Confused by all the options and software- help needed

mmmskids · November 5, 2015, 5:29am

I’m a senior citizen and not a techi. I’ve got a new My Cloud set up but don’t really know what to do next. My eyes can no longer focus on all the documentation and I am confused with all the option, choices and software.
All I want to do is:

be able to store a backup image of my computer
to be able to backup selected files and access them from a remote location
I have a separate portable drive with movies on it that I want to back up and be able to stream to a Roku 3 device
Backup the files from 2) above from MyCloud to a WD Passport as extra insurance against loss.
Which of the many software choices do I use to accomplish this?

Bennor · November 5, 2015, 2:15pm

The WD My Cloud User Manual (http://www.wdc.com/wdproducts/library/UM/ENG/4779-705103.pdf) explains how to setup and configure the My Cloud to accomplish most if not all of those actions.

Because the WD My Cloud is a network attached storage device it can be used as a storage location for any backup software (like the included WD Smartware).

Once you activate the Remote Access features of the WD My Cloud and configure a User account for remote access within the My Cloud one can use the WD My Cloud Desktop program, the Android/iOS mobile apps, the MyCloud.com website to access your My Cloud contents while away from home.

You can copy any of your media content to the My Cloud, and so long as its in a Share/Folder with Media Serving activated your Roku, using a free channel like the Roku Media Player, will be able to stream media content from the My Cloud.

The WD My Cloud includes a backup feature called Safepoints that allows one to backup the WD My Cloud to either a external USB storage device connected to the My Cloud’s USB port, or to an external network storage location on another computer or network attached storage device.

Again, the User Manual explains how to do many of these tasks, from setting up new users, new shares, activating media serving on those shares, how to use Safepoint, how to use Smartware, and how to use many other features and options of the My Cloud. There is also some basic help information located at the MyCloud.com under Helpful Topics: http://www.mycloud.com/learn/?id=mycloud

mmmskids · November 5, 2015, 2:45pm

Thx for the prompt reply. I’ve read the manual but I’m not sure it understand it all or will get it right.
What I think I can do is:

create a share via Dashboard for storing a “system image” created using Win7 Restore programming.
create a share where I can backup selective files such as photos, music and documents using MS software or WD Smartware and set up a backup schedule of these files from my computer as per settings.
create a share to backup my Seagate movie storage device when it’s attached to my computer and access this share for DLNA purposes with my Roku
Selectively backup on a WD Passport only the files I have stored in the share created in 2) above.

Does this make sense?

mmmskids · November 5, 2015, 3:05pm

Forgot to include in my last post - where does WD Sync fit in all of this?

Bennor · November 5, 2015, 3:08pm

Again, the manual explains how to setup users and shares and how to backup the My Cloud using Safepoint. If you don’t want to read the manual then see the following links for creating shares:
How to access the Dashboard on a My Cloud device: http://support.wdc.com/KnowledgeBase/answer.aspx?ID=10420
How to create a Share on a My Cloud device: http://support.wdc.com/KnowledgeBase/answer.aspx?ID=10424

Depending on which version of Windows 7 you are using you won’t be able to (easily) save a Windows 7 backup to any network attached storage device (including the My Cloud). That is a limitation of the Windows 7 backup program.

You cannot connect an external hard drive to your local computer and have the My Cloud (by itself) access that external hard drive. Rather software on the computer is needed to copy/sync that data from the external hard drive to the My Cloud. The WD Sync software is one option to sync data between a computer and the My Cloud. WD Smartware is a software program that will backup certain computer contents to the My Cloud. See the following link for WD Downloads: http://support.wdc.com/downloads.aspx?lang=en

There are other third party backup software programs that will copy the contents from a computer to the My Cloud. Or one can just use Windows Explorer to copy content from a computer to the My Cloud.

You can also connect a USB hub to the back of the My Cloud (USB port) and connect several external USB hard drives and the My Cloud should recognize and access those external USB drives. This would allow you to backup to one external USB drive while having the other available for streaming (via the WD My Cloud Twonky Media Server) to your Roku.

It may seem daunting but if you read through the manual one step at a time, and try things on the My Cloud one step at a time you’ll be able to setup users and share folders along with perform smartware and safepoint backups.

cpt_paranoia · November 5, 2015, 6:51pm

create a share to backup my Seagate movie storage device when it’s attached to my computer and access this share for DLNA purposes with my Roku

Personally, I would transfer my movies to the MyCloud, and use the Seagate as a backup target. Then your NAS (if you leave it running, which is usual), will be able to serve your movies to your Roku via DLNA, or to other devices via SMB, without needing your PC to be on.

Forgot to include in my last post - where does WD Sync fit in all of this?

WD Sync is one possibility for synchronising your devices to a backup on the NAS.
There are plenty of others that do the same thing, and probably better, since they are written as dedicated pieces of generic file sync software, not something written to support a product. I use FreeFileSync for backup and synchronisation purposes (synchronising between PC and NAS, and backing up PC and NAS to external HDDs).

ps. I agree with Bennor; take it one step at a time. See my suggestion on this thread: