802.11b used as a backup server with several USB disks attached. It went into amber light mode for no reason I could determine (airport utility was unable to connect). Since then, it has refused to complete setup. Exits with an error and requires a hard reset each time. Is it e-waste or is there something else I could try?
AirPort Extreme
Sorry, I am confused.
In your first post, you mentioned "802.11b", while your next reply mentioned "802.11n".
We still don't know whether your AirPort Express has 1 Ethernet port or 2. Might you have a Model Number to help identify the product?
Is your laptop a PC or Mac?
The AirPort Express does not support a hard drive at its USB port. It will only support a USB printer. To confirm, see the link to the Specifications document for the Express below:
AirPort Express 802.11n (2nd Generation) - Technical Specifications - Apple Support
Are you sure that you have an AirPort Express? An AirPort Extreme will support a USB drive or USB hub at its USB port.
802.11n used as a backup server with several USB disks attached. It went into amber light mode for no reason I could determine (airport utility was unable to connect). Since then, it has refused to complete setup. Exits with an error and requires a hard reset each time. Is it e-waste or is there something else I could try?
EDIT: some progress? If I have it directly connected to my laptop I can get it configured but it can't see anything else. Even with a network cable to the router, it can't see the other wireless network I want it to join and it drops off the network if I unplug my laptop, even though I still has a network connection and other devices can ping it…until it drops off. Entering network name by hand doesn't work.
Are you trying to set up the AirPort Express using a Mac, PC, or iPhone / iPad?
Does the Express have only 1 Ethernet port, or does it have 2?
Is the Express connecting to your network using a wired Ethernet cable or via Wi-Fi?
it has 4 ports, 1 WAN and 3 network ports
That is not an AirPort Express.
It is an AirPort Extreme. You will not be able to connect the AirPort Extreme to a Wi-Fi network using a wireless connection......unless.....your main router is also another Apple AirPort router.
If your main router is not another AirPort router......the only way that you will be able to connect the AirPort Extreme to your network is by using a permanent wired Ethernet cable connection from your main router to the AirPort Extreme.
…through the Dark Magick of VirtualBox and an old version of Snow Leopard that runs a version of Airport Utility that reaches deeper into the innards of these things, it is once again working. But it might be time to think about a new backup strategy from this decade.
Correct.....the AirPort Extreme........not an AirPort Express.......does support USB drives.
But.....the USB port on the AirPort Extreme is an old and slow USB 2.0 design. Backups would run 2-3 times faster with a router that offers a USB 3.0 port.
It has 4 ports, whatever it is called. I have used a MacBook Air and an iPhone. It does support external disks, has for years, and the config UI specifically supports file sharing.
AirPort Express 802.11n will not complete setup/config: has to be reset each time it fails
