Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2022 3:07 Post subject: Archer C7 v2 - Cannot Get Samba working
I have an external HD connected to my router via USB and I'd like to setup Samba to share the drive across my network. FTP works across all devices no problem, but Samba does not work anywhere. I can see the DD-WRT server on my Win10 laptop in Network section, but I get an error when clicking into it and never see any shares. Other devices can't connect to or see the shares at all. The dd-wrt router is only being used as the samba share so all WAN/DHCP functions have been disabled and I assigned it a static IP from the main internet router. I've attached some screenshots.
Which means it is not using ksmbd and also (probably) means you will have to use //router.ip.address.here/folder if Samba 3.x will work across your client devices and hopefully -not- have to enable SMB1.
FYI: You will probably be told to upgrade to the current release at some point in this thread.
Which means it is not using ksmbd and also (probably) means you will have to use //router.ip.address.here/folder if Samba 3.x will work across your client devices and hopefully -not- have to enable SMB1.
FYI: You will probably be told to upgrade to the current release at some point in this thread.
I'm not sure what most of that means, but I can upgrade. I currently live in Japan but the router was purchased in the US. Does it matter which BIN I flash? I'm not using wifi on the router so I don't need the different channels that may be country specific if that's the only change. Also just upgrade via the web-gui? Thanks.
What it means is, your router is using the older version of standalone samba which may have some compatibility issues with clients. You should be safe to flash the tplink_archer-c7-v2-US.bin via webUI to upgrade and it may be possible that your issues may not be issues after upgrading. Only one way to know for sure. Plus, there are many packages that have been upgraded, closing possible security holes and vulnerabilities. If after upgrading you continue to have issues, please report back. You may be told to do a reset and reconfigure from scratch to rule out any possible nvram corruption or conflicts. _________________ "The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
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Joined: 18 Mar 2014 Posts: 12917 Location: Netherlands
Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2022 12:35 Post subject:
I second the upgrading (I think the build already was using ksmbd but that was problematic, the last Samba3 build was the last one of 2020, but I could be mistaken)
Furthermore you have different names for the same mount point that could be problematic.
Upgraded to the latest release and now I can browse the Samba share folders from my Windows PC, but I can't read or write files to the NTFS external hard drive. When I try to open a file, copy a file, or write a file the router crashes and restarts. Can't see anything in the log before it crashes, as it's purged at restart it seems. I did set only 1 share and public read/write access. I did try a small 4gb USB drive formatted to ext4 and I could read from and write to that, though very slowly at under 9MB/s.
ETA: Just tried the original FAT32 1TB drive and it doesn't seem to fully mount. I'm getting the exact same error I got before upgrading and cannot browse the share folder.
ETA2: Enabled FTP and the FAT32 drive I can read/write no problem.
ETA3: Swapped the FAT32 for the NTFS drive and that also works no problem over FTP, and even faster reads of ~15MB/s. I just want Samba working.
Joined: 18 Mar 2014 Posts: 12917 Location: Netherlands
Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2022 6:35 Post subject:
Have you removed the different names for the same mount point as shown in your picture?
For testing remove the usernames/passwords and use only public read/write
I have several routers (but not yours) with USB sticks most only using ext 2/4 but also a router with an NTFS formatted SSD all working with Samba.
NTFS can be problematic if the volume is not properly unmounted (e.g. with a power loss) so is not the best choice
Some hard drives with external enclosures are not working properly with the USB ports on routers, so start with a known good USB stick
Well I had a huge post and this stupid forum had some error upon posting and it was lost, so I'm not wasting another 40mins writing it all out and testing everything again.
Thanks for the notes. When I upgraded I factory reset and did public and shares as you mentioned.
I formatted a USBdrive with 4 partitions: exFAT, ext2, ext3, and NTFS. I could browse folders for all over SMB, but I couldn't write anything to NTFS. I could write a small image, 6mb, 25mb, and 24mb file no problem to the first 3 partitions. Things got really flaky when trying a 100mb file. Hangs at start, non-completes, and hangs throughout with completion. It's just so flaky and unreliable that it's not worth using like this. All the files I'd move here are videos over 500mb and streaming will be a disaster.
