USB Slave

From NMTWiki

Contents 1 USB Slave NMT Use 2 General Guidelines on USB Slave 3 Windows Step By Step Instructions 3.1 Installing the Ext2Fsd Drivers 3.2 Using the Ext2Fsd Drivers 3.3 Vista/W7 Troubleshooting 4 Questions & Answers 5 Alternative method for moving large quantity of data quickly

USB Slave NMT Use

I have never actually seen a Mac in the flesh and do not know what procedure is required. Mac drivers and USB Slave instructions can be found in article NMT for Mac Users.

The 200 Series allows for the NMT Apps to be installed on to a USB stick and any HDD to remain NTFS formatted. Therefore you may not need the Ext drivers if your 200 Series is setup this way. If you have a standard install with just a HDD then you will need to install the Ext drivers.

General Guidelines on USB Slave

• Do NOT try to connect via USB slave when you are still using the internal HDD in any way.
  
• Disconnect your Ethernet cable and do not have your TV connected and turned ON as this also causes the internal HDD to be accessed. You will not be using the TV screen to view you will need to use your PC monitor.
  
• You will run into access problems and driver issues if you do try to connect via USB when still using the internal HDD.
• Telnet (100 Series only) and installing later versions of Transmission may stop the function of the USB slave. Uninstall Telnet/Transmission if you run into problems with drive recognition.
• Ext2fsd has now released v0.51 which has amongst other improvements achieved Windows Digital Signature. Sometimes on Vista PC's even those with Driver Signature disabled on boot have problems accessing Ext formatted drives. Ensuring that you use Ext2Fsd and not Ext2Ifs or other none Digitally Signed drivers should help with those that have that issue on their PC's.

Windows Step By Step Instructions

The A-110 and A-200 have a USB slave function via the socket marked PC USB on the rear of the unit. The socket is easy to distinguish as it fits the smaller USB plug similar to those on most USB printers. This guide is to show how to use USB Slave on the A-110/A-200 and other NMT devices with USB slave.

You can still use this guide for any Ext formatted HDD's that you connect to your PC. So it is still ideal for an initial transfer of a large amount of data to an internal HDD in the C200 if you remove the HDD after the NMT Apps install and connect it to your PC.

Installing the Ext2Fsd Drivers

• First thing I did in preparation was install the ext driver named 'Ext2Fsd.exe' from Ext2Fsd's website. Make sure you use v0.51 or later if you are using Windows PC's.

Ext2Fsd Homepage for Ext2Fsd. You can see the v0.51 change log includes Digital Signature.

Download Links Download page with a variety of different versions and platforms. You want the latest version

• Download the drivers and then double click to start the installation procedure. Click next and check the agreement box:-

• During the installation screens check the install of Ext2 drivers:

• Next you can choose to always start the Ext drivers on boot. However as there is no need for this solely for connecting via USB slave you can leave that checkbox unticked. Ensure however that you check the next two boxes:-

• You will get a final checkbox asking if you want to start the driver application after installation finishes. Uncheck that box as obviously you will not always be starting from the position of having to install the drivers.

Using the Ext2Fsd Drivers

• Your drivers are available via the usual methods for running an application, select Start>All Programs>Ext2Fsd>Ext2Fsd Volume Manager. Starting the drivers on my Windows 7 PC without any NMT connected via USB Slave shows your HDD's and any other storage devices you have connected to your PC:-

• And here's the same PC with the A-200, with a 750Gb HDD with NMT Applications installed, connected via USB Slave and the Ext2 Volume Manager application running:-

• Looking at the browser window you can see the Ext formatted partitions of the internal HDD. Look for the largest Ext formatted partition as that the storage partition. The HDD is a 750Gb HDD and here the storage partition has been given the Drive Letter I and has 695Gb of storage space:-

• If I now go to the My Computer browser window you will see that the Ext partitions have been given drive letters and Drive I is available:-

• I can browse into the I: Drive and see the usual folders that are displayed on the NMT HDD:-

• I will store this file in my Download folder:-

• Leaving that browser window open I then open a new browser window and cut/paste a 16.8Gb TS file:-

• Into the existing open browser for my NMT Download folder. The speed I managed was approx 25MB/s:-

• Here is the file on the I drive Download folder:-

To remove/dismount the USB connection simply close the Ext2 Volume Manager application make sure you double click on the 'Safely remove Hardware' icon in system tray and select the device, click OK, and finally 'stop'. Then remove the cable from the USB slot on the PC. Do not connect the device to a PC with any of the 'usual' USB slots ONLY use the USB slave socket on the rear. The other sockets are not designed for direct connection.

