Yes, this is possible on both Windows and Linux/Raspberry Pi installs, but each requires a bit of setup.


Windows


1. Use UNC paths, not mapped drives


Mapped drive letters (e.g. X:) don't reliably work when Streamer runs as a Windows Service - services often can't see drive mappings created in a user session. Use the UNC path instead (\\MACHINENAME\FOLDER) when adding your files to Helium's library.


If your library already uses drive-letter paths, you don't need to re-add anything - use Helium's Remap Path tool (found in the main app) to convert existing paths to UNC in bulk.


2. Give the Streamer service access via its Log On account


By default, the Windows Service runs under a system account that has no rights to your NAS or network share. To fix this:


  1. On the device where your music is stored (NAS or similar), create a user account with an alphanumeric-only username and password that has access to the music folders.
  2. On the computer running Helium Streamer, create a matching local account - same username and password. It needs administrator privileges, and if it's a new account, log into it once before continuing.
  3. Open Services (press Win, type Services, or run services.msc).
  4. Find the Helium Streamer service, double-click it, and go to the Log On tab.
  5. Select This account, enter the username and password from step 2, and click OK.
  6. Right-click the service and choose Restart.


Streamer should now be able to read from the network share.


Linux / Raspberry Pi


There's no service "Log On As" concept on Linux - instead, mount the network share (SMB/CIFS or NFS) at the OS level before starting Streamer, using whatever local mount point you prefer.


If your library's paths were originally recorded on Windows (e.g. \\NAS\Music or Z:\Music), use the PathRedirects setting in Streamer's config to map that stored path prefix to the local mount point on the Linux machine. This is the cross-platform, config-file equivalent of the Remap Path tool, and works the same way whether the share is local or the library was migrated from a Windows install.