HELP My MAC can't find external HD mybook live

keanos_boot · 08-03-2012 2:50pm #1

I have a MAC using snow leopard and recently bought 2TB Mybook Live. What I wanted was wireless backup facility using MAC Time MAchine. Problem is the mac cannot find the Mybook. I was able to connect and back by connecting directly to mybook but wirelessly it just cannot find it. Conversations with WD helpdesk leads me to believe the problem is my wireless router (eircom Zyzel) is not allowing the mac airport to find it.

Any ideas how to get around this? Driving me nuts

Torqay · 08-03-2012 3:02pm

Connect the MyBook Live to your Airport router rather than the Zyxel (eircom still supplying this abomination??)

keanos_boot · 09-03-2012 10:47am

Thanks Torqay - how do I do that?

blueser · 10-03-2012 3:47pm

Yep; I'm having the same problem. Can't find the drive on my iMac (10.6.8) and yes; I have a Zyxel wireless router. Any help, please?

yoyo · 10-03-2012 4:33pm

Moved to Mac

keanos_boot · 10-03-2012 7:03pm

Thanks for the help Torqay - any advice on how to do it?

or anyone else got some suggestions? all gratefully received

Torqay · 13-03-2012 2:53pm

keanos_boot wrote: »

Thanks Torqay - how do I do that?

Just plug it into your Airport router instead of the Zyxel DSL Modem.

blueser · 13-03-2012 10:22pm

Which router would you recommend? Will this one do the trick?

http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Apple-AirPort-Express-300-Mbps-1-Port-10-100-Wireless-N-Router-MB321B-A-/220968266797?pt=UK_Computing_Networking_SM&hash=item3372bc2c2d

Torqay · 13-03-2012 11:39pm

From what I can see, the MyBook Live requires a LAN connection, the Airport Express doesn't have any LAN ports., or does it?

But we're dealing with two scenarios here, keanos_boot does have an Airport router and blueser does not.

Bit confusing.

Stainless_Steel · 14-03-2012 12:03pm

Torqay wrote: »

From what I can see, the MyBook Live requires a LAN connection, the Airport Express doesn't have any LAN ports., or does it?

But we're dealing with two scenarios here, keanos_boot does have an Airport router and blueser does not.

Bit confusing.

Neither has an airport express not extreme by my reading of it.

Torqay · 14-03-2012 12:20pm

bueser was linking to an Airport Express, keanos_boot referred to "Airport" (which of course could as well be just the WLAN adapter).

Stainless_Steel · 14-03-2012 1:55pm

Yeah but think bueser just asking should he buy the express.

Anyway, the my book should support samba. When on mac desktop press command + k together to bring up connect to server dialog. Input smb:\\xxx.xxx.x.x\ where the x's is the ip address of the my book.

blueser · 14-03-2012 5:19pm

Stainless_Steel wrote: »

Yeah but think bueser just asking should he buy the express.

Anyway, the my book should support samba. When on mac desktop press command + k together to bring up connect to server dialog. Input smb:\\xxx.xxx.x.x\ where the x's is the ip address of the my book.

Not sure how I get the IP address of the my book. There's a label on the bottom of the unit with a P/N number, a Serial number and a ''Mac Address'' number, which I tried entering in the connect to server dialogue box, but it doesn't recognise the prefix ''00''.

Stainless_Steel · 14-03-2012 5:40pm

Go to 192.168.1.1 in your browser. Log in with password broadband1

On the right click on DHCP client list. In the list look for the MAC address number and you should see the IP for it there.

blueser · 14-03-2012 6:09pm

Stainless_Steel wrote: »

Go to 192.168.1.1 in your browser. Log in with password broadband1

On the right click on DHCP client list. In the list look for the MAC address number and you should see the IP for it there.

That page won't load in Firefox. What about the Airport Extreme as an (albeit pricier) alternative router?

http://www.ebay.ie/itm/New-Apple-AirPort-Extreme-Base-Station-access-point-/220809818641?pt=UK_Computing_Networking_SM&hash=item33694a7211

It seems to be LAN friendly, according to the technical guff.

Stainless_Steel · 14-03-2012 6:18pm

Try 192.168.2.1 instead.

Airport extreme is good, but I don't think you need a new router. The mybook won't be found just by changing the router. You need to point to it first.

muggyog · 14-03-2012 6:56pm

Stainless, you were right the first time!

enter http://192.168.1.1 in the browser.
broadband1 as password.

I would connect the Mac to the Zyxel via ethernet cable first though.

Apparently the Zyxel is a piece of cr@p but may work if bridged with a better modem ( wireless part is particularly weak ).

blueser · 14-03-2012 7:17pm

Stainless_Steel wrote: »

Try 192.168.2.1 instead.

Airport extreme is good, but I don't think you need a new router. The mybook won't be found just by changing the router. You need to point to it first.

That page won't load either;

As for pointing the drive out to the router, isn't that supposed to be what the enclosed software is for; to ''discover'' the drive?

muggyog wrote: »

Stainless, you were right the first time!

enter http://192.168.1.1 in the browser.
broadband1 as password.

