I got Technicolor DGA2232 from my ISP running Cobalt 18.3. All devices in my home network discover SMB and DNLA services on this router. I have no storage attached and these services are not usable. Since my router has USB port I hope I can attach the external disk. Are there some special requirements for the disk?
P.S. I have zero support from my ISP. Maybe, somebody has experience with this or similar router?
Hi,
I just got this router from Partner. It has one USB 2.0 connector on the back and another USB 2.0 connector hidden behind the plastic cover with USB sign on it. Remove the plastic cover to connect the second HDD.
I connected a WD drive formatted as NTFS and Drobo Storage with 4 HDDs and both are visible on the network.
The special requirements are that HDD drive should have USB 2.0 interface, which usually means it is powered by a separate power cable. If you have USB 3.0 HDD drive, they often have a cable split into two USB connectors, one for data (blue) and another for power (black). In this case, the second USB should be connected to the USB charger, otherwise the power provided by the router may not be enough and the disk may not work reliably.
Here is the router SPEC page: https://networking.totalwebsolutions.com/pdf/DGA2231_Datasheet_v1_public.pdf
I have USB 3.0 external hard drive. The connector on the drive box is split into 2 sections: wide and narrow. The is no connection for power adapter. But cable which I got is plane USB 3.0 "blue" cable. Does it\mean that I need a special cable? Do you\know where to order such a split cable?
That means the HDD is powered by USB 3.0. A spinning USB 3.0 drive unlike SDD needs more power than USB 2.0 port can provide. Therefore, a split cable is best to power the drive from the USB charger and avoiding problems with underpowered drive and overloaded router's USB port.
Like this:
https://www.amazon.com/Micro-B-External-Seagate-Toshiba-Enclosure/dp/B005M0ICG2
These are really cheap and should work:
Thanks a lot! I got it from Amazon yesterday and it works out-of-the-box!
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