The folder exists, the share is on, and yet the name path returns "network path was not found" - while the same folder opens instantly when you use numbers instead of the name. That split result is the diagnosis: the share is fine, the name is the problem.
Before a NAS can open \\DESKTOP-4F2K\NASShare, something on your network has to translate the name DESKTOP-4F2K into an address. On home networks that translation is handled by a patchwork of router DNS and broadcast tricks, and it fails quietly all the time - after router changes, with VPN software installed, or for no reason anyone can find. The IP path skips the translation entirely. Synology's own mount instructions use the IP form for a reason.
👆 Same PC, same share, same minute. When the result splits like this, stop repairing the share - the name resolution is the broken part.
On the PC that shares the folder:
ipconfig192.168.1.50Use the address of the connection the PC is actually using. A PC on both Wi-Fi and Ethernet has two addresses, and only the live one will answer.
\\DESKTOP-4F2K\\192.168.1.50If the IP opens the PC and lists your share while the name errors, the test is complete: sharing works, name resolution does not. You never need to fix the name system - just stop depending on it.
In the File Station mount wizard, the Folder field takes the IP form directly - Synology's documentation shows it exactly this way:
\\192.168.1.50\NASShare as the folder pathThe same applies in reverse: when mapping a NAS share in Windows, \\192.168.1.20\OfficeFiles keeps working on days when the NAS's name does not.
A common detour: the PC does not answer ping, so the PC is declared "offline". In reality the Windows firewall often blocks ping while file sharing works perfectly. Judge the connection by the \\192.168.1.50 window listing your shares - that is the service you actually care about, answering.
"The network path was not found" is Windows admitting it could not reach or resolve the target - it is not a password error and not a permission error. Causes, in the order worth checking: name will not resolve (use IP), the PC is off or on a different network, the profile is set to Public so the PC is hiding, or sharing itself is off. The name-versus-IP split test in Step 2 tells you which family you are in within a minute.
Watch the video to see the path being found on Windows with Win + R first - that is the exact path that goes into the mount wizard.
▶️ Watch Full VideoUsually the router: a firmware update, a replacement router, or a reset can change how names are resolved on the network, while IP addresses keep working. VPN software on the PC can also hijack name lookups. Either way, switching the mount to the IP form fixes it without chasing the cause.
No - it means the path could not be reached, which also covers the PC being off, on a different network, hiding behind a Public profile, or not sharing at all. The split test separates them: if the IP form opens the PC, it was the name; if the IP form also fails, work through the sharing checks instead.
Sometimes - a router that offers local DNS, or consistent hostnames, can make names reliable. But for one NAS mount, the practical repair is the IP path plus a reserved address for the PC. It removes the fragile step instead of maintaining it.