Possible to connect My Cloud directly to PC (without router)?

Hi.

Is it possible to connect My Cloud directly to a PC without a router? I know the USB slot cannot be used for this, but what about using the ethernet cable?

I think the easiest way would be to make my PC a virtual router. Is this possible?

I do not think so… but someone can amplify

Yes, just connect the Ethernet wire from the My Cloud to the computer’s networking port.

You would have to find and use software that would turn your computer into a software based router. Perform an internet search to find such software.

1 Like

I haven’t actually tried this yet, because my My Cloud is out of reach at the moment.

What happens if I do this? How does the computer identify the drive? Doesn’t My Cloud depend on a router to work?

I presume your answer means more than just the physical connection.

No. Just shutdown/power off the My Cloud. Disconnect the My Cloud from the router. Connect the My Cloud to your computer’s networking port. Power on the My Cloud. After a short period of time the front LED will blink white (or similar color) indicating no network connection. Open up your computer’s file manager (Windows Explorer/Mac Finder) and see if the computer will find and access the My Cloud. You may have to enable file/printer sharing for the network port if its not enabled.

What should happen is both the My Cloud and computer networking port should default to using IP addresses in the 169.254.x.x range if it cannot find a DHCP server to obtain an IP address.

I’ve followed your instructions - without success. The OS on the laptop I’m using to connect to the My Cloud Home Duo device is Windows 10. Network discovery is on; file sharing is on. How can I detect the IP addresses of both machines?

Thank you for your input.

The directions and information in this thread were for connecting a My Cloud device to a computer. The My Cloud Home line of devices are different than the My Cloud line of devices. The My Cloud Home has a different operating system and different features/options than the My Cloud line of devices. There is a specific subforum for My Cloud Home Duo issues.

My Cloud Home Duo
https://community.wd.com/c/home-cloud-storage/my-cloud-home-duo/230

See the following WD Support Knowledgebase article for additional My Cloud Home device support including the My Cloud Home devices user manuals.

My Cloud Home Online User Guide and Solutions
https://support-en.wd.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/21182

The My Cloud Home user manual does not (apparently) indicate an option to directly connect a My Cloud Home device to a computer.

Further there is the following post in the My Cloud Home Duo subforum that is relevant:

Direct connection to
https://community.wd.com/t/direct-connection-to/247793/2

Jonty.S - WDStaff

Mar '20

Hi FYI,

WD My Cloud Home and WD My Cloud Home Duo devices require active internet connection to operate. These are not designed to connect via USB or Ethernet directly to a host computer system.

  1. If you don’t need conncection of your PC to internet or LAN you can just configure a local network for your PC and My Cloud (by setting static ip adreess for PC - 192.168.0.1, My Cloud - 192.168.0.2, net mask 255.255.255.0 and enamling the desired functions (as FTP) on My Cloud). And then connect it directly to pc via the lan cable.
    The other option for this case - disassemble your My Cloud and install HDD from it directly to your PC, you will need to install EXT2 dirver for your OS (if it is windows).

  2. If you need to connecn your PC to the internet or Lan, but don’t need to connect MyCloud to the internet or LAN you can use the option as describet in fig. 1 but additionaly you will need an other network adapter or Wi-Fi adapter to connect your pc to internet or Lan

  3. If you need to coonnect your MyCloud to the Internet then you can do as described in fig 2 and setup sharing internet on the other network card (How to Share Your Internet in Windows Over Ethernet or Wi-Fi | Tom's Hardware)

1 Like

I’ve connected the box to my computer via an ethernet cable, and clicked on Set up a new connection, but the My Cloud Home Duo isn’t detected. (The bar of white light on the front of the box blinks slowly.) Also, the WD Drive Utilities says “Attach a supported WD drive”. I cannot see any way of doing this. So how do I set the static ip address for the My Cloud?

Thank you for your help.

@RobJenk
The My Cloud Home line of devices are not the same as a My Cloud line of devices. The My Cloud Home Duo is not designed or intended to be connected directly to a computer. It requires an active internet connection to function. Per WD Staff:

Jonty.S - WDStaff

Mar '20

Hi FYI,

WD My Cloud Home and WD My Cloud Home Duo devices require active internet connection to operate. These are not designed to connect via USB or Ethernet directly to a host computer system.

This subforum (OS3 My Cloud), and this specific discussion deals with My Cloud devices which are different than the My Cloud Home line of devices. You should see and post in the dedicated subforum for your device where users who are familiar with the My Cloud Home Duo may be able to better assist with the specifics of that device and its limitations.

with My Cloud Home Duo you can try option 3 - if you don’t have a router, but you have additional network card or wi-fi adapter and a lan card and an internet connection. Or you can disassemble your device and install the hard disks directly into your PC the further settings in this case depens on that if you need the data on this disks - in this case you will need to restore software raid array and instal ext2 drivers/