iStorage diskg User manual

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iStorage diskG ®Manual – v 3.1
User Manual

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iStorage diskG ®Manual – v 3.1
www.istorage-uk.com
Copyright © iStorage, Inc 2012. All rights reserved.
Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation.
All other trademarks and copyrights referred to are the property of their respective owners.
Distribution of modified versions of this document is prohibited without the explicit permission of the copyright holder.
Distribution of the work or derivative work in any standard (paper) book form for commercial purposes is prohibited unless
prior permission is obtained from the copyright holder.
DOCUMENTATION IS PROVIDED AS IS AND ALL EXPRESS OR IMPLIED CONDITIONS, REPRESENTATIONS AND
WARRANTIES, INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
PURPOSE OR NON-INFRINGEMENT, ARE DISCLAIMED, EXCEPT TO THE EXTENT THAT SUCH DISCLAIMERS ARE HELD
TO BE LEGALLY INVALID
All trademarks and brand names are the
property of their respective owners

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iStorage diskG ®Manual – v 3.1
Table of Contents
Introduction.......................................................................................................................................4
Box contents.....................................................................................................................................4
1. diskG Layout............................................................................................................................. 5
2. Connecting the diskG ................................................................................................................6
3. Connecting the diskG with USB Y-Cable ...................................................................................7
4. How do I use the diskG the first time? .......................................................................................7
5. What if I forget the User PIN? ....................................................................................................7
6. Entering the Standby Mode .......................................................................................................8
7. Entering the User Mode .............................................................................................................8
8. Exiting the User Mode ...............................................................................................................8
9. Entering the Admin Mode ..........................................................................................................9
10. Exiting the Admin Mode............................................................................................................ 9
11. Changing the Admin PIN .........................................................................................................10
12. Adding a new User PIN ...........................................................................................................11
13. Deleting the User PINs ............................................................................................................11
14. Changing the User PIN ............................................................................................................11
15. Setting the Unattended Auto Lock Feature............................................................................... 12
16. Brute Force Protection .............................................................................................................13
17. Setting a Self Destruct PIN ......................................................................................................14
18. Completely resetting the diskG ...............................................................................................15
19. Initializing and formatting the diskG after a complete reset ..................................................... 15
20. Hibernating, Suspending, or Logging off ................................................................................17
21. Troubleshooting ......................................................................................................................18
22. Technical Support ...................................................................................................................22
23. Warranty and RMA information ...............................................................................................22

