Replace HDD in Mycloud (Gen1)

[jaxwins]

Hello all,
Really sorry to pickup this subject again but I´m totally lost, i past last few days reading about to replace hdd in my cloud but i´m still confuse … its seems that a several partitions must be created and some files must be copied to them.

There is any friendly tool do do this with graphic user interface?
I have hdd ready installed in my computer with ubuntu (v16) with gparted application.

My goal is installed (setup) 1 disk with 1TB capacity

Any help, please, i really, really appreciate any help.
Jaxwins.

[Bennor]

@jaxwins

There is any friendly tool do do this with graphic user interface?

There is no “friendly” program that will do it for you if you are following one of the various unbrick methods. Only friendly method is cloning an existing (working) My Cloud drive to a hard drive that is the same or larger size. One such method of cloning using Clonezilla is discussed in the following post:

[GUIDE] Upgrade a working My Cloud to a bigger HDD (easy steps)

Hello! I just upgraded My Cloud (1st gen) from 2TB to 4TB and it worked flawless. Let me share here. Someone might want do the same process Important: If your device is dead or with failure this guide is not for you. In this cases search for “unbrick” or take a look at this folder: GDrive WDMyCloud posted by @Fox_exe Important Note: It has no guarantees. Do it at your own risk Ok. What you need before you get started: 2 usb sticks (you can use 1 if y…

@jaxwins

I have hdd ready installed in my computer with ubuntu (v16) with gparted application.

Generally the steps provided by user Fox_exe will work for most. It really isn’t all that hard and is only a dozen or so commands that can be copy and pasted into the Linux terminal window after adjusting for the hard drive location in Linux. It requires some basic Linux knowledge and a working install or boot disc/USB flash drive of Linux and the hard drive attached to that Linux computer (or VM install). On the first gen directions one may get an error or two at certain parts but generally it works to restore the My Cloud OS to a new hard drive. And one may get a red front LED after unbricking. If this happens try accessing the My Cloud Dashboard > Settings > Utilities and perform a System Only restore. That typically fixes the red front LED and the 0K in the Capacity chart issue.

User Fox_exe repositories:
Main Repository: https://fox-exe.ru/WDMyCloud/
First Gen: https://fox-exe.ru/WDMyCloud/WDMyCloud-Gen1/
Second Gen: https://fox-exe.ru/WDMyCloud/WDMyCloud-Gen2/

First gen directions:
English: https://fox-exe.ru/WDMyCloud/WDMyCloud-Gen1/Replace%20HDD%20-%20English.txt
Russian: https://fox-exe.ru/WDMyCloud/WDMyCloud-Gen1/Replace%20HDD.txt
File(s) used in first gen:
original_v03.04.01-230.tar.gz: https://fox-exe.ru/WDMyCloud/WDMyCloud-Gen1/Backups/original_v03.04.01-230.tar.gz
original_v04.01.02-417.tar.gz: https://fox-exe.ru/WDMyCloud/WDMyCloud-Gen1/Backups/original_v04.01.02-417.tar.gz
Latest first gen firmware: http://support.wdc.com/downloads.aspx?g=904

Second gen directions:
English: https://fox-exe.ru/WDMyCloud/WDMyCloud-Gen2/_Unbricking_en.txt
Russian: https://fox-exe.ru/WDMyCloud/WDMyCloud-Gen2/_Unbricking_ru.txt
usbrecovery.tar.gz: https://fox-exe.ru/WDMyCloud/WDMyCloud-Gen2/usbrecovery.tar.gz
Alternate method files:
uImage-wdrecovery: https://fox-exe.ru/WDMyCloud/WDMyCloud-Gen2/Developing/uImage-wdrecovery
uRamdisk-wdrecovery: https://fox-exe.ru/WDMyCloud/WDMyCloud-Gen2/Developing/uRamdisk-wdrecovery
Latest second gen firmware: http://support.wdc.com/downloads.aspx?g=904

[jaxwins]

Hi, thanks for reply,

Why is needed so many small partitions, in my case i want to replace 3TB disk for 1TB.
1TB disk has no partitions, with gparted i can create partitions but i´m not sure about theses numbers:
(…)
mkpart primary 528M 2576M — this should be the total size of the partition ?
mkpart primary 2576M 4624M — this should be the total size of the partition ?
mkpart primary 16M 528M
(…)

Sorry theses questions, i need to clear some doubts.

