How to index the internal hard disk of another computer, as if it is a external USB drive?

Discussion related to "Everything" 1.5 Alpha.
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Raindrops
Posts: 247
Joined: Sat Jan 21, 2023 10:04 am

How to index the internal hard disk of another computer, as if it is a external USB drive?

Post by Raindrops »

I have two laptops. My older laptop has almost 1 TB of data in its internal HDD.
How do I index that drive and search its contents using Everything on my new laptop?

If the above is possible, can I open the files on my old laptops on my new laptop, as if the internal HDD of my old laptop is an external USB drive?

(I am not well-versed with how to use network drives.
But if that is also a possibility, please do share the steps to set that up!)
Last edited by Raindrops on Mon Aug 12, 2024 2:17 am, edited 1 time in total.
void
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Joined: Fri Oct 16, 2009 11:31 pm

Re: How to index the internal hard disk of another computer, as if it is a external USB drive?

Post by void »

I recommend setting up a network share on either laptop (preferably the one that is on the most):
  • Plug in your USB drive.
  • In Windows Explorer, right click the drive and click Properties.
  • Click the Sharing tab:
  • Click Advanced Sharing....
    • Check Share this folder.
    • Click Permissions.
      • Select Everyone.
      • Optionally, check Full control if you want to change files remotely.
      • Click OK.
    • Click OK.
  • Click OK/Close.
  • From the Start menu, search for: sharing
  • Click Manage advanced sharing settings.
  • In Advanced sharing settings, under Private, check Turn on file and printer sharing.
  • Click Save changes.

  • From the Start menu, search for: control
  • Click Control Panel.
  • In the Control Panel, click Network and Sharing Center.
  • Change your network type to: Private (if it is not already)
  • Do this on both laptops.


Setup a mapped network drive on your other laptop:
  • In Windows Explorer, from the Home menu, click Easy access -> Map as drive.
  • Choose a drive letter.
  • Change folder to: \\laptop1\E and click Finish.
    where laptop1 is your laptop with the USB drive connected and E is the share name.


From here you can add your mapped network drive / network share to your Everything index:
  • On the remote laptop, in Everything, from the Tools menu, click Options.
  • Click the Folders tab on the left.
  • Click Add....
  • Select your mapped network drive or \\laptop1\E share and click OK.
    where laptop1 is your laptop with the USB drive connected and E is the drive letter.
  • Click OK.
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