MINISTACK
Assembly Manual & User Guide
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Minimum System Requirements ............................................1
1.1.1 Apple Mac Requirements
1.1.2 PC Requirements
1.1.3 Supported Drives
1.2 Package Contents .................................................................1
1.3 About This Manual .................................................................1
1.4 Front View ..............................................................................3
1.5 Rear View ...............................................................................3
1.6 Usage Notes ..........................................................................4
DEVICE SETUP
2.1 Quick Start .............................................................................5
2.2 Assembly ...............................................................................5
SUPPORT RESOURCES
3.1 Formatting .............................................................................8
3.2 Troubleshooting .....................................................................8
3.3 About Data Backup ...............................................................8
3.4 Online Resources...................................................................8
3.5 Contacting Technical Support ...............................................8
OWC miniStack
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Minimum System Requirements
1.1.1 Apple Mac Requirements
• OS X 10.6 or later
1.1.2 PC Requirements
• Windows 7 or later
1.1.3 Supported Drives
• (1) 3.5” S ATA dri ve
or
• (1) 2.5” SATA dr ive
1.2 Package Contents
OWC miniStack Power SupplyUSB 3.1 Gen 1 (Standard-A
to Standard-B) cable
Not pictured: screw packet
1.3 About This Manual
The images and descriptions may vary slightly between this manual and the unit shipped. Functions and features
may change depending on the rmware version or driver version, if applicable. Please visit the product web page
for the most recent product requirements, specications, and warranty information.
OWC miniStack
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Introduction
General Use Precautions
To avoid damage, do not expose the device to temperatures outside: 41º — 107º F
(operating) or -40º — 149º F (non-operating).
Always unplug the device from the electrical outlet if there is a risk of lightning or if it will be
unused for an extended period of time. Otherwise, there is an increased risk of electrical
shock, short-circuiting or re.
Do not use the device near other electrical appliances such as televisions, radios or
speakers. Doing so may cause interference which will adversely aect the operation of the
appliances.
Do not place the device near sources of magnetic interference, such as computer displays,
televisions or speakers. Magnetic interference can aect the operation and stability of hard
drives.
Do not place heavy objects on top of the device.
Protect your device from excessive exposure to dust during use or storage. Dust can build
up inside the device, increasing the risk of damage or malfunction.
Do not block any ventilation openings on the device. These help to keep the device cool
during operation. Blocking the ventilation openings may cause damage to the device and
cause an increased risk of short-circuiting or re.
Safety Precautions
Use proper anti-static precautions while installing your hard drives into this device. Failure
to do so can cause damage to your drive mechanisms and/or the enclosure.
Read this user guide carefully and follow the recommended steps for assembly.
Do not attempt to disassemble or modify the device. To avoid any risk of electrical shock,
re, short-circuiting or dangerous emissions, never insert any metallic object into the device.
If it appears to be malfunctioning, please contact technical support.
Never expose your device to rain, or use it near water or in damp or wet conditions. Never
place objects containing liquids on the drive, as they may spill into its openings. Doing so
increases the risk of electrical shock, short-circuiting, re or personal injury.
OWC miniStack
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Introduction
1.4 Front View
1. Power LED — emits a solid white light when the OWC
miniStack is powered on, and blinks during drive
activity.
1.5 Rear View
1
4
1
2 3
1. ON/OFF Switch — power the miniStack on and o using this switch.
2. DC IN — connect the included power supply here.
3. USB 3.1 Gen 1 port — attach the included USB 3.1 Gen 1 (Standard-A to Standard-B)
cable to this port.
4. Kensington® Security Slot — ax a security tether here.
OWC miniStack
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Introduction
1.6 Usage Notes
• If the computer enters sleep or hibernation mode, the LED will remain on but will not blink or pulse.
• For the safe removal of your drive and to ensure that no data is lost, always eject or unmount the corresponding
disk(s) from your operating system before powering o. You can use the methods described below to safely
unmount your disk(s).
OS X :
• Drag the icon for the disk you wish to unmount to the trash can; OR
• Right-click the disk icon on the desktop, then click “Eject”; OR
• Highlight the disk on your Desktop and press Command-E.
Windows:
1. Go to the System Tray (located in the lower right corner of your screen). Click on the “Eject”
icon (a small green arrow over a hardware image).
2. A message will appear, detailing the devices that the “Eject” icon controls, i.e., “Safely remove...” Click on
this prompt.
3. You will then see a message that says, “Safe to Remove Hardware.” It is now safe to disconnect
the miniStack from the computer.
OWC miniStack
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Introduction
DEVICE SETUP
2.1 Quick Start
Follow the steps below to use the OWC Drive Guide utility to format your OWC miniStack for Mac OS X or
Windows. If you installed your own drives, please use the formatting method you are most familiar with or check
Section 3.1 for a link to our online formatting tips.
1. Power on the miniStack and plug it into to your computer using the proper data cable. If you prefer to use a
dierent formatting utility, do so at this time and skip the rest of these steps.
2. The disk will mount and your operating system will display it as “OWC SETUP”. Open the disk icon to view its
contents.
3. Double-click the OWC Drive Guide application.
4. Follow the simple on-screen instructions to complete the formatting process. Once the formatting is nished
the drive is ready to use.
2.2 Assembly
NOTE: these assembly instructions are written for users who purchased the miniStack as an empty enclosure.
