Mount a NAS or network share

A network share makes a folder on a NAS or server available in OpenATV. Mounting connects the remote share to a local directory, allowing applications to access it much like an attached storage device.

What you need

• A working network connection.
• A share that has already been configured on the NAS or server.
• The server name or IP address, share name or NFS export path, and suitable access permissions.
• For SMB, a NAS username and password if required.

The server must allow access to the share. Adding it in OpenATV does not create a folder or grant permissions on the NAS.

Choose the right guide

Your goal	Guide
Mount an NFS export from a NAS	Connect NFS and understand its options
Mount a NAS share with a username and password	Set up SMB/CIFS
Share a Windows folder with the receiver or access a NAS from the PC	Windows 11, accounts, permissions and firewall
Choose a mount mode or understand a spinner when the NAS is unavailable	autofs, fstab and offline behaviour
Share receiver files with another box	Enigma2 as an NFS server and /etc/exports
Record to a NAS or plan time shift	Recording destinations and HDD replacement
Compare ext4, NTFS, exFAT and FAT32	File systems and network protocols

Menu location

Menu → Setup → Network → Network Mounts Overview

Choose Browse to look for shares. If you know the server details, you can also add a share manually.

Add an SMB share manually

1. Open the network mounts overview and press MENU.
2. Choose Add Mount Manually.
3. Enter your share details. nas and Recordings below are examples only.

Field	Example and meaning
Enabled	Yes – use this definition
Protocol	SMB / CIFS – the cifs mount type also supports modern SMB versions; its name does not mean SMB1
Server	nas or the actual NAS IP address
Remote path	Recordings – the share name on the NAS; keep server and share in separate fields
Local share	nas-recordings – the local mount directory name
Mount mode	Mount on first access (autofs) for the initial setup
Username / Password	The NAS user’s credentials
SMB version	SMB3 if supported by the server; the inspected dialog uses it as the default for new shares
Access mode	Read/Write for recording; Read-Only is enough for playing existing files
Use as HDD replacement	Leave disabled for this first example

4. Save the definition using the labelled save action.
5. Open /media/autofs/nas-recordings in the file selector of the application where you want to use the share. With autofs, accessing the directory triggers the mount.
6. Check that the share’s files are visible. To record to it, also select the intended folder in recording settings and test a short recording.

Example of a mounted share

An existing test share: media is the local share name. The line below identifies the server, remote path and mount mode. Open original image ↗

This example is accessed at /media/autofs/media. Writing and reading a small test file were verified there. Enabled describes the saved definition; Mounted describes the detected access state. The practical check is whether your target application can open the files and, when needed, write to the directory.

Which local path belongs to each mode?

Mode	Local path
Mount on first access (autofs)	/media/autofs/NAME
Mount at boot time (fstab), without HDD replacement	/media/net/NAME
fstab with HDD replacement	/media/hdd

NAME is the Local share field. These paths are confirmed for the OpenATV 8.0 version used here.

SMB or NFS?

SMB normally uses a share name and a user account. For NFS, enter the export path provided by the server. The NFS server must allow the box to access it; the SMB login fields do not control that permission. Use the export path provided by the server’s administration interface.

Understand the main options

• autofs: Mounts on the first file access. A share that does not appear actively mounted beforehand is not necessarily broken.
• fstab: Mounts at boot time, when the server must be reachable as required.
• HDD replacement: In fstab mode, uses /media/hdd instead of a separate path below /media/net. In the tested autofs mode, the path remains below /media/autofs. If a hard disk is already mounted at /media/hdd, leave HDD replacement disabled for an additional NAS share.
• Optional arguments: Additional mount parameters. Leave empty initially unless there is a specific requirement.

autofs helps with servers that are only available occasionally, but does not prevent every blocking file access. Even checking a directory can trigger a mount. Startup delays and spinners distinguishes mount idle expiry from protocol timeouts.

Troubleshooting

Problem	Check first
Server cannot be found	Server address and network; try its known IP address if name resolution is failing
Access denied	Username, password and server-side share permissions
Files are visible but recording fails	Write permissions, free space and the selected recording directory
No manual mount action	For autofs, open the local directory instead

All network mount options · Common questions

Sources: Mount dialog and new-share defaults, mount path selection. Read and write access to the existing CIFS/autofs share was tested on the receiver; this does not verify every protocol’s complete setup procedure.

When mounting a share, the receiver is a client. For the reverse direction see Samba server or NFS server. See network services for activation/status, and LAN/DNS for addressing/name resolution.