Connecting USB external hard drive to router
 

My router, supplied by Zen, is a Fritzbox 7530 and, looking at the
manual, appears to be capable of more than I use it for, which is just
as a router.

For example, I can apparently connect an external hard drive to the
router by USB, said drive then being visible and usable by anyone on our
home network. That we be great for sharing the countless films, photos,
mp3s etc. we have accumulated.

Q1 Has anyone actually done this, and does it work well?

q2 Recommended drive? Thinking 1 or perhaps 2TB. Any names to go for,
or avoid? WD, Seagate, Toshiba, Verbatim etc.

Thanks!
--
Graeme

Connecting USB external hard drive to router
 

On Monday, 20 July 2020 18:52:55 UTC+1, Graeme wrote:
My router, supplied by Zen, is a Fritzbox 7530 and, looking at the
manual, appears to be capable of more than I use it for, which is just
as a router.

For example, I can apparently connect an external hard drive to the
router by USB, said drive then being visible and usable by anyone on our
home network. That we be great for sharing the countless films, photos,
mp3s etc. we have accumulated.

Q1 Has anyone actually done this, and does it work well?

q2 Recommended drive? Thinking 1 or perhaps 2TB. Any names to go for,
or avoid? WD, Seagate, Toshiba, Verbatim etc.

Thanks!

Not with your router, but with others.

It can work OK. But I'd always treat it as a copy of data with the prime version somewhere else.

Have used both real hard drives (just small USB 2.5" or whatever devices) and USB sticks. If I wanted to do it now, I'd choose a USB stick of some sort. But I would have no need or reason to reach 1 to 2 TB so cost wouldn't be an issue to me like it might be for you.

Check how it handles locking and clashes. Think through your backup procedures. Will you update on the router-attached drive and need to back it up?

Connecting USB external hard drive to router
 

On Monday, 20 July 2020 19:33:49 UTC+1, polygonum_on_google wrote:
On Monday, 20 July 2020 18:52:55 UTC+1, Graeme wrote:
My router, supplied by Zen, is a Fritzbox 7530 and, looking at the
manual, appears to be capable of more than I use it for, which is just
as a router.

For example, I can apparently connect an external hard drive to the
router by USB, said drive then being visible and usable by anyone on our
home network. That we be great for sharing the countless films, photos,
mp3s etc. we have accumulated.

Q1 Has anyone actually done this, and does it work well?

q2 Recommended drive? Thinking 1 or perhaps 2TB. Any names to go for,
or avoid? WD, Seagate, Toshiba, Verbatim etc.

Thanks!

Not with your router, but with others.

It can work OK. But I'd always treat it as a copy of data with the prime version somewhere else.

Have used both real hard drives (just small USB 2.5" or whatever devices) and USB sticks. If I wanted to do it now, I'd choose a USB stick of some sort. But I would have no need or reason to reach 1 to 2 TB so cost wouldn't be an issue to me like it might be for you.

Check how it handles locking and clashes. Think through your backup procedures. Will you update on the router-attached drive and need to back it up?

Meant to say, check the file systems it will support - the choice could imply limitations on total capacity.

Connecting USB external hard drive to router
 

On 20/07/2020 18:52, Graeme wrote:
My router, supplied by Zen, is a Fritzbox 7530 and, looking at the
manual, appears to be capable of more than I use it for, which is just
as a router.

For example, I can apparently connect an external hard drive to the
router by USB, said drive then being visible and usable by anyone on our
home network.Â* That we be great for sharing the countless films, photos,
mp3s etc. we have accumulated.

Q1Â* Has anyone actually done this, and does it work well?

Before you go too far test it out with a USB memory stick. And think
carefully about the potential gotchas if the mains goes down abruptly.

If you really want something reliable then a RAID array fileserver is a
much better option. If you want something cheap and cheerful then there
are plenty of USB sticks to choose from up to at least 256GB.

q2Â* Recommended drive?Â* Thinking 1 or perhaps 2TB.Â* Any names to go for,
or avoid?Â* WD, Seagate, Toshiba, Verbatim etc.

I would buy a Samsung solid state drive rather than spinning rust. YMMV

I still have a large spinning rust drive in my main PC but everything
that matters now is on the much faster Samsung SSD.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

Connecting USB external hard drive to router
 

"Martin Brown" wrote in message
...
On 20/07/2020 18:52, Graeme wrote:
My router, supplied by Zen, is a Fritzbox 7530 and, looking at the
manual, appears to be capable of more than I use it for, which is just as
a router.

