Airport Extreme external hdd causes router to reboot

When I try to access my external WD hard drive (formatted to FAT32) on my AirPort Extreme, it freezes and causes the router to reboot. How do I fix this?
I am accessing the hdd from windows 7 pc.

Try adding a powered USB hub....even if the WD drive has its own power supply.
Reason...the USB port is borderline as far as its ability to supply sufficient power for a hard drive even when the Extreme is new and even when the drive has its own power supply.
If the Extreme is a few years old, it is not delivering as much power to the USB port as it once did, and it needs some help.
Worst case, the internal power supply on the Extreme is starting to head South. That is usually not an issue until the device is 4-5 years old.

Similar Messages

Airport Extreme external hdd slow after update 7.6.1

Hi, need help!
Since I updated the Airport Extreme firmware to 7.6.1 the access to my external disk is extremelly slow. Sometimes I can only access it by IP address, it not even appears in the Finder.
In the same day I updated to Airport Utility to 6.0, again, another error. Now I can't see the Airport, only by IP.
Installed the older version of Airport Utility, the 5.6, but nothing changed, it only appears by a few hours if I reset the Airport.
I'm getting crazy, there's no logic in this error.
If I use the Airport Utility from the iPad, everything is fine. In fact, I have to use the iPad if I want to perform a restart or reset the Airport.
If I use the Finder after a reset I can see the disk, but its very slow. If I access the disk by IP its works ok.
The Time Machine uses the external disk from the Airport, the last time took 3 hours to copy 500Mb.
Downgraded the firmware to 7.6, but it stays the same.
Help, don't know what more to do.

I spent several weeks trying to diagnose and repair this problem. Unfortunately the only fix I have found is to revert my firmware version all the way back to 7.4.2. I'm not the only one who has had to do this. If you search the net you will find that this is the standard solution.
As near as I can tell, Apple has abandoned any attempts to fix the major problems the airport extreme has with sharing USB devices. They sell it as a big feature of the router but it has been very disappointing. I will soon be purchasing a new non-Apple router because the airport extreme is no longer the only unit with dual antenna and device sharing features.

Airport Extreme External HDD (Windows 7)

I just got the airport extreme and have been trying to hook up my external HDD to it in windows but cant find it.
Homegroup is set up and have tinkered on the included airport software so far to no avail.
Any help on this is much appreciated.

Lyle1986 wrote:
I just got the airport extreme and have been trying to hook up my external HDD to it in windows but cant find it.
Homegroup is set up and have tinkered on the included airport software so far to no avail.
Any help on this is much appreciated.
Airport Extreme does not support NTFS formatted disks. Acting as a NAS only HFS+ and FAT32 are supported
For that you have to use FAT32 with all limitations of that format or to learn Win7 to speak HFS+
For instance with Paragon's HFS for Windows ( http://www.paragon-software.com/home/hfs-windows/ )
Lupunus

Time Capsule vs. Airport Extreme & external HDD

Hullo all. For time capsule backups, i am either going to purchase a 1tb time capsule unit or an external usb drive to use with an airport extreme base station's usb port. Wondering if someone more knowledgeable than i knows if either choice offers a transfer speed advantage over the other.
Also, if i go with the external usb drive option then i'd like to employ a usb hub so that when necessary i can also run my printer off of the same airport's usb port. Would anybody know if this would work okay, without compromising backup speed and quality?
Thanks!

artdlr007 wrote:
Of course - that is the essence of my question: what's faster, time capsule or an AEBS and fast usb external drive. And is the speed difference significant.
One big problem not being addressed by that choice is that Time Capsule itself is slow. Even if you connect a computer over Gigabit Ethernet directly to a Time Capsule with its internal interface hard drive, you will not get throughput anywhere close to Gigabit Ethernet speeds.
From the Macworld review of Time Capsule:
Depending on the size and number of files being backed up, throughput ranged from 45 to 60 Mbps over gigabit Ethernet. This would put an initial 100GB backup at 4 to 6 hours.
That's right. Real transfer times are lower than 100Mbps Ethernet, on a par with 802.11g wireless, and well below USB 2.0.
The speeds in the review and in my experience mean that with Time Capsule, neither USB nor the hard drive is the real bottleneck because both have higher throughput than Time Capsule's networking chipset. I don't know if the AEBS would be faster.

