Mount Cloud Storage As Local Drive Free
Nowadays, cloud storage is very convenient for our work. But there is a problem when we use Onedrive, Google Drive, and Dropbox together with the FTP server, you know, it’s too much trouble, because I need to open a browser or Cloud Client every time if I want to browse these network disk files.
-->Azure Files is Microsoft's easy-to-use cloud file system. Azure file shares can be seamlessly used in Windows and Windows Server. This article discusses the considerations for using an Azure file share with Windows and Windows Server.
In order to use an Azure file share outside of the Azure region it is hosted in, such as on-premises or in a different Azure region, the OS must support SMB 3.0.
- CloudBerry Drive makes your cloud storage available as local Windows disks or network drives. CloudBerry Drive allows you to work with files in cloud storage directly from any file management utility, like Windows Explorer, as though they were located on your local computer. Supported Cloud Storage Options.
- Solid Explorer (free trial), a very popular file explorer app on the Google Play Store, allows you to mount cloud storage services like Dropbox, Box, Drive, and even SkyDrive as a virtual drive. The system will not be able to see the local virtual storage since the mounting is done at an application level and not at system level, but it can.
- Finally, click on ‘Mount’ to mount the cloud storage drive as a mapped drive. Step 12: To add a new cloud storage drive, simply click on ‘ Add new connection ’ and repeat the same steps all over again. Step 13: You can always change the drive letter or unmount the drive by clicking on ‘Unmount’.
You can use Azure file shares on a Windows installation that is running either in an Azure VM or on-premises. The following table illustrates which OS versions support accessing file shares in which environment:
| Windows version | SMB version | Mountable in Azure VM | Mountable on-premises |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windows Server 2019 | SMB 3.0 | Yes | Yes |
| Windows 101 | SMB 3.0 | Yes | Yes |
| Windows Server semi-annual channel2 | SMB 3.0 | Yes | Yes |
| Windows Server 2016 | SMB 3.0 | Yes | Yes |
| Windows 8.1 | SMB 3.0 | Yes | Yes |
| Windows Server 2012 R2 | SMB 3.0 | Yes | Yes |
| Windows Server 2012 | SMB 3.0 | Yes | Yes |
| Windows 73 | SMB 2.1 | Yes | No |
| Windows Server 2008 R23 | SMB 2.1 | Yes | No |
1Windows 10, versions 1507, 1607, 1803, 1809, 1903, 1909, and 2004.
2Windows Server, versions 1809, 1903, 1909, 2004.
3Regular Microsoft support for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 has ended. It is possible to purchase additional support for security updates only through the Extended Security Update (ESU) program. We strongly recommend migrating off of these operating systems.
Note
We always recommend taking the most recent KB for your version of Windows.
Prerequisites
Ensure port 445 is open: The SMB protocol requires TCP port 445 to be open; connections will fail if port 445 is blocked. You can check if your firewall is blocking port 445 with the Test-NetConnection cmdlet. To learn about ways to work around a blocked 445 port, see the Cause 1: Port 445 is blocked section of our Windows troubleshooting guide.
Using an Azure file share with Windows
To use an Azure file share with Windows, you must either mount it, which means assigning it a drive letter or mount point path, or access it via its UNC path.
This article uses the storage account key to access the file share. A storage account key is an administrator key for a storage account, including administrator permissions to all files and folders within the file share you're accessing, and for all file shares and other storage resources (blobs, queues, tables, etc.) contained within your storage account. If this is not sufficient for your workload, Azure File Sync may be used, or you may use identity-based authentication over SMB.
A common pattern for lifting and shifting line-of-business (LOB) applications that expect an SMB file share to Azure is to use an Azure file share as an alternative for running a dedicated Windows file server in an Azure VM. One important consideration for successfully migrating a line-of-business application to use an Azure file share is that many line-of-business applications run under the context of a dedicated service account with limited system permissions rather than the VM's administrative account. Therefore, you must ensure that you mount/save the credentials for the Azure file share from the context of the service account rather than your administrative account.
Mount the Azure file share
The Azure portal provides you with a script that you can use to mount your file share directly to a host. We recommend using this provided script.
To get this script:
Sign in to the Azure portal.
Navigate to the storage account that contains the file share you'd like to mount.
Select File shares.
Select the file share you'd like to mount.
Select Connect.
Select the drive letter to mount the share to.
Copy the provided script.
Paste the script into a shell on the host you'd like to mount the file share to, and run it.
You have now mounted your Azure file share.
Mount the Azure file share with File Explorer
Mount Cloud Storage As Local Drive Freehold
Note
Note that the following instructions are shown on Windows 10 and may differ slightly on older releases.
