Plextor ULTRA-A User Manual

FCC NOTICE

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
interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment causes harmful interfer­ence to radio or television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off 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 different from that to which

the receiver is connected.

• Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.

For external model users: Please use the external shielded SCSI cables supplied with this
CD-ROM drive. Using other signal cables may exceed the limits of the Class B Part 15 of the
FCC Rules.

Any changes or modifications should be approved by the party responsible for compliance with
FCC Rules; otherwise, the user loses authority to operate the equipment.

CAUTION

Use of controls or adjustments or performance of procedures other than those specified herein
may result in hazardous radiation exposure.

The laser beam emitted from the optical pickup is invisible. Accordingly:

• Do not open the optical pickup housing.

• Obtain service only from Plextor-authorized personnel.

CAUTION

To disconnect the CD-ROM drive from an electrical current, pull out the power plug.

VORSICHT

DIE TRENNUNG VOM NETZ ERFOLGT DURCH ZIEHEN DES NETZSECKES.

Zur Einhaltung der Funk-Entstörung von nicht selbständig betreib­baren Hochfrequenzgeräten (periphere Anlagenkomponenten).

Dieses Gerät entspricht als Einzelgerät den Funk-Entstöranforderun­gen der Postverfügung Nr. 243/1991. Wird das Gerät innerhalb einer
Anlage zusammen mit anderen Geräten betrieben. So muβ bei
Inanspruchnahme der ‘‘Allgemeinen (Betriebs-) genehmigung’’ nach
der BMPT-AmtsblVfg Nr. 243/1991 die gesamte Anlage folgenden Richtlinien entsprechen:

ÜG-Vfg.243

• Grenzwertklases B der EN55022

• Auflagen nach § 2 der BMPT-AmtsblVfg 243/1991

Dies ist bei der Zusammensetzung einer Anlage (z.B. Computersystem) aus nur einzein
geprüften Geräten nicht immer erfüllt.

Inside front cover

CD-ROM DRIVE

Caddy

PX-32CSi Internal

PX-32CSe External

Tray

PX-32TSi Internal

PX-32TSe External

Plextor reserves the right to make improvements in the products described in this manual at any
time without prior notice.

Plextor makes no representation or warranties with respect to the contents hereof and specifically
disclaims any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose. Further,
Plextor Corp. reserves the right to revise this manual and to make changes in its content without
obligation to notify any person or organization of such revision or change.

This manual is copyrighted, all rights reserved. It may not be copied, photocopied, translated,
or reduced to any electronic medium or machine-readable form without Plextor’s prior
permission.

Manual copyright © 1997 Plextor Corp. November 1997.

Licenses and Trademarks

All licenses and trademarks are property of their respective owners.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

2. Box Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

UltraPleX Internal Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

UltraPleX External Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

A Gentle Reminder. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

3. What Else Do I Need? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

4. Precautions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

5. Drive Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

PX-32XS Front Panel (Internal and External)

Caddy Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Tray Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

PX-32XSi (Internal Drive)

Rear Panel (Caddy, Tray) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

PX-32XSe (External Drive)

Rear Panel (Caddy, Tray) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

6. Drive Switch/Jumper/Dial Settings . . . . . . . . . . . 14

PX-32XSi Internal Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

PX-32XSe External Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Other Switch/Jumper Settings----UltraPleX . . . . . . . 18

7. Termination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

PX-32XSi Internal Termination . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

PX-32XSe External Termination . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

8. Hardware Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Board Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Drive Positioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Mounting an Internal Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

External Drive Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Soundboard Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Audio Cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

9. Software Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

OS/2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Windows NT 4.0 (and Below) . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

10. Using CD-ROM Discs, Caddies, and Trays . . . . . . . 40

Caddy Loading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Inserting the Disc into a Caddy . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Loading the Caddy into the Drive . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Removing the Caddy from the Drive . . . . . . . . . 42

Tray Loading and Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Cleaning the Disc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

11. How to Play Audio CDs on Your Drive . . . . . . . . . 44

12. Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

12.1 PC Compatibles: Initial Installations . . . . . . . 48

12.2 PC Compatibles: Existing Installations . . . . . . 54

12.3 Apple Macintosh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

13. Contacting Plextor’s Technical

Support Department . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

How to Contact. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Before You E-mail/Log On/FAX/Call . . . . . . . . . 61

Returns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Helpful Contacts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

14. Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Appendix: Windows 95 Drivers

and Installation Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

About Plextor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Warranty Information . . . . . . . . . . . inside back cover

---- CHAPTER 1 ----

Introduction

Thank you for purchasing Plextor’s UltraPleX, a 14/32 speed CAV CD-ROM drive
meant for the professional and power user. The UltraPleX is the most reliable and
highest performance CAV CD-ROM drive available in its class. The UltraPleX is also
the first fully CAV CD-ROM drive manufactured by Plextor. The throughput of CAV
CD-ROM drives varies throughout the disc. With the UltraPleX you are guaranteed
a minimum of fourteen speed performance and will experience thirty-two speed
performance with certain CD-ROM discs and applications.