Airport Extreme + USB HDD = Time Capsule?

Hi!
(Sorry for my poor English, I hope it's possible to understand my problem/question).
I bought a MacBook in January 09. It's connected to the Internet via WLAN and a Fritz.Box (Wireless Router with built-in DSL Modem, unfortunately it uses the old slow LAN and WLAN protocol and a USB1-Port).
I want to backup my files with Time Machine via WLAN. I tried to connect a USB-Drive to my Fritz.Box but it was terribly slow (USB1...)
It's important, that the backups go automatically when I'm at home and connected to my WLAN.
Now I think of buying something that's more useful. I have three ideas and I'm not sure what to do...
1) Buying the Time Capsule. Pro: I think, it will work perfectly. I don't need to worry about a thing. Contra: It's terribly expensive. In Germany 1TB will cost about 600$. (Maybe I should buy the 500GB-Version and update it by myself to 1GB or 2GB).
2) Buying the Airport Extreme. Unfortunately I'm not sure if a Airport Extreme + USB-HDD is the same as the Time Capsule. Apple writes: "Time Machine in Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard can be used to back up to many kinds of Mac OS Extended-formatted drives, but you cannot choose AirPort Extreme's AirPort Disk as a Time Machine backup volume. " On the other hand some Users wrote that they managed to get their TM-Backup on a AE-HDD (but did this work via WLAN?). With the Airport Extreme it would be easy to manage a itunes-stream-server (the Airport Express is not too expensive). And the Airport Extreme isn't too expensive as well.
3) Using a Network-HDD. It would be not too good, since I had to use my slow WLAN-Connection and since this wouldn't be supported by Apple at all. On the other hand this would be the least expensive version.
What should I do? Is it possible to work with the Airport Extreme and an external USB-HDD via WLAN and without any problems (like mounting the drive manually each time I connect to my Network).
It would be much more fun, if everything ran automatically, when I got in reach of my Network...
Thanks in advance! Gerrit

A couple of pointers.
The hard drive must be specifically formatted in Mac OS Extended (Journaled) to work with the AirPort Extreme's USB port. Check the documentation that came with the drive to find out how it is formatted at the present time.....it is likely formatted to work with Windows, which is not compatible with the AirPort Extreme.
Unfortunately, even if the drive is formatted correctly, Apple does not officially support Time Machine backups to a drive at the USB port of the AirPort Extreme, so that will be the next hurdle to deal with.
Some users actually do seem to be able to make this work, but overall, it is not a reliable method to backup your data if it is important to you.

Is there a way to turn the wireless capabilities off on an AirPort Express? I have an AirPort Extreme as my main router and use the express to just extend it. I only really want to you use the express for hard ethernet connections

Is there a way to turn the wireless capabilities off on an AirPort Express? I have an AirPort Extreme as my main router and use the express to just extend it. I only really want to you use the express for hard ethernet connections. For whatever reason when I have my express extend my wifi at home the download speed from just the express is absolutely terrible, drops to about 1.5 mb compared to when it's on the extremes part of the network the speed goes up to 50-75mb. These terrible download speed really only affects the iPhones as my MacBook Pro usually gets the good speed no matter where it is. I don't believe there is anything wrong with my phone because if I am in the part of the house that uses just the extreme the download speeds on the iphone goes up to 50-75mb. As a note I have an AirPort Extreme on the top floor of my house (second floor) that's where my modem is located. On the first floor that's where one airport express is located. I also have another airport express in the basement that is accessed by my landlord. Any thoughts on how to fix this would be helpful.

