Re: Newbie Assistance Required - RN214 Transfer from PC

iancoleman · ‎2019-11-08

Hi Guys

First post as a total newbie but in need of assistance if anyone is able.

Trying to transfer ripped content from my PC to my NAS - have connected via ethernet from PC direct to NAS. When powering on the NAS the assigned IP shows in display which I then set to my PC adapter settings using subnet 255.255.255.0. Try to connect via browser (Chrome) but wont connect. Any suggestions or obvious blunder I'm making?

Have been able to transfer wirelessly but takes forever. RaidAR doesnt see the NAS when connected with the above IP settings.

Hopefully this is just newbiow stupidity and someone can rescue me!

Cheers

StephenB · ‎2019-11-08

@iancoleman wrote:

When powering on the NAS the assigned IP shows in display which I then set to my PC adapter settings using subnet 255.255.255.0. Try to connect via browser (Chrome) but wont connect. Any suggestions or obvious blunder I'm making?

First of all, it's simpler to connect the NAS and the PC to your router LAN ports, and not do a direct connect to the PC.

If I understand you correctly, you are setting the PC adapter to the same IP address as the NAS. That's a mistake. You need to use a different IP address that's on the same subnet (in this case, that means the last field should be different from what the NAS is using). For instance, if the NAS is using 192.168.168.168, then set the PC to use 192.168.168.100. Use a number between 1 and 254 in the last field. Also, connect using the NAS IP address - don't try to use it's host name.

Also, you don't want to transfer your files using Chrome. File Explorer (or Finder if you have a Mac) will be much faster. Once you've confirmed that you can connect to the NAS web ui with chrome, try entering \\nas-ip-address into the File Explorer address bar. That should give you a list of the NAS shares. Be sure to use the correct slash direction - if you don't, File Explorer will just open your default browser.

iancoleman · ‎2019-11-08

Thanks for the quick reply. Yes - almost correctly. I probably wasnt clear - I have changed the last digit on my adapter settings but am using the IP generated when the NAS turned on connected to my PC. Assuming it doesnt matter what it is aslong as between 1-254 and not identical to the NAS?

The issue with connecting to the LAN on my router is that the PC is located at the other end of the house. Without running a monster cable I dont have that option. My NAS usually lives next to the router but its small enough to move to my study to plug in hence the direct connection.

Is there any way of making this work?

iancoleman · ‎2019-11-08

In theory could I buy a powerline adapter to run the pc back to the router and make the link that way?

StephenB · ‎2019-11-08

@iancoleman wrote:

Thanks for the quick reply. Yes - almost correctly. I probably wasnt clear - I have changed the last digit on my adapter settings but am using the IP generated when the NAS turned on connected to my PC. Assuming it doesnt matter what it is aslong as between 1-254 and not identical to the NAS?

That is correct. If the wireless interface is enabled on your PC, you might also try disabling that - especially if it is in the same address range as the NAS. BTW, these are private IP addresses, it is perfectly safe to post the actual values.

You can also trying pinging the NAS by opening the CMD prompt in Windows and entering ping nas-ip-address

@iancoleman wrote:

In theory could I buy a powerline adapter to run the pc back to the router and make the link that way?

Powerline likely wouldn't be much faster than WiFi, and it could be slower.

If you have a USB drive, you could also copy the media to the USB drive, and then connect that drive to the NAS. It does support NTFS. One way to do this is

format the drive in the PC
connect it to the NAS and create a share
eject it from the NAS, and reconnect it to the PC
copy media on the PC into the share folder.
put the drive back into the NAS
use a backup job in the web ui to move the data to the NAS (which will copy directly, and not over your network)

It's not as complicated as the spelled out process makes it sound.

bedlam1 · ‎2019-11-08

Does your study have a telephone extension point?

You could try moving the router there

StephenB · ‎2019-11-08

@bedlam1 wrote:

Does your study have a telephone extension point?

You could try moving the router there

I think you are assuming he is using a DSL gateway.

bedlam1 · ‎2019-11-08

UK thinking.......my ADSL comes into my house via telephone cable from a wooden pole

StephenB · ‎2019-11-08

@bedlam1 wrote:

UK thinking.......my ADSL comes into my house via telephone cable from a wooden pole

The US has a mix of ADSL, Docsis Cable, and Fiber. I have a choice of cable or fiber in my area (two competing providers), and I opted for fiber.

FWIW, the fiber still comes into my house from that wooden pole ...

If @iancoleman has DSL, then your idea would likely work.

iancoleman · ‎2019-11-08

Thanks for all the replies guys.

I am on DSL but have no phone socket in the study (well thought out by the builder!).

Will scratch the powerline plan also.

Will have a look at transferring using USB drives - have a few knocking around. It's just a lot of content at this stage - trying to work through my entire collection for the first time and have nothing ripped at all so heavy going! Still working on DVDs - dreading the Blu Rays

Thanks again though - I will keep plugging away and hopefully make some progress!

bedlam1 · ‎2019-11-08

Maybe the USB solution combined with Powerlink to supplement immedate need (and beyond into the future) would work for you @iancoleman

StephenB · ‎2019-11-09

@bedlam1 wrote:

Maybe the USB solution combined with Powerlink to supplement immedate need (and beyond into the future) would work for you @iancoleman

Powerline can be hit-or-miss, depending on the house wiring details. Even when it works well, the real world speed is generally less than 300 mbps even if you purchase the AV2 kit (which has advertised speeds of 1-2 gbps). Modern 802.11ac wifi is often faster, though that of course depends on router, PC wifi card, the distance and construction details.

The ideal solution would be to run Cat 6a cable from the router to the study (perhaps professionally installed). If that's not possible, I'd invest in improving the wifi over powerline. A modern mesh router (for instance Orbi) improves the speeds everywhere in the house (and offers performance that is at least as good as powerline).

Though Powerline would be cheaper if you only need faster speed for the PC in the study.

@iancoleman wrote:

Will have a look at transferring using USB drives - have a few knocking around. It's just a lot of content at this stage - trying to work through my entire collection for the first time and have nothing ripped at all so heavy going! Still working on DVDs - dreading the Blu Rays.

If you transcode the content, you can save quite a bit of space on the NAS (especially if you don't care about extras or surround sound, etc). A full DVD generally takes 6-8 GB. You can maintain full quality at 4 mbps with H.264 - that cuts the space to 3-4 GB. But most material is perfectly watchable at 1-2 mbps, and that cuts it down to 1-2 GB.

Similarly for BluRay - a quality 2 pass transcoding will give you a watchable 1080p movie at 8-10 mbps. A typical bluray requires 40 GB of space, the transcoded one is typically 10-12 GB. That's with surround sound, if you convert stereo it would be smaller.

If you use H.265, you can cut the bitrate about in half over H.264 - though not all players can handle H.265.

iancoleman · ‎2019-11-15

Thank s again guys. Sorry foe the off pace replies - have been away with work this week. The USB drive option is working in smallish batches and I will certainly have a good look into the suggestions for Blu Ray compression. Down to my last box of DVDs now so need to get my brave head on and get it figured out!! Cheers all!