Solution for Netgear's 3TB external Hard Drive issue

[anakin1138]

First, a FYI to those who aren't aware. The Netgear ntv550 does NOT support external hard drives over 2TB. The following are 2 solutions to make these drives readable on the ntv550.

Solution 1: Format your drive under the HFS+ format (this is Apple's file system format) and use MacDrive to read/write from windows.

Solution 2: Format your drive under the EXT3 format (this is Linux's file system format) and use EXT2FSD to read/write from windows. You can find it at ext2fsd.com Once installed, run the service in Tools/Service Management by clicking the Start button. Also, on the same page, select "Enable writing support for ext3 volume". Make sure the "Mount all volumes in read-only mode" is unchecked.

I have implemented solution #2 with a recently purchased WD My Book Essential 3TB drive and I can confirm it works flawlessly. You can read and write onto the drive no problem with Windows Explorer.

After searching for awhile, I've never found a post for anyone actually attempting solution #2. So I decided to try it myself. Hope this helps someone.

[comandoed]

Fantastic. I have Windows 7 X64 and hope to get a Seagate GoFlex 3TB
soon.

I will try to use your solution 2 when I do.

Thanks

[jimmyz]

Solution 2 makes me happy. I'm a linux-only-user. But I do not own a 3T.

Thanks a lot for mentioning, anakin!

[anakin1138]

dammit!

I'm sorry guys but solution #2 doesn't work. It actually did for awhile but now, for some reason, some folders and files do not show up on my drive.

It worked for awhile initially after i made some tests (copy/delete/rename folders and files from OpenSUSE and windows using ext2fsd). But as i started adding folders to the drive, some folders/files weren't visible from the netgear. It's almost as if these were selected at random. I figured it's a simple permission problem but i can't set permissions with ext2fsd, the software only mounts a drive in read-only or write mode.

Since i can't find a stable ext3 driver for windows, i'm going to try solution #1 and format the drive in HFS+. I'll report back again with an update on my tests.

Again, sorry guys! This sucks.

[Scubbie]

Whilst I don't have the NeoTV-550, I do stream a lot of video content to my Home Theatre.

I used to connect various external drives to the USB port and this gave me direct access to the contents. However I found it harder to do this all the time, so I bought a NAS with a pair of 3TB drives.

This handles things a lot better.

If getting a NAS sounds too expensive for now, consider using an old PC and installing Serviio on it. This can then be set up to share the contents of any connected USB drives using the DLNA feature.

With a more powerful NAS or PC your limits are far less of an issue and no more swapping around external drives. Also for anyone who has more than one device which may wish to stream the Video content, these two solutions should work with most Network devices which support DLNA.

Should you have an Xbox or PS/3 there are also programs which can transcode MKV files for their benefit too for both the PC and NAS drives. Serviio can transcode the files too, but I found it very processor intensive for my setup so I disabled it as I didn't require it.

Another advantage is when it comes to maintaining the contents. Using the USB only option, you cannot view the contents on the NeoTV-550 and update it at the same time. By using a NAS or PC with Serviio installed, potentially any computer on your home network can update the contents.

http://www.serviio.org/

[DTR]

Anakin,

Did you try solution #1 by using the macdrive software?

[kws53]

Originally Posted by anakin1138

First, a FYI to those who aren't aware. The Netgear ntv550 does NOT support external hard drives over 2TB. The following are 2 solutions to make these drives readable on the ntv550.

Solution 1: Format your drive under the HFS+ format (this is Apple's file system format) and use MacDrive to read/write from windows.

Solution 2: Format your drive under the EXT3 format (this is Linux's file system format) and use EXT2FSD to read/write from windows. You can find it at ext2fsd.com Once installed, run the service in Tools/Service Management by clicking the Start button. Also, on the same page, select "Enable writing support for ext3 volume". Make sure the "Mount all volumes in read-only mode" is unchecked.

I have implemented solution #2 with a recently purchased WD My Book Essential 3TB drive and I can confirm it works flawlessly. You can read and write onto the drive no problem with Windows Explorer.

After searching for awhile, I've never found a post for anyone actually attempting solution #2. So I decided to try it myself. Hope this helps someone.

I am serving three GPT formatted 3TB drives through the NetGear without any issues. Where does it say that there should be a problem? Two of the drives are WD Green and the other is Seagate, so manufacturer doesn't matter either.

It never dawned on me to be concerned about upgrading my drive size.

Kurt