[GUIDE] How To Unbrick your 2TB/3TB/4TB My Cloud

I used v3.x firmware and Fox_Exe’s first gen tutorial because I started before your reply.

Unfortunatelly it still doesnt work for me. My partition layout is the same like on screen above. When I started device after about one minute solid red light appeared. The same for second attempt. But when I started device for the third time then all the time solid yellow was displayed. After about 25 minutes I turned off device because I thought it took too long.

Below logs from my WD Red 2TB drive (tmp, var/log):

have you tried 40 sec reset? Also try the 4xfirmware then do a quick restore

I need a little help! I have succeeded in getting a new 4TB WD Red Drive mounted in Ubuntu through my Windows 10 Hyper-V. I have it connected by a USB-Sata Connector. I am at the point I believe to set the partitions. At one point in this thread, it mentions using Foxe’s documentation.

I believe that would be this step:
parted /dev/sda
mklabel gpt
mkpart primary 1049kB 2149MB
mkpart primary 8591MB -1MB
mkpart primary 7517MB 8591MB
mkpart primary 2149MB 3222MB
mkpart primary 3222MB 4296MB
mkpart primary 4296MB 6443MB
mkpart primary 6443MB 7517MB

But when I look at another thread where they referenced this, and have a graphic of having done so in Gpart, I don’t see the numbers lining up with the partitions.

I am seeing the drive and am ready through Gpart to do what needs to be done, but not sure what I really need to do. Do these above commands really apply to my current setup and I just type the above exactly as is? My ultimate goal is to migrate to an 8tb drive I have, but figured would start with the smaller.

I have a second generation my cloud. Finally, I see a lot of references to an image, and I downloaded three, 2tb, 3tb, and 4tb. But in Foxes directions of which I paste below, I am not sure where that applies.

Thank you in advance for your help.

Here is the Foxe’s documentation I am trying to follow with the alteration of using Hyper-V instead.

  1. Download these files:
    http://support.wdc.com/downloads.aspx?g=904 (Original firmware)
    https://ftp.anionix.ru/WDMyCloud/WDMyCloud-Gen2/usbrecovery.tar.gz (WD Recovery + My miniOS)

  2. Use any USB Flash drive, format it to FAT32 (Important!)

  3. Unpack usbrecovery.tar.gz to this drive (You will get “boot” folder and 4 files inside)

  4. Plug this USB drive to WD MyCloud, turn on power. Wait yellow-red (blinking) light.

  5. Connect via Telnet (Search IP in your router, unde DHCP section.)

  6. Format HDD if need:
    parted /dev/sda
    mklabel gpt
    mkpart primary 1049kB 2149MB
    mkpart primary 8591MB -1MB
    mkpart primary 7517MB 8591MB
    mkpart primary 2149MB 3222MB
    mkpart primary 3222MB 4296MB
    mkpart primary 4296MB 6443MB
    mkpart primary 6443MB 7517MB
    q
    mkswap /dev/sda1
    mkfs.ext4 /dev/sda3

  7. Install original WD recovery and reboot:
    mkdir -p /mnt/usb /mnt/root
    mount /dev/sda3 /mnt/root
    mount /dev/sdb1 /mnt/usb
    cp -r /mnt/usb/boot /mnt/root/
    cd /mnt/root/boot
    rm uImage uRamdisk
    mv uImage-wdrecovery uImage
    mv uRamdisk-wdrecovery uRamdisk
    cd /
    umount /mnt/root /mnt/usb
    sync
    reboot -f

  8. After reboot device get old IP address and accessable via Web-GUI (Recovery mode). Use original firmware (.bin file) here.

Done!

Typically one would use the exact numbers/values detailed in the directions no matter what the hard drive size is. When one finishes the various steps and performs a reset after first boot of the My Cloud the firmware should resize the hard drive to the full size of the drive.

On a side note make sure to use the correct Fox_exe directions for one’s single bay My Cloud version. The directions (and values) are slightly different for each version (gen 1 v4.x firmware or gen 2 v2.x firmware).

Wow. Thank you for such a fast reply.

I did look at his second generation txt file. In the link below is where I came up with the Ubuntu idea and yet became confused with the partitions size and what I saw in this post photos.

Am I correct in my reading that if you have a second generation my cloud, you don’t actually use an image? You are actually unpacking a usbrecovery.tar.gz to the drive.

Let me repeat, it is beginning to appear from Foxe’s directions you don’t use an image for a 2nd generation my cloud. You do the following.

Install original WD recovery and reboot:
mkdir -p /mnt/usb /mnt/root
mount /dev/sda3 /mnt/root
mount /dev/sdb1 /mnt/usb
cp -r /mnt/usb/boot /mnt/root/
cd /mnt/root/boot
rm uImage uRamdisk
mv uImage-wdrecovery uImage
mv uRamdisk-wdrecovery uRamdisk
cd /
umount /mnt/root /mnt/usb

Yes.

Behind the scenes, this is what happens:

  1. You set up the partitions in the correct sizes and order.
  2. you put on the recovery image and start it.
  3. The recovery image requests a real firmware file.
  4. That firmware file gets unpacked and replaces the recovery image.
  5. When you set up the volume for the first time, the system will have booted from real firmware. It will be resident inside the system’s root volume, which is a ramdisk. This allows the system to completely nuke the drive, and completely rebuild all the partitions in the way it wants, and to set up all its xml files the way it wants them. This is exactly what happens. (It calls an undocumented, WD-Only command line utility using a CGI call that does exactly this thing.) Once the volume is repartitioned and all the XML files are set up, it copies the OS data back from the ramdisk back onto the drive. It then tells you to reboot.
  6. You reboot, and everything is just right.

