Boxee Box can't read external hard drive as source

[Ashke]

I've got the Boxee Box up and running, and have had some success with files through Samba shares, but I decided to attach my media hard drive directly to the Boxee Box via USB. When I do, I get the notification that I've attached a storage device, but nothing comes up in the file source list. The hard drive works fine via Samba or direct connection to my Mac or PC, and if I put a SD card in the media slot it shows up as a local file source, so I'm a bit mystified.

I'm not using any sort of arcane filesystem, either. I can't recall offhand if it's formatted NTFS or Fat32, but it's definitely one of the above.

Anyone have any thoughts on getting it to recognize the drive as a potential file source?

[ingoldsby]

Yeah, I didn't see mine at first either - I think it showed up after I rebooted.

[Ashke]

Tried that, and a few other things, with no luck. The USB ports are definitely working, and it's definitely detecting an attached device, but it simply will not allow me to use it as a file source.

If the hard drive needs to be formatted to something specific, it'd be nice to know... The boxee box support page has a bullet point for info about attaching external storage, but no actual link to a page about it.

[jecebn]

Mine is formatted in Fat32 and is working fine

[Ashke]

Turns out this is definitely a Boxee 1.0 issue, because we just rolled back to the firmware it shipped with and the hard drive connects without a problem.

Since no one else has mentioned having this problem, I'm guessing it's something particular conflicting between my external drive and 1.0. Wish I knew what it was - I don't really want to go out and buy a new drive in the hopes it'll work better.

[PabloPabloPablo]

I've got the same issue, Google brought me here.

I have two external USB drives I was playing around with both of which work on my Windows XP laptop. The unpowered 1TB drive works fine but the 2TB powered drive attaches but doesn't show as a source. I can connect it to a PC though and share it without an issue.

I'll carry on playing though and report back if I get it working.

[darcilicious]

For issues like this it might be helpful if you include the following information about your external drives:

External or USB-connected for power
Brand/Model/Size
Format type (NTFS, FAT32, HFS+, etc)

[suedeface]

I have a 2TB WD usb powered passport drive (NTFS) that works fine. My other 60GB laptop USB powered drive (Seagate I think, in enclosure) isn't recognized at all. I've formatted it to NTFS and tried FAT32 and nothing works. My computer, xbox, and PS3 all have no issues seeing the drive. I've switched usb cables and ports with no success.

[shayz]

Hi,

Could you post the disk information? If you're PC is running Windows, running chkdsk should do the trick?

[quietguy]

USB Powered
Western Digital Passport 500G
HFS+

Was working in 0.9 but not in 1.0. I reverted back and it is working again.

[shayz]

Hi quietguy,

I'm part of Boxee team and I will try to reproduce the problem over here by Monday.
Last question - did you format/repartition/.. the disk after you bought it?

--shay

[aaronwt]

I've used a verbatim and a WD external drive. Both 500GB and both fomatted with NTFS. The Boxee Box had no problem seeing them.

[shayz]

I have a 2TB WD usb powered passport drive (NTFS) that works fine. My other 60GB laptop USB powered drive (Seagate I think, in enclosure) isn't recognized at all. I've formatted it to NTFS and tried FAT32 and nothing works. My computer, xbox, and PS3 all have no issues seeing the drive. I've switched usb cables and ports with no success.
Hi suedeface,

When you connect the disk, do you see an 'external disk attached' message?

BoxeeBox identifies HDs by their UUID - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universally_Unique_Identifier

This link explains why UUID is used for disk identification - http://liquidat.wordpress.com/2007/10/15/short-tip-get-uuid-of-hard-disks/)

There's a chance your HD is missing the UUID field. I'm not sure why is it so. Could you let me know which software did you use to format it?


--shay

[quietguy]

Hi quietguy,

I'm part of Boxee team and I will try to reproduce the problem over here by Monday.
Last question - did you format/repartition/.. the disk after you bought it?

--shay

yes, it was formated fat32. I re-formated to HFS+

and thanks for helping.

[shayz]

yes, it was formated fat32. I re-formated to HFS+

and thanks for helping.
Thanks for the info.
As I said, I'll get back to you on Monday, hopefully with some concrete answers.

[Ph8]

I have a 2TB WD usb powered passport drive (NTFS) that works fine. My other 60GB laptop USB powered drive (Seagate I think, in enclosure) isn't recognized at all. I've formatted it to NTFS and tried FAT32 and nothing works. My computer, xbox, and PS3 all have no issues seeing the drive. I've switched usb cables and ports with no success.

For this I believe I can help you. From what I have read Boxee will only support 1 USB powered HD at a time. So you can have 1 USB powered and 1 externally powered and it would show both, if you have 2 USB powered, Boxee will only see one.

[PabloPabloPablo]

My recognized drive is an unpowered WD Passport Essential SE 1TB (Part # WDBABM0010BBK) formatted with NTFS (4K allocation unit).

My problematic unrecognized drive is a powered WD Elements 2TB (Part # WDBAAU0020HBK) formatted with NTFS (4K allocation unit). I get the popup message that an external drive has been attached but it doesn't show as an available source. I also tried plugging it into both USB ports, just to see if it made a difference.

Both drives were formatted on the same Windows XP PC and are both USB 2.0 drives. I've had no other problems connecting them to other PCs and devices.

I'm just formatting a third drive at the moment and I'll do some testing with that later.

[shayz]

My recognized drive is an unpowered WD Passport Essential SE 1TB (Part # WDBABM0010BBK) formatted with NTFS (4K allocation unit).

My problematic unrecognized drive is a powered WD Elements 2TB (Part # WDBAAU0020HBK) formatted with NTFS (4K allocation unit). I get the popup message that an external drive has been attached but it doesn't show as an available source. I also tried plugging it into both USB ports, just to see if it made a difference.

Both drives were formatted on the same Windows XP PC and are both USB 2.0 drives. I've had no other problems connecting them to other PCs and devices.

I'm just formatting a third drive at the moment and I'll do some testing with that later.
Hi,

When you attach your WD Elements 2TB and click 'Files', what items do you see below the 'Local folders and network shares' line? Is there any item with just an icon, no name?

--shay

[playsccr]

im trying to get seagate goflex external hard drive 3TB to work with boxee to no avail??? connecting via USB directly to the bb

its not coming up under my source folders??

>>>when i plug it in i get a prompt, a star that says disk attached or something. but nothing shows up under local souces?

>>when i connect it to my windows 7 pc via usb, and share the disk over my network, boxee picks it up no problem, however, plugging it directly into boxee via usb, does not recognize it.

i reformatted it before use to NTFS.

any help would be appreciated. the hard drive is clearly functioning and boxee picks it up as a network drive, however, not via USB local.

[suedeface]

For this I believe I can help you. From what I have read Boxee will only support 1 USB powered HD at a time. So you can have 1 USB powered and 1 externally powered and it would show both, if you have 2 USB powered, Boxee will only see one.
Shayz, can you confirm this?

[darcilicious]

For this I believe I can help you. From what I have read Boxee will only support 1 USB powered HD at a time. So you can have 1 USB powered and 1 externally powered and it would show both, if you have 2 USB powered, Boxee will only see one.
Shayz, can you confirm this?

For what it's worth, I can. Only one USB drive can be powered by the Boxee Box; if you use a second external USB drive, it must have its own external power source.

[playsccr]

i only have 1 USB connected locally (3tb usb seagate) and its does NOT pick up any content locally.

[shayz]

i only have 1 USB connected locally (3tb usb seagate) and its does NOT pick up any content locally.
Hi,

I think there are 2 potential problems - the first is with the amount of USB powered devices which can be attached and the second is something to do with the file system and partition table types.

I'll try to reproduce these problems tomorrow morning and update this thread.

--shay

[shayz]

Hi,

Regarding USB powered HD issue - there's a limit and we recommend using only one of these. Boxee can't power more than one.

--shay

[playsccr]

- thank you for your help, but the issue is with a 3tb seagate go flex...which has its on power source and is the only external usb hdd connected to the boxee...


the boxee sees that something is plug into, but no folders or anything shows under local sources.

[Jonas81]

thx for the update!

[shayz]

Hi,

I'm still working on the 3TB NAS issue. I'll get back to you as soon as possible.

--shay

[playsccr]

shay - i can report that i connected my seagate 3tb external hardrive to my router using a seagate goflex net media sharing adapter. it uses pogo plug and has a usb slot...and it worked....so once again it can share it over the network but not locally.

[shayz]

Hi,

The only reason, I can think of, for the problem you (and others) experience is the partition is missing a UUID. Boxee relies on this UUID to properly attach (mount) the external HD.

It's easy to verify (whether there's a UUID) - could you let me know what OS your PC/laptop runs?

--shay

[Ashke]

Hi shay, sorry I never responded after initially posting the thread - stopped getting subscription emails and didn't realize the thread was still active.

