ayemack

Q: Sharing External HDD on AE - Can't Access

Long story short, I have a 4TB drive connected to my Airport Extreme and want to access it from a number of devices for media - FireTV Stick, XBox, WDTV Live, Popcorn Hour, etc.

 

The AE can see the drive with no issues. I can share it by configuring it as well. However, I cannot see the share on any other device - including my PCs (no Macs in my house - just PCs). I've tried \\IP and \\routername with no luck. The biggest issue is that I don't know what the share name is. It doesn't state that in the router config (only something like this is listed - WD 4TB External Harddrive). In effect, I can't put in \\IP\share or \\routername\share as I don't know what the share name is. Frustrating.

 

Here's a bigger question - if I don't have Macs in my house, does the drive NEED to be Fat32? Anything larger than 4GB won't work on that, and ALL my media is 6GB and larger. I would think I could use NTFS...but it's just not working.

 

Any assistance would be appreciated.

Posted on Jan 25, 2015 8:34 AM

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Q: Sharing External HDD on AE - Can't Access

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  • by Japib,Solvedanswer

    Japib Japib Jan 25, 2015 8:46 AM in response to ayemack
    Level 4 (2,798 points)
    Desktops
    Jan 25, 2015 8:46 AM in response to ayemack

    exFat doesn't work, as stated by Apple: AirPort base stations: About USB disks - Apple Support

    You'll be able to read and write HFS+ from windows with an additional software (see below), but not from "FireTV Stick, XBox, WDTV Live, Popcorn Hour."

    there isn't a solution for your setup for 4GB+ files, other than getting an NAS router that supports exFAT or NFTS. Airport devices are made for Apple users mainly. sorry


    FAT32 (File Allocation Table)

    • Read/Write FAT32 from both native Windows and native Mac OS X.
    • Maximum file size: 4GB.
    • Maximum volume size: 2TB
    • You can use this format if you share the drive between Mac OS X and Windows computers and have no files larger than 4GB.

    NTFS (Windows NT File System)

    • Read/Write NTFS from native Windows.
    • Read only NTFS from native Mac OS X
    • To Read/Write/Format NTFS from Mac OS X, here are some alternatives:
      • For Mac OS X 10.4 or later (32 or 64-bit), install Paragon (approx $20) (Best Choice for Lion)
      • Native NTFS support can be enabled in Snow Leopard and Lion, but is not advisable, due to instability.
    • AirPort Extreme (802.11n) and Time Capsule do not support NTFS
    • Maximum file size: 16 TB
    • Maximum volume size: 256TB
    • You can use this format if you routinely share a drive with multiple Windows systems.

    HFS+    ((((MAC FORMAT))))(Hierarchical File System, a.k.a. Mac OS Extended (Journaled) Don't use case-sensitive)

    • Read/Write HFS+ from native Mac OS X
    • Required for Time Machine or Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper! backups of Mac internal hard drive.
    • To Read HFS+ (but not Write) from Windows, Install HFSExplorer
    • Maximum file size: 8EiB
    • Maximum volume size: 8EiB
    • You can use this format if you only use the drive with Mac OS X, or use it for backups of your Mac OS X internal drive, or if you only share it with one Windows PC (with MacDrive installed on the PC)

    EXFAT (FAT64)

    • Supported in Mac OS X only in 10.6.5 or later.
    • Not all Windows versions support exFAT. 
    • exFAT (Extended File Allocation Table)
    • AirPort Extreme (802.11n) and Time Capsule do not support exFAT
    • Maximum file size: 16 EiB
    • Maximum volume size: 64 ZiB
    • You can use this format if it is supported by all computers with which you intend to share the drive.  See "disadvantages" for details.
  • by ayemack,

    ayemack ayemack Jan 27, 2015 8:26 AM in response to Japib
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 27, 2015 8:26 AM in response to Japib

    Thanks, japib. Not the answer I was hoping for, but an answer nonetheless. I ultimately got so sick and tired of Linksys branded routers failing that I elected to go another route - the Airport Extreme. I've been about 80% satisfied with it (the biggest issue, to me, was limited functionality and lack of browser interface), but inability to use this hard drive in the capacity that I would on another router (say, Netgear) is frustrating to say the least. Bottom line is works - and that was the issue I was having with Linksys (one after another after another).

     

    Thanks for the info - definitely good value to have and read. I've subsequently formatted to NTFS and moved all data to it. I'll find another solution - possibly the NAS you suggested. Thanks!