Setting up USB External Drive to Airport Extreme Base Station

I've attached an External Hard Drive to my AEBS. My base computer is connected to the AEBS via Ethernet Cable and can see the external drive under Networked Drive however it shows up twice as Drive Y and Drive Z both showing the exact same capacity.
My desktop computer is running windows vista, and my laptop is also running vista. My Laptop connects to the AEBS wirelessly. The laptop does not see this External Hard Drive. How do I get my laptop to recognize this drive? Shoule my external hard drive display with two different drive letters, or should it only appear as one? I've not had much luck using this feature of the airport extreme and was the basic reason i purchased the AEBS

The USB port on the AirPort Extreme will support drive formats of Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and FAT32. NTFS is not supported, so that might explain some of your difficulties.
What feature did I invoke that automatically established a "third" drive? Where is it established on the physically formatted Mac drive? Does the format of Appleshare just indicate how the partition is accessed?
Not sure about this. When I format a drive as Mac OS or FAT 32, I see a single drive when accessed from the Finder.

Similar Messages

What's the most recent opinion about Time Machine backups to Hard Drives connected to the USB port on the Airport Extreme Base Station (5th generation)?

I have been searching the Apple communities and Internet for a final answer. I just bought an Airport Extreme Base Station (5th generation) and LaCie d2 quadra 1TB external drive as a replacement for TWO failed Time Capsules, neither of which Apple would replace due to failed power supplies. I formatted the 1TB drive using Disk Utility (Mac OS extended (journaled)) from my MacBook Pro, and then plugged into the Airport Extreme Base Station USB port. The Airport Extreme Base Station see the Hard Drive, and my MacBook Pro sees the Hard Drive in my finder under shared resources. Time Machine, however, does not see the drive. Is there a solution for this problem? If Time Machine will not work, is there another software product out there that will work, like Carbon Copy. Having to plug the backup drive into the USB port of your laptop every evening kind of defeats the purpose of having a laptop. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Keeping in mind that this is not supported by Apple, I have been successful at doing the following:
1) Format the entire drive (1 Partition) as Mac Extended (Journaled). You must click in Options and set it as a GUID Partition Table (first option)
2) Plug drive via USB to AEBS
3) Using Airport Utility, use Manual Setup, then under Disks, select the new Disk and click File Sharing, then Enable File Sharing and Secured Shared Disks (recommended, of course). Other settings are up to you.
4) IMPORTANT: you will NOT see this Disk in Time Machine until you open Finder and double-click on it. You will not need to do this again (hopefully).
5) Now it should appear in Time Machine. Remember to exclude any large files like Virtual Machines, since they will be re-backed-up (is that a word?) every time it changes in any way.
6) Remember that the first backup (over WiFi) is the longest. Leave the computer alone during this period.
Good luck, and let us all know how it went for you!

Can't read iPhoto library from external drive via airport extreme base stat

I can't seem to open my iPhoto library from my external USB drive that is hooked and being shared through my airport extreme base station. If I plug the external drive directly to my mac via USB it works but not when going through the base station.
This only started happening when I upgraded from iLife'06 to iLife'08.
Anyone have any ideas on how to fix?

That's a problem that many are posting about. Haven't read of a solution yet. Be sure to report the problem to Apple at: http://www.apple.com/feedback/iphoto.html.
Do you Twango?
TIP: For insurance against the iPhoto database corruption that many users have experienced I recommend making a backup copy of the Library6.iPhoto database file and keep it current. If problems crop up where iPhoto suddenly can't see any photos or thinks there are no photos in the library, replacing the working Library6.iPhoto file with the backup will often get the library back. By keeping it current I mean backup after each import and/or any serious editing or work on books, slideshows, calendars, cards, etc. That insures that if a problem pops up and you do need to replace the database file, you'll retain all those efforts. It doesn't take long to make the backup and it's good insurance.
I've written an Automator workflow application (requires Tiger), iPhoto dB File Backup, that will copy the selected Library6.iPhoto file from your iPhoto Library folder to the Pictures folder, replacing any previous version of it. It's compatible with iPhoto 08 libraries. You can download it at Toad's Cellar. Be sure to read the Read Me pdf file.

External hard drive on Airport Extreme Base Station - need some help!!

