Unable to Setup Windows 11 Shared Folder for Nucleus HD (ref#2U6UE9)

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· The Nucleus boots up and I can connect to it in the Roon app without issue, but I have a question about configuration/storage/attached devices

Describe the issue

Running a Nucleus with internal hard drive, it is working fine, but despite repeated attempts, I am unable to setup a windows 11 shared folder to transfer music files to the nucleus HD. There is some info that suggests that I need to set up a local windows account, but is this necessary? When I try to add a shared folder using my ip address and folder (\\xxx.xxx.x.xxx\ripped vinyl), it either throws an error message or just doesn't do anything. That folder, which lives on my desktop, has already had sharing enabled with full read/write permissions in windows. I have looked at all the help info regarding this issue to no avail. Strangely, it was working ok weeks ago, but no more.

Can you clarify precisely what you are trying to do here? You say you want to “transfer music files to the Nucleus HD” - so don’t you want to access the Internal Storage on your Nucleus and use Windows File Explorer to transfer the files from your Windows PC into the Internal Storage of your Nucleus?

Setting up a Windows shared folder on your PC and then adding this as a Watched Folder in Roon does not “transfer music files to the Nucleus HD”…

To clarify…I am in the process of ripping my vinyl collection to digital using a program called vinyl studio to rip the analog files to digital and into a desktop folder on my Windows 11 desktop. That is working just fine. BUT, I then want to transfer those digital music files from my desktop folder to the nucleus with internal hard drive. The forum suggestion is to make share the local windows folder with full permissions, which I have done. Then I want to set up Roon to seek out that shared folder to upload the files to the nucleus HD. When I open the Roon storage tab it currently shows “Nucleus Internal Storage” and I thought I should use the “+add folder” option to find the shared folder in windows. Is this the correct approach? When I try to add the shared folder using the ip address path to the folder it does not work. What am I doing wrong?

No - you’re doing it backwards :slightly_smiling_face:

What you are doing is trying to add a Windows Shared Folder as a Watched Folder in Roon. This does NOT transfer files from your PC to the Nucleus.

What you want to do is to use the Windows File Explorer to access the Internal Storage of the Nucleus and then copy your music files from your vinyl rip folder to the Internal Storage folder od the Nucleus.

Also, be aware that Microsoft has recently tightened security that affects network access.

The username and password is still guest and guest, to access Roon OS, but now you have to tell Windows that it’s OK to connect to your Nucleus system as well.

Read this article on how to solve it. Start at step 6 if you have Windows 11 Pro, or step 8 if you have Windows 11 Home.

TECHCOMMUNITY.MICROSOFT.COM

Accessing a third-party NAS with SMB in Windows 11 24H2 may fail | Microsoft…

Changes to SMB security in Windows 11 24H2 release preview may prevent access to third party NAS appliances or other devices.

Windows File Explorer also has a habit of not finding non-Windows devices in your network until it’s told to do so. So typing \\nucleus\ in the address field (note: NOT the Search field) of File Explorer will kick Windows into displaying it again. In this situation, mapping a Windows drive to a folder in the Nucleus will pin it permanently in File Explorer as a drive on your PC.

Be sure to replace nucleus with nucleusplus if you have a Nucleus+; nucleusone if you have a Nucleus One or nucleustitan if you have a Nucleus Titan.

When I open windows explorer and type \nucleus\ I get this message…“Windows cannot access \nucleus\data\storage\internal storage”

That’s odd - if you typed \\nucleus\ into File Explorer, I could expect to get a message like “Windows cannot access \\nucleus" if security permissions have not yet been set correctly, but to get “Windows cannot access \\nucleus\data\storage\internal storage” is rather strange…

Can you post a screenshot?

Hi @Ronald_Gibson,

Thank you for your report. We see an active RoonServer instance on the Windows machine, as well. In addition to the screenshot of the particular error message (requested by our helpful moderators above), please clarify whether you’re also migrating your RoonServer itself between these machines.

Please additionally share a screenshot of the Watched Folders page itself in Roon when connected to the Nucleus via a Remote.

Windows system updates can sever Roon’s access to certain system and network components. I’d double-check that you’ve exempted RoonServer.exe and related processes in the Defender firewall, even if this feels redundant.

We’ll watch for your response. Thanks!

Where do I see watched folders?

Right, so the "Windows cannot access \\Nucleus" is the message I would expect to see when you haven’t setup the bypass to the security permissions in Windows that were recently introduced by Microsoft.

Can you confirm that you have followed the steps in that Microsoft Tech Community article that I linked to earlier?

In answer to your question to @connor - “Watched Folders” are storage locations that you add in Roon’s :gear: > Storage screen. See:

So @connor is asking you to post a screenshot of Roon’s :gear: > Storage screen. That will show us what Watched Folders have been set up in your Roon system.

Hello @Ronald_Gibson,

Based on the screenshot you provided, it looks like guest access needs to be enabled in Windows Group Policies. @Geoff_Coupe outlined the steps in post #6, but I’m adding them here for quick reference.

For Windows Professional:

6. Disable the SMB client signing requirement:

a. Press Start, type gpedit, and open Edit Group Policy (Local Group Policy Editor).
b. Navigate to:
Computer Configuration > Windows Settings > Security Settings > Local Policies > Security Options
c. Double-click Microsoft network client: Digitally sign communications (always)
d. Set it to Disabled, then click OK

7. Enable insecure guest logons:

a. Open the Group Policy Editor again.
b. Navigate to:
Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Network > Lanman Workstation
c. Double-click Enable insecure guest logons
d. Set it to Enabled, then click OK


For Windows Home:

Since Group Policy Editor is not available by default, you’ll need to use PowerShell:

a. Press Start, type powershell, right-click Windows PowerShell, and choose Run as administrator. Accept the prompt.

b. To disable the SMB signing requirement, run:

powershell

Set-SmbClientConfiguration -RequireSecuritySignature $false

c. When prompted, type Y and press Enter.

d. To enable guest fallback, run:

powershell

Set-SmbClientConfiguration -EnableInsecureGuestLogons $true

e. Again, type Y and press Enter.


After completing the steps, if you still encounter the error when accessing the Nucleus by hostname, try using the IP address instead:
  1. Go to Settings → Setup → Find Roon OS
  2. Copy the IP address
  3. Open File Explorer and enter the path in this format:
\\192.168.1.132 
Let us know if the issue persists after this.

Great input. I discovered that my Nucleus was on my local/native network, the Laptop was on a mesh network (duh). Got all on the same network, did all the steps above, now the nucleus is visible in CMD (yay!). However, I cannot get \nucleus\ to enter into the top field in File Explorer, nor does it show up on my desktop/network tab…

Please post a screenshot of what you see when you try entering \\nucleus\ in the address field of File Explorer. Does entering the IP address there work?

Thanks.

Well, that looks OK - those are the folders I would expect to see when you access \\nucleus\Data. Why do you think there is a problem here?

Edit: although now I see that you seem to have added a Bob James album into the Data folder. You should not store any music files and folders here - they should only be stored in the \\nucleus\Storage\InternalStorage folder.

Is there a way to pin a path to that internal storage folder to my desktop to make it easier to drop files in it? Do I need to map it?

Yes, you should be able to map it in Windows to a Drive letter. That would ensure that it is always available in File Explorer.

So, here is what I have now. I can drag and drop ripped FLAC music files directly into this folder, will Roon then see them in the library, or is there more I need to do?

That’s what you need to do - they should then show up in your library. If Roon can identify them, it will - otherwise it will show them as unidentified, and will be relying on the accuracy of the metadata in the files to show information on the album and its tracks…