Windows 10: NAS or new PC

House move prompting thoughts about a quieter and smaller set of kit and just trying to work out if I should go to NAS or stick with PC and laptop for use in two different locations.

Currently I work from two locations. In location 1 I have PC with data drive and second data drive with synced copy (using MirrorFolder) of that data to protect against drive failure.

I currently sync PC data drive with laptop (using Beyond Compare) before departing for location 2, work on same set of data until returning to location 1 where I then sync laptop data to PC.

This actually works quite well to ensure that I have all of my data to work with whether I'm in location 1 or 2.

I currently keep an offsite copy of data at location 2 to protect against theft. So effectively I always have three copies of my data, 2x at location 1 on PC, one copy on laptop, and copy to external hard drive at location 2.

All data is encrypted, with Truecrypt on PC and external hard drive; and with bitlocker on laptop. I prefer Truecrypt for encryption but this throws up issues with windows updating which are a bit of a pain so I will probably resign myself to bitlocker on new PC if that's the route I go. I will however continue to use Truecrypt for all external hard drive copies.

So thinking of either getting a smaller form factor case and quiet PC to replicate this set up between two locations when we move OR using NAS to access one set of data, say from location 1, wherever I am.

If using NAS I would still have to have a way of encrypting the NAS and of keeping off site copy of data stored on the NAS, probably still on external hard drive. Can data be encrypted on NAS and would this affect ease of access over internet?

I'm trying to work out what if any advantage NAS has over my current modus operandi.

If anyone can help me see the wood for the trees, that would be very much appreciated.

:)

 

Windows 10 & NAS Box

Hi Peter,

A few possible reasons can cause this issue. To help us identify the cause of this problem, we would like to know the following information:

• How is your NAS box connected to your computer? (Ethernet, Wi-Fi, or USB)
• Are you using a program provided by the manufacturer of your NAS box to access it?
• Do you receive any error messages when accessing your NAS box? If yes, what is the exact error message?
• What troubleshooting steps have you tried so far?

In the meantime, we suggest that you perform the solution provided by omiklik (Most Helpful Reply)
in the following thread: Unable to see NAS drive on Network - Win 10 PC.

Keep us updated on the status of the issue, and we will be glad to assist you further.

 

Should I go for a NAS?

1. How many PC's need access to the data?
2. Are you streaming data to TV's or mobile devices?
3. Do you need to access the data whilst the PC is off

If you are not thinking of any of the above I would suggest that 8TB of storage On the PC and sufficient Backup Space external to it would be fine, and more cost effective.

If you are intending any of the above and especially Number 3 then a NAS looks more appropriate

 

Can't see NAS (SMBv1), even via IP address (tried common solutions)


I have a DLINK DNS-325 NAS which worked fine until this week.

• The issue started after I performed an in-place upgrade. (To fix an unrelated Windows Store problem.)
• I restored the NAS to factory settings and manually rebuilt its settings.
• I can access the NAS's Web-based UI without a problem and it reports no errors. I can also ping it without any error.

I have tried several solutions, some from "My nas devices are not showing in Windows File Explorer - Network, Windows 10 version 1703, build 15063.332" for example.

• Network reset
• Enabled SMBv1
• Forced my PC to be the Master Browser
• Force-enabled "Enable NetBIOS over TCP/IP"

To take Windows networking out of the equation, I'm initially trying to access the NAS by its static IP, 192.168.*. In the command window:

• I can ping it without problem
• `net view \\192.168.*` gives an error 53.

What should my next steps be? Thanks.