mini Pal User’s Guide
Contents Technical Specifications ....................................................................22 PART II: SETTING UP MINI PAL PART I: MEET MINI PAL& MUCH MORE Connecting the mini Pal to your Mac mini.......................................26 Welcome! ..............................................................................................8 Connecting mini Pal to Computers other than Mac mini ...............29 Register for Warranty Coverage ..................................................
Setting up the Button Backup Script ................................................................ 51 Customizing the Button Backup Script............................................................. 54 Install Retrospect Express 5.1 for Mac OS 9 and pre-OS 10.1.5 .............................. 61 PushButton™ Backup for PC .............................................................62 Software Installation ............................................................................................
PART I: MEET MINI PAL & MUCH MORE
Welcome! Register for Warranty Coverage Thank you for choosing an AcomData mini Pal. Your mini Pal is equipped with a high-performance FireWire hard drive, a FireWire hub, and a USB 2.0 hub for connecting USB and FireWire peripherals. Registration is required in the event that your product needs servicing. See “Obtaining Service for Your AcomData Product” for details.
Precautions Package Contents Failure to follow the precautions below may result in damage to the device, loss of data, and voiding of the warranty. • If using your AcomData product as a general-purpose storage device (as opposed to a backup device) 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.
System Requirements for Mac System Requirements for PC • Power Macintosh (Mac mini, G5, G4, G3, iBook, PowerBook or iMac) • Minimum 233 MHz Pentium processor or equivalent (Celeron, AMD, etc.) • Mac OS 9 or Mac OS X • Windows XP, 2000, Me or 98SE • Available data port(s): - 6-pin FireWire port (for operation of hard drive and FireWire hub) - USB 2.0 port (for operation of the USB 2.0 hub) • Available data port(s): - 6-pin FireWire port (for operation of hard drive and FireWire hub) - USB 2.
AcomData mini Pal at a Glance 12V 5V GND A Aluminum Alloy Case Designed with the same shape, footprint, material, and surface finish as Mac mini. Hi-Performance Hard Drive With a huge capacity for your demanding storage needs. - 14 - PushButton™ Press to initiate a backup. Requires installation of the included software. POWER SWITCH You can turn the mini Pal on only when needed, to save electricity. POWER PORT The included AC adapter plugs in here. USB 2.
AcomData mini Pal In-Depth FireWire 400 Hard Drive mini Pal’s internal hard drive boasts state-of-the-art features, including 7200 RPM rotational speed, up to 8 MB cache, giant magnetoresistive (GMR) technology, and advanced integrated electronics, for great performance and solid reliability. The FireWire 1394a interface makes the drive ideal for even the most demanding applications––including capturing and editing full-motion, digital video.
PushButton™ Backup Duplicates vs. Backups PushButton™ Backup allows you to run routine backups simply by pressing the PushButton™ on the front of your mini Pal. There are three types of backup operations available with Retrospect Express: Duplicates; Backups, and; Archives. (The Archive operation is not discussed in this guide. For information on Archives see the Help menu in Retrospect Express.
About Backups The Backup process “packages” backed up files into a Backup Set. Files in a Backup Set are not accessible via the Desktop. To retrieve a file in a Backup Set you need to “restore” the file using Retrospect’s Restore function. Instead of overwriting previously backed up files with the latest versions, with Backups all previous versions of backed up files are saved, which allows you to restore multiple versions of the same file as it has changed over time.
Technical Specifications Model #: .........................................................................................................HDxxxFPMM-72 (The "xxx" is a placeholder for capacity. For example, if your mini Pal has a capacity of 250 GB, the model number is HD250FPMM-72.) Physical Dimensions: (inches) ......................................................................................................6.5” X 6.5” X 1.55” (mm) .....................................................................
PART II: SETTING UP MINI PAL
��������� Connecting the mini Pal to your Mac mini �������������� ������������ �������� ���������� About the supplied USB and FireWire cables: �������� Each end of the USB cable has different connectors, called type A and type B. The 'A' connector plugs into your computer. The 'B' connector plugs into your mini Pal. ���������� The connectors on both the USB and FireWire cables are made to be inserted only one way.
