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cannot connect to external drive through extreme

Hi everyone,

Imac running Maverick. WD external hard drive attched direct to mac works fine. I have an extreme set up. I cannot see it in finder and when i plug in my WD drive it does not see it. All preferences in finder are correct. It does not show in airport utility. When I attached a usb printer to the extreme it works fine, but again it does not show in utilty anything being attached.

User uploaded file

I have no idea if my extreme is set up properly.

Would love to get it working as we have an Air and Pro in the family and we want to store all our photos externally.

Thanks

iMac (21.5-inch Mid 2011), OS X Mavericks (10.9)

Posted on Nov 11, 2013 8:08 AM

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5 replies

Nov 11, 2013 10:22 AM in response to mw06

If the WD external HDD is not being recognized by the AirPort when connected to its USB port there are at least three potential reasons: 1) The HDD draws too much power for the USB alone to handle. This is usually resolved by using a powered USB hub between the AirPort's USB port and the USB HDD. 2) The HDD is formatted in NTFS or ExFAT Neither of these formats are readable by the AirPort's file server. Since you have verified that the drive works when plugged directly to your Mac this shouldn't be the issue, and finally 3) The drive is just not compatible with the AirPort base stations.

Nov 11, 2013 12:23 PM in response to Tesserax

Thanks for your reply. The HDD is powered by its own power source, i have also tried it through a powered hub. How do i check the drives format and also if it is compatable with the airport? It was sold to me at an apple store as being apple compatable? Are there any settings in utility or on the extreme that need checking. It also does not expalin why i cant see the extreme as shared in finder?

Nov 12, 2013 8:42 AM in response to mw06

How do i check the drives format and also if it is compatable with the airport?

The quickest way to check the drive's format is to reconnect it to your Mac, and then, use the Disk Utility to identify it.


A drive formatted for HFS+, will be listed as: Mac OS Extended (Journaled) in the Disk Utility. If it is formatted as such, it SHOULD work as an AirPort Disk. The following Apple Support article goes into some additional details on what types of external USB drives are supported ... but it is a bit outdated.


Unfortunately, as far as compatibility with the AirPort base stations, Apple has not released an "official" list. An "unofficial" list was being maintained by iFelix.

Nov 12, 2013 9:55 AM in response to Tesserax

User uploaded file

Thinkm it is formatted properly. It is also listed as a apple supported device.

Question: With nothing attached through the USB of the AEx, should I be able to see it in finder?

Is it worth completeley re-formatting my ext drive?

I am a bit lost now, as you and friends say I should be able to access my WD drive, but i cant. I cant take it to the local mac shop as it is impossible to re-create the problem.

Nov 12, 2013 10:05 AM in response to mw06

Connect the drive to the USB port on the AirPort Extreme.


Open up AirPort Utility, click on Edit to access the settings of the AirPort Extreme


Click the Disks tab at the top of the window


If your drive is recognized, it will be displayed here. In the shot below, my drive is named WD Drive.




User uploaded file


If your drive is not recognized, you may need to use a powered USB hub with the drive at the USB port of the AirPort Extreme.....since the port is borderline as far as its ability to supply adequate power to a hard drive.....even if the hard drive has its own power supply.


I am using a powered hub with the WD Drive. The drive works fine when connected directly to a computer, but it does not work when I connect it to the AirPort Extreme......unless....I use a powered USB hub.

cannot connect to external drive through extreme

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