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iStorage diskG ®Manual – v 3.1
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Looking for an effortless way to secure your data?
The iStorage diskG Secure Drive is the ultimate portable hard drive and secure storage system. With an easy-to use
keypad design and software free setup, the diskG enables you to securely access the drive with your own unique PIN.
Featuring your choice of 128-bit or 256-bit hardware encryption and a fast USB 2.0 connection, the diskG
provides seamless real-time encryption, keeping your data safe even if the hard drive is removed from its enclosure.
Introduction
Box Contents
• iStorage diskG drive with
integrated USB cable
• Travel Pouch
• USB Y-cable
• Quick Start Guide
Quick Start Guide
YouriStorage diskAshur is preformatted in NTFS for Windows®and is ready for use. For the
Mac OS please refer to the directions on the reverse to reformat your drive to a compatible
format. Toaccess the diskAshur plug your drive into a powered USB port (for the fastest data
transfer speeds use a USB 3.0 port - the diskAshur is also backwards compatible with USB
2.0), enter the default PIN number of 123456 and press .
The indicator light will change from RED to GREEN indicating the drive is unlocked and can be
accessed.
Changing the ADMIN PIN number to your own unique PIN number
Youare the “administrator” of this drive. The first thing you will want to do is change the
Administrator PIN number from the default 123456 to a unique, secure PIN number that you
will remember.
Tochange the Admin PIN number follow the instructions below:
Toenter Admin Mode, first connect your drive to a USB port and wait until the LED 1.
light turns RED.
Next, press and hold 0 + for 5 seconds until the LED light flashes RED.2.
Enter the Admin PIN number (default is 123456) and press .
The LED light will turn
3.
BLUE indicating you are in Admin Mode.
While in Admin Mode, press and hold 9 + until the LED light flashes BLUE.4.
Enter the new PIN number (minimum 6 digits) and press . The LED light will flash 5.
GREEN 3 times if successful.
Re-enter the new PIN number and press . The LED light will stay solid GREEN for 6.
2 seconds then solid BLUE indicating you have successfully changed the Admin PIN.
Toexit Admin Mode and begin using your iStorage diskAshur drive, press the CANCE
L
7.
button until the LED turns RED. Now enter your new PIN number and press .
3
1
2
Cancel button
button
LED Indicator light
Rememberto save your password in a safe place. If
lostorforgotten,there is no way to access the drive.
If you are having difficulty please refer to the
complete user’s manual which is loaded on your
iStorage diskAshur drive and is also available at
iStorage’s website at: www.istorage-uk.com
0
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iStorage diskG ®Manual – v 3.1
1. diskG Layout
The “Cancel” button can be used to:
• Cancel current operation
• Return to the previous step when you knowingly entered a wrong PIN
• Exit the Admin Mode
The button can be used to access the diskG and it can also be used as an OK acknowledgement in the
following operations:
• Entering a PIN
• Confirming a new PIN
The LED indicator light displays the following colors to indicate the various modes of operation:
• RED: Standby Mode
• BLUE: Admin Mode
• GREEN: User Mode
The LED indicator light has other display methods to indicate different status of the diskG. Details are provided later in
this chapter.
3
1
2
Cancel button
button
LED Indicator lights
0
cancel
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iStorage diskG ®Manual – v 3.1
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Be sure to review the following information before you begin to use the diskG.
Caution:Use only the included cables with your diskG. You might damage the drive if you
use a cable not included with the diskG.
2. Connecting the diskG
1. Attach the integrated USB cable of the diskG drive to an available USB port
on your computer, as shown below.
2. The diskG LED indicator light should glow RED.
Note:If the LED indicator light does not power, use the included USB Y-cable.
Refer to directions on the following page.

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iStorage diskG ®Manual – v 3.1
4. How do I use the diskG the first time?
You can use it in one of the following ways:
• Enter the Admin Mode with 123456 (default administrator PIN),
and then you are able to change the Admin PIN or create a User PIN.
• Directly enter the Secure User Mode with 123456 (default Admin PIN)
to use the diskG.
5. What if I forget the User PIN?
Use your Admin PIN to enter Admin Mode, and then create another User PIN in Admin Mode.
Caution:If you forget or lose your ADMIN PIN there is no way to access the drive. Even an
iStorage employee will be unable to help you access your data. In the event that this happens, the only
way to use the drive is to do a complete reset, which will reset the encryption key making all data on the
drive unrecoverable and restore the diskG to the default Admin PIN 123456.
See the Chapter “Completely resetting the diskG” for instructions.
If the LED indicator light does not power on a single USB connection, use the included
USB Y-cable.
1. Attach the diskG’s integrated USB cable to the female connector of the USB Y-cable.
2. Connect the two male USB connectors to two available
USB ports on your computer.
3. The diskG LED indicator light should
glow RED.
3. Connecting the diskG with USB Y-cable

