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Mark1516's avatar
Mark1516
Aspirant
Jul 27, 2020

Can't access usb storage folder on netgear R9000

So basically I have an external hdd connected via USB to my router which holds the videos for the plex server that is run through the router. I also have shared the Videos folder on the external hdd via the network folders feature so computers and devices on the network can access the media directly by mounting the drive on on a windows computer for example. This worked fine for some time but a while ago it stopped working. I can still access the root directory (U:\ as it has been labled by the router) but when I try and navigate to the Videos folder it won't open the folder or will show it as empty. Now depending on which device I use to access the folder I get different messages so on windows it's "location is not accessible" kind of message suggesting that I might not have access to the folder or if I use an app on my phone it just says "network Error". I have also enabled access to the USB via local ftp and that will connect to the videos folder fine which is confusing me. The main reason I need this feature is because I want to mount the videos folder with a drive letter on my PC so I can host a second plex server which is obviously more powerfull so I am able to transcode 4k content whilst also maintaining the convinience of a 24 server that the router offers for FHD content. I must have changed some setting or something on my router that has caused this to happen but I can't for the life of me figure out what setting could be causing this problem, any suggestions?

 

Thanks in advance.

3 Replies

  • plemans's avatar
    plemans
    Guru - Experienced User

    Main suggestion?

    Don't connect it to the router if you plan on using a different pc for 4k transcodes. You'd be better to host it on the pc that does the transcodes. 

    I actually just shucked the drive (4x of them) from mine to install in my plex server for faster speeds/quicker access. 

    • Mark1516's avatar
      Mark1516
      Aspirant

      I feel like you might be right. I know a direct connection to my PC is the best option but I like how my router can just host plex 24 hours since I don't really feel like having my computer run all the time. Also the HDD that I have runs off the mains and where I have my PC all the extension leads are full of plugs. However, I have just done a firmware update on my router and that seems to have fixed the issue so now I've went into plex and changed the media location to "\\READYSHARE\Videos" and it was able to scan and update my library so now I can transcode 4k and at maximum settings but at some point I will have to make the complete switch and host the plex server directly from my PC rarther than over the network but for that I think I'd rather wait till I am able to get another internal HDD so I'm not creating too much mess in my room and have a fragile HDD sticking out my PC.

      • plemans's avatar
        plemans
        Guru - Experienced User

        Glad to hear you got it working!

        I've got a server running as a plex media server as well. I bought 4x 8tb external drives and shucked them to add to it. It was cheaper and its been running solid for >3 years.