My Cloud - Personal Storage 1 Tb Data Volume Difference between data used and folders

[brnn69]

Hello I am trying to interrogate the data volumes stored on my 1 Tb My Cloud personal storage I have the My Cloud Device connected to my home router and network accessed by 5 computers.

The 1 Tb device has 912 Gb of usable storage. According to the user folders stored on the My Cloud Device viewed via File Explorer they total to 84 Gb. Storage on the device currently indicates 767 Gb Used and available storage is 144 Gb. Last week when unable to save any additional files to the device I removed several folders of data not required to be accessed via the 'network to another storage device.

My concern or issue is how to investigate the discrepancy between the 767 Gb of used space showing on the MyCloud device and the 84 Gb of data that the folders according to File Explorer contain. i.e. A difference of 683 Gb of data. Is there a tool or a report that is available that will provide details of what makes up the data stored on the MyCloud device? I do not store ‘safepoint’ files on the MyCloud I use a MyBook HD attached via USB to the MyCloud and detach when the safepoint is completed.

Thanks

[cat0w]

@brnn69 When was the last time you rebooted your My Cloud? A reboot should cause it to start a rescan of what is stored on it.

What is showing on the Dashboard for Storage? See example image below.

[brnn69]

Thanks Cat0w appreciate the feedback, I rebooted the MyCloud just know and added in the figures from the dashboard I had viewed yesterday I had no saved the image had noted the figures in my jottings the Video & Other numbers changed it is that ‘Other’ figure that is a puzzle at 610 GB I was thinking this only comprise documents i.e. doc. docx. PDF. xls.xlsx. etc it seems way out of kilter compared to what I know is in the folders.
The result copied

[Bennor]

Couple of comments. The way Windows File Explorer or Mac Finder calculates the amount of space used on the My Cloud Share may be different than the way the My Cloud (Linux OS) calculates the amount of used space. There shouldn’t be a wild swing between the two calculations but they may not be an exact match.

If one is using WD Sync, that application creates a hidden folder on the My Cloud and stores copies of files in there in case one wants to restore via WD Sync a deleted file that was synced using WD Sync (file versioning and file history). People using WD Sync have found that the application will eventually fill their My Cloud and they have to delete the hidden WD Sync folder to free up space.

Another option to check the amount of space on the My Cloud is to access the My Cloud firmware using SSH and issue Linux commands to see how much storage space each Share is consuming.

[brnn69]

Thanks and appreciate that feedback Bennor that has definitely given me some food for thought I am a little technically challenged and had noted messages relating to WD Sync popping up when downloading videos like WD Sync Failed etc as I was DL to my Comp C Drive ignored the message I have recently discovered these files appear also in the MyCloud Folders on Explorer and have deleted them as part of my purge to free up space. From you reply do I understand correctly that WD Sync could also have a ‘hidden’ cache of files as well?
As I say food for thought I will do some research.
Regards

[Bennor]

From you reply do I understand correctly that WD Sync could also have a ‘hidden’ cache of files as well?

In simple terms yes. The My Cloud will create a hidden folder for WD Sync (I think it’s .wdsync or something like that). That folder is visible when one accesses their My Cloud using SSH and one can remove that folder if they desire. The hidden folder is apparently used to store versions or copies of all files synced by WD Sync so one can use the WD Sync program to restore a deleted file.

More than a few WD users have dumped WD Sync since it has so many problems and have moved on to using free third party sync programs. Free File Sync (https://freefilesync.org/) is one such program some of us use to sync and mirror data to or from the My Cloud.

[brnn69]

Ok thanks for that add/info Bennor
Regards

[brnn69]

Thanks for all your feedback and tips for this issue Bennor I have now managed to the unravel the data on my MyCloud and it was the WDSYNC hidden folder causing the issue. Since doing a ‘safepoint’ in August the sync folder increased from 96.1 GB to 721 GB I can reconcile with this as I had done a fair bit of moving MP4 files amongst my folders etc. I fully understand now why our peers have chosen to dump the WD Sync process I have joined them; my dashboard now shows I have 900 GB free.
I have not been impressed with WD tech support during the time I have been trying to resolve this issue 2 responses the last 5 days ago ‘stating this issue was too complex to resolve via Email Support’. I still think that the product is fit for purpose (mine anyway) it irks me that these company’s get there products to market and then expect the user community to support them. Appreciate your assistance, regards