"Desktop" Folder not displaying "Sync" icon “WD Discovery” app

rubberboot · November 20, 2018, 8:15pm

Just purchased and installed “My Cloud Home”

I then Installed “WD Discovery” application.

I then went to select folders to sync.

• Documents
• Music
• Pictures
All had sync icons.

The “Desktop” folder has no sync icon.

How do I make the icon appear?

I installed on my desktop and laptop both are using windows 10 and neither PC would display the “desktop” sync icon.

Can someone help?

Thank you.

socallinux · November 21, 2018, 6:16pm

The Sync icon will not be displayed on the Desktop but you can sync folders that reside on the desktop
https://support.wdc.com/knowledgebase/answer.aspx?ID=19597

rubberboot · November 21, 2018, 7:25pm

Thank you for your quick response.

In our environment it is not uncommon to save office documents, important links and other files to our desktop (Not in a folder). Some files may be saved in a folders but many files are not. Why is “C:\Users<USER_NAME>\Desktop” not supported especially in a home/PC backup scenario?

Any help how this could be achieved could be appreciated.

SBrown · November 22, 2018, 8:35pm

@rubberboot @socallinux is correct.
Desktop Sync is not a backup as it does not reserve copies of the file. it’s a sync of the live data and the entire Desktop of a computer cannot be Sync’d.

rubberboot · November 22, 2018, 10:19pm

I am an IT professional who ordered a “My Cloud Home” for a neighbor. I owned several WD My Cloud’s in past years. I have never heard of any backup software that can not back up a PC’s desktop. Copy and paste, copy, xcopy, robocopy, windows backup all have no issues. Most users save their files on the desktop by default and to be frank I think it is a major oversight that WD needs to fix ASAP. Think of all the users that may have to restore their files and find out a major section of “The Desktop” was not backed up and lost!

Is there another backup app that is provided by WD and works with the “My Cloud Home”?

SBrown · November 23, 2018, 3:13am

@rubberboot WD Discovery Desktop Sync is not Backup Software
The following KB articles may be useful

rubberboot · November 23, 2018, 5:00pm

Differences between Backup and Synchronization.

This article indicates you need to use backup software. Also says "WD includes backup software with many of our drives". Based on what I have read no backup software is provided with the "My Cloud Home". Only 3rd party backup solutions exist. (Correct me if I am wrong)

My Cloud Home Private User Space and Public Share Access article talks about mapping a drive. I see the z: drive mapped when in "WD Discovery" sync software. When I go to use the drive z: from a command prompt the z: drive disappears.

Can I map a drive letter "My Cloud Home". Users appear to be setup in the cloud and are not related to the local machine. How can I map a drive to the "My Cloud Home" including a username and password in a Windows 10 environment, from a command prompt?

rubberboot · November 26, 2018, 2:42pm

So to summarize, users purchase “My Cloud Home” to backup their data. There is no easy way to backup your data properly unless you purchase 3rd party backup software. Is this correct???

drlucky · November 26, 2018, 4:06pm

There is no WD backup software for the my cloud home. You can use the default windows backup tools to backup the computer.

the private user space can not be mapped using windows network drive mapping. The only way to mount the private user space is to install WD discovery and sign into the user account, this will mount that users private user space as a drive on the computer.

MConstantine · December 8, 2018, 4:17am

What do you mean?

The entire purpose of a backup drive is to create remote backup copies of individual files.

rubberboot · December 8, 2018, 4:35pm

To summarize:

No backup software comes with “My Cloud Home”.
WD out-of-the box syncing software does not backup the desktop (Where most folks put their files)
Cannot easily map a drive letter in a batch file (To use xcopy/robocopy)
Customers are required to purchase or use 3rd party backup tools if they want a proper backup.
Cannot add or remove local users to the “My Cloud Home”. (This is done in the cloud)
Cannot set permissions on folders on the “My Cloud Home”.
3rd party backups must copy files to the default “Public” folder. This folder has no security and is wide open to anyone on your local network, including other family members and your children.

To be frank, I regret recommending the purchase of the product to my neighbor

SBrown · December 10, 2018, 5:58pm

The update to My Cloud Desktop App v2.1.0.209 should be rolling out today.

Open WD Discovery
Click the “Gear” icon
Click “Resources and More”
Click Update

pusb87 · December 11, 2018, 8:48pm

Thank you for the updated app which now shows the sync options.

However, the "syncing " status overlay completely covers the folder or file icon in details view to the extent that you cant see whether it is a file or a folder icon.

Please reduce the size of your overlay ( to what it was previously) or maybe give it some transparency so you can see through it.

stefanodave · March 28, 2022, 4:20pm

In 2022 i have same problem, how can happen?

tekram · March 28, 2022, 10:41pm

You are reviving very dated info and may have nothing to do with your desktop. Try stopping and restarting WD Discovery or reboot PC or Mac.