Throughout the rest of this manual we will use the model numbers when necessary
to distinguish between internal and external drives. A lower case ‘‘i’’ or lower case ‘‘e’’
is used at the end of the model number to indicate internal or external unit. When the
topic applies to both the caddy and tray versions of the drive we will use an ‘‘X’’ to
replace the ‘‘C’’ and the ‘‘T’’ (PX-32XSi/PX-32XSe). In the case that the topic applies
to both internal and external, caddy and tray, we may use ‘‘UltraPleX’’ to refer to all drives.

We appreciate the confidence you have shown in us. Our goal is to put you----and
keep you----on the leading edge of CD-ROM drive performance. To get you there, we
first have to help you install your UltraPleX drive properly and operate it correctly.
After that the responsibility is yours to discover the applications that make a CD-ROM
drive such a powerful and exciting addition to your system.

For those of you with PCs, the installation process may seem a bit complicated.
Windows 95 has improved things a little bit. Mac people have it easy. But no one should
worry. Our manuals have successfully walked many thousands of customers through
the installation process, including those who previously had lived in mortal terror of
the innards of their computers. Plus, our Technical Support Department is just an e-mail
message or phone call away.

This manual is designed to be followed in sequence. It is aimed primarily at those
who will connect their UltraPleX drive to a PC.
Mac users should look for this symbol:

Users of UNIX-based systems should look for this symbol: as an indicator
of sections of the manual that pertain to them.

Many of you reading this manual are experienced computer users who have
successfully installed peripherals in the past. There probably are a number of
sections in this manual that you can skip over. However, we ask everyone----from
novice computer users to experienced computer professionals----to read the sections
marked with this symbol:

ULTRAPLEX OPERATION MANUAL 1

CHAPTER 1 ---- Introduction

In this manual you should find all the information you need to successfully install and
operate your drive. If you run into a problem, however, please contact us (see Chapter
13 for the different ways you can contact us). You will be connected to our friendly,
helpful band of tech support reps

who know their stuff. What might seem like a non-

cooperative CD-ROM drive to you could very well be a 30-second fix to them. But
we will never know unless you CONTACT US. If you are having trouble, please don’t
give up, and don’t take your drive back to where you bought it until you have spoken
with one of our tech support reps.

2 ULTRAPLEX OPERATION MANUAL

---- CHAPTER 2 ----

Box Contents

YOUR TASK: Check the contents of the box.

YOUR OBJECTIVE: Make sure you’ve got everything you paid for.

YOUR METHOD: Compare what you find in the box with the tables

on the following pages.

What you should find in your Plextor box depends on two factors: 1) what configu­ration you purchased; and 2) what the company that sold you the box put in----or took
out----while it was in their possession.

Plextor currently sells its UltraPleX drives in three configurations:

1) Drive Only

2) Drive with SCSI Interface Kit

3) Drive with Mac Kit

The configuration you received is indicated by stickers applied to your box.
Your drive may also have been integrated into a computer system or subsystem

sold by a third party.

PLEASE
NOTE:

There may be a perfectly good reason why the security sticker on the box was cut
before you received it. For example, a dealer may have purchased a ‘‘Drive Only’’
configuration from Plextor, then added a SCSI interface board and/or software he had
purchased separately before selling the box to you.

NOTE: If your drive came pre-installed in a computer, the rails, cables, interface

A security sticker was applied to the top of your box. The contents of your
box were carefully checked before this sticker was applied. If it was cut
before you purchased the box, you should carefully check the contents
to ensure nothing has been removed. If something is missing, you should
contact the party from whom you purchased the box for an explanation.

boards, software, and other parts shown on the following pages may have
been installed and may not be separately available.

ULTRAPLEX OPERATION MANUAL 3

CHAPTER 2 ---- Box Contents

Use the following tables to check the contents of your box:

UltraPleX Internal Drives

DRIVE

ONLY

CD-ROM drive

(Caddy)

(Tray)

X X
4 chrome and 4 black screws X X
Caddy (PX-32CS only)

X X
Plextor Manager software X X
SCSI interface board &

installation guide* X
Audio cable* X (2)
SCSI cable*

Plextor operation manual X X
Warranty registration card X X
Extra jumpers for setting drive

switches

DRIVE

w/ SCSI Interface

X

X X

* Please see Chapter 13, page 62, for locations to purchase additional or replacement
accessories.