Is there a way to turn the wireless capabilities off on an AirPort Express? I have an AirPort Extreme as my main router and use the express to just extend it. I only really want to you use the express for hard ethernet connections.
It appears that your networking goals with the AirPort Express is to use it as a wireless Ethernet bridge instead of using it to extend the wireless range of your AirPort Extreme. The latter requires that the Express Wi-Fi radios be enabled.
If you intended to use the Express as a wireless bridge, you just need to reconfigure it to "Join a wireless" network instead of "Extend a wireless network."
For whatever reason when I have my express extend my wifi at home the download speed from just the express is absolutely terrible, drops to about 1.5 mb compared to when it's on the extremes part of the network the speed goes up to 50-75mb.
In an extended network, the placement of the extending base station is critical as it can only extend the wireless network at the bandwidth at which it receives it.
Please check out the following AirPort User Tip for details on optimal base station placement.

Will adding AirPort Extreme to my fios router improve my speed and distance to led tv.. The tv keeps dropping network and 50% of the time it tells me my broadband is too slow. I have upgraded to fios faster internet speed.

Will adding AirPort Extreme to my Fios router improve reception on tv located about 50 feet away..have new top of the line samsung smart tv and it drops signal every other day. When trying to watch netflix or amazon it transmits in SD only says bandwidth is not high enough for Hd. My ipad laptops and iphone work fine in this room. Any help will be appreciated or am I better off with a booster.

The AirPort Extreme will not be able to wirelessly "boost" or "repeat" the wireless signal from the Fios router, since It will only work with another Apple router for that feature.
So, if you plan to extend or repeat the FIos wireless signal, you should use a product by the same manufacturer as the Fios router....or possibly a "universal" repeater from a company like Netgear.
Make sure that you understand the store's return policy before you buy any kind of extender or repeater.....since you cannot know if the product will help until you try it out in your home.
The TV really needs a wired Ethernet connection from the Fios router if at all possible.

HT4260 I have an AirPort Extreme and a linksys router. What is the best way to get 6-8 wired connections with ac speeds?

I have an AirPort Extreme and a linksys router. What is the best way to get 6-8 wired connections with ac speeds?
Appreciate your assistance.

The answer depends on whether the AirPort Extreme is your main router....or...the Linksys device is your main router.
In either case, the two devices must connect together using a wired Ethernet connection using CAT5e or CAT6 cabling.
Any version of the AirPort Extreme produced within the last 5 years will have Gigabit Ethernet ports. In order to get the same speeds from the Linksys router, it will also need to be Gigabit Ethernet capable.
If you need additional Ethernet ports, you will need to add a Gigabit Ethernet switch to either the AirPort Extreme or Linksys router.
It is assumed that your other devices connecting to the AirPort Extreme and Linksys router will also have Gigabit Ethernet capability.
Not sure why you mention "ac" speeds in your post. This relates to wireless connections, not wired.

Extending network with Airport Express and Airport Extreme (latest models) causes chaos on network

Today I upgraded from my several year old Airport Extreme (3rd gen) and 2nd gen Airport Express to a new (what you'd buy on the shelf today) Airport Extreme and Airport Express. All airports are updated with the latest firmware and I'm using windows 7 for configuration.
The intention is to use the Airport Extreme as the main router, also serving wifi. And extend the network using the express. As such, the following has been done:
The Airport Extreme is configured for automatic channel, and automatic radio mode. I tried to select 802.11n 5 ghz and 802.11 n 2.4 ghz only, but it won't take the changes. Additionally, it wont' accept me using only channel 6. Not sure why, but I digress. The airport extreme is not set to broadcast a separate name for the 5ghz network.
The Airport Express is configured to use bridge mode, use an existing wireless network and is connected to my network on it's WAN port (the circle icon on the back) with ethernet. The password and wireless name used in configuration is the same as created initially on the Airport Extreme.
Initially I did the configuration of both airports on my computer, connected by ethernet to ensure stable connectivity while I inputted settings. During this, they appeared to accept the changes fine. However, when I moved the airport express to it's destination (other side of my house), the entire network went crazy.
Internet became slow, and often wouldn't load pages. This was on wired and wireless connections. When I attempted to administer the Airport in the Utility, they would not load, an error would occur. Also, at one point the Airport Extreme had renamed it self with a (2) at the end. Which was super odd. So far, the only solution has been to unplug the Airport Express and attempt to devise a solution.
Anyone have any ideas? Of course, I will continue to tinker with this, but it seems realllly strange. The previous setup was also extended (granted, using wireless only, not ethernet > wireless) and worked fine, granted it was a smidge slow, but it worked.

