Windows 11 network drive issue.

[Susan Calvin]

Last edited Fri Mar 1, 2024, 07:31 PM - Edit history (1)

Any ideas greatly appreciated.

I have a Western Digital My Cloud Drive on my Wi-Fi network. It is strictly local; I have never set up remote access and don't intend to. It does not require a username or password to access it, just a connection to my Wi-Fi network. It works fine on my Windows 7 computer, my Android phone, and my Asus tablet.

The new Windows 11 computer sees it just fine, and sees all the shared folders. What it does not do is let me look at any files. There are four folders, but only one has anything in it. The ones that don't have anything in them show me as an admin and full access. The one that actually has stuff in it has the admin and full access bar greyed out. Additionally, it will not let me access it through Windows Explorer or another file manager, as I can on the other devices. When I click on the drive, it takes me to a web page, which is not what I want at all.

So I guess I basically have two questions. How do I see my files at all, in whatever way I have to? Ideally, how do I see my files in the file manager, as I can on all the other devices?

Thanks in advance. I have searched quite a bit, so far to no avail.

[LuvLoogie]

1. Can you map the drive using it's IP address?

[Susan Calvin]

5. I was kind of looking into that.

Everything else that's connected to it just saw it by itself, so I'm not sure how to go about mapping it.

[canetoad]

2. You will need to share the drive

Right click icon
Properties
Sharing

Then, give admins/guests/everyone (your choice) full permission to read/write/modify.

Also, you may need to first of all 'Take Ownership' which is also in the Drive right click menu. On second thoughts, the 'Take ownership' item may be a registry edit I've made, but PM me and I'll send it.

[Susan Calvin]

6. Thanks.

I'll give it a shot tomorrow. I have forced myself to quit for the day or I would be up all night. Things that don't work the way I want them to bug me

[Voltaire2]

3. How old is the my cloud drive?

If it is not implementing at least smb v2 it is not supported by default on W11. You might want to see if WD has a firmware update.

The symptoms you describe fit an smb1 implementation on the WD drive.

[Susan Calvin]

4. I was worried about something like that.

Yes, it is quite old. I checked for a firmware update, and there isn't one. It says it is up to date.

[Voltaire2]

7. There might be an option to enable smbv1

It would be under ‘windows features’.

[Susan Calvin]

8. Thanks.

Stuff like this is why I have always resisted new technology until I can't avoid it. I know that every new device is going to be a time sink.

[Voltaire2]

9. In fairness, smbv1 is a massive security hole.

but mostly the threat is to large corporate networks, not home networks. Also this is really WD’s malfunction. They should have provided a firmware update.

[Susan Calvin]

10. Hmmmmmm... .

Well, maybe that will be a motivation for me to get a new drive. It isn't the money that stops me getting new technology unless I absolutely have to. It's the time.

[Voltaire2]

11. Just make sure it supports smb2 or higher

Also if the drive is 5 years old or more it will likely malfunction soon. I'd get a new w11 compatible drive and copy everything off the old drive and be done with it.

I looked at WD's product page and they acknowledge that the drive doesn't work with w11 and (rather than fixing their insecure mess) suggest that you should turn smb v1 on.

SMB1 doesn't encrypt its network data and allows insecure access. This makes it a target for virus and malware propagation. In particular it was a target of the WannaCry virus used to encrypt and hold data for ransom. Again mostly a corporate lan issue, but people do bring malware home, or click the wrong link on some phishing web page.

[Susan Calvin]

12. Thank you so much.

Sounds like I was lucky not to have any trouble all the years that I've had it, which I think may well be more than 10.

Might you have any recommendations for a replacement? I don't really need or want the cloud access feature, I just want to hook it up to my modem/router and access it from my devices via wifi.

[Susan Calvin]

13. You were right.

Turning on smb1 fixed the issue.

Still thinking about getting a new drive, and the manufacturers do not make it easy as far as I've currently been able to make out. I have yet to be able to determine if any drive I'm considering has smb2 or higher. I found some that appear to still be smb1, at least according to some of the reviews.

[Monffeil]

14. Thanks!

Thanks!

[Susan Calvin]

15. Hey, glad it helped somebody else. nt