I can check the UUID on the drive if that might help. It'd be easiest for me to check on OS X 10.6, if you've got instructions (I've got a basic understanding of how to use terminal commands). My drive is a 1 TB Western Digital... something, formatted to FAT32 if that's still relevant info.

[quietguy]

Hi,

The only reason, I can think of, for the problem you (and others) experience is the partition is missing a UUID. Boxee relies on this UUID to properly attach (mount) the external HD.

It's easy to verify (whether there's a UUID) - could you let me know what OS your PC/laptop runs?

--shay

Windows 7 32bit, but the odd thing is that, doesn't 0.9 use UUID as well? I mean, the HD works fine in 0.9.

One more thing the HD was formatted with MacDrive softwarfe on a windows PC. Both xbox 360 and a OSX 10.6.4 had no problem reconizing it.

[shayz]

Windows 7 32bit, but the odd thing is that, doesn't 0.9 use UUID as well? I mean, the HD works fine in 0.9.

One more thing the HD was formatted with MacDrive softwarfe on a windows PC. Both xbox 360 and a OSX 10.6.4 had no problem reconizing it.
0.9 uses the partition/disk label and not the UUID. We're trying to find out how to display UUID with Window &

[shayz]

Windows 7 32bit, but the odd thing is that, doesn't 0.9 use UUID as well? I mean, the HD works fine in 0.9.

One more thing the HD was formatted with MacDrive softwarfe on a windows PC. Both xbox 360 and a OSX 10.6.4 had no problem reconizing it.
Hi,

In windows command terminal, run the command bellow (replace f:\ with the relevant driver letter) and send me the output -

'fsutil fsinfo volumeinfo f:\'

--shay

[quietguy]

Hi,

In windows command terminal, run the command bellow (replace f:\ with the relevant driver letter) and send me the output -

'fsutil fsinfo volumeinfo f:\'

--shay

I will when I go home, the drive is at home.


Edit: I also found this http://www.howtohaven.com/system/change-disk-signature.shtml. Don't know if the disk ID is UUID.

[shayz]

Hi,

Try running 'diskutil list' and if you then 'diskutil info <device>'. Device should be your external HD when it's connected to your MAC.
This might help http://commandlinemac.blogspot.com/2008/12/using-diskutil.html

[Ashke]

Shay, I private messaged you the results after you posted the Windows instructions. Didn't see a UUID on either of my drives (one's working with Boxee, one's not), but maybe it's listed as something else... volume serial? The one that isn't working was missing a volume serial, and I do recall having to use a pretty sketchy format utility to get it formatted to FAT32, so it's definitely possible something is wrong there. I'll give the disk a proper format once I can get all the content off and see if that helps.

[quietguy]

Hi,

In windows command terminal, run the command bellow (replace f:\ with the relevant driver letter) and send me the output -

'fsutil fsinfo volumeinfo f:\'

--shay

C:\Windows\system32>fsutil fsinfo volumeinfo d:\
Volume Name : MYHD
Volume Serial Number : 0xc780efc9
Max Component Length : 255
File System Name : HFS+
Preserves Case of filenames
Supports Unicode in filenames

[Ashke]

Formatted the drive to Mac Extended (Journaled) and it works now. Definitely seems to have been an issue with the reformat I did previously. Thanks for the help tracking it down.

[quietguy]

Hi,

Try running 'diskutil list' and if you then 'diskutil info <device>'. Device should be your external HD when it's connected to your MAC.
This might help http://commandlinemac.blogspot.com/2008/12/using-diskutil.html

Hi Shayz,

Found myself an unbuntu Machine, indeed there is no UUID for my external drive.
any idea how to add one without losing all data?

Thanks

[shayz]

Hi Shayz,

Found myself an unbuntu Machine, indeed there is no UUID for my external drive.
any idea how to add one without losing all data?

Thanks
Let me get back to you on this. Can you remind me your file system type?

--shay

[quietguy]

Let me get back to you on this. Can you remind me your file system type?

--shay

thanks HFS+

[shayz]

I'm no expert but I don't think there's an easy way to do so. I will browse a bit more to see if I missed anything.

--shay

[quietguy]

I'm no expert but I don't think there's an easy way to do so. I will browse a bit more to see if I missed anything.

--shay

thank you again, I am looking also, If I found a solution I will post it as well.

