Buffalo HDW-PDU3 MiniStation Air User manual

MiniStation Air
HDW-PDU3 Reference Guide
www.buffalotech.com
35020309-01
2014-01

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Contents
Chapter 1 - Layout .......................................................... 3
LEDs and Connections ..................................................................... 3
Chapter 2 - Recommended Usage ................................. 5
Battery Handling Guidelines and Safety Precautions ................... 5
Computer Connection (USB Connection) Guidelines .................... 6
Notes ................................................................................................. 6
Chapter 3 - Formatting ................................................... 8
What is Formatting? ......................................................................... 8
For Windows users ......................................................................................8
For Mac users ...............................................................................................8
Formatting Notes ............................................................................. 8
Formatting with NTFS (Windows) ................................................... 8
Formatting with FAT32 (Mac) ........................................................ 10
Chapter 4 - Specifications ............................................13
Specifications ................................................................................. 13
USB Interface Specifications ......................................................... 13
Wireless Interface Specifications .................................................. 14
Chapter 5 - Regulatory Compliance Information .......15

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Chapter 1 - Layout
LEDs and Connections
Top
1 Battery LED
Turns on while the unit is charging.
Glowing red: charging
Glowing green: fully charged
2 Power LED
This LED shows the status of the unit.
Glowing green: power on (If not accessed for 5 minutes, the drive goes into sleep mode and the LED turns off.)
Flashing green: The drive is being accessed.
Glowing red: Indicates that the remaining battery power level has dropped below 25%. Charging is
recommended.
Glowing orange: Indicates that this unit is ready to charge a smartphone.
3 Wireless LED
Indicates the status of the unit’s wireless.
Glowing blue: power on
Flashing blue: wireless communication in progress
4 AOSS LED
Indicates the AOSS status.
Glowing red: Connection by AOSS is complete. (After glowing for 1 minute, the LED turns off.)
Double-flashes (red): The unit is looking for another AOSS device to connect to.
Flashing red: AOSS connection error. The LED will turn off after 60 seconds.

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Bottom
5 Wireless Security Label
This label shows the default settings for connecting to the device wirelessly.
Side
6 AOSS Button
With the power on, hold down this button until the AOSS LED starts flashing (about 2 seconds) to start AOSS.
7 Power Button
Press to turn the unit on. To turn it off, hold it down until the power LED turns off.
8 USB Connector
To connect to a computer, connect the supplied USB data cable to this port.
9 Reset Button
To reset the unit to its factory default settings, use a straightened paperclip to hold down this recessed button
until the power LED turns red. The MiniStation Air should be connected to power while you do this. Resetting
the unit will not erase stored data on the drive.
10 Power Connector
To charge the unit, connect the supplied USB power cable to this port.
11 USB Connector
To charge a smartphone, connect its USB charging cable to this port.

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Chapter 2 - Recommended Usage
Battery Handling Guidelines and Safety Precautions
This product includes an internal lithium-ion battery. Please follow the safety precautions below.
If the battery pack is leaking fluid, do not come into contact with the fluid.
Battery fluid can cause burns. Also, if the fluid gets on your skin or clothes, immediately rinse the fluid off with
water, and seek medical attention. If the fluid gets in your eyes, it can lead to permanent loss of eyesight, and so
immediately flush your eyes thoroughly with clean water and seek medical treatment.
Never get the battery pack wet, or put it inside water or other liquids.
This can cause overheating, rupture, ignition, or a failure of the battery pack. If the battery pack gets wet,
immediately stop usage, and contact the Buffalo Technology Support Center or your local dealer.
Never disassemble or modify the battery pack.
This could cause the fluid in the battery pack to splash out, which can lead to permanent loss of eyesight if it gets
in your eyes, or can lead to overheating, rupture, or ignition of the battery.
Charge the unit periodically.
Charging the unit can prevent loss of performance over time.
When charging is complete, remove the USB power cable from this unit.
Do not expose the battery to heat or fire, or store in a hot place. Avoid exposure to direct sunlight.
Do not drop the battery on hard surfaces or expose it to mechanical shock.
Keep the battery out of the reach of children.
If the battery is swallowed, seek medical advice immediately.
Even when the MiniStation Air is turned off, standby mode consumes a small amount of power.
A fully charged battery will last about a week.
The battery should be charged before use.
Always use the correct charger and refer to this manual for the proper charging procedure.
Do not leave the battery connected to the charger when not in use.
After extended periods of storage, it may be necessary to charge and discharge the battery several times to
obtain maximum performance.

