How to wake up a USB drive attachted to TP Link Router

Aug 11, 2023 0 Replies

I have a big thumb flash drive plugged into a TP-LINK Touch P5 router (yes obscure router with only the original firmware release). It takes incoming connections VIA Windows 10/11 and Samba V1 to do scheduled backups. It's often asleep and needs to be woken up or else DOS, my backup software, and other utilities/programs think it's disconnected.



But if you browse to it using Windows Explorer first while asleep, there's often a delay of a couple-few seconds, then it wakes up and the backup software will then work fine. But the backup software itself doesn't trigger a wakeup.



A simple batch file of:



@echo off net use y: cd \sqwertz-backups @dir



DO NOT wake it up.



C:\Users\Sqwertz>net use New connections will be remembered.



Status Local Remote Network


------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DISCONNECTED Y: \\192.168.0.1\Volume_A1 Microsoft Windows Network



But wake it up with Windows Explorer first and then:



C:\Users\Sqwertz>net use New connections will be remembered.



Status Local Remote Network


------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OK Y: \\192.168.0.1\Volume_A1 Microsoft Windows Network



What other commands can I put in a batch file or utility can I call just before the backup to wake up the router's drive and WAIT for it to be awake before it exits and the backup proceeds?



I assume the router's USB driver firmware is putting it to sleep and SMB doesn't trigger a wakeup? I have no control over that.


-sw


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