Attached NAS drive extremely slow to connect and fails to reconnect

Question

Attached NAS drive extremely slow to connect and fails to reconnect

I have two new macbook airs yosemite 10.10.2, and a 4 year old windows 7 computer. I run a 4tb WD live duo Nas drive through a Apple Airport Extreme Router operating in Bridged mode. I have a 2 tb USB 3 backup drive attached to the USB media port on the Apple Airport Extreme Router Both Computers are connected via wifi.

When I turn the Macbooks on and Open Finder or Forklift I can see both the Airport Extreme and the WD Live Duo Nas drive icons in the shared devices area. When I click on either one in finder it can take up to a minute to see the shares and another minute or more to mount the shares then a few more seconds to see the contents, the another minute to see the contents of each folder. Once they are finally visible they can be accessed read and written to quickly as you would expect from a network drive.

In Forklift this process is reduced to about 5-30 seconds per section much better than finder but even forklift won't reconnect at login.

When I turn on the Windows 7 machine the mapped network drives work are attached and data immediately available, almost instantly as you would expect any network drive to work.

When I turn the Apple computer off then on again the Airport Extreme folder and the WD NAS Shared again show in Finder and Forklift but I have to again go through the slow process of mounting the shared drives again with the same long timeframes applying. I have not been able to find anything in any forums that tells me how to have the shared folders reconnect and be ready for use automatically.

I have tried putting the shared drives into user login items but while this works it opens the folder every time at startup and I then have to close them until I need them a most unsatisfactory arrangement.

The WD My Cloud access to the same NAS Shares on my network is all but instant as I would have expected the direct link to the NAS Shares to be.

This problem seems to be since Yosemite.

Am I missing something, or is it just too bad its a mac?

How do I have shared drives automatically reconnect and be ready for action at startup?

Is this normal for any Mac attached to any network if so it must be **** for users?

MacBook Air (11-inch, Early 2014), iOS 8.1.2

Posted on Dec 12, 2014 2:04 AM

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Answer 1

Aug 13, 2017 8:27 PM in response to Ishouldhaveknownbetter

This was 2014...I still have the exact issue and cannot for the life of me get any useful response from apple or any forums it seems like apple users never admit when their products are sub-par. My network speed is great, I can open the nas folders on pc laptops that are from 2005 with zero issue but I have an i7, 3.4ghz and 16b ram...and it takes minutes just to get into the main root folder of the nas. I was so happy when I got this "top of the line" THREE THOUSAND DOLLAR computer, now I am so mad, so irritated and so upset that I wasted my money on a 3k computer that is pretty much useless.

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Answer 2

Aug 13, 2017 8:29 PM in response to Ishouldhaveknownbetter

not true, MyBookLive are all compatible with windows, mac and linux. Again, mac people will NEVER admit it is an actual apple/mac issue. Nothing ever goes smoothly on these things. They are are friggin status symbol or something and they are no where near worth what they cost. My 2005 pc laptop works better and is more reliable than any mac device I have ever owned.

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Answer 3

GMT80

Level 1

63 points

Dec 12, 2014 2:57 AM in response to Ishouldhaveknownbetter

I have the same problem and from what I have read this has been an issue since Mavericks and Apple have done nothing about it. This is the first time I have owned a Mac of any kind, and excitement has quickly turned to frustration.

My set up is a 2TB 'WD My Book World Edition II' in RAID-1 (mirrored) connected to a Netgear modem-router.

I have just bought a Macbook Pro running the Yosemite OSX. When I open folders from my 'MyBook World Edition II' in Finder, they appear empty and take several minutes to update and show any of the files. It does this the first time I access the folders whenever I turn on the computer.

The deeper I go into the folder tree, or if there are a large number of files in a folder, the longer it seems to take to show the contents of the folder.

The same folders all update within seconds or faster when accessed from other devices such as my Win7 PC, WinXP laptop and PlayStation 3 (both over ethernet cable and wifi).

The only way I can connect it is by smb. I called Western Digital and they said to connect via afp with the IP address of the NAS but it won't connect at all that way.

Does anyone know of a solution to get the Mac to populate the contents of folders on the NAS faster?

Any assistance is greatly appreciated.

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Answer 4

Dec 12, 2014 4:35 AM in response to Ishouldhaveknownbetter

I have just reinstalled my operating system and it is marginally faster but still for want of a description 'dial up speeds'.

