Mount a Windows Shared Folder on Synology NAS Step by Step

Most people open NAS files from Windows. This video does it the other way round: a folder that lives on your Windows PC appears inside Synology File Station, so the NAS can browse it, copy from it and back it up. Here is the whole route, in the video's order.

✍️ Technical Anshu🪟 Windows 10 / 11🗄️ Synology DSM 7⏱️ 8 minute read

🎥 Watch the video - a Windows folder is shared and mounted inside Synology File Station, step by step

The trick is one built-in DSM feature: Mount Remote Folder. You share a folder on the Windows PC, prove the share works, then point File Station at it with the PC's address and a real Windows username and password. The NAS then shows the PC's files as if they were its own. One honesty note before we start: mounting is not copying. The files stay on the PC - the NAS is looking at them live over your network. If the PC sleeps or switches off, the folder on the NAS is empty. Keep that picture in mind and every step below makes sense.

File Station — Mount Remote Folder wizard (example values)

Folder: \\192.168.1.50\NASShare Account name: anshu Password: •••••••• (the WINDOWS account password) Destination: /volume1/PCFiles (must be an empty folder)

Mount automatically on startupTICK THIS BOXDo not skip

What you getThe PC folder, live inside the NAS

👆 The four things the mount wizard asks for. Three of them come from the Windows PC - only the destination folder lives on the NAS.

Share the Folder in Windows First

This is exactly how the video does it, on the Windows PC:

Create the folder you want the NAS to see (or pick an existing one)
Right-click it → Properties → Sharing tab → Advanced Sharing
Tick Share this folder
Click Permissions and allow Full Control, then Apply → OK → OK again and close the window

Two honest notes. First, your network connection must be set to Private - on a Public profile Windows hides the PC and sharing quietly fails. Second, Full Control for Everyone is the simple home route the video uses, and it is fine on a trusted home network. In an office, share to your named Windows account instead and give it only the access it needs - the mount works exactly the same.

Prove the Share Works Before Touching the NAS

Do not open DSM yet. Test the share the way the video does - from Windows itself:

Press Windows + R
Type the PC's own address with two backslashes, like \\192.168.1.50, and press Enter
The folder you just shared should be listed. Open it and confirm your files are there

The full path of the share is now fixed: \\192.168.1.50\NASShare - the PC's IP address, then the share name. Copy it or write it down exactly. If the folder does not appear in this test, the NAS will not find it either; fix the Windows side first (the companion guide on sharing a folder the right way covers that). Every minute spent here saves ten later.

Mount It Inside File Station

Now move to the Synology NAS and sign in to DSM:

Open File Station
Click Tools → Mount Remote Folder → CIFS Shared Folder
In the Folder field, enter the path from Step 2, for example \\192.168.1.50\NASShare
In Account name and Password, enter the Windows account of the PC - the account that has permission on the share. This is not your DSM password, and it is not the Windows Hello PIN
Click Browse and select or create an empty folder on the NAS as the destination - the PC's files will appear inside it. It must sit inside one of the NAS's shared folders
Tick Mount automatically on startup, then click Mount

That last tick is the one people skip and regret: without it, the mount is gone the next time the NAS reboots. With it, DSM reconnects on every startup.

Test It From Both Sides

The video finishes by proving the link works in both directions - copy this habit:

Open the destination folder in File Station and confirm the PC's files are listed
From the NAS side, copy a small test file into the mounted folder
Walk to the Windows PC and check the file is really there in the original folder
Delete it on the PC and watch it disappear from the NAS view

That delete test teaches the one fact that matters: there is only one copy of the file, on the PC. The NAS view is a live window, so anything deleted on either side is deleted, full stop. If you want a safety copy on the NAS, copy the files into a normal NAS folder as a separate step - or let a backup job do it - instead of treating the mount itself as a backup.

🔴 A mounted folder is a window, not a copy. PC asleep, PC off, or PC on a new IP address - in all three cases the NAS shows an empty or broken folder, and any backup or sync job reading it fails with it. Keep the PC awake for jobs that use the mount, and give the PC a fixed address so the path never changes.

🎥 Watch the Complete Process in the Video

Watch the complete process in the video - the Windows share is created, the exact path is found, and File Station mounts it live.

▶️ Watch Full Video

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

Does mounting copy my files onto the Synology NAS?

No. Mounting shows the Windows folder inside File Station, but the files stay on the PC and are read live over the network. If you want an actual copy on the NAS, copy the files from the mounted folder into a normal NAS folder - that copy then survives even when the PC is off.

Which password does the mount wizard ask for?

The password of the Windows account on the PC that shares the folder - the same account that has permission on the share. It is not your DSM administrator password, and it is never the Windows Hello PIN, because a PIN only unlocks that PC locally and cannot sign in over the network.

The mount vanished after the NAS restarted. What went wrong?

The Mount automatically on startup box was not ticked when the mount was created, so DSM treated it as a one-time mount. Mount the folder again and tick that box. If the PC's IP address also changed in the meantime, the old mount cannot be repaired - unmount it and set it up again with the new address.

This guide is based on the Technical Anshu Synology NAS video • Stuck on any step? Ask in the video comments — you will get a reply there 🙏