12
Using Your Drive
Drive Placement and Venting
The MiniMax drive is designed to fit UNDER the Mac® mini. This allows the MiniMax drive proper ventilation, and doesn’t
interfere with the optical drive or the wireless signal on the Mac mini. Do NOT block the vents at the back of the MiniMax drive.
Disconnecting the Drive
CAUTION!
To prevent data loss, do not disconnect the drive during data transfer (drive activity light flashing). Always use the
safe removal procedure for your operating system when disconnecting the drive.
Using the USB Hub and FireWire Ports
The MiniMax drive includes a 3-port USB 2.0 hub that you can use to connect other USB devices to the computer. When using
the USB hub, connect the MiniMax to the computer via USB.
The MiniMax also includes two FireWire 800 ports that can be used for FireWire pass-through. The FireWire ports will transfer
data at FireWire 800 speeds only when the MiniMax is using FireWire 800 as the interface connection to the computer. You
can use the FireWire ports for pass-through when the MiniMax is connected to the computer via USB, but performance will
be limited to USB 2.0 transfer speeds (up to 480 Mbits/sec). For best results, a device connected to FireWire pass-through
should have its own power supply connection.
Avoid connecting the MiniMax to more than one interface on the computer at the same time. Follow the instructions below if
you want to change the interface connection used by the drive.
Changing the Interface Connection Used by the MiniMax Drive
1. Save files and close all folders and applications on the drive to avoid losing data.
2. Use the safe removal procedure for your operating system to unmount the drive.
3. Disconnect the interface cables from the back of the drive.
4. Power down the drive.
5. Re-connect the drive to the computer using only the interface connection you want the drive to use.
6. Turn on power to the drive.
7. Reconnect other devices to the USB hub or FireWire ports.
Backing Up with Your Drive
Iomega recommends periodic system backups and more frequent data backups to ensure that your critical data is always
protected. The frequency of your backup should depend on the importance of your data. To protect your data, you can simply
drag and drop copies of your critical files onto the drive, or you can use backup software to schedule regular backups.
CAUTION!
Any data storage device can fail. Always keep at least two copies on different disks for all critical data files.
Time Machine Compatibility
The MiniMax Hard Drive ships formatted HFS+ and is compatible with Time Machine (available in Mac OS X version 10.5 and above).
Troubleshooting
Drive does not appear in My Computer or Windows Explorer or on the Mac Desktop
PC Users:
Make sure the drive is formatted for use with Windows. Refer to the instructions on page 2.
• Try rebooting your computer.
• Check all connections.
• Make sure the drive is receiving power (check if the status light is on). Make sure the power switch is on.
• Make sure you are using the USB or FireWire cable that came with the drive.
• Make sure the drive is connected to only one interface.
• Try disconnecting the drive, then reconnecting the drive to a single interface (USB or FireWire). Turn off power to the
drive after disconnecting the drive, then turn the drive back on after reconnecting.
•
Mac Users:
Open Finder Preferences and make sure the box for
External Disks
(or
Hard Disks
) is checked.
If the drive is still not detected, please visit the Support area on
www.iomega.com
.
PC will not start up
If your PC will not start up when the drive is connected, the BIOS on the computer probably has a conflict with large capacity
removable drives. To work around this problem, power off the drive when starting the computer. Power on the drive after
the computer finishes starting up.