4. Connect the USB cable: Plug the type B connector into the USB type B port on the mini Pal. Plug the type A connector into a free USB port on your Mac mini. 5. Connect the FireWire connector: Plug one end of the FireWire cable into any one of the FireWire ports on your mini Pal. Plug the other end into the FireWire port on your Mac mini. 6.
Naming Your mini Pal Re-Formatting mini Pal Now that your mini Pal has been connected and mounted to your operating system, you may want to give it a name (other than “External”) to distinguish it from other devices connected to your computer. If you wish to re-format your mini Pal, you will have the opportunity to assign a name during the formatting setup process.
Formatting Options for Cross-Platform Compatibility If you ever need to re-format your mini Pal and you need both PC and Mac compatibility, you have two options: 1. Format the mini Pal on a PC running Windows 98SE or Me with the FAT32 file system. 2. Format the mini Pal on Mac OS X v.10.3 or later with the MS-DOS file system. The MS-DOS files system is the equivalent of FAT32 on the PC. Mac OS 10.
Formatting mini Pal in Windows 98SE or Me Formatting mini Pal in Mac OS X 1. Disable any anti-virus software you may have running in the background. 1. Disable any anti-virus software you may have running in the background. 2. Double-click on the My Computer icon. In the My Computer window you should see the icon/letter for the mini Pal (labeled “External”). If you are not sure which icon represents the mini Pal, unmount and turn off the mini Pal to see which one of the icons disappears.
Formatting mini Pal in Mac OS 9 Before you can re-format the mini Pal you will need to restart your computer from the Mac OS 9 System Software CD that come with your computer or which you purchased as an upgrade. 1. Disable any anti-virus software you may have running in the background. How to Safely Turn Off (and Disconnect) mini Pal NEVER TURN OFF A HARD DRIVE WITHOUT UNMOUNTING IT FIRST. YOU MAY LOSE DATA OR DAMAGE THE DRIVE. 2. Insert the System Software CD into your CD drive. 3.
Mac Users Drag the mini Pal icon on the Desktop to the Trash. Wait until the icon disappears, and then turn off mini Pal. PC Users 1. In the system tray at the bottom of your screen, click the safely remove/ icon (the icon with the green arrow)… On Windows 2000 and XP you will see the alert message “Safely Remove…” or “Stop…” followed by the drive letter. On Windows 98SE and Me a rectangle will appear with the name of the mini Pal followed by the drive letter.
Connecting USB Peripherals What you need to know… mini Pal’s USB hub has four USB type A connectors, and is compatible with both USB 2.0 and USB 1.1. You to connect both types of devices to any of the USB type A ports. The single USB type B port is used to connect mini Pal to your computer. • If you plug mini Pal into a USB 2.0 port on your computer, individual USB devices attached to mini Pal will operate at either USB 2.0 or USB 1.1 speeds, according to the type of USB interface each device has.
Connecting FireWire Peripherals What you need to know… mini Pal is equipped with three FireWire 400 (1394a) ports. One port is needed to connect the mini Pal to your computer. Each remaining port can be used to connect one or more FireWire devices in a daisy-chain (devices are connected in series one after the other), as shown in the schematic below. • It doesn’t matter which of your mini Pal’s FireWire ports you use to connect to your computer and which you use for connecting FireWire peripherals.
PART III: PUSHBUTTON™ BACKUP
PushButton™ Backup for Mac Software Installation Mac OS X v.10.4 (Tiger) Users: If the Retrospect Express bundled with your mini Pal is earlier than version 6.0.212, you will need to update it. After you install the version bundled with your Drive, go to: www.acomdata.com-->Customer Support-->Total Product Support-->Portable Hard Drives to obtain the software update and view further instructions.
6. Read the license agreement. Click Accept to accept the terms and continue with the installation. Installing AcomData PushButton™ Manager 7. In the Install Retrospect Express window (Figure 2) the default installation type is Easy Install. Under Install Location, the default location is the main Applications folder FIGURE 2 on your startup disk. Do not change the default settings. Click Install. 2. You will see the message displayed in Figure 3. Click Continue.
Setting up the Button Backup Script 1. Press the PushButton™ on the front of the mini Pal. You will see the alert message: “The document you are opening will open the application ‘Retrospect’ for the first time…?" Click Open. 2. You will be asked to type in your administrator password. This is the password you use to log in to your computer. Do so, then click OK. 3. You will see the Retrospect license code on the window. Click OK. 4.
6. Step 1 (Figure 6): Retrospect Button Backup will ask you to select the volume (drive) you want to backup, from a list of available volumes. Make your selection (e.g. your startup disk) and click Next. FIGURE 7 If you wish to change the script in order to run Backups instead of Duplicates, click Finish and proceed to the next section: “Customizing the Button Backup Script.” FIGURE 6 7. Step 2 (Figure 7): the wizard will ask what types of files you want to backup. Make your selection. Click Next. 8.
Customizing the Button Backup Script This section shows you how to change the Button Backup script to perform Backups rather than Duplicates. For an explanation of the differences see “Duplicates vs. Backups.” If you change the Button Backup script to perform another type of operation, the old script will be overwritten and no longer available. 1.
asking: “Really forget Script…?” Click OK. 6. In the Scripts window, click New… You will see a new window asking: “Use EasyScript to prepare backup strategy?” Click No. (EasyScript is used for the creation of scheduled backups and is not compatible with PushButton™ Backup.) 7. A new window will appear asking you what kind of script you want to create (Figure 11). Your choices will be Duplicate, Backup and Archive. Select Backup and click OK. FIGURE 11 8.
Removable Disk from the Backup set type pull-down menu. 13. If you wish to set up a password that will be required every time you perform a backup, click the Secure… button and follow the instructions. When you’re done, you will be taken back to the Backup Set Creation window. Documents folder inside the Home folder on your computer’s startup disk. Click Save. 16. In the Backup Set Selection window, click OK. In the Retrospect Button Backup: Destinations window, click OK. 17.
20. In the Scripts window you will now see the script Retrospect Button Backup (Backup). Close the Scripts window. The script is now ready to use. 21. Press the PushButton™ on the mini Pal. If this is the first time performing this Backup operation, Retrospect Express will ask you to select a disk for the Backup Set. A window will appear with a list of available drives.
PushButton™ Backup for PC 5. Next you will see the License Agreement screen. If you accept the terms, select “I accept the terms in the license agreement” and click Next. 6. Complete the Customer Information screen (optional) and click Next. Software Installation 7. In the Setup Type screen there are two options: “Recommended” and “Custom.” If it’s not already selected, select “Recommended” and click Next.
Installing AcomData PushButton™ Manager If you have just installed Retrospect Express, the Retrospect Express start screen should still be up. If you do not see the Retrospect Express start screen, but the CD is still in the CD drive, go to My Computer and double-click on the CD drive icon. The Retrospect Express start screen will appear. If the CD is not in the drive, insert it. The CD will launch and the Retrospect Express start screen will appear automatically. 1.
Setting up PushButton™ Backup 1. Press the PushButton™ on the mini Pal. Retrospect Express will launch. In the Welcome to Retrospect! window (Figure 20) the license code field will display the correct license code. You do not need to enter a license code. Click OK. ume to backup the entire disk, or select Documents only. Click Next. 6. In Step 3 (Figure 22) you will be asked where you want to save your backup. Select the mini Pal (listed as “External”) and click Next. 2.
Customizing the Button Backup Script This section shows you how to change the Button Backup script to run Backups rather than Duplicates. You can also set the script to run Archives. (For information on Archives, see the Help menu in Retrospect Express.) If you change the Button Backup script to perform another type of operation, the old script will be overwritten and no longer available. 1. Launch Retrospect Express by clicking the Retrospect Express icon––do not press the PushButton™.
10. In the Select a Disk window, choose your mini Pal as the location for the Backup Set (Figure 29, next page) and click OK. 11. Verify the Backup Set name; make sure your mini Pal is selected as the destination disk. Click Next. FIGURE 26 6. To add additional folders or drives as described in the previous step, click Add in the Sources window. After you finish adding folders and drives, click OK. 7. In the Backup: Retrospect Button Backup window, click Destinations.
track of the files in the Backup Set. 14. Click Finish to close the Backup Set Creation wizard. 15. Select the Backup Set in the Destination selection window and click OK. 16. Select the Backup Set in the Retrospect Button Backup: Destinations window and click OK. FIGURE 29 17. In the Backup summary window, Retrospect Express confirms the source and destination that you selected. The Selecting category lists the file selection criteria that Retrospect Express uses with this script.