[ifoundmyhdd!]

at long last i found my hdd, which boxee (ubuntu) would not find for love nor money.
I can not access it via file browse but i managed to add it as a source for scanning.

open boxee
options (cog) > Media source > add scource

the select " / "
then navigate to "media"

and thats where i found all my drives!

hope this helps someone!

[Jeremyshanman]

I think I had a similar problem that I resolved on my own. In my situation I explained that I had 2 folders containing movies on a 1tb Western Digital drive. I could see the regular movies no problem (folder contained about 80+ .mkv files), but when I tried to drill down to by XXX folder I couldn't see any of the .mkv files in that folder. I noticed that the only difference between the 2 folders was that in my regular movie folder there were only .mkv files but in my XXX folder there was a bunch of .mkv files and one other separate folder containing a .wmv file. I decided to delete the "folder within the folder" and once I did that, when I drilled to the XXX folder which now only contained .mkv files I was able to see them no problem.

Could this be your problem?? Try arranging your folder structure so that there are no "folders within folders" and see if that works. It did for me.

[shayz]

Is this a boxeebox issue or Ubuntu issue?

--shay

[passoadude]

Any news on this? Just got my boxee today and it cant read my WD 1TB ntfs??

[shayz]

This could be a missing UUID case - what type of OS does your PC/laptop run?
--shay

[gmd024]

Any news on this? Just got my boxee today and it cant read my WD 1TB ntfs??

A lot more info is needed to help -- ie... OS, connection--over network/direct USB - share settings if shared - did you format the HDD yourself or is it using WDs' factory ntsf format 'out of the box' - the more info, the better the help -- and how much data is on the HDD, in case a re-format is suggested, if it's quite full this would be a last resort

[passoadude]

A lot more info is needed to help -- ie... OS, connection--over network/direct USB - share settings if shared - did you format the HDD yourself or is it using WDs' factory ntsf format 'out of the box' - the more info, the better the help

Its a WD Elements 16mb buff with external power, 1 TB hdd. Im running Vista, its direct USB, i think i did the format myself.. the fsutil fsinfo volumeinfo f: gives this info:

Volume name: Elements
Volume Serial Number: 0x68e84c3b
Max component length: 255
File system name: ntfs
Supports case sensitive filename
preserves case of filenames
supports unicode in filenames
preserves & enforces ACL's
etc etc

[shayz]

Do you get any message when you connect it to the Box?

[passoadude]

Actually i did when i just connected boxee first time, after i updated it to the latest i only get a message when the hdd is unplugged

[gmd024]

Its a WD Elements 16mb buff with external power, 1 TB hdd. Im running Vista, its direct USB, i think i did the format myself.. the fsutil fsinfo volumeinfo f: gives this info:

Volume name: Elements
Volume Serial Number: 0x68e84c3b
Max component length: 255
File system name: ntfs
Supports case sensitive filename
preserves case of filenames
supports unicode in filenames
preserves & enforces ACL's
etc etc

Not sure what may be your issue - other than my OS is W7, your set up is similar to mine and I have a couple WD Home and 4 WD Elements HDDs that the BBox has no trouble finding, either directly connected or over the net via SMB

Try turning off the BBox with the switch - plug in the HDD and then turn on the BBox and see if it 'sees' the HDD that way

Try the other USB port on the BBox

And I'm sure you have tried to connect the HDD to your PC to be sure it's OK

I remember someone saying that a re-format fixed their similar issue recently - but again that's a 'last resort' that might not even help

[shayz]

Just to make sure - when the box is on, and you plugin the HDD, you don't see any message?

--shay

[passoadude]

Just to make sure - when the box is on, and you plugin the HDD, you don't see any message?

--shay

Exactly. When i plug it IN, i dont get any message. But when i plug it out it says external hdd removed

[shayz]

I'm a little out of ideas. Did you verify that other disks work?
I can add some debug information in later releases but it would take time, as I'm not sure when exactly it will be released.

--shay

[passoadude]

I'm a little out of ideas. Did you verify that other disks work?
I can add some debug information in later releases but it would take time, as I'm not sure when exactly it will be released.

--shay

Found an old WD 250gb disk, reformated it and put 1 movie on, that disk works perfectly.. My main 1tb still doesnt work :mad:

[madmacdraper]

I updated my HTPC with a fresh install of Ubuntu 10.10. Setup Boxee and XBMC. Plugged in 2 hard drives via USB. Opened Boxee went to files and can't see the files. I can see the mounted drives via Ubuntu and XBMC but not Boxee. :eek: Any ideas????