Regards and thanks for the help
Jaxwins

[Bennor]

Do not change the numbers in the directions that are used for creating the size and locations of the partitions. The My Cloud firmware needs the partitions at their specified locations and (in all cases except the data partition) at their specified size.

Just enter the values as they are. After first boot perform if the data partition value is off (free/used space in the Dashboard Capacity section), a System Only restore from the My Cloud Dashboard and it should fix any sizing issues with the data partition (partition #4 on the first gen, one that is created using this line: mkpart primary 4828M 100% from the directions).

[jaxwins]

Hi Hello,

It didn’t workout for me, i followed the steps but in the end i cant get blue led in the equipment, after waiting 20 minutes.

I noticed time to time led flash but thats it, anything else i should do to this work??

Thanks anyway for your reply
Jaxwins

[Bennor]

At first boot after unbrick, if the front led is still red, try accessing the My Cloud Dashboard either by wdmycloud or wdmycloud.local or by the My Cloud IP address. If you can access the Dashboard, go to Settings > Utilities and perform a System Only reset. That will typically clear the front red led.

[jaxwins]

Hi, sorry …

I did mention that i m getting a white led … and sometimes flashes, there is no red led.

Question:
How can i download the files directly to /mnt folder ?? as the tutorial?

9. Use data partition as download folder:
   mount -t ext4 /dev/sdb4 /mnt
   cd /mnt

10. Download one of arhive’s to /mnt folder:
    v3.04.01-230: https://fox-exe.ru/WDMyCloud/WDMyCloud-Gen1/Backups/original_v03.04.01-230.tar.gz
    v4.01.02-417: https://fox-exe.ru/WDMyCloud/WDMyCloud-Gen1/Backups/original_v04.01.02-417.tar.gz

What i did was download the file to desktop and run the command: tar xvfz original_v3.04.01-230.tar.gz
I believe that extraction was done successfully because i didn’t get any error!!
It is wrong??

Thanks
Jaxwins

[Bennor]

@jaxwins

How can i download the files directly to /mnt folder ?? as the tutorial?

While in the /mnt folder use the linux wget command. This assumes you are using a computer running Linux connected to the Internet. Example: wget https://fox-exe.ru/WDMyCloud/WDMyCloud-Gen1/Backups/original_v03.04.01-230.tar.gz

But in reality one really doesn’t need to do that. One can download one of the two files to the local computer. Extract it. then push the extracted img files to their appropreate /sdx locations.

Extract the download file. Example: tar xvfz original_v3.04.01-230.tar.gz
Push each img file to the appropriate partition. Make sure to substitute the correct partition letter for your particular settings.

dd if=kernel.img of=/dev/sdb5
dd if=kernel.img of=/dev/sdb6
dd if=config.img of=/dev/sdb7
dd if=config.img of=/dev/sdb8
dd if=rootfs.img of=/dev/md0

Couple of comments about errors I typically get when using the Fox_exe first gen directions.

• Step 8. The command ‘mdadm -A /dev/md0 /dev/sdb1 /dev/sdb2’ sometimes throws an error. I typically just ignore the error and continue to the next entry command in step 8.
• Step 12. When using the original_v04.01.02-417.tar.gz file, I get a out of space error when running the command ‘dd if=kernel.img of=/dev/sdb5’. I typically ignore this error and proceed to the next entry command in step 12. When using the original_v03.04.01-230.tar.gz extracted files I do not get the out of space error message on sdb5.

[jaxwins]

hello, i believe uploaded the files to directories:

dd if=kernel.img of=/dev/sdb5
dd if=kernel.img of=/dev/sdb6
dd if=config.img of=/dev/sdb7
dd if=config.img of=/dev/sdb8
dd if=rootfs.img of=/dev/md0

And Step 8 and 12 also ran OK without errors…

At this moment, status is as pictures shows

[jaxwins]

Hi

I runned all process from scratch and now i was able to enter WD portal, however with static red light

Any tips?

Thanks

[Bennor]

If one can access the My Cloud Dashboard, then perform a System Only reset via the Dashboard > Settings section.

[jaxwins]

Same issue, red light status.

