External USB HD and Samba kills my home internet...

[stjohnbee]

Hi all,

I have been using Raspbmc on my Raspberry Pi without a problem for a few weeks. Now I have attached a USB HD to it and installed Samba with the hope of also using it as a NAS. However, every time I turn on the HD my internet connection to the house drops and I have to restart my router. I thought it was a fluke, but I have recreated this three times now...

Any thoughts as to why this might happen?


Thanks,
Ade

[jdb]

Does the external HDD come with a power brick?

[stjohnbee]

Hi Jdb,

Yes, it does.

[jdb]

Does it wallop your house internet if you switch the HDD on without the USB cable plugged in?

[stjohnbee]

It doesn't seem to no.

I have previously plugged into into my iMac and Windows laptop without it causing this issue.


Thanks,
Ade

[jdb]

Odd.

If your home internet drops when you switch on a device connected to an external power brick, it's usually a sign that sufficient interference is being generated from the brick to swamp the signal on the phone line. There are multiple factors that may alleviate or worsen this problem.

Does the internet drop if you switch on the HDD with the USB connected to the Pi, but the Ethernet cable disconnected from the Pi?

[stjohnbee]

Connecting the HDD to the Pi without the Ethernet cable in still makes the internet drop, so I guess it must be a power thing...

I have a slightly odd set up in some sense. The Pi sits behind the TV. Its Ethernet comes from a plug which runs the network around the electricity cables of the house as part of my BT Internet/TV package.

I guess the HDD's power pack is somehow interfering with that.

I don't get why connecting it to the Pi when it's not on the network would make a difference..?

[Paul Webster]

Ah - so you are uising Homeplug (or similar).
Try physically separating things and getting the disk power brick well away from the Homeplug device.
You could temporarily run a long lead from a different power outlet and plug the disk in there.

[stjohnbee]

Yes, I am using that type of system (BT Arcnet powerline adapters).

I have moved the HDD as far as it physically will go, but it is still causing an issue. I find it very strange that connecting it to the Raspberry Pi makes a difference.

I guess this is kind of off topic, but any advice would be greatly appreciated.


Thanks,
Adrian