· When I Browse for a location to back up my Roon Database, all I see is Dropbox. I am already backing up to Dropbox. I have an external storage device plugged into my MacBook Pro Laptop, but Roon does not recognize it. How do I make Roon see the giant empty and unused storage device that is just waiting to be filled with backups?
Tell us about your home network
· Groan. Can’t you just make it work without all this stuff?
This will allow us to see exactly what locations Roon is able to access on your system.
As a general note, we typically recommend storing Roon backups on a separate physical device or location from the one hosting the active Roon database (for example, an external USB drive or a network share). Keeping backups on the same internal drive as the database reduces their usefulness in recovery scenarios. That said, once we understand your setup more clearly, we can advise on the best available option.
Could you please clarify which machine is running your Roon Server?
Additionally, please go to Settings → Backups → Scheduled Backups and share a screenshot of the location options you see there (similar to the example below).
As a backup drive it may be better to connect it directly to the Nucleus. It’s definitely easier. Then it would simply show up as a drive in the backup settings.
If you want it connected to the Mac for some reason, you need to set up the drive as a network share on the Mac, so that the Nucleus can see it over the network.
The following article describes how to set up a share on the Mac and then add it as watched music storage folder in Roon. The process is similar for a backup drive.
Create the share in the same way but then add it as a networked backup location instead of a networked music storage:
Thanx. The first thing I tried was to connect the external drive to the Nucleus. The drive has a USB-C connection. Nucleus is USB-A. I have various connectors. None seem to work.
I got pretty good with smbs on my old Mac after a huge number of tries. Roon is pretty picky. Wish there was a simple way to do smbs with them. Now, I can’t seem to break the code to connect anything to Roon with my new laptop. So, no watched files and no backups except to dropbox.
Yeah but that’s just the physical connector. The ports on the Nucleus support USB 3.0 and you can simply buy a USB-C to USB-A adapter or cable, they cost a few Euros.
I mean, click “Add network share” and enter smb://HOST/SHARE. Where do you get stuck? Any error message?
Did you add an internal storage drive to the Nucleus or where are you planning to put the watched files?
How is the external drive formatted (file system)? If the drive is empty, can you try to format it as exFAT before using it with the Nucleus? If you want to keep he drive connected to your Mac, then yes, you will have to add it as a network share as per @Suedkiez ‘s instructions above.
Noris - External drive is already formatted ex FAT. Did no one at Roon look at the screenshot I sent to Roon (sorry @suedkiez I didn’t send it to you - I’ve been traveling, and responded to the Roon folks’ request for a screenshot). So, Roon folks, my screenshot shows that Roon does not see my external drive. It also shows that Roon does not even see Macintosh HD. Not sure how formatting or smb would make a lot of difference. Any response or suggestions about my original inquiry, or are you content to continue to let @suedkiez do your technical support work for free?
Here’s what mine looks like. I don’t recall exactly how I was able to find it in Windows Explorer, but it took a lot of clicking around to work my way to it. My drive is connected to my Nucleus with a USB cable. That’s the best way because your Nucleus will run 24/7 and automatic backups can occur in the middle of the night if you prefer.
Did you attach it to the Nucleus? You hadn’t said since.
Did you share a folder on the Mac‘s HD as per the link I provided, and did you add it as a network share in Roon?
Formatting because if you attach the HD to the Nucleus, exFAT is the least problematic file system. With others, like NTFS for instance, there are other possible reasons why the Nucleus might not be able to see it. But as it’s already formatted as exFAT, what remains is attaching it directly to the Nucleus (and it’s unclear if you did).
SMB because if you attach the HD to the Mac, or if you want to share a folder directly on the Mac’s HD, SMB sharing is the only way the Nucleus can ever see it.
To be fair to them, I answered on a Sunday because I knew they don’t work on weekends and I thought I’d help you out. But you either haven’t done any of the things I told you, or maybe you did but haven’t told us. So the current state is unclear.
You have all the answers you need for now, and there’s really nothing to do for Roon support until you implement them and tell us how it goes.
Thanks for the update. It looks like there is a slight confusion regarding the connection.
The Setup
The Brain: Your Roon Core (database) is running on the Nucleus.
The Remote: The Roon app on your Mac is acting only as a Remote Control.
Because the "brain" is on the Nucleus, it can only write backups to a location the Nucleus itself can reach. When you plug the drive into your Mac, it is physically invisible to the Nucleus.
The Solution
If you want to keep the drive connected to your Mac for backups, you must share it over the network so the Nucleus can access it.
Connect the SSD to your Mac.
Enable File Sharing:
Go to System Settings > General > Sharing.
Toggle File Sharing to ON.
Add your external disk (or a specific folder on it) to the Shared Folders list.
Thanx Alex. Prior to contacting support, I enabled file sharing and permissions as outlined in your support documentation and again above. I also tried to add a network share as outlined in your support documentation and again above. My first attempt using my Mac’s name was unsuccessful, yielding a “host not found” error message. The second attempt using my Mac’s IP address was unsuccessful, yielding an “unexpected error” error message.
To help us figure out why the Nucleus isn’t letting you in, could you please share a few specific details?
Roon Settings Screenshot:
Please share a screenshot of the screen in Roon where you are entering the Network Path and credentials.
Mac Sharing Settings Screenshot:
Please share a screenshot of the System Settings > General > Sharing > File Sharing window on your Mac, specifically showing the folder you are trying to share and the user permissions assigned to it.
Credentials Check:
Are you using the exact same username and password that you use to log into your Mac?
Once we see these settings, we should be able to spot the mismatch.
Thanks.
