How to Install MiniDLNA on FreeNAS 9.3 (Prior to Plugin)

jocke

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It would help to know what version of FreeNAS you are running, was this an upgrade from one previous FreeNAS version, is this a new Jail? Also, back up to step 16 or you can delete the jail and try again from the beginning paying close attention to steps 16 through 21a. Make sure you don't have any error messages there. All dependancies should be installed during the installation.

Also, if this is the New GUI (FreeNAS 11.2) then please try @hervon instructions and if you see something I got wrong, please point it out to me.

Oh, you're quick on replying! :) Thanks.

It's a fresh FreeNAS 11.1 installation and the jail installation is also fresh, I was following your excellent instruction.
I did erase my jail and did it all over again, no error messages at all in fact. I've noticed similar problems with other applications like OpenVPN and others where the same error appeared. There are a lot of suggestions to solve their problem, from reboot on an older previous version of FreeNAS to recompile the application itself. I did try the simplest solution I found and so far, I've not seen any errors. (But only after 10 hours of running MiniDLNA.) I do'nt have much experience of the library handling but following solution couldn't hurt trying: "ln -sf /lib/libc.so.7 /usr/lib/libdl.so.1"

/Jocke
 

joeschmuck

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So just so you know, I only used the original GUI for FreeNAS 11.1 in my tests, the new GUI was not fully operational though I did hear it got better.

It is possible that you are having network issues, not on your end but just trying to get all the libraries loaded. Since you are new to FreeNAS then I would actually recommend that you start with FreeNAS 11.2-RC2 and use that. Do not use your server as the final resting place for your data until FreeNAS 11.2-RELEASE comes out, and then remember that nothing beats a backup if you plan to use FreeNAS as a normal data storage device. While waiting on the final release version you can build and destroy pools/vdevs, reconfigure, test it out. It is the very best way to learn. And take good notes on how you configured your system and maybe you will figure out you desire more storage space and then purchase a few more hard drives if that is what you want. It's just my advice.

Also please keep in mind that MiniDLNA is limited so if you have a few thousand files you want hosted, you might be better off using Plex and using the build in DLNA support. You don't need to use the Plex service itself, although it is pretty nice.

Good Luck to you,
-Joe
 

marcevan

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The driver may not use Plex DLNA but rather Plex Server. But agfain, $200 is a bit too much for my blood.

$200 is too rich for my blood as well and considering it might be a band-aid (for all we know Plex might offer search capability in their DLNA in the near future).
 

Jedrek

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I have a big collection of my media. MiniDLNA works very fine, after update to newest version (from 11.1-u5 to 11.1-u6)
 

joeschmuck

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I have a big collection of my media. MiniDLNA works very fine, after update to newest version (from 11.1-u5 to 11.1-u6)
Are you saying that there was some kind of change to how MiniDLNA operates due to the upgrade from FreeNAS 11.1-U5 to U6? Did you reinstall the jail so you had a newer version of MiniDLNA? Or are you just saying the FreeNAS is working better in general for you since the upgrade, such as more stable?

Thanks!
 
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Fantastic guide! Everything in the instructions has worked perfectly. I'm running a fresh install of 11.2 U1. My MiniDLNA is up and running, can be seen by all devices, however all I am seeing is folders. No files within these folders. If I make a change to the folder structure, these changes are replicated almost instantaneously, but still no files. Log shows 0 files found, yet if I add a file within my media shares, the logs see the file, but state it is missing...? If I ls my media directory from shell, I can see all media files in all directories.

I have to assume something is a miss with my permission, but just can't put my finger on what. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
 

joeschmuck

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Fantastic guide! Everything in the instructions has worked perfectly. I'm running a fresh install of 11.2 U1. My MiniDLNA is up and running, can be seen by all devices, however all I am seeing is folders. No files within these folders. If I make a change to the folder structure, these changes are replicated almost instantaneously, but still no files. Log shows 0 files found, yet if I add a file within my media shares, the logs see the file, but state it is missing...? If I ls my media directory from shell, I can see all media files in all directories.

