Using the Internal HD

[malkie0831]

So I have installed a 500Gbyte HD in my T8-S and successfully formatted it in OpenElec and can see that drive as sd1 in ESBrowser under Android. I had upgraded the box to the latest OTA Update and all Google Play updates have been done.

I can create a folder at the highest level, so I now have Videos, Music etc.

If I create a sub folder within, say Videos, ESBrowser says the folder has been created, but the folder is not visible.

I can copy files across the Network to the root level, and then move them into a folder, but again, ESBrowser fails to display any content in the folder.

A quick update on the above, if I boot the T8-S into OpenElec, open the Network share from my Windows box I can see all the files and sub folders. I can then copy files onto the HD from my PC. A bit faster transfer rate than using ESBrowser as well. In Kodi the files option can open them! Making progress at last.

 

[shah nissar]

Hi, Go into your Es File Explorer and then from the left side menu Click on Tools and then click on "Show Hidden Files" ...
Turn the Show Hidden Files on and then again go back to the HDD and see if you can see the files now.

 

[malkie0831]

No, 'show hidden files' makes no difference.

Before I updated the T8-S to the most recent firmware, when I tried to open a sub-folder on the hard drive with ES Browser, I saw an error message that the system could not access (possibly SD Card, cannot remember) unless it was rooted. I do not see that message now it has been updated.

I see there is a super user app under android, but it doesn't list any apps.

Does the Android User have root permissions? I suspect that may be something to do with the problem.

 

[denchmanz]

I have put a 1tb hard drive in mine but dont have a clue what its for or how to use it lol !!!! is it for downloading to or sending files to whatis the benefits of having a 2.5 hd in there anyway lol im tempted to take mine out and just putitin a caddy if no real benefit to it.

 

[malkie0831]

Well I think I have resolved this problem.

By logging into the T8-S using Putty, I found that the folders created by ES Browser were owned by root and the other users did not have read or write permissions. To do this the box has to be running OpenELEC, and you log in using SSH (port 22) as user root, password is openelec.

The local hard drive is /dev/sda1 and is mounted under /var/media/HDD.

I changed the permissions on the top level folders and the sub folders I have created using 'chmod 777 <folder name>' and now ES Browser and Kodi (under Android) can see the sub folders and files I have copied to them. This is a bit of a sledge hammer approach, but it does mean I can now use the HDD as intended, either under Android or under OpenELEC.

I have also found that it is possible to connect using an ftp client (e.g. Filezilla, again using port 22, under the sftp protocol. Transfer speeds are similar to those I get when copy and pasting under windows, but it is another option.

 

[malkie0831]

I have put a 1tb hard drive in mine but dont have a clue what its for or how to use it lol !!!! is it for downloading to or sending files to whatis the benefits of having a 2.5 hd in there anyway lol im tempted to take mine out and just putitin a caddy if no real benefit to it.

For me the benefit is to have the drive internal in the box, then you don't have to have more cables trailing around the box. I can't see how you can download files to it under the Android system, as the implementation does not allow Android to write to the drive except at the 'root' level.

But I can copy files I have downloaded elsewhere on to the disc over the network and that means if you are using wireless you should not get any stutter or streaming issues. The drive of course is much bigger than an SD card, which is the other place you can store media.

 

[denchmanz]

You Sir are a genius ill have a tinker and report back here. Thanks for the response

 

[Johnavfc]

Is it possible to take out the hard drive of a Virgin tivo box and put it in to this box ?

 

[robit]

First you would need to check if the HDD is Sata drive and if it's a 2.5", laptop size. If so, I cant't see why not. Make sure you format it in OpenElec.

Regards,

 

[Road2Ruin]

Apologies for resurrecting an older thread however this is very similar to an issue I am having so thought I'd ask here before creating my own!

I have just installed a 1TB HD in my TS-8, have successfully formatted it using OpenElec and the drive appears in the ESBrowser. I did a test download from Genesis just to check that all was fine, it completed okay and within 'My Genesis' the file is there so I can view it later. However, when I go to the ESBrowser on the Android side and try and copy the file to another USB I cannot see the folder that it should be in.

