rrichar2

Q: My AirPort Extreme will not display the WD My Book wired through USB.

I have an AirPort Extreme (4th Generation) and a WD My Book External Hard drive (formatted to exFAT per WD technician instruction) that I would like to broadcast over my network.  The HD doesn't display in the Finder or the AirPort Utility on my MacBook Pro.....Help! :-(

AirPort Extreme (4th Generation)

Posted on Jul 7, 2013 5:43 PM

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Q: My AirPort Extreme will not display the WD My Book wired through USB.

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  • by Niel,

    Niel Niel Jul 7, 2013 5:46 PM in response to rrichar2
    Level 10 (311,939 points)
    Jul 7, 2013 5:46 PM in response to rrichar2

    The AirPort Extreme can't read exFAT USB drives. Format it as Mac OS Extended (Journaled); it can also read FAT16 and FAT32, but those should only be used if you don't have any Macs on your network or will be regularly hooking it up directly to a PC.

     

    (85217)

  • by Bob Timmons,

    Bob Timmons Bob Timmons Jul 7, 2013 5:52 PM in response to rrichar2
    Level 10 (105,008 points)
    Wireless
    Jul 7, 2013 5:52 PM in response to rrichar2
    (formatted to exFAT per WD technician instruction)

     

    Wrong instructions if you want to connect the drive to the USB port on the AirPort Extreme.....which only supports FAT 16/32 or Mac OS Extended (Journaled) formats. Mac OS Extended (Journaled), also known as HFS+, is recommended.

     

    From Apple's support document:

     

    The AirPort Extreme (802.11n) and Time Capsule support USB storage devices that are formatted as Mac OS Extended (HFS-plus), FAT16, or FAT32. Formatting a storage device as Mac OS Extended with journaling is recommended, as it may provide some more resilience if the device is removed or powered down while in use.

    Note: ExFAT and NTFS formats aren't supported

     

    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2426