I have to assume something is a miss with my permission, but just can't put my finger on what. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Can you provide a sample of the titles please, one is enough. What I'm looking for is the file extension such as "Star_Trek_Discovery_S2E2.mkv". Ensure that your player can actually play the files you are hosting. I had a player that could not play a certain file type via streaming however if I directly connected a hard drive to the unit, it would play just fine. Weird but true. It's odd that the log file states it didn't find any files. So back on step 10, start there and complete through step 15. Also lets look to see if the media really is there... Open the jail shell, conduct steps 16 through 19. Next type cd /media and that should put you into your linked media folder. Next type ls to see your shares. Does it show anything? You may need to cd into subdirectories to find you files. If you do not see any files then you need to roll back up to step 10 and properly link your media files and pick back up at step 22 to ensure you set the media directory properly.

The more details you can provide, the easier it will be to help you. Many people find it easier to just delete the jail and start over so they can verify they got all the steps correct. I did my best to make it sailor proof but there really isn't a such thing because a sailor can screw up anything. Yes I know this first hand having been a sailor myself. We may be hard on ourselves but that is okay. Also when you screw up following instructions, we call that "O.E." for Operator Error. I still do it but I do it less these days.

Good luck.
 
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Can you provide a sample of the titles please, one is enough. What I'm looking for is the file extension such as "Star_Trek_Discovery_S2E2.mkv". Ensure that your player can actually play the files you are hosting. I had a player that could not play a certain file type via streaming however if I directly connected a hard drive to the unit, it would play just fine. Weird but true. It's odd that the log file states it didn't find any files. So back on step 10, start there and complete through step 15. Also lets look to see if the media really is there... Open the jail shell, conduct steps 16 through 19. Next type cd /media and that should put you into your linked media folder. Next type ls to see your shares. Does it show anything? You may need to cd into subdirectories to find you files. If you do not see any files then you need to roll back up to step 10 and properly link your media files and pick back up at step 22 to ensure you set the media directory properly.

The more details you can provide, the easier it will be to help you. Many people find it easier to just delete the jail and start over so they can verify they got all the steps correct. I did my best to make it sailor proof but there really isn't a such thing because a sailor can screw up anything. Yes I know this first hand having been a sailor myself. We may be hard on ourselves but that is okay. Also when you screw up following instructions, we call that "O.E." for Operator Error. I still do it but I do it less these days.

Good luck.

I have several. The Dark Knight Rises.avi, Deadpool 2.mp4, Solo.mkv… None show.

I performed steps 10-15, as well as rebuilt the MiniDLNA jail again. Same result.

Going back through 10-15 for a third time, I'm only mapping my Movies folder this time. Start small... still not showing anything DLNA side, but if I ls on the directory from jail shell, a complete list of all my movies is shown.

A thought I had today while at work... would the dataset permission type make any difference to MiniDLNA in it's ability to serve up the media? My dataset permission is set for Windows, not Unix.
 

joeschmuck

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So are you saying that step 33 failed? What device did you use? Did you try Windows Media Player? If not, please do.

And if you cannot get step 33 to pass, please do the following, provide me the text in the file from "cd /usr/local/etc/minidlna.conf" so I can verify the setup here.

A thought I had today while at work... would the dataset permission type make any difference to MiniDLNA in it's ability to serve up the media? My dataset permission is set for Windows, not Unix.
It can. When I troubleshoot permissions issues I will set the data to Unix and 777 permissions and if that fixes it, then track down how I want to manage it. You can try this first before posting your configuration file.
 
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So are you saying that step 33 failed? What device did you use? Did you try Windows Media Player? If not, please do.

And if you cannot get step 33 to pass, please do the following, provide me the text in the file from "cd /usr/local/etc/minidlna.conf" so I can verify the setup here.

It can. When I troubleshoot permissions issues I will set the data to Unix and 777 permissions and if that fixes it, then track down how I want to manage it. You can try this first before posting your configuration file.

Yes, step 33 fails. No content found on Windows Media Player.

