Hikvision NAS to Mikrotik Router + external HDD

[eXtremer]

Hi all,

I have a Hikvision camera with V5.4.20 build 160726 firmware. Also I have a Mikrotik router with USB support, so I've decided to attach a external HDD to the router. I did all the configuration on the router to initialize and share the HDD. In hikvision configuration I've added the SMB share, I could initialize/format the HDD, after this it shows NORMAL status, but after a few seconds when I refresh it shows ERROR and then OFFLINE, although in Windows I can see the share and it's online. What's wrong and why it doesn't work properly?

I have a clue that the problem might be because of the HDD file system, Mikrotik supports only FAT32 and ext3 file formats, while Hikvision camera formats the shared HDD in NTFS file system.

Hikvision camera can store the recordings without formatting the HDD?
Is it possible so that hikvision camera to format using FAT32 file system?

Is there a solution to my problem? Thank you.

*I've tested 2 external HDD's, one 500GB and another 1TB

 

[alastairstevenson]

I could initialize/format the HDD, after this it shows NORMAL status, but after a few seconds when I refresh it shows ERROR and then OFFLINE, although in Windows I can see the share and it's online. What's wrong and why it doesn't work properly?

The volume size is too large for the NetHDD feature of the camera firmware.
From what I recall, that firmware version will handle a volume size (it's size, not free space) of up to just over 200GB.

while Hikvision camera formats the shared HDD in NTFS file system.

The word 'Format' for the camera operation is misleading - all it is doing is pre-preparing a framework of files and folders.
It has no access to 'format' in the usual sense.

 

[eXtremer]

The volume size is too large for the NetHDD feature of the camera firmware.
From what I recall, that firmware version will handle a volume size (it's size, not free space) of up to just over 200GB.

The word 'Format' for the camera operation is misleading - all it is doing is pre-preparing a framework of files and folders.
It has no access to 'format' in the usual sense.

With a partition tool I've created a 195GB FAT32 partition leaving the rest unpartitioned. The camera see the 195GB share, after initialization it show normal, after refresh error then offline...then again normal and so on, but no recording is being saved. What to try next?

 

[alastairstevenson]

What to try next?

May try a smaller partition (suggest 100GB) just to determine where the volume size limit is.

 

[eXtremer]

I went lower to 64GB, but again same issue

 

[alastairstevenson]

Ok, well I think that confirms that it's not the volume size ceiling that's the cause of the problem.
I'm not sure what else to suggest!