New Firmware Version 1.02.12 for the My Book World I & II (10/19/11)

[Anthi]

another thing my MBWEII cannot do is send out a test email.

i used to get emails whever we lost power, but i can't have that now because the NAS cannot send out email wirelessly.

So now I can't log into the TIme Machine account at all.

Is a new firmware being developed for this?

[kimmyjus]

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Jazzwhistle wrote:

@kimmyjus before you fork out those sums... have you first tried connectng via Ethernet? If that fails too, you could open up the MBW (http://www.instructables.com/id/Disassembling-MyBook-World-Edition/) and connect the disk to a machine running Ubuntu (or any machine that can read linux partitions), and from there you should be able to access the data...

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i did try the ethernet connection and the tech friend i have did exactly your suggestion with removing the disk and mounting it on a linus reading device. that's where he concluded it is the actual drive that is knackered.

[Umpa2011]

The firmware would not have broken the drive.  You cant blame anyone for you not making a backup.  The mybookworld is a consumer drive at best, and should be treated as one.

[kimmyjus]

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Umpa2011 wrote:

The firmware would not have broken the drive.  You cant blame anyone for you not making a backup.  The mybookworld is a consumer drive at best, and should be treated as one.

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My issue is that the drive was working 100% fine before the firmware update, then immediately after the update, it stopped working. I am no techie, so I dont know what went wrong. What I;ve been told is the drive is knackered.

And yes, in my naivety, i neglected to make a backup of my backup. I'll then have to make a backup of that backup of the original backup, just in case the 2nd backup fails as well.

Seriously though, I will now be making a backup of the replacement backup. Hard lesson learnt on that one.

I certainly wont be buying a HDD with a firmware component again.

[Umpa2011]

Thing to realise is - is the firmware does *NOT* update the firmware on the drive as far as I know, you should think of the nas as a low powered Linux PC.  The firmware updates the software on the drive, but not the electronics of the hard drive.  I don't know if it updates the computer side of the electronics, but my initial thought is that it does not hence you can downgrade quite easy to lower firmware versions.

I remember when peoples xboxs' went RROD after a forced update - people said what you did 'it was ok before' but the fact was it would have gone RROD simply on the next power cycle in any case.  In your case if the drive its self has crapped out then I think it was purely coincidental that it did it after the firmware update.

For what its worth I have also lost data when my 8TB ShareSpace crapped out, it was a software/firmware issue after update. The drives were fine, but the software on them prevented it from booting.  Also because it was a striped raid it meant plugging them in to a PC to recover the data was not an option for me.  I sent the unit back for a replacement.  It would have been impossible to backup that amount of data anyway.  It takes the ShareSpace 16 hours to rebuild its own array lol.

Bottom line is (I have found from experience) is to NOT upgrade your software/firmware if you don't really need to. Its not worth the risk of losing the data.  I don't mind on my MBWE's because I have 5 of them and like to tinker (you should see the software that can run on them) - its awesome, but my sharespace will never ever get updated no matter what new features come out. I simply can't afford to lose all my home videos, photos, sound recordings etc...  Basically I have entrusted WD with my digital life and have been bent over by them - I won't do it again - lol.

Don't get me wrong I like the ShareSpace and MBWE - but even the ShareSpace regardless of how WD market it is a low cost consumer Item, you would pay more for just the BOX for a Qnap.  I guess you get what you pay for.

[Kareem]

actually it's the firmware that damaged his hdd .. how i know that? .. cause that's exactly what happend to my mirror drive RIGHT after i installed the DOOMed .10 firmware ... it became "degraded"

[Umpa2011]

All I can say to that is LOL.  

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Kareem wrote:

actually it's the firmware that damaged his hdd .. how i know that? .. cause that's exactly what happend to my mirror drive RIGHT after i installed the DOOMed .10 firmware ... it became "degraded"

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Perhaps you should fit it in a PC and use Spinrite on it.  Look it up at GRC.com or use some other HD maintenance software.  The firmware Could NOT do this - seriously have you understood anything in my other post ?

Power cycling on and off whilst the software is still being written might give rise to some bad sectors and the all common click/click/click sound, but there is *NO WAY* this firmware flashed the hard disk and screwed up your hard disk.  I have never ever had to flash a hard drive in my life, to suggest it did is silly.

 Look I also think the new upgrade is garbage, but lets stick to comon sense here.

[Kareem]

i'm just telling what happend .. don't care if you think this HOLY firmware can never damage the HDD .. that's what happend with me ..period

[Kareem]

does RMA means in any way that WD would replace my damaged HDD?

[Umpa2011]

If under guarantee of course WD will replace it, but thats not the issue here is it !