G-Technology G SPEED Q User manual

G SPEED Q
High-Speed, RAID Protected Storage System
PRODUCT MANUAL
g-technology.com

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Table of Contents
G SPEED Q
Welcome to G-SPEED Q
Table of Contents
Safety & General Use
Safety Precautions.....................................4
Backup Your Data ......................................5
About Your G-SPEED Q
Introduction ................................................7
What’s in the Box ......................................8
System Requirements..............................8
Overview of the Drive .............................9
Using Your Drive
Easy Installation for Mac ...................... 11
Optimize Performance ......................... 11
Disconnect the Drive ............................ 12
Warning LED Alarms.............................. 12
Windows Use............................................ 13
Using RAID Modes
Supported RAID Modes ....................... 15
The Congurator Utility ....................... 16
Congure the RAID Mode ................... 16
Maintenance for your Drive
Initialize Drive for Mac ......................... 21
Restore the Drive Icon .......................... 24
Reformat with Partitions...................... 26
Replace a Failed Drive Module ......... 30
Support & Warranty
Technical Support .................................. 33
Limited Warranty .................................... 34
Copyright................................................... 36

G SPEED Q
Safety & General Use
• Safety Precautions ...................................... p.4
• Backup Your Data ........................................ p.5

p.4
Safety & General Use
G SPEED Q
Safety Precautions
G-SPEED Q’s warranty may be void as a result of the failure to respect the precautions listed
here. If you detect a problem with your drive, please contact our Technical Support depart-
ment.
If the product is returned with damage caused by improper handling, the warranty will
be void and liability will rest with the user. Please read our Limited Warranty.
• Servicing: Your drive contains no user-serviceable parts. If it appears to be malfunctioning,
have it inspected by a qualied Technical Support representative.
• Moisture: Place the device away from moisture or liquids. To reduce the risk of damage, do
not expose this drive to rain or moisture. Do not use it in damp or wet conditions. Never place
objects containing liquids on the drive as they may spill into its openings.
• Ventilation: Place the device in a vented area. The drive should never be placed near
or over a radiator or heat source.
• Temperature: Do not expose this drive to temperatures outside the range of 5°C to 35°C (41°F
to 95°F); or to operational humidity beyond 5-80%, non-condensing, or non-operating humid-
ity beyond 10-90%, non-condensing. Avoid placing your drive near a source of heat, or expos-
ing it to sunlight (even through a window), or in an environment that is too cold or humid.
• Physical Damage: Do not place heavy objects on the drive. Never use excessive force
on your drive.
health

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Safety & General Use
G SPEED Q
Backup Your Data
The disk drive contained in your G-SPEED Q device is a delicate electronic instrument
and is susceptible to damage due to excessive physical shock. Under no circumstances
will G-Technology be held liable for the recovery or restoration of lost data. Any loss, corruption
or destruction of data while using a G-Technology drive is the sole responsibility of the user.
Make Two Backups
To help prevent the loss of your data, we highly recommend that you keep TWO copies of your
data in separate storage locations. When in RAID 5 (Protected mode), G-SPEED Q will safeguard
your data from hard drive failure. However, if any le system corruption
occurs, the data contained on G-SPEED Q may be aected.
For critical data, it is recommended to keep one copy on G-SPEED Q and a second copy on your
internal hard drive, another G-Technology drive, or a form of removable storage media.
backup

G SPEED Q
About Your G-SPEED Q
• Introduction ............................................................. p.7
• What’s in the Box .................................................. p.8
• System Requirements .......................................... p.8
• Overview of the Drive ....................................... p.9