APPENDIX
About FireWire & USB 2.0 FireWire 400 FireWire is a serial data input/output technology developed by Apple Computer and Texas Instruments. The first FireWire standard was approved by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) in 1995. The official name for FireWire 400 is IEEE 1394a. Interface transfer rates up to 400 Mbps (50 MB/s) FireWire 400 can transmit data at up to 400 Megabits per second, which is equivalent to 50 Megabytes per second.
Maintaining Your mini Pal & Safeguarding Your Data A hard drive is a very sophisticated and sensitive device that requires proper care and maintenance to ensure the longest possible life, reliable operation, and most of all, the integrity of your stored data. Backup Your Data The single most important action you can take to safeguard your valuable data is to backup the data to another storage device. There are many reasons why data stored on a hard drive can become corrupted or lost.
use your computer. The good news is that, for the most part, you won’t need to tend to the computer while the software performs these operations. Protect Your Data from Viruses One of the greatest threats to your data comes from viruses. These nastysounding creatures are insidious programs created by malefactors. Some viruses are designed to render your computer inoperable; others will erase files. The worst part is you may not be aware that your system has been infected until it’s too late.
Troubleshooting for Mac users The power will not go on when I plug in the mini Pal. A: Make sure your connections are secure. My computer does not recognize the mini Pal. A: First, make sure the connections are secure. Second, check if your mini Pal is listed in the Apple System Profiler. If the driver listed is “USB Authoring Support” or “Toast USB Support”, disable this Extension(s) in the Extensions Manager, as they can cause a conflict with the mini Pal.
Troubleshooting for PC Users The power will not go on when I turn on the mini Pal. A: Make sure your connections are secure. My computer does not recognize the mini Pal. A: Make sure all of your connections are secure. If you have an add-on card, make sure it is working properly and/or update the driver. Also, make sure you have all the latest updates for your operating system. When I leave my computer idle for a while and come back, my mini Pal won’t work properly.
Frequently Asked Questions re-formatting the mini Pal using the NTFS file system. If you plan to use the mini Pal on a Mac OS only, consider re-formatting it using the Mac OS Extended file system. Q: Can I use mini Pal on two computers at the same time? A: Actually, yes. It is possible to connect mini Pal’s FireWire interface to one computer and the USB 2.0 interface to another computer.
Q: What is the cache (buffer) size of my mini Pal? A: mini Pals under 250 GB have 2MB buffers; mini Pals that are 250 GB or larger have 8MB buffers. Q: Can you use mini Pal as a startup disk? A: mini Pal cannot be used as a startup disk. However, if you use your mini Pal as a backup device, and you use the Backup operation in Retrospect Express, it is possible to backup the entire contents of your computer’s startup disk, including the operating system and all associated files.
Q: Does AcomData provide data recovery services? A: AcomData does not provide data recovery services. Q: If I have more than one mini Pal connected to the same computer, can I use the PushButton™ Backup function on each mini Pal? A: While you can connect more than one mini Pal to a computer, you can only use the PushButton™ on the first mini Pal you installed.
Glossary Hardware – Physical components of a computer system. Bit - The smallest unit of digital data. In binary code, a bit is represented logically as a either a 1 or a 0. Buffer – RAM cache that temporarily stores data so it can be delivered to a device as it is needed. Hard drives use RAM cache for faster transfers. Data that is read from cache memory can be accessed much more quickly than data that is read directly from the disk.
One Year Limited Warranty This Limited Warranty is invalid if the factory applied serial number has been altered or removed from the Product. AcomData warrants this product (the “Product”) against defects in material or workmanship as follows: Repair or replacement, as provided under this warranty, is the exclusive remedy of the consumer.
Obtaining Service for Your AcomData Product How to Purchase Accessories If you experience a problem with your Acomdata product, please contact Technical Support at techsupport@acomdata.com, or call (909) 348-0680. Contact 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. 6-pin to 4-pin FireWire cable); • quantity per item.
Contact Information Notices Address: 3410 Pomona Blvd. Pomona, CA 91768 COPYRIGHTS Copyright © 2005 AcomData. All rights reserved. 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 AcomData. Telephone: (909) 348-0680 Fax: (909) 598-8662 Web Site: www.acomdata.com Pre-Sales Questions: sales@acomdata.
mini Pal User’s Guide
