your share. In a Windows environment, in Properties, click the "Security" tab. Add the users you wish to have access and set the access levels you wish to grant them. Click "OK."

5. Advise the users you want to have access that the new share is available by giving them the computer name and share name (e.g. \\server1\shared files). You may wish to add the new share as a network drive for designated users.

Tips & Warnings

• In Windows operating systems, NTFS (file-level) permissions and share-level permissions stack, and the most restrictive permissions win. If you give a user the correct NTFS permissions and she still can't access the share through the network, make sure you have also granted her appropriate permissions on the "Sharing" tab.

• If you physically remove the external hard drive and later attach it to the same network, you may have to re-share the drive and re-set permissions.