I want to access an always on PC with my Android devices

[Red Storm]

Best method for this? I've already been using Dropbox, Google Drive, Asus WebStorage, but their limits can be a little annoying. I want something very simple, Specify a folder on a Win7 machine and be able to access that folder from anywhere via my Android devices so I can download the files within.

What is the simplest and best method to do this?

 

[Jinny]

off the top of my head..ftp?

 

[Paladin]

Use ES File Explorer. You can access shares on your network. You need to setup an account on your windows 7 machine with a password, if your default one isn't password enabled. But that's it. Just put in the IP address, have ES remember the password, and you're good to go.
I upload my photos off my GNexus to my PC this way, don't have to break out the cord.

 

[Red Storm]

Use ES File Explorer. You can access shares on your network. You need to setup an account on your windows 7 machine with a password, if your default one isn't password enabled. But that's it. Just put in the IP address, have ES remember the password, and you're good to go.
I upload my photos off my GNexus to my PC this way, don't have to break out the cord.

But does this work remotely? It can't be limited to the same network.

 

[Paladin]

Missed that requrirement...

 

[TuxDave]

What about beyond a folder and just setup a remote desktop that you can log into on your phone?

 

[Red Storm]

What about beyond a folder and just setup a remote desktop that you can log into on your phone?

The end goal is download video from the folder to my phone and tablet, to watch later. Not streaming, but local storage. All the cloud services I've tried fail me with large file sizes.

 

[vshah]

look into subsonic. works great for transferring or streaming files. there's a native android app as well as a web interface. I know the web interface lets you download, not sure about the app though. i'll check later.

it runs on your machine at a specified port, and you can set up which folders it watches.
so just port forward that port to your desktop in your router, and you're good to go.

 

[Mopetar]

off the top of my head..ftp?

Yeah, this would probably be the best bet and FTP isn't too terribly difficult to get running in Windows. After that just get an FTP client for your Android device and you should be good to go.