Yes. SSH. I remember I had the dead UI problem many weeks ago but via an SSH Telnet session I applied the firmware update and that brought back the Dashboard UI.
So Myron, I think my device is set for automatic updates (canāt recall at this point, it might be āManualā). Ā Since SSH is not available, is there any possibility that an auto-update of the firmware might be invoked and correct this mess (if not for me, maybe for others)? Ā
I donāt want to RMA my device at this point but if it is āhelplessly hopingā for some other option, I might as well just go ahead and do thatā¦after moving a lot of data around on my wireless network.
With SSH being unavailable I really donāt know any other options short of opening the drive up.
Someone has come up with a de-bricking procedure but it requires another Linux box.Ā The clever person has written a script that will replace and correctly configure the firmware using another computer but I personally have not tested this.
If your MBL is under warranty then as soon as you open the case of your MBL then itās bye-bye to your warranty.
http://mybookworld.wikidot.com/forum/t-317579/complitly-debricking-guide-draft
Failing that, back-up your data and arrange an R.M.A.
I have a suspicion that the automatic update may be the cause. Itās only a suspicion so now I heep SSH permanantly enabled and stay well away from the Dashboard UI when there is a need to update the firmware.Ā Even then I admit I am jittery in case my own MBL ends up getting bricked.
Iāve already experienced the bricked Dashboard UI more than once with previous firmware releases.
Got to admit that with the current release of the firmware the Dashboard UI is actually quite quick and responsive.
I keep looking roudn the insides of the MBLās operating system but Iām also at a loss why other MBLs are getting bricked or the Dashboard UI ceasing working.Ā Iām getting to know reasonably well how the insides of the MBL works.
Iām at the stage I can just about invoke the majority of the MBLs functions without having to use the Dashboard UI but I do prefer to do things the easy way.
Thanks Myron.Ā Your advice is well-stated, it might be technically possible to recover the UI on this unit but it isnāt worth voiding my warranty that is good through 2014.Ā Iāll RMA this unit today and enable SSH on the next unit (and tread more cautiously on the firmware upgrades).Ā It is disappointing that WD doesnāt establish some means to recover firmware through a RESET as you described in this thread in an earlier message.Ā The current RESET is useless for these type of problems.Ā
I would also note that there are reports still coming in on other Posts to the Board, one as recently as a few hours ago, of people who are reporting this same issue.Ā This suggests that the circumstantial environment that causes the problem is still in place with the current firmware and a āfixā has not yet been put into place.Ā The cost to a vendorās reputation for this type of problem: priceless.
So what is the mechanism for WD to be notified of this issue. I suspect that they do not pay close attention to this forum. The issue is pretty severe from a customer sat point of view and costly to process RMAs. The root cause is that there is no comprehensive reset facility. How do we get this message to WD?
This is the mad thingā¦Ā I believe that W.D. IS frustrated by this problem but itās a numbers thing.Ā Tens of thousandsĀ of MBLs sold that work flawlessly so how come itās a few that are falling over. Understandable if people begin to alter the insides once SSH is enabled, but there is evidence of brand new drives being bricked by an update.
Yes, there needs to be a better way of resetting the MBLs firmware and configuration without losing all the files.
It is sort of ironic where the drive bricks because of an update or the Dashboard UI gets bricked.Ā Without SSH the usual option of performing a factory restore is not possible.
Since updating to the latest firmware which I did via. SSH and the necessary script (trying to do a manual update via. the Dashboard UI kept on failing) Iāve not rebooted the MBL in case a reboot causes a problem.
Interestng that the Dahsboard UI got stuck uploading the fiemware update file but the upgrade file was not being created in itās uaual place. That was with the previous firmware.
Iāve mentioned this a few timesā¦Ā I have a LaCie NAS. Half the capacity. It has a power switch.Ā I firmware update bricked the drive badly.Ā Recoveryā¦Ā Turn on, turn off within three seconds and turn back on again. The drive would load the factory pre-installed firmware and I could try and update the firmware again. Thing isā¦Ā The LaCie drive is a dream to debrick!