I wanted to add this.. I followed the guide here: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4260 to extend using ethernet, and the above is the result.
I just tried re configuring in OS X Mavericks and got the same, odd, result.

My new Airport Extreme 802.11n causes my PPC G5 to crash. Anyone else had this issue?, My new Airport Extreme 802.11n causes my PPC G5 to crash. Anyone else had this issue?

My new Airport Extreme 802.11n causes my PPC G5 to crash. Anyone else had this issue?

Any solutions? I just got my 5th generation Airport Extreme, set it up on my MacBook (OS X.5.8), and my PPC iMac (OSX.4.9) is having Kernal panic attacks whenever I try & join the new network. I;m now back on my old Airport settings and it doesn;t crash. Clearly it's the new Airport.

Does airport extreme replace my current router?

Does airport extreme replace my current router?

Your choice.. in some cases you will bridge the AE and use it as wireless AP and switch.
In other cases you will bridge your existing router and use the AE in router mode.
We cannot easily answer without specifics..
What broadband modem / router do you have? Make and model?
What are you hoping to achieve with the AE?

(Synology, ReadyNAS, or Airport Extreme)+External

I just recently switched to Mac. I had a big desktop, my girlfriend had a very old macbook, so we are dumping both and just bought a MB Air. We need some external storage and my initial idea was an Airport Extreme + an external harddrive and using that as a NAS. The reason for this instead of a TC is that we want to be able to unplug the Hard drive and take it with us incase we are going some where with no wifi access.
I also have not given up on having a smaller Windows desktop in the near future, I love both operating systems, so I want both
2 things with the Airport Extreme with an external:
I have heard that they are rather slow. Now if this would be the large chunk of my storage, I do not want a slow NAS dragging me down on a brand new laptop.
Also, when I get a windows desktop in the future, I would need special software to access the drive attached to the Airport Extreme, not a huge deal but annoying.
Now for the other options: Synology and ReadyNAS
From what I have seen, Synology is the better brand and ReadyNAS is the budget.
If I were to use an external attached to one these (I also will mount internal drives too), would it be equally as slow as the Airport Extreme?
Would I need to format the harddrive differently, essentially would I still need software on the windows desktop to access the NAS, or could we leave the drive in its current format (useable on both operating systems).
I know the one downside of this is that the Airport Extreme has a router built in, do any of the Synology or ReadyNAS drives have this? Most internet providers in San Diego where I am provide a Router/Modem in one.
Thanks for your help!

