Sony HAP 1 ES and adding external Hard Drives

Hmm, would the Paragon ExtFS for Windows product be a way to transfer the pre-loaded music files on the HAP-Z1ES to a desktop PC for playback?

Well, my curiosity eventually became sufficiently piqued about the Paragon ExtFS program that I decided to give it a try, which worked out very nicely.

I formatted a small (26 GB) Linux Ext4 partition on one of the three internal hard drives I have in one of my Windows 7 computers. After installing and then opening the ExtFS program, that partition immediately became visible to Windows, no differently than all of the standard Windows NTFS partitions on the three drives.

I then copied a .wav file to that partition, double-clicked its icon, and it played successfully in the default player (Windows Media Player). I then copied that file from the Ext4 partition to a Windows NTFS partition, and played it there as well.

When ExtFS is closed, which is done by right-clicking an icon it places in the "systray" area in the lower right corner of the screen when it is opened, and then selecting "exit," the partition "unmounts" from Windows, and can of course no longer be accessed by Windows until the program is re-opened.

A setting is available in the program to specify whether it starts automatically when the computer is booted, or manually when its icon or program group listing is clicked. I chose the latter.

During the process of installing the program a simple registration process is required, in which you enter into a page at their site your name, email address, country and state, and if you want to opt-in to receiving emailed announcements from them.

Cool! Best regards,
-- Al

This morning I repeated the experiment, but using an external USB drive rather than an internal drive, and for both Ext3 and Ext4 partitions on the external drive. Worked great!

Before disconnecting the drive, I closed ExtFS to unmount the Ext partitions from Windows, and I also used the Windows "safely remove hardware" icon to eject the drive because it contained an NTFS partition in addition to the Ext partitions.

Best regards,
-- Al

Al, it sounds like that might be good news, unfortunately, you might as well be speaking aramaic. :) I know what an external USB drive is, but you lost me on the rest. No doubt, most of the readers will understand what you mean, but for me, unmounting the Ext partitions from windows sounds like an exercise in voyeurism or exhibitionism, or possibly both.

At a high level, if I catch your main point correctly, you have discovered a way to use an external drive with the HAPZ1 while preserving the ability to share the drive with another computer. Is that correct? Also, can you preserve existing data on an external drive while formatting it for use with the Sony?

At a high level, if I catch your main point correctly, you have discovered a way to use an external drive with the HAPZ1 while preserving the ability to share the drive with another computer. Is that correct?

Yes. The drive could be disconnected from the Sony, then connected to a computer which has the Paragon ExtFS program installed, and files could then be copied from it to the computer or vice versa.

Can you preserve existing data on an external drive while formatting it for use with the Sony?

No. Formatting a drive destroys all data on it. However, after the Sony formats the drive it could be reconnected to a computer, and the same files copied to it if they are backed up on the computer (or on a different external drive that is connected to the computer), and if the ExtFS program is installed on the computer.

I know what an external USB drive is, but you lost me on the rest. No doubt, most of the readers will understand what you mean, but for me, unmounting the Ext partitions from windows sounds like an exercise in voyeurism or exhibitionism, or possibly both.

:-)

When the Sony formats the drive, it would presumably format the entire drive into a single Linux-compatible Ext partition, not into multiple partitions as I did experimentally. Therefore you would not have to perform the process I described of ejecting the drive via the Windows "safely remove hardware" icon. And the unmounting process I referred to occurs automatically when the ExtFS program is closed.

So all you would have to be concerned with if you wanted to disconnect the drive from the computer while the computer is operating, assuming you are using Windows 7, is to locate the icon for the ExtFS program in the lower right corner of the screen (it looks like a large letter "P"; also you might have to first click the upward facing pyramid-shaped symbol in that area to see it), then right-click the icon, and then left-click the word "exit" which will appear.

As with many computer-related things, what seems daunting at first becomes trivial once you see how to do it.

Best regards,
-- Al