Acomdata M-HDXXXUPE5-72 User Manual

USER’S GUIDE

EXTERNAL

HARD DRIVE

HI-SPEED USB 2.0

E5

Important

1. Please 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 the product requires warranty
service.

2. Please fill in the information requested below. You will
need this information at hand for product registration
and in the event that the product requires service. (See
“Obtaining Service” for more information.) The Model
and Serial numbers are printed on the label affixed to the
underside of the Drive's stand.

Model Number:________________________________________

Serial Number:_________________________________________

Date of Purchase:_______________________________________

Name of Reseller:__ _________________________________

Contact AcomData

Address: 3410 Pomona Blvd.,

Pomona, CA 91768

Telephone: [phone]

Fax: [phone]

Web Site: www.acomdata.com

Customer
Service: [e-mail]

Technical
Support: [e-mail]

Pre-Sales
Questions: [e-mail]

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Contents

1 Important

2 Contact AcomDat

Introduction

8 Welcome

10 Precautions

11 Package Content

12 Product Registration for Warranty Coverag

14 System Requirements for Window

16 System Requirements for Ma

Getting to Know Your AcomData Drive

20 The Drive at a Glance

21 The Drive In-Dept

21 About Hi-Speed USB 2.
22 CD + SecureH
23 Password Securit
25 PushButton™ Backu
25 Synchronization (Sync
26 Mac & PC Read

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26 Hot-Pluggable
27 Fanless Desig
27 On-Off Switc

28 Technical Specification

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Drive Installation & Setup

30 Setting Up the Drive

30 Choosing an Orientation (Vertical or Horizontal
30 Vertical Placemen
32 Horizontal Placemen

34 Installing the USB 2.0 Drive

35 Connecting the Driv

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Using Password Security

40 Password Security for Windows

40 Changing the Passwor
41 Disabling Password Securit
42 Enabling Password Securit

44 Password Security for Ma

44 Installing the SecureHD Login Softwar
45 Changing the Passwor
46 Disabling Password Securit
47 Enabling Password Securit

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49 What if you forget your password?

Using & Maintaining Your Drive

52 How to Properly Turn Off and Disconnect the Drive

54 Naming the HD Partitio

56 Re-Formatting the HD Partitio

56 About Formatting and File System
58 Choosing a File Syste
59 Formatting the HD Partition in Windows XP or 200
60 Formatting the HD Partition in Windows Me or 98S
61 Formatting the HD Partition

62 Performing Routine Task

63 Maintaining your Driv

63 Defragmenting and Optimizing a Hard Driv
64 Examining and Repairing a Hard Driv
65 Protecting Your Data from Viruse
65 Cleaning the Drive Cas

66 Stacking Drive

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in Mac OS X

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Help & Other Information

68 Troubleshooting & Tech Support

69 Troubleshooting for Windows User
72 Troubleshooting for Mac User

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75 Obtaining Service

76 Frequently Asked Question

80 Glossary of Term

83 One Year Limited Warrant

85 Notices

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Introduction

Welcome

Welcome, and thank you for choosing an
AcomData E5 External Hard Drive.

Your AcomData Drive features high-qual­ity construction, advanced engineering,
and state-of-the-art data storage tech­nology, designed to provide years of reli­able, user-friendly performance.

Your AcomData Drive is furnished with two guides:

1) this Hard Drive User's Guide, and;

2) a PDF* PushButton Backup User's Guide, located on the

Drive's CD partition (more on the CD partition later).

* Viewing PDF Document s requires ADobe AcrobAt or ADob e reADer V. 5 or l Ater. You cAn

DownloAD ADob e reADer For Free At: www.AD obe.com/ProDucts/AcrobAt/reADsteP2.html

This User's Guide will help you set up your Drive as a high-per­formance data storage device, complete with robust, portable
Password Security (if desired). Please read this guide carefully
and retain it for future reference.

If you want to use PushButton™ Backup or Synchronization, please follow the
instructions in this guide first; then refer to the PushButton™ Backup User’s
Guide.

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Symbols used in this guide:

Alerts t he reAder to A

wArning or importAnt

informAtion.

indicAtes i nformAtion

specific to mAc users.

indicAtes A helpful tip or

other useful informAtion.

indicAtes i nformAtion

specific to win dows users.

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Alerts t he reAder to

importAnt in formAtion About

usb-rel Ated issues.

Precautions

Please follow the precautions listed below. Not doing so may result in damage to the
device, loss of data, and voiding of the warranty.

• If using this device for general-purpose storage, we strongly

recommend 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 attempt to open, disassemble, or modify the device.

• Do not expose the device to 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.

• Do not expose this device to temperatures outside the range of

5°C to 35°C when the device is in operation, and -20ºC to 60ºC
when not in operation.

• Do not use a third-party AC adapter or power cord.

• Do not bump, jar or drop the device.