For example, I can apparently connect an external hard drive to the
router by USB, said drive then being visible and usable by anyone on our
home network. That we be great for sharing the countless films, photos,
mp3s etc. we have accumulated.

Q1 Has anyone actually done this, and does it work well?

Before you go too far test it out with a USB memory stick. And think
carefully about the potential gotchas if the mains goes down abruptly.

If you really want something reliable then a RAID array fileserver is a
much better option. If you want something cheap and cheerful then there
are plenty of USB sticks to choose from up to at least 256GB.

q2 Recommended drive? Thinking 1 or perhaps 2TB. Any names to go for,
or avoid? WD, Seagate, Toshiba, Verbatim etc.

I would buy a Samsung solid state drive rather than spinning rust. YMMV

I still have a large spinning rust drive in my main PC but everything that
matters now is on the much faster Samsung SSD.

But does speed really matter with a file server which for most
of us would mostly have media files on it which are used at the
media play speed anyway.

Lonely Obnoxious Cantankerous Auto-contradicting Senile Ozzie Troll Alert!
 

On Tue, 21 Jul 2020 06:03:11 +1000, cantankerous trolling geezer Rodent
Speed, the auto-contradicting senile sociopath, blabbered, again:

FLUSH the trolling senile pest's latest troll**** unread

--
Bill Wright to Rodent Speed:
"That confirms my opinion that you are a despicable little ****."
MID:

Connecting USB external hard drive to router
 

Graeme wrote:
My router, supplied by Zen, is a Fritzbox 7530 and, looking at the
manual, appears to be capable of more than I use it for, which is just
as a router.

For example, I can apparently connect an external hard drive to the
router by USB, said drive then being visible and usable by anyone on our
home network. That we be great for sharing the countless films, photos,
mp3s etc. we have accumulated.

Q1 Has anyone actually done this, and does it work well?

q2 Recommended drive? Thinking 1 or perhaps 2TB. Any names to go for,
or avoid? WD, Seagate, Toshiba, Verbatim etc.

Thanks!

Hmm.

While I have such a port on my router, I have similar ports on other beasts
on the network (not Computers) and tend to use those- mainly, at least in
the past, as they were closer to hand. (A recent reorganisation has changed
that but that is irrelevant.)

However, I doubt it makes much difference.

Ive successfully plugged in Toshiba, WD, and Buffalo drives and accessed
them with either Linux or Mac machines- possibly iPad on occasions. Not
Windows but only as I dont generally run Windows, Im sure it would work.

All pretty seamless.

Ive not noticed any real difference between the various drives.

USB flash memory sticks work much the same.

--
https://www.unitedway.org/our-impact...an-trafficking

Connecting USB external hard drive to router
 

Graeme wrote:
My router, supplied by Zen, is a Fritzbox 7530 and, looking at the
manual, appears to be capable of more than I use it for, which is just
as a router.

For example, I can apparently connect an external hard drive to the
router by USB, said drive then being visible and usable by anyone on our
home network. That we be great for sharing the countless films, photos,
mp3s etc. we have accumulated.

Q1 Has anyone actually done this, and does it work well?

q2 Recommended drive? Thinking 1 or perhaps 2TB. Any names to go for,
or avoid? WD, Seagate, Toshiba, Verbatim etc.

Thanks!

Ive run a media server for several years. The form has varied. A Linux
based Plex server running on an old PC. A supplied server running on a WD
NAS. Currently, a Synology NAS based solution- which is almost certainly
the best. I can watch videos on Smart TVs or TVs with Firesticks or Set
top boxes around the house. More importantly, well more used, listen to
music / plays etc on stored on the server via various devices. (I run a
similar server in our Motorhome, also Synology based- I pop it in before
each trip. Ideal for a wet UK summer evening ;-)

--
https://www.unitedway.org/our-impact...an-trafficking

Connecting USB external hard drive to router
 

On 20/07/2020 18:52, Graeme wrote:
My router, supplied by Zen, is a Fritzbox 7530 and, looking at the
manual, appears to be capable of more than I use it for, which is just
as a router.

For example, I can apparently connect an external hard drive to the
router by USB, said drive then being visible and usable by anyone on our
home network.Â* That we be great for sharing the countless films, photos,
mp3s etc. we have accumulated.

Q1Â* Has anyone actually done this, and does it work well?