The instructions show how to open the enclosure in order to install drives. If you purchased the miniStack with
drives already installed, opening the enclosure before the expiration of the original warranty will VOID the
warrant y. If you wish to remove or replace the drives after the expiration of the original warranty, you may do so at
that time. You should start with Step 8 in that case and work backwards.
1. The miniStack ships with a protective plastic lm on
the top cover. Please remove it before proceeding.
2. Turn the miniStack over, placing it on a soft work
surface. Remove the two Phillips screws axed at the
corners of the miniStack (circled at right) and set them
aside. The two remaining screws are included in the
screw packet.
OWC miniStack
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Device Setup
3. Holding the base and top cover together, ip the
miniStack again, then carefully lift the cover o as
shown at right.
4. Remove the screw packet found on the base of the
miniStack. Set the screws aside for use in later steps.
5a. 3.5 inch SATA drives: Rotate the base as shown
then connect the SATA power and data cables to
the corresponding ports on the back of the drive.
Set the drive onto the black support strips; make
sure the screw holes are aligned.
6a. Hold the drive in place then ip the base over. Where
the screw holes on the drive and base overlap, ax
four of the coarse thread screws from the packet.
NOTE: most drives will use the pattern shown at
right in red, while some drives will use the pattern
shown in yellow.
OWC miniStack
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Device Setup
5b. 2.5 inch SATA drive: Rotate the base as shown then
connect the SATA power and data cables to the
corresponding ports on the back of the drive. Set
the drive onto the black support strips, lining up the
screw holes.
6b. Hold the drive in place then ip the base over. Where
the screw holes on the drive overlap the screw holes
on the base, ax four the ne thread screws from
the packet.
7. Flip the base over then carefully align and re-seat the
top cover as shown at right.
8. Holding the top cover and base together, again ip
the miniStack over. Re-ax the four large corner
screws in the locations shown. Once complete, ip
the miniStack over.
This completes the assembly process.
OWC miniStack
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Device Setup
SUPPORT RESOURCES
3.1 Fo r m attin g
For additional formatting information, including instructions on how to format your OWC miniStack for Mac or
Windows, go to: www.owcdigital.com/format
3.2 Troubleshooting
Begin by verifying that the power cable is connected to the miniStack and to a power source. If the power cable
is connected to a power strip, make sure that the power strip switch is in the ON position. Next, verify that both
ends of the included USB cable are properly plugged into the computer and the miniStack, respectively.
If that does not resolve the issue, try using a dierent USB 3.1 Gen 1 (Standard-A to Standard-B) cable. You may
want to try connecting the miniStack to a dierent computer. If the problem persists, and you purchased the
miniStack as an empty enclosure, or the enclosure shipped with drives installed but is past the three year warranty
period, unmount the disk from the OS, power o, then check the SATA cable connections inside the enclosure.
Please see Section 2.2 for steps on how to disassemble the miniStack, working backward from Step 8.
If problems persist please see Section 3.5 for information on how to contact OWC technical support.
3.3 About Data Backup
To ensure that your les are protected and to prevent data loss, we strongly suggest that you keep two copies
of your data: one copy on your miniStack and a second copy on either your internal drive or another storage
medium, such as an optical backup, or on another external storage unit. Any data loss or corruption while using
the miniStack is the sole responsibility of the user, and under no circumstances may OWC, its parent, aliates,
ocers, employees, or agents be held liable for loss of the use of data including compensation of any kind or
recovery of the data.
3.4 Online Resources
To access our online knowledge base, which includes topics like migrating your data from an old drive to a new
one, please visit: www.owcdigital.com/faq
3.5 Contacting Technical Support
Phone: M–F, 8am–5pm CST
(866) 692-7100 (N. America) | +1 (815) 383-4751 (Int’l)
Chat: M–F, 8am–8pm CST
www.owcdigital.com/support
Email: Answered within 48 hours
www.owcdigital.com/support
OWC miniStack
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Support Resources
Changes:
The material in this document is for information purposes only and subject to change without notice. While reasonable
eorts have been made in the preparation of this document to assure its accuracy, OWC, its parent, aliates, ocers,
employees, and agents assume no liability resulting from errors or omissions in this document, or from the use of
the information contained herein. OWC reserves the right to make changes or revisions in the product design or the
product manual without reservation and without obligation to notify any person of such revisions and changes.
FCC Statement:
Warning! Modications not authorized by the manufacturer may void the user’s authority to operate this device.
NOTE: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to
Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in
a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed
and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. However,
there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful
interference with radio or television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment o and on, the user
is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures:
• Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
• Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.
• Connect the equipment to an outlet on a circuit dierent from that to which the receiver is connected.
Warranty:
The OWC miniStack has a 3 Year OWC Limited Warranty if it was bundled with a drive. OWC miniStack enclosures
that do not ship with a drive have a 1 Year OWC Limited Warranty.
Copyrights and Trademarks:
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written consent of OWC.
© 2017 OWC. All rights reserved.
OWC and miniStack are trademarks of New Concepts Development Corporation, registered in the U.S. Patent and
Trademark Oce and/or in Canada. The OWC logo is a trademark of New Concepts Development Corporation.
Apple, Mac, and OS X are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the United States and/or other countries. Windows
and Windows Vista are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States
and/or other countries. Kensington is a registered trademark of ACCO Brands Corporation. Other marks may be
the trademark or registered trademark property of their owners. Other marks may be the trademark or registered
trademark property of their owners.
OWC’s Limited Warranty is not transferable and subject to limitations.
Copyright 2017 OWC. All Rights Reserved.
OWCMANMSTK1153R3 04/03/17 DM
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