What percentage of user is going to complain or report or even RMA a drive because the GUI does not work? I would bet that many do not notice and then if they do think it is some kind of networking problem. My day job is dealing with quality issues for a rather large semiconductor manufacturer. Even the savy users might not make a connection. Backups still work. The drive still mounts and is accessible. WDSmartware still continues doing what it does.
Calling user help is a commitment to some hours of work. Bottom line is that wondering if only a subset of users are affected before designing a preventive action is imprudent.
I agree with Ron_KK1L on this matter. Ā The number of posts on this board can reasonably be expected to have a multiplier of hundreds of other instances where the person has no idea what Ā the issue is, assuming they are aware of the problem at all. Ā Many people get to a basic level of function and have no clue beyond that. Ā Unfortunately for some of these folks, the problem could show up at a later point if there is ever a need to reconfigure the device for some reason or a future associated problem begins showing up. Ā
I called Tech Support prior to realizing how many other instances of this issue were occurring. Ā I spoke to three different persons, one in a supervisory role, and no one knew or indicated that this could be due to a āknown issueā. Ā I spent hours trying different approaches (browsers, networks, router settings, RESETs, reinstallation of WD software, researching the issueā¦which led to this Board). Ā
I have three WD devices, including one I just bought for my Dad for Christmas (WD TV LIVE). Ā As a customer, this is not a very satisfying experience and it will affect my approach to future WD devices.
I have joined the ranks and initiated a RMA on my unit.Ā I will ensure, once the replacement arrives, that I set ssh to enabled and will then see what happens from there.Ā I will endeavor to update this post once things are functional again.
Thanks to all those in the know on this forum for all the help.
PS I am still waiting for a helpful reply from WD Service on this issue.
PPS I just checked my MBL and it is totally brickedā¦ I can still see it on my network at 192.168.1.69 but I canāt mount it, canāt access it via the UI and am dead in the water since ssh is not enabledā¦
Hi everybody. I have been following the posts with much interest. I think I am going to have to RMA also as I do not have ssh enabled. I would like however to thank everyone who has contributed to this post for your time and advice with this issue. Myron your comments have been invaluable and much appreciated.
Kind Regards
Barry
Barry, youāre welcome.
The MyBook Live in itself is actually quite a neat device and being able to have access the innards is useful. Saved me having to RMA the drive a few times and when On a previous firmware the Twonky media server kept crashing, where W.D. would have told me to factory restore the MBL, I discovered that all that was needed was to disable Twonky, erase two files and restart it.
Where the MBL falls over, and how the W.D. management allowed this to happen is beyond belief, is that the device recovery options are, in the simplest terms, absolutely c-r-a-p.Ā Especially if the Dashboard UI is bricked and SSH is not enabled.
Iāll mention it yet again, a 500Gb LaCie Network Space I have you can easily do a factory restore to the factory shipped firmware WITHOUT losing any of the data stored on it.Ā If LaCie could build this into their design of their NAS then why canāt W.D.
Depending on the design of the W.D. drive is may still be possible. Just depends if W.D. can build in this sort of recovery functionality if, say, the MBL detects the reset button depressed as it is being powered-up as opposed to a soft reset when the button is pressed with the drive powered-up.
Really, there is no need to lose anything held underĀ /DataVolume/shares and /DataVolume/backup while having to perform a fectory restore. Now, if itās proven that the EXT4 file system is corrupted beyond repair then I can see why a format of the /dev/sda4 would have to be done. Personally I would be happy dealing wish a few corrupted files if it means the majority of the files on my MBL remain intact.
Should I have designed a network storage device with sub-standard disaster recovery options the I would sack myself. I would not wait for management to sack me.
I wrote commercial programs I spent quite a lot of time making sure that the fault/error trapping routines didnāt just throw up an error message but actually tried to fix the problems that could occur.Ā Pity such error trapping has not been built into the MyBook Live from the ground up.
For example, If the MBLās dashboard has been detected as has been died then a error-trap routing or watchdog-routine could stop the Apache2 web server as well as networking services. Replace all the necessary files back to a known state and restart the stopped services. I bet that would work-round the dead Dashboard UI issues while a permanant solution is found.
This is all common sense programming to keep systems up and working.
