I'm having trouble connecting my Belkin wireless N+ router to a Western Digital Passport 500gb external hard drive. I have the dual USB input power cable from Western Digital (My Powerbook G4's USB port didn't supply enough power through a single port--the power cable uses both USB ports on my laptop which combine to a single Mini-USB output for the external HD).
When I plugged the supplied USB to Mini-USB cable into both the router and the HD, it wasn't recognized (blue light remained off). I tried using the Dual USB power cable (one USB connected to the router, the other connected to an external/powered USB hub). The 4 port hub, which is roughly 8 years old, recognized the connection to the external HD (port 1 lit up), but the router didn't recognize anything plugged up via USB.
So, my questions are as follows:
Is this a power issue? Can I buy a newer, powered USB hub to resolve the issue? Would an ethernet hub be a better idea? I'd rather not shell out the $60 for the Belkin Network Hub if a simpler hub would suffice or if I already have enough equipment/cables to make it a functional connection.
Is this a file format issue? I specifically bought the HD in the Mac format. Is that interfering with the router's ability to recognize the HD? I don't carry this external HD with me very often, instead, I prefer to use it as network storage. Thus, formatting this so that it is optimized with my network is more important than functionality as a portable HD.
Any help/guidance you could provide would be greatly appreciated.
