Portable Hard Drive User's Guide IMPORTANT 1) Retain the bill of sale from the purchase of your AcomData product. A copy of the bill of sale will be needed in the event that you require warranty service. 2) Please write the Model and Serial numbers of your AcomData product in the spaces below. The Model and Serial numbers are printed on the label affixed to the bottom of the Drive case. You will need the Model and Serial numbers for product registration and in the event that the product requires service. (See "Obtaining Service for Your AcomData Product" for more information.) Product Name: AcomData PHOTON 2.5 Portable Hard Drive Model Number: ____________________________ Serial Number: _____________________________ Date of Purchase:____________________________ Name of Reseller:____________________________ CONTENTS Important ........................................................................... 1 AcomData Contact Information ....................................... 6 System Requirements for Mac ........................................ 17 ABOUT PHOTON 2.5 PHOTON 2.5 at a Glance .................................................. 18 PHOTON 2.5 In-Depth ...................................................... 19 Hi-Speed USB 2.0 .............................................................................. 19 Mac & PC Ready ................................................................................. 20 Hot-Pluggable .................................................................................... 21 Fanless Design .................................................................................... 21 Instant-On Operation ...................................................................... 21 Technical Specifications .................................................................. 22 WELCOME! AcomData PHOTON 2.5 ......................................................................7 Online Registration ..............................................................................9 Mail-in Registration .......................................................................... 10 Precautions ...................................................................... 11 Package Contents ............................................................ 13 Optional Accessories ....................................................... 14 How to Purchase Accessories .......................................... 14 INSTALLING THE DRIVE Connecting the Drive to Your Computer ........................ 23 OPTION 1: Using the USB cable (bus-powered operation) 24 OPTION 2: Using the USB cable and optional AC adapter (ACpowered operation) ......................................................................... 29 OPTION 3: Using the USB cable and optional PS2 adapter (buspowered operation via PS2) .......................................................... 31 Installing the USB 2.0 Driver for Windows 98SE ............ 33 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS Bus-Powered Operation .................................................................. 15 AC-Powered Operation ................................................................... 15 System Requirements for PC .......................................... 16 Naming Your PHOTON 2.5 ............................................... 34 Re-Formatting the Drive ................................................. 35 Formatting the Drive in Windows 2000 or XP ......................... 37 Formatting the Drive in Windows 98SE or Me ........................ 39 Formatting the Drive in Mac OS X ............................................... 41 Formatting the Drive in Mac OS 9 ............................................... 43 Obtaining Service for Your AcomData Product ............. 67 Notices .............................................................................. 68 USING THE DRIVE Performing Routine Tasks ............................................... 45 How to Safely Unmount & Disconnect the Drive ........... 47 Maintaining Your Drive & Safeguarding Your Data ....... 49 APPENDIX Frequently Asked Questions ........................................... 52 Troubleshooting .............................................................. 56 Troubleshooting for PC Users ....................................................... 57 Troubleshooting for Mac users ..................................................... 60 Glossary ............................................................................ 64 One Year Limited Warranty ............................................. 65 AcomData Contact Information Address: 3410 Pomona Blvd., Pomona, CA 91768 Telephone: (909) 348-0680 Fax: (909) 598-8663 Web Site: www.acomdata.com Customer Service: customerservice@acomdata.com Technical Support: techsupport@acomdata.com Pre-Sales Questions: sales@acomdata.com WELCOME! AcomData PHOTON 2.5 Welcome, and thank you for purchasing an AcomData PHOTON 2.5 Portable Hard Drive. Your PHOTON 2.5 features high-quality construction, advanced engineering, and state-of-the-art data storage technology, to give you great performance and years of reliable, user-friendly operation. The information in this User's Guide pertains to AcomData PHOTON 2.5 Portable Hard Drive models PHDxxxU2E-54 (The "xxx" refers to Drive capacity. For example, if you have an 80 GB Drive, the model number is PHD080U2E-54). This guide contains very important information for the proper installation, use, and care of your PHOTON 2.5. Please read this guide carefully and retain it for future reference. -7- Symbols used in this guide: THIS SYMBOL ALERTS THE READER TO A WARNING OR TO SOME VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION. THE WINDOWS LOGO ALERTS THE READER TO IMPORTANT INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO WINDOWS USERS. Product Registration for Warranty Coverage Registration is required in the event that your product needs servicing. (See "Obtaining Service..." for details.) THIS SYMBOL ALERTS THE READER TO HELPFUL TIPS AND OTHER INFORMATION THAT MAY BE USEFUL. THE APPLE LOGO ALERTS THE READER TO IMPORTANT INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO MAC USERS. Online Registration To register online, go to www.acomdata.com and click on the Product Registration button. Advantages of Online Registration: 1. It's fast, free, and your product is registered immediately; 2. Free unlimited online technical support; 3. You get your own personalized support page: · download software updates · access all online support services · view all of your registered AcomData products · manage your personal profile; 4. If you need warranty service, arranging product returns is faster and easier if you registered online. A word about using two-button mice When following the instructions in this guide, PC users will need to use both the left and right mouse buttons. While some users may reverse the functions of the buttons, in this guide "click" means pressing the left-side button; "rightclick" means pressing the right-side button. Although Mac OS X supports two-button mice, this guide assumes all Mac users are using a conventional one-button mouse. -8- -9- Mail-in Registration You may also register via mail by filling out and returning the Registration Card included in the package. When registering your AcomData product you will need the Model and Serial numbers. Both are printed on the label affixed to the bottom of the Drive case. Precautions Failure to follow the precautions below may result in damage to the device, loss of data, and voiding of the warranty. · AcomData strongly recommends that you backup the files stored on the device. AcomData is not responsible for data loss or corruption; nor will AcomData perform recovery of lost data or files. · Do not open the device or attempt to disassemble or modify it. If the device is malfunctioning, contact AcomData Technical Support via the Customer Support page at www.acomdata.com or call (909) 348-0680 (Pacific Time) during regular business hours. · Do not expose the device to rain or use it in damp or wet conditions. · Never place containers of liquids on the device. This can damage the device and increase the risk of electric shock, short-circuiting, fire, or personal injury. · If the device has a three-prong plug, never plug the device into a two-prong outlet. - 10 - - 11 - · Do not expose the device to temperatures outside the range of 5° C to 40° C (41° F to 104° F). · Do not use a third-party AC adapter/power cord. · Do not bump, jar or drop the device. · Do not try to stand the device in a way not described in this guide. · Do not disconnect any cables without first unmounting the device. See "How to Safely Unmount & Disconnect the Drive" for details. Package Contents AcomData PHOTON 2.5 Portable Hard Drive USB cable (Twin USB type A to mini-USB) USB 2.0 Driver CD (For Windows 98SE only) PHOTON 2.5 User's Guide Mail-In Registration Card If you are missing any item shown above, contact Customer Service at customerservice@acomdata.com, or call 800-470-4495. - 12 - - 13 - Optional Accessories SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS Bus-Powered Operation In the vast majority of cases, bus-powered operation requires the use of only one USB port on your computer/ laptop. However, some laptops (and even some desktops) limit bus power, in which case two USB ports are required (one supplies data and power; the other supplies additional power). If you need the use of two USB ports for bus-powered operation but your computer has only one free USB port, you can use the optional PS2 adapter (sold separately) to supply power if your computer is equipped with a PS2 port. PS2 adapter. Power the Drive via a PS2 port. AC adapter. Run the Drive off AC power. How to Purchase Accessories You can purchase accessories by contacting Customer Service at customerservice@acomdata.com. In your e-mail, please include: your name; phone number; mailing address; model number or description of item (e.g. AC adapter for PHOTON 2.5 Drives); quantity per item. A Customer Service agent will contact you to complete the transaction. AC-Powered Operation AC-powered operation requires one free USB port and the optional AC adapter (sold separately). For connection instructions, see "Connecting the Drive to Your Computer." - 14 - - 15 - System Requirements for PC On Windows PCs, PHOTON 2.5 requires a 233 MHz or faster processor (Pentium, Celeron, AMD, etc.) running Windows XP, 2000, Me or 98SE. Windows XP users: You must have Windows XP Service Pack 1 or later. Windows 2000 users: You must have Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 or later. Windows Me users: Make sure you have the latest updates. Windows 98SE users: You will need to install the USB 2.0 driver included on the supplied CD. Instructions are provided in the section "Installing the USB 2.0 Driver for Windows 98SE." System Requirements for Mac On the Mac, PHOTON 2.5 requires a Mac or Power Mac running Mac OS 9 or Mac OS X. Mac OS 9 Users: Mac OS 9 does not support USB 2.0. On Mac OS 9 the Drive will operate at USB 1.1 speeds. Mac OS 10.2 Users: Hard drives or drive partitions larger than 128 GB and formatted with the FAT32/MS DOS file system will not mount on Mac OS 10.2 through 10.2.8. If your Drive is larger than 128 GB, and you are using Mac OS 10.2, you have several options to deal with this issue: 1) Re-format the Drive using the Mac OS Extended file system (See ``Re-Formatting the Drive`` for instructions); 2) Partition the Drive so that no single partition is larger than 128 GB; 3) Upgrade to Mac OS 10.3. For more information, go to http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107483. - 16 - - 17 - ABOUT PHOTON 2.5 PHOTON 2.5 at a Glance PHOTON 2.5 In-Depth Hi-Speed USB 2.0 USB (Universal Serial Bus) is an interface technology for the serial transmission of digital data. USB 2.0 has a maximum interface transfer rate of 480 Mbps. Data transfer rates will vary depending on a number of factors, including available CPU resources. USB is a master-slave, host-based technology, meaning the computer (the host) dictates data flow to, from, and between attached USB devices. The USB standard supports up to 127 devices. Connecting more than one or two USB devices to a computer typically requires the use of one or more hubs, where each hub can accommodate several USB devices. The maximum allowable length of a USB cable is 5 m (16.4 ft.). USB can supply on-bus power of up to 2.5 W. This means that some low-power-consumption devices can get their power via the USB connection. USB is a plug-and-play and hot-swappable technology. You - 18 - - 19 - do not need to assign ID numbers, or connect terminators. On most operating system you do not need to install drivers because the necessary drivers are built into the operating system. Devices can be added and removed while the computer is running. Also, you can turn off the device when not needed, in order to conserve electricity. Hot-Pluggable You can connect or disconnect the PHOTON 2.5 while your computer is runni ...