[shayz]

Is this a boxee box related issue? If not, I don't think you're in the right thread.

--shay

[msliedrecht]

Hi

I am having this exact same problem (as well as a few others with the Boxee box but more on that in another post).

I have two hard drives, a WD (FAT32) 1TB which the Boxee box reads, and a second hard drive Verbatim 2TB which when I plug in the Boxee Box doesn't read. Both are have external power sources.

I have switched around the cables/plugs/USB input and the WD 1TB always gets picked up so it's not a cable issue etc.

If I connect the Verbatim 2TB to my computer and share the folder then I'm able to see the folder on the Boxee Box as a folder on the network and stream it through my comp. This is not how I want it setup though, it needs to be set as local USB source.

When I disconnect the Verbatim 2TB it says 'Removed Device' so the Boxee Box is picking up something, it's just not reading the files, or letting me browse the hard drive.

The Verbatim 2TB was reformatted as FAT32 because it was originally NTFS and not compatible with OS X, and I'm not sure about the UUID or if it has one. How would I check this on OS X?

Hard Drive: Verbatim 2TB - USB
Operating System: OS X 10.5.8

Seriously wanting to throw the Boxee Box out the window. I've been waiting months for it and it's turning into a bit of a nightmare.

[tennisbgc]

Hi

I am having this exact same problem (as well as a few others with the Boxee box but more on that in another post).

I have two hard drives, a WD (FAT32) 1TB which the Boxee box reads, and a second hard drive Verbatim 2TB which when I plug in the Boxee Box doesn't read. Both are have external power sources.

I have switched around the cables/plugs/USB input and the WD 1TB always gets picked up so it's not a cable issue etc.

If I connect the Verbatim 2TB to my computer and share the folder then I'm able to see the folder on the Boxee Box as a folder on the network and stream it through my comp. This is not how I want it setup though, it needs to be set as local USB source.

When I disconnect the Verbatim 2TB it says 'Removed Device' so the Boxee Box is picking up something, it's just not reading the files, or letting me browse the hard drive.

The Verbatim 2TB was reformatted as FAT32 because it was originally NTFS and not compatible with OS X, and I'm not sure about the UUID or if it has one. How would I check this on OS X?

Hard Drive: Verbatim 2TB - USB
Operating System: OS X 10.5.8

Seriously wanting to throw the Boxee Box out the window. I've been waiting months for it and it's turning into a bit of a nightmare.the same thing happens when I connect my wd 3tb harddrive it can tell a device has been connected or disconnected but cant read it.

[shayz]

Hi,

The 3TB HDD is a know issue (unless it's reformatted, which we don't recommend) - see this thread http://forums.boxee.tv/showthread.php?t=22115

As for the 2TB issue, I'm looking for a MAC so I can describe how to extract UUID and other HDD info.

--shay

[tennisbgc]

Hi,

The 3TB HDD is a know issue (unless it's reformatted, which we don't recommend) - see this thread http://forums.boxee.tv/showthread.php?t=22115

As for the 2TB issue, I'm looking for a MAC so I can describe how to extract UUID and other HDD info.

--shayI read through that link but im not sure what reformatting method you are referring to.my harddrive is emty at the moment so id be up for trying to reformat it.

[shayz]

I think that if you used GUID Partition Table (GPT) instead of MBR partitiong, it would solve your problem.
Dividing the HDD to 2 smaller partitions ( 2 * 1.5 for example) would also do the trick.

I would go with the second option.

--shay

[ahern.jd]

Hi shayz,

This is my first post in this thread, but I've been following it for the past couple of days.

I've been trying to get my boxee box to work with a brand new 3tb WD for 2 weeks now. I've tried every type of format/permission/disabling journaling/etc. to get it to be found as a source, but nothing works. The last 2 options to try are checking the UUID (still trying to find instructions for checking/fixing this), and splitting it between 2 partitions (which I'd rather not do).

From this thread and others, it's looking like the best option is to wait for an update from you guys. When can we hope for this? Another 2 weeks? Even further out?

Thanx in advance for any info you can provide

[gmd024]

Hi shayz,

This is my first post in this thread, but I've been following it for the past couple of days.

I've been trying to get my boxee box to work with a brand new 3tb WD for 2 weeks now. I've tried every type of format/permission/disabling journaling/etc. to get it to be found as a source, but nothing works. The last 2 options to try are checking the UUID (still trying to find instructions for checking/fixing this), and splitting it between 2 partitions (which I'd rather not do).

