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Level 1

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Airport Extreme USB Disk Connection Issues

Airport Extreme USB Disk Connection Issues

Like many on here I am experiencing various issues keeping USB hard drives mounted. I am using an Intel MacBook, OS X 10.5.1, Airport Extreme base station with the latest updates. I have three USB drives and one printer connected to the base station via a powered USB hub.

My issues are several...I have seen all of these conditions:

- USB Disks do not show up in finder at all, but DO show up in the Airport Extreme setup utility.

- USB disks show up in finder under the base station entry in Shared, but DO NOT mount when clicked on, or show up as empty.

- USB disks show up in finder under the base station entry in Shared and the first one clicked on mounts (shows up on the desktop) but the rest disappear from the list.

- Upon clicking on the base station entry in Shared in finder I get a "Connecting..." message that never connects or goes away.

All this is very frustrating and I have not found a way to work around it. I have tried connecting the drives directly to the computer (they connect almost instantly). They usually require repairing with the disc utility. I have also tried dismounting the drives before sleeping the computer. This works sometimes, but not consistently. They usually do not remount again after waking. Even rebooting the base station and computer doesn't fix this.

Does anyone know if Apple is aware of and working on this issue? I replaced my flawlessly working Linksys router with an Airport Extreme for the disk access feature alone. Any help is appreciated! Thank you.

Intel MacBook, Mac OS X (10.5.1)

Posted on Nov 30, 2007 4:44 AM

26 replies

Feb 10, 2008 9:33 AM in response to GreyWullf

This worked for my new Seagate FreeAgent Pro 1TB USB 2.0/eSATA/FW400 7200 RPM 3.5 inch Drive, but oddly did not work with my couple year old 250GB Fantom drive. thanks!

Feb 18, 2008 2:43 PM in response to deepknight

I had been having repeated 'connection failed' messages for my USB Airport drive. Tried everything, unplugging Airport, paper clip restarts. Nothing helped. I happened to be looking at my Network settings and noticed the TCP/IP address was different from my base station address. I made TCP/IP the same as the base, started back up and bingo! The drive mounted automatically. Check & coordinate your addresses.

dclayton

Level 1

40 points

Feb 18, 2008 2:59 PM in response to GreyWullf

This worked for me also. Thanks.

Prior to this I could access but not mount the disks by Finder>GO>Network. This displayed my AEBS and the attached drive.

P-Train

Level 1

9 points

Mar 14, 2008 1:16 PM in response to deepknight

Hello all-

I have the same problem (I think). I have a WD 250GB My Book Drive (FAT32 Formatted). When I connect the drive to the AEBS, I have three issues:

1) When I select the option to secure the disk with the Airport Base Station Password, and then enter the password when asked, I get an error "User ID and Password are incorrect." However, if I secure it with a disk password, there is no problem.

2) My drive shows up as a Shared Drive in Finder, and I can read and write to it with no problems. However, it does not show up in the Airport Disk Utility as an Airport Shared Disk. Also, it does not show up in the menu bar either as a shared disk.

3) When I eject the drive from finder, the icon for the drive disappears from the dekstop. However, the drive keeps spinning and the only way it turns off is to unplug the usb cable from the back of the AEBS. When it is manually connected to my MacBook, a 'disk eject" would force the unit to shut down.

Any ideas? Much obliged....

jplevine

Level 1

0 points

Mar 14, 2008 5:44 PM in response to Ben Colman

Ben...could you please provide some detailed instructions on how to fix based on your suggestion? I think I have a similar issue. Thanks!

P-Train

Level 1

9 points

Mar 15, 2008 2:43 PM in response to Ben Colman

How do I find the TCP/IP address of the USB Drive?

wlfranks

Level 1

6 points

Mar 17, 2008 5:44 PM in response to deepknight

If some one would be so kind as to email me the 7.1.1 file i would like to give it a try.

P-Train

Level 1

9 points

Mar 17, 2008 10:27 PM in response to wlfranks

I second that motion also, and would appreciate the file in case anyone has it.

joeshmo

Level 1

5 points

Mar 17, 2008 10:50 PM in response to P-Train

To downgrade your firmware to 7.1 just hold down the 'Option' key whilst you got to 'Check for Updates'. You can select the appropriate firmware right there...

DonaldH

Level 1

0 points

May 25, 2008 8:56 PM in response to deepknight

Airport Extreme will not show USB drive installed!

Here's what I had to do to make it work with the newest 7.3.1 firmware.

Ready for this? No Joke Really!

1. Connect your USB drive to the Airport Extreme.
2. Turn it on.
3. Open the Airport Utility.
4. Go to Manual Setup.
5. Choose Disks and File Sharing.

You (I) had to set File Sharing on and Share Disks over Ethernet checked as well as set the Work Group (In my case). THEN restart the Airport Extreme.

After it re-started... My USB Drive was now present and ready for use.

I also dis-allowed Guest access. I re-started ALL computers in my network, both Windows and MAC. The USB drive held and works GREAT!

I know... Most of you thought this was a joke, It's not!

I tried everything to get the USB drive to work and failed every time just like most other people. Doing it this way worked like a charm.

Go Figure huh!

Hope this helps someone with this issue.

Aug 16, 2008 6:59 AM in response to deepknight

I've tried each applicable 'solution' in this forum without luck and, therefore, called Apple directly to speak to a technician. I'm using an Airport Extreme with a Canon printer and Western Digital hard drive connected through a Targus USB hub. I was told, simply, that Apple doesn't really support/gaurantee items connected through a USB hub. Oddly, my wife's Dell CAN connect to the hard drive through the hub and then (and only then) my PowerBook can connect to the hard drive through the hub. Connecting the hard drive directly to the Airport Extreme works fine for either computer. When I mentioned that the documentation actually recommends the use of a USB hub ("Connect a USB hub to the USB port of an AirPort Extreme Base Station or a Time Capsule, and then connect a
hard disk and a printer so everyone on the network can access them") he said it was supported. There you go.

Airport Extreme USB Disk Connection Issues