It may be that my answer lies above however I'm not sure I understand all of that!!

 

[8bitDev]

Apologies for resurrecting an older thread however this is very similar to an issue I am having so thought I'd ask here before creating my own!

I have just installed a 1TB HD in my TS-8, have successfully formatted it using OpenElec and the drive appears in the ESBrowser. I did a test download from Genesis just to check that all was fine, it completed okay and within 'My Genesis' the file is there so I can view it later. However, when I go to the ESBrowser on the Android side and try and copy the file to another USB I cannot see the folder that it should be in.

It may be that my answer lies above however I'm not sure I understand all of that!!

Hi

Please make sure that download path is set to HDD,otherwise file ended up on internal box memory.

Also make sure that download didnt fail,in that case file may not be on the box at all!

Regards

 

[Tahir]

The answer is in the above posts by malkie, it is all to do with folder permissions and I'm not sure why 8bitDev didn't mention it. It can be a little daunting for someone who is not used to using Putty but with a little bit of reading it really is quite simple.

 

[morgiee]

Well I think I have resolved this problem.

By logging into the T8-S using Putty, I found that the folders created by ES Browser were owned by root and the other users did not have read or write permissions. To do this the box has to be running OpenELEC, and you log in using SSH (port 22) as user root, password is openelec.

The local hard drive is /dev/sda1 and is mounted under /var/media/HDD.

I changed the permissions on the top level folders and the sub folders I have created using 'chmod 777 <folder name>' and now ES Browser and Kodi (under Android) can see the sub folders and files I have copied to them. This is a bit of a sledge hammer approach, but it does mean I can now use the HDD as intended, either under Android or under OpenELEC.

I have also found that it is possible to connect using an ftp client (e.g. Filezilla, again using port 22, under the sftp protocol. Transfer speeds are similar to those I get when copy and pasting under windows, but it is another option.

I can confirm that logging into openelec is bet done via malkie0831 instructions but using filezilla. to log in make sure your droidbox is in openelec mode, then on filezilla enter the following:

Host: your droidbox ip address

user: root

password: openelec

port: 22

then press the quick connect. it will bring up a verification to say something is trying to connect, accept it and you can now gain access to the internal folders and file structures


the only bit i cant follow is how to do the following in filezilla:

"I changed the permissions on the top level folders and the sub folders I have created using 'chmod 777 <folder name>'"

could you explain more on how this is done?

Thanks

 

[malkie0831]

I don't think you can change file permissions in FileZilla, you have to be logged in via a SSH tool like Putty.

If you need more instructions, let me know.

 

[Tahir]

Not used filezilla for a while but surely you just right click on the directories and change file attributes? If you want a recursive change then you can also do chmod -R 777 your_directory_name in putty rather than doing chmod777 and then having to go back and doing it again every time you add more files or sub-directories.

 

[morgiee]

Yeah that's the issue you can change the folder or file permission to 777 full read write and execute but I did the folders believed to be my hdd but it isn't. The internal hdd shows up in openelec but not in android pre or post permission change. I want to be able to use the internal hdd to download files to using various apps. And be able to have the choice under android to store to internal hdd or flash memory. At the moment android only sees what the box came with. But the installed hdd is spinning up. How can i overcome this issue. And yeah if using putty does it please pm how to as would give it a try. See attatchment haunts to see how my Box sees both storage devices yet when you ftp to the relevant folder it's different.

 

[morgiee]

http://i585.photobucket.com/albums/ss293/morgiee_2009/Mobile Uploads/20160211_005346_zpsrmolmddh.jpg

http://i585.photobucket.com/albums/ss293/morgiee_2009/Mobile Uploads/20160211_005313_zpsi5qtngjo.jpg

 

[Tahir]

That second image of openelec confirms that your hard drive is NOT mounted. You need to unplug it and then plug it in again. It will show up as a HDD.

 

[Tahir]

Also, as far as I am aware, it is not possible to use the hdd to install apps on and this is something droidbox are working on for the lollipop update.

 

[Tahir]

Don't forget to format the hdd in openelec too first before you do anything else. The option is within the openelec settings.