Alternative for sharing SMB between Windows systems.
Alternative for sharing SMB between Windows systems.
trying as I might, I’m unable to set up an SMB share between my desktop and laptop, whether using or without credentials. What other solutions exist? I also need to move large files—over 50 GB.
There aren’t many real options… unless you configure an FTP server. FileZilla could assist, though SMB should function properly. I haven’t set up a shared folder from Windows in years, but I used to restrict access to just “everyone,” which usually worked.
Besides FTP, there's torrent files and DC++ You can make a torrent file with qBittorrent and self host it. Go in options, advanced, and enable the embedded tracker so that you won't have to use public torrent trackers : Check both and optionally change the port if you use 9000 for something else Now you can go in Torrent Creator and create a torrent with the content you want to transfer. Select file or folder, and in the Trackr URLs:, you can either enter a public torrent tracker or your own tracker (if you enable the embedded tracker above) The embedded tracker announce URL is http://your_computer_ip:9000/announce Note I checked Private Torrent, Start seeding immediately, and at Tracker URLs I entered only my embedded tracker link , http:// ip: port / announce I forgot to add :9000 after my IP in the picture above, I'm not making another screenshot... it should be 192.168.0.100:9000 in the picture above. If your files are very big, select piece size 32 MB or hit the "calculate number of pieces" - if you distribute to a lot of people, it's best to have a maximum of around 2000 pieces but if it's just between two computers you can leave it on 32 MB all the time. Now you can transfer the torrent file (very small) through email or through some other methods (free file transfer sites) between computers, or using remote desktop connection programs like anydesk or whatever, and load the torrent file on the other computer. You could also just transfer over the magnet link ... in qBittorrent, right click on the torrent you just created, and there's a Copy > Magnet link option... for the file in the above the magnet link looks like this : magnet:?xt=urn:btih:a8f20022131294035c125595cc3047d486c166f6&dn=scan.pdf&tr=http%3a%2f%2f192.168.0.100%2fannounce You open that up on the second computer's qBittorrent and it knows to connect to that tracker in the magnet link and retrieve all the info it needs and start the transfer Alternatvely, something easier to set up would be a DC++ server ... you can start it and turn it off at any point, the dc++ server is just setting up a way for two dc++ clients to connect (like a chat room, like IRC etc) YnHub is a dc++ server that runs on Windows ... the official page is gone, but you can download one of the latest versions in a zip from https://github.com/blha303/YnHub?tab=readme-ov-file (click on the zip, the click on "View raw" and the zip will download) For just a transfer between two computers , it's enough to simply hit "Start hub" from the main YnHub window and the server will start listening for connections on that computer's IP, port 411 Now you can use any dc++ application (StrongDC++, oDC, ReverseDC++), add the folders you want to share in the configuration, set up a nickname, and connect to the DC++ server (enter the IP and port ) Here's with the standard DC++ client : https://sourceforge.net/projects/dcplusplus/ Settings opens up right after you run for the first time : Type a unique name in the Nick on each computer's dc++ client, then go in Sharing and add the folder you want to share with others As you add folders, the client hashes the files ... it's similar to making torrent files for each individual file, if you want to add multiple folders you can hit "Run in background" and add all the folders you want, but the files will be visible to the other computer only once the hashing process is done. Also, each time you restart the client, it will check if there's new files or modified files in those folders and rehash if needed. So once that's done, you can simply connect to the DC++ server by entering your IP and port , in my case 192.168.0.100 : 411 File > Quick Connect : and you're connected to the YnHub server and show up in the list of users with the amount of files you share. You can right click on a user, select Browse files to see all the files that user shares, and then you can download a specific file : Unlike torrents, this has the benefit that you can easily start and stop the hub server software (YnHub) whenever you want or just leave it running 24/7, and each time you start the clients the list is refreshed so you don't have to manually make a new torrent for each file or folder you want to transfer, and you don't have to send magnet links or torrent links between computers (even if it's easy if you use anydesk or even regular windows remote desktop connection, or even pasting it in Whatsapp or somewhere You do have to leave it hash the files before you can actually transfer, it's not instantaneous, but it's not a big deal unless you're in a really big hurry.
It seems you're considering switching from SMB to a more straightforward approach using hardware, like USB storage. A quicker storage option would be beneficial given the size of the files.
The September monthly patch includes several issues, including one about SMB. https://www.windowslatest.com/2025/09/22...25-update/ Microsoft clarified that Windows 11 KB5065426 may damage Server Message Block (SMB) version 1 and prevent sharing or connecting to shared files.
It seems the default setting already disables v1. For SMB, you should be utilizing either v2 or v3 as recommended.