I would connect the Mac to the Zyxel via ethernet cable first though.

Apparently the Zyxel is a piece of cr@p but may work if bridged with a better modem ( wireless part is particularly weak ).

That page won't load either. Same onscreen message as above.

muggyog · 14-03-2012 8:08pm

Are you directly connected to the router? Which exact model of Zyxel is it?

This is the splash screen from IE on a PC

Just thinking, if you have an 'unfortunate accident' with your Zyxel modem will Eircom replace it with a Netopia 3347W ( like I have ) , without charge?

blueser · 14-03-2012 8:35pm

muggyog wrote: »

Are you directly connected to the router? Which exact model of Zyxel is it?

This is the splash screen from IE on a PC

Just thinking, if you have an 'unfortunate accident' with your Zyxel modem will Eircom replace it with a Netopia 3347W ( like I have ) , without charge?

Not directly connected; the Mac is in a different room to the phone socket. Tried one of those DIY extension socket thingummys; useless! Using Airport, and no problems with that. The Zyxel I have is the P-660HW-T1 v3.

Stainless_Steel · 14-03-2012 9:09pm

blueser wrote: »

Not directly connected; the Mac is in a different room to the phone socket. Tried one of those DIY extension socket thingummys; useless! Using Airport, and no problems with that. The Zyxel I have is the P-660HW-T1 v3.

You will need to connect to the modem using an Ethernet cable.

blueser · 14-03-2012 10:13pm

Stainless_Steel wrote: »

You will need to connect to the modem using an Ethernet cable.

What; the iMac? As I said; not possible without running a cable between the router and the iMac. Different rooms.

Stainless_Steel · 14-03-2012 10:30pm

blueser wrote: »

What; the iMac? As I said; not possible without running a cable between the router and the iMac. Different rooms.

Move the iMac maybe? All you need is a wall socket. Put it on the floor if needed.

blueser · 14-03-2012 10:34pm

Stainless_Steel wrote: »

Move the iMac maybe? All you need is a wall socket. Put it on the floor if needed.

Not feasible/practical to move the iMac. Guess it'll have to be the cable option. So; connecting the iMac and the drive to the router by CAT5 cable is the only option then?

Stainless_Steel · 14-03-2012 10:39pm

blueser wrote: »

Not feasible/practical to move the iMac. Guess it'll have to be the cable option. So; connecting the iMac and the drive to the router by CAT5 cable is the only option then?

Only until you find out the IP address of the mybook. Then you can connect to it using your iMacs wifi.

blueser · 14-03-2012 10:48pm

Stainless_Steel wrote: »

Only until you find out the IP address of the mybook. Then you can connect to it using your iMacs wifi.

Have to be the cable then, as I can't find the IP address. Thanks anyway.

muggyog · 14-03-2012 11:06pm

blueser, you are making this more difficult than it is.

The reason you have to physically connect to the router is because that is the only way to access the management menu. You need to get into this menu to see what IP address the router is assigning to the Mybook / is on the Mybook.

As explained by Stainless_Steel

On the right click on DHCP client list. In the list look for the MAC address number and you should see the IP for it there.

When you have the information you can go back to your wireless setup.

blueser · 14-03-2012 11:36pm

muggyog wrote: »

blueser, you are making this more difficult than it is.

The reason you have to physically connect to the router is because that is the only way to access the management menu. You need to get into this menu to see what IP address the router is assigning to the Mybook / is on the Mybook.

As explained by Stainless_Steel

When you have the information you can go back to your wireless setup.

Right. Sorry I'm not as technically au fait as you are. I thought it would be a simple case of plugging the drive into the back of the router and away you go. After all, if the iMac can latch on to the wifi signal, why not the drive? Obviously not. Anyway, I've shifted the mac out into the main living room and I now have the mybook page open in Firefox. Under settings-network, the IP address that is coming up is 192.168.1.1. I don't see this DHCP list though that's supposed to be on the right hand side.

Torqay · 15-03-2012 1:17am

muggyog wrote: »

Apparently the Zyxel is a piece of cr@p

Ne'er a truer word spoken!

Unbelievable that eircom is still dishing them out

Stainless_Steel · 15-03-2012 11:09am

blueser wrote: »

Right. Sorry I'm not as technically au fait as you are. I thought it would be a simple case of plugging the drive into the back of the router and away you go. After all, if the iMac can latch on to the wifi signal, why not the drive? Obviously not. Anyway, I've shifted the mac out into the main living room and I now have the mybook page open in Firefox. Under settings-network, the IP address that is coming up is 192.168.1.1. I don't see this DHCP list though that's supposed to be on the right hand side.

You should go to 192.168.1.1 in the address bar. Not the mybook page. The aforementioned ip is the ip of the router. Thats where you'll see the client listing.

keanos_boot · 15-03-2012 3:04pm

Hi Torqay -

Mybook live is plugged directly into the router. By airport I mean AirPort on my MAC i.e. how I connect wirelessly to my router. I can access my router via ip and can access mybook live via ip too, but my mac cannot locate mybook live when searching wirelessly. I have successfully connected to mybook live via usb but that defeats purpose of getting wireless external hd.

