One of the great things about Windows Home Server is that you have access to files on your home network over the Internet. There are several ways to access and manipulate this and each has their unique advantages and disadvantages.
Use the Shared Folders on WHS.
The UPSIDE: This is the simplest way and works wherever you have access to a web browser.
THE DOWNSIDE: All the files MUST have been copied to the shared folders and you can’t manipulate them in Windows Explorer, map them as drives or access them in other programs.
- Copy your files you want to access on to one of the shared folders on WHS.
- If you also want to keep copies of the files on your client computer (particularly useful if one of your networks computers is a laptop where you’ll need access to your files when you are offline) you can use a handy little utility called SyncToys to duplicate the contents of your local folder and your WHS shared folder and then keep them synchronized. You’ll find instructions for downloading and using SyncToy here.
- Log into your Home Server from your browser.
- Enter your credentials then navigate to your shared folders.
Use remote access to access your computer’s drives directly.
The UPSIDE:You can access ANY file on the home network computer that you are connected to. And, since this is REMOTE ACCESS, you can also run programs on that computer and essentially use that computer, over the Internet, as if you were sitting in front of it at home.
THE DOWNSIDE: It only works with Windows VISTA BUSINESS or VISTA ULTIMATE or XP PROFESSIONAL.
- Make sure you have enabled Remote Access from your WHS console and that you have given yourself Remote Access permissions under USER ACCOUNTS.
- Log into your Home Server from your browser.
- Select Server or Computer Access and log in.
- Follow the instructions to log into available computers.
- If you find that you want to log into computers that are in standby, Evangelos Hadjichristodoulou has written a nifty little utility to wake them up. Learn more here.
Use WebFolders4WHS to map drives and work with them like local drives.
The UPSIDE: You can work with files through Windows Explorer just as you would files on your local drive without having to use a Web Browser. You can even map drives so programs can access and work with them just like any other network share.
THE DOWNSIDE: All the files MUST have been copied to the shared folders. Doesn’t work seamlessly with all programs. (i.e. OneNote notebooks won’t sync and it may corrupt the files.)