Apple know about this issue I have been talking to their tech support but they have no idea. They also believe that update 10.2 was supposed to solve it so the techs are not pursuing it further. reason is not many others are complaining yet as most of the original complaints were regarding wifi dropouts and internet crashes.

Being new to Mac I just discovered you can once the folders you want are dragged into finder right click and add to dock. this appear to cut the load time by half. But I am not classing that as a fix because it is still so slow. nothing like my windows 7 which like others is instant

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Answer 5

GMT80

Level 1

63 points

Dec 13, 2014 12:35 AM in response to Ishouldhaveknownbetter

Yeah its not acceptable. Apple have a "My way or the highway" approach to most things so if they have gone out of their way to change something when Mavericks was released then I wouldn't expect them to do anything about this.

I could go out and get a current model NAS but I don't have confidence that that would work either. Not that should have to fork out for a new NAS when I have just done so for a Macbook Pro.

Just a question... what is your directory structure like on your NAS? Is it complex? i.e. do you have lots of subfolders with subfolders with subfolders?

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Answer 6

Dec 13, 2014 11:36 AM in response to GMT80

6 main folders but multiple sub folders and its a new NAS

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Answer 7

Dec 25, 2014 7:44 PM in response to GMT80

I have spent the past couple of weeks trying a few things. I tried to revert to Mavericks, internet install, Apple allowed it but the process stopped telling me I didn't have permission to do this

So another install of Yosemite.

I bought the thunderbolt ethernet adaptor plugged it into the airport extreme speed not too bad but not as good the windows wireless. I thought as the airport extreme I would try moving the NAS drive to the modem/router ethernet ports.

Speed on the windows to the nas drive via the wireless airport extreme very fast.

Speed via thunderbolt ethernet wired through the airport extreme fairly fast but still not good. I restarted everything turned wifi on the Macbook Air back on and found it was faster than before but still pitiful when compared to the windows 7 machine.

So by placing the nas on the ethernet ports of the modem router I have gained a little more speed. This has also allowed me to add the various nas folders to the login items and have the folder hidden on startup (The folders would not hide whilst the nas was on the airport extreme...) Doing this has given me a little more speed, nothing great but just liveable.

So problem still not solved I seriously doubt it is the NAS drive as it is blisteringly fast on the windows machine.

I still lean to a fault with either yosemite or the airport. but ean more to Yosemite as the windows machine works well though the airport.

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Answer 8

Dec 29, 2014 1:09 AM in response to Ishouldhaveknownbetter

Partially Solved

Ok my windows 7 machine still accesses all folders (no matter how many levels down the tree) and files extremely fast but with my partial solution below the MacBook with Yosemite is better but still a poor cousin

After reading a lot of similar questions dating back to 2008 I decided to copy some lines of a script to mount network folders, from that I was able to white cane myself through how scripts work until I came up with the following script

After writing this in Script Editor I saved as an application into the APPS folder. From there I dragged it into Users login items. As a script it seems to work perfectly. Does it do what we need?

Mostley.

I struck a problem copying from one network share to another with a response stopping me saying you don't have permission to do this. When I looked at get info I wasn't able to get any as I was logged in as a guest and wasn't logged in with privileges to my NAS Drive.

So I added the login/password to my router (workgroup) before the nas drive name and shared folder name. This seems to have worked as far as editing and copying files etc. but when I 'get info' on the mounted drives it still shows custom access and does not allow me to change user access.

Speed of access. Shares with a mixed of files about a one to three second delay, Photos and music sometimes still up to 20 seconds delay to see files and these delays continue as you click through the lower folders.

Debatable, now much faster than before and nearly tolerable, but till nowhere near the speed of the windows 7.

So I am missing something here. It seems obvious to access a nas drive with yosemite you need to use a script or have some startup configuration code run that suits your network.. This is far beyond my knowledge, but really it shouldn't be needed at all if apple had got it right to begin with.

Anyway over to you with knowledge what am I missing?

Why is it so ****** slow still

The following script mounts the various shares at startup and has a small delay to allow the wifi to connect before telling finder to mount the network shares, These share mount then because I want to see they have mounted I put in 2 second delay before telling finder to not show connected servers on desktop.