Open File Explorer. This can be done by opening from the Start Menu, or by pressing Win+E shortcut.
Navigate to This PC on the left-hand side of the window. This will change the menus available in the ribbon. Under the Computer menu, select Map network drive.
Select the drive letter and enter the UNC path, the UNC path format is
<storageAccountName>.file.core.windows.net<fileShareName>. For example:anexampleaccountname.file.core.windows.netexample-share-name.Use the storage account name prepended with
AZUREas the username and a storage account key as the password.Use Azure file share as desired.
When you are ready to dismount the Azure file share, you can do so by right-clicking on the entry for the share under the Network locations in File Explorer and selecting Disconnect.
Accessing share snapshots from Windows
If you have taken a share snapshot, either manually or automatically through a script or service like Azure Backup, you can view previous versions of a share, a directory, or a particular file from file share on Windows. You can take a share snapshot using Azure PowerShell, Azure CLI, or the Azure portal.
List previous versions
Browse to the item or parent item that needs to be restored. Double-click to go to the desired directory. Right-click and select Properties from the menu.
Select Previous Versions to see the list of share snapshots for this directory. The list might take a few seconds to load, depending on the network speed and the number of share snapshots in the directory.
You can select Open to open a particular snapshot.
Restore from a previous version
Select Restore to copy the contents of the entire directory recursively at the share snapshot creation time to the original location.
Securing Windows/Windows Server
In order to mount an Azure file share on Windows, port 445 must be accessible. Many organizations block port 445 because of the security risks inherent with SMB 1. SMB 1, also known as CIFS (Common Internet File System), is a legacy file system protocol included with Windows and Windows Server. SMB 1 is an outdated, inefficient, and most importantly insecure protocol. The good news is that Azure Files does not support SMB 1, and all supported versions of Windows and Windows Server make it possible to remove or disable SMB 1. We always strongly recommend removing or disabling the SMB 1 client and server in Windows before using Azure file shares in production.
The following table provides detailed information on the status of SMB 1 each version of Windows:
| Windows version | SMB 1 default status | Disable/Remove method |
|---|---|---|
| Windows Server 2019 | Disabled | Remove with Windows feature |
| Windows Server, versions 1709+ | Disabled | Remove with Windows feature |
| Windows 10, versions 1709+ | Disabled | Remove with Windows feature |
| Windows Server 2016 | Enabled | Remove with Windows feature |
| Windows 10, versions 1507, 1607, and 1703 | Enabled | Remove with Windows feature |
| Windows Server 2012 R2 | Enabled | Remove with Windows feature |
| Windows 8.1 | Enabled | Remove with Windows feature |
| Windows Server 2012 | Enabled | Disable with Registry |
| Windows Server 2008 R2 | Enabled | Disable with Registry |
| Windows 7 | Enabled | Disable with Registry |
Auditing SMB 1 usage
Applies to Windows Server 2019, Windows Server semi-annual channel (versions 1709 and 1803), Windows Server 2016, Windows 10 (versions 1507, 1607, 1703, 1709, and 1803), Windows Server 2012 R2, and Windows 8.1
Before removing SMB 1 in your environment, you may wish to audit SMB 1 usage to see if any clients will be broken by the change. If any requests are made against SMB shares with SMB 1, an audit event will be logged in the event log under Applications and Services Logs > Microsoft > Windows > SMBServer > Audit.
Note
Mount Cloud Storage As Local Drive Free Shipping
To enable auditing support on Windows Server 2012 R2 and Windows 8.1, install at least KB4022720.
To enable auditing, execute the following cmdlet from an elevated PowerShell session:
Removing SMB 1 from Windows Server
Applies to Windows Server 2019, Windows Server semi-annual channel (versions 1709 and 1803), Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2012 R2
To remove SMB 1 from a Windows Server instance, execute the following cmdlet from an elevated PowerShell session:
To complete the removal process, restart your server.
Note
Starting with Windows 10 and Windows Server version 1709, SMB 1 is not installed by default and has separate Windows features for the SMB 1 client and SMB 1 server. We always recommend leaving both the SMB 1 server (FS-SMB1-SERVER) and the SMB 1 client (FS-SMB1-CLIENT) uninstalled.
Removing SMB 1 from Windows client
Applies to Windows 10 (versions 1507, 1607, 1703, 1709, and 1803) and Windows 8.1
To remove SMB 1 from your Windows client, execute the following cmdlet from an elevated PowerShell session:
To complete the removal process, restart your PC.
