Written 5 Sep 2026. This is a how-to, not a product card.

Add a second house share

Make another Samba folder on the old PC: documents next to photos, or a quiet place for laptop backups. Same computer. You don't need a NAS.

Haven't made the first share yet? Start with a file share. Only one person can open it, and you want a second login on the same folder? That is add another person to the house share. This note is different: a second folder with its own share name, so photos stay apart from documents or from a backup target.

Skip until the first share already works

If Finder, File Explorer, or a phone cannot open the first share yet, stop and fix that. Walk open the house share from a laptop or when the house share won't open. Don't buy a NAS so two folders can live on one old PC. Don't open SMB to the internet.

What this is

One more block in /etc/samba/smb.conf, pointed at a new folder on the computer. Phones and laptops open it the same way as photos, with a different name after the slash or backslash. Same Samba users you already have. You are not installing Nextcloud. You are not building a second computer.

Step 1: awake, then SSH

Power light. Fan. If it looks asleep, start with is the computer still on?. You need SSH from the couch: SSH from the couch. Connect fails? when SSH won't connect.

Step 2: check room on the disk

A second folder still uses the same disk unless you park it somewhere else. See free space first:

df -h /

Or the longer look: see if the computer still has room. System disk already tight from photos? Park the new folder on a USB that stays plugged in (put the house folder on a USB disk), or free room first (when the computer's disk is full). Don't add a huge backup share on a 128 GB SSD that is already half full.

Step 3: make the folder

Pick a short name. Examples: documents, media, backups. Keep photos on the first share. Swap the path if you mounted a USB under something like /mnt/share.

sudo mkdir -p /srv/documents

sudo chown youruser:youruser /srv/documents

Swap youruser for the Linux login Samba already uses. If a partner already has write access on photos through a group, put them in that group again for this folder the same way you did in add another person to the house share, or repeat the chown / group write steps after the share works.

Step 4: add a second block in smb.conf

Open the Samba config:

sudo nano /etc/samba/smb.conf

Leave your existing [photos] block alone (or whatever name you picked on day one). At the bottom, add another share. Indentation with spaces is fine.

[documents]
   path = /srv/documents
   valid users = youruser
   read only = no
   browseable = yes

Swap youruser for your Samba login. If two people already open photos, put both names on valid users, separated by a space, same as the photos block. Do not copy Time Machine fruit lines here unless you are following back up a Mac to the house share with Time Machine on purpose. Those options belong on a dedicated backup share, not on day-to-day documents.

Test the file:

testparm -s

Fix any typo it prints. Then restart Samba:

sudo systemctl restart smbd

Step 5: open the new share

Same computer address, new share name. On Windows: \\lab-address\documents. On a Mac: smb://lab-address/documents. Longer walks: open the house share from a laptop, from a phone, or map the house share as a drive (pick a different letter than photos). Type the same Samba username and password you already use. Forgot it? set or change the house-share password.

Drop a small test file in. If you can see the folder but cannot write, fix ownership on the new path the same way as the first share: sudo chown youruser:youruser /srv/documents.

If the new name never shows up

Confirm testparm -s lists both shares. Confirm you restarted smbd. Confirm the path exists and is not a typo. On a laptop, try the full path with the share name, not only browsing the network neighborhood. Still stuck on every share? Start with when the house share won't open or when the house share disappeared, check the computer.

What this is not

This is not a second login on the same folder (that is add another person to the house share). It is not Time Machine fruit lines. Use Time Machine to the house share when a Mac needs a capped backup share. It is not Windows File History setup. That walk is File History to the house share. It is not a NAS, RAID, or Nextcloud. It is not opening SMB past the house network.

What next

Leave both shares alone for a week. Point a Mac backup at its own share: Time Machine to the house share. Point Windows Libraries at a separate share: File History to the house share. Keep a second copy of the house folder itself: a backup of the house folder. Watch disk room: see if the computer still has room. Someone else needs their own login: add another person to the house share.

Skip

• Skip until the first share already opens from a laptop or phone.
• Skip stuffing Time Machine into the photos share.
• Skip a second share on a disk that is already full.
• Skip buying a NAS for two folders on one old PC.
• Skip opening SMB to the internet.
• Skip Nextcloud or a "homelab file stack" for documents next to photos.