- 13 -
III. Hot-Swapping Hard Drives
Introduction
The SeriTek/1EN2 external enclosure extends Serial ATA’s storage capabilities outside of the
computer chassis. Serial ATA Hard drives can be swapped in and out of the SeriTek/1EN2
enclosure within seconds.
While hard drives may be easily inserted and removed, some operating systems do not
support the removal and addition of hard drives while the computer is running. Hot-swapping
hard drives on the Macintosh computer is only supported when utilizing FirmTek’s
SeriTek/1SE2 external host adapter which includes advanced hot-swap capabilities.
Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows 2003 hot swapping is supported when a special
procedure is followed (described below under “Windows Hot -Swap Procedure”).
General Hot-Swap Guidelines
♦
Do not disconnect or remove hard drives while transferring data.
♦
Save your work and close associated applications before removing the external hard
drive (applications need to be closed since they may keep temporary working files
open on the external hard drive).
♦
Always unmount the volumes (eject, disable, or drag the volumes to trash)
associated with an external hard drive before removing it.
♦
As a general rule, power down the SeriTek/1EN2 external enclosure after powering
down the computer. Power on the external enclosure before powering on the
computer.
♦
If RAID volumes span internal and external hard drives, do not attempt to remove
and insert external hard drives that partially support the RAID volume or data loss
may occur. An example is a RAID volume that spans hard drives located within the
computer chassis and the SeriTek/1EN2 external enclosure.
Macintosh Hot-Swap Procedure with the SeriTek/1SE2 External Two-Port Host
Adapter
The hot-swap procedure is the same for both Macintosh OS 9.XX and 10.1.5 and later.
Connecting External Hard Drive(s)
If your Macintosh computer is not yet powered on, power on the external enclosure then
power on the computer. If the Macintosh computer is already powered on, you may power on
the external enclosure and insert the hard drives. When you connect the first hard drive, you
will see a “SATA Configuration Changed” window. If this is the only hard drive you connect,
you may select “OK” in the dialog box. If you have an additional hard drive to connect,
connect it and then select “OK” in the dialog box.
Removing External Hard Drive(s)
Caution
: To prevent loss of data, save your work and close associated applications
before removing the external hard drive (applications need to be closed since they may
keep temporary working files open on the external hard drive). Always unmount the volumes
(eject or drag the volumes to trash) associated with an external hard drive before removing it.
Eject or drag all of the volumes associated with the hard drive(s) before disconnecting or
removing them. When removing a hard drive you will see a “SATA Configuration Changed”
window. If this is the only hard drive you remove, you may select “OK” in the dialog box. If
you have an additional hard drive to remove, remove it and then select “OK” in the dialog
box.
