Maxtor Shared Storage 300Gb NAS (Network HDD) - £89.91

HankMcSpank

Having had the drive for a few days now, in my opinion this particular drive is only useful for backups (& perhaps it's media streaming)...certainly not as a general purpose drive for moving things onto/off quickly.

I was clean shaven when I started a transfer of my music directory from my PC to the Maxtor...by the time it finished I'd finished I had a beard like ZZ Top.

It's so sluggish it feels like computing in the 1980s all over again (it's mandatory to have Culture Club or Duran Duran playing in the background when moving files on/off the drive)

Nope...this thing is going.

Gonna get a large internal SATA drive & simply share/map that for any in home file sharing duties....cheaper, larger, quieter, faster.

Sorry to break ranks but.....

The Maxtor DSS 300GB Shared Storage Drive...nice concept but in actual fact - it sucks canal water thru it's BUTT.

kustard

I agree the data write speed isn`t great, and also performing any processes like un rar'ing files etc on the drive takes considerably longer than doing it on my internal drive. For me though, I download straight to the drive, and then stream straight off it, with very little processing in between - so for that purpose I think it's fine - but yes, it's not without it's faults for more 'standard' use

eilz

I have read all hints, but a little confused. I am new to NAS stuff but understand most comments above.

Q: My question is, if I update to the latest openvmss firmware, I should be able to stream (over wireless) music and movies right?

Q: If I want to stream music/movies without a PC I need some kind of device that connects to my router and allows it to connect to the Maxtor?

Q: What device is the best/cheapest/fastest device to stream both movies and music from the maxtor drive without a PC, and do I need to install anything else to the maxtor to get the device to recognise the drive?

Q: If I have a DVD player which reads, MP3, MPG, AVI, Div-x vis USB, is there are wireless device that allows me to connect it to the DVD player?

I'd appreciate everyones feedback on this. My aim is to try and eliminate the need for a PC to be switched on all the time for viewing/listening to music/movies.Thanks in advance.

HankMcSpank

kustard wrote:

For me though, I download straight to the drive, and then stream straight off it, with very little processing in between - so for that purpose I think it's fine - but yes, it's not without it's faults for more 'standard' use

I agree for that purpose it's fine....d/l a song onto it & stream it direct to a media adapter - works well. But as a general purpose Hard drive (moving large files on/off..cutting/pasting between directories)....it sucks.

HankMcSpank

eilz wrote:

I have read all hints, but a little confused. I am new to NAS stuff but understand most comments above.

Q: My question is, if I update to the latest openvmss firmware, I should be able to stream (over wireless) music and movies right?

You only need the latest Maxtor firmware.....

http://www.maxtor.com/portal/site/Maxtor/menuitem.3c67e325e0a6b1f6294198b091346068/?channelpath=%2Fen_us%2FSupport%2FSoftware+Downloads%2FView+By+Category%2FNetwork+Storage%2FMaxtor+Shared+Storage+Family%2FUtilities&downloadID=159

& associated Quickstart App....

http://www.maxtor.com/portal/site/Maxtor/menuitem.3c67e325e0a6b1f6294198b091346068/?channelpath=%2Fen_us%2FSupport%2FSoftware+Downloads%2FView+By+Category%2FNetwork+Storage%2FMaxtor+Shared+Storage+Family%2FUtilities&downloadID=119

eilz wrote:

Q: If I want to stream music/movies without a PC I need some kind of device that connects to my router and allows it to connect to the Maxtor?

That's correct...I'm only interested in MP3s & use a ROKU Soundbridge to connect wirelessy to my router (the Maxtor is connected to the ethernet port on my router)

eilz wrote:

Q: What device is the best/cheapest/fastest device to stream both movies and music from the maxtor drive without a PC, and do I need to install anything else to the maxtor to get the device to recognise the drive?

Dunno (my Roku works well with audio). With this particular dik drive, I have a hunch you might have some issues streaming anything other than low quality video...I could be wrong though. You don't need anything else to get the device to recognise the MAxtor.

eilz wrote:

Q: If I have a DVD player which reads, MP3, MPG, AVI, Div-x vis USB, is there are wireless device that allows me to connect it to the DVD player?

Not as far as I know...your DVD may read those file types but only from Optical media.

Anarchist

If you aren't bothered about it being network attached (And only need USB2 connectivity),

Play.com have a buffalo 300gb USB2 drive for £79.99 at the moment. Use your daily star £5 coupon and your favourite affiliate site, and you'll get it for around £72 I believe.

eilz

HankMcSpank wrote:

You only need the latest Maxtor firmware.....

http://www.maxtor.com/portal/site/Maxtor/menuitem.3c67e325e0a6b1f6294198b091346068/?channelpath=%2Fen_us%2FSupport%2FSoftware+Downloads%2FView+By+Category%2FNetwork+Storage%2FMaxtor+Shared+Storage+Family%2FUtilities&downloadID=159


That's correct...I'm only interested in MP3s & use a ROKU Soundbridge to connect wirelessy to my router (the Maxtor is connected to the ethernet port on my router)



Dunno (my Roku works well with audio). I reckon you might have some issues streaming anything ther than low quality video...could be wrong. You don't need anything else to get the device to recognise the MAxtor.


Not as far as I know...your DVD may read those file types but only from Optical media.

Q: What if your streaming only DivX stuff, that should be faster right?


Q: Whats so good about the OpenMSS Firmware, why use it if the maxtor one works?

Q: I can plug an external HD into my DVD player and it plays most MP3, AVI and Divx file fine, but can it be done wirelessly? I was thinking on the line of a wireless USB device connected directly into the USB socket of the DVD player.

Again, thanks for your input/help.

retepetsir

For whoever uses wireless, it serves you right really. Of course its not going to be fast. If you want to do it justice, use wired ethernet please!!!

gooseye

eilz wrote:

Q: Whats so good about the OpenMSS Firmware, why use it if the maxtor one works?

OpenMSS adds options for techies to install & run extra linux-based software on the drive. Examples are web server, ftp server, telnet, ssh etc

vishaljh

Even with Wired connection I get a speed of about 4.5mb/s write speed and with wireless connection it is about 1mb/s.