I have a Zen supplied 7530 and a old 3.5 inch drive in a USB connected
caddy attached to the Fritzbox USB port. I have it set up as a NAS drive
but only use it for very intermittent saving of fairly non-critical
data. The hard disk caddy has its own power supply. I can see the disk
in Win10 explorer as a network drive using SMB and can transfer files
to/from the disk from within Win10 explorer.

maybe read
https://tinyurl.com/y6facp2a
and
https://tinyurl.com/yxu4dt7t

After use I tend to dismount the drive using the fritzbox web interface,
then switch off the power to the drive. Switching on the caddy power
supply reconnects the drive and the Fritzbox sees it again.

--
mailto : news {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

Connecting USB external hard drive to router
 

Well I'm on my second Samsung ssd since 2015, and hence I still have a
spinning rust 2tb usb back up drive on that computer doing back ups of the
machine its plugged into Western Digital seem pretty reliable but then I
guess whatever you get always has the potential to fail due to complexity
generally.
Brian

--
----- --
This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...

Blind user, so no pictures please
Note this Signature is meaningless.!
"Martin Brown" wrote in message
...
On 20/07/2020 18:52, Graeme wrote:
My router, supplied by Zen, is a Fritzbox 7530 and, looking at the
manual, appears to be capable of more than I use it for, which is just as
a router.

For example, I can apparently connect an external hard drive to the
router by USB, said drive then being visible and usable by anyone on our
home network. That we be great for sharing the countless films, photos,
mp3s etc. we have accumulated.

Q1 Has anyone actually done this, and does it work well?

Before you go too far test it out with a USB memory stick. And think
carefully about the potential gotchas if the mains goes down abruptly.

If you really want something reliable then a RAID array fileserver is a
much better option. If you want something cheap and cheerful then there
are plenty of USB sticks to choose from up to at least 256GB.

q2 Recommended drive? Thinking 1 or perhaps 2TB. Any names to go for, or
avoid? WD, Seagate, Toshiba, Verbatim etc.

I would buy a Samsung solid state drive rather than spinning rust. YMMV

I still have a large spinning rust drive in my main PC but everything that
matters now is on the much faster Samsung SSD.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

Connecting USB external hard drive to router
 

On 20/07/2020 18:52, Graeme wrote:

My router, supplied by Zen, is a Fritzbox 7530 and, looking at the
manual, appears to be capable of more than I use it for, which is just
as a router.

For example, I can apparently connect an external hard drive to the
router by USB, said drive then being visible and usable by anyone on our
home network.Â* That we be great for sharing the countless films, photos,
mp3s etc. we have accumulated.

Q1Â* Has anyone actually done this, and does it work well?

Yes, but not with that particular router.

It usually works, but "well" is harder to quantify. Some implementations
are not necessarily that quick.

You also need to consider the file system(s) supported on the drive.
Somemay use FAT43 for example, and hence limit max file sized to 4GB,
which can be a problem for films. Some may insist on a *nix FS which may
make access to the drive harder should you need to remove it etc.

q2Â* Recommended drive?Â* Thinking 1 or perhaps 2TB.Â* Any names to go for,
or avoid?Â* WD, Seagate, Toshiba, Verbatim etc.

If spinning rust, then WD or Segate, with SSD Samsung, Hyper-X, and
Kingston are usually reliable. (speed matters less - they will normally
be quicker than USB)


--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

Connecting USB external hard drive to router
 

On 20/07/2020 18:52, Graeme wrote:
Fritzbox 7530

As no one else has mentioned it, be aware that it's possible for USB 3
devices to interfere with 2.4Ghz wifi.

Its a case of trying it to see if it does or not in your own case.

Connecting USB external hard drive to router
 

On Mon, 20 Jul 2020 18:52:44 +0100, Graeme
wrote:

My router, supplied by Zen, is a Fritzbox 7530 and, looking at the
manual, appears to be capable of more than I use it for, which is just
as a router.

For example, I can apparently connect an external hard drive to the
router by USB, said drive then being visible and usable by anyone on our
home network. That we be great for sharing the countless films, photos,
mp3s etc. we have accumulated.

Q1 Has anyone actually done this, and does it work well?

Yes but with a FBFW 7140 (still used) ... and a long time ago.

From memory it didn't work very well for some reason ... not easy to
access the share, or you needed some special software or you used FTP
or some such.

Your 7530 is probably a very different beast.