• Do not stand the device in a way not described in this guide.

• Do not disconnect any cables, while the device is powered on,

without first unmounting the device.

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Package Contents

AcomdAtA

e5 driv e & stAnd

usb 2.0 dr iver
instAllAtion cd

hArd driv e

user’s guide

usb cAble

mAil-in

registr Ation cAr d rubber feet

Ac AdApter &

power cord

If you are missing any item shown above, please contact Customer Service at
[e-mail], or call 800-470-4495.

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Product Registration for Warranty Coverage

Registration is required in the event that your product needs servicing.
(See “Obtaining Service ” for details.)

Online Registration

Register your product instantly online at www.acomdata.com.
Once you enter the site, click on the Product Registration button
and follow the instructions on screen.

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.

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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 number and
Serial number. Both are printed on the product label affixed to the box, and on the
label affixed to the underside of the Drive's stand.

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System Requirements for Windows

What you need for the Drive itself:

• Minimum 233 MHz processor

• One of the following operating systems:

- Windows XP

(Home Edition, Professional, Professional x64 Edition, Media Center Edition)

- Windows 2000

- Windows Me

- Windows 98SE

• Available USB 2.0 or USB 1.1 port

Password Security has no additional requirements.

PushButton Backup requires:

• 800 MHz or faster processor

• 20 MB of free hard disk space on your computer

(Pentium, Celeron, AMD, etc.)

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IMPORTANT NOTES:

Windows 98SE users:

You will need to install the supplied USB 2.0 driver. Instructions are provided in
"Installing the USB 2.0 Driver."

Windows 2000 Users:

If you do not have Service Pack 4 you will need to install the supplied USB 2.0 driver.
Instructions are provided in "Installing the USB 2.0 Driver."

If using a USB 1.1 connection the device will operate at USB 1.1 speeds
(up to 12 Mbps).

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System Requirements for Mac

What you need for the Drive itself:

• Mac or Power Mac with a PowerPC or Intel processor

• Mac OS 10.2 or later

• Available USB 2.0 or USB 1.1 port

Password Security requires:

5 MB of free computer hard disk space for the SecureHD Login
software

PushButton Backup requires:

• Mac OS 10.3 or later

• 10 MB of free computer hard disk space for the backup software

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IMPORTANT NOTES:

If using a USB 1.1 connection the device will operate at USB 1.1 speeds
(up to 12 Mbps).

Mac OS 10.2 users whose Drives are 128 GB or larger:

Mac OS 10.2 does not recognize FAT32/MS-DOS formatted volumes larger than
128 GB. (For more information on this issue, go to: http://docs.info.apple.com/ar ticle.
html?artnum=107483 on the Apple web site.)

If you are using Mac OS 10.2 and your Drive is larger than 128 GB there are several ways
to deal with this issue:

1. If you don’t need Windows compatibilit y, you can re-format the Drive using one of the
Mac OS Extended file systems;

2. If you want to maintain Windows compatibility, you can partition the Drive such that no
partition is larger than 128 GB. Partitioning a hard disk will erase any data stored on the
disk. Go to http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107483 for instructions;

3. Before you connect the Drive to your computer, upgrade to Mac OS 10.3 or later. This
option will allow you to maintain Windows compatibility and no partitioning or re­formatting is required.

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Getting to Know Your AcomData Drive

The Drive at a Glance

PushBut ton

lights u P blue when the Dr iVe is PowereD on .
FlAshes reD when reAD ing or writing DAtA.
Press to run A bAckuP oPerAtio n. (requires

instAllAtion oF t he Pushbutton bAckuP soFt-
wAre. see the Pushbutton bAckuP user’s guiDe
For inForm At ion.)

Zinc Alloy stAnd

cAn be r emoVeD For horizontAl Pl Acement or

stAcking oF Dr iVes.

Power switch

turn the DriV e on AnD oFF As neeDeD while Your

comPuter is r unning. see “how to ProPerlY turn

oFF AnD Disconnect th e DriVe” For D etAils.

usB 2.0/1.1 Port

the suPPlieD usb cAble Plugs in here. the Dri Ve

hAs A tYPe b Por t, AnD Your comPut er hAs A tYPe

A Port, which corresPonD to the connecto rs oF

the usb cAbl e.

Power Port

the Ac ADAPter Plugs in here. when connec ting

the Dri Ve, tAke cAre to ori ent the connector
ProPerlY, As it will onlY go in one wAY.

ActuAl lAyout o f

bAck pAnel mAy not be

exActly As shown.

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The Drive In-Depth

About Hi-Speed USB 2.0

Your AcomData Drive is equipped with a Hi-Speed USB 2.0
interface. (USB stands for "Universal Serial Bus.") USB 2.0 has a
maximum interface transfer rate (i.e. bandwidth) of 480 Mbps
(Megabits per second). That's 40 times faster than the earlier
standard, USB 1.1, which has a bandwidth of 12 Mbps).