I think I need to do something in my router to allow my mac to connect to mybooklive. It seems the logical place for the blockage.

Stainless_Steel · 15-03-2012 4:31pm

keanos_boot wrote: »

Hi Torqay -

Mybook live is plugged directly into the router. By airport I mean AirPort on my MAC i.e. how I connect wirelessly to my router. I can access my router via ip and can access mybook live via ip too, but my mac cannot locate mybook live when searching wirelessly. I have successfully connected to mybook live via usb but that defeats purpose of getting wireless external hd.

I think I need to do something in my router to allow my mac to connect to mybooklive. It seems the logical place for the blockage.

If you can access via IP what more do you want? Command and k from desktop. Put in smb//xxx.xxx.xx.xx where x's are the mybook ip. That should mount on the desktop for you.

muggyog · 15-03-2012 5:15pm

keanos_boot wrote: »

my mac cannot locate mybook live when searching wirelessly

By that you mean it cant browse to it. Just because you cant see it in the list does not mean its not there! This is why knowing the IP address of the Mybook is important

To explain the problem regarding connecting to the Mybook maybe it would be a good idea to note that the router has an OS (zyNOS) the Mac has another OS (OS X) and the Mybook has a third OS (Linux?). The integration of the three is not simple added to the fact that the Zylex router is not great to start with.

For the benefit of Blueser, here is a link to the P660 manual. Note on page 44, fig 11, bottom right hand side in the summery section is anyIP Table link. Click on this and you should see the IPs of all devices connected to the router. You want the Mybook IP to connect as per stainlesses advice

Command and k from desktop. Put in smb//xxx.xxx.xx.xx where x's are the mybook ip. That should mount on the desktop for you.

NOTE: The Mybook firmware may need to be updated as per this link because of this issue.

blueser · 15-03-2012 5:51pm

Right. I downloaded that user manual; thanks to muggyog for that. Went to pg 41 (accessing the web configurator) and typed in 192.168.1.1 as instructed to. However, when the my book is connected to the router, all I get is this;

And when the my book is disconnected, all I get is;

No sign of that ZyXEL page at all. Think I'll go for connecting the iMac to the ZyXEL via cable (probably via the roof space). Quick question though. Once the iMac is connected up and has the mybook visible, will the other computer in the house (a windows laptop using the same wifi connection) be able to find the drive without connecting THAT to the router as well?

Stainless_Steel · 15-03-2012 6:55pm

Connect mybook to router.

On your mac go to desktop. Press command + k. Type in smb:\\192.168.1.1\ and hit enter.

What happens?

blueser · 15-03-2012 7:16pm

Stainless_Steel wrote: »

Connect mybook to router.

On your mac go to desktop. Press command + k. Type in smb:\\192.168.1.1\ and hit enter.

What happens?

PhilipMarlowe · 15-03-2012 7:21pm

router ip likely 192.168.1.254 no?

Stainless_Steel · 15-03-2012 7:25pm

PhilipMarlowe wrote: »

router ip likely 192.168.1.254 no?

That's usually the broadcast address no?

PhilipMarlowe · 15-03-2012 7:32pm

.255 is broadcast.
I remember configuring a zyxel and it had a default IP of 192.168.1.254

blueser · 15-03-2012 7:32pm

Possible developments. Did the ''cmd+k'' procedure, but typed in 192.168.1.1, without the smb prefix and I now have

on my desktop.

Stainless_Steel · 15-03-2012 9:16pm

blueser wrote: »

Possible developments. Did the ''cmd+k'' procedure, but typed in 192.168.1.1, without the smb prefix and I now have

on my desktop.

Good stuff. That should stay there until you eithe shut down mac/router/mybook.

Stainless_Steel · 15-03-2012 9:17pm

PhilipMarlowe wrote: »

.255 is broadcast.
I remember configuring a zyxel and it had a default IP of 192.168.1.254

Looks like you're right on that one.

blueser · 15-03-2012 9:33pm

Stainless_Steel wrote: »

Good stuff. That should stay there until you eithe shut down mac/router/mybook.

Many thanks for your help (amongst others, I hasten to add).

Do you, or any of the other resident geniuses on here, know what's the windows version of the ''cmd+k'' procedure?

Stainless_Steel · 15-03-2012 9:43pm

blueser wrote: »

Many thanks for your help (amongst others, I hasten to add).

Do you, or any of the other resident geniuses on here, know what's the windows version of the ''cmd+k'' procedure?

You're more than welcome.

There's no windows shortcut I know of. Here is how you would map the mybook drive though:

Open my computer
Go to Tools -> Map Network Drive (if using Windows 7 there will be a button)
In the folder box type in \\192.168.1.1\Public or \\192.168.1.1\xxxxxx where x's are name of different share folder if you set one up via the mybook config.
Check box for reconnect at login
Hit finish

The drive will then appear under my computer for you to use.

I'd recommend playing around in the mybook config page (by typing it's ip address into Firefox). You should be able to set up shares an passwords etc. for example I have a share for each member of the family. And also one for media.

HELP My MAC can't find external HD mybook live

Comments