From this thread and others, it's looking like the best option is to wait for an update from you guys. When can we hope for this? Another 2 weeks? Even further out?

Thanx in advance for any info you can provide

Boxee is aware of the 3Tb HDD issue - I believe it also involves Intel to help with a solution...
http://forums.boxee.tv/showthread.php?t=22115&page=4

[msliedrecht]

As for the 2TB issue, I'm looking for a MAC so I can describe how to extract UUID and other HDD info.

--shay

Hey mate,

Any update?

Thanks, matt

[shayz]

Sorry for not getting back earlier.
Can you try "diskutil info <disk name>"? I know it's a little techy, but I didn't find any nicer way to do it.

--shay

[msliedrecht]

Hey Shay,

Tried to look everywhere for the UUID and can't find it. When I tried diskutil (for others tutorial here - http://www.radiotope.com/content/os-x-hiding-and-mounting-partition) it still didn't come up with the UUID.

The only difference I can see between my drives is that one has the partition type DOS_FAT_32 (which works) and the other is Windows_FAT_32 (which doesn't). Could this affect it?


Here are the details below:

This drive is working:

Disk Description : WD My Book 1110 Media
Total Capacity : 930.9 GB (999,501,594,624 Bytes)
Connection Bus : USB
Write Status : Read/Write
Connection Type : External
S.M.A.R.T. Status : Not Supported
USB Serial Number : 574341553444383234373036
Partition Map Scheme : Master Boot Record

matts-macbook-pro:~ matt$ diskutil info disk2s1
Device Identifier: disk2s1
Device Node: /dev/disk2s1
Part Of Whole: disk2
Device / Media Name: Untitled 1

Volume Name: MEDIA
Mount Point: /Volumes/MEDIA
File System: MS-DOS FAT32

Partition Type: DOS_FAT_32
Bootable: Not bootable
Media Type: Generic
Protocol: USB
SMART Status: Not Supported

Total Size: 930.6 Gi (999257538560 B) (1951674880 512-byte blocks)
Free Space: 242.1 Gi (259977740288 B) (507769024 512-byte blocks)

Read Only: No
Ejectable: Yes
Whole: No
Internal: No

------------------------------------------------------------

This drive is not working...

Description : Hitachi HDS722020ALA330 Media
Total Capacity : 1.8 TB (2,000,398,934,016 Bytes)
Connection Bus : USB
Write Status : Read/Write
Connection Type : External
S.M.A.R.T. Status : Not Supported
USB Serial Number : 1605000fe9b2
Partition Map Scheme : Master Boot Record


matts-macbook-pro:~ matt$ diskutil info disk1s1
Device Identifier: disk1s1
Device Node: /dev/disk1s1
Part Of Whole: disk1
Device / Media Name: Untitled 1

Volume Name: TV SHOWS
Mount Point: /Volumes/TV SHOWS
File System: MS-DOS FAT32

Partition Type: Windows_FAT_32
Bootable: Not bootable
Media Type: Generic
Protocol: USB
SMART Status: Not Supported

Total Size: 1.8 Ti (1999908012032 B) (3906070336 512-byte blocks)
Free Space: 148.2 Gi (159092637696 B) (310727808 512-byte blocks)

Read Only: No
Ejectable: Yes
Whole: No
Internal: No

[shayz]

I found this post in some forum (it's old but may still be relevant). Try to attach your disk to your Mac and lookup the UUID in the log , as explained below

"..In Mac OS X Panther, Disk Utility and the diskutil command doesn't display the UUID value. But if you look in the system.log file, when the disk is mounted, you can see something similar to this (line breaks added for narrower display):
... localhost diskarbitrationd[87]: disk1s9 hfs
77F3E84D-E0ED-3194-96A5-BED10893FFF4 FireWire HD
/Volumes/FireWire HD<br>
... localhost diskarbitrationd[87]: disk1s10 hfs
F0E430C1-5558-3BB3-9FA9-6904B663FEEA Mac OS X Disc
/Volumes/Mac OS X Disc
The string before the volume name is the UUID for the disk.
"

--shay

[msliedrecht]

I found this post in some forum (it's old but may still be relevant). Try to attach your disk to your Mac and lookup the UUID in the log , as explained below

--shay

Hey Shay,

Thanks for that, finally manage to get them:

Not working:
28/12/10 11:16:46 AM fseventsd[39] log dir: /Volumes/TV SHOWS/.fseventsd getting new uuid: D23F4D61-913C-4AEC-AB84-1E624BEB4AF0

Working
28/12/10 11:13:28 AM fseventsd[39] log dir: /Volumes/MEDIA/.fseventsd getting new uuid: 812314F5-EDC6-4DB0-A39B-376C5194996D

Not sure if this means anything to you :)

Thanks, matt

[shayz]

I think it means that both of them have UUIDs. I'm a little out of ideas.
How did you format the drive?

