Google is including many useful features in Chrome OS to get Windows users into Chromebook. Recently, they brought network file sharing via SMB (Server Message Block) to the stable channel of Chrome OS. What this means is that you can seamlessly access network files and folder without switching to Developer mode or Canary channel. In this article, I will show you how to access Windows shared folders on Chromebooks, along with some helpful explanations about the Windows network file sharing system. Having said all that, let’s review the guide step by step.
Access Windows Shared Folders on Chromebooks
1. Find Network Share Path on Windows PC
Before we start, we have to find the sharing path on our Windows PC. Unlike Windows, where you can simply enter credentials and connect to other computers, on a Chromebook You will need to provide the IP address in the appropriate SMB protocol. Also, this is a one-time process and you won’t need to do this for every folder share. Now, let’s go ahead and find the network share path without any delay.
1. First of all, right click on the windows folder you want to share With your Chromebook and open Properties. Go to the “Sharing” tab and click on “Advanced Sharing”.
2. Next, Enable the “Share folder” checkbox and click the “OK” button. Note the folder name as it will be used in the network path.
Note: Try to keep the folder name as one word to avoid any ambiguity in the file path.
3. If you want, you can also allow read, write and delete privileges By clicking the “Permissions” button. Basically, this will give you full control over the Windows folders on your Chromebook.
4. You have now successfully shared a folder accessible on a Chromebook over a public network. Now we need to find the IP address of the Windows PC. Click on the WiFi or Ethernet icon in the Taskbar and open the properties of the public network.
5. Now scroll down and Note the “IPv4 address”.
6. Now that you have gathered all the necessary information, your network file path will look like this.
smb://Your PC IP Address/Shared Folder Name
Here is an example:
smb://172.16.91.151/Movies
If you wish, connect to a windows drive then replace the folder name with the shared drive letter.
smb://172.16.91.151/D
Now that you have the network share path idea, let’s move on to the Chromebook for some action.
2. Link Windows Shared Folders to Chromebooks
one. Open the Files app on your Chromebook and click the 3-dot menu in the upper right corner. Next, click on “Add new service” and turn on “SMB file sharing”.
2. Enter the network share path under “File share URL” of the folder we got from the section above. And under “Display Name” rename it with the folder name just for convenience.
3. Next, enter your Windows account username and password. And in case you are using an online Microsoft account On your Windows PC like me then you will need to provide Microsoft credentials. Note that you cannot enter the PIN code in the password field.
4. After that, click the “Add” button and voila, the Windows shared folder will be live on your Chromebook with all the files in it. You can access it from the left pane just like any other folder on your Windows PC.
That was pretty easy, right? Well, If you want to share another folder on Chromebook then repeat steps 1 and 2 in the first section and enter the folder name along with the IP address on your Chromebook. This much. Browse your Windows files on Chromebook just like that!
Access Windows Shared Folders on Chromebooks in a Breeze
That was our short guide on how to access network shared folders from Windows PC to Chromebooks. As we can see, the process is quite simple and easy. All you have to do is find the IP address and share the folder via SMB protocol. I hope this guide helps you switch from an old Windows PC to a new Chromebook. You should also check out our guide on sharing files between Windows PC and Mac. Anyway, that’s it for us. If you enjoyed this article and want to see more Chrome OS tips and tricks, let us know in the comment section below.
