[GUIDE] How to install Ubuntu 18.04 Server on the My Cloud PR4100 NAS

My Cloud OS 3 Personal & Network Attached Storage My Cloud Pro Series
21

Hello. the new HDD should be in what format.
MBR or GTP with partitions or blank.
Thanks.

22

I’m not sure which new HDD you mean… but I think it doesn’t matter.
The ISO image creates a GPT table… and ZFS also uses the complete disk.

23

Hi, I assume Dropbox won’t work on this (Ubuntu) due to arm cpu?

24

You may use rclone.
Also, the PR2100 and PR4100 have an intel CPU.

25

Ya. I ordered the wrong NAS I guess. EX4100. I assume this won’t work on that.

26

How much internal/onboard space does this NAS have?

27

Hello. Is there any simple way to upgrade Nextcloud? I have version 16.0.5 and it’s already version 17. Thanks.

28

So I followed the image creation steps in the OP exactly but when I boot the drive using:

sudo kvm -bios ./bios.bin -drive format=raw,file=/dev/sdd -m 1G

I get:

Start PXE over IPv4.PXE-E18: Server response timeout.

Start HTTP Boot over IPv4…

UEFI Interactive Shell v2.2
EDK II
UEFI v2.70 (EDK II, 0x00010000)
Mapping table
BLK2: Alias(s):
PciRoot(0x0)/Pci(0x1,0x1)/Ata(0x0)
BLK5: Alias(s):
PciRoot(0x0)/Pci(0x1,0x1)/Ata(0x0)
BLK3: Alias(s):
PciRoot(0x0)/Pci(0x1,0x1)/Ata(0x0)/HD(1,GPT,0B8012E8-49AB-4782-9E1E-CDA516749E39,0x800,0x800)
BLK4: Alias(s):
PciRoot(0x0)/Pci(0x1,0x1)/Ata(0x0)/HD(2,GPT,69B55F0F-921B-42C3-9154-767B67CEDE18,0x1000,0x1DAB000)
BLK0: Alias(s):
PciRoot(0x0)/Pci(0x1,0x0)/Floppy(0x0)
BLK1: Alias(s):
PciRoot(0x0)/Pci(0x1,0x0)/Floppy(0x1)

Press ESC in 1 seconds to skip startup.nsh or any other key to continue.
Shell>

If I type ‘exit’ it takes me to what appears to be the bios screen:

Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996)

Then if I hit continue on that screen it starts all over again.

Are you SURE you use the default options during setup? Something doesn’t seem right.

29

I was able to boot into the image using seabios instead. It’s all setup and my PR4100 arrives today so hopefully it’ll boot. I’ll report back findings and my complete procedure after testing.

30

So my image didnt work. Turns out I needed to make an image with an uefi boot drive. The problem is that I am not using Ubuntu Desktop so I had to find an all SSH/Text way to make the image. Heres what I did:

Install packages: apt-get -y install qemu-kvm virtinst virt-manager

Then I used virt-install without graphics to do an installation right from the web with the following script:

#!/bin/bash

qemu-img create -f raw wd-ubuntu.img 8G

virt-install \
  --hvm \
  --name wd-ubuntu \
  --boot uefi \
  --memory 1024 \
  --virt-type kvm \
  --graphics none \
  --os-type=linux \
  --network network=default \
  --extra-args console=ttyS0 \
  --disk wd-ubuntu.img,format=raw \
  --location http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/bionic/main/installer-amd64/

This will perform a text based install of ubuntu.

For the partitions I did it manually:

500MB EFI
4 GB SWAP
4 GB EXT4

You can of course resize the EXT4 later to whatever medium you flashed.

After you are finished it will reboot. If you don’t see anything on the screen when it reboots you can get the IP with: virsh net-dhcp-leases default

Login and setup netplan like the OP:

sudo vi /etc/netplan/01-netcfg.yaml

network:
  version: 2
  renderer: networkd
  ethernets:
    eno1:
      dhcp4: true
    eno2:
      dhcp4: true

You should be good to go now type: poweroff
Now flash the image using whatever flash software you use. I personally use Etcher for Mac.

Ive noticed that if you pull the plug on the WD and then boot it back up using the USB the networking will get all screwed up. eth0 will be called rename2 and eth1 will be eno1 so if you only use one cable keep that in mind. To fix: power off -> unplug cable -> unplug USB -> let it boot using default firmware -> power off -> plug in USB -> it will be back to normal.

Thats all. If anyone wants my image I’m happy to share. It’s extremely barebones.

P.S. I tried this whole thing with Debian instead and while the install went perfectly for some reason no matter what I do I can not get the 4100 to boot it. ¯_(ツ)_/¯

2 Likes
31

First ensure bios.bin is in the current dir.
Now one of these 2 should work to boot in UEFI mode

sudo kvm -bios ./bios.bin  xxx

or

sudo kvm -L .  xxx

For Debian, check my post in the Debian thread (near the end)

32

You dont need any bios.bin file when you use virt-install. You can just pass --boot uefi

33

Is there a chart somewhere of the best operating temperatures vs fan speed percent?

35

So after a week with it I can say its a marvelous little box. Runs ubuntu great. Runs (linux) VMs great. Great form factor (which is why I bought it). Since you can replace the fan and its a nothing cost I just keep mine at 80% all the time. Keeps it cool. Got 16GB of RAM coming for an upgrade. I only wish you could buy units with better CPUs. WD should think bigger than just a NAS here. Its tough to find a small compact chassis of good quality that nicely holds 4 3.5 disks. I would gladly pay extra for an i7 or something. :slight_smile:

2 Likes
37

This sounds great but im not sure what it means. What are some example benefits?

39

After reading a bit some questions:

  • how much internal storage does the device have? (where the firmware lives)
  • why do we care about new firmware when we can just run our own linux and ignore it?
  • what are the implications of imaging the internal storage with our own linux instead of using a flash drive?
41

Hey @dswv42 @Tfl ,
I haven’t installed Ubuntu yet.
Is there an option to return to the original WD OS?
Or is it just on the usb stick? If so, its enought to unplug the usb and the original Os will boot up, right?

Data loss is not important, i just dont want to brick the device.

43

Awesome! Thank you a lot !!
Is there any Guide how to restore the firmware of the pr4100?
I only have found fox’es drive which doesnt mention pr4100 at https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B_6OlQ_H0PxVRXF4aFpYS2dzMEE

45

What do you mean by that?

Thanks for the warning, i surely won’t touch it

47

Hello Everyone,
At first, thanks for the guide guys! Ubuntu installation and Netxtcloud has been working fantastic for me, but today…my Nas has a big problem :frowning: :

  • What can I do if my system after a linux upgrade (apt-get upgrade) fails to boot ?

Setting up grub-efi-amd64-bin (2.02-2ubuntu8.15) …
Setting up grub2-common (2.02-2ubuntu8.15) …
Setting up python3-apport (2.20.9-0ubuntu7.14) …
Setting up apport (2.20.9-0ubuntu7.14) …
apport-autoreport.service is a disabled or a static unit, not starting it.
Setting up grub-efi-amd64 (2.02-2ubuntu8.15) …
Installing for x86_64-efi platform. =>> after that, the console stop to response =<< the system fails to boot

If there any possibility to repair the USB Ubuntu Drive?

Thanks a lot in advance for any help.

Regards