CompUSA 4 Port USB 2.0 Storage & Print Server $8 + sh

[Cogtx]

CompUSA 4 Port USB 2.0 Storage & Print Server for around $8 plus shipping and tax...ordered for around $15...looks like a good way to hook up various USB devices and share. Anyone have experience with this product?

Sorry about the lack of link...linkhere ya go..

Network Up To Four USB Storage Devices and Printers with this 4 Port USB 2.0 Storage & Print Server.

Helps Eliminate the Need for High Cost Servers
Supports FTP and SMB Protocols
Connect and Share USB External Hard Drives, Printers, MP3 Players, and Flash Drives with Everyone in the Office or at Home
Plug & Play
Specifications
4 USB ports for USB Storage Devices or Printers
Supports FTP and SMB protocols
Supports User and Password Protection for each port
Multiple User Configuration
USB 2.0 Compatible (backward compatible with USB 1.1)
Supports 10BaseT or 100BaseTX Network

 

[SRGilbert]

Looks like there are a few (mixed) reviews on the site

http://www.compusa.com/products/product...33060&pfp=external&tabtype=rv#moreinfo

 

[Witling]

What product? You haven't given much detail here.

 

[Athena]

So this is basically a USB hub with an Ethernet uplink port. Think about it; the cheap USB printer servers are going for about $40 these days and they have no printer management. This thing is $10 AR -- I doubt that it's even worth the time to test.

 

[Slick5150]

Originally posted by: Athena
So this is basically a USB hub with an Ethernet uplink port. Think about it; the cheap USB printer servers are going for about $40 these days and they have no printer management. This thing is $10 AR -- I doubt that it's even worth the time to test.

1) There is no rebate

2) It is far more than a "USB hub with an ethernet uplink port". It functions as both a print server, as well as a SAMBA file server. Devices like this generally cost more in the $75 range.

3) The "mixed" reviews on the site look like they are mostly from people who just don't understand how it works. Such as the "many of the functions of my all-in-one printer wouldn't work". Well that's true of ANY print server. Only the PRINT function is going to work properly.

 

[uhohs]

from the fatwallet thread, it seems that ntfs support is read only. fat32 read and write, but 32gb drive limitation and 2gb file size limitation. people are assuming that the 32gb limitation can be worked around using a 3rd party partitioning program.

i ordered 2 for use as print servers, good NAS ability would be a bonus. hopefully these get hacked eventually.

 

[LightningStrikes]

Originally posted by: uhohs
from the fatwallet thread, it seems that ntfs support is read only. fat32 read and write, but 32gb drive limitation and 2gb file size limitation. people are assuming that the 32gb limitation can be worked around using a 3rd party partitioning program.

i ordered 2 for use as print servers, good NAS ability would be a bonus. hopefully these get hacked eventually.

The 32GB is a Windows XP FAT32 formatting utility limitation....

Might want to revisit the CompUSA 4 Port USB 2.0 Storage & Print Server $8 and shipping thread.

-LS

 

[LilKevin715]

I finally got to play around with mine and I have some good/bad news to report on it.

The Good:
Print server works fine
NAS works (e.g. USB thumb drive, etc.)
Semi-easy instructions included for newbies
Small size, metal enclosure for durability

The Bad:
FAT32 limitation
SLOW thoroughput of around ~0.5MB/s
Can't do admin login via Firefox, only through IE (but can browse through Firefox)

I guess you get what you pay for. For a print server its fine and is worth the $8 + tax/shipping, but don't really count on it for a decent NAS because of the slow thoroughput. Despite the item description stating that it is USB 2.0 (480mb/s or ~60MB/s) compatible the actual USB controller hub chip only runs at USB 1.1 (12mb/s or ~1.5MB/s) speeds.

 

[imported_nunya]

SLOW thoroughput of around ~0.5MB/s

Damn, that's horrible I didn't see this before but would definitely pick one up, even if I couldn't get such a sweet deal, if it wasn't for that.

 

[HexiumVII]

ouch .5MB/s? Does that mean i can't share an external DVD Writer between computers?

 

[LilKevin715]

First off I don't even know if you can write to a DVD burner via FTP. Even if you could the slowest DVD burning speed is 1X (~1.32MB/s) which is still too much for the slow thoroughput of the Compusa USB server.

Again its good for a USB print server but not much else. I'll probably get a cheap 512MB or 1GB USB thumbdrive for a semi decent NAS but thats about it. If someone else could verify the transfer thoroughput that would be great. I transfered a 90MB file in about 2 min 50 sec (170 seconds)...... so 90MB/170sec = ~.53MB/sec.

 

[mikeford]

This looks tempting just to play with, if I am understanding it right, its a 4 port USB hub that lives on your 10/100 network instead of plugging into just one PC.

I have several portable devices, camera, phone, PDA that I have charge/sync USB cables for, if this box would work with them that would be HOT. I would put the related applications on a server that isn't too handy, and put the box someplace that is handy.

 

[mikeford]

Meh, OOS until the returns start coming in.

 

[Basilisk]

'Attached an HP-970 printer: while it completed printing it was -very- slow, with 30 second pauses every coupla inches down the page. This was under XP and using the shipped firmware [f/w], v1.0.

There are warnings that f/w v1.12 may make disks unworkable under SMB transfers, but FTP transfers continue to work. I haven't found any other f/w versions. On the good side, 1.12 was alledged to cure slow printing: I can affirm this. While I'm unsure printing is up to direct-connect speed, it was fine. (I'm also 50' and 1.5 floors from the wireless router attached to the printer.)

For those of us mostly interested in printing and willing to settle for FTP, v1.12 is fine.

To access v1.12 f/w follow LS's link above (and quoted below). There are rumors of a pending f/w update to fix 1.12's SMB problems.

I'll complement the box's LAN administrative interface: I found it intuitive and clear.



Refer to the second post for v1.12 download:

Originally posted by: LightningStrikes...Might want to revisit the CompUSA 4 Port USB 2.0 Storage & Print Server $8 and shipping thread.-LS

EDIT: 10/4 9am
V1.15 f/w is available and fixes the SMB problems for WinXP, but may introduce more NTFS issues. I suggest you read the FW forum [linked just above] beginning around "Oct/03/2006 9:41 PM", ~pg 18, to get the latest on this [or even newer!] f/w and to find the download links. I'm not home to load & test it. No point in my providing download links as they they are to private sites, not corporate ones, and could change/become-obsolete w/o my knowledge.