MyBook & Asus RT-N66U problems

WD External Drives External Drives for PC
1

Hi,

I’ve just changed my router to an Asus RT-N66U which I’m very happy with except for the fact that it does not get along with my 2TB MyBook. The MyBook was working fine with my BT Homehub 3 and it works fine when connected directly my PC. Both the router and MyBook have the latest firmware. I have tried NTFS and FAT32 filesystems and the disk appears to be error free. I’ve also tried different cables, including a standard USB 2.0 one. All these things result in the same situation. As you can see from the routers log below, the MyBook is picked up by the router and recognised for what it is but then it all goes down hill from there. Other devices work just fine. I suspect this is a firmware issue but not sure if it’s the WD or the Asus firmware that’s causing the problem.

MyBook model: WDBACW0020HBK-UESN

Router log:

May  4 17:38:41 kernel: usb 1-1.1: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 9
May  4 17:38:41 kernel: usb 1-1.1: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
May  4 17:38:41 kernel: scsi2 : SCSI emulation for USB Mass Storage devices
May  4 17:38:43 kernel: scsi 2:0:0:0: Direct-Access     WD       My Book 1140     1025 PQ: 0 ANSI: 6
May  4 17:38:45 kernel: sd 2:0:0:0: [sdb] Spinning up disk…<6>usb 1-1.1: reset high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 9
May  4 17:38:46 kernel: usb 1-1.1: device descriptor read/64, error -71
May  4 17:38:46 kernel: usb 1-1.1: device descriptor read/64, error -71
May  4 17:38:46 kernel: usb 1-1.1: reset high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 9
May  4 17:38:46 kernel: usb 1-1.1: device descriptor read/64, error -71
May  4 17:38:46 kernel: usb 1-1.1: device descriptor read/64, error -71
May  4 17:38:47 kernel: usb 1-1.1: reset high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 9
May  4 17:38:47 kernel: usb 1-1.1: device not accepting address 9, error -71
May  4 17:38:47 kernel: usb 1-1.1: reset high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 9
May  4 17:38:47 kernel: usb 1-1.1: device not accepting address 9, error -71
May  4 17:38:47 kernel: usb 1-1.1: USB disconnect, address 9
May  4 17:38:47 kernel: ready
May  4 17:38:47 kernel: sd 2:0:0:0: [sdb] READ CAPACITY failed
May  4 17:38:47 kernel: sd 2:0:0:0: [sdb] Result: hostbyte=0x01 driverbyte=0x00
May  4 17:38:47 kernel: sd 2:0:0:0: [sdb] Sense not available.
May  4 17:38:47 kernel: sd 2:0:0:0: [sdb] Write Protect is off
May  4 17:38:47 kernel: sd 2:0:0:0: [sdb] Assuming drive cache: write through
May  4 17:38:47 kernel: sd 2:0:0:0: [sdb] Attached SCSI disk
May  4 17:38:47 kernel: sd 2:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg1 type 0
May  4 17:38:48 rc_service: hotplug 6407:notify_rc restart_nasapps
May  4 17:38:48 kernel: usb 1-1.1: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 10
May  4 17:38:48 FTP Server: daemon is stoped
May  4 17:38:48 Samba Server: smb daemon is stoped
May  4 17:38:48 kernel: usb 1-1.1: device descriptor read/64, error -71
May  4 17:38:48 kernel: usb 1-1.1: device descriptor read/64, error -71
May  4 17:38:48 kernel: usb 1-1.1: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 11
May  4 17:38:48 kernel: usb 1-1.1: device descriptor read/64, error -71
May  4 17:38:48 kernel: usb 1-1.1: device descriptor read/64, error -71
May  4 17:38:49 kernel: usb 1-1.1: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 12
May  4 17:38:49 kernel: usb 1-1.1: device not accepting address 12, error -71
May  4 17:38:49 kernel: usb 1-1.1: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 13
May  4 17:38:50 kernel: usb 1-1.1: device not accepting address 13, error -71
May  4 17:38:50 kernel: hub 1-1:1.0: unable to enumerate USB device on port 1

Any help greatly appreciated.

Andy

2

Hello,

The WD My Book drive is not supported when used as a NAS drive. This drive has been designed to work directly with a computer through the USB port.

I recommend getting a WD NAS drive for this purpose. 

Check the link below for more information.

http://store.westerndigital.com/store/wdus/en_US/compare/ThemeID.21986300/parentCategoryID.56796900/categoryID.67754200

3

So it is your firmware that’s causing the problem. After all, it’s just an HDD in a box with a USB controller. I can buy a WD HDD on it’s own an put it in a cheap third party enclosure and it will work perfectly. I know this as I have done it for others that chose to go down that route. I chose the MyBook as I preferred the way it looked. I am extremely disappointed that a WD product that is effectively the same thing does not work in the same way.

I can’t return it so the only course of action left is for me to remove the £60 HDD from the £90 MyBook and buy another enclosure for it. Good job I love flushing money down the toilet. I haven’t been able to find anything on the packaging or the small amount of literature that was in the box, that says ‘This may not work when attached directly to your router’, so it would be helpful if you made these small details clearer in the future.

Thanks for getting back to me anyway.