Change names and password and number of shares to suit your setup then save as an app and add to user login items

good luck, hope you do better than me

Network Start Script Yosemite 10.01

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

delay 10

tell application "Finder"

mount volume "smb://Router;admin:xxxx@Network/name"

delay 2

set desktop shows connected servers of Finder preferences to false

end tell

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

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Answer 9

Feb 26, 2015 2:45 AM in response to Ishouldhaveknownbetter

Same here. After months of trying to make OSX work with anything I quit.
Copying 14 4kb files for 10 minutes over a 1gbit network to a cutting edge NAS (nfs, cifs & smb) is just not for me. Tried multiple times all of the "solutions/workarounds" that I could find. Over 100 hours of my personal time, that I don't have for wasting, is just too much.
Apple sources/forums are run by bots - users which help comes directly to "Apple is better", "then go by a PC", "it works for me" and similar UK soccer-fan level spam/trolling.

Windows 7 copies these files instantly, run on vmware Fusion with a virtual network adapter (and its own IP address in a local network) - that says it all.

OSX is a cute system, but not to be used for anything more serious then surf & chat - a poudriere for blondes.

As one influencer said "Apple makes the best hardware to run Windows". Although, still thinking about putting my personal favorite linux distro..

Hope this comment helps someone waste less time on OSX and "we know what's best for you" Apple attitudes ("it doesn't matter if it works or not, it's silver with white and a has a flashing light behind your screen" attitude).

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Answer 10

kcbudyzr

Level 1

83 points

May 21, 2015 2:16 PM in response to Ishouldhaveknownbetter

I have the same problem with my MacBook Pro and 4TB Seagate Central. I purchased the Seagate Central late 2014 and experienced the EXTREME slowness just trying to access files within folders, let alone copying/moving files from one folder to another. We also have a new Lenovo laptop running Windows 8.1, and when I tried performing the tasks on the Windows laptop, it was night and day difference between the two, with Windows navigating through Seagate lightning fast. Since I was using a Early 2008 MacBook Pro and running Yosemite (which really slowed down things anyway), I thought that was most likely the problem. Therefore, I purchased a new MacBook Pro last week (Mid 2014, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, 2.6GHz Intel core i5 processor). I'm sure you can imagine my disappointment when I discovered NO DIFFERENCE in speed between the 2008 and 2014 MacBook Pro.

I dealt with Seagate for troubleshooting assistance at the beginning, but let it go when I thought my computer's age was the problem. I called them today, telling them I have a new MacBook Pro and still have problems. They were able to remote into my laptop and see for themselves. The agent I spoke with today actually discovered the blogs while we were talking, proving that this is a known issue among Mac users. After hanging up, I started reading the various blogs. I only wish I was more technologically savvy to try some of the suggested remedies, like writing scripts. Unfortunately, I don't have someone to hold my hand as I venture into the IT unknown.

I contacted Apple, and of course they are very noncommittal. The Apple agent put me on hold while he consulted with his superior, only returning to say there's nothing they can do. He tried to suggest my laptop was not robust enough (which is surprising since they had my account pulled up showing I had a new MacBook Pro). Once I told him my specs, he was quiet and had nothing more to offer. I did register a formal complaint about the problem. But it seems to be the consensus from what I've read from users, that Apple does not intend to make any changes to Finder in support of forcing users to purchase their products.

Alternate File Management Software

Some of the reading I did today suggested trying an alternate file management software to Finder, which might overwrite the "bug" in Finder. I downloaded PathFinder on a 30-day free trial, but unfortunately did not realize a significant difference. It may be an option that might work for other users, though - just thought I would mention it.

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Answer 11

SlyBee

Level 1

0 points

Jun 22, 2015 11:19 AM in response to Ishouldhaveknownbetter

Exact same issue for me too, this is an issue with the OS.

My confidence stems from the fact that i have a bootcamp partition which i can use in comparisons, i can run tests with same hardware,

Only thing that is different is the OS.

I have various network shares which are helping me run a media centre,

When i drag a file to it, for example a 6gb video file, the windows 8.1 Bootcamp will send it in 3 mins (Over Wifi)

My Yosemite however takes 13 mins over the air, and doesn't even guarantee me that the file copy will be successful as sometimes it tells me the file is in use because of Finder and its "Show icon preview" option.

Brand new mid 2015 MBP 512gb ssd 16gb Ram

Its very annoying, i wish the premium feel of my macbook was a reflection of the OS but I'm starting to feel like the tides are turning a little now.

Except for eventual clutter when windows needed a good ol' format it just seemed to do everything i needed it to, my mac is starting to become a fallback OS now for when i want to design something or make music.