An independent NAS is a better solution IMHO and could even be
something based on a Raspberry Pi. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

Connecting USB external hard drive to router
 

On 20/07/2020 18:52, Graeme wrote:
My router, supplied by Zen, is a Fritzbox 7530 and, looking at the
manual, appears to be capable of more than I use it for, which is just
as a router.

For example, I can apparently connect an external hard drive to the
router by USB, said drive then being visible and usable by anyone on our
home network.Â* That we be great for sharing the countless films, photos,
mp3s etc. we have accumulated.

Q1Â* Has anyone actually done this, and does it work well?

q2Â* Recommended drive?Â* Thinking 1 or perhaps 2TB.Â* Any names to go for,
or avoid?Â* WD, Seagate, Toshiba, Verbatim etc.

Thanks!

I did this for years with a Netgear router. Probably like you, it came
as a surprise after looking at the manual. It was slow, but useful.

Then after an 'upgrade' to windows 10 it stopped working, never bothered
to find out why. The USB drive itself was fine.

--
Cheers
Clive

Connecting USB external hard drive to router
 

On 20/07/2020 18:52, Graeme wrote:
My router, supplied by Zen, is a Fritzbox 7530 and, looking at the
manual, appears to be capable of more than I use it for, which is just
as a router.

For example, I can apparently connect an external hard drive to the
router by USB, said drive then being visible and usable by anyone on our
home network.Â* That we be great for sharing the countless films, photos,
mp3s etc. we have accumulated.

Q1Â* Has anyone actually done this, and does it work well?

q2Â* Recommended drive?Â* Thinking 1 or perhaps 2TB.Â* Any names to go for,
or avoid?Â* WD, Seagate, Toshiba, Verbatim etc.

Thanks!

I did this for years with a Netgear router. Probably like you, it came
as a surprise after looking at the manual. It was slow, but useful.

Then after an 'upgrade' to windows 10 it stopped working, never bothered
to find out why. The USB drive itself was fine.

--
Cheers
Clive

Connecting USB external hard drive to router
 

On 21/07/2020 13:08, Clive Arthur wrote:

Then after an 'upgrade' to windows 10 it stopped working, never bothered
to find out why.Â* The USB drive itself was fine.


Possibly, from one of the links I posted in this thread


This is followed by instructions on how to install.


--
mailto : news {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

Connecting USB external hard drive to router
 

On 21/07/2020 13:08, Clive Arthur wrote:
On 20/07/2020 18:52, Graeme wrote:
My router, supplied by Zen, is a Fritzbox 7530 and, looking at the
manual, appears to be capable of more than I use it for, which is just
as a router.

For example, I can apparently connect an external hard drive to the
router by USB, said drive then being visible and usable by anyone on
our home network.Â* That we be great for sharing the countless films,
photos, mp3s etc. we have accumulated.

Q1Â* Has anyone actually done this, and does it work well?

q2Â* Recommended drive?Â* Thinking 1 or perhaps 2TB.Â* Any names to go
for, or avoid?Â* WD, Seagate, Toshiba, Verbatim etc.

Thanks!

I did this for years with a Netgear router.Â* Probably like you, it came
as a surprise after looking at the manual.Â* It was slow, but useful.

Then after an 'upgrade' to windows 10 it stopped working, never bothered
to find out why.Â* The USB drive itself was fine.

SMB protocol V1 was made a nono in windows 10


https://www.windowscentral.com/how-a...bv1-windows-10


--
"First, find out who are the people you can not criticise. They are your
oppressors."
- George Orwell

Connecting USB external hard drive to router
 

The Natural Philosopher wrote:

Clive Arthur wrote:
after an 'upgrade' to windows 10 it stopped working,

SMB protocol V1 was made a nono in windows 10

And all the router manufacturers stuck with pre-historic releases of samba.

Connecting USB external hard drive to router
 

In message , alan_m
writes

I have a Zen supplied 7530 and a old 3.5 inch drive in a USB connected
caddy attached to the Fritzbox USB port. I have it set up as a NAS
drive but only use it for very intermittent saving of fairly
non-critical data. The hard disk caddy has its own power supply. I can
see the disk in Win10 explorer as a network drive using SMB and can
transfer files to/from the disk from within Win10 explorer.

Thank you Alan, and everyone else who responded. Brilliant. Took a
while, but I'm there, initially accessing a USB stick plugged into the
Fritzbox, but now using a Toshiba 1TB external non SSD USB powered
drive. The linked instructions were perfect, including the SMB1
protocol, although I could not map the drive via the Fritzbox interface,
so mapped through Explorer, which worked perfectly.

