LAN Networked USB HDD Clash 2 Minix U9s both with CoreELEC

On the same wired LAN, I have 2 Minix U9s both running CoreELEC 9.2.6. The 2 U9s have different LAN IP addresses. Each have an attached USB HDD and each HDD has a Windows 7 network connection assigned to a different drive letter.

I’ve just installed the 2nd U9 after previously having trouble free Windows 7 network connection to the 1st U9s HDD. For CoreELEC on the 2nd U9, I cloned the SDCard from the 1st U9 onto a new SDCard for the 2nd U9 and used the CoreELEC ‘Clean’ function to update HDD content. But maybe my problem arises out of cloneing CoreELEC?

Now with 2 U9s on the LAN:

  • if only one of the U9s is switched on, I can connect to that U9s networked HDD, but
  • if both U9s are switched on, I can only connect to the HDD of the 1st U9 that I switched on, but not the HDD of the 2nd switched on U9.

I have gone into Settings CoreELEC>System>Identification>System Name and tried to change the name of the 2nd CoreELEC to CoreELEC2 but the change did not stick…and anyway this would likely cause a problem on system update.

Is there an easy fix for this problem…that will survive a system update?

Thanks for your help…and apologies if this topic has been dealt with previously, but I did do a search and couldn’t see that it had been.

Try going into your router and assigning a different fixed IP address to each device which most routers let you do by device MAC address (usually listed as either “DHCP reservation”, “Static Leases” or “preferred” IP addresses usually in the LAN or DHCP router settings) which is the easiest way to do it, or define static IP addresses to your devices. You will have to disconnect / delete the Windows drive mapping and redefine it for both devices on the new IP addresses.

Best Practise is also to change the System Names as the change didn’t stick @vpeter posted a solution to do it from the command line here

Edit, forgot to say to reboot all devices after you have made the IP changes, including the router and before you remap the shared drives on Windows.

Many thanks Stuart.

I have set different Static IP addresses for both U9s. Then I rebooted the router and both U9s. But this did not fix the problem and my U9 HDD behaviour is still as originally described above.

So, I have followed your @vpeter link to where he advises how to Edit file

/storage/.kodi/userdata/addon_data/service.coreelec.settings/oe_settings.xml

to change the hostname…and I have found this file.

Stuart, before attempting this edit, do you know if changing the System Name (e.g. 1st U9 to CoreELEC1 and 2nd to CoreELEC2) will:

  • still allow normal automatic CoreELEC system updates
  • be maintained after a system update

Thanks Steve

I don’t know for sure best practice and experience would indicate because its a changeable setting that an upgrade should work fine and shouldn’t alter the system name if its been changed from default, hopefully one of the developers will confirm this.

I found a post from one of the developers saying that “You can’t have 2 CoreELEC hosts on the same network and have everything work correctly”

Thanks Stuart. Is there a way to ask the Developers if it’s true that: “You can’t have 2 CoreELEC hosts on the same network and have everything work correctly”?

If so, I guess I’m best to just live with my current situation and access only one attached USB HDD at a time.

Maybe the CoreELEC developers could put fixing this on their ToDo list, because as CoreELEC becomes more successful, this multiple CoreELEC HDD clash problem will not be uncommon.

There is nothing special about CE to not have more devices on a network. But IP must be different obviously.
But to use share names from devices based on it’s name obviously names must be different too (in CE settings, System, System Name).

Changing any of this settings has nothing to do with Update.

Thanks vpeter, I’ll give changing the ‘System Name’ a try.

Steve

I have multiple CE devices on the network with different names, and everything works fine.
Updates, network shares on each device is accessible from Windows.

Thanks Guys, I’ll setup different System names ASAP and report back…but being sidetracked ATM by family Medical emergency.

Complete success!
I followed the @vpeter post referenced above and changed the ‘System Name’ in file
/storage/.kodi/userdata/addon_data/service.coreelec.settings/oe_settings.xml

          <system> 
                        <hostname>myce</hostname> 
          </system>

to introduce different system names in each of my two CoreELEC U9s and I can now access the USB HDDs on both of them.

Thanks stuart264, vpeter & TheCoolest

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