This tutorial will show you how to setup and get started using your Seagate Central device on a computer running the IOS Operating System.
In the event that you are trying to set up the Seagate Central and are unable to find it on the network, Seagate recommends that you take a look at these troubleshooting steps. Step 1: LED status The Seagate Central takes about 3-4 minutes to fully boot. During the boot sequence, the LED on top of the drive will blink a few different colors and patterns, including amber and red. After 3-4 minutes, the light should settle down to a solid green. Seagate recommends waiting a good 7-10 minutes just in case. In the event that you get:. No lights at all: Make sure everything is plugged in properly. The Ethernet cable should be connected between the Seagate Central and your router. The power supply should be connected between the Seagate Central and a power outlet. If you still have no lights, try connecting the power supply in a different outlet. You can also try another power supply, as long as you have one with the same specifications. The power supply that comes with the Seagate Central has an output of 12V 2A. If you are still not getting any lights, move on to step 4.
No lights on the Central's NIC: Make sure the Ethernet cable is plugged all the way through at both ends. Make sure you are connected into a LAN port on your router. If the NIC lights still don't illuminate, try powering down the Central by unplugging the power supply, then connect the drive into a different Ethernet port on your computer and power the Central back up. If you still don't get any lights on the NIC, try using a different Ethernet cable. If the NIC's lights still are not lit, move on to step 4. These are some troubleshooting steps you can follow in the event your computer gives you a Network Path not Found error when trying to connect to the Seagate Central. Note: This error is Windows specific. An attempt to map a share from the Seagate Central to a Windows computer may result in a ' Network Path not Found' error.
This is a very general error message returned by Windows when a networking component is malfunctioning. Here are some troubleshooting steps in Windows Vista/7/8+. Please try these steps one by one and retry the mapping action after each step taken:. Make sure you are attempting to map a few different ways to see if you can reproduce the error. Try mapping using the Discovery software. If that reports the error, try mapping manually. To do so, open a Run command from the Start menu. On Windows 8, go to your Tiles menu and start typing instead. Type host name of the Seagate Central. The host name may be a custom name you chose during setup. If you kept the default name, it will be seagate-. (replace the.
with the last 6 digits of the MAC, which you can find on the label under the drive). Power cycle your network components. Power down your router, modem, computer and unplug the Seagate Central device. Wait about one minute. Power up, in order, your modem, your router, the Seagate Central device and finally the computer. Do not attempt to access mapped shares too quickly after the computer is booted. Wait until the computer is fully booted and the operating system and network components are fully launched. Check cabling and power.
Confirm that the power cable is firmly inserted into a live AC outlet. Confirm that you are using the power supply included with the product. The output of that power supply is 12V 2A. Confirm that you are getting lights on the drive. There should be a light on top of the drive, as well as two lights on the back where the Ethernet cable comes in. Confirm that your computer and router are both properly powered on. Uninstall all anti-virus software and disable all firewalls. If it is not possible to uninstall the anti-virus, disable it for now.
If this resolves the issue, try enabling the anti-virus again. If the drive becomes inaccessible again, you may need to add exceptions to your anti-virus program for the Seagate Central. For information on how to add exceptions, please consult your anti-virus' documentation. Check the Workstation Service. In Windows 7/ Vista/ XP: Right-click on (My) Computer. In Windows 8+, hold down the Windows key and press X.
Select Manage. Select Services and Applications. Select Services. Double-click on Workstation. Confirm that Service Status is Started and that Startup Type is Automatic. If these settings are incorrect, Start the service and change the Startup Type to Automatic. Apply and Save your changes. Click OK to exit the window.
Check the components on your network's connection. Go to your computer's Control Panel. In Windows XP, double-click on Network Connections. In Windows 7/ Vista/ 8+, click on Network and Sharing Center. In Windows XP, right-click on the current connection on your computer. Example: Local Area Connection. In Windows 7/ Vista/ 8+, under View your active networks, on the right-hand side, click once on the current connection on your computer. Select Properties. Under This Connection Uses the Following Items, make sure the Client for Microsoft Networks item is present with a check-mark next to it.