Running W10 32 bit on my Lenovo laptop, I see the drive attached to the
Fritzbox as a network drive and can view images and watch films.
--
Graeme

Connecting USB external hard drive to router
 

On 22/07/2020 11:51, Graeme wrote:
In message , alan_m
writes

I have a Zen supplied 7530 and a old 3.5 inch drive in a USB connected
caddy attached to the Fritzbox USB port. I have it set up as a NAS
drive but only use it for very intermittent saving of fairly
non-critical data. The hard disk caddy has its own power supply.Â* I
can see the disk in Win10 explorer as a network drive using SMB and
can transfer files to/from the disk from within Win10 explorer.

Thank you Alan, and everyone else who responded.Â* Brilliant.Â* Took a
while, but I'm there, initially accessing a USB stick plugged into the
Fritzbox, but now using a Toshiba 1TB external non SSD USB powered
drive.Â* The linked instructions were perfect, including the SMB1
protocol, although I could not map the drive via the Fritzbox interface,
so mapped through Explorer, which worked perfectly.

Running W10 32 bit on my Lenovo laptop, I see the drive attached to the
Fritzbox as a network drive and can view images and watch films.


If your box is set for an automatic update ver 7.2. was issued in the
past few hours and it may update soon, or else a manual update

It supports a newer version of SMB so as per a previous post in this
thread if SMB1 is insecure you could turn it off on your PC and use the
later version which is already installed on your computer


Ver 7.2 for the 7530

faster FRITZ!NAS (\fritz.nas) with new SMB version

more Wi-Fi security thanks to new WPA3 encryption

public Wi-Fi for guests with encrypted data (OWE)

better Wi-Fi performance with mesh steering and mesh autochanel

convenient enabling and disabling of internet access for specific devices

secure telephony with German Telekom due to encrypted voice

more comfort for your online contacts, answering machine and fax
smart telephone book shows matching entries while dialing on FRITZ!Fon

--
mailto : news {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

Connecting USB external hard drive to router
 

On 22/07/2020 12:26, alan_m wrote:

If your box is set for an automatic update ver 7.2. was issued in the
past few hours and it may update soon, or else a manual update

It supports a newer version of SMBÂ* so as per a previous post in this
thread if SMB1 is insecure you could turn it off on your PC and use the
later version which is already installed on your computer


Ver 7.2 for the 7530

faster FRITZ!NAS (\fritz.nas) with new SMB version


I've just updated and it still works without smbV1
Remember after updating SMBv1 support is disabled (there is a setting in
the fritzbox user interface to re-enable the support)

Hints:
Uninstall smbv1 as in the link previously posted .....
https://www.windowscentral.com/how-a...bv1-windows-10

if after updating the fritzbox software to V7.2 you don't see the disk...

check first that the USB drive is being seen by the box. It may have
automatically disconnected during the software update. If so turn off
the power to the disk and then turn it back on again.

within the fritzbox interface
Home Network - USB and Storage - devices and network sharing (tab)
Scroll down to where smb is enabled (also the location to re-enable
smbV1). There is a //IP number. Cut and paste this into the win10
Windows Explorer search bar (bottom LH corner of the win10 screen - next
to the win icon that brings up shutdown etc.)

You should then get a window asking for the user name and password that
you have set up on your Fritzbox. Once user/pass accepted the disk
should again be seen.

--
mailto : news {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

Connecting USB external hard drive to router
 

In message , alan_m
writes

You should then get a window asking for the user name and password that
you have set up on your Fritzbox. Once user/pass accepted the disk
should again be seen.

Everything still working, but I'll keep your post for future reference.
Thank you.

I have an old USB splitter which works too, enabling use of USB stick
and USB drive.
--
Graeme

Connecting USB external hard drive to router
 

In article ,
Brian Gaff \(Sofa\) wrote:
Well I'm on my second Samsung ssd since 2015, and hence I still have a
spinning rust 2tb usb back up drive on that computer doing back ups of
the machine its plugged into Western Digital seem pretty reliable but
then I guess whatever you get always has the potential to fail due to
complexity generally.

Do wonder if anyone who calls an HD 'spinning rust' has ever looked inside
one?

The notion that an SSD should last forever is flawed. They seem to have
the same warranty as HDs.

--
*I can see your point, but I still think you're full of ****.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.