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iStorage diskG ®Manual – v 3.1
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6. Entering the Standby Mode
The Standby Mode is the default mode of the diskG and is the gateway to other working modes.
To enter the Standby Mode, attach the diskG to your computer. The drive automatically goes into Standby Mode and the
LED indicator light turns RED. In this mode, the diskG is locked. It cannot be recognized by My Computer and it does not
provide either the regular functions or the encryption function. However, it enables you to enter and switch between the Admin
Mode and the User Mode.
Attention:To switch between the Admin Mode and the User Mode, you are required to switch to the Stand
by Mode first, and then you can enter the mode of your choice.
7. Entering the User Mode
To enter the User Mode, do the following:
1. Attach the diskG to your computer. It enters the Standby Mode.
2. Enter the User PIN or the Admin PIN (the default Admin PIN
is 123456) and press . The LED indicator light turns GREEN indicating
that the drive is in the User Mode. If the LED indicator light flashes RED, you
need to re-enter the correct PIN.
8. Exiting the User Mode
To exit the User Mode, press the “Cancel” button on the diskG keypad. If there is no activity for 5 seconds the drive will lock
and go into Standby mode.
Alternatively, you can exit the User Mode by double-clicking the Safely Remove Hardware icon from the the Microsoft®
Windows®desktop, and then remove the diskG from your computer.
Attach the diskG to your computer again and the LED indicator light turns RED. This indicates that you are in the Standby
Mode.

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iStorage diskG ®Manual – v 3.1
9. Entering the Admin Mode
To enter the Admin Mode, do the following:
1. Attach the USB cable to an available USB port on your computer. The diskG
goes into the Standby Mode, and the LED indicator light turns RED.
2. Press and hold + 0 for five seconds until the LED indicator light flashes
RED. This indicates that you can enter the Admin PIN.
3. Enter the Admin PIN and press . The default Admin PIN is
123456. The Secure Hard Drive is in Admin Mode when the LED indicator light has
changed to BLUE.
Note:If the LED indicator light flashes RED for a few seconds, indicating the diskG has returned
to the Standby Mode, go back to Step 2. This is due to one of the following conditions:
• You entered an incorrect Admin PIN in Step 3.
• No activity was detected within two minutes in the Admin Mode.
10. Exiting the Admin Mode
To exit the Admin Mode, press the “Cancel” button in the Admin Mode until the LED indicator light turns RED. This
indicates that you are in the Standby Mode.
Note: The diskG cannot be recognized by the operating system in the Admin Mode.

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11. Changing the Admin PIN
You can change the Admin PIN by doing the following:
1. Enter Admin Mode (refer to page 9 for details).
2. Press and hold + 9 until the LED indicator light flashes BLUE.
3. Enter the new PIN and press (The PIN must be a minimum
of 6 digits and a maximum of 16 digits). The LED indicator light flashes
GREEN three times. See note below if RED LED indicator flashes three times.
4. Re-enter the new Admin PIN and press . The LED indicator light stays
solid GREEN for two seconds and then solid BLUE indicating that the Admin
PIN has been changed successfully.
Note:If the LED indicator light flashes RED three times, this indicates that the PIN is
less than 6 digits or more than 16 digits. Enter a PIN that contains 6 – 16 digits after
the LED indicator light flashes BLUE intermittently.
1. If the LED indicator light flashes RED intermittently and then BLUE intermittently,
go back to step 3. This is due to one of the following conditions:
• You waited longer than 10 seconds before entering a PIN.
• The new PIN was entered incorrectly.
2. If no activity is detected within two minutes in the Admin Mode, the diskG will
return to the Standby Mode.

