Is it possible the external harddrive connecting to the router?

[nabbie]

Hello, is it possible the external harddrive connecting to the router/wifi where all the devices can share the data? I am not the expert but I think it could depend on what type of the router. For example, are there the right type of D-link to meet that requirement available in Thailand? Any responses much appreciated.   

[ozimoron]

A NAS yes, but average external hard drive, no. A NAS is really a computer with big storage.

[MaxUhu]

Well, @ozimoron comment is partially correct, with a NAS you can connect to any router, however there are also ways to connect a USB external hard drive to the router, however that requires a router with a USB port (which not all have) and SMB sharing software on the router as well.

 

ASUS, DLink and linksys sell routers like this in Thailand which run usually between 1500 and 1800 baht for routers with 1 USB port and between 2600 and 4000 baht for routers with 2 USB ports, all depending on the wireless protocol and speed they support.

 

Send me a PM if you want some pointers to some of the right routers. 

 

But as said depends on the HDD you want to connect and what you want to do with it, what kind of router you need. 

[ozimoron]

3 minutes ago, MaxUhu said:

Well, @ozimoron comment is partially correct, with a NAS you can connect to any router, however there are also ways to connect a USB external hard drive to the router, however that requires a router with a USB port (which not all have) and SMB sharing software on the router as well.

 

ASUS, DLink and linksys sell routers like this in Thailand which run usually between 1500 and 1800 baht for routers with 1 USB port and between 2600 and 4000 baht for routers with 2 USB ports, all depending on the wireless protocol and speed they support.

 

Send me a PM if you want some pointers to some of the right routers. 

 

But as said depends on the HDD you want to connect and what you want to do with it, what kind of router you need. 

While I was not aware of this solution, I'd have to say it's a non starter for the average punter. It would require a router with OpenWRT or similar and some knowledge of networking and port forwarding. Simple drive sharing would probably work as well but I haven't tried it.

[digbeth]

even with routers that has smb sharing, smb is now disabled by default in recent windows 10,

if

googling which router supports usb sharing, how to get it set up to your provider

enabling smb on your windows and getting it connected

is beyond your ability

 

a NAS like device might have easier software to deal with

[robblok]

43 minutes ago, ozimoron said:

While I was not aware of this solution, I'd have to say it's a non starter for the average punter. It would require a router with OpenWRT or similar and some knowledge of networking and port forwarding. Simple drive sharing would probably work as well but I haven't tried it.

My Asus router has this standard. No need to do anything but to plug an usb external harddisk in the router and activate it. 

 

So no open WRT or anything like that just a good router.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

59 minutes ago, ozimoron said:

While I was not aware of this solution, I'd have to say it's a non starter for the average punter. It would require a router with OpenWRT or similar and some knowledge of networking and port forwarding. Simple drive sharing would probably work as well but I haven't tried it.

 

I use ASUS wifi routers, and they all come with built-in USB2 or USB3 ports that can be used for networking/file sharing. You just plug in the external USB drive to the USB port on the router just like you would on any PC.

 

The only other complication is, depending on the router, you may have to go into the router's control panel settings via a router app or PC browser, and turn on the sharing function for the connected drive.

 

[MJCM]

3 hours ago, digbeth said:

smb is now disabled by default in recent windows 10,

SMB 1.0 yes, but AFAIK not the newer versions! (And you can still install it if you want to. (I had to because my FIRST ever NAS (bought 11 years ago) only supported that and soon after I copied the data over I quickly removed SMB1 and the NAS ????  )

 

https://frameboxxindore.com/other/why-is-smb1-disabled-windows-10.html

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/storage/file-server/troubleshoot/smbv1-not-installed-by-default-in-windows

[topt]

3 hours ago, robblok said:

My Asus router has this standard. No need to do anything but to plug an usb external harddisk in the router and activate it. 

 

So no open WRT or anything like that just a good router.

 

3 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

I use ASUS wifi routers, and they all come with built-in USB2 or USB3 ports that can be used for networking/file sharing. You just plug in the external USB drive to the USB port on the router just like you would on any PC.

