• Network connection - for all OS's
  • Off-campus
  • On-Campus (wired and wireless)
  • University VPN
• Windows 10 / 11
  • Option A: Pin to Quick Access
  • Option B: Create Desktop Shortcut:
  • Option C: Map a network drive
• MacOS
• Chromebook
• iPadOS / iOS (iPhone)
• Android:
• FAQ (Frequently asked questions):
  • Why is it a bad idea to map a network drive on a Windows computer if I'm off-campus? 
  • Why do I need to be on IllinoisNet, a wired Illinois network, or use the VPN?  Why won't IllinoisNet_Guest or Eduroam work? 

Network connection - for all OS's

A network connection to the University of Illinois network (either directly or via the University VPN) is required to connect to the SCS file server.  

Off-campus

• If you are using an off-campus network, you will need to use the University's VPN.  If you do not already have the VPN software installed on your computer or need assistance with this, please see VPN Installation Instructions.

On-Campus (wired and wireless)

• If you are on-campus and using a wired network connection, you can simply select your OS from the list above
• If you are on-campus using a wireless network, you must connect to the "IllinoisNet" wireless network - Seethe Wi-Fi Help Portal Page for instructions. 
  
  • NOTE: If you are connecting to "IllinoisNet_Guest" or "eduroam" wireless networks, you will need to use the University VPN to connect to the file server.  

University VPN

If you do not already have the VPN software installed on your computer or need assistance with this, please use the links below for assistance:

• VPN - Getting Started
• VPN - Installation Instructions (Windows, MacOS, iPadOS/iOS, Chromebook, Android, etc)

Windows 10 / 11

1. Open the Run box - you can either:
   • press the Windows logo key + R, or
   • type Run in the search box at the bottom of the screen and select the "Run" app
     
     
       
2. In the Run box, type (or copy) the following exactly as shown:
   
   \\files.scs.illinois.edu
   
   and click OK.  Note the dual backslashes (generally found just above the "Enter" key on your keyboard) before files.scs.illinois.edu.  This is important! 
   
   
    
3. Credentials:
   • (on-campus only): If your computer is in the Active Directory, a window to the SCS File Server (files.scs.illinois.edu) will simply open
   • When you connect to a network drive, you will be prompted for credentials. Use uofi\[yourNetID] and your Campus Active Directory (email, VPN) password.
      
4. A window with one or more shared folders will appear.  Only folders you have access to will be shown.
   
   
5. Add the connection to your computer using one of the following methods: 
   1. Pin to Quick Access (recommended)
   2. Create shortcut on Desktop
   3. Map network drive (NOT recommended for off-campus computer or computers not in the Active Directory)
      

Option A: Pin to Quick Access

NOTE:  This is the recommended option for anyone with a laptop or other computer that will (or may) be used off-campus.  Items in the "Quick Access" bar only try to connect when clicked on, so this will not make logins slower when off-campus.  

Right-click on the file share you want to access, and select Pin to Quick Access. This will add a link to the [foldername] file share to the "Quick Access" panel in Windows Explorer.

• IMPORTANT: While the [foldername] folder will always appear in your Quick Access bar, it will only be accessible when you are logged into the VPN if you are off-campus.  
  

Option B: Create Desktop Shortcut:

You can create a shortcut to the shared folder on your desktop by right-clicking on the folder and choosing Create shortcut. You'll get a message:



Click yes and the shortcut will be created.

• IMPORTANT: While the "[foldername]" shortcut will always appear on your Desktop, it will only be accessible when you are logged into the VPN if you are off-campus.

Option C: Map a network drive

IMPORTANT NOTE:  This is not recommended for off-campus computers.

Mapping network drives is ONLY recommended for computers that remain on-campus at all times, such as an office desktop.  It is strongly discouraged for laptops or other computers that will be used off-campus.  See the FAQ section below for an explanation.

1. Right-click on the file share, and select Map Network Drive.
   • NOTE: on Windows 11, when you right-click on the file share name, you'll first need to select Show more options, then on Map Network Drive
     
     
2. Select the drive letter
   
   
3. If you're on campus and your machine is NOT in the Active Directory, select Connect using different credentials
   
   
4. Click Finish
   
   
5. If you selected Connect using different credentials, you'll be prompted to log in.  Use uofi\[yourNetID] and your Campus Active Directory (email, VPN) password.
   • DO NOT select "Remember my credentials" if you are using a shared login - if you do, everyone that uses that login will be connecting as you! 

• IMPORTANT: While the "[foldername]" mapped drive will always appear, it will only be accessible when you are logged into the VPN if you are off-campus.  Otherwise, it will tell you that it is "disconnected"

MacOS

1. Open the Connect to Server box - you can either:
   • press Command + K or
   • Click on the Go menu, then select Connect to Server...
     
     
     
     
   • In the "Server Address" field, type smb://files.scs.illinois.edu/[sharename](replacing the [sharename] with the name of your shared folder. 
     For example: 
     
     smb://files.scs.illinois.edu/chbe         (See red arrow, below)
     
     
     If you don't know the name of the shared folder, just type:
     
     smb://files.scs.illinois.edu/  
     
     A window will appear where you can select the share that you want to connect to.
     
     
2. You can save this address to your "Favorite Servers" by clicking on the plus (+) sign
   
   
   • Depending on the version of MacOS you're running, the plus (+) sign may be at the end of the "Server Address" text box or at the bottom of the window (green circle).
     