Can you suggest an external drive make and model that works with the extreme? Need around 300 gb?
What format should the drive be in so my Windows Vista and Windows 7 and my mac will be able to backup to it?
What backup software do you recommend that I run on my Windows Vista and Windows 7 PC to it?
Thanks

Can you suggest an external drive make and model that works with the extreme? Need around 300 gb?
There are literally dozens of external USB hard drives that will work with the 802.11n AirPort Extreme Base Station (AEBSn), but of course, not all. Please check out the following iFelix site to see some that are not recommended. FWIW, I currently use both a Newertech miniStack v3 (750 GB) & a Western Digital MyPassport (500 GB) with my AEBSn without any issues.
What format should the drive be in so my Windows Vista and Windows 7 and my mac will be able to backup to it?
HFS+ for the most efficiency between the AEBSn & the drive(s). Note that the AEBSn's file server will support both AFP & SMB when communicating between Mac & PCs (respectively) for file services. If you don't have a Mac, you can always format the drive in FAT32. Only NTFS (or any of the Linux partition formats) will not be supported by the AEBSn file service.
What backup software do you recommend that I run on my Windows Vista and Windows 7 PC to it?
I use Genie - soft's Genie Backup Manager, but just about any backup software that supports network-attached drives for backups should be fine.

I need help with connecting an external HD to Airport Extreme base station

So i have the base station set up, and it recognizes my hard drive in the airport utilities and have the file sharing turned on, but when i connect to the base station wirelessly from my macbook pro, the hard drive and base station does not show up in the shared section in my finder. Any ideas as to whats up?

I'm having a similar problem, and I hope you'll excuse my ignorance but is there a difference between rebooting and just restarting. I've done the latter (numerous times) but not the former.
I have set up my Airport Extreme Base Station to my wireless router (DSL Internet connection) and to an external hard drive (MyBook Essential 640GB with USB connection). Internet works fine.
When I plug the hard drive directly into my MacBook it recognizes it fine, I can copy files to it, add folders, explore them etc.
When I plug the hard drive into the Base station, it appears as a network drive on the side bar of my finder window, but when I click on it to open it, it is empty, it shows 0 items and the available memory, but none of the files I put on it are visible to explore.

Slow transfer rate of data to remote hard drive on airport extreme base station

Hi there
currently trying to transfer RAW picture files to my Seagate Go Flex Hard drive through my wireless network. Have an airport Extreme base station that the hard drive is connected to through a USB cable (3 i think could be 2.0). Taking over an hour to copy across 16 gig worth of data. Is this transfer time to be expected? Can it be quicker by altering or checking the settings in the Airport extreme base station.

Things will likely go at least twice as fast if you connect your Mac to one of the LAN <-> ports on the AirPort Extreme.
With a wired Ethernet connection, you could normally expect between 25-30 GB of data to be transferred per hour. On average, wireless is typically 2-3 times slower than a direct Ethernet connection.
And, as you might imagine, the chances of an error occuring during a wireless backup are always higher due to possible interference.

Best usb hub for Apple Airport Extreme base station

Hi all does any one know which usb hub is the best to use with the apple airport extreme the 8.11n version?
Im aware i need a powered usb hub ideally im lookin for a 7 port hub and i think also its needs to be plug and play rather than needing a driver to be installed as this feature is not available on the router,
I read in another forum that the (macally usb hub) would work but wondering if anyone had any experience with this as i know some do not work fo ex. the one ive just bought and some are faster than others any info anyone has on this matter wi ll be greatly appreshed thanks in advanced

if i have a quicktime movie stored in the USB external hard drive and if i run that movie over the "connection" via the new airport extreme... would the movie by "choppy" or would it be as smooth as if the external hard-drive connected directly to computer?
Sorry, things like this are not possible to predict in advance since there are so many variables involved. But, your chances of a smooth connection will improve using "n" wireless speeds with the computer close to the wireless router.
I would not recommend trying to store images on a drive that is accessed only by wireless. My strong preference for any kind of video or image file storage is to have the drive hard wired to the computer and/or router.

Can't see External HD through Airport Extreme Base Station

I have upgraded to the Apple Airport Extreme Firmware 7.1. Previously I was unable to see my 2 External HDs that are connected to the base station via a powered USB hub. Both of the HDs are FAT32s. I had hoped the firmware update would resolve the problem. But I am still not seeing the HDs. I connect to the base station wireless through a MacBook.
Any clues/help would be appreciated. I've scanned through several posts and seen people with similar problems and others that can see their HDs but not some files.