Do NOT have your NMT connected to your TV whilst trying to connect via USB slave. Do not have the NMT connected via Ethernet or USB dongle whilst connecting via USB. When connecting via USB the device through the Ext drivers becomes an external USB attached HDD. If the internal HDD is still being used it is impossible for it to also act as an external USB HDD. This is why you get access refused messages or are asked to install drivers even though you have the Ext drivers already installed.

Vista/W7 Troubleshooting

• Although ext2fed does have M$ Digital Signature signing there can still occasionally be a problem with Vista and W7 recognising this and you may get an error message saying that the HDD needs formatting when trying to access the partition, thanks to forum member ruktium for posting a solution. Try the following to resolve this if you are unlucky:-

1. Uninstall EXT2FSD and EXT2IFS (Restart)
2. Restart again, during restart press F8 to bring up the, "Advanced Boot Options".
3. Under Advanced Boot Options highlight, "Disable Driver Signature Enforcement" (Hit enter).
4. Install EXT2FSD (Restart)
5. Restart again, during restart press F8 to bring up the, "Advanced Boot Options".
6. Under Advanced Boot Options highlight, "Disable Driver Signature Enforcement" (Hit enter).
7. Start up (if you don't have it started on start up) EXT2FSD. Assign your HDD a letter.
8. Right click your listed HDD in the EXT2FSD program. Select service management, Service Status should be started. If not click the Start button.

Questions & Answers

Q: I cant get this to work on my Windows 7/Vista PC due to format is required message.
A: Check that you are not using the Ext2Ifs ext drivers or other Ext drivers. M$ have required software producers to purchased Digital Licenses otherwise you get a message saying the drivers are not compatible. Turning OFF UAC may also be required for USB slave. If you still cannot get access to the partition after giving it a Drive letter then try the fix here.

Q: I can see the Ext formatted partition but it has no Drive Letter
A: Open the Ext2Fsd browser window and right-click on the Ext partition. Then select f3 Ext Management and place a tick in the second option Automatically Mount via Ext2Manager, select an unused Drive letter from the drop down to the right & finally click Apply.

Q: It's telling me that its Read Only and I cannot transfer anything
A: Open the Ext2Fsd browser window by right-click and select Services Management. Make sure that there is no tick in the box marked 'Mount all drives in Read Only mode'. If there is uncheck the box.

Q: Can I use this guide on any NMT player?
A: If the player has a USB slave port then yes you can.

Q: Can I use this on any internal HDD even CF card adapters?
A: Yes, provided the internal HDD or CF adapter has been formatted to ext by the NMT player and NMT apps installed.

Q: Can I not use other ext drivers rather than the one in this tutorial?
A: Yes you can but some Vista users report problems with other drivers.

Q: Will this effect the NMT apps or overwrite my data?
A: No the only partition that you give a drive letter to is the usual folders that you should be familiar with, you can see your existing data files when you explore the storage partition, you can treat the storage area as any other drive in your PC.

Q: Vista wont let me or says I don't have permissions?
A: Turn OFF UAC whilst you are connecting via USB. Make sure you are logged in as administrator and that the drive letter once assigned and accessible, has read and write permissions.

Q: I still cannot access the USB slave HDD, why?
A: If you have an early NMT that has Telnet or have later versions of Transmission installed then this can affect the USB slave function, read HERE

Q: I cannot get my >2TB GPT formatted HDD to be recognised on my A300/A400?
A: You must install this update to the USB Slave chip.

Alternative method for moving large quantity of data quickly

The Popcorn Hour A-100 and some other first generation NMT devices do NOT have a USB slave socket, however you can still transfer files onto the internal HDD. I would only recommend doing this during initial setup where you have a large amount of data that you want moving onto the internal HDD. This Fast_Copy_with_PoPCorn_Hour is a step by step guide.