WNDR3700 with a usb HDD attached: Being that this router has pretty good reviews for plug and play usb hdd use, I was wondering if maybe this router is able to detect the HDDs in a multibay enclosure such as Mediasonic 3.5-Inch USB 2.0 and eSATA Pro...
1953195
I have 4 external hard drives hooked up to my wndr3700v2 via a USB hub and the performance is very good. There seems to be a problem and about once a week I lose access to one of the hard drives, but rebooting the router fixes that. Hopefully that problem will get fixed in a future firmware release. *** Update *** I had Netgear replace my router with a new one to address some buggy behavior. The new one has the same issues. This router is just a little rough around a few edges. Regarging the USB HDD performance, I am quite happy with it with the exception that is seems to lose the connection to one of the hard drives on Sundays (SERIOUSLY). *** Update 2 *** I discovered that there is a sleep feature in my Seagate external USB hard drives. I disabled that using the Seagate/Iomega utility and my NAS performance has been great with no disconnects. Currently I have 3 USB hard drives connected via a powered USB hub and am happy with it.
110294
Yes, depending on your setup. It is a hardware raid, so that means that you can set it up so that whichever device you plug it into will just see it as a large hard drive. It really depends on the router. What this device can't do is act as it's own NAS--you essentially just need to think of this device as a large USB hard drive, and then find a solution that works with it.
2245525
Depends on the backup software, but generally yes. You connect them not directly, but by attaching the drive to a compatible router on your network. Some routers have USB jacks for hard drives. Do a search on "attach hard drive to router" and you'll get information. This is called "network attached storage" (NAS for short), by the way.
1773795
@Gary, yes, the WDTV Live works with the AirLink USB dongle I listed above. No hacking, no nothin'. Just plug it in. I am extremely pleased with the results. I've been streaming hi-def 720 and 1080p with it.@Philip, the Live is nearly identical to the original WDTV gen 1 in design, so yes, it still has 2 USB ports for local hard drives. Under the hood is where it's different. I'm very happy about it being wireless-capable and DTS downmixing, because it now lets me put the device anywhere in the house.
1667715
I have hooked it up to a esata enclosure with 4 drives and it worked with no problem.
2252527
The card supports a 4-Bay e-Sata enclosure on my MacPro with no problems and 3X the performance of USB 2.0. From what I have read in the comments on Amazon, the card will only support one multiport device per card because the port multiplier only seems to apply to one port. I expect to connect another multi-bay enclosure in the future but it will be one with built-in RAID so that it only presents a one device appearance to the card.
12020
I don't really know the answer... but I don't think it was intended to work that way. If you plug in the hard drive into the USB and then plug in the Ethernet connector and not hook up the computer, I don't think there's a built in server or anything to directly access the hard drive over the network.
217317
no. you have to connect it to the router directly via an ethernet cable. you can then connect to any drives connected to it though via your network, including wireless connections if your computer youre trying to access the drives from and your router has wifi capabilitiesthe box itself though is not wirelessanother warning, this device does NOT support drives over 2tb in size and the usb ports on it are usb2.0 not usb3.0
1677388
BE CAREFUL! this router DOES NOT support 3T hard drives, since it only works with MBR partitions, and HDs with over 2T are GPT. Im having this problem with my WD 3T external HD, and im trying to contact TP, to see if there is any alternative to partitioning MBR (id loose about 1T of disk space thus transforming a 3T HD into 2T) Hope this helps
2077651
Yes. It is actually a very good router. The ability to add a USB3 external disk is a great feature that allows you to add storage without updating your PC -- just plug the external storage device into the router and it's added automatically. However, if you don't need the extra storage, you might save a bit of money by buying a Netgear unit without it. Mine works great. Once you attach the device it will show up as a Network Device (READYSHARE) on Windows Explorer. Click READYSHARE on Windows Explorer and, after the file opens, click it and then MAP NETWORK DRIVE.
733644
I would guess it has as much to do with the particular router as this device. USB is generally plug and play.
2026702
No it does not. However, Amazon does sell a dual bay like these that does. However, it is USB 2.0, eSata, IDE, not USB 3.0. That's important because even eSata 2 is as fast as the drives connected to it, but USB 2.0, is an incredible bottle neck. If that same unit had USB 3.0, I wouldn't have purchased this item. The way it works, is it has an IDE plug on the side of it, which connects to a USB cable and the drive, and thus it doesn't sit in the toaster like SATA drives do.
2252523
It does support enclosures with port multipliers. However, it only supports 1 port multiplier. I have a Mediasonic HFR2-SU3S2 PRORAID 4 Bay 3.5" SATA Hard Drive Enclosure - USB 3.0 & eSATA connected to it and it works fine. However, if I connect a second one, it doesn't see the second one. You can connect a single eSATA drive to the second port as long as it doesn't have a port multiplier. So, the short answer is that you can only connect one device with a port multiplier.
1455387
I have a router with an eSATA port that can used for a media drive. Can this HD be used in an eSATA stand alone enclosure with an 80mm fan for cooling? Thank you in advance for any information.
1307448
Yes, this supports drives up to 3TB.http://www.sabrent.com/category/hard-drive-enclosures/ECS-STU35K/
2041119
Netgear does not list the maximum size usb hard drive supported in the manual. I would think you should be able to get anything up to 3 TB to work if the hard drive is from one of the major manufacturers of hard drives. WD, Seagate, Hitachi, Toshiba. It will most likely depend on the firmware of the individual drives whether it works or not.
2071444
Yes, but keep this in mind : The only external hard drives I ever got to work with this device are Buffalo- branded ones. I tried WD, Ragate, and Maxtor USB 3.0 and 2.0 drives with no luck at all. However, I had Buffalo - branded drives working on two ports at once.