     
      
3. Click on the Connect button (purple circle)
   
   
4. When you connect to a network drive, you will be prompted for credentials. Use uofi\[yourNetID] and your Campus Active Directory (email, VPN) password.
    
5. The shared folder will open. 
    
6. If you close the shared folder window, you can find the shared folder (titled "files.scs.illinois.edu/[foldername]") under "Locations" in your Finder window.  
   
   

Chromebook

1. Open the "My Files" app (this should be on your desktop, or from your Shelf if you pinned it there)
   
   
2. Click the three-dot menu button at the top right corner of the "My Files" app.  Select the Services sub-menu, then click SMB File Share.
   
   
   
   
3. In the resulting pop-up window, you'll need to configure the following:
   • File share URL: For the SCS file server, this is: \\files.scs.illinois.edu.
     • If you know the name of the share, you can add it, like this:  \\files.scs.illinois.edu\mysharename
   • Display Name: This will be automatically filled in (once the share URL is added) or you can manually add a descriptive name.
   • Username: Prepend your username with "uofi\".  So, if your NetID is "janedoe", you'd type uofi\janedoe. 
   • Password: Type the same password you use for other University logins such as Shibboleth
     
     
4. You'll find the share (with the Display Name selected previously) listed at the bottom left corner of the "My Files" app. Click that entry to access the files and folders in the share.
   
   
5. IMPORTANT NOTES:
   • The share will ONLY be available when your Chromebook is on IllinoisNet, a wired University of Illinois connection, or connected to the University VPN
   • The newly added share will remain (even after a reboot).
   • To remove the share, two-finger tap (or right-click) the share listing in My Files and select Close.  Once you've closed (removed) a share, you'll have to go through the process of re-adding it, should you need access.

iPadOS / iOS (iPhone)

1. Your device needs to be running iOS 13 or iPadOS 13.1 (or later) for this to work. 
2. Open the Files app to get started. It’s pre-installed on all iPhone and iPads.
   
   
   
   
3. Tap the Browse tab at the bottom of iPhone screen, or look under the Browse sidebar on iPad
4. Tap the [...] icon, it looks like three dots in a row and is shown below
   
   
   
   
5. Tap Connect to Server from the options
6. Type smb://files.scs.illinois.edu in the "Server" field
   
   
   
   
7. Tap Connect when ready.
8. Log in with your NetID and password
9. The new share will appear under the “Shared” area in the “Browse” menu. Tap it to access the files located on the share.
10. Once you’ve set the SMB share up once it will be available whenever you need it. Even when you’re opening and saving files and data via other apps, they too will have access to the Samba share through Files app.

Android:

The built-in file manager on most Android distributions do not handle SMB (Samba) connections.  SMB is tne network protocol used to connect to a shared network drive. 

To connect to a SMB (samba) share, you'll most likely need to download a third-party file-manager app that support SMB  There are free apps, such as "X-plore File Manager", or "File Manager +". 

Specific instructions will depend on the app, but here's the information you should need: 

• Server name:  files.scs.illinois.edu
• Username:      uofi\[NetID]  e.g.  uofi\janedoe
• Password:       your Univeristy password

You'll need to either be on a University network such as IllinoisNet or connected to the University VPN.  

FAQ (Frequently asked questions):

Why is it a bad idea to map a network drive on a Windows computer if I'm off-campus? 

There are several reasons that we strongly recommend against mapping a network drive for off-campus computers: 

1. Slow booting: When a Windows computer boots, it tries to reconnect all network drives before giving you an opportunity to log in.  Since the mapped drive only works when you're using the campus VPN, you'll have to wait the 45-60 seconds for each mapped connection to time out before you'll be able to log in.  This gets old rather quickly. 
   
   
2. Lock-outs after changing password: Generally, a mapped drive is setup using cached credentials.  If you change your University password, the cached credentials are NOT automatically updated.  This means that every time Windows tries to connect to the mapped network drive (when you're connected to the VPN), it's using an out-of-date password and your Active Directory account WILL GET LOCKED OUT.  The only way to fix this is to remove the mapped network drive, and re-connect to it using your updated credentials.  

Instead of mapping a drive, we recommend adding network shares to the "Quick Access" bar.  Windows only checks if items in the "Quick Access" bar are accessible when they are accessed.  So adding a shortcut to your "Quick Access" bar (Option A) does NOT make your logins take any longer regardless of VPN status.  

Why do I need to be on IllinoisNet, a wired Illinois network, or use the VPN?  Why won't IllinoisNet_Guest or Eduroam work? 

The University uses a network "firewall" to protect University digital assets.  IllinoisNet and (most) wired on-campus networks are behind the firewall. 

• Access to the University's wireless network "IllinoisNet" requires authentication with University credentials, so we know that only University-affiliated people are accessing Illinois digital assets.  
• Access to the University's wired networks depends on the building, but most locations require some sort of registration to gain access to a wired network connection. 
• Like IllinoisNet, the campus VPN requires authentication including 2 factor authentication for additional security. 

 Although you'll find the wireless networks "IllinoisNet_Guest" and "eduroam" on campus, these are OUTSIDE of the campus firewall.  IllinoisNet_Guest does require authentication (sort of), but anyone can register with any email address they want so there's no guarantee that they're affiliated with the University.  Eduroam is, by it's very nature, for people from other universities who want internet access.  So both of these networks give you internet access, but NOT access to University devices so the VPN is necessary to get behind the firewall.