Accessing a Readyshare Drive Without Router

Question

I had a Nighthawk X6 which I just got rid of. While it was still in service at my house, I had a readshare drive going. Now that I've sold it, is there anyway to get to the files on my USB drive that I was using or am I out of luck on recovering them (without buying another Netgear router)?

antinode · Answer

&gt; [...] is there anyway to get to the files on my USB drive [...]&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I'd try connecting it to a computer which is compatible with the filesystem on that (unspecified) "USB drive".&nbsp;&nbsp; Netgear didn't invent some new and exotic file storage systemespecially for this.

w0rM · Answer

It's a WD Easystore. I don't believe the model matters. I wasn't suggesting anything is broken. I'm trying to understand how to get files off of a USB device that was used as any readyshare drive. I'm fairly certain the issue has nothing to do with the model of the drive.

That said, the first thing I did was connect it to a Windows 10 machine and a Macbook Pro. It powers up but whatever file system it is, neither Windows or a Mac can read it. That was the purpose of my question. Sorry I wasn't more clear. I assumed most people would realize I didn't just guess that it wouldn't work and that I had actually tried to plug it into a computer before creating an account to ask for help.

So, if Netgear isn't using a proprietary file system of some kind, am I to assume it's ext3 or maybe ext4?

antinode · Answer

&gt; [...] I assumed [...]&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I've wasted too much of my life doing that.&nbsp; And I learned somethingfrom watching "Desk Set" (1957).&nbsp;&gt; [...] am I to assume it's ext3 or maybe ext4?&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; You have my permission to assume whatever you'd like.&nbsp; I know nothingabout how that volume was configured (or on what), so I know nothingexcept that a User Manual for a typical Netgear router with USB storagesupport includes a section with a title like "USB device requirements",where I'd expect to find a list of supported file systems.&nbsp;&nbsp; Visit http://netgear.com/support , put in your (actual) model number-- Hint: "Nighthawk X6" is not it.&nbsp; Look for "Model" on the productlabel. -- and look for Documentation.&nbsp; Get the User Manual (at least).Read.&nbsp; Look for "USB".

w0rM · Answer

Brilliant. If you don't know the answer, just keep scrolling. Poinless comments and your mindless musings aren't impressing anyone but yourself. I read the manual and spent several hours reading online before posting here as a last resort. That was obviously just more wasted time since nobody here seems to know how readshare works either.&nbsp;Have a nice life, Ace.&nbsp;

michaelkenward · Answer

w0rM&nbsp;wrote:
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So, if Netgear isn't using a proprietary file system of some kind, am I to assume it's ext3 or maybe ext4?
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The router won't format USB storage for you. It uses what you throw at it. Dig out the manual for the device that you used and look at the list: FAT16, FAT32, NTFS, NTFS with compression format enabled, Ext2, Ext3, Ext4, XFS, HFS and HFS+.
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I have used various WD drives with ReadySHARE. I have never had to do anything to get them to work. It just does its stuff out of the box.
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The only wrinkle is that ReadySHARE cannot handle partitioned drives. It also seems to be limited to 4TB drives. (I have a 4TB WD Elements in place at the moment)
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There was once a report of someone getting a 6 TB drive to play ball, but I don't recall anyone replicating that.
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w0rM&nbsp;wrote:
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That said, the first thing I did was connect it to a Windows 10 machine and a Macbook Pro. It powers up but whatever file system it is, neither Windows or a Mac can read it.

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That looks more like a problem with the USB drive. Maybe you'll have to throw some sort of repair software at it. 
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Does WD have that sort of thing? I have never had to rescue any of mine.
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Accessing a Readyshare Drive Without Router

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