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The battery gives its best performance at normal room temperature (65 - 80° F).
Retain the original product literature for future reference.
Computer Connection (USB Connection) Guidelines
To avoid damage to data, follow these precautions:
Never configure this unit as a destination for virtual memory.
Never do any of the following while the power LED is blinking:
- unplug the USB data cable
- turn off your computer
- put your computer into standby, hibernate, or sleep mode
The MiniStation Air supports hot-plugging.
You can plug or unplug the USB data cable even if it and your PC are on. However, never unplug the USB data
cable while the power LED is blinking, or your data may be lost or damaged.
Booting Windows from this drive is not supported.
The MiniStation Air supports USB 3.0.
If it is connected to a USB 2.0 or USB 1.1 port, Windows may display a message that a high speed USB device is
connected to a non high-speed USB device. To continue, click “X”.
You may hear some noise while the MiniStation Air is working, especially when it is booting or being accessed.
This is normal.
Notes
The following restrictions apply to this product. Please check these points before use.
While the MiniStation Air is connected to a computer with the USB data cable, Wi-Fi is disabled.
Unplug the USB data cable before connecting wirelessly.
To charge this unit, it is recommended that you use the supplied USB power cable and AC adaptor to connect
this unit to an outlet.
If the USB power cable is used to connect to a computer, the supplied power varies depending on the computer.
This means that the charging time will also vary depending on your computer.
Although the battery LED turns on when the unit is connected to a computer by the USB data cable, the power
is also being used to run the unit, and so the charging time will be longer than when the unit is idle (in certain
cases, the unit may hardly be charged at all).

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If this unit is charged while connected wirelessly, the battery LED may turn off and charging may not be
performed in certain cases.
If this unit is charged while connected wirelessly, the internal temperature of the unit can become hot. If this
happens, to prevent unit damage due to overheating, the battery LED turns off, and charging is stopped. Once
the internal temperature of the unit drops, charging is restarted automatically.
The battery in this unit cannot be removed.
After the power is turned on, it takes about 1 minute for the unit to boot. During startup, the power can’t be
turned off.
After the unit is booted normally, hold down the power button for 3 seconds to turn off the power.
Do not shake or drop the MiniStation Air during boot. This could damage the hard drive.
Do not lean any object against MiniStation Air. It may cause the unit to malfunction.
To use files that are 4 GB or larger, keep the default NTFS format.
To use the MiniStation Air with Mac OS, reformat with FAT32. The MiniStation Air does not support HFS+.
A maximum of three devices can be connected wirelessly at the same time.
The MiniStation Air selects wireless channels automatically. There is no provision for locking communication to
a single fixed channel.
When the MiniStation Air is connected to the Internet through a wireless router, the wireless throughput to and
from your portable device drops to half.
With this configuration, only a single connected wireless device is recommended.
Press the AOSS button on the MiniStation Air to connect to your smartphone or other wireless client.
WPS is not supported.
The wireless channel cannot be changed manually.
The auto channel only is supported.
The client-side IP address of the MiniStation Air is fixed at “10.10.10.254”.

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Chapter 3 - Formatting
What is Formatting?
Formatting is an operation that enables a hard drive to be used on your computer.
This unit is formatted with FAT32 by default, and so it can be used without any additional formatting procedure.
However, due to the restrictions of the FAT32 format, this unit cannot save files that are 4 GB or larger in size.
For Windows users
Reformatting with NTFS is recommended for most Windows users. This will let you save files that are 4 GB or
larger. However, Macs will not be able to write to the dive if it is formatted with NTFS.
For Mac users
Keeping the default FAT32 format partition is recommended for Mac users. If the MiniStation Air is reformatted
with HFS+, files on it will no longer be accessible from your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Android phones, or other
portable device. If you have already reformatted the MiniStation Air with a different partition, use the procedure
in this manual to reformat it with FAT32.
Formatting Notes
Never unplug, reset, or turn off the computer during the formatting process. This could result in damage to the
drive or other problems. Proper operation cannot be guaranteed if the format process is interrupted.
Formatting will erase all data on the hard drive. Before formatting, back up any data.
The user is responsible for any data lost due to formatting of the hard drive.
Don’t format the wrong drive! Check the drive letter and partition name carefully. If you format the wrong drive,
all data on it will be lost.
Formatting with NTFS (Windows)
If you use a Windows computer primarily, you may reformat the MiniStation Air with NTFS. This will allow files larger
than 4 GB to be saved.
Note: Most Mac computers cannot save data to an NTFS drive.
1 Use the supplied USB data cable to connect this unit to your computer.
2 Select [Start] - [Computer (My Computer)].

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3 Right-click the icon for this MiniStation Air and select [Format] from the right-click menu.
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• Select [NTFS] for the file system.
• Insert a checkmark for [Quick Format].
• Click [Start].
5 Click [OK].

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6 Click [OK].
This completes the formatting process.
Formatting with FAT32 (Mac)
FAT32 formatting is recommended if the MiniStation Air will be used with non-Windows computers such as Macs.
After formatting with FAT32, only files of 4 GB or smaller can be saved to the drive. This is the default format on the
drive. If the drive has been reformatted with NTFS and you want to use it with a Mac, follow the procedure below to
reformat it with FAT32 from your Mac.
Note: HFS+ is not recommended for this drive because it is not compatible with iOS and Android devices. If you
accidentally reformatted the drive with HFS+, use the procedure below to restore it to FAT32 from your Mac.
1 Use the supplied USB data cable to connect this unit to your Mac.
2 Click to select the Finder.
3 Select [Go] - [Utilities].
4 Double-click [Disk Utility].
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• Click the disk to be formatted.
• Confirm that you are about to format the right drive!