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iStorage diskG ®Manual – v 3.1
12. Adding a new User PIN
You can add a new User PIN by doing the following:
1. Enter the Admin Mode (refer to page 9 for details).
2. Press and hold + 1 until the LED indicator light flashes BLUE intermittently.
3. Enter a User PIN and press (a minimum of 6 digits and a maximum
of 16 digits). The LED indicator light will flash GREEN three times.
4. Re-enter the new User PIN and press . If the LED indicator light stays
solid GREEN for two seconds and then solid BLUE, the User PIN was
added successfully.
13. Deleting the User PINs
You can delete all User PINs by doing the following:
1. Enter the Admin Mode (refer to page 9 for details).
2. Press and hold 7 + 8 + for five seconds until the LED indicator light
flashes BLUE intermittently. After the LED indicator light will flash GREEN
three times and then BLUE intermittently.
3. Press and hold 7 + 8 + a second time for five seconds until the LED indicator
light goes on solid GREEN for two seconds and then back to solid BLUE, this
indicates that the User PINs were deleted successfully.
14. Changing the User PIN
You can change the User PIN by doing the following:
1. Enter User Mode (refer to page 8 for details).
2. Press and hold + 1 until the LED indicator light flashes RED.
3. Enter your old PIN and press . The LED indicator light will turn
GREEN, then change to flashing BLUE.
4. Enter the new PIN and press (The PIN must be a minimum
of 6 digits and a maximum of 16 digits). The LED indicator light will flash
GREEN three times.
5. Immediately re-enter the new User PIN and press . The LED indicator light
will stay solid GREEN indicating that the User PIN has been changed successfully.

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15. Setting the Unattended Auto Lock Feature
To protect against unauthorized access if the drive is unlocked and unattended, the diskG can be set to automatically lock
after a pre-set amount of time.
In its default state, the diskG Unattended Auto Lock feature is turned off. The Unattended Auto Lock can be set to activate after
5, 10 or 20 minutes.
To set the Unattended Auto Lock please use the following steps:
1. Enter the Admin mode by pressing and holding + 0 for five seconds until
the LED indicator light flashes RED. This indicates that you can enter the
Admin PIN.
2. Enter the Admin PIN and press . The drive is in Admin Mode when the
LED indicator light has changed to BLUE.
3. Once in Admin mode, press + 6. The LED indicator light should start flashing
RED and BLUE intermittently.
4. Press one of the numbers below that corresponds to amount of time you would
like the drive to lock after no activity:
Auto Lock Timeout Table:
1 = 5 min
2 = 10 min
3 = 20 min
0 = OFF
The default is 0 (OFF)
5. After you have input the number, the LED indicator light should flash
GREEN 3 times to indicate that you have successfully set the Unattended Auto
Lock feature.

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iStorage diskG ®Manual – v 3.1
16. Brute Force Protection
What is a Brute Force Attack?
A brute force attack is a method of defeating a cryptographic scheme by systematically trying a large number of possibilities;
for example, a large number of the possible keys in a key space in order to decrypt a message.
In most schemes, the theoretical possibility of a brute force attack is recognized, but it is set up in such a way that it would
be computationally infeasible to carry out. Accordingly, one definition of “breaking” a cryptographic scheme is to find a
method faster than a brute force attack.
How does the diskG protect against brute force attack?
1. With the drive locked and in the standby state the LED indicator light will be
solid RED.
2. After five consecutive incorrect User or Admin PIN entries, the keypad will
not respond and LED indicator light will turn off. The drive will need to be
unplugged from the USB port and replugged. This will be repeated for each
five unsuccessful attempts.
3. Following the 10th incorrect PIN entry, the keypad will lock and the indicator light will begin
blinking rapidly. Even after unplugging and replugging in the unit, the drive will remain locked
and the LED indicator light will continue to blink rapidly.
4. Here are the steps to allow the user to unlock the keypad for 10 more attempts
to unlock the drive.
a. Unplug the device from the computer.
b. Push and hold the number five key and plug-in the drive.
c. The LED indicator light will be blinking, alternating RED and GREEN rapidly.
d. Enter the code 5278879 and press the button.
e. The keypad will unlock and will be in the standby state with the LED indicator light
solid RED, this will allow only 10 more attempts.
f. After a total of 20 attempts the drive will remain locked with the LED indicator
light flashing RED quickly. You must now go through the reset process and
reformat the drive to be able to use the drive again (see page 15 - Completely
resetting the diskG).

