When Windows 10 was released, information technology seemingly broke the ability to easily connect to Linux Samba shares. Considering how many businesses rely on Samba for the sharing of folders, this was a bad move on the office of Microsoft. Fortunately, the ability to connect to Samba shares wasn't actually removed from the Windows platform, it was but tucked a fleck out of sight.

I want to walk you through the process of making that connection betwixt Windows x and your Linux shares.

I will assume yous have both Windows 10 installed on a automobile (or multiple machines) and a Samba share at the ready from your data center. With that said, let's connect.

Connecting to your server

Open up File Explorer and so right-click on This PC (in the left pane). From the resulting context bill of fare, select Add a network location (Effigy A).

Figure A

A new wizard will open, one that will walk y'all through the process of creating a shortcut for a new network location within File Explorer. Click Adjacent in the Welcome window. In the resulting screen (Figure B), click Cull a custom network location (the merely pick) and then click Next.

Figure B

Next you must enter the IP accost of your Samba server (Figure C) in the form of //SERVER_IP/SHARE (Where SERVER_IP is the IP address of your Samba server and SHARE is the proper name of the share you desire to add together).

Effigy C

Click Adjacent to continue on. In the adjacent window (Figure D), blazon a proper noun for the network location. A default proper noun will be picked upwards past the Samba server, you tin either use that or enter a custom name that makes it easier for you to think either where the share is or what is housed inside the share.

Figure D

Click Adjacent to accomplish the final screen of the wizard. Hither (Figure E) click Finish and the share is now ready for you to use.

Figure Due east

And that is all there is to connecting a Windows 10 automobile to a Samba share in your data center. It's non quite as piece of cake as information technology once was, but the feature is, in fact, still in that location.

Fright not

Afterward hearing a number of people coming to me asking why Microsoft had to interruption the Windows-Samba connectedness, I'thousand happy to tell you that it is not, in fact, broken. Although it'south a bit hidden away, you can nevertheless brand that much needed desktop to data middle connection.