Can I use a USB external drive as a music server?

mwddrwg

Hi all,


Question about music streaming again I'm afraid


I currently stream my music from a PC running Windows 7, connected wirelessly to the BT Home Hub that we have. I use it mainly with a DNLA compatible wifi internet radio set in the kitchen, but the folders from the PC take ages to load in order to select tracks.


It used to be better when I had our router upstairs and plugged into the PC via Ethernet cable so am assuming the slow loading times are due to the PC now streaming via wifi instead. Moving the hub is not an option.


I have a Seagate external USB drive (500GB) so was wondering whether or not it's possible to have the music on that and plug in the drive into the hub's USB port? Would I need any software on the drive to get the streaming going?


Congratulations for getting this far... Sorry for the long post!

enfield_freddy

no you need a NAS drive holding your files , not a USB one , I have a dlink nas that is connected by Ethernet to my router , I can access this (add files) from my main computer or any other machine/media player on the same network


before you start moaning about the cost (dlink with drives £150) , you can buy a raspberry Pi (old version) for about £15-£20 and have it running as a nas drive in about 20 mins (free software) , your USB drive just plugs into it.


so as not to bore other users , if you PM me , I will send you links from the web showing how to do this and what software you need.

Fightsback

You could try using something like homeplug/powerline adaptors to improve your connection speed between your PC and router.

enfield_freddy

I,ve contacted the OP , sent him links to two alternate ways of doing this ,


I estimate his expense's to be approx. £30.


for this , he will be able to play his files on any pc / tablet in the house

Fightsback

enfield_freddy wrote: »

I,ve contacted the OP , sent him links to two alternate ways of doing this ,


I estimate his expense's to be approx. £30.


for this , he will be able to play his files on any pc / tablet in the house

Madsonic in a 'nix VM

Cycrow

theres no need for a NAS, depending on the version of the router, you can most likely just plug the drive into the usb port.

This will then share that drive to the rest of the network

enfield_freddy

yup , no need for a nas drive , last week when I went to the tip , I was tripping up over discarded nas drives


averyone seems so happy with the blistering fast speeds using there router ,


in fact I clicked om a MP4 film this morning at 9.am , and its just started loading.


if he is having trouble now streaming media with the backing of a nice CPU , he is going to love the speed via his usb port on his modem.


having tried this idea last year , in order to save buying a Dlink Nas , umm it don,t work , its slowwwwwwwww.

Fightsback

Need to check out why the wifi is slow on the upstairs machine. I'm assuming it's a desktop (or is it a laptop ?) so is it a wifi dongle plugged in the back of the machine when the line of sight is straight through the PC to the router ?

tavernman

You don't say which Radio, nor do you say whether it is regularly switched off, nor what you are using to stream from your PC. Switch one or more of them off it will take time to re-build the indices especially the radio ...just a guess of course since you haven't given much info

gjchester

mwddrwg wrote: »

I have a Seagate external USB drive (500GB) so was wondering whether or not it's possible to have the music on that and plug in the drive into the hub's USB port? Would I need any software on the drive to get the streaming going?

You don't say what version homehub you have, the USB port CAN be used to put a USB drive on the network but its clunky to say the least.


It should appear as a SAMBA share on your network, but as its not really something well documented it can be hard to understand, Try on your PC to navigate to 192.168.1.253 or 192.168.2.254 (can change depending on the version) in Internet explorer, You should see the contents of any USB attached drives there.


Its not really great, only supports 500GB partitions at the most, and you may need to change your settings to have the Workgroup name of HOME to make it work at all.


Once you have worked out the settings, how you set that up on your internet radio is another matter, I don't think that all models have a DNLA server on-board so you may be limited to just accessing the music on folder, but that depends what model your HH is and what the internet radio can do.

mwddrwg

Thanks to all for the helpful suggestions, especially enfield freddy for the links regarding using a Raspberry Pi. Had a look at the instructions for this last night and it's a bit daunting but may give it a go in a couple of weeks when I have some cash available to buy the kit.


In the meantime I might try plugging in the USB drive into the hub anyway and see if the internet radio can see the folders (BT HH5). Probably not, but you never know. Bit nervous however as there have been incidents I heard about when researching this yesterday of the hub totalling USB drives plugged in as the power is too much for it from that port. Will keep you updated on progress. Cheers all