I purchased a DIY server running ROCK (which I believe runs on Linux), and cannot import files located on my network (accessed via Windows 11 PC) because Roon cannot add the folder containing the files.
I have read all the support articles.
Roon tries to add the files and then gives me a message saying that an “unexpected error occurred”.
I have tried using the IP address, forward slashes for Linux, backward slashes for Windows, and cutting & pasting the path where the files are located.
@Paul_Bujold - A screenshot of Roon’s “Add network share” screen showing what you are trying to enter would be useful. And have you first used Windows to share the folder containing the files that you want to import over the network?
I tried using Windows to share the folder but that only gave me the ability to share it with individuals. A Google search suggested that I should be able to share it with applications, but there was no such option under the share menu in Windows 11. I did notice that the Roon server and application folders were hidden and I had Windows Explorer make them show up, but that didn’t make a difference (as I expected). Below are a couple of photos showing what I’m trying to enter. I don’t know how to make a screenshot, so I took a picture on my iPhone. Hope it’s legible.
It’s not really clear what you are trying to do here. You appear to be trying to add a folder that is within the Roon Server software application located on your Windows PC. Why are you trying to do this? A Roon Watched Folder is where you would be holding music files and album folders - that should never be located here, but in some other location.
Second, you are using an internal filepath (C:\Users\Paul Bujold\AppData\...) instead of the correct form of a network share, which for Windows would be of the form \\<hostname>\<shared folder name> .
Third, you are required to use Windows user credentials to access a shared folder on a Windows PC. You must use a local account (not your Microsoft Account - which has the form username@maildomain) to do this.
Either create a local account for Roon, or use the local account form of your Microsoft Account. You can find out the latter by opening the Terminal on your Windows PC, then entering whoami and pressing Enter. The result will be in the form of <hostname>\<username>.
The <hostname> you use in the Network share location field of Roon’s Add network share screen and the <username> you use in the Username field. Use your existing password for the Password field.
Lastly, you can post screenshots in the forum by following the steps of this help article. Much easier than posting photos.
Geoff,
thank you for the detailed response. Sorry if I entered the path to the Roon application. After following your instructions as best as I could, I still could not access the music file.
Based upon "whoami "my hostname is “pauls-pc” and my username is “paul bujold”. The path in Windows to my music files is C:\Users\Paul Bujold\Music\Roon Music.
I thought the settings shown in the screenshot would work, but they did not.
No, you are still entering information incorrectly.
But first, have you used Windows to share the folder Roon Music on the network? That is the necessary first step. Without that being done, the Roon Server on your ROCK/NUC will be unable to access the shared folder.
After that, the information you need should be entered as shown here:
You need to enter the password associated with the username being used.
One other thing occurs to me, I am not certain whether spaces in a username can be used by Roon when adding a network share. Try the above, but if you get an authorization error, then you will need to set up a local user account (e.g. simply called roon) on your PC and use that to access the shared folder. You will also need to add roon to the share permissions of the Roon Music folder.
It’s stupid that Windows allows spaces in usernames because it complicates things a lot (like paths to user folders) and there’s lots of software that has problems with such names.
Windows 11 will not allow me to create a local user unless I use both a first and last name. Windows automatically puts a space between the first and last name - I tried just putting in a first name or a last name and neither work both fields are required. And it appears that Roon will not let me access the folder with the space in my name. I think I’ve done everything else right. Any suggestions…?
Thanks again for your continuing help. I was able to create a local user in Windows. I had previously created a family member. The local account name is roon and there is an associated password. Unfortunately, Roon still cannot access the folder. See attached picture. FYI, I am logged in my “regular” account (not sure what to call it), not the local account. I was not able to log into my local account so, perhaps that is the problem.
Have you added the roon account to the share permissions of the Roon Music folder? You should have something similar to this example ( a shared folder for Roon backups)…
Thanks again for your help. I was able to add the permissions per the screenshot. Unfortunately, it still doesn’t work. I know the password and username are correct. When I said that I was unable to login to the local user account, perhaps I should’ve been more precise. I don’t know how to log into that account. Does that make a difference?
Click on the Start icon in the Taskbar, then on your account to get the option to sign into another account…
You actually don’t need to sign in to the roon account for it to work for network sharing - I never did until the other day when I was just seeing what would happen if I did sign into the roon account. All that occurred was that I got the “Hi” message from Windows and it then set up the roon account for Desktop access.
The obfuscated password in your screenshot is very long. I wonder if that is overly complex? Try something simpler (but obviously not easily guessable).
Still doesn’t work and I reset the password to something not quite so long. The previous one was created by my password manager. I know this one works because I logged into my local account. Thanks everyone so much for your time and assistance. I’m going to hire a tech support person tomorrow. My wife and mental health will be better off…
