I recently purchased a 6 tb cloud drive and after a bunch of frustration I finally mapped the drive and copied videos for streaming over my network to my PS3’s. I tested the first video file and had no problems. I made a new folder and copied 3 tb of videos to the cloud drive (took about 8 days over the network, thanks WD for no usb 3.0 support). Now that everything is transferred the ps3 cannot see the “videos” folder i made. However, i could see the public photo, music, and video folders that were originally on the drive. I put a shortcut of the “videos” folder i made into the public video folder and now i cannot see any folders on the drive from my ps3’s. i removed the shortcut and nothing. Anyone, have a solution or did i just waste a week of my life and need to return this drive and get my money back. Just to be clear, i can see all the folders on the cloud drive with both of my laptops on my home network. remote access is a completely different problem that i do not want to address right now.
Did you turn on “Media Serving” for the Share containing the video files you copied over to the My Cloud?
Turning on Media Serving for a Share allows the Twonky media server within the My Cloud to catalog the media contents of that Share and to serve up that content to any DLNA enabled client.
On the issue of copying a large amount of files to the My Cloud. It is generally recommended (even mentioned in the WD My Cloud User Manual) when transferring a large amount of content from an external drive to the My Cloud to connect that external drive to a computer which has a gigabit network port, connect that computer via Ethernet cable to a gigabit capable router/gateway to which the My Cloud is connected to.
When copying data over the USB 3.0 port on the back of the My Cloud one will generally see very slow copying speed if using Windows Explorer or Macintosh Finder to copy the files. This is because the data is flowing from the external USB drive attached to the My Cloud to the user’s computer then back to the My Cloud hard drive. If this copying is being done over WiFi it will be even slower. It is generally recommended to use one of the WD apps or software programs (like the WD My Cloud Desktop software) to initiate the copy of data from a My Cloud attached USB device to the My Cloud hard drive, or use one of the Linux copy methods via SSH to initiate the data transfer.
What means are you using to access media on your PS3? Network file server or DLNA media server?
If DLNA media server, where did you put the folder you created for your videos? Did you put it in a public share, or in a private share? Did you enable media serving for the share containing this video folder?
You can find out where the Twonky DLNA media server is searching for media by using its user interface. This thread might help:
I appreciate the response. Im trying to use it as a DLNA media server. I did not put the “video’s” folder in one of the shared folders, I just made a new folder in the root directory. I tried to use the WD software, but seems pretty useless. mapping the drive gave me access to file properties. The security setting are set for everyone to use the folder and files. Is there a way to access some kind of settings menu for the MyCloud drive itself to enable media serving? Bennor above asked “did you turn on “media Serving” for the Share”? Can i do this directly from the cloud drive? As i stated above, the security settings are set to share the files in My Computer. However, it will not let me make changes. My PS3 had no problems seeing the my cloud folders (minus the video folder i made), until i mapped the root drive with my laptop.
Is “media serving” an option that can be accessed from the drive itself? From My Computer, the security settings gives full access to everyone.
In the literature i received with the drive, it stated that the usb drive is only for use with a external hard drive. Unfortunately, the drive i have all of my files backed up on could not be seen by the MyCloud drive. I did transfer the files over a gigabit router, but i had to send the files from the external hard drive through the usb port and the over the network to the cloud drive. The software that came with this drive is completely useless. I would expect something better from WD. The WD software made the process very slow and i would get errors often and have to start over. Mapping the drive fixed that issue and transfer was slow, but without any errors.
I am having a hard time understanding why i could see the public shared drive on my PS3 until i mapped the drive. Additionally, the shortcut i put into the public video folder should have redirected to the new video folder where my files are. I can see all the files i transferred on my laptops, but I purchased this drive specifically for the streaming capabilities.
[quote=“dave_b2, post:5, topic:137695, full:true”]
Is “media serving” an option that can be accessed from the drive itself? From My Computer, the security settings gives full access to everyone.
…[/quote]
No, Media Serving is an option one sets from the WD My Cloud Dashboard that one access with their web browser. It is strongly recommended, if you haven’t done so already, to read the WD My Cloud User Manual (http://www.wdc.com/wdproducts/library/?id=439&type=25) as it contains much information on how to use the WD My Cloud including how to configure the various options for Share folders and User access.
A NAS isn’t simply a hard drive. It’s a computer system in its own right, and you need to set it up properly. Mucking about with file permissions and doing low-level stuff is likely to confuse it.
I did not put the “video’s” folder in one of the shared folders, I just made a new folder in the root directory
When you say ‘root’, do you mean at the highest level in the directory tree, or do you mean Linux /root?
Don’t put stuff in Linux /root. That’s not User space; it belongs to the operating system, and isn’t very big.
If you’re going to dabble in using Linux to access its file system, put your folders under
/DataVolume/shares
That’s where User data is stored, and made available via the file servers.
I meant the directory tree. I got it working. I just had to turn on the media serving tab and scan for files. I only received a quick start installation guide with the drive. It did not tell you how to access the dashboard. I figured the WD software or the remote access website i accessed was the dashboard when i first set the drive up. It turns out there is a different local address you need to go to in order to access the dashboard. I viewed the Twonky DLNA setup FAQ you posted, but got hung up on the second question though for a little while
"Q. How do I start the Twonky Media Server?
A: You need to set two controls in the Dashboard:
- Use the Shares|Public|Share Profile|Media Serving control in the Dashboard to enable media serving on the Public share (or whichever share(s) you have stored your media on)."
if you just log into the WD cloud website it takes you to a directory listing where you have all of the options as the WD software, which is almost nothing. I think WD needs to clarify there are multiple ways to access this drive and the only way to change settings is through the dashboard at the http://wdmycloud/ address. That is the most important info they need to give the consumer in my opinion. It would have saved me many hours of frustration. The only reason i was using My Computer was because i had no options available except “paste” and “make folder” with the software.
I appreciate the helps and feel much better about this drive now that i have full control. All i needed was access to the dashboard in the first place.
Yes, I always suggest using the ‘mobile device’ setup route on the quick start guide, because it takes you straight to the dashboard and avoids all the downloading of apps, etc. They ought to plug the user manual, too.
My FAQ does start with the three prerequisites of Dashboard, Twonky UI and SSH access.
Glad you got it working.
[quote=“dave_b2, post:8, topic:137695, full:true”]
I only received a quick start installation guide with the drive. It did not tell you how to access the dashboard. I figured the WD software or the remote access website i accessed was the dashboard when i first set the drive up. [/quote]
Actually the Quick Start Guide does tell you how to access the Dashboard its just they don’t label it as such. It is under Mobile Devices. If one installed the WD Access program, the Dashboard can be reached by right clicking on the WD icon in the taskbar, then select the My Cloud name (usually WD My Cloud) then “Settings”.
Haha! your right, it is there. That should be the first address they let consumers know about. I was not that concerned with connecting with a mobile device. I figured i would work on that after i got the drive working good on my home network. I downloaded their software from the start, which was a mistake since it does not really help in managing the drive. I have read so many bad reviews about this drive. I think most of the reviews are due to the drive not being user friendly. If i would have had accessed the dashboard day one, i would not have much to complain about.
Oh the drive, more specifically the firmware, does have its issues and there are plenty of valid complaints to be made. But a good number of posts to this user to user support site and a good number of negative reviews on ecommerce sites are due to; people not either understanding what they were buying, or people not reading the user manual.
The Quick Start Guide and other documentation included with the drive is enough (bare minimum) to get the drive setup and running for most users. The Quick Start does instruct users to download software that will allow the person to manage via the Dashboard their My Cloud and to map drives on that My Cloud.