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iStorage diskG ®Manual – v 3.1
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17. Setting a Self Destruct PIN
Note: After initiating the Self Destruct sequence, the PIN used to initiate the self destruct sequence will
become the default Admin PIN. The drive will need to be initialized and reformatted. For directions
see page 15.
To set a Self Destruct PIN please use the following steps:
1. Enter the Admin mode by pressing and holding + 0 for five seconds until
the LED indicator light flashes RED. This indicates that you can enter the
Admin PIN.
2. Enter the Admin PIN and press . The drive is in Admin Mode when the
LED indicator light has changed to BLUE.
3. Once in Admin mode, press + 3. The LED indicator lights should start flashing
RED and BLUE intermittently.
4. Input in the PIN that you would like to use as the Self Destruct PIN and
press .
Note:The PIN must be a minimum of 6 digits in the length (16 max) and cannot match any Admin
or User codes already used by the drive. In the future, a User or Admin code can not be set to the
same number as used by the Self Destruct PIN.
5. The diskG will then check against known PINs to make sure that it is not
already in use. If in use the LED indicator light will flash RED three times and the drive
will go into Standby mode. If this happens please re-enter the Admin mode
(step 1) and repeat the process with a new code.
6. If the Self Destruct PIN is accepted the LED indicator light flashes
GREEN three times.
7. Immediately re-enter the new PIN and press . If the LED indicator light stays
solid GREEN for two seconds and then goes to solid BLUE, the Self Destruct
PIN was added successfully.
8. To delete the Self Destruct PIN, you will need to delete all of the User
PINs. Please refer to the instructions on page 11 - Deleting User PINs.
The diskG has the ability to set a PIN that will reset the encryption key if needed. By resetting the encryption key all data on
the drive will be lost and cannot be recovered.

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iStorage diskG ®Manual – v 3.1
18. Completely resetting the diskG
If you forget all the User PINs or Admin PINs, you can perform a complete reset to remove all the User
PINs, and restore the Admin PIN to the default 123456.
Attention: Completely resetting the diskG will reset the encryption key, in effect making all the data on
the drive unrecoverable. You will need to partition and format the diskG with disk management
applications. To perform a complete reset of the drive, do the following:
1. Press and hold the “Cancel” button while you attach the diskG to an
available USB port on your computer. The LED indicator light will flash BLUE and
RED alternately.
Note: If no activity is detected for 30 seconds during this step, the diskG
will go into the Standby Mode.
2. Press and hold “Cancel” + + 2 for 10 seconds until the LED indicator light
flashes RED and BLUE intermittently, and then stops on a solid color. The
LED indicator light will then turn solid GREEN for two seconds, followed by solid
RED. You have successfully reset the diskG.
19. Initializing and formatting the diskG after a complete reset
A complete reset of the diskG will erase all information and partition settings.
You will need to initialize and format the diskG.
To initialize your diskG, do the following:
1. After a complete reset, attach the diskG to the computer.
2. Wait 5 seconds for the computer to recognize the device.
3. Enter the default User PIN 123456 and press to enter the User Mode.
4. Right-click My Computer or Computer, and then click Manage.

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5. In the Computer Manage window, click Disk Management. In the Disk Management window, the diskG is
recognized as an unknown device that is uninitialized and unallocated.
6. Right-click Unknown Disk, and then select Initialize Disk.
Note: If the Initialize Disk Wizard window opens, click Cancel.
7. In the Initialize Disk window, click OK.
8. Right-click in the blank area under the Unallocated section, and then select New Simple Volume. The Welcome to
the New Simple Volume Wizard window opens.