 

The only other complication is, depending on the router, you may have to go into the router's control panel settings via a router app or PC browser, and turn on the sharing function for the connected drive.

 

This is an interesting question. I have a 3/4 year old D-Link router with a USB port but never used it so thought I would try. I went in and enabled Windows file sharing which I understand is via SAMBA, DLNA media server was already enabled but did not enable FTP.

 

Could not see it using Explorer so searched and found this article -

https://www.windowscentral.com/how-access-files-network-devices-using-smbv1-windows-10

Did that and could see the media server and eventually after clicking around for a while was able to see the stick content.

 

Laptop is enabled for later protocol mentioned in the above article but guess the router firmware isn't.....Now disabled again as recommended in the article.

 

Not as simple as expected.....

Thanks @MJCM you posted while I was experimenting  

 

 

 

[nabbie]

1 hour ago, MJCM said:

 

 

https://frameboxxindore.com/other/why-is-smb1-disabled-windows-10.html

 

[nabbie]

Many thanks for your interesting comments. That is certainly reinforcing my knowledge. Connecting the external harddisk to the Asus router via usb3 sounds very tempting only if Windows 7, I am currently using, can enable file-sharing (Thanks Roblok). I agree the NAS device could be excellent for who are not acquainted with network issues like myself. (Thanks ozimoron too). The reason is just for pleasure and to avoid the confusion of multi-device memories within one router. Hopefully the solution will come soon. Have great weekend. ????      

[Mutt Daeng]

14 hours ago, MJCM said:

SMB 1.0 yes, but AFAIK not the newer versions! (And you can still install it if you want to. (I had to because my FIRST ever NAS (bought 11 years ago) only supported that and soon after I copied the data over I quickly removed SMB1 and the NAS ????  )

Same for me. My NAS is now an expensive paperweight.

[mtls2005]

Do you currently have broadband internet service?

 

Service provider? 

 

Most three year old or newer ISP-provided router supports (among other things) USB.

 

Can you share your router make and model?

 

You may need to configure this application within the router's management UI (FTP Server Configuration).

 

 

What is it that you really want to do, in real life applications? Maybe give an example or three.

 

 

Simply, occasionally share a few files? Locally? Via the internet? Back-up data? Stream media, over WiFi? There may be other solutions. Almost any device with storage could be made to be a networked file server. Or you could add a new device, like the mentioned NAS. Or you could add a secondary router. You could share data over wired ethernet, WiFi, Bluetooth.

[MJCM]

15 hours ago, nabbie said:

 

 

https://www.virustotal.com/gui/url/597a13a5308b8e92274267491b72ea553c38998b1c9c081127c5bf22fb0a2305?nocache=1

[MJCM]

2 hours ago, Mutt Daeng said:

Same for me. My NAS is now an expensive paperweight.

Yes but it served it's purpose. The same HDD's and only 1 issue in allmost 11 years!!

 

The only issue was that the power switch stopped working, so I had to unplug the power while the HDD's were in Hibernation and when I needed it, plugged the power back in. Oke I got an error about Power Failure, but in all those years NO ILL effects on the drives.

[ballpoint]

Have you considered cloud storage?  I have a 1TB Onedrive account and can easily store and transfer files between my computers, android phone and car android unit, without even needing a wifi connection for the latter two, just a cellular data one.  It shows up just as any hard drive would in Windows Explorer and various android file explorers.  My data is accessible anywhere I am in the world without the need for any extra hardware or software, or the fear that they will become obsolete.

[BritManToo]

3 hours ago, Mutt Daeng said:

Same for me. My NAS is now an expensive paperweight.

I love my NAS, I have 2 ........ they even download all the torrents I want while my PC is turned off.

I've about 8TB of storage on them.