--shay

[msliedrecht]

I think it means that both of them have UUIDs. I'm a little out of ideas.
How did you format the drive?

--shay

They were both formatted with Disk Utility on OS X 10. The only difference I can see between the drives is that one is DOS_FAT_32 (which works) and the other is Windows_FAT_32 (which doesn't).

Would you be able to format a hard drive with OS X 10 and test it to see if that is the issue?

Thanks, Matt

[shayz]

I'll give it a try

[shayz]

I did so and it works though the only option I had was to use the DOS FAT. I'm not sure what's Windows FAT.

--shay

[shayz]

I found this post (seems like the same problem), no solution though -
http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/other-hardware-peripherals/174609-external-drive-not-mounting.html

[ahern.jd]

I just partitioned my drive and it still isn't being recognized.

Can someone post instruction? Beginning with formatting the drive and ending with plugging it in and having boxee recognize it...

I'm working with a 3TB WD, on a power supply, and mac OSX 10.6.5

[shayz]

Hi,

What's the new partition scheme? i.e. how big are the partitions and what's their type?

--shay

[ahern.jd]

right now its Mac OS Extended, split in 2 1.5TB partitions. Journaling off, permissions set to everyone read+write.

but i can format it in any way that you find works...

[msliedrecht]

I did so and it works though the only option I had was to use the DOS FAT. I'm not sure what's Windows FAT.

--shay

I think my only hope is to reformat my drive which is a pain because I need to store 2TB of data somewhere!

I have also had a lot of trouble with my Box hanging - http://forums.boxee.tv/showthread.php?p=143568#post143568. You able to shed some light Shay?

Thanks for your help.

[shayz]

Hi,

It's not in my small area of expertise but I'll ask someone to look at it.
Enjoy the Box.

--shay

[shayz]

Hi,

I've spoken with our AV lead engineer and he says that many issues like the ones you experienced (box hangs, stuttering, etc) were solved in the upcoming release. He recommends that you wait for the new release, retry and if you still see this issues, open a bug.

--shay

[msliedrecht]

Thanks Shay, looking forward to the new release.

Matt

[shayz]

Hi guys,

A Boxee user managed to format his 3TB WD so Boxee would recognize it -
http://forums.boxee.tv/showthread.php?p=144024#post144024

--shay

[ahern.jd]

Hi guys,

A Boxee user managed to format his 3TB WD so Boxee would recognize it -
http://forums.boxee.tv/showthread.php?p=144024#post144024

--shay

I tried their steps and still couldn't get it working

[ahern.jd]

I read about the update on Engadget, but am still at work. anybody have success getting BB to pull content off their 3TB WD external after the update?

[YoungLUST009]

I just got my boxee box today. I also just bought a new Western Digital MyBook 3TB external drive and got it all setup with all of my files on it to use with Boxee. (the drive has external power, and USB connection and is NTFS formatted) When I plug it in to the usb port on Boxee I don't have any notification that I plugged in a source (not sure if I should?) and nothing shows up for it when I try to add a source. Any help??

[gmd024]

I just got my boxee box today. I also just bought a new Western Digital MyBook 3TB external drive and got it all setup with all of my files on it to use with Boxee. (the drive has external power, and USB connection and is NTFS formatted) When I plug it in to the usb port on Boxee I don't have any notification that I plugged in a source (not sure if I should?) and nothing shows up for it when I try to add a source. Any help??

Check the link 3 posts behind your (post #84) -- and then check post #34 in that link - Pocalypse found a way to get his WD 3Tb working on the BBox

[YoungLUST009]

Thanks for the reference. I did look into that, but one problem is that I have a Mac. I'll try doing that as a last resort using a friend's computer that has windows 7, but I'm also Really hoping there's a solution that doesn't involve re-formatting the drive. I already have about a Gig of files on it. Considering waiting for another software update from Boxee...but is there any idea when that'll be?