If anyone has any ways to speed file transfer id be happy to hear them. Like others I've tried path finder to eliminate finder but the difference is negligible.

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Answer 12

Jul 14, 2015 10:52 PM in response to SlyBee

I'll add my voice to the chorus of frustrated users with this situation.

There are three Macs in our home. In addition to a Macbook Air and Macbook Pro, purchased in 2011 and 2012, respectively, we also have a brand new iMac with Retina 5k Display, with a 3.7GHz quad core i5 processor, 32Mb of 1600 MHz DDR3 RAM, 1 Tb flash drive and AMD Radeon R9 M295X with 4 Mb onboard graphic storage -- basically, top-of-the-line unit available. It's connected to the network via a Gb CAT V ethernet connection. Hardware power and raw network throughput are NOT the issue.

When connected to the Time Capsule/Airport device, access is reasonably fast. When connecting to either of two Buffalo NAS drives (one older Linkstation used as a network share, and another newer Drivestation used as a media server for streaming video) the access time is pathetic. I've tried a couple of the suggested fixes on various blogs and nothing seems to have made a dent in the speed so far.

The issue is definitely made worse by having a large number of files in the share folder being accessed, and may also be exacerbated by having the folder being several subfolders down from the top level in the share. I used a Windows 7 desktop to transfer 500+ photo and Quicktime files from an iPhone and digital camera to the Linkstation last weekend after a vacation. These appear quickly and open promptly from the Windows system using Windows Explorer. However, when I try to just open the folder where they were transferred on any of the Macs (which all have the latest version of Yosemite running), the file contents don't even show up after waiting for several minutes. I suppose if I waited long enough, they might eventually.

This is a well-documented issue with OS X (at least since Mavericks) from what I've read on various blogs, but the fact that may others are experiencing the same thing is of little comfort. I am beginning to think the only way I will resolve this will be to purchase a larger Time Capsule from Apple, but this sounds like my network is being held hostage and I am very disappointed to read how little Apple is doing to address this for its users. Certainly encourages me to go back to Windows PCs again if this can't be resolved.

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Answer 13

Jul 21, 2015 12:13 PM in response to Ishouldhaveknownbetter

I`m having the same problem , and i`m just tierd to wait apple fix this. I just gonna wait till win10 and then sell al my apple stuff.

Just disaponting.

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Answer 14

stoobloo

Level 1

107 points

Aug 6, 2015 6:51 AM in response to Ishouldhaveknownbetter

I've been having this problem since OS X Mavericks (previously I was using Windows Vista & 7 on my LAN).

Having tried all the 'fixes' available in various official and non-official forums on the internet I frankly cannot trust my Mac's to do anything on my NAS reliably. The access is painfully slow, often stalls mid way through a file copy to the NAS, the only way I can get out of it is to force quit finder and reboot otherwise my system performance is pitiful till I have done so.

This is shocking and find it infuriating that Image and Video editing is so much more pleasant on the Mac, yet other than external HDD's they buckle under any kind of NAS access. The only feasible workaround to this for me is a Raided NAS solution that allows LAN access as well as USB 3 / Thunderbolt access.

If anyone knows of this possibility I would be most pleased as in over a year I have not found any way to resolve this in any acceptable manner.

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Answer 15

Aug 7, 2015 9:02 PM in response to Ishouldhaveknownbetter

I have over the past months had some success after paying a networking guy to look over the system. First of all he went through and deleted everything in my keychain relating to the NaS network. Disconnected and reconnected with the username and password restart a couple of time did the same thing. Added shortcuts to the Dock near the trash and deleted the various scripts I had created in login items.

Then he repaired permissions on the Macs.

Nothing has changed the old windows 7 machine outperforms the MACs by a considerable margin. Then he went into the NAS and turned off all media sharing and dlna etc

Wu lah-I know have better speed most of the time still not as good as windows and it just connects only occasionally asking me to login into the shared drive.

However he told me as there is little adjustment in the NAS for its price and problems He would have thrown it into the bin by now as it is not worth the time and trouble. He said some NAS drives particularly the cheaper ones don't like Macs even though they will work with them. He is using a NAS from https://www.lacie.com/us/products/range.htm?id=10007 I don't know which one but he said he has many clients using NAS drives on home networks and they are fast as you would expect they should be.

His advice get a better NAS of whatever type your contacts have that is working as you would expect

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