Arch Linux

jeffreyldavidson

Member

Registered: 2008-09-05

Posts: 47

Wireless NAS

Hello, I have a USB external hard drive connected to my wireless router. I has a built in USB port for the sharing of the drive. I can connect to the diive with a Windows laptop and my wife can back up her files from her Mac laptop. My question is why can't I do so in Linux/Arch. There were no settings necessary to connect it with my other laptops, why is it so hard in Linux?

Just need help.

masterkoppa

Member

Registered: 2009-04-14

Posts: 92

Re: Wireless NAS

Well if your wife can access the drive from a Mac and you can get to it from a Windows it means that its probably a samba share. I suggest you read the wiki entry for samba and try it out.

fukawi2

Ex-Administratorino

From: .vic.au

Registered: 2007-09-28

Posts: 6,222

Website

Re: Wireless NAS

USB port.... If it doesn't have a Network port then it's not a NAS, just an external hard drive and it won't be using Samba.

It should work fine as a general rule with Linux. I've used plenty of external hard drives in Linux, including Arch, over the years.

What file system is it formatted with?
Does the system recognise it when you plug it in? Check the output of:

dmesg | tail

Edit: just reread the original post, and I'm a little unclear about how you're connecting it. You've connected the external HDD to the wireless router, and then you can access it from your Windows and Mac computers via the wireless network through the router? Then Samba will be what you're after most likely unless your router is using some strange proprietary interface to emulate a block-level device which I've heard of some doing, in which case they've made it difficult to use with Linux.

If you're using the USB connection to connect it to Arch, then my original post stands.

Last edited by fukawi2 (2009-09-22 02:13:06)

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jeffreyldavidson

Member

Registered: 2008-09-05

Posts: 47

Re: Wireless NAS

It is formatted as NTFS and I can access the drive if I plug it directly into my USB port but just not through the router. If my wife's Mac couldn't connect I would think it was something else.

Thanks

jeffreyldavidson

Member

Registered: 2008-09-05

Posts: 47

Re: Wireless NAS

I am connecting through my wireless router in order to share the drive with several laptops as a backup drive. It is physically connected to my wireless router through a USB port which is built in for that purpose. I just cannot connect with my Arch laptop.