HT204664: AirPort: How to mount an AirPort Extreme USB hard disk volume in Mac OS X and Windows

Learn about AirPort: How to mount an AirPort Extreme USB hard disk volume in Mac OS X and Windows
Dfunghi

Q: Can a disk mount via USB hub on A.Extreme gen 5?

I tied to mount a disk in the same hub as the USB printer but airport utility says "disk needs repair". That is a false warning, disk is A-OK. Trying with a USB 2.0 cable to USB 2.0 port drive.

iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2012), Yosemite running.

Posted on Dec 7, 2014 2:00 PM

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Q: Can a disk mount via USB hub on A.Extreme gen 5?

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  • by LaPastenague,

    LaPastenague LaPastenague Dec 7, 2014 2:47 PM in response to Dfunghi
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    Dec 7, 2014 2:47 PM in response to Dfunghi

    Is the drive/hub self powered.. then it may well fail.. there is not enough current available..

     

    Otherwise it should work.. but not all hubs are created equal.

     

    Unplug the lot and replug in different order..

    1. Hub..

    2. Hdd

    3. Printer.

     

    No luck swap 2 and 3.. leave a couple of min between them.

  • by Dfunghi,

    Dfunghi Dfunghi Dec 7, 2014 6:12 PM in response to LaPastenague
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    Dec 7, 2014 6:12 PM in response to LaPastenague

    Thanks, The drive and the hub both have external power supplies. Not BUS powered, plugged into the wall. When I plug drive into back of iMac it sees it no problem and runs no problem. On Airport I get amber light and when I look it says disk needs repair.

     

    I will try your unplug and replug method. I wondered if the disk needs to be formatted differently to run via airport?

     

    Trying to concoct my own wireless Time Machine drive so I do not have to plug in to iMac or leave plugged in since I have no room on desk.

  • by Dfunghi,

    Dfunghi Dfunghi Dec 7, 2014 6:14 PM in response to LaPastenague
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    Dec 7, 2014 6:14 PM in response to LaPastenague

    Also the disk does not  show up on airport when I click on disk on top of utility

  • by Dfunghi,

    Dfunghi Dfunghi Dec 7, 2014 6:15 PM in response to Dfunghi
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    Dec 7, 2014 6:15 PM in response to Dfunghi

    Hub runs printer no problem too.

  • by LaPastenague,

    LaPastenague LaPastenague Dec 7, 2014 6:25 PM in response to Dfunghi
    Level 9 (52,715 points)
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    Dec 7, 2014 6:25 PM in response to Dfunghi
    Trying to concoct my own wireless Time Machine drive so I do not have to plug in to iMac or leave plugged in since I have no room on desk.

    On a gen5 AE this is not recommended.

     

    Apple says no.. some people find it works fine others not.

     

    http://pondini.org/TM/Airport.html

     

    The disk should be Mac formatted HFS+ and it should be guid partition.

     

    I am trying to list disks that work.

    Not all disks do..

     

    https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5912861?tstart=0


    Try plugging the disk in without the hub.

  • by Dfunghi,

    Dfunghi Dfunghi Dec 7, 2014 6:28 PM in response to LaPastenague
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    Dec 7, 2014 6:28 PM in response to LaPastenague

    Hi,

    Plugged in directly and had same warning issues. I am trying to follow these instructions.

    http://www.maclife.com/article/features/5_ways_get_most_out_your_airport_extreme

  • by Bob Timmons,

    Bob Timmons Bob Timmons Dec 7, 2014 9:11 PM in response to Dfunghi
    Level 10 (105,268 points)
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    Dec 7, 2014 9:11 PM in response to Dfunghi
    the disk does not  show up on airport when I click on disk on top of utility

    The drive needs to be formatted in Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and partitioned as GUID.

     

    Is it?