I have heard that they are rather slow. Now if this would be the large chunk of my storage, I do not want a slow NAS dragging me down on a brand new laptop.
It appears that your goal is to have quick-access file sharing as a higher priority to overall file storage. If this is the case, a dedicated Ethernet NAS would be a superior solution to an AirPort Disk (a USB HDD attached to the AirPort Extreme or Time Capsule base stations.)
The AirPort Disk will work with both OS X & Windows clients ... even Linux. However, as you mentioned, disk data access speeds are not stellar.
Also, when I get a windows desktop in the future, I would need special software to access the drive attached to the Airport Extreme, not a huge deal but annoying.
No. The Extreme's file sharing service supports the SMB file sharing protocol to allow access from Windows or Linux-based clients.
If I were to use an external attached to one these (I also will mount internal drives too), would it be equally as slow as the Airport Extreme?
Possibly, but that would depend on the connection type used for external HDD support on these dedicated NAS devices.
Would I need to format the harddrive differently, essentially would I still need software on the windows desktop to access the NAS, or could we leave the drive in its current format (useable on both operating systems).
NAS devices have built in file server support. Think of them as mini servers with multiple internal HDDs. Whether or not, your PC will require additional software will depend on what additional features (RAID, iTunes Server, Time Machine support, etc.) that you want this NAS device to provide. In most cases, if the NAS supports a particular feature it will come with the appropriate software to access it.
I know the one downside of this is that the Airport Extreme has a router built in, do any of the Synology or ReadyNAS drives have this?
None that I know of and would doubt any will in the future.
Most internet providers in San Diego where I am provide a Router/Modem in one.
... and in that case getting an AirPort Extreme or any other wireless router would not be necessary ... unless you still want to go the route of having a router that supports file sharing with external HDDs.

How to solve ghost-volumes of an airport extreme connected hdd?

Hi.
I use an airport extreme (latest firmware, airport utility 5.6, Lion 10.7.5) to connect to a usb drive (HFS+ format).
Also tried different authentification options (account, airport password) - all with the same problem.
I start the mac and see this in my terminal:
xy-Computer:Volumes "UserName"$ ls
Macintosh HD                                   HD
HD-1                               MobileBackups
I have a duplicate Volumes now which I can access as follows:
HD is empty but in physically on the usb hdd.
HD-1 is pointing to the physical content on HD - which messes up my configuration of software who need access to /Volumes/HD/Shared/
This workaround fixes the ghost folder:
I disconnect aiport
I delete the folder HD
sudo rm -rf HD
(HD-1 , the ghost folder cannot be deleted by the way
HD-1/: resource busy
> Now I connect again and only the real folder and everything works again:
My-Computer:Volumes "My"$      ls
Macintosh HD                 HD
MobileBackups
What is this problem - how can I get rid of it?
It happens every day and deleting and stuff really is no fun. Is there a permanent solution?
I found an answer related to my topic on the internet but even as it explains something, it doesn't solve the prob.
http://superuser.com/questions/20879/how-to-remove-duplicate-ghost-network-drive -on-os-x
Mac OS X mounts drives by default by creating a folder with the name of the drive in /Volumes and then mounting it at that point (so a drive is normally accessible via /Volumes/NAME_OF_DRIVE). Mac OS X will append a -# after the name of a hard drive if multiple drives of that name are mounted. (eg. /Volumes/NAME_OF_DRIVE-1 and /Volumes/NAME_OF_DRIVE-2, etc.) This will also occur if a folder exists in /Volumes/ by that same name. Even though the mount point has a different name the name of the drive will show correctly in the Finder.
An example of what can cause an erroneous folder:
A script or application that writes a file to /Volumes/ExternalDrive/somefile.txt or even an application that when checking if a file exists (eg. open last saved document) creates a new document at that location when the hard drive/network share/USB key/etc. is not mounted. The file will exists at /Volumes/ExternalDrive/somefile.txt meaning the folder /Volumes/ExternalDrive will exist when you next mount.
Fixing this:
Ensure all drives have been unmounted - use Disk Utility or diskutil list to be sure
Check to see what can be seen in /Volumes/ - recommended to use the Terminal and use ls -laF /Volumes. There should only be one folder (NAME_OF_STARTUP_DRIVE -> /)
Delete the remaining folders. (I'd recommend checking the contents first)
Yes, there is an application I use which checks if a folder exists (not particulary a file). It connects to /Volumes/HD/Shared/ and tries to create the folders there if they don't exist. If it is started before the airport usb drive is accessed, ghost folders problem occures.
Any advice?