[MaxUhu]

Correct and incorrect at the same time, SMB can be enabled quite easily in windows 10 and 11 and with for example kodi installed on an android box or computer etc, it's very easy to connect to these external hard drives on the router, as I assume this is the reason to connect to the harddrive via the router, but even for simple file sharing still easy from within windows explorer, just map a network drive or browse the network... 

 

Not that difficult and even for novices quite easily done... 

On 3/5/2022 at 1:44 PM, digbeth said:

even with routers that has smb sharing, smb is now disabled by default in recent windows 10,

if

googling which router supports usb sharing, how to get it set up to your provider

enabling smb on your windows and getting it connected

is beyond your ability

 

a NAS like device might have easier software to deal with

Yes, a nas is for sure the easier way, however also the three times more expensive way and most of the time, if somebody owns the external hard drives for USB, these can not be used inside the NAS. 

 

Just pointing out easy and cost effective ways... ???? 

[MaxUhu]

On 3/5/2022 at 5:26 PM, topt said:

 

This is an interesting question. I have a 3/4 year old D-Link router with a USB port but never used it so thought I would try. I went in and enabled Windows file sharing which I understand is via SAMBA, DLNA media server was already enabled but did not enable FTP.

 

Could not see it using Explorer so searched and found this article -

https://www.windowscentral.com/how-access-files-network-devices-using-smbv1-windows-10

Did that and could see the media server and eventually after clicking around for a while was able to see the stick content.

 

Laptop is enabled for later protocol mentioned in the above article but guess the router firmware isn't.....Now disabled again as recommended in the article.

 

Not as simple as expected.....

Thanks @MJCM you posted while I was experimenting  

 

 

 

In order to make it work on windows (any version) you need to set it up as well on the actual DLink router as file sharing (Samba) and usually setup a username and password within the router admin... 

 

Once this is done you can access it via windows explorer quite easily... 

[KhunHeineken]

21 hours ago, BritManToo said:

I love my NAS, I have 2 ........ they even download all the torrents I want while my PC is turned off.

I've about 8TB of storage on them.

I purchased my first NAS a little while ago.  I'll update a thread I started about it because I have a few questions. 

 

I love the NAS also,and I am still playing with it and learning how to use it to its full potential, but I nearly fell off my chair when seeing the price of Seagate Ironwolf Pro NAS hard drives.  I have 8TB of storage as well but if you have a lot of TB's to store the cost can really start to mount up, but from what I read the NAS hard drives are reliable.

 

I didn't know you could torrent with a NAS.  I'll check that out.  

[robblok]

22 minutes ago, KhunHeineken said:

I purchased my first NAS a little while ago.  I'll update a thread I started about it because I have a few questions. 

 

I love the NAS also,and I am still playing with it and learning how to use it to its full potential, but I nearly fell off my chair when seeing the price of Seagate Ironwolf Pro NAS hard drives.  I have 8TB of storage as well but if you have a lot of TB's to store the cost can really start to mount up, but from what I read the NAS hard drives are reliable.

 

I didn't know you could torrent with a NAS.  I'll check that out.  

Yes you can torrent with a nas there are even programs that allow you so subscribe to certain tv series. The Nas will then look for those and put them in a special directory. Sickrage is one of those programs. So much can be done with a NAS.

[KhunHeineken]

41 minutes ago, KhunHeineken said:

I purchased my first NAS a little while ago.  I'll update a thread I started about it because I have a few questions. 

 

I love the NAS also,and I am still playing with it and learning how to use it to its full potential, but I nearly fell off my chair when seeing the price of Seagate Ironwolf Pro NAS hard drives.  I have 8TB of storage as well but if you have a lot of TB's to store the cost can really start to mount up, but from what I read the NAS hard drives are reliable.

 

I didn't know you could torrent with a NAS.  I'll check that out.  

EDIT:  12TB's of storage, not 8TB's.  

[BritManToo]

1 hour ago, KhunHeineken said:

I have 8TB of storage as well but if you have a lot of TB's to store the cost can really start to mount up, but from what I read the NAS hard drives are reliable.

 

I didn't know you could torrent with a NAS.  I'll check that out. 