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iStorage diskG ®Manual – v 3.1
9. Click Next.
10. If you need only one partition, accept the default partition size and click Next.
11. Assign a drive letter or path and click Next.
12. Create a volume label, select Perform a quick format, and then click Next.
13. Click Finish.
14. Wait until the format process is complete. The diskG will be recognized and it is available for use.
20. Hibernating, Suspending, or Logging off from the Operating System
Be sure to save and close all the files on your diskG before hibernating, suspending, or logging off from the
Windows operating system.
It is recommended that you log off the diskG manually before hibernating, suspending, or logging off from your system.
To log off the diskG, double-click Safely Remove Hardware on the Windows desktop and remove the diskG from your
computer.
Attention: To ensure the data integrity of your diskG, be sure to lock or log off your diskG
if you are:
• away from your computer
• using the switching user function by sharing a computer with others

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iStorage diskG ®Manual – v 3.1
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21. Troubleshooting
This section contains troubleshooting information for the diskG. If you encounter any of the following problems when using
the diskG, refer to the corresponding answers.
Q: How do I use the diskG the first time?
A: You can use it in one of the following ways:
• Enter the Admin Mode with 123456 (default administrator PIN),
and then you are able to change the Admin PIN or create a User PIN.
• Directly enter the Secure User Mode with 123456 (default Admin PIN) to use the diskG.
Q: I enter the drive with the default PIN but am not able to change the code. Why?
A: You are entering the drive using the Admin PIN. This code can only be changed from the Admin mode.
Q: What can I do if I forget the User PIN?
A: Use your Admin PIN to enter Admin Mode, and then create another User PIN in Admin Mode.
Q: What can I do if I forget the Admin PIN?
A: There is no other way to retrieve the Admin PIN except a complete reset of the diskG. After a complete reset,
all data will be lost and you will need to initialize, allocate and format the diskG manually. Then you will be able
to use the default Admin PIN 123456.
Q: Why did the operating system not recognize the diskG after I completely reset the computer and after I
enter the User Mode?
A: You need to initialize, allocate and format the diskG manually. For more information, refer to Initializing and
formatting the Hard Drive after a complete reset in this manual.
Q: How do I use the diskG without a PIN?
A: As a full disk encryption product, the diskG can never be used without a PIN.
Q: What encryption algorithm is used in this product?
A: Depending on your model the diskG uses either AES 128-bit or 256-bit algorithm.
Q: Why could I not initialize, partition or format the diskG?
A: Ensure that you have administrator privileges. You can use only the administrator account to initialize, partition or
format the diskG in the Admin Mode.

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iStorage diskG ®Manual – v 3.1
Q: Do I require “Admin Rights” for the diskG to work?
A: No, since the diskG does not require any software to be installed and the encryption/decryption is performed in Hardware
on the drive itself, “Admin Rights” are not required.
Q: I’m getting a continuously flashing red light what is wrong?
A: You have entered an incorrect PIN too many times and have triggered the brute force attack protection; you can reset this
counter by referring to the `Brute Force Protection` section of this manual. When trying again ensure you are using the
correct PIN as too many lockouts are irreversible.
Q: My diskG locks for no reason when connected to my computer whilst I’m using it, what is
causing this?
A: The issue you are having is being caused by power saving settings on your PC or Laptop so please see below and make
the appropriate changes to your computer and this will stop the diskG from locking as when your computer is power saving it
switches off data to the USB ports and our products see that as `Disconnect` and are designed to lock when this is detected.
Microsoft Windows
Doing the following will prevent Windows from switching off the diskG, go to ‘Control Panel’ & ‘Power Options’ , the
easier option is to disable power saving which means stopping the computer from `Sleeping` see below;
In addition go into `Advanced Settings` in `Power Option` to disable the following:
• Ensure the computer is set to sleep: Never (as above)
• Turn off hard disk after: 999999 Minutes
• USB selective suspend setting: Disabled
This will keep the diskG connected to the computer continuously on.

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Apple Mac
The diskG keeps locking after 5-10 minutes on the Macs – This will be due the Mac’s power saving as there is a setting to
switch off hard drives that are idle after a fix period of time see below;
The settings in Energy Saver preferences affect what happens when your Mac is left unattended for a period of time that you
specify. Disable `Put the hard disk(s) to sleep when possible` to prevent the diskG going to sleep and so not locking. You will
also need to stop the computer from sleeping to prevent the diskG from locking.