Update.
I use the airport drive now as supposed to.
But after going to sleep (drive or macbook - can't say for sure) opening the aiport drive appears to work, it connects and is readable. When I then try to write something, an error message appears:
some text -50
Can't write on the disc. Then I have to disconnect and connect agaiin or reboot.
Strange, isn't it? It seems like a drop out or permission problem of the airport extreme station. I use a network lan, no wifi.

How to setup wireless time capsule with 3rd party external HDD and router?

Topic says it all really...
I've got a linksys router and an iomega external hard drive.
I want to have wireless time capsule setup but i don't really wanna shell out for an apple time capsule when I have a perfectly working router and hard drive...
Can it be done? would I be better off buying an airport express/extreme?
cheers

Welcome, jackbyo!
I've got a linksys router
Good product
iomega external hard drive.
1) The drive must be formatted in Mac OS Extended (Journaled) to work with Time Machine.
2) The drive will need to be connected directly to your Mac via USB or FireWire connection.
Can it be done?
As above
would I be better off buying an airport express/extreme
The AirPort Express will not support a hard drive.
Time Machine backups to a drive at the USB port of the AirPort Extreme are not supported by Apple due to corruption issues.

Time Capsule or AirPort Extreme + External Hard Drive for iTunes Library

Hi, I currently have an Airport Extreme (Gigabit) and am planning on getting a MacBook Pro. What I want to do is keep my iTunes Library on an External Hard Drive and attach it to my AirPort so I can access it anywhere in the house (and world). Now I have been reading various reviews that perhaps a Time Capsule would be better for my needs. I don't plan on using it for Time Machine backups right now, just as a NAS Drive. If anyone has any experience with this I would appreciate the advice.
Thanks!
Message was edited by: Mr. Macintosh693

Hi,
I have something like that working at the moment. My setup is based on a Mac Mini Core Duo [ OS 10.5.6 ] connected to a Time Capsule. I have configured iTunes to store all archived music on the Time Capsule. I use the Apple Lossless format for my CDs and approx 420 titles have taken approx 130Gb from my 1Tb Capsule. In general this setup works well [ especially the optical out of the Mac ] but be aware of the following potential pitfalls:-
1. The Time Capsule is a little on the noisy side and depending on the quality of your playback equipment, your choice of music, ambient noise and your values of "satisfactory" you may want to put your Capsule or HDD in another room. This seems OK for generic playback, but in my experience wireless is not a good way to go for streaming content.
2. iTunes v8.0.2 has a preferences capability to allow you to redirect it's archive to the Time Capsule. However, even if you leave the Capsule switched on it goes into a "sleep" mode. Rip a new CD and iTunes won't tell you this; instead it will silently reconfigure itself to store on your local hard drive and then you're left with the challenge of moving your collection piecemeal if you want it in one location, followed by manually updating iTunes to "point" it to the new location of the music.
One nice thing about the Capsule is that it does allow other connection types. I have mine networked to a PC running Ubuntu Linux and a music player called Amarok and I am able to stream the Mac-Ripped lossless files and play them over Linux perfectly... Works very well. Apparently you can do this with a Windows client and iTunes for Windows, but I don't run Windows as a matter of principle and can't validate that.
My 1Tb Time Capsule runs hot, too. Not dangerously so, but hot to the touch. There are no cooling fans, but you might want to think about placement; it needs plenty of fresh air circulating around it.
For what it's worth [ and I appreciate this is going beyond your question ] I also wanted my setup to be able to store and retrieve recorded TV. I have Elgato EyeTV and a USB Freeview decoder. I quickly learned that despite claims to the contrary the performance of the wireless connection just isn't up to streaming video content. So I went out and purchased a pair of Ethernet-over-mains adapters from Zyxel that are absolutely perfect for the job.
Yes, the Capsule is a little pricey for what is little more than a Hard Drive in a box, but it does work very well.
Beware the timeout disconnections and the silently re-configuring iTunes thought...

Airport Extreme external hdd causes router to reboot

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