NAS + Media Server Problems Please Help

right so where to start.

i recently bought the vantec nexstar LX ultra NAS for my network and installed a 2TB HDD, it is connected to my router through ethernet cable obviously.

now i bought this for 2 reasons;
1) so that the family can share all our media and what not and
2) so that i can use the media server to stream to my PS3

i am running a macbook pro 2.4 core i5, sister the 2007 macbook, and other members are lame and using windows laptops, i also have a PC which is connected from time to time.

now for my problems...

i am using the net gear DGNB2200 wireless N router and once i connected the NAS i could access it through the PC and my moms laptop (both windows) but however, i could not eve "see" it on my mac it was like it didn't exist, i could access the ip address in order to change setting but not the actual HDD.

today my router decided to be stupid and it died, and i replaced it, now for some reason i can actually "see" the NAS on my mac but cant access it. as mac's do it asked for a user and pass, as well as giving me the guest option. if i click guest it informs me the NAS doesn't support the "guest" option, if i try my mac user and pass, it tells me they are invalid.

In the NAS settings i can create smb accounts, which i have done and made sure they are sharing the folders i want shared, and i have tried to log into the NAS on my mac with these user and pass, but still no luck they are invalid.

but if i use the pc to log into the NAS with the SMB account i can access everything that is specified.

so please can yous guys out there help me out!!

P.S. sorry for such a long msg but just wanted to give you all the info i could!

An update

just an update to this

the NAS has now totally disappeared off my mac again so i now have the original problem again!

so if you can help me find out how to stop my NAS from being temperamental and get things working that would be greatly appreciated.

try this,
you said smb? click on Go>Connect to Server. enter in smb://192.168.x.x or what ever the ip is. This will force it to attempt to connect via the smb protocol. Then enter the SMB username and password.

Ok first off, thanks a lot for the reply, it is well appreciated!

so if i do what you say it at least registers that there is a drive there, not that i can see it, but as you said i was prompted for a username and password.

but i am still unable to login in, it still says my user/pass is invalid??

i have check all my settings, on my NAS to make sure that the SMB is enabled and that my user and pass are correct, but still i get told that it is invalid and that it doesn't allow guest access.

but again thanx for the help!!!

Answer for Vantec Nexstar LX NAS problem

Hi Chris,

I had the exact problem you describe with my Vantec Nexstar LX NAS. My Windows XP laptop and desktop found it fine. But, my wife's new Macbook Pro would only "see" it intermittently, and even then, I couldn't access it - being stopped each time by various error messages. However, I fixed the problem!

First off, make sure that the NAS is in the same workgroup as all of the other computers in your network. This is done in the Nexstar's menu. (type "STORAGE" in the address line of your favorite browser and enter admin name and password - default is "admin" and "admin") The default workgroup name setting for the Nexstar NAS is "workgroup". Change that setting to the actual name of the workgroup your Windows machines are using. (Window's default workgroup is MSHOME. You can verify your workgroup name under My Computer>View System Information>Computer Name.) This step will make the NAS show up on your Mac correctly.

Second - update the Nexstar's firmware! The Vantec website is useless, so go to the following site: LanDisk Firmware Warning: The language of the site is French, but you can still figure it out. The very top firmware is a NAS-BASIC49 for the Vantec Nextstar.

Using one of your Windows machines, click on the little yellow "compression" symbol immediately in front of the "V49b2+bootloader 0.69" filename, and the file (a compressed .exe file) will begin to download. Extract this file to a folder of its own and run the bootloader program (the only .exe file in the extracted folder). This bootloader program makes life much easier. It will find the Nexstar NAS and its associated firmware version. Select the V49b2 .bin file and tell it to update the NAS. When it's done, restart the NAS - and everything will work properly. You should now see the NAS "STORAGE-xxxx" (the xxxx being the last four digits of the NAS' MAC address) under the "SHARED" group on your Mac network listing.

BTW - When first accessing your NAS, you'll want to "Connect As" a "Guest" in your Macbook. Now you'll be able to access the Public folder (or whatever you named the NAS folder).

Good luck!

Melsman

Re: Answer for Vantec Nexstar LX NAS problem

melsman,

Thanks for the detailed instructions on how to resolve this issue. I had the same problem as you described accessing my Vantec Nexstar LX NAS from my MacBook Pro, and your solution worked like a charm! It was quick and easy to apply the LanDisk firmware, after which I was able to access the NAS without any problem.

Thanks,
doogee