Due to the “volume setup” phase of the operation nuking all of your partitions and re-creating them for you using a closed source binary that cannot be changed or audited, you cannot really change the sizes of the partitions it creates for you. (EG, you cannot make sda4 smaller, so don’t bother. Just use the sizes Fox has stated, and move on with your life.)

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Very well written. Such detail is exceedingly appreciated!

Really helped. A few follow up questions in it’s vein.

So technically the partitions I set up from Fox’s guide are deleted and over-written? Then does it really matter if they are so specifically created as he documents?

When it finishes, will it automatically resize and take advantage of the full drive? For example. I have a 3 TB drive in the My Cloud now. My plan is to use a 8 TB.

That brings up a question I had earlier. Setting those Fox partitions as specified doesn’t matter what size drive you are putting in?

I assume to install the recovery file is what the steps right below it describe how to do.

I see Bennor answered some of my questions above. Working on this for days so I forgot!

I downloaded the firmware. The very first version from WD isn’t available, but the very next one was. It was large. It is not quite clear to me when or where that gets on the drive. 1.02.08

@themus
Generally there is no need to download the first version of the v2.x firmware when unbricking a second gen v2.x single bay My Cloud. After performing the various unbrick steps and then loading the Web-Gui (recovery mode) page in a web browser one would typically upload the latest WD v2.x .bin firmware file. Download link for the current latest single bay second gen v2.x firmware file 2.31.195 (09/11/2019): https://downloads.wdc.com/nas/My_Cloud_GLCR_2.31.195.bin

One can find older versions of the single bay/single drive first gen v3.x/v4.x and second gen v2.x firmware in the following thread.

Being very unfamiliar with Linux, I thought I might try Gparted hooked up to my drive with a Ubuntu session in Windows. I am trying to figure out what to enter in light of Fox’s linux commands. Maybe I cannot get there from here?

With the GUI, I just figured I would be able to make sure I avoid touching my other drives. I noticed Fox’s notes to format drive if needed. That usually is done after partitions are created in windows. So I am not sure how that plays out in Linux.

I’ll keep working, but I am trying the Linux commands.

I get the following error after setting the drive format to gpt.

Virtual-Machine:~$ mkpart primary 1049kB 2149MB
mkpart: command not found

I am using the built-in terminal and mkpart is not found.

Did you run “parted” before running the mkpart commands? You have to run “parted” + the mount point in order to get into the Parted appication where you then can run the actual command (mkpart) that creates the partition(s).

parted /dev/sda
mklabel gpt
mkpart primary 1049kB 2149MB
mkpart primary 8591MB -1MB
mkpart primary 7517MB 8591MB
mkpart primary 2149MB 3222MB
mkpart primary 3222MB 4296MB
mkpart primary 4296MB 6443MB
mkpart primary 6443MB 7517MB
q
mkswap /dev/sda1
mkfs.ext4 /dev/sda3

Thank you. This keeps being a challenge on all fronts. So tonight I put my new hard drive in the My Cloud case, 8TB, have the network controller hooked up, I am getting a blinking red light with the USB drive plugged in, but my router is not listing any device for it. I’ll keep trying, but this continues to be a challenge no matter what path I seem to take. :slight_smile:

Looks like I found the IP in my router, but using Putty or Telnet is is not connecting.

Just used Putty and port 23 and I got in! I entered all the command lines with no problem.

Success!. There are a few steps I had to work through, but it is now an 8TB drive!

One of the unique things that I observed was after I interfaced to the unit through its IP address and the gui in the web browser upon its reboot was initially there were no drive space listed. Additionally, I saw a tab for “storage” and inside of that JBOD raid. After selecting that, the unit reformatted and rebooted and I had my 8TB of space. It also alerted me to another firmware update which I loaded. I thought the JBOD and no space was unique not having seen that anywhere in all my readings.

Despite that, it is now working and I am writing my files back to it.

Special thank you to Bennor and Wierd_W. Without their insights and advice, I would not have succeeded as I have. I have taken the time to write a Word file and have documented this in terms of which I may assist those in the future {being a Linux novice.}

The “Set up JBOD” phase is the “Volume setup” phase I mentioned.

It is accomplished using that WD-specific command line program, and it is at that point in the setup process that all partitions on the disk get wiped, recreated, and all the XML files get generated that the system uses to keep track of its various configuration information.

Since those files do not exist prior to this phase in the setup, it lists 0mb as the size of the volume. (because the volume as not been set up.)

Once you set up the volume, it asks you to reboot. You do, and its all good after that. :stuck_out_tongue:

Just done it partially using a single board computer (rockpro64). So far I have a red light on the wd my cloud, but let’s keep it on for like 30-40 minutes as I hope I’ll eventually come on.

Great guide, thanks.

For some, after an unbrick they will get a red LED on the front LED. One should then access the My Cloud Dashboard using a web browser and perform a System Only Factory Restore via the Dashboard > Settings > Utilities page. This will cause the My Cloud to reset then perform a reboot at which point one should then get a blue LED on the front LED.