I believe hdd has bad sectores

[jaxwins]

Hi hello

Its seems that this steps or this procedure is very hard to put this work…
I made a test with other new disk and same result, on the first test, i thought the error was because bad sectors but now, i´m not so sure…

Tested with two different disks and same result, what i’m doing wrong??
Please help

Regards

[Bennor]

Try performing a System Only restore on the second drive if you haven’t done so already via the My Cloud Dashboard > Settings > Utilities page. On the first gen one typically has to do that post unbrick.

One could try pushing the latest v4.x firmware (one can manually download it from here: http://support.wdc.com/downloads.aspx?g=904 and see if that fixes or changes anything.

If that doesn’t work then try using the original_v03.04.01-230 rather than the v4.x file when unbricking the drive. Then load the latest v4.x firmware if the unbrick is successful with the v3.x firmware.

Personally I’ve unbricked a number of hard drives into my first gen enclosure. More than once I’ve had to redo the first gen unbrick procedure for one reason or another. In all cases I always had to do a system only restore after a successful unbrick to fix the 0K issue. In all cases the hard drive was good, no major SMART errors when drive was checked on a Windows PC using disc monitoring/reporting software.

I’ve posted this elsewhere with respect to the errors I get running the first gen Fox_Exe directions: When running the first gen unbrick directions from User Fox_exe I typically get one or two errors, which I tend to bypass.The unbrick process typically completes despite these errors. Places where I typically get warnings or errors:

• Step 8. The command ‘mdadm -A /dev/md0 /dev/sdb1 /dev/sdb2’ sometimes throws an error. I typically just ignore the error and continue to the next entry command in step 8.
• Step 12. When using the original_v04.01.02-417.tar.gz file, I get a out of space error when running the command ‘dd if=kernel.img of=/dev/sdb5’. I typically ignore this error and proceed to the next entry command in step 12. When using the original_v03.04.01-230.tar.gz extracted files I do not get the out of space error message on sdb5.
• When booting the My Cloud for the first time after unbricking the hard drive I eventually get a red front LED after the bootup completes. I then attempt to access the My Cloud Dashboard. If I am able to access the Dashboard I run a Settings > Utilities > System Factory Restore > System Only restore. This typically fixes the 0K capacity and the failed mount issue that typically happens with this unbrick procedure.

[jaxwins]

Hi and thanks for all tips…

I made another test by installing from scratch, but this time with firmware version 3…
I got same behavior, red light status, but now with new symptom in dashboard i have storage Capacity i can see folders like public etc.
I tried to do the System factory Restore/System only then the firmware upgrade to version 4 but didn’t work out for me.

Thanks once again

[Bennor]

Best guess, assuming no issues with the hard drive, is there is a problem somewhere in the steps you are using to unbrick. Generally what I do is download the directions to the Linux PC then copy and paste the various commands from the text file to the Linux terminal window. Adjusting of course for the hard drive location (/sda or /sdb, or /sdc, etc.) if needed

Make sure before starting the unbrick process when using Linux to issue the following command from the Linux terminal: apt-get update && apt-get install mdadm parted

Make sure, at step 5 of Fox’s directions, to enter the values exactly for each partition and in the correct order after removing any existing partitions. Do not change any of the values.
mklabel gpt
mkpart primary 528M 2576M
mkpart primary 2576M 4624M
mkpart primary 16M 528M
mkpart primary 4828M 100%
mkpart primary 4624M 4724M
mkpart primary 4724M 4824M
mkpart primary 4824M 4826M
mkpart primary 4826M 4828M
set 1 raid on
set 2 raid on

Step 7 is likewise important:
mkfs -t ext4 /dev/sdb4
mkswap /dev/sdb3

Step 8 can be confusing. If you get an error issuing the mdadm --stop /dev/md* I usually just ignore it and continue to the next command entry in the directions: mdadm -A /dev/md0 /dev/sdb1 /dev/sdb2

When you run this command: mdadm --create /dev/md0 --level=1 --metadata=0.9 --raid-devices=2 /dev/sdb1 /dev/sdb2 you then need to issue the following command and wait for it to indicate 100%: watch cat /proc/mdstat. Once it indicates 100% then hit the keys [ctrl] + [c] to close that message and proceed to issuing the remaining commands in the terminal window. It is easy to forget or mess up this step as it is somewhat confusing.

[jaxwins]

Hi, my comments below.