[gmd024]

Thanks for the reference. I did look into that, but one problem is that I have a Mac. I'll try doing that as a last resort using a friend's computer that has windows 7, but I'm also Really hoping there's a solution that doesn't involve re-formatting the drive. I already have about a Gig of files on it. Considering waiting for another software update from Boxee...but is there any idea when that'll be?

Personally, I've not considered the new 3Tb HDDs because of a few issues and the price of them - so I haven't keep up to date on whether Boxee is working on a fix for them -- if I recall, I think part of the issue is with Intel CPU in the BBox - it will have to be looked at by Intel also

You can sniff around on the jira site and see if it's in the works... http://jira.boxee.tv/secure/Dashboard.jspa

Or send ( shayz at boxee dot tv ) and email and ask him - he should know, if anyone, about the status of the 3Tb HDDs working wit the BBox

[Megs]

Hi Guys,

Just bought my box and found it can read only one drive at a time as a source but not the two. I have 2 identical WD external drives self powered each with 1TB size.

When I connect one of them at any USB port it reads it fine as a source but when the two are connected at same time only one is recognized as source.

Any suggestions??

[HerrVorragend]

Same problem here with 2 1,5tb WD Digital Elements... any one got a fix or workaround?

[darcilicious]

This should be working... what version of Boxee firmware are you running? (Settings>>System>>Information)

[HerrVorragend]

Wow fast answer,

im using the last firmware: 1.1.1.19092-ff649dd
build date: 17.05.2011

i plugged them in an usb hub but it doesnt work without it either...

another problem is the very slow speed from the box to my win 7 system and the other way around

[darcilicious]

See if the comments here help: http://jira.boxee.tv/browse/BOXEE-9777

[HerrVorragend]

I cant spare 1,5tb space so i can't take the risk of loosing my data by changing the uuid. is there no other way? im sick of changing the the hdds by switching the plugs...

will there be a fix in the future?

[HerrVorragend]

Here is my debug log, hope that helps...

[HerrVorragend]

Still no update on this topic?

[Foniex]

Hi, I had this problem today, think I might have a solution/workaround.

Turn on journalling on your hard drive and it will work.
I'm not very technically minded so I don't know whether this breaks other parts of the boxee box but I have used my boxee box with journalling turned on and it seems to work fine for me...

Tom.

[dv8dvo]

I had this problem as well with 2 WD 1Gig elements drives.
It looks like WD ship these with a ghosted image, rather than a format, so they have identical UUID's.
You can either format one drive so you get a new UUID generated, or if you have a lot of data on them that you can't temporarily move, use a programme called "Disk Serial Number Changer" by Serhiy Horobets from www. keylack.com
Worked beautifully for me, without los of data.
Boxee can now see both drive locally..

BTW boxee have stated in a few forums, that you can only use one unpowered drive at a time.. I have had no troubles using 2 unpowered drives.

haven't tried via a hub though.

[code_66]

Hey guys,

Sorry, haven’t read the entire topic about this, but just reading the last few I kind of have an idea.

Exactly like what dv8dvo, you CANNOT have identical external hard drives. I don’t know the specifics, but I had the same issue, and I plugged in another HDD, and then it worked! But if I have IDENTICAL HDD’s, it’s no good, possibly because the Boxee recognizes two same UUID’s, and won’t replicate itself. I had this issue and then I noticed both sources were mirrored images of each other, swapped in a USB stick and it picked it up right away!

So word of advice, never get identical HDD’s, hope this helps guys.

[neveroffline]

Again, this should NOT be an issue.

Every single HDD made by anyone you would buy from has a Serial Number to uniquely identify it - period. If they didn't, they simply wouldn't work in your PC or any other device.

It seems the problem here is in uniquely identifying the Hard Disk Drives inside of Boxee. Marcel of boxee-team has already commented that it isn't an issue with dual seagates from iomega, but the community isn't so sure. Please email marcel @ boxee.tv with your findings so he may look into them.

I guarantee you that both of your "identical" drives have unique serial #'s.

[swek]

I was unable to connect my 500GB WD My Book Studio Edition to BB as well as my Airport Extreme and after various attempts at google I found and followed this guide (http://wdc.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3865/session/L3RpbWUvMTMwNDEwMDIxNC9zaWQvZk94dS1Jc2s%3D) (yep, it involves formatting your drive..!) and it solved my issues.

The problem for me was the fact that the partition table was Apple Partition Map rather than GUID. Following the guide and changing the partition table allows both BB and AE to find and read my drive.

Works like a charm now!

Hope this helps as it seems many have had problems with their WD drives.

//Swek