Performance in day-to-day use will depend on many factors,
including: CPU utilization; file system overhead; the number of
active devices on the USB bus; the size, structure and number
of files being transferred, and; the speed at which other devices
can transfer data to/from the Drive. Also, as is the case with any
data I/O (input/output) technology, some bandwidth is taken up
by the protocols that structure and govern data transmissions
(this is called interface overhead). Given these and other factors,
in day-to-day use you can expect maximum, sustained transfer
rates in the mid-30s MB/s (Megabytes per second).

Note: The interface transfer rate specification of an I/O technology,
such as USB, is expressed using the bit as the base unit (e.g. Mbps)
because this is the truest way of measuring raw interface performance.
However, for the end user it is more meaningful to express day-to-day
transfer rates using the byte as the base unit (e.g. MB/s) because com­puter files are measured in bytes (kilobytes, megabytes, etc.).

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USB 2.0 is backward compatible with USB 1.1. This means you
can connect a USB 1.1 device to a USB 2.0 port, and vice versa.
However, interface transfer rates are limited by the interface
with the lower speed. So, for example, if you plug a USB 2.0
device into a USB 1.1 port on your computer, data transfer rates
will be limited to USB 1.1 speeds.

USB uses a master/slave architecture. This means the computer
(the "master") dictates data flow to, from and between attached
USB devices (the "slaves"). A single USB bus can support up to
127 USB devices. However, connecting more than a few USB
devices to a computer usually requires the use of one or more
USB-equipped hubs. A typical USB hub can accommodate sev­eral USB devices.

CD + SecureHD

Your AcomData Drive uses an advanced partition scheme called
CD + SecureHD. The Drive was formatted at the factory with two
partitions. As the name suggests, one is the CD partition; the
other is the HD (Hard Disk) partition. The CD partition and the
HD partition mount to your computer as separate, distinct vol­umes, as if they were two discrete devices.

The CD partition appears on your computer just like a CD-ROM
volume. On Windows PCs it will appear in My Computer under

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Devices with Removable Storage with the label "CD PART." On
the Mac OS it will appear on the Desktop and in the Finder.

The CD partition stores the software and documentation bun­dled with your Drive, so they go wherever your Drive goes. This
has three main benefits: 1) if your Drive is password protected,
no matter what computer you connect it to, the Drive is always
secure; 2) you can very quickly set up any supported computer
for backups; 3) reference documentation is always readily avail­able (no manual or CDs to forget, lose or damage). The CD parti­tion takes up very little space (less than 20 MB), and it is read­only; you cannot delete it or modify it.

The HD partition is used to store the data you save to the Drive.
It is a standard hard disk partition that mounts to your system
just like any other hard disk volume, except you have the option
to secure it using Password Security.

Password Security

The Password Security feature is a simple yet powerful tool that
you can use to restrict access to the HD partition of your Drive.
With Password Security your Drive is always secure, no matter
what computer you connect it to.

If Password Security is enabled, before the HD partition will
mount, you must enter your password on the SecureHD Login

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window. (The CD partition will mount automatically, whether you
login or not.)

On Windows, Password Security comes enabled and armed with
a pre-set password. You can create your own password, or you
can disable Password Security.

To use Password Security on a Mac you must first install the
SecureHD Login software. Then, whenever you want to mount
the Drive, simply launch the SecureHD Login and enter your
password.

Password Security employs SHA-256 encryption, which uses a
type of algorithm (known as a hash function) to encrypt your
password. The encrypted password is stored as a hash value (a
fixed-sized output generated from a variable-sized amount of
text). Because the hash is one-way only, it is extremely difficult
to decrypt, making Password Security very secure—to say the
least. It is so secure, in fact, that if you forget your password you
will simply never be able to access the stored data. The data is
effectively lost. Luckily, you can create a password hint to help
you remember.

Instructions for using Password Security are included in the
chapter "Password Security."

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PushButton™ Backup

PushButton Backup is a faster, easier way to run routine data
backups. Rather than having to launch a backup utility and set
cumbersome parameters every time you want to backup your
files, all you need to do is press the PushButton on your Drive.

Not only does PushButton Backup make backups simpler and
more convenient, but since you’re backing up your data to a
high-performance hard drive—as opposed to say, tape or opti­cal media—backups are also much faster.

A detailed explanation of the various backup operations
available, as well as full instructions for setting up and using
PushButton Backup, are provided in the PushButton Backup
User's Guide, located on the CD partition of your Drive.

Synchronization (Sync)

Synchronization, or Sync, is one of the most powerful features
available with your AcomData Drive. While providing the benefits
of data redundancy, the Sync operation synchronizes the data
on two or more hard drives, so you can work from multiple drives
without the need to keep track of what files are on which drives.

Sync is one of the operations that can be launched via the
PushButton. A more detailed explanation and instructions are

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