Guide

How to back up a Windows PC to a NAS

A NAS – a network drive such as a Synology or QNAP – is a good home for an office's backups: always there, big, and shared by every PC. Set it up so it stays private and out of ransomware's reach.

Updated October 2026

1. Make a shared folder for backups

On the NAS, make a shared folder just for backups, such as backups. Its address from a PC is then \\nas name\backups – type that into File Explorer's address bar to check it opens.

2. Give it its own user name

Make a NAS user just for backups, give only that user access to the folder, and use a password nobody else knows. Anyone who can open the share can read every PC's backups in it, so don't leave it open to everyone on the network.

3. Keep each PC's backup apart

Several PCs often have the same folders – C:\Users\Sam\Documents on a laptop and a desktop, say. Give each PC its own folder in the share, so one never overwrites another's files.

4. Back up on a schedule

A NAS is never "plugged in", so a backup that starts when a drive is connected never runs. Set a daily time instead – the end of the working day suits most offices – and make sure it runs even when the backup program's window isn't open, and catches up if the PC was off at the time.

5. Protect it from ransomware

Ransomware on a PC can reach any network folder that PC can save to. Two things help:

• Turn on the NAS's own snapshots (Synology calls them Snapshot Replication; QNAP, Snapshots). They keep read-only copies the PCs can't change.
• Keep one copy off the network – a USB drive that's swapped and taken home each week.