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File Sharing USB Drive with Windows 7

F

Flybye

macrumors regular
Original poster
Sep 10, 2009
122
3
Hi all,

I have a USB drive with a 5.25" HD in it hooked up to my mini running SL. On the USB drive, I have a file shared in the File Sharing section of System Preferences. The only option I have enabled is "Share files and folders using SMB."

The machine trying to access the files is Windoze 7. After I enable file sharing on the mini, the PC can see it. But if I go for a long time, lets say overnight, if I try to access the files when I turn the PC on, it can not see the folder on the USB drive. But if I go to the mini, turn File Sharing off and immediately turn it on, the PC can see the shared folder.

At first I thought it was maybe the harddrive being idled down, but it is not as I tested that theory.

So what can I do to make sure the PC can see the shared folder all the time without me having to go into System Preferences all the time to turn it off/on for this to work?
 
W

wpotere

Guest
Oct 7, 2010
1,528
1
How did you test that theory? More than likely it is the drive powering down to save energy. It may not be the drive itself but rather the controller that is powering down.
 
M

Makosuke

macrumors 604
Aug 15, 2001
6,662
1,242
The Cool Part of CA, USA
Flybye said:
I have a USB drive with a 5.25" HD in it hooked up to my mini running SL.
Click to expand...
This doesn't help at all with your problem, but I assume you mean a 3.5" HD--no one has manufactured a 5.25" HD since the '90s.

I can't think of anything obvious other than the drive sleeping as well. It's worth noting that some drives--WD's green series in particular--have their own power management completely separate from the OS, so they can sleep even if you tell them not to. This should not, however, cause it to drop out of file sharing (or cause file sharing to lock up, which is what seems to be happening to you); it would just cause a delay on first access.

I'm assuming here that neither computer goes to sleep when this happens?
 
F

Flybye

macrumors regular
Original poster
Sep 10, 2009
122
3
LOL...

Why I was thinking about a 5.25" HD, I have no clue. :p Yes, it's a 3.5" Those Bigfoot drives were scary. :eek:

I tested it by using the external drive on the mini right before browsing the network on the PC which has already been turned on and being used for quite some time. I find it a little hard to believe that the harddrive would spin down the whole 10s it took me to walk from the mini to the PC.
 
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