I suggest using the following instructions to re-check your AirPort Extreme Card/Antenna cable installation in your G4 iMac just to be sure nothing was missed: iMac (17-inch 1GHz) and iMac (USB 2.0): Customer-Installable Parts Instructions
Also, check that the antenna cable is firmly attached per this Apple Article: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=108039
I have the base station connected to a pc so I can't download iStumbler.
For the PC, you can use NetStumbler instead.
I'm not sure how to check if a signal is being sent through Airport utility.
Instead of the AirPort Utility, you can use the Internet Connection utility to verify signal strength of your base station. To access this utility, just right-click the AirPort status icon in the menu bar, and then, select it from the drop-down menu.

ITunes Settings for Media on External Drive via Airport Extreme...

iTunes Settings for Media on External Drive via Airport Extreme base station versus plugging directly into laptop.
My current configuration is that my iTunes Media (700gb) are all stored in an External Drive that's plugged into my Airport Extreme Base Station. This works great for me having wireless access to my iTunes external drive.
Whenever I need to back up that hard drive with Time Machine, I just plug it directly to my laptop...
But how do I let iTunes (or iTunes library) know that this is the same hard drive where all my media is stored when it's plugged directly into the laptop as opposed to trying to access it from my Airport Extreme network?

No there isnt any files call library in the folder i created I am now in the process of copying them back but I guess I will loose all my playlists and playcounts. I do have a Copy of my drive that i made with carbon copy cloner. So maybe it will be best to boot from there, restore and start again.
Chris it was just the media folder. I was following the instructions on the apple support page. Got to point 14 didn't get the warning but did seen to have a brand new itunes, so emptied the trash as they said expecting everything to be fine but it wasnt.

Recognizing a printer attached to an Airport Extreme Base Station

I have attached a printer to the usb port of my airport extreme base station. The printer is recognized by two of my MacBook Pros running Mac OS X version 10.4.11. However, it is not recognized by my latest MacBook Pro running 10.5.2. Is this a problem with the new system, or is there another reason? I have, of course, made sure that the printer drivers are installed, and the printer attached to the Airport works with the new MacBook Pro when connected directly through a usb port on the laptop. Any help will be gratefully received!!

samandlily wrote:
I have something related to this topic going on. I have an Epson printer on my Airport Extreme via a USB. Just recently when I try to print from my iMac, I get a message saying that "the Airport Network is busy, and it will try again in 10-20 seconds". Then nothing happens and the document will not print. Any ideas what is going on?
Please do not pollute the OP's thread by posting here. You are clearly experiencing a different problem - different symptoms, different version of OS X, different printer - and will get much better help if you start your own thread because your problem will get lots more attention that way.
- cfr

How can I get Time Machine to back up an external hard drive (iPhotos) that is attached to airport extreme base station. Note: Time machine is usb to macbook pro and external drive with iphotos is usb to airport extreme base station. Help please. Thanks!

How can I get Time Machine to back up an external hard drive (iPhotos) that is attached to airport extreme base station. Note: Time machine is usb to macbook pro and external drive with iphotos is usb to airport extreme base station. Help please. Thanks!

Once you have the drive connected to your Mac, click System Preferences (gear icon) on the dock
Click Time Machine
Click Options
Be default, the hard drive will be Excluded from backups. Click the drive to highlight it, then click the "-" (minus) button at the bottom of the list to remove the drive from Excluded items.
The drive will be backed up on the next Time Machine pass
Everything above assumes that the hard drive has been formatted in Mac OS Extended (Journaled) as Time Machine will only backup drives in that format.

Incompatibility Issues with connecting USB Hard Drive to Airport Extreme

Over the last few days i have been fiddling around with my new Airport Extreme Base Station N router. I can connect a printer and use the internet through it seamlessly. I can even share two of my hard drives through a USB hub, however, my Maxtor 500 gb One Touch 4 HDD will not connect with my macbook through AEBS. It is only this drive that is not working with AEBS and it is the one i need to be connected and sharing. If i plug my 500gb Maxtor directly into my macbook it works fine, i can read all the files. This drive is formated as Mac OS Extended (journaled).
I am about to give up on this because i have tried everything:
1. Reformatted HDD
2. Downgraded Firmware
3. Searched Forums for advice
4. Reconfigured AEBS in, i think, every way possible
So, these are most of the things ive tried and so far there is no solution in sight. I have one hypothesis: my particular HDD (Maxtor 500gb One Touch 4) is incompatible with AEBS at this time, but it is possible that a future firmware update could fix this.
Does anyone have any advice? I'm lost and disappointed. Please help, thanks.
Message was edited by: benjaminwooda

Chances are pretty good that the power draw of your external drive is just at the "tipping point" for what the USB port on the Extreme can deliver. Powered USB hubs are inexpensive and should help in this situation.

