Router USB Print Server with ext. HD instead of printer?

spiers69spiers69
Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
Hey everyone,

what i want to know is,

with a router much like this one (simply a 4-port ethernet router with a USB port) could i share an external hard drive amongst several computers?



The USB port is meant to be to share a printer, but if it were USB 2.0 (and i don't know that it is), would there be any reason why i couldn't share an external HD instead of a printer?



Thanks

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 6
    stustanleystustanley Posts: 236member
    i am not sure, but i dont think you can. I think its due to something to do with the direction of communication or someting (ie preinting, sending data to printer, hdd send and recieve), but i know it doesnt work with the like airport.





    Stu
  • Reply 2 of 6
    mynameheremynamehere Posts: 560member
    No it won't work. You need something like this .
  • Reply 3 of 6
    spiers69spiers69 Posts: 418member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by mynamehere

    No it won't work. You need something like this .



    That looks pretty promising. It works on OS X, right?

    It should, it's just hardware, right?
  • Reply 4 of 6
    mynameheremynamehere Posts: 560member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by spiers69

    That looks pretty promising. It works on OS X, right?

    It should, it's just hardware, right?



    I don't see any reason why it shouldn't...
  • Reply 5 of 6
    spiers69spiers69 Posts: 418member
    OK. i've found a router that can share USB 2.0 HDs over a network, but the seller says that it isn't OS X compatible. I thought all these routers would be?



    Here's a link to it







    \t\t

    it's a Netgear "108Mbps 802.11g Wireless Storage Network Router" and would be perfect if i could get it working for Mac. Does anyone know if the seller is wrong, and this DOES work under OS X? I can't see why it wouldn't.... plug two computers into two of the ethernet ports, plug the hard drive into the USB port, and the broadband modem into the main ethernet port? Simple.



    thanks all.



    when i checked NetGear's website for compatibility information, this is what i found:



    "System Requirements:



    ·\tBroadband (cable, DSL) Internet service and modem with Ethernet connection



    ·\tOptional external USB disk drive or USB flash disk (USB 2.0 and 1.1 supported)



    ·\t2.4 GHz wireless adapter or Ethernet adapter and cable for each computer



    ·\tWindows® 98SE, Me, NT, 2000, XP B]or other operating systems running a TCP/IP network[/B]



    ·\tInternet Explorer 6.0 or Netscape® 4.7 or higher"



    That includes OS X, right? which means the seller is wrong. Im sure this is OS X compatible, as it seems all Netgear's other routers are.....



    if you can share some light, then please do!

    Thanks
  • Reply 6 of 6
    reidreid Posts: 190member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by spiers69

    OK. i've found a router that can share USB 2.0 HDs over a network, but the seller says that it isn't OS X compatible. I thought all these routers would be?



    Here's a link to it







    \t\t

    it's a Netgear "108Mbps 802.11g Wireless Storage Network Router" and would be perfect if i could get it working for Mac. Does anyone know if the seller is wrong, and this DOES work under OS X? I can't see why it wouldn't.... plug two computers into two of the ethernet ports, plug the hard drive into the USB port, and the broadband modem into the main ethernet port? Simple.



    thanks all.



    when i checked NetGear's website for compatibility information, this is what i found:



    "System Requirements:



    ·\tBroadband (cable, DSL) Internet service and modem with Ethernet connection



    ·\tOptional external USB disk drive or USB flash disk (USB 2.0 and 1.1 supported)



    ·\t2.4 GHz wireless adapter or Ethernet adapter and cable for each computer



    ·\tWindows® 98SE, Me, NT, 2000, XP B]or other operating systems running a TCP/IP network



    ·\tInternet Explorer 6.0 or Netscape® 4.7 or higher"



    That includes OS X, right? which means the seller is wrong. Im sure this is OS X compatible, as it seems all Netgear's other routers are.....



    if you can share some light, then please do!

    Thanks [/B]



    I've never seen one of the Netgear storage routers before, but be aware that most of these devices (including the Linksys) require the drive to be formatted into either FAT32 or ext3 file systems, so you may not be able to use an existing USB drive without reformatting it.



    Other options you may want to look at include the Buffalo LinkStation and the Lacie Ethernet Disk, which both have the drive built right in.
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