Best guess, assuming no issues with the hard drive, is there is a problem somewhere in the steps you are using to unbrick. Generally what I do is download the directions to the Linux PC then copy and paste the various commands from the text file to the Linux terminal window. Adjusting of course for the hard drive location (/sda or /sdb, or /sdc, etc.) if needed
[Jaxwins] - I´m using Virtual machine with ubuntu 18.04 installed on Mac with USB 3.0 HDD Docstation

Make sure before starting the unbrick process when using Linux to issue the following command from the Linux terminal: apt-get update && apt-get install mdadm parted
[Jaxwins] - Did not made this step

Make sure, at step 5 of Fox’s directions, to enter the values exactly for each partition and in the correct order after removing any existing partitions. Do not change any of the values.
mklabel gpt
mkpart primary 528M 2576M
mkpart primary 2576M 4624M
mkpart primary 16M 528M
mkpart primary 4828M 100%
mkpart primary 4624M 4724M
mkpart primary 4724M 4824M
mkpart primary 4824M 4826M
mkpart primary 4826M 4828M
set 1 raid on
set 2 raid on
[Jaxwins] - I´m using Virtual machine with ubuntu 18.04 installed on Mac with USB 3.0 HDD Docstation, to avoid bad written, i copy/past all the commands

Step 8 can be confusing. If you get an error issuing the mdadm --stop /dev/md* I usually just ignore it and continue to the next command entry in the directions: mdadm -A /dev/md0 /dev/sdb1 /dev/sdb2
[Jaxwins] - Yes, i got erros at this commands and can’t figure out why

When you run this command: mdadm --create /dev/md0 --level=1 --metadata=0.9 --raid-devices=2 /dev/sdb1 /dev/sdb2 you then need to issue the following command and wait for it to indicate 100%: watch cat /proc/mdstat . Once it indicates 100% then hit the keys [ctrl] + [c] to close that message and proceed to issuing the remaining commands in the terminal window. It is easy to forget or mess up this step as it is somewhat confusing.
[Jaxwins] - Notting happens in this command, don’t see any increasing percentage

[Bennor]

@jaxwins

When you run this command: mdadm --create /dev/md0 --level=1 --metadata=0.9 --raid-devices=2 /dev/sdb1 /dev/sdb2 you then need to issue the following command and wait for it to indicate 100%: watch cat /proc/mdstat . Once it indicates 100% then hit the keys [ctrl] + [c] to close that message and proceed to issuing the remaining commands in the terminal window. It is easy to forget or mess up this step as it is somewhat confusing.
[Jaxwins] - Notting happens in this command, don’t see any increasing percentage

After entering in the command: mdadm --create /dev/md0 --level=1 --metadata=0.9 --raid-devices=2 /dev/sdb1 /dev/sdb2 the terminal command prompt should return immediately. When it does you type in watch cat /proc/mdstat. A different set of information should then appear. One of the lines will advance to 100%. Once it reaches 100% one then hits the [ctrl] key plus [c] keys to exit out of the watch cat message back to the terminal command prompt.

If you are not able to see the watch cat /proc/mdstat message indicating the status that could be a problem. What one is doing at that point in step 8 is watching the status of the RAID creation of /dev/sdb1 and /dev/sdb2. If that process isn’t completed then it likely causes the My Cloud to fail to work properly.

This all assumes one has adjusted the directions and each command one pastes in to match the partition mount locations either when running Linux in the VM, or when running Linux OS on their computer.

[Bennor]

@jaxwins

Make sure before starting the unbrick process when using Linux to issue the following command from the Linux terminal: apt-get update && apt-get install mdadm parted
[Jaxwins] - Did not made this step

Missed this part in my earlier reply. If you don’t have the package mdadm installed it will likely cause problems later on and may explain why the watch cat /proc/mdstat dialog information might not appear when that command is issued. So make sure to run apt-get update && apt-get install mdadm parted from the terminal command line window and select [y] to install both parted and mdadm packages and any other Linux package updates.

[jaxwins]

Hi

about command: apt-get update && apt-get install mdadm parted
i runned the command in two parts

In the step 8 for some reason i’m getting this output when i run this command:
sudo mdadm --create /dev/md0 --level=1 --metadata=0.9 --raid-devices=2 /dev/sda1 /dev/sda2