Also, how come the MyBook Live has no anonymous performance and status monitoring built into it so W.D. could see how their products are operating?Ā Obviously the user could turn such an option on and off, see and see exactly what would be sent to W.D. and then either approve or deny sending such a report.
I actually like the MyBook Live. It is a pity there is no USB port. I am nervous that one day, because of no fault of my own, something may go wrong and I could end up with a bricked drive.
As a precaution I now keep a firmware update file in the MBL so as long as SSH remains functional I have a chance to restore my MBL from a crippled state.Ā Right now itās operating brilliantly. Better than it was when I purchased it. Even the Web dashboard UI is no longer sluggish. Itās pretty fast so credit given to whoever fixed that issue at W.D.
In the meanwhile Iām going to crack open my SFTP client and take a backup copy of whatever configuration files I can AND the entire /var/www directory structure as well as the entire structure of /usr/local/sbin.
Iām one of the many who think this is a lousy product. Ā I got this new this week, installed the recommended firmware and waved good-bye to the UI. Ā Iāve sent logs and reminders to WD support but with no response other than automated email suggesting it may take a day or so to get back to me, and hey, try our community! Ā I run an IT organization and if we treated our customers that way weād rightly be out of business. Ā Well, Iāve tried everything short of opening the cover which I have no intention of doing. Ā This pile of XXXX is going back in the box for a refund. Ā Iām used to Apple products that I plug in and work. Ā Alas, Time Capsule does streamā¦
Anyone know if MBL will āautomaticallyā check for the *.deb update file on bootup?Ā The reason Iām asking is that I see in rc.local there is a removal of *.deb file if MBL was in upgrade mode.
If MBL does check for the upgrade file on bootup, then there may be a way of āunbrickingā like that method found at " http://www.lancelhoff.com/how-to-fix-a-bricked-linksys-router/".Ā Ā Read that it worked for a Netgear router also.
It looks like even if device is bricked, it will still respond to a ping (did a ping on my original MBL & got a response).Ā Basically, the method sneaks in while doing the responding to the pings to put the firmware upgrade into the appropriate directory & then reboot the device possibly by disconnecting/connecting the power.
1 command prompt to do the ping & another command prompt to do the āputā using either tftp or ftp.Ā Just enter the commands without pressing the enter key for both sessions; then hit enter for the ping & enter for the āputā within 5 secs to sneak in the firmware file between the pings.
Might work only if there is a check for a firmware upgrade file.
There is more to this than meets the eye.Ā Some people are seeing a corrupted /etc/hosts file and this is causing mayhem.
What really is necessary is for SSH to be enabled during boot-up.Ā If SSH is not permanently enabled then it disables itself about a minute after boot but remains permanently enabled if so desired.
The biggest gripe is that there is no easy way into the guts of the MBL when things go wrong without opening he case.
If the MBL works then itās a good piece of kit but when it goes wrong then the resulting fault is usually quite critical.Ā Not enough thought has been put into recovering from faults.Ā It seems like W.D.'s programmers have assumed then nothing will go wrong with it.
Yes, Ireported today problem use WEB-dashboard UI access.Ā Backup SW work, sharing work too. But I cant change IP, andother setting. it is funny. no help from WD - I will wait.
I dont find any solution for it.
Got the 1 TB MyBook Live and updated to the latest firmware last night and ever since Iām having the same trouble as everyone else. Was really wanting the updated firmware so I could use wd2go instead of mionet.
I bought my MBL on newegg less than a month ago.
So frustrating.
Probably going to wait and see rather than go through the headache a lot has experienced.
The very same story here,
Ā but Ā /usr/local/sbin/factoryRestore.sh with the hardware reset Ā solved it outĀ
The UI is working for me now. I just happened to try again last night after Time Machine on my MacBook wasnāt able to do a backup so I went and power cycled my MBL and that took care of that problem so just for the heck of it I went to http://mybooklive.local and lo and behold the UI came right up.
Once logged in, there was an update from 3/15 that I went and ahead and downloaded and installed reluctantly and so far so good.
I was able to set up wd2go instead of mionet and itās great.
Best of luck to everyone else out there.
