v0lkan · October 28, 2025 12:23 · v0lkan · Oct 28, 2025
diff --git a/silence.sh b/silence.sh
 # Update 2025-10-28:
 # From chat:
 #   It can easily be stopped through SSH with this command:
 #
 #     /usr/sbin/restsdk.sh stop
 #     and restarted with
 #     /usr/sbin/restsdk.sh start
 #
 #   To stop the offending services:
 #
 #     /etc/init.d/wdmcserverd stop
 #     /etc/init.d/wdphotodbmergerd stop
 #
 #   To disable and remove the offending services from boot:
 #
 #     update-rc.d -f wdmcserverd remove
 #     update-rc.d -f wdphotodbmergerd remove
 #
 #   Action "remove" must be used. For some reason, action 
 #   "disable" removes but then adds again the scripts 
 #   to boot start.
 #
 #   To reenable (if someone ever wants to):
 #
 #     update-rc.d -f wdmcserverd defaults
 #     update-rc.d -f wdphotodbmergerd defaults
 #
 #     To restart (if someone ever wants to):
 #
 #     /etc/init.d/wdmcserverd restart
 #     /etc/init.d/wdphotodbmergerd restart
 #
 # --
 #
 # ^ I haven't tested and verified them; and I don't have the
 # setup at the moment to do so. Also, please check out the
 # chat under this gist; it has lost of valuable information,
 # thanks to the community ❤️.
 #
 # V.

 #
 # Needless to say, I (Volkan Ozcelik) take no responsibility, whatsoever,
 # about what will happen to your NAS when you try these.
 # When did it to mine, I observed *ENORMOUS* performance gain and a zen-like silence.
 #
 #     +----------------------------------------------------------+
 #     |  WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO DO CAN LIKELY VOID YOUR WARRANTY  |
 #     |                  SO PROCEED WITH CAUTION                 |
 #     +----------------------------------------------------------+
 #
 # There I said. That’s not for the faint-hearted.
 # Though if you are fed up with your WD’s poor performance
 # and if you feel adventurous, read on…
 #
 # Where was I? 
 # So if your WD NAS is torturously sloooow, the hard drives spin ever and ever,
 # your web admin interface does not load in “minutes” and when it does you can brew
 # a fresh irish cream latte and also drink it while navigating from one page to another,
 # if your CPU utilization is around 50%-90% ALL THE TIME, then what you’ll read here
 # might help you.
 #
 # The root cause of all these issues is that WD Cloud attempts to index all the images
 # on your hard drive and create thumbnails for them — If you are an average Joe who
 # uploads a bunch of family photos, that’s no big deal. — But if you are like me,
 # who have mostly front-end-related projects, digital design, and artwork, that has
 # been accumulated over the last 15 years; that indexing process can take YEARS to complete.
 #
 # ** I’m sorry WD, and I am not gonna wait for a year to have a silent and healthy drive!!!!!! **
 #
 # The good thing is, the indexing process can be disabled.
 # The not-so-good thing is, you’ll need to ROOT into the device, which can void your warranty.

 # If you are ready, let’s move on:

 # Step 1) Enable SSH from the admin console.
 # Log in to the web admin UI and then go to Settings » Network » SSH, and turn it on.

 # Step 2) Shell into the device:
 ssh -oHostKeyAlgorithms=+ssh-dss sshd@your-western-digital-local-ip-address

 # You HAVE TO use `-oHostKeyAlgorithms=+ssh-dss` because your 
 # WD drive’s OS (the particular flavor of Linux (BusyBox) on the device) 
 # does not support secure SSH access.

 # When you log in you’ll be prompted with something like this:
 # root@WDMyCloudMirror root #

 # Step 3) Stop the bastards:
 /etc/init.d/wdmcserverd stop
 /etc/init.d/wdphotodbmergerd stop

 # Step 4) Check and verify that they are indeed stopped:
 ps aux | grep wd

 # You are all set!
 #
 # Enjoy your performant and quiet NAS!

 # Extras
 # ------
 # There is probably a script somewhere that enables these services (wdmcserverd, wdphotodbmergerd) on reboot. 
 # If you feel extra adventurous, feel free to hack into the system and disable that script too.
 # When you do, I’dd appreciate if you comment on this gist as well.
 #
 # When you restart the hard drive, or when there is a power loss and a reboot, those services will go up.
 # So you’ll have to shell into the box and kill them again.

