I'm new to Linux and am learning with an older laptop running Linux Mint 22.3 Cinnamon. I already have several media drives shared from a Windows computer, each available through a static IP address, and I'd like to access them from Linux without manually reconnecting them after every reboot. What's the best approach for this? I've seen suggestions involving the file manager, Samba, CIFS, and fstab, but I'm not sure how they differ or which option is most appropriate for a beginner.
3 Answers
Linux can access Windows shares through Samba, and the graphical file manager can usually handle this without much setup. Enter the server address and share name using the `smb://hostname/share-name` format. If you need a permanent mount, CIFS is the filesystem method commonly used to mount Samba shares.
For shares that should reconnect automatically, you can add CIFS entries to `/etc/fstab`. A typical entry includes the Windows server’s IP address, the local mount point, your share username, the SMB protocol version, and options such as `x-systemd.automount` and `x-systemd.requires=network-online.target`. Use a credentials file instead of putting the password directly in `fstab`, since that file may be readable by other users. Automatic mounts are more advanced, though, and a network share that is unavailable during boot can cause delays unless the appropriate systemd options are used.
For the simplest setup, open each share in the file manager using an address like `smb://192.168.x.x/share-name`, then add the location to your Bookmarks or Favorites. It won’t necessarily mount everything during startup, but the shares will be easy to access and should connect when you open them. This is a good beginner-friendly option.
Thanks! I’ll try adding the shares to the file manager and see how that works.