I keep my pictures on a file server on my network. I wanted to addthe relevant location to my Pictures Library, but itrefuses, saying I can't add a non-indexed location to the library. So, I needtheSearch Indexer to indexa network drive, but it seems impossible to do so. Control Panel | Indexing Options only offers the hard disks on my own PC. I can't believe Libraries won't work with networked drives. So what do I do? Could anyone help? Thanks.

Thack said: I keep my pictures on a file server on my network. I wanted to addthe relevant location to my Pictures Library, but itrefuses, saying I can't add a non-indexed location to the library. To be specific, the message is: "This folder cannot be included because it is on a share that is not indexed". And there seems to be no way of indexing it. I've mapped it to a drive letter, and that hasn't helped.

I was in a chat with the team for libraries, and their statements about that indicate that the indexing must be done by the server.Rating posts helps other users Mark L. Ferguson MS-MVP

Well, this is not exactly what is sayed in the help / description message in "Windows Help" (quote message) ;"Can I include a folder that isn't always available on my computer? You can include folders from locations that aren't always accessible by your computer (such as removable drives or networks), but you won't be able to access the contents of those folders unless the drive or network is connected. Although network folders can be included in libraries, searches will likely be slow because the contents of those folders can't be indexed."So, I'm ok that this help message isn't correct (well, I think someone in the team have not exactly understand what should be done with libraries ?) I have a server with indexed drives, but that doesn't really work; I add a network drive from my server in windows 7 (something like Z:) and I want to add Music from server into my libraries ;Seems to be impossible ...Did you have an idea ?

I had the same issue but I think I have a workaround. I used media center to populate my pictures/movies/music libraries and it carried outside of MC into the regular OS libraries. So far so good (although I admit I haven't used it much yet)>

I'm having the exact same problem. If any of you come across a solution, I hope you'll share it here! :)

Try to add the network folder in Windows Media Center library "Video" (Setup->Configure Library), and automatically you should find the shared folder on library/video. I think is the same with Pictures or Music folder on other machines. But if you remove WMC in Windows turn on/off features, the network folders disappears from library/video. Let me know if work

It work for me, now I can see my shared folder into my libraries. Thank you!

There's a free video of how to do this here: http://www.winstructor.com/news/22/Windows-7-Training-%252d-Using-Windows-7-Libraries-with-Network-Drives-%28Free-Video%29.htmlIt involves creating a symbolic link but it works fine. The other option is to use the favorites feature above where the libraries are.

I foundthis tutorial showing how to add a network drive to your library. It will not index it though, but at least it's there. I used Method 2, with symlinks, and it worked great. The site having the tutorial doesn't require registering either.

The problem for me is that I want to be able to sort by tags etc. Isn't that half the point of the whole library thing? If you ad it through MCE etc, you lose the ability to sort by tags etc so it is very frustrating. My network drive is attached to my router, not some fancy server that can index it!Come on MS!!!

Some network drives can be indexed, but it requires Windows 2008 and must have Windows Search Services enabled on the server. Combined with the method 2 above, it does allow you to do indexed searches. After turning on the service, then create your Library symbolic links. Navigate to the symbolic link you want to search and search away!Reference for enabling Windows Search Services:http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee461108(WS.10).aspx#BKMK_InstallWSandEnableFIleServices SnoBoy

in order to index a network location within a corporate network it looks like the choices are to A) make the folder available off line so as to include it in a library - which works - until your TB network drive fills up your GB local HDD - or B) enable indexing on the server, which our network admins wont do because of all the legacy cr@p we have on our network. This is just S-T-U-P-I-D M$!! I was able to build a perfectly awsome and great local index which included the network locations of my choice, including email, using windows desktop search on my windows XP machine and it is ALL BROKEN now. You want us to adopt 7 in our corp environment but now I cannot search multiple network locations for information that I need to find that is part of my job here. That is too bad. I LOVE win 7 at home it is awsome, at work IT IS A PAIN IN THE ____!!!! Please make the desktop search able to include specified network locations in a local index of files!!!!!!!!!!!!

== This is how to search network files and index network files without having to store a copy on your own dam computer. == So after a long hard search i have found the answer to my own problem. (putting up with this for 3 months) This patch allows you to add network files to the index without having to make them "always available offline". It will add a tab in the Indexing Options menu called "Add UNC Location" this is where you add the path of the network folder. UNCFATPHInstaller.msi http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?DisplayLang=en&FamilyID=f7e981d9-5a3b-4872-a07e-220761e27283 To Add to Library http://zornsoftware.talsit.info/?p=3 always available offline is not a real solution for network storage, you can't make 2TB available offline if you have a 200GB hard drive

Craigman, UNCFATPHInstaller.msi is only available in 32 bit version. What about 64 bit?

Well MS have release hotfix KB2268596. Try installing the hotfix, add the EnableSearchingSlowLibrariesInStartMenu DWORD reg value, then install the UNC addin and try rebuilding the index. Does that now return search results from the network in places like Start search?Anonymuos