 # Extra Extra Tip
 # ---------------
 # Moving things around is MUCH faster when you SSH into the box instead of managing 
 # them from your remote NAS mount. “The Cloud” is especially a bit foggy when 
 # you are connecting through the wifi. Whenever possible prefer a gigabit ethernet 
 # connection to your private cloud.
	# Update 2025-10-28:
	# From chat:
	# It can easily be stopped through SSH with this command:
	#
	# /usr/sbin/restsdk.sh stop
	# and restarted with
	# /usr/sbin/restsdk.sh start
	#
	# To stop the offending services:
	#
	# /etc/init.d/wdmcserverd stop
	# /etc/init.d/wdphotodbmergerd stop
	#
	# To disable and remove the offending services from boot:
	#
	# update-rc.d -f wdmcserverd remove
	# update-rc.d -f wdphotodbmergerd remove
	#
	# Action "remove" must be used. For some reason, action
	# "disable" removes but then adds again the scripts
	# to boot start.
	#
	# To reenable (if someone ever wants to):
	#
	# update-rc.d -f wdmcserverd defaults
	# update-rc.d -f wdphotodbmergerd defaults
	#
	# To restart (if someone ever wants to):
	#
	# /etc/init.d/wdmcserverd restart
	# /etc/init.d/wdphotodbmergerd restart
	#
	# --
	#
	# ^ I haven't tested and verified them; and I don't have the
	# setup at the moment to do so. Also, please check out the
	# chat under this gist; it has lost of valuable information,
	# thanks to the community ❤️.
	#
	# V.

	#
	# Needless to say, I (Volkan Ozcelik) take no responsibility, whatsoever,
	# about what will happen to your NAS when you try these.
	# When did it to mine, I observed ENORMOUS performance gain and a zen-like silence.
	#
	# +----------------------------------------------------------+
	# \| WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO DO CAN LIKELY VOID YOUR WARRANTY \|
	# \| SO PROCEED WITH CAUTION \|
	# +----------------------------------------------------------+
	#
	# There I said. That’s not for the faint-hearted.
	# Though if you are fed up with your WD’s poor performance
	# and if you feel adventurous, read on…
	#
	# Where was I?
	# So if your WD NAS is torturously sloooow, the hard drives spin ever and ever,
	# your web admin interface does not load in “minutes” and when it does you can brew
	# a fresh irish cream latte and also drink it while navigating from one page to another,
	# if your CPU utilization is around 50%-90% ALL THE TIME, then what you’ll read here
	# might help you.
	#
	# The root cause of all these issues is that WD Cloud attempts to index all the images
	# on your hard drive and create thumbnails for them — If you are an average Joe who
	# uploads a bunch of family photos, that’s no big deal. — But if you are like me,
	# who have mostly front-end-related projects, digital design, and artwork, that has
	# been accumulated over the last 15 years; that indexing process can take YEARS to complete.
	#
	# I’m sorry WD, and I am not gonna wait for a year to have a silent and healthy drive!!!!!!
	#
	# The good thing is, the indexing process can be disabled.
	# The not-so-good thing is, you’ll need to ROOT into the device, which can void your warranty.

	# If you are ready, let’s move on:

	# Step 1) Enable SSH from the admin console.
	# Log in to the web admin UI and then go to Settings » Network » SSH, and turn it on.

	# Step 2) Shell into the device:
	ssh -oHostKeyAlgorithms=+ssh-dss sshd@your-western-digital-local-ip-address

	# You HAVE TO use `-oHostKeyAlgorithms=+ssh-dss` because your
	# WD drive’s OS (the particular flavor of Linux (BusyBox) on the device)
	# does not support secure SSH access.

	# When you log in you’ll be prompted with something like this:
	# root@WDMyCloudMirror root #

	# Step 3) Stop the bastards:
	/etc/init.d/wdmcserverd stop
	/etc/init.d/wdphotodbmergerd stop

	# Step 4) Check and verify that they are indeed stopped:
	ps aux \| grep wd

	# You are all set!
	#
	# Enjoy your performant and quiet NAS!

	# Extras
	# ------
	# There is probably a script somewhere that enables these services (wdmcserverd, wdphotodbmergerd) on reboot.
	# If you feel extra adventurous, feel free to hack into the system and disable that script too.
	# When you do, I’dd appreciate if you comment on this gist as well.
	#
	# When you restart the hard drive, or when there is a power loss and a reboot, those services will go up.
	# So you’ll have to shell into the box and kill them again.

	# Extra Extra Tip
	# ---------------
	# Moving things around is MUCH faster when you SSH into the box instead of managing
	# them from your remote NAS mount. “The Cloud” is especially a bit foggy when
	# you are connecting through the wifi. Whenever possible prefer a gigabit ethernet
	# connection to your private cloud.
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