If it's missing, click on Install and select the Client item. Then, Install the Client for Microsoft Networks component. Click on OK to save your changes and reboot your computer. Once the computer is back up, check to see if you get the error again. Slow Performance: In some cases, you may experience performance issues with your Seagate Central. These issues can come in the form of choppiness in video, slower than usual transfer speeds, or drop-offs from the network. Here are a few things to check when the Seagate Central exhibits some of those symptoms: Choppiness during video streaming:. Make sure the issue is not with the file itself: The best way to test this is to either attempt to stream the file from a different DLNA supported device, or to download the file directly to your computer and attempt to play it from there.
Make sure your network components are up to date: Your network will be limited to the speed of the slowest component in the system. Make sure you are using a gigabit router/switch. Make sure the firmware is up to date on your router. Ethernet cables should be at least cat5e or cat6 for best performance. Make sure the device streaming the videos is also capable of processing those speeds. Try a smaller file or one with a smaller frame rate: Very large files or very intensive files can bog down the network in some cases. Try a smaller file or one that is not converted with as high a frame rate to see if the choppiness continues. Slow performance in general:. Connect your computer or media device with an Ethernet cable: If your computer or media device is connected to your network via a Wireless connection, try disabling it and set up a direct connection to the router using an Ethernet cable instead. Some speed issues can be due to a poor wireless signal or by a wireless bottleneck on your network. Make sure your network components are up to date: Your network will be limited to the speed of the slowest component in the system. Make sure you are using a gigabit router/switch. Make sure the firmware is up to date on your router. Ethernet cables should be at least cat5e or cat6 for best performance. Make sure the device streaming the videos is also capable of processing those speeds.
Update firmware: As mentioned in the previous point, make sure your router's firmware is up to date. Also, make sure the Seagate Central's firmware is up to date as well. To update firmware on the Seagate Central, access the Public folder and click on the Manage Seagate Central link. Log in the web UI and go to Settings. In there, on the left-hand side, click on Advanced and then Firmware Update. Click the button on the right-hand side to see if there are any updates and apply any that the Seagate Central finds. Make sure you have enough bandwidth: If any other device is currently transferring files to or from the Seagate Central, you might experience some slowness. Try to eliminate other network traffic as much as possible. The Seagate Central drops offline:. Verify cabling on the network: Make sure everything on the network is connected properly. Check connections both on the router and on your Seagate Central. Make sure everything is connected properly, and make sure there is not a damaged cable. If you are unsure, replace cables with a known good one. Verify if other devices drop offline: Whenever you experience the Seagate Central dropping offline, check to see if other devices you own get dropped off the network. If other devices drop (you cannot see them on the network, internet access drops, etc.), try rebooting your router. If only the Seagate Central seems to drop offline, try to do a direct connection to your computer. Try a direct connection to your computer: The best way to determine if the drop off issues have to do with the drive or the network is to isolate the drive from your network. You can do this by connecting the Seagate Central directly to the Ethernet port of your computer. To do so, disconnect the Seagate Central from the router. Once it's powered off, turn your computer off as well. Connect the drive directly to the computer's Ethernet port and plug in the Seagate Central's power supply. While the drive is booting up, start your computer again. Note: If your computer has a Wireless connection, it is preferable to disable during this process. Once everything is booted up properly, you should be able to either see the Seagate Central drive on your network (Windows computer) or under Finder and Shared (Mac computer).
ITunes Troubleshooting: This article is a quick help guide in case your Seagate Central is not working properly with iTunes. First, make sure the Seagate Central is configured to work properly with iTunes. To do so:. Access the Seagate Central's web UI (User Interface). To get there, open up the Public folder and click on the Manage the Seagate Central link. Log in when prompted. Click on the Services tab.
Click on the iTunes service on the left-hand side and make sure there is a check mark in the Enable box on the right. This means the Seagate Central is set for use with iTunes. Note: If the box is already checked, try disabling the service as a troubleshooting step, then click on done. Then, enable the service again and click on done. Then, click on the Re-scan button. This will make the Seagate Central re-index your iTunes content.
If the Seagate Central is not detected in the left sidebar of iTunes, try the following:. Open iTunes and select Edit, then Preferences. Under the General tab, confirm that the Shared Libraries option is checked, then click OK. Power off your computer and power off the Seagate Central. Wait about one minute.
Power the computer and the Seagate Central back on. Re-Launch iTunes and try accessing the drive again.