Still unreliable backing up

[yellowtriumph]

Surely the easiest way to backup my email is for MBL to do what it says on the tin:

It should be backing up my email, when it performs a category backup - like it says it will in the instructions, where it specifically says it will back up *.pst files. I would not expect to have to ‘faff around’ moving email around to ensure it gets backed up.

The idea behind all of this is to ensure I have a backup going on in the background at all times, which is particularly attractive to users, like my wife, who are NOT pc literate. That  is the iniital attraction.

[yellowtriumph]

Having chnaged my DHCP/static addressing etc, I am now locked out of the MBL>smartware folder.

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/545/lockedout.jpg/

But this is a public folder, there is no username or password (I certainly don’t have one) I can access this folder via W7 explorer (no - no update backup) but not via the smartware backup software. In effect I appear to have gone backwards.

But I may not have performed the IP address ‘stuff’ as suggested above properly, and I acccept it may be my fault at this point.

Desperately seeking a solution now. Desperate.

[cman548]

if you open a browser, can you still get to the dashboard by typing in http://mybooklive/UI ?  Or can you get to the dashboard by entering the IP address instead of the name?

You shouldn’t get locked out because of IP issues.  You set your router to assign a static IP to the MBL, did you also set the MBL to be a static IP at that same IP address?

There have been other issues with windows and credentials.  Do a search here for “net use”, regarding how to clear out all the connections between windows and the MBL so you make sure it’s not trying to use your windows credentials to get to the MBL.

[yellowtriumph]

Still grateful for your help cman548.

I can access MBL via the dashboard by either typing in your http://mybooklive/UI or putting 192.168.1.4 in the browser address bar. I left the MBL IP address setting to DHCP as I thought you had sort of suggested that as a default in your posting above - seems to be ok. I am not locked out of the MBL dashboard 'system.

My problem (now) is that if I run up the Smartware software and select the MBL backup share to be the Smartware share (MBL>Smartware) it immediately asks me to input a user name and password. That has been the backup share that I have been asking the software to backup to since I performed a factory reset on the MBL quite a few days ago. I have never had to do this before, how can there be a username and password if this is a public share? (I have confirmed in the dashboard that it still is and hasn’t been inadvertantly changed).

If in the Smartware software I select the backup folder to be MBL>Public then I am not asked for either a user name or password. But of course that is not the share that I originally set up to be the destiantion of the Smartware backup utility.

I have not searched previously for ‘net use’ < i will do so now and see what I can generate.

[yellowtriumph]

Update;

If I type the command cmd:

net use

there is one entry for the MBL, but it is telling me it is disconnected. But I can access it on Windows Explorer and move around the folders with no difficulties?

But further update a few minutes later. Having ensured I could access and move around the MBL with explorer, I then ran net use again and it tells me the connection to the MBL is OK.

[cman548]

I was thinking that perhaps win 7 is first connecting to a private share on your MBL.  It would then try to use that same login for accessing any folder on the mbl, including public folders.  Sort of the reverse of this thread. 

http://community.wdc.com/t5/My-Book-Live/my-book-live-log-in-problem/m-p/260170/highlight/true#M4394

Do you have any mapping to the MBL?  You might try the net del and then try.

Can you still get to \mybooklive\public\Photos or whatever other public folders you have on the MBL?

(note, the above path would be entered in the search field, not in a web browser.)

[yellowtriumph]

I have to leave the house now for a few days so will  not be able to look into this further - but I will get back to you.

Very quickly trying this morning though I can access public folders (such as mybooklive>smartware) by typing into the search bar as you suggested. And I can access other public foders.

I think next week I will simply close the computer down completely, then re-start it and try and access these folders using explorer and report back on what login procedure I need to do to get access.

I will then shut it down again ans then try and see what access I can gain to the same shares but using the Smartware software - I can only sort of access these folders by selecting them as backup shares, but it may provide some useful information for you.

I think I need to precisely let you know what/if W7 login procedures are 'thrown up ’ at me at a very low level when I try and access these shares via Explorer. Do you agree that would be useful?

I am not really familiar enough with cmd line procedures to be able to use them with any effectiveness or confidence - you really would have to hold my hand at every stage.

[yellowtriumph]

Ok, trying to keep things simple and progress through everything in a logical order.

If I restart the laptop, open W7 explorer, open MyBookLive in the network folders, select the only private share I get this:

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/405/windowsaccesstoprivates.jpg/

I click ‘Use another account’, enter the username and password for the private share and I get access to it straightaway.

This would seem to make sense to me and I would intepret it to mean:

" I am windows explorer and you have asked to have access to a private share. I need to know the username and password to give you access. I’m going to guess that the user name is maybe the username of this pc, but if it isn’t you can select to enter a different username and password."

Now, if I close down the laptop again, open up Smartware, select the backup destination to be MBL>Smartware (which is a public share with no username or password) - the Smartware software package tells me that the share is locked and that I have to enter a username and password. But there isn’t one. AND Smartware hasn’t performed any sort of backup for over a week now.

[trythesefirst]

Try username: admin and password: admin if this wont work, it has something to do with the windows settings. I encounter this everytime i create a home network w/o a password and its asking me a password, the only way to solve it is to create a network with a password.Hope this help.

[yellowtriumph]

Nope I’m afraid admin/admin doesn’t work.

I’m not sure how to set up a home network? To get my laptop and tower PC to initially work with the MBL I just made sure that they were on the same ‘workgroup’.

Both can still see (work?) with the MBL, it is the WD Smartware software that seems to be having issues.

Is yet another factory reset required?

Close to throwing this all in the bin.

PS. Sent a support request to WD over a week or so and no reply whatsoever. Is this really a company I want to rely on I ask myself?

[Theagustin]

yellowtriumph wrote:

Nope I’m afraid admin/admin doesn’t work.

 

I’m not sure how to set up a home network? To get my laptop and tower PC to initially work with the MBL I just made sure that they were on the same ‘workgroup’.

 

Both can still see (work?) with the MBL, it is the WD Smartware software that seems to be having issues.

 

Is yet another factory reset required?

 

Close to throwing this all in the bin.

 

 

PS. Sent a support request to WD over a week or so and no reply whatsoever. Is this really a company I want to rely on I ask myself?

 

among other issues i had that same problem with the newest version of smartware, I rolled back to version 1.5.1.6 and other than smartware hoging up my cpu from time to time all my files get backed up just fine. I wouldnt hold my breath on wd responding to your email anytime soon, when i was having trouble with smartware it wasnt untill 2 months later that i heard from them and they still wernt much help

[trythesefirst]

try contacting them via phone and ask for l2 assistance for advance troubleshooting

[yellowtriumph]

I’ve finally made the decision I should have made a long time ago and junked WD Smartware and uninstalled it from my Laptop. I will obviously keep the Quickview software as I need that to use MBL in it most basic form as a NAS.

I have been experimenting for a few of days with Acronis2013. It works. For the last 3 days, everyday, at midday, it simply and quietly performs a differential backup of my PC. It isn’t free of course, but having spent the last couple of weeks on MBL I feel I have gotten my life back - and that alone is worth the modest cost.

How could I ever recommend this product to anyone.

[Shabuboy]

You do not need to have any software for MBL and/or from WD. Unless you want mobile access and even then there are ways around it.

I admin/copy/move/backup/etc, without a single WD app.

I tend to do things in a way that if I need to upgrade or buy a different hardware, I’m not dependent on proprietary software. Plenty of pay/free/DIY options out there.

For the price, this is one of the best NAS I ever had.

[yellowtriumph]

Can you recommend any free software in particular?

All I require of a NAS is the ability to interrogate it via W7 explorer, create/delete folders, move stuff between folders. I don’t really need private shares etc.

If you are able to recommend something all I would kindly ask you to bear in mind is that I am not network literate, now I am retired all I want is minimum intellectual effort.

I want to spend my time in my vegetable plot, not poking around the internet trying to do this, that and the other!

[SDRHYTHM]

cman, I’m not familiar with networking at all. I’ve heard changing the MBL to static IP makes a huge difference. I attempted setting this upmyself with my Linksys E2500 router and MBL, and ended up locking myself out of both, having to restart both. That said, I’m nervous to switch from DHCP again. Can I just assign a static IP on my router but leave it as DHCP and then assign that static IP to my MBL? How does the process work?

Thank you!

[Shabuboy]

Yellowtriumph, you said “All I require of a NAS is the ability to interrogate it via W7 explorer, create/delete folders, move stuff between folders. I don’t really need private shares etc.”

If that is the case, you can do it via the Computer explorer/Computer. You can either map the MBL and/or get to it by just typing in the address bar on top:

\

or

\

Do a quick google for “map network drive windows 7”.

Here is one response:

http://windows.microsoft.com/is-IS/windows7/Create-a-shortcut-to-map-a-network-drive

[yellowtriumph]

Thank you Shabuboy for your response and help.

In the meantime I have now received a reply from WD Tech Support. They have suggested that I:

Update Flash player to the latest version.

Update Java to the latest version

Update Windows.net Frame 4 to the latest version.

Re-install the latest version of WDSmartware (1.6.4).

Restart PC and see how it goes.

So, I will give this a go and report back here. They have also asked me to return reply to their email address with the outcome, but as that email address is no-reply@salesforce.com I don’t really think any reply would actually go anywhere. Ho hum let’s see how I get on.

Update: Did all that, and the answer as we say here in the UK is ‘a lemon’. Still asking me for a password for the Smartware folder. A copper bottomed, gold plated ocean going disaster.

I will delete the Smartware software, and go with Acronis. I’ll also investigate Shabuboy’s very helpful feedback. 

[trythesefirst]

If you are using windowsthen use windows automatic back up. It would be the easiest way for you.

[yellowtriumph]

Thank you for your suggestion.

I am now in contact with WD technical support, who seem genuinely anxious to sort out my problem.

I must say however, the second support engineer said that he was taking over my problem from the first support engineer who initially came to my assistance, gave a few suggestions which didn’t solve my problem. He was then superceded by another support engineer who seems to be at a higher level, he gave a couple of things to try - to no avail I’m afraid.

He was then superceded by another support engineer, who gave me a few … well you know the story by now.

So now I have been passed on to yet another support engineer who will contact me in due course.

I do wonder how many layers of customer technical support WD have?

So, no solution yet, but I must emphasise WD still seem very keen to get me sorted and are most polite and helpful in our email exchanges.

In the meantime Acronis still keeps reliably backing everything up at midday, everyday with no fuss at all to a common share on the MBL.