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About Your G-SPEED Q
G SPEED Q
Introduction
Thank you for purchasing the G-SPEED™ Q from G-Technology. G-SPEED Q is a high-speed,
low cost storage solution that was designed to safeguard digital photos, audio and video
libraries and documents.
This quiet, compact four-bay unit delivers solid, aordable RAID storage for both Mac us-
ers and creative professionals doing high capacity tasks like HD video and photo editing.
G-SPEED Q oers outstanding performance, high storage capacity and optional fail-safe
operation at a low cost per gigabyte. Unlike single drive systems, if a hard drive failure
occurs, your data is still safe and accessible. G-SPEED Q also features HGST Enterprise class
hard drives for the best in performance and reliability.
With its built-in RAID controller, the G-SPEED Q is not tied to a single workstation and can
be easily transported for use in the edit bay or on the road. The unit contains an inter-
nal RAID controller and can be congured in RAID 0 (Performance) or RAID 5 (Protected)
mode.
intro

p.8
About Your G-SPEED Q
G SPEED Q
inbox
What’s in the Box
The following items are included in the box:
• G-SPEED Q Storage Unit with 4 Removable Disk Modules
• USB 3.0 cable
• eSATA cable
• FireWire 400 to 800 cable
• USB 3.0 cable
• Drive module keys
• Quik start guide
If any items are missing, please contact G-Technology at
[e-mail]
System Requirements
G-SPEED Q supports the folllowing Operating Systems. The drive is set up at the fac-
tory for use with Mac OS X systems, and formatted as‘HFS+ with Journaling’.
• Mac OS 10.6+
• Windows® 8, 7 Vista® and XP 64 bit (via reformat)
NOTE: G-SPEED Q is NOT compatible with Windows XP and older 32-bit operating
systems. These OS’s are limited to a maximum volume size of 2.2TB.

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About Your G-SPEED Q
G SPEED Q
Overview of the Drive
This diagram shows the helpful features of your G-SPEED Q.
The compact and quiet G-SPEED Q features four hot-swappable HGST 7200 RPM
Enterprise class SATA hard drives. It has a uniquely designed all aluminum enclosure
with a heavy duty power supply and a quiet cooling fan to ensure long life and reliable
operation.
G-SPEED Q’s quad interface features a high speed USB 3.0, 3Gbit eSATA and FireWire 800.
This allows for universal connectivity and industry leading performance. All cables are
included.
IMPORTANT: G-SPEED Q has been set up at the factory in RAID 5 (Protected) mode. To
change to RAID 0 (Performance) operation, read the section Congure the RAID Mode.
front

G SPEED Q
Using Your Drive
• Easy Installation for Mac ................................. p.11
• Optimize Performance ...................................... p.11
• Disconnect the Drive .......................................... p.12
• Warning LED Alarms .......................................... p.12
• Windows Use ........................................................ p.13

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Using Your Drive
G SPEED Q
Easy Installation for Mac
G-SPEED Q attaches to your computer via
a USB 3.0, high speed eSATA, or one of two
FireWire 800 ports.
Choose the connection appropriate for your
system and connect the drive with the matching
supplied cable.
Connect the power cord to the unit and plug the
other end into a surge protector or wall outlet.
Turn on the power switch. After about 45 seconds,
the drive will automatically mount on the desktop
if you are running Mac OS X.
Optimize Performance
G-SPEED Q can be connected to any Mac or Windows machine equipped with USB,
eSATA or FireWire port. For best performance, G-SPEED Q should be connected via
USB 3.0 or eSATA.
install

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Using Your Drive
G SPEED Q
Warning LED Alarms
G-SPEED Q is equipped with visual alarms to alert you to any possible malfunction.
There is a red LED on the bottom right of the unit and amber LEDs on each drive
module. These LEDs will ash for about 45 seconds when the unit is rst powered on.
• If the red warning light is lit, there is a failure of one of the
internal components. Stop using G-SPEED Q and contact our
Technical Support.
• If the amber warning light is lit, there is a drive failure for that
particular module. You will need to replace a drive module.
Read how in Replace a Failed Drive Module.
NOTE: Although there is a switch for the Audible Alarm on the
rear of the unit,
it is not functional. G-SPEED Q only supports visual alarms.
led
Disconnect the Drive
A great feature of G-SPEED Q is its ability to connect and disconnect while your com-
puter is running. To prevent failures and/or data loss, it is important to follow the steps
below when disconnecting or‘unmounting’the drive from your computer.
1. Before powering down and disconnecting the drive, unmount the system by
simply dragging the G-SPEED Q icon to the trash located in the dock.
Keyboard shortcut: Select the drive icon and hit Command+E.
2. It is safe to remove the drive from your system and power it down when the drive icon
is no longer present on your desktop.