  • by Dfunghi,

    Dfunghi Dfunghi Dec 7, 2014 9:34 PM in response to Bob Timmons
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    Dec 7, 2014 9:34 PM in response to Bob Timmons

    Yes the drive is formatted to work perfectly, and has, as a Time Machine drive when plugged directly into the MAC. Was TM on my prior G5 tower and now my iMac. Works like a charm when plugged directly to my machine, no to airport or hub. I have a lot of fixes to try including Le's unplug replug method. I will attempt Monday and return with updates.

     

    Disk is 1TB OWC AL Elite Pro. The earlier version of this:

    http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/ME3QH7T1.0/

  • by Bob Timmons,

    Bob Timmons Bob Timmons Dec 7, 2014 9:39 PM in response to Dfunghi
    Level 10 (105,268 points)
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    Dec 7, 2014 9:39 PM in response to Dfunghi

    You might want to keep in mind that Time Machine backups to a drive at the USB port of the 5th Gen AirPort Extreme are NOT supported by Apple, so there is not a lot of help that we can provide to make something that is not supposed to work reliably, do so.

     

    Unfortunately, the magazine article seems to have left that fact out.

     

    Yes, somehow some users seem to have been able to make this work. I'm not in that club, having tried several different hard drives on several different versions of the AirPort Extreme.

     

    The only version that I have been able to make work is the new 6th Gen 802.11ac version of the AirPort Extreme.

  • by Dfunghi,

    Dfunghi Dfunghi Dec 7, 2014 9:52 PM in response to Bob Timmons
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    Dec 7, 2014 9:52 PM in response to Bob Timmons

    Yes Bob, I have seen a lot of talk about (Seen talk or heard writing?) about Apple's non support as well as non recommendation for this set up. Many have lost data or had numerous troubles maintaining the connection. This was unknown to me at first.

     

    All I found first was this:

    AirPort: How to mount an AirPort Extreme USB hard disk volume in Mac OS X and Windows - Apple Support

     

    I have heard too much about over heated time capsules, plus I own a couple of well made external disks I trust. It sure seems like if the USB printer can work so seamlessly so too should a disk?

     

    I suppose I will need to buy a 10' USB 3.0 cable and set up TM in a remote area of my office with wires. Not ideal. Now if only someone made an external disk drive that could read flash drives this way after initial back up we could just do updates on flash drive at iMac and pop it in the drive after.

     

    BTW any tips on how to access those ports on the iMac? I keep smudging my screen and knocking papers off my desk. Mr Ides was too concerned with sleek looking front and less with function.

  • by Bob Timmons,

    Bob Timmons Bob Timmons Dec 7, 2014 10:03 PM in response to Dfunghi
    Level 10 (105,268 points)
    Wireless
    Dec 7, 2014 10:03 PM in response to Dfunghi
    All I found first was this:

    Well, this one confirms what we have been saying. The pertinent info is at the bottom of the page.

     

    AirPort base stations: About USB disks - Apple Support

     

    It sure seems like if the USB printer can work so seamlessly so too should a disk?

    Nope. The software and firmware required to run a hard drive is totally different than a printer.

     

    I suppose I will need to buy a 10' USB 3.0 cable and set up TM in a remote area of my office with wires

    Not sure that you would want to run USB that length, but if you have the time to experiment, let us know if this works.

     

    Sorry, I don't have an iMac so cannot comment on that product.  Maybe a mirror?

  • by Dfunghi,

    Dfunghi Dfunghi Dec 11, 2014 10:53 AM in response to Bob Timmons
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 11, 2014 10:53 AM in response to Bob Timmons

    Nothing Worked. USB port works for printer not drive. Not the HUIB, nor the APE directly yet the iMac runs that disk no trouble at all. Thanks for trying everyone.

  • by Dfunghi,

    Dfunghi Dfunghi Dec 21, 2014 2:28 PM in response to Dfunghi
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    Dec 21, 2014 2:28 PM in response to Dfunghi

    Seems , maybe, the USB version may be culprit. I have plugged in a (borrowed) USB 2.0 disk and it worked fine. The 3.0 does not work backwards on the disk for some reason. To be clear. Disk is 3.0 and APE is 2.0