WD is happy to announce our latest firmware update for the My Book Live. For information about the firmware update, please check out the release notes.
Please feel free to add your experiences with the firmware update to this thread.
[deleted]
Hi,
Just got a WD My Book Live to serve as a simple file server for my office. It set up OK, although I am having some problems accessing the menus from the WD Quick View program. As someone else here has posted, If I click on Dashboard or some of the other choices, it opens a browser window looking for something like “mybooklive” and it fails. I can enter the assigned IP address and get to the UI OK, though.
But my main problem is getting the software update to run. I tried it twice and got it to “download” but then it gave me a “copy fail” It took a long time to do it, too, like about an hour.
I thought it might be because I was using Firefox instead of Internet Explorer, so I tried it again with IE and although the front LED turned white and there was a lot of Ethernet blinking and DSL blinking, it never finished. I let it run almost 3 hours. The progress bar never moved, and I didn’t get a “downloading” message. I tried it again and got the “downloading” message and the bar moved a little, but then it stalled.
Tried it a couple more times and got a “communications failure” problem.
I’d really like to see some of the improvement and bug fixes, but I can’t figure out how to get the drive to do the upgrade.
Any help?
Thanks.
the HumpMan
The Update feature on the My Book Live is worryingly temperamental.
WD have updated the Support page with Firmware downloads now, you can grab them here:
http://support.wdc.com/product/download.asp?groupid=902&sid=132&lang=en
-edit-
No, they haven’t. As Rich points out, the GPL source code is available to download but the actual firmwares are not.
If they ever are added to the page, the following is a great set of instructions (sadly useless right now, doh).
Determine your current Firmware version as follows:
- Log into the My Book Live web browser UI
- Select SETTINGS
- Within SYSTEM click on UPDATES
- Within UPDATES you can see the current Firmware Version
If your current Firmware Version is less than 01.00.02, you will need to update to that firmware first (fixes some Update bugs).
If your firmware version is equal or greater than 01.00.02, skip straight to 01.01.03.
The firmwares are almost 120MB each, which is why the online update takes so long each time (and has an apparent high risk of failure).
To install the new Firmware(s):
- You’ll need to extract the file from the ZIP
- Open the My Book Live browser UI
- Go to SETTINGS > SYSTEM > UPDATES
- Click UPDATE FROM FILE
- Select the Firmware from the location you extracted to
Let us know how if that solves your problem. ;)
Ahhh. It’s good they decided to do that!!!
I agree that it is good that they finally gave access to the raw file so that the update could be done manually.
I knew the file would be large, but the inconsistent and lack of progress in the screen information was what was worrying me. The fact that I got 3 or 4 different error messages was also troubling.
But now a bigger mystery. I decided to install the WD installation software on the lone XP machine here to see if it worked any better. It still wouldn’t take me to the Dashboard from the Quick View menu. So I got there using the MBL’s IP address.
But when I checked the software version using the “Settings/Updates” option, lo and behold, it was now on the current version! One of my attempts the night before must have worked, or my lack of checking the “automatic” update box didn’t stop it from updating itself overnight.
In any case, it all seems to be working. I see the “Reboot/Shut Down” options on the “Utilities” option also.
the HumpMan
PixelPower wrote:
The Update feature on the My Book Live is worryingly temperamental.
WD have updated the Support page with Firmware downloads now, you can grab them here:
http://support.wdc.com/product/download.asp?groupid=902&sid=132&lang=en
Determine your current Firmware version as follows:
- Log into the My Book Live web browser UI
- Select SETTINGS
- Within SYSTEM click on UPDATES
- Within UPDATES you can see the current Firmware Version
If your current Firmware Version is less than 01.00.02, you will need to update to that firmware first (fixes some Update bugs).
If your firmware version is equal or greater than 01.00.02, skip straight to 01.01.03.
The firmwares are almost 120MB each, which is why the online update takes so long each time (and has an apparent high risk of failure).
To install the new Firmware(s):
- You’ll need to extract the file from the ZIP
- Open the My Book Live browser UI
- Go to SETTINGS > SYSTEM > UPDATES
- Click UPDATE FROM FILE
- Select the Firmware from the location you extracted to
Let us know how if that solves your problem. ;)
Are you sure that you can download the actual firmware from that page.
I can only see the gpl source code download. I downloaded the files and I cannot see any firmware update.
richUK wrote:
Are you sure that you can download the actual firmware from that page.
I can only see the gpl source code download. I downloaded the files and I cannot see any firmware update.
Oh ■■■■! Right you are, those are not the actual firmwares, just the source code.
So WD will happily give you the source code, which is useless to 99% of users, yet neglect to supply the actual firmwares that some users NEED.
Bill, can you poke the right person and get them made available online? The online update is incredibly hit and miss.
Hell, I didn’t even notice that myself. Good call.
Incidentally, the GPL builds are required; they’re useless to most, but the authors of the code require users to publish the code. Which is a good thing…
PixelPower wrote:
richUK wrote:
Are you sure that you can download the actual firmware from that page.
I can only see the gpl source code download. I downloaded the files and I cannot see any firmware update.
Oh ■■■■! Right you are, those are not the actual firmwares, just the source code.
So WD will happily give you the source code, which is useless to 99% of users, yet neglect to supply the actual firmwares that some users NEED.
Bill, can you poke the right person and get them made available online? The online update is incredibly hit and miss.
Sorry, guys, do to certain restraints the firmware update can only be done through the My Book Live. The user will need to contact Tech Support for help.
To Contact WD for Technical Support
http://support.wdc.com/contact/index.asp?lang=en
bill_s wrote:
PixelPower wrote:
richUK wrote:
Are you sure that you can download the actual firmware from that page.
I can only see the gpl source code download. I downloaded the files and I cannot see any firmware update.
Oh ■■■■! Right you are, those are not the actual firmwares, just the source code.
So WD will happily give you the source code, which is useless to 99% of users, yet neglect to supply the actual firmwares that some users NEED.
Bill, can you poke the right person and get them made available online? The online update is incredibly hit and miss.
Sorry, guys, do to certain restraints the firmware update can only be done through the My Book Live. The user will need to contact Tech Support for help.
To Contact WD for Technical Support
http://support.wdc.com/contact/index.asp?lang=en
This may have to be done via the My Book Live but there is a facility to use an already downloaded file. The updating problem is associated with the My Book Live trying (and failing) to download the update. This could be overcome and extreme stress eliminated if you could download the firmware yourself and then use the menu within the dashboard to update.
It was the same way with my My Book World. I think they make that option available in case there is an emergency or some other kind of issue that prevents a unit from performing an automatic update. It makes sense, its just a litle confusing if you don’t think about it.
… incidentally, today’s load-up of version 1.02.03 worked for me without a single hiccup.
It’d be nice to see the release notes though (which still reference only 1.01.03 and 1.01.02.)
Ooops, wrong thread. Sorry… 