I tested my theory by adding a new Windows based dataset (named SERVER-SHARE), with a sub-dataset for media in Unix mode (named MEDIA). MEDIA has an owner user of dlna, and an owner group of my administrative group. I am able to access the data from my Windows machine at the SERVER-SHARE entry point (via both my administrative group and read only group), and drill in to the MEDIA folder to add sub folders Music, TV, Movies, etc... My MiniDLNA mount point is at MEDIA (set to read only), and can now not only see the content in shell like before, but is able to share the content.

So I suppose lesson of the day is, don't expect FreeNAS Jails to be able to understand datasets that are configured with Windows ACL. Probably a duh for most pros on here, but I'll be the first to admit I'm cutting my teeth here.
 

joeschmuck

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So I suppose lesson of the day is, don't expect FreeNAS Jails to be able to understand datasets that are configured with Windows ACL. Probably a duh for most pros on here, but I'll be the first to admit I'm cutting my teeth here.
We all get hit by these things, the more experienced you are, the less likely you will have issues but we all learn through failure.
 

joeschmuck

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Guess you figured it out ;)
 

Octopuss

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Yup. 2nd attempt worked. I think the editor confused me.
It's all good aside from not working DHCP which I assume must be a bug (judging by the results I gogled up).
 

joeschmuck

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DHCP not working? It could be some bug or just a setup issue. DHCP has not always worked as expected for me in FreeNAS jails (could be something I'm doing wrong) and I prefer a static IP for most of my equipment, it's just a personal preference.
 

Octopuss

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The jail simply never gets IP from DHCP, and when I set a static one, it changes the IP of the entire FreeNAS.
 

joeschmuck

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The jail simply never gets IP from DHCP, and when I set a static one, it changes the IP of the entire FreeNAS.
I'm going to be honest with you, I don't' have a lot of time to spend on the computer these days but if you tell me your exact scenario, I'll see if we can figure it out. I'd need to know things like if you are running on a VM platform (ESXi for example), what version of FreeNAS you are running, is FreeNAS IP DHCP or Static? How you are creating the jail and any other thing you can think of. The more the better. And what is your router DHCP range?

and when I set a static one, it changes the IP of the entire FreeNAS.
Are you sure that you are only changing the jail IP and not FreeNAS itself? Maybe a screen shot of where you are making this change would help?

And again, I'm not online here much these days so if I don't answer right away, maybe someone else will join in and offer some advice. Now it's time for some real pain, Federal and State Taxes. I've been dreading this all morning but it should only take me a few hours to figure out what I likely owe Uncle Sam.:confused:
 

Rezo4000

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Apr 9, 2019
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I'm ripping my hair out over here, I can get to "ee minidlna.conf" but it will not let me edit anything in the config file. I can't type or select anything and I can't change it to work with my set up
 

joeschmuck

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I'm ripping my hair out over here, I can get to "ee minidlna.conf" but it will not let me edit anything in the config file. I can't type or select anything and I can't change it to work with my set up
What version of FreeNAS are you using? You can also use vi to edit the file but the command to save the file is :wq when you have finished editing the file. If you need help with vi command then do a search on the internet for something like "vi commands" or "how to use vi command". It is odd that you cannot move the cursor around. And I do see your conversation request, I think it best to place the data here so everyone can see it, plus I've been very busy at work so I may not be able to answer you quickly and someone else may have the solution.

Good Luck! report what you do and I hope you are able to fix it.
 

Rezo4000

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Apr 9, 2019
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I'm currently running FreeNas 11.0-U4. off an old HP with an E7400 and 8gb of ddr2 ram and two 2tb drives in stripe (no crucial information on the drives, just downloaded videos and blu-ray/dvd rips). The server was knocked over and the USB drive was bent. FreeNas was running fine until then so I reinstalled the same version onto a new stick and imported in the volume. MiniDLNA was already installed, however, neither on my parents smart TV nor their blu-ray player could they access the folders with content. I deleted the MiniDLNA jail and have been trying to reinstall ever since. I can get up to "ee minidlna.conf" but I cannot move the cursor to edit the file. I tried using winscp to edit the files in notepad++, but it did not work. None of the devices can see the DNLA clinet. I can, however, access the NAS and its contents through windows explorer. MiniDLNA stopped working about a year ago, and back then I just reinstalled it using this guide and it was up and running perfectly. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
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