OWC ThunderBay 4 Guide

ThunderBay 4
ASSEMBLY MANUAL & USER GUIDE

OWC THUNDERBAY 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................1
1.1 MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
1.1.1 Apple® Mac® Requirements
1.1.2 PC Requirements
1.1.3 Supported Drives: up to four 3.5” SATA drives (1.5Gb/s, 3.0Gb/s, or 6.0Gb/s).
NOTE: Boot Camp not supported.
1.2 PACKAGE CONTENTS
1.3 ABOUT THIS MANUAL
1.4 FRONT VIEW
1.4.1 Front Features
1.5 REAR VIEW
1.5.1 Rear Features
DEVICE SETUP...................................................................................................3
2.1 HARD DRIVE INSTALLATION
2.2 QUICK START
2.3 SOFTWARE RAID
2.4 CHANGING DRIVES
2.4.1 Drive Failure
SUPPORT RESOURCES...................................................................................5
3.1 TROUBLESHOOTING
3.2 ABOUT DATA BACKUP
3.3 DATA MIGRATION
3.4 CONTACTING TECHNICAL SUPPORT

OWC THUNDERBAY 4 INTRODUCTION
1
NOTE: Boot Camp not supported.
1.1.3 Supported Drives: up to four 3.5”SATA drives (1.5Gb/s, 3.0Gb/s, or 6.0Gb/s).
1.2 PACKAGE CONTENTS
Thunderbolt cable
ThunderBay 4 Keys
Power cable
NOTE: Hard drive screws included, but not pictured.
1.3 ABOUT THIS MANUAL
Firmware, images, and descriptions may vary slightly between this manual and the unit
shipped. Functions and features may change depending on the firmware version. Please
visit the product web page for the most recent product specifications.
1.4 FRONT VIEW
1.4.1 Front Features
1. Locking faceplate — Use the included keys to lock the faceplate for security, or
remove the faceplate to gain access to the drive bays.
2.LED indicators — See the following chart for details on the ThunderBay 4’s LEDs.
LED COLOR ThunderBay ON ThunderBay
SLEEPING
DRIVE
ACTIVITY
DRIVE BAD/
BAY EMPTY
Power Blue/
orange Solid blue Orange N/A N/A
Drive
(A, B, C, D) Green N/A Off (all four) Flashing
green Off
1
2
INTRODUCTION
1.1 MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
1.1.1 Apple® Mac® Requirements
• Thunderbolt™ port: OS X®10.9 or later
1.1.2 PC Requirements
• Thunderbolt port: Windows® 7 or later

OWC THUNDERBAY 4 INTRODUCTION
2
1.5 REAR VIEW
1.5.1 Rear Features
1. Kensington® Security Slot — Connect a security tