USB Hard Drive Problems

[ChopstickSamurai]

I finally got around to picking up an external USB drive for my Mister but I'm having a hard time getting it to work. I created the directory games/MegaCD on the root of the hard drive, and deleted the games/MegaCD folder off my SD card. But when I try to launch Sega CD games from the core I get a directory not found error.

I tried this with my hard drive formatted to NTFS and exfat but no luck. The hard drive lights up when plugged into the USB hub on my Mister. Is there something I'm missing? Or perhaps I need a bigger poet supply?

Thanks in advance!

[kubbie]

On the MiSTer main menu do you see a switch USB option? is this a portable USB drive that is portable and does not need external power?

[bazza_12]

I had the same problem and got around it by not having a games directory on the root of the hard drive.. but having each games directory (i.e. MegaCD) on the root directly. also i noticed that the directory names are case sensitive. hope this helps

[Sorgelig]

also i noticed that the directory names are case sensitive.

It fully depends on file system. For exFAT it's case insensitive.

[ChopstickSamurai]

On the MiSTer main menu do you see a switch USB option? is this a portable USB drive that is portable and does not need external power?

The switch USB option is greyed out and can't be selected. This is a portable USB drive that isn't externally powered. It's a WD easystore. I'm starting to think maybe I need a 5 amp power supply? I haven't been able to find much information about this except for a couple reddit posts that suggest getting a bigger PSU.

I had the same problem and got around it by not having a games directory on the root of the hard drive.. but having each games directory (i.e. MegaCD) on the root directly. also i noticed that the directory names are case sensitive. hope this helps

I tried putting MegaCD on the root and it still says that the directory is missing. I also have the folder named correctly. I'm wondering if my Mister is seeing the hard drive at all?

Thanks for the suggestions, hopefully I can get this working.

[bazza_12]

hope you get it working, I've tried my MISTer using two different Seagate USB3, 2.5inch drives (not externally powered) and both worked. It was a pain setting it up - i did trial and error really, moving directories around until it worked.

[ChopstickSamurai]

hope you get it working, I've tried my MISTer using two different Seagate USB3, 2.5inch drives (not externally powered) and both worked. It was a pain setting it up - i did trial and error really, moving directories around until it worked.

What directory structure ended up working for you? I'm still at a loss of how to get my Mister to see the hard drive.

[bazza_12]

Maybe, if you can, try a different hard drive to see if that's the issue.
I moved everything from inside the games directory of the SDcard to the root of the hard drive. I also have the rom-bios files on both the root of the sdcard and hard drive.

[ChopstickSamurai]

Maybe, if you can, try a different hard drive to see if that's the issue.

I dug out an old externally powered Seagate hard drive, and surprisingly enough it worked like a charm. I was hoping to use the smaller portable one to save space and only have one plug to power everything. Do you think a larger power supply would do the trick? Thanks for all the help!

[bazza_12]

I got this power supply

NorthPada Raspberry Pi 3 Model B B+ A+ / ASUS Tinker Board S Power Supply 5V 3A Micro USB 5 Feet with Power On/Off Switch LED Light
and paired it with a JENOR DC 5.5x2.1mm Male Plug to Micro USB Female Connector Adapter Charge Converter

i'm not sure if it's a good one. but it works with my hard drive, dell wired keyboard/mouse and cheapo geeekpi SNES controller.

[ChopstickSamurai]

I got myself a new power supply, a Mean Well GST60A05-P1J that was suggested in another thread and the WD portable HDD still would not work with my Mister. So I'm pretty sure this hard drive is just not compatible. The old externally powered Seagate I have works flawlessly though so I'll just stick to that. I do notice that my Mister now connects to my WiFi much quicker with the new PSU, so that's a plus.

Thanks for everyone who offered help!

[Threepwood]

Hm, what does your MiSTer setup look like? I am using a MiSTer in an official MiSTer case with USB hub board 2.1 by ultimatemister.com that syphons power off the DC-In via a tiny fork. I can only use my 2.5 inch mechanical WD Portable with one port on the hub. All others ports just flicker and the HDD is not recognized. It is on, but gets no access.