I just use external 4TB WD drives plugged into the USB ports of my NAS, 2800bht.

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/wd-my-passport-4tb-black-usb-30-hdd-25-wdbpkj0040bbk-wesn-external-harddisk-harddrive-i3039495925-s11144194250.html

 

Drag and drop magnet or torrent files ........

Then playback through Kodi.

 

[KhunHeineken]

2 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

I just use external 4TB WD drives plugged into the USB ports of my NAS, 2800bht.

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/wd-my-passport-4tb-black-usb-30-hdd-25-wdbpkj0040bbk-wesn-external-harddisk-harddrive-i3039495925-s11144194250.html

 

Do you leave them on 24/7?  

[BritManToo]

3 minutes ago, KhunHeineken said:

Do you leave them on 24/7?  

Yep, never had any problems.

[nabbie]

Good morning all, yesterday I made an order via JCB shop for Asus RT-AC86U route which has showed lots of good reputation. I shall look forward to receive it by this Wed unless any of you think I make the mistake. Please do not hesitate to tell me! Thanks.

[KhunHeineken]

3 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Yep, never had any problems.

I suppose it helps that they are outside of the NAS.  From what I read if you use standard hard drives in the NAS the vibration from the spinning discs shorten their life, unless they are specific NAS hard drivers that have been made to handle it. 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

On 3/6/2022 at 10:16 AM, ballpoint said:

Have you considered cloud storage?  I have a 1TB Onedrive account and can easily store and transfer files between my computers, android phone and car android unit,

 

I tried that at one point last year. Got a good ongoing promo rate on their 1 TB of cloud storage.

 

But I ended up dropping it after the year, because, the One Drive app for Windows PC will only allow you to backup certain pre-designated folders, and you can't self-select others that you might want to back up instead, AFAIK.

 

So, it's either you decide to move and keep all your important files in the Windows "Documents" folder and a couple others MS allows in OneDrive, or, you're out of luck.

 

In my case, I have/keep a lot of media files on external drives and in other folders, and I could find no way to get OneDrive to be able to backup those files to the cloud without moving them to OD's predesignated backup folders.

 

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

1 hour ago, nabbie said:

Good morning all, yesterday I made an order via JCB shop for Asus RT-AC86U route which has showed lots of good reputation. I shall look forward to receive it by this Wed unless any of you think I make the mistake. Please do not hesitate to tell me! Thanks.

 

That has been ASUS's most popular and widely used wifi router in recent years, although it's lately been surpassed by the newer AX line, which has wifi AX instead of wifi AC.

 

I've used the 86U at home now for several years, and it's been fast and rock-solid. The nice part, among others, is it as a built-in VPN client that allows you to run many commercial VPN services off the router using any of the three following VPN protocols -- PPTP, L2TP or Open VPN.

 

Unfortunately, their current firmware version doesn't support Wireguard. But I've heard ASUS is working on a firmware update due later this year that is supposed to add Wireguard capability to their router.

 

[ballpoint]

4 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

I tried that at one point last year. Got a good ongoing promo rate on their 1 TB of cloud storage.

 

But I ended up dropping it after the year, because, the One Drive app for Windows PC will only allow you to backup certain pre-designated folders, and you can't self-select others that you might want to back up instead, AFAIK.

 

So, it's either you decide to move and keep all your important files in the Windows "Documents" folder and a couple others MS allows in OneDrive, or, you're out of luck.

 

In my case, I have/keep a lot of media files on external drives and in other folders, and I could find no way to get OneDrive to be able to backup those files to the cloud without moving them to OD's predesignated backup folders.

 

 

I was referring more for storage, accessible from multiple computers, rather than as an automated backup device - which the OP didn't mention as a requirement.  However, there are other cloud storage options that allow full or partial backup of all files and folders.

 

I use my One Drive folder as storage, accessible from all my computers and android devices - phone, tablet and car unit.  There are no limitations on what new folders can be created.  I just created the "Asean Now" one as an example: