WDMycloud and Western Digital softwares

My Cloud OS 3 Personal & Network Attached Storage My Cloud
1

Hello,

I bought in 2014 one of the first versions of Western Digital’s personal cloud: WDmyCloud 4T0 HD.
I never managed to make it work properly or take advantage of this case.
Moreover, it is impossible to obtain clear explanations from WD support.

So today this case is of no use to me.

Here is my question:
-Is it necessary to install Western’s software package to “run” this network drive?
I mean, are there possibilities to configure this NAS with another softwares (Synology for example)?
If someone has experienced or an idea to suggest me … thank you in advance…
Jean

2

One can use the My Cloud Dashboard to configure the My Cloud.

https://support.wdc.com/knowledgebase/answer.aspx?ID=13965

For local network access one can use Windows File Explorer or Mac File Explorer to copy files to/from the My Cloud.

One can read the My Cloud User Manual to learn more about the My Cloud to learn how to use it and it’s features. One can find the User Manual and other information at the following WD link:

https://support.wdc.com/product.aspx?ID=904

3

If you tell us what problems you had getting the device to work, we might be able to help.

It is not necessary to install any WD software to access the file server or media server running on the MyCloud.

For alternative operating systems, search the forum. Clean debian and dsm5 are available, IIRC.

4

Thank you for your quick answer.
I would to install Clean debian and dsm 5 on my WDMyCloud (first edition) but it is very difficult to understand how to proceed.

I searched in the forum but I did’nt find a clear description step by step to do that.
I didn’t understand how to install a new firmware.

  • Do I have to create a specific usb Key ? and where to connect it ?
  • Do i have to use the WDMyCloud interface to upgrade to a new firmware ?

I think that is probably not a easy job, but it still more difficult for a beginners because don’t exist a real tutorial…

Regards,
Jean

5

Yes, it is certainly not trivial.

If you cannot get the basic device working, I suspect you may lack the skills required to do a major firmware replacement.

6

Thank you for your so flattering "appreciation " … But we would prefer an answer to our question

7

If you haven’t seen the following threads yet, you should take a while to read through them.

https://community.wd.com/t/clean-os-debian-openmediavault-and-other-firmwares/93714/

https://community.wd.com/t/synology-os-on-wd-my-cloud-new-hope/95650/

Please note that this is mostly a user to user support forum. You may not get the exact answer you seek simply because no one knows, or the people who posted previously on an issue no longer reply or participate in this subforum.

Replacing the firmware is NOT a simple task. There are risks involved up to and including bricking the My Cloud. Like it or not one will typically have to learn how to use various Linux commands in order to perform a firmware replacement via SSH. In some cases replacing the firmware is a trial and error method and the final results are often mixed since one is attempting to install firmware not designed for the WD My Cloud hardware.

8

I told you how to get answers: search the forum for threads on debian and synology; it’s not that hard to find. As I warned, it’s not a trivial task.

We’re users. You will not get ANY help from WD for replacing their firmware (unsurprisingly).