Netgear reply on the 3TB hard drive issue

[anakin1138]

For those who aren't aware, the NTV550 doesn't recognize hard drives over 2TB. I've written to netgear's official support staff about this problem and asked them (while i'm at it) when the new firmware is coming out. Today i got the following response:

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Thank you for choosing NETGEAR. My name is Jen from 2nd Level Technical Support.

I have read your case and understand that you are asking about final release of NTV550 firmware. I apologize for the inconvenience you have experienced.

I deeply apologize but we still do not have the final firmware release. It is also unlikely new firmware will resolve the 3TB compatibility issue because NTV550 processor should have GPT support which is essential for more than 2TB drives. In short, it is more on hardware resolution than software/firmware. Currently, we are still waiting for engineering group to release the final firmware for this product.

For KB server of NETGEAR products, you may visit the link below:

http://support.netgear.com/app/
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So I'm not entirely sure what to think of this. Considering that the ntv550 already CAN support drives over 2TB by reformatting them to HFS+ (mac format). So i'm calling bullshit on this. What do you guys think?

[StephenB]

I do not understand why HFS+ drives over 2 TB drives work with the 550.

I believe your reply from Jen is accurate (at least for other file systems). Without GPT support, you are limited to 2 TB drives.

[macboy2k]

Originally Posted by StephenB

I do not understand why HFS+ drives over 2 TB drives work with the 550.

I believe your reply from Jen is accurate (at least for other file systems). Without GPT support, you are limited to 2 TB drives.

3 TB HFS+ drives work because they do in fact use GPT ... so, yeah. Someone at support doesn't know what they're talking about.

[comandoed]

Would a 3TB external drive, say a Seagate Expansion, work if used
as a standalone connected directly to the NeoTV?

Am thinking about purchasing a big big drive in the next few days.

[StephenB]

Originally Posted by comandoed

Would a 3TB external drive, say a Seagate Expansion, work if used
as a standalone connected directly to the NeoTV?

Am thinking about purchasing a big big drive in the next few days.

Some have reported success with HFS+ formatted drives. No one claims 3 TB support works with other formats.

[StephenB]

Originally Posted by macboy2k

3 TB HFS+ drives work because they do in fact use GPT ... so, yeah. Someone at support doesn't know what they're talking about.

On the other hand, if you google 3 TB HFS+ support in linux, you find a lot of stuff like http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HFS_Plus

...Linux distributions such as Debian and Ubuntu also stopped allowing mounting of HFS+ drives or partitions greater than 2 TB.[15] As of February 2011, work is in progress to lift this restriction...

I haven't run across posts that say this fix has actually been delivered. I also see some information that HFS+ disks can be created using hybrid mbr/gpt partition tables.

I don't use HFS+ (not a mac person), but am wondering if using 3 TB HFS+ with the NTV has some issues.