Help: Set up Time Machine Drive with Airport Extreme

I've read a few posts on this topic, none of which addressed my specific issue, but all of which stated that this functionality is not officially supported. I really hope this is not true because I bought my Airport Extreme and Hard Drive based on numerous Apple Store clerks assuring me that this was possible. So any help would be most appreciated. Here's the details/story:
I have a 13" MBP 2.53ghz, running 10.5.8 I've been backing up to a local 1TB HDD over FW800 since July with no problems.
I bought an Airport Extreme and am trying to move the drive to the AE to back up wirelessly. Here's what's happened so far:
1. I connected the drive with USB to the AE. It mounted no problem and I could see all my backups easily, but Time Machine did not recognize it as my back up drive. When I used the "Change Drive" button in the hopes of "finding" the drive, it just tried to start a new Time Machine back up set, wirelessly. So I think the broad concept is working, it just a matter of getting TM to recognize the back up set.
2. I plugged the drive in locally with USB (rather than FW800) and did a back up, no problem. After doing this, and plugging the drive back into the AE, TM no recognizes my backup set as mine, and tries to start the next backup, but I got an error message about not being able to write to the drive.
3. I did some reading online to get some ideas, I used Disk Utility to verify and repair the drive (over USB locally) Disk utility did find some errors, but it didn't seem like anything major.
4. Now, TM really starts to get going doing a backup, but when it actually comes time to transfer/write the new data over, I get an new error, that my drive is not formatted as a Mac OS Extended (Journaled). I use disk utitilty again, which confirms that the drive IS Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and is partitioned GUID (which I read is also a requirement)
And this is where I am. Any one have any ideas?
Thanks in advance for your help.

TSomers wrote:
I'd hate to think it's just to sell their $500 2TB Timecapsule (which is more than 2x the cost of competing 2Tb drives). Maybe Apple should share their secret sauce with the other drive makers so that they all can work.
Though you seem to hate it, you have indeed hit the nail... I also had issues with USB attached drives on my AEBS (Airport Extreme Base Station). This problem occurred before Apple had the policy statement in place and they ended up exchanging my AEBS, since it was crashing the AEBS when the USB drive did not become accessible (it was a WD brand that didn't play nice with any USB connection, as it later turned out). I suspect there was nothing wrong then with my original AEBS' USB connection, but the replacement was more reliable overall however, so it proved a boon. Perhaps Apple learned something from my previous problems.
Anyway, Apple is not without its reasons for this policy. That's the long story.
Short story? Use supported configurations only if you want a reliable backup. In my case, can easily move my drive to a Mini and have it run in a supported configuration whether by sparse bundle format or otherwise.
Network connections do indeed format the way described. You can check this very thorough article...Suggest you read the unofficially sanctioned discussion list article by Pondini (kudos for your thoroughness, sir/madam!) first. Many great suggestions and nifty storage ideas to maximize your use of available media in your particular situation will come from a careful reading.
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1964018

Airport Extreme Base Station and External Hard Drives

Hi all. Bought my first Mac 2 days ago and am very impressed. Such a smooth transition from vista. Just working my way around it and very impressed.
However one minor problem. I have a Airport Extreme base station with a USB Hub and 2 identical Freecom External Hard drives connected. As expected both connected fine and are accessible They name themselves FREECOM HDD and FREECOM HDD (2).
My question how do i change the names of these to be more relevant to me?
I have already tried setup through airport utility. Obviously with 10 years working with windows i could do this with my eyes shut on PC. It is probably just as easy MAC please help......

Select a drive in the Finder and either press Enter or choose Get Info from the File menu and change the name. You may need to connect them directly to the computer instead of through the base station to do this.
(45809)

Using an External USB soundcard with Airport Extreme Base Station

Hello, I own a macbook, an airport extreme base station and a Native Instruments Audio Kontrol 1 USB 2.0 external sound card that works like a charm with my macbook. I have a printer and a hard drive connected to the USB from the Airport base station through a hub, and I was wondering if there is any way I could make my macbook recognize the external sound card when connected to the base station's USB port. I would like to be able to play music wirelessly through the base station but the application/driver from Native Instruments does not recognize the sound card plugged to the router.
Thank you

if there is any way I could make my macbook recognize the external sound card when connected to the base station's USB port
First welcome the the Apple Discussions Forum!
To your question - it's highly unlikely, sorry!

Setting up USB External Drive to Airport Extreme Base Station

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for