Network-attached storage is nice till it isn’t. When entry to your recordsdata instantly goes down, the fixes typically might be time-consuming, particularly when associated to a failed disk.

Fortunately, that’s not essentially the case when you’ve just moved from Windows 8.1 (or older) to a more moderen model of Windows. If you’re encountering an error when attempting to entry your NAS over your house community, a file-sharing protocol subject is probably going the issue. Some older NAS models use Server Message Block v1.0 as their community file sharing protocol—however Microsoft finally disabled it by default for security reasons in Windows 10. The coverage additionally carried over to Windows 11.

You can get round this incompatibility in a number of methods, relying in your NAS’ producer. The most very best possibility is making use of a software program replace that allows assist for SMB v2 or greater, however not all distributors added this assist. If that’s the case, you’ll be able to strive enabling NFS, another protocol, in each your NAS’ administration interface and in Windows.

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If neither of those options work, as a last-ditch possibility, you’ll be able to flip SMB v1 assist again on—however you’ll additionally introduce your PC to notable safety dangers. (You can learn extra about them on this clear and impassioned explanation of those risks from a Microsoft worker.) SMB v1 is previous and weak sufficient towards threats in Windows 11, Microsoft is within the means of eradicating the assist all collectively. If you actually need SMB v1, you’ll have to hunt out and set up the recordsdata manually.

Should you end up able the place solely SMB v1 will work and are a security-minded individual, sadly, your finest answer goes to be upgrading your NAS and investing time into that information migration. But hopefully you’re not on this boat and might as an alternative focus your vitality on nifty things you can do in your new model of Windows.