Disabling SMB 1 on legacy versions of Windows/Windows Server
Applies to Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2008 R2, and Windows 7
SMB 1 cannot be completely removed on legacy versions of Windows/Windows Server, but it can be disabled through the Registry. To disable SMB 1, create a new registry key SMB1 of type DWORD with a value of 0 under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SYSTEM > CurrentControlSet > Services > LanmanServer > Parameters.
You can easily accomplish this with the following PowerShell cmdlet as well:
After creating this registry key, you must restart your server to disable SMB 1.
SMB resources
Next steps
See these links for more information about Azure Files:
When external hard drives are gaining more popularity for the ability to store huge volumes of data, SSDs or solid state drives are also gaining popularity among a big class of users for the speed and convenience it has to offer. SSDs are lightning fast and it is a convenient option to boot from an SSD or run some heavy programs directly from it without waiting for an eternity to start the same. But SSDs are not convenient among users to store huge volumes of data for their prices per gigabyte at the first place. While cloud storage services are always a great choice for users to store documents and photos, but it is still not that convenient for everyday uses.
Most popular cloud storage services like Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive make it easy to sync files between a PC and the cloud storage for easy and hassle-free access, but that still might be a trouble for users having a limited capacity SSD. In such a situation, using an external hard drive is the only convenient option but that isn’t as convenient every time, as syncing files directly between a PC and the cloud storage. But if you rely heavily on cloud storage services, using an SSD to sync huge volumes of data can be an extra pain, and it is where CloudMounter come to play.
With CloudMounter, you can access your cloud storage on your PC with the aid of Windows Explorer through a mapped network drive in your Windows Explorer. It is pretty convenient to use and is quite simple to set up.
So let’s get started with how to set up CloudMounter on a Windows 10 computer. The process is pretty similar for other Windows editions, as well.
If you want to do the same on a Linux computer, you can do that for free. Read this tutorial to know more.
Map cloud storage as a network drive on Windows 10 or 7
Step 1: Download CloudMounter for Windows from their official website. To explore additional options, you can visit the CloudMounter website. A Mac version is available, as well.
Step 2: Install CloudMounter on your Windows computer just the way you install other Windows programs. Accept the terms and conditions, click on ‘Next’ a number of times, and the installation should be complete.
Step 3: After installation is complete, open the program, and you should find the following screen.
Step 4: You can click on ‘Purchase now’ or ‘Enter code’ to purchase the program or enter the code if you have already purchased it. Just click on ‘Continue’ to keep using the program. CloudMounter comes with a 14-day trial.
Step 5: You should now find the main screen of CloudMounter.
Step 6: Click on the cloud storage service, which you have subscribed to. I am clicking on ‘Google Drive’ for now.
Step 7: Depending on the Cloud Storage service you have selected, a browser window will open, where you will have to log in with your credentials.
Step 8: Once you are done logging in, you will have to give some permissions to CloudMounter to allow it to access the contents in the cloud storage service.
Step 9: Once everything is done in the browser window, come back to the CloudMounter window, where you have to do some final tasks.
Step 10: Set the name, which should be the default name associated with your cloud storage account. You can even change it if you wish. You can keep the name as ‘Work’, ‘Personal’, ‘Photos’ or whatever suits the account.
Other necessary details like the amount of space you can use, etc. will be shown to you.
Step 11: By default, the drive letter for the mapped drive will be ‘Z’. You can always change it to any other drive letter as per your convenience. I am keeping the drive letter to default ‘Z’. Finally, click on ‘Mount’ to mount the cloud storage drive as a mapped drive.
Mount Cloud Storage As Local Drive Free Download
Step 12: To add a new cloud storage drive, simply click on ‘Add new connection’ and repeat the same steps all over again.
Step 13: You can always change the drive letter or unmount the drive by clicking on ‘Unmount’.
Step 14: Just open ‘My Computer’ or ‘This PC’ to find out Z drive or any other drive letter you have chosen, along with the name set by you.
Just in case you want to change any settings, like the mapped drive letter, the name, or anything else, you will have to unmount the mapped drive at first and then proceed with making the changes.
CloudMounter is thus pretty simple to set up, and the best thing is that you can access all the files the same way you do with normal cloud storage sync, without occupying any space on your SSD or low storage drive.
CloudMounter should always run in the background so that you can get access to the cloud storage drives with the help of Windows Explorer.
You can get a license for personal use on Windows only for $35.39 or almost 2,600 INR after your 15 days trial is finished. Thus, it isn’t that costly as well.
Hope the small information was helpful for you. Do you have anything else to say about the program? Feel free to comment it down below.
Other Resources to see: