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External HDD as NAS?

post #1 of 19
8/22/12 at 8:37am
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I recently picked up this Seagate 3TB HDD for $130. I have this Buffalo router which has a USB 2.0 input for NAS or a printer.

I tried to connect the HDD to the USB port but it was not recognized. When I connect to my PC it shows up as another Drive. It was pre-formatted NTFS upon arrival. Is there something I need to do to use it on the NAS/USB port of my router?

Originally I was going to crack it open and put it in my PC which has 2 open bays but decided to try this instead. I may still crack it open but not using one of those two bays is attractive too.
Edited by Sammy2 - 8/22/12 at 9:06am
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post #2 of 19
8/22/12 at 9:23am
I think there is a lot of sentiment that putting the HDD in a PC is better because it typically gets better cooling. The portable HDD cases often have poor cooling, thus possibly reducing the life of your HDD. I use external HDDs for backup, but don't leave them running. So if I were you I'd get cracking! Save the enclosure, it can come in handy.
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post #3 of 19
8/22/12 at 9:45am
Thread Starter 
I'll throw it in the box of other handy computer stuff that never gets used! There's already one enclosure in that box and it supports eSATA too. I have a drill. I can make it cool better!! HAHA!
Edited by Sammy2 - 8/22/12 at 1:34pm
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post #4 of 19
8/22/12 at 5:02pm
Check your router manual and see if NTFS is a supported file format.
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post #5 of 19
8/22/12 at 5:22pm
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I actually did do that earlier today. Looks like it is FAT 32. I don't think that'll work well with 3TB.
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post #6 of 19
8/22/12 at 6:01pm
You are correct . It will not work to give full advantage of the 3tb .

GUID Partition Table (GPT) is what you need .
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post #7 of 19
8/22/12 at 7:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sammy2 View Post

I recently picked up this Seagate 3TB HDD for $130. I have this Buffalo router which has a USB 2.0 input for NAS or a printer.
I tried to connect the HDD to the USB port but it was not recognized. When I connect to my PC it shows up as another Drive. It was pre-formatted NTFS upon arrival. Is there something I need to do to use it on the NAS/USB port of my router?
Originally I was going to crack it open and put it in my PC which has 2 open bays but decided to try this instead. I may still crack it open but not using one of those two bays is attractive too.
Are you sure that's the drive? It only shows a 500GB and 1TB portable drive. If what you have is a 'Go-Flex' drive they make a cradle that connects to your network http://slickdeals.net/f/4336254-GoFlex-Home-Base-NAS-17. I have one on my network and it works well. I have a 2TB Seagate drive, a printer and a USB 1GB WD drive connected through it. I get up to 30MB per second using a GigaBit switch. Available through e-bay.
Edited by olyteddy - 8/22/12 at 7:47pm
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post #8 of 19
8/22/12 at 8:33pm
Thread Starter 
This one
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post #9 of 19
8/22/12 at 8:57pm
Worth cracking open. Then you could plug it onto a Goflex base...
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post #10 of 19
8/22/12 at 9:03pm
Thread Starter 
If I crack it open its going in my case I think. I don't want to spend more money on storage other than the drive itself. If I keep it external and plug it into the USB port on my modem I need to format and partition it FAT32.
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post #11 of 19
8/22/12 at 9:06pm
Or try to find the Goflex network base. The USB (2) port handles NTFS fine, and the connector on top allows you to dock any SATA drive.
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post #12 of 19
8/22/12 at 9:10pm
Thread Starter 
If I crack it open its going in my case I think. I don't want to spend more money on storage other than the drive itself. If I keep it external and plug it into the USB port on my modem I need to format and partition it FAT32.
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post #13 of 19
8/22/12 at 9:59pm
I bought 3 of those drives some time ago. They eventually got cracked and used in WHS 2011/Flexraid box. In looking at the smart data for all 3 after cracking them open, the thermals had been in the danger zone when operating in the original housing.
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post #14 of 19
8/23/12 at 4:38am
Thread Starter 
Yeah, I agree. 60C is too high. I'm going to crack that case this weekend and put it in my PC..
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post #15 of 19
8/23/12 at 6:59am
I reconfigured my HTPC when I put the SSD into it.

OS/Apps - 64gb SSD
Storage drive #1 - 500gb 2.5": Music, pictures, relocated TMEP folders, etc. This was the old OS drive.
Storage drive #2 - 1tb 3.5": For recording OTA shows and recording of game footage.
External eSATA - 2tb 3.5" - This drive contains ripped media and use to be an internal drive.

I have the Netgear N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router and was considering an ethernet based external enclosure that can hold 2 or more drives. This way my media can be shared between all of my PC's. I still want to build a small server at some point but this should do until then.
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post #16 of 19
8/23/12 at 7:30am
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You can share you media without a NAS. The cost of leaving a PC on 24/7 is less because you have to buy the NAS and you have to leave it on 24/7 anyhow. I don't understand the purpose of a NAS. Just get a case big enough to hold a lot of drives. I can hold 8 (including the velcroed SSD) in my PC and 7 in my HTPC case, two of which are 2.5" drives (1TB Sumsung and 64GB SSD). I still have space for 4 more but after I crack the case on this Expansion drive, I'll be down to 3 bays. I'm thinking that rather than get more drives I'm going to start pruning my OnDemand library because a lot of it is just watch once stuff and I have 100 or so more Blu-rays to rip.
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post #17 of 19
8/23/12 at 8:30am
What HTPC case to you have? I'm using a Moneual 312. I've had it for years now but it's limited in its internal drive space. If I build the server I'd like to use something like the Fractal Design Array R2. It should be fine for a first sever attempt.
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post #18 of 19
8/23/12 at 8:55am
Thread Starter 
Antec NSK 1380.

2-2½" in bay converter.
2-3½" in stock drive cage
a future 5¼ bay to 2-3½ drive converter in the ODD bay. I have the converter, just need the drives.smile.gif

I guess it only holds six. for some reason I was counting the bay with the 2-2½" drives twice in my head.
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post #19 of 19
8/23/12 at 9:09am
Ok. Nice. I figure that the Fractal box holds 6 hdds so I'll put in 5 3tb drives and a smalls ssd or laptop drive for the OS (Win7). The plans are on the Maximum PC site. Formatted I should have a good amount of space for my little collection. But ripped bluray movies are pretty big.
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