If I want to connect the My Book Live to my computer directly, instead of wirelessly through the router, is it OK to simply unplug the ethernet cable from the router and plug it into the computer?
I want to do this occasionally when transferring large amounts of data all at once, which would take too long to do wirelessly.
Can I freely switch back and forth this way?
Or is there some sort of disconnect procedure, like when you have to click on ‘eject’ or ‘remove hardware’ in order to disconnect an ordinary USB-connected external hard drive (in Windows)?
I just purchased my drive. You should plug the drive to the router and your PC to the router. That’s my configuration and it worked well. You might be able to connect directly by using a cross over cable however the drive may need to access DHCP which is served up by your router normally.
I think my post wasn’t clear so I’ve edited it to explain what I’m trying to do: use the My Book Live sometimes wirelessly through the router, and sometimes directly connect to the computer.
Yes. Since MBL don’t have DHCP server (for home network, the DHCP server is your router), so you need to use Static IP for MBL and your PC when you connect directly. For new GB network port, straight UTP cable will do the job, for Max performance, get UTP cat 6.
PS: I’m doing that when copying lot of files or large files, using GigaBits network is much faster compare to wireless. Remember to set router DHCP server to reserve the MBL static IP.
jwcm98: Thank you. I don’t know what the following statements mean, however. Apart from knowing that IP addresses are the ‘names’ that things on a network use to refer to other things on a network, there’s nothing in these instructions that I understand.> * * *
jwcm98 wrote:
you need to use Static IP for MBL and your PC when you connect directly.
Remember to set router DHCP server to reserve the MBL static IP.
I’ll try to answer your question without burying the post alive in an alphabet soup of techno jumble.
The MyBookLive (MBL for short) is built to run off the network instead of directly off a PC. It is better to run the MBL through a router. If you want faster access to your MBL, your best bet is to connect your computer to the router instead of going wireless. It will never be as fast as connecting a disk drive directy to a computer, but it will run faster than wireless. You will notice a difference.
If you don’t have a cable like the one that connects your MBL to the router, you can easily get one from stores like Best Buy, Home Depot (yes, I’ve bought network cables there), and maybe even Walmart. (Can’t vouch for that one.) Choose one marked “CAT-6”, or something like that. It is the fastest cable available.
Ya, what littleoleme is a good way to connect as well, it depends on your router network speed (whether is 100MB or 1000MB / 1GB), if 1000MB / 1GB speed, it is better for you to connect your PC to the router using network cable.
For direct connection between PC and MyBookLive, you will able to get the fastest speed (1GB full speed), but you must configure the IP address for both devices manually (ie, MyBookLive and PC required a static IP), rather than get the IP from router (DHCP / dynamic IP).
For direct connection between PC and MyBookLive, you will able to get the fastest speed (1GB full speed), but you must configure the IP address for both devices manually (ie, MyBookLive and PC required a static IP), rather than get the IP from router (DHCP / dynamic IP).
Good to know, thanks.
I don’t think I’ll be able to stomach dealing with IP addresses any more for a while, given that It took me a good 30 hours total to set up the MBL for just two computers due to a staggering series of quagmires (and one of the computers still can’t connect because it’s XP).
Directly connect MBL into computer is possible, but you have to do some IP settings, which you may find complicated. So plugging both your computer and MBL into a router is easier, given the fact that the DHCP in your router is on (normally it is)
If you want fast speed, make sure it is a Gigabit router, and your computer ethernet port is also 1000Mbit/s version. Strictly speaking, your ethernet cable should be CAT6, or in reality, at least CAT5E. My copying speed is 30-40MB/s with CAT5E.
By the way, it is 1000Mbit/s or 1000Mb. It is very different from 1000MB, because 1 Byte = 8 bits, where the latter one is used in electrical communication but MB(yte) is used in computer science.
can we get some step by step instruction please? i’m not that computer illiterate however I havent seen enough instruction on one post to know what to do first. So if someone could be kind enough to do that, it would be MUCH appriciated. I am deploying soon and am trying to take my HD with me but it’s useless if i cant access it.