I use the same PSU as you and the hub board's red power LED at the back (between the two power only ports) is on. With this 6A PSU it is getting more than enough power. The standard externaly powered hub that I use with my secondary MiSTer gives me no such issues with the drive, thus I would assume a deficiency in the USB hub board's power distribution (with other, less power intense peripherals there is no issue at all).

Assuming the front of the MiSTer is the side with the LAN port, then the only port that works for me in powering the HDD properly is the right side foremost port:

MiSTer_Port_PowerIssue.jpg (25.59 KiB) Viewed 13619 times

[lomdar67]

I got myself a new power supply, a Mean Well GST60A05-P1J that was suggested in another thread and the WD portable HDD still would not work with my Mister. So I'm pretty sure this hard drive is just not compatible. The old externally powered Seagate I have works flawlessly though so I'll just stick to that. I do notice that my Mister now connects to my WiFi much quicker with the new PSU, so that's a plus.

Thanks for everyone who offered help!

Have you ever checked the specs of your HDD? How much power does the drive need? Have you tried one of those "double" USB adapters where you have one end for the drive and two ends on the other side?

[painroolez]

After some trial and error, I've found that, with an NTFS formatted disk, the /games directory doesn't work. I've put everything on the root of the hard disk and this setup works fine. The directories names must match the same cases of the same directories on the sd and finally, I've found that the same hard disk (an ssd inside a common 2.5", unpowered, disk enclosure) doesn't work with a USB fast charge power supply (3 A max), with an adapter, while it works fine, with a Dlink (2.5 A max) power supply taken from an old router.

[MrX_Cuci]

I use the same PSU as you and the hub board's red power LED at the back (between the two power only ports) is on. With this 6A PSU it is getting more than enough power. The standard externaly powered hub that I use with my secondary MiSTer gives me no such issues with the drive, thus I would assume a deficiency in the USB hub board's power distribution (with other, less power intense peripherals there is no issue at all).

Assuming the front of the MiSTer is the side with the LAN port, then the only port that works for me in powering the HDD properly is the right side foremost port:
MiSTer_Port_PowerIssue.jpg

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I have the same problem. External enclosure is a Sabrent 2.5inch https://www.amazon.nl/-/en/dp/B00OJ3UJ2S/ I use 5400RPM SATA drive by Hitachi HTB-TT5SAE500 Power supply is a Meanwell 5v 5A GST40A05-P1J I will see if I can try another barnd of HDD. Exact same type gives me the same problems.

[Threepwood]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I have the same problem. External enclosure is a Sabrent 2.5inch https://www.amazon.nl/-/en/dp/B00OJ3UJ2S/ I use 5400RPM SATA drive by Hitachi HTB-TT5SAE500 Power supply is a Meanwell 5v 5A GST40A05-P1J I will see if I can try another barnd of HDD. Exact same type gives me the same problems.

I would advise against buying another HDD, because the MiSTer USB-Hub is simply not well designed. See the following quote I took from viewtopic.php?f=8&t=2116&p=19149 it matches my own observations:

Update: Someone on the MiSTer FPGA Computer Facebook group said this,

The MiSTer USB HUB v2.1 is known for having a 2-layer layout, without a reference ground plane under the upstream USB port which concentrates all the traffic with the DE10-Nano. Wrong return path in GND and wrong 90-differential impedance transmission lines without the reference ground plane on that upstream port... and other “features” implemented for DIY “AS IS”...
That board works well for low-speed connections and few USB endpoints.
If you are intended to mix full-speed and several high-speed peripherals you better use an external USB HUB, professionally implemented by any hardware manufacturer.
Hope this comment helps understand your MiSTer related issue.

[Mellified]

I had no issues with a 2.5" external hard drive on my MiSTer with the BlissTer board rather than the USB. I'm running off the network now though.

[MrX_Cuci]

I have a few spares laying around. My WD Blue 2.5 drive (WD5000LPVX) seems to work much better. It does not make any noise. I can even format an Amiga partition with it which was impossible using the Hitachi drive. It does seem to make a difference.

[Milspex]

Had a Western Digital 1tb that constantly switched between being usb0 and usb1 rendering all hard entered paths useless.

Got a 4tb replacement and it worked straight out of the box and sticks to usb0. I think the old one had some partition problems or something.