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Asked: 2024-09-26T02:50:45+05:30 In:

How can I mount and access a Western Digital My Cloud NAS on my Ubuntu system?

I’ve recently picked up a Western Digital My Cloud NAS, and I have to say, it’s pretty cool. It’s been sitting on my desk for a while now, and I’m super eager to get it set up. But here’s the thing – I’m running Ubuntu, and I’m a bit lost when it comes to mounting and accessing it. I’ve searched online and found a bunch of how-tos, but none seem to fully click for me.

I want to be able to access the files on my NAS like any local drive. Initially, I thought it would be as simple as plugging it in and it would just show up in my file manager, but no such luck. I’ve played around with the settings a bit, but I feel like I’m missing something essential here.

I’ve stumbled across some tips about using Samba and NFS, but honestly, those sound kind of intimidating. Do I really need to dive into those? Is there a simpler path I can take? I’ve already connected my NAS to my router, so I’m hoping the heavy lifting is done there.

One of my friends said I might have to mess with some command line stuff, which I’m not super comfortable with. I guess I could manage it if I had a clear step-by-step, but I’d love to avoid command line confusion if possible.

So, if anyone out there has a straightforward method to get my Western Digital My Cloud NAS mounted on Ubuntu, I’m all ears! How do you get it to play nice with the Ubuntu system? Any tips on the best way to go about this? I’m looking for something that won’t take up my whole day and is easy enough for someone who’s learning the ropes of Linux.

Thanks in advance for any help or pointers you can provide! It’s so frustrating having this awesome device right there but not being able to utilize it.

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    2 Answers

    1. Setting Up Your Western Digital My Cloud NAS on Ubuntu

      Getting your NAS up and running can feel like a daunting task, but let’s break it down into simpler steps. Most likely, you’ll be using the Samba shares to access your files. It might sound intimidating, but it’s actually quite straightforward. Here’s how you can do it:

      Step 1: Install Required Packages

      First, you might need to install a couple of packages for Samba support. Open a terminal (I know, command line stuff, but just this once!) and run:

      sudo apt update
sudo apt install cifs-utils

      Step 2: Create a Mount Point

      Now, you need to create a folder where you’ll access your NAS. Let’s say you want it in your home directory:

      mkdir ~/MyCloudNAS

      Step 3: Mount the NAS

      Next, you’ll need to mount the share. You can do this with the following command:

      sudo mount -t cifs //YOUR_NAS_IP_ADDRESS/ShareName ~/MyCloudNAS -o user=YOUR_USERNAME

      Replace YOUR_NAS_IP_ADDRESS with the actual IP address of your NAS, and ShareName with the name of the share you want to access. Enter your NAS password when prompted.

      Step 4: Access Your Files

      Now, you should be able to access your NAS files by navigating to the ~/MyCloudNAS folder in your file manager.

      Step 5: (Optional) Automate the Mounting Process

      If you want your NAS to mount automatically at startup, you can edit the /etc/fstab file:

      sudo nano /etc/fstab

      Add the following line at the end of the file:

      //YOUR_NAS_IP_ADDRESS/ShareName /home/YOUR_USERNAME/MyCloudNAS cifs username=YOUR_USERNAME,password=YOUR_PASSWORD,uid=1000,gid=1000 0 0

      Make sure to replace placeholders with your info. Save and exit using CTRL + O then CTRL + X.

      Troubleshooting

      If you run into issues, check the following:

      • Ensure your NAS is on the same network as your computer.
      • Double-check the share name and your credentials.

      With these steps, you should have your Western Digital My Cloud NAS mounted and ready to use! Happy file accessing!


    2. To mount your Western Digital My Cloud NAS on Ubuntu, you can use the built-in file manager, which simplifies the process significantly. First, ensure your NAS is connected correctly to your router. Open your file manager and look for “Connect to Server” or “Network” in the sidebar. You can connect using the SMB (Samba) protocol, which is user-friendly for many. Type in the server address as follows: smb://, replacing with the actual IP address of your NAS. Once you hit “Connect”, it should prompt you for your NAS username and password. After successfully logging in, you can access the files just as if they were on a local drive.

      If you prefer accessing your NAS through the terminal for more control or options, you can still keep it simple with a few commands. Open a terminal and create a directory where you want to mount your NAS. For example, mkdir ~/MyCloud. Then, you can use the following command to mount the NAS: sudo mount -t cifs -o username=,password= /// ~/MyCloud. Don’t forget to replace , , , and with your specific details. This command mounts the shared folder directly into the directory you created earlier. Once set up, you can access your NAS files from there. If you want to make this mount permanent, you can add an entry to your /etc/fstab file; though this requires a bit more terminal work, numerous guides are available to help you through that process.


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