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

My WD Red 4TB Hard Disks were taken out from MyCloud Mirror and wiped in order to remove sensitive data and re-install them again into the MyCloud Mirror. The unit shows solid red led lights for both disks after then. Factory reset wasn’t help. I tried above unbrick process, still wan’t able to get the hard disk pass the WD MyCloud Mirror Disk Self Check.

I gave up and purchased Synology DS418Play and slide in the two WD 4TB hard drives - now the synology disk station is very happy about them.

Just would like to share with anyone here who has been frustrated and wasted plenty of time to battle with WD’s closed system but failed. You can consider my approach.

Go to the storage section, and then set up raid configuration.

The mycloud mirror is similar to/practically identical to to the EX2. You need to set up how you want the drives to be used.

Hi Ouglee and the community,

Thanks for your guide. I’ve tried three or four other methods but yours seems to be the best. although it doesn’t works on my 2TB.
My WDMycloud blinked blue after a power outage. A short and a long reset were useless. Searching for a solution, i arrived here and i’ve tried some guides.
I must say that i’m not a pro in Linux and my english is poor (i’m French, sorry !)
Step 1 to 6 are OK. I’ve opened the box with this guide without breaking any part.
Step 7. I must add “sudo” before the lines but it works.
Step 8. Ok with “sudo” too…
Step 9. My result is exactly the same
I skip to 18. I connect the ethernet cable then the power. The LED blinks blue during 30 sec. then blinks red. I’ve waited for about one hour without any change.
So i restarted from step 7. At the end, i started gparted to see all the partitions of the disk. Four of them were “unknown” with a danger sign in front of their name. The biggest one (1,8 To) had a danger sign too but was marked as ext4. I’ve formatted it with ext4.
The result is the same. Red Led is blinking. I will wait until tomorrow but i think it’s useless.

What did i do wrong ?

Thanks for your help.

No need for all this Linux stuff…

These images are for the 2 or 3TB Gen1 drives but you just need the right image to suit your drive.

2TB - https://drive.google.com/open?id=1fpnplxqhVh8q4nx6aoHjCBmQITkQFJUo
3TB - https://drive.google.com/open?id=1u21bKSblI486SKwwKCGu92VAg2Lx9riU

Unzip when downloaded to give you the ‘image’ file.

Download this balenaEtcher - Flash OS images to SD cards & USB drives
Use etcher to restore the image to the new HDD using a USB caddy.
Refit the HDD to the WDCloud and boot, wait for the blue light.
You should now have access to the WDCloud, now run a ‘Quick Reset’ from the WDCloud menu to reset the available storage.

Your drive should now be fully functional.

Succesfully used to upgrade mine from the original 2TB drive to a 3TB using a Toshiba HDD.

Hello, can I use this unbrick tutorial for My Cloud Gen 1 (BCTL)?

I tried already by after performing all steps from tutorial my device not boot correctly. Solid red ligth is displayed all the time.

Where can I find logs which can help me to find the error cause?

On a first gen (P/N "-00) My Cloud if you perform all the steps correctly and get a solid red front LED after booting up the device. Try to access the My Cloud Dashboard. If you can access the Dashboard, then try performing a “System Only” restore via the Dashboard > Settings > Utilities > System Factory Restore section.

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Ok, I will try, but how can I connect to the My Cloud Dashboard? I don’t use device earlier. I bought WD My Cloud first gen without drive and separate new 2TB WD RED.

I tried using this url - My Cloud OS3 End of Service | Western Digital but any devices found.

This is my partitions view from My Cloud drive. Is everything ok here? In this case I use Fox_exe’s [guide], but using method from topic result was the same (only solid red light).

Model - WDBCTL0020HWT-00

The My Cloud Dashboard is how one configures the various features/options of the My Cloud. See the following WD Knowledgebase Support link for more information on how to access the Dashboard.

Generally you would use a web browser and either http://wdmycloud or http://wdmycloud.local or the My Cloud IP address to access the Dashboard. This assumes of course one has the My Cloud connected to their local network via Ethernet cable.

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Ok, I will try http://wdmycloud and http://wdmycloud.local

But first I must upload image once again because I remove all partitions. Which method do you recommend? Use image from this topic whether use Fox_exe’s guide (https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B_6OlQ_H0PxVZTBtM3EyRVhDVms)? If second, which image should I use: v03.04.01-230 / v04.01.02-417?

Use the v04.01.02-417 if you plan on updating to the very latest v4.x firmware on the first gen My Cloud.

There are certain instances where the v3.x firmware is used when running certain unofficial single bay My Cloud modifications.

I have only used Fox_Exe’s first gen unbrick directions when unbricking hard drives (I’ve done a number of them, currently using an 8TB WD Red drive) for my first gen My Cloud enclosure.

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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