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Using Your Drive
G SPEED Q
Windows Use
G-SPEED Q is set up at the factory for use with Mac OS X systems. A simple initialization
will prepare your drive for use with Windows Vista and Windows 7 systems.
G-SPEED Q is not supported by Windows XP or other 32-bit operating systems. These
OS’s are limited to a maximum volume size to 2.2TB.
For helpful information on conguring and using your drive with Windows, please visit
www.g-technology.com/windows
windows

G SPEED Q
Using RAID Modes
• Supported RAID Modes ......................... p.15
• The Congurator Utility .......................... p.16
• Congure the RAID Mode .................... p.16

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Using RAID Modes
G SPEED Q
Supported RAID Modes
G-SPEED Q is congured in RAID 5 (Protected) mode at the factory. The drive also sup-
ports RAID 0 (Performance) conguration. The following table explains the advantages
and disadvantages for each RAID level.
If you need to change the RAID level of G-SPEED Q, then follow the steps in Congure
the RAID Mode.
RAID 5 (Protected)
G-SPEED Q ships in RAID 5 mode. RAID 5 is great for protection and security of data,
however, its storage capacity is reduced. This makes it ideal for sensitive data rather
than large amounts. In RAID 5, your G-SPEED Q will be at 75% of its total capacity.
RAID 0 (Performance)
RAID 0 oers better performance mode and 100% storage capacity.
raid

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Using RAID Modes
G SPEED Q
The Congurator Utility
To change the RAID level for your G-SPEED Q, you will
need a software utility from G-Technology called Con-
gurator. NOTE: YOU MUST CONNECT THE DRIVE VIA
THE USB PORT TO USE CONFIGURATOR.
The utility is available on the enclosed CD or you can
download it from the G-Technology website at www.g-
technology/support
If you downloaded Congurator, you should launch it directly from the mounted Disk
Image. If you copied Congurator from our CD, it is important that you copy it (by
Option+dragging) to your Applications folder prior to running. Congurator will not
work if you drag it to the Applications Folder and then launch.
Congure the RAID Mode
It is easy to congure the RAID mode with the following steps. NOTE: Changing the
RAID level will erase all data on the drive. Be sure all the material you want to save is
backed up to a separate disk.
1. Connect G-SPEED Q via its USB port and launch the Congurator utility. A window
will appear asking you to disconnect all other external hard disks from your com-
puter. This is important to ensure that Congurator does not aect other FireWire or
USB devices on your system.
congure

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Using RAID Modes
G SPEED Q
2. Click on the Continue button. A window will appear telling you that Congurator is
searching for G-SPEED Q. The search may take a few minutes.
3. Once the utility nds your G-SPEED Q, the following window will appear. Select the
RAID 5 (Protected) or RAID 0 (Performance) radio button. Then click the Congure
button to continue.
4. Two Warning windows will appear, letting you know that the following step will
erase all of your data. Click the OK/Yes buttons to continue.

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Using RAID Modes
G SPEED Q
5. A window will appear telling you the conguration is in progress.
NOTE: After the conguration is complete, a system dialog box will warn that a device
was not removed properly. Don’t worry about this message; just click OK.
6. Congurator will indicate that the RAID conguration is complete. Click the Exit button
to close the utility.

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Using RAID Modes
G SPEED Q
7. Changing the RAID mode of the G-SPEED Q will require you to re-initialize the disk
with the Disk Utility application. A Disk Insertion dialog box should appear. Click the
Initialize button to launch Disk Utility.
If the Disk Insertion dialog does not appear, go to Application> Utilities and open
the Disk Utility program.
Once Disk Utility is open, you are ready to initialize and partition G-SPEED Q for use
with Mac. Read those steps in Initialize Drive for Mac.

G SPEED Q
Maintenance for your Drive
• Initialize Drive for Mac .................................. p.21
• Restore the Drive Icon .................................. p.24
• Reformat with Partitions ............................... p.26
• Replace a Failed Drive Module ................... p.30