Hi, I need to buy a network adapter to plug my 1TB portable hard drive into for wired access over the LAN. The drive is formatted NTFS. I'm looking for something basic.
Plugging it into a PC and sharing it will make it available on the LAN. An Android TV box or media player might also work. The device would need to be on while sharing the drive.
Just did a bit of a search for "external hard drive network adapter." Here is an dated article on the subject. The Best USB NAS Adapters
Bottom line is it's a niche product with limited availability. They are likely only going to support USB2, not USB3. Name brand products cost close to US$100. There are a few generic knockoffs on Amazon or eBay but finding one that works well may be an issue. For the US$100 one of these devices might cost, a very good router with 2 USB2 ports or maybe even a USB3 and USB2 port can be purchased. For example, the RT-AC66U B1 is top rated in its class and has a USB3 and USB2 port. It has a regular price of $175 but can sometimes be found on sale for as low as $130.
So sorry Otown47. Completely forgot until tonight.
Anyway I had made a mistake. The day I bought the Dlink jig, it was a network switch splitter no bigger than my hand. At the same time, I had bought a jig on ebay which does exactly what you are looking for. Basically, it's a tiny box with a network port with 2 USB ports. They can be used as a Bitorrent server/user, a NAS and whatever you want to do. The model number (no-name) is 652 wlxkj and the box has a "Lan Storage" painted on the top portion. It looks exactly like this except I didn't pay that much. https://www.aliexpress.com/store/pr...-BT-Client-Support-UPnP/607905_491957420.html I must say it works pretty good.
Found an Addonics NAS 4.0 Adapter for US$91 plus US$20 shipping on eBay.It's CAD$152 + $5 shipping on Amazon. That's hardly worth it for what it does. There are better options for the same price.
Also found a "Venus-mini-NAS-usb-2-0-adapter" for about US$50 total and a "Pogoplug File Sharing Solution POGO-P21" for US$35. They are USB2.0 devices which makes then a little dated. Don't know how well they work.
Another solution would be a Synology DS115j NAS enclosure. That would require transferring the existing drive to the new enclosure or adding a new bare drive. I would keep the existing USB drive as a backup and copy the files to a new drive. Cost for that is $160 + hard drive.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Canadian TV, Computing and Home Theatre Forums
1.7M posts
114.9K members
Since 2001
A forum community dedicated to Canadian TV, computing and home theatre owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about home audio/video, displays, troubleshooting, styles, projects, DIY’s, product reviews, accessories, classifieds, and more!