Windows 10: Connecting an external hard drive to a modem-router

I have a Western Digital My Book Essential external hard drive connected to my desktop computer by USB. I wanted to connect it instead to my Sky modem-router. Because the router does not have a USB port, I purchased a USB-to-RJ45 adapter and used this to make the connection. Unfortunately, the external drive no longer appears in File Explorer and the small light on the front of the drive is no longer illuminated. Is there something I can do to rectify this or is what I'm trying to do just not possible? Grateful for any advice..

Curt
Windows 10 Home
Version 1909

:)

 

HP Pavilion Laptop not seeing External Hard Drives connected to Modem on Network

Hi Andy,

Thank you for posting in Microsoft Community.

As you are unable to access external hard drives connected to the modem on Network, this might be an issue with settings for device to discover.

I suggest you to try the below and check if it helps.

Step 1: Turn on network discovery.

• Press Windows key, type sharing and click on Manage advanced sharing settings.
• Under Private, Network discovery, check mark the option
  Turn on network discovery.

Step 2: If the issue still persists, run HomeGroup troubleshooter
and check.

HomeGroup troubleshooter finds and fix problems with viewing computers or shared folders in a HomeGroup.

• Press Windows key, type troubleshooting and select it.
• Click on View all in the left pane and click on HomeGroup.
• Follow the on-screen instructions.

Hope it helps. Reply to the post with an updated status of the issue to assist you further.

 

HP Pavilion Laptop not seeing External Hard Drives connected to Modem on Network

Hi Deepika,

Thanks for your reply.

Unfortunately, this has not fixed it. The settings were correct in the first part, and the Homegroup does not find any errors.

I hope you have more suggestions for me

Regards,

Andy

 

External Hard Drive

Hi John,

We suggest that you try the troubleshooting steps below:

• Open your External Hard Drive file in File Explorer.
• Type the name of the file you want to search on the search box and click Enter.

The file will show up in Search Results and you will be able to move it to the correct folder.

Let us know if you need further help.