Any more ideas or should I just give up? I just wanted to access files >4gb from my Kodi stick on my TV that won't read NTFS at all. I've wasted so much time on this and it's so frustrating. I'm in Japan and finding a cheap/used PC to share a hard drive is next to impossible here so this router was my last ditch effort to get it working. Thanks for your help.
Please first check your power supply amperage, which may be too low.
Besides, I think you could also give a try to r48540, which uses a previous samba server version.
Please first check your power supply amperage, which may be too low.
Besides, I think you could also give a try to r48540, which uses a previous samba server version.
Too low for a USB thumb drive? I can't imagine that that's drawing too much power. I'm using the factory brick that came with the router and wifi radios are both disabled. 12v@2.5a the same as the router has printed on the bottom. I'll try r48540. Thanks.
ETA: Downgraded to r48540 and same problem using a USB drive and a hard drive. I can copy data but it hangs repeatedly or fails. Also getting router crashes/reboots now.
Please first check your power supply amperage, which may be too low.
Besides, I think you could also give a try to r48540, which uses a previous samba server version.
Too low for a USB thumb drive? I can't imagine that that's drawing too much power. I'm using the factory brick that came with the router and wifi radios are both disabled. 12v@2.5a the same as the router has printed on the bottom. I'll try r48540. Thanks.
ETA: Downgraded to r48540 and same problem using a USB drive and a hard drive. I can copy data but it hangs repeatedly or fails. Also getting router crashes/reboots now.
Haven't got the same router as yours, mine is loaded with dd-wrt r48540. Shared volume is a large NTFS formatted USB stick. Just tried to copy a 2GB file, no speed comparison with a good dedicated NAS, but no problem.
What is strange is crash and reboot, that makes me think of hardware failure ; power supplies and routers also die. Would you have another power supply to check ?
Haven't got the same router as yours, mine is loaded with dd-wrt r48540. Shared volume is a large NTFS formatted USB stick. Just tried to copy a 2GB file, no speed comparison with a good dedicated NAS, but no problem.
What is strange is crash and reboot, that makes me think of hardware failure ; power supplies and routers also die. Would you have another power supply to check ?
It only crashes and reboots for NTFS partitions while trying to read or write. The 3 other partitions on the same USBstick never crash and restart, just fail or hang. I don't think it's a power issue, as USBsticks draw very little power.
Does the stock router ROM have samba built in? That's one way to test. IF so, what's the process from dd-wrt->stock?
Haven't got the same router as yours, mine is loaded with dd-wrt r48540. Shared volume is a large NTFS formatted USB stick. Just tried to copy a 2GB file, no speed comparison with a good dedicated NAS, but no problem.
What is strange is crash and reboot, that makes me think of hardware failure ; power supplies and routers also die. Would you have another power supply to check ?
It only crashes and reboots for NTFS partitions while trying to read or write. The 3 other partitions on the same USBstick never crash and restart, just fail or hang. I don't think it's a power issue, as USBsticks draw very little power.
Does the stock router ROM have samba built in? That's one way to test. IF so, what's the process from dd-wrt->stock?
Not clear from user guide, but I think stock ROM has got an embedded samba server. There is a way to go back to stock for Archer C7 V2, but I don't know the procedure.
Not clear from user guide, but I think stock ROM has got an embedded samba server. There is a way to go back to stock for Archer C7 V2, but I don't know the procedure.
Joined: 31 Jul 2021 Posts: 2146 Location: All over YOUR webs
Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2022 12:14 Post subject:
What version DD-WRT are you using? It should be the latest version and reset to factory default and reconfigure from scratch and also clear browser cache with CTRL+F5
Latest DD-WRT samba works fine, it has a known issue but doesn't affect functionality.