Connect USB drive to Netgear C3700

[joshuat]

I have a Netgear C3700 cable modem and wireless router. I have attempted to connect two differnt USB storage devices unsuccessfully. I am using a Windows 7 laptop connected wirelessly to the network.

When I plug my SanDisk Cruser Micro 4 Gb thumb drive into the USB port on the router, the indicator light on the thumb drive flashes once and then goes out. When I go to \\readyshare, I do not see the drive.

When I plug my Seagate Expansion Desktop 4 Tb (model SRD00F2) into the USB port on the router, the indicator light on the drive goes on and stays on. However, when I go to \\readyshare, I do not see the drive.

I tried to check the formatting on my Seagate drive (GPT vs MBR) using Control Panel> Administrative Tools> Computer Management> Disk Management, but it just says "NTFS; Healthy (Active, Primary Partition).

Any suggestions on connecting my USB devices to my router?

Thanks

Josh

[TheEther]

Log into the C3700. Go to ADVANCED > Advanced Setup > USB Settings and make sure Enable any device connected to the USB port is set to Yes. If you wish to keep it set to No, then make sure your device is set up as an Approved device.

Go to ADVANCED > USB Storage > Advanced Settings. Make sure the access methods (e.g. \\readyshare) that you wish to use are enabled. If your USB device is connected, then you should see it listed in the Available Network Folderssection.

Finally, read through Chapter 5 of the manual.

[joshuat]

Thanks TheEther. I went into Advanced Setup > USB Settings and USB Storage > Advanced Settings. The settings were as you suggested, but my USB device does not appear under Available Network Folders.

I've read Chapter 5, but it doesn't provide any troubleshooting information. The one thing it does say that might be relevent is "Some USB external hard drives and flash drives require you to load the drivers onto the computer before the computer can access the USB device. Such USB devices do not work with the modem router." However, my device is on the list of compatible devices (http://kb.netgear.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/18985): Seagate Expansion Desktop 3TB USB 3.0 (Model: SRD00F2) is on the list, mine is 4TB. (And the partition style is MBR, so it should be compatible).

It's like the router can't even see that the USB drive is plugged in.

[TheEther]

Can you see files shared by other computers? If not, you may have to make sure that Network discovery is enabled on Windows.

Other than that, try doing a factory reset. Netgear's USB Storage feature seems to have lots of issues. Personally, I use a standalone NAS.

[joshuat]

I have two computers on the WiFi network and can share files between the computers. However, I cannot see either of my USB drives from either computer.

[TheEther]

Try rebooting the router while the USB drive is plugged in. I think I read that that may have worked for someone.

Try reformatting the USB drive.

If still no luck, then someone more experienced than me will need to step in.