4 ULTRAPLEX OPERATION MANUAL

UltraPleX External Drives

CHAPTER 2 ---- Box Contents

DRIVE

ONLY

CD-ROM drive

(Caddy)

(Tray)

Caddy (PX-32CS only)

Plextor Manager software X X
SCSI interface board &

installation guide* X
Audio cable* X X
SCSI cable*

Plextor operation manual X X X
Warranty registration card X X X
Mac device drivers manual & disk X

X X

X X X

DRIVE

w/ SCSI

Interface

X X

DRIVE

Mac Kit

w/

X

* Please see Chapter 13, page 62, for locations to purchase additional or replacement
accessories.

ULTRAPLEX OPERATION MANUAL 5

CHAPTER 2 ---- Box Contents

A Gentle Reminder. . .

YOUR TASK: Save your box (if you received one).

YOUR OBJECTIVE: Have a secure container in which to ship your drive

back to Plextor, if necessary.

YOUR METHOD:

Find an empty space in your home/office and fill it
with the Plextor box.

If you received your UltraPleX CD-ROM drive in a Plextor box, you should save the
box after you have installed your drive. There are many sets of hands----some of them
potentially unfriendly----that a drive might go through on its way from us to you. Our
box and its packaging material were designed and drop-tested to ensure that your
UltraPleX drive can endure rough treatment and still arrive in working order.

We advise you to hold on to your box in case you should ever need to return your
drive to Plextor for any reason. Unfortunately, some of our customers have not held
on to their boxes and have had to resort to some less-than-secure methods to get drives
back to us. We have received drives in a shoebox, in an unpadded express mail
envelope, and in a box filled with buttered popcorn.

We cannot assume liability for any damage your drive sustains during shipment.
Therefore, please ship your drive in the safest manner possible. We believe your drive
will be most secure if it is shipped in a Plextor box. We hope you will never have to
ship your drive back to us. If you do, however, please send it packaged in a Plextor box.

If you did not receive a Plextor box (if, for example, your drive came pre-installed in
a computer), we recommend that you pay a packaging store (e.g., Mail Boxes Etc.) in
your area to ship your drive. The drives that we have received from most packaging
stores have arrived in good shape. If you don’t have a packaging store in your area,
call our Technical Support Department for packaging pointers before you ship your
drive. In fact, you should call our Technical Support Department to get an RMA
number before returning any drive (see Chapter 13, p. 62).

6 ULTRAPLEX OPERATION MANUAL

---- CHAPTER 3 ----

What Else Do I Need?

YOUR TASK: Review the software and hardware installed in your

current computer system.

YOUR OBJECTIVE: Determine what else you may need to operate your

CD-ROM drive.

YOUR METHOD:

Inventory your current computer system; check list
below.

If you are a PC owner and you purchased a Plextor box labeled ‘‘Drive with SCSI
Interface Kit,’’ your needs are simple: none. The same holds true if you are a Mac
owner and purchased a Plextor box labeled ‘‘Drive with Mac Kit.’’ Everything you
need to successfully install and operate your UltraPleX CD-ROM drive is included in
the box you purchased. The only thing you need to add is a CD-ROM disc to play in
your new drive.

If you are a PC owner who has purchased an UltraPleX ‘‘Drive Only’’ box, life gets a
bit more complicated. You fall into one of three groups:

1) You do not own a SCSI interface board.
In this case, you have to get one. Your local computer store and numerous

mail-order vendors carry them.* Call us if you need suggestions on which
model to buy. We recommend you get a SCSI interface capable of Ultra
SCSI speeds.

2) You own a SCSI interface board.
If you have only one other internal SCSI peripheral device and a Plextor

internal CD-ROM drive, check to see if you can use the SCSI ribbon cable
in your PC. If the cable has unused connectors, use one to attach the
UltraPleX. If the cable in your PC does not have free connector, you will
need to purchase a SCSI ribbon cable from your local computer supply
store.* The cable must have at least as many connectors as you have internal
SCSI peripherals (including one for your Plextor CD-ROM drive), plus one
additional connector to attach to the interface board.

If you have an external Plextor CD-ROM drive, you will be able to include
it in your daisy chain of other external SCSI peripherals with a SCSI cable.
Be sure the cable you choose has at least one 50-pin, high-density SCSI

* Please see Chapter 13, page 62, for locations to purchase additional or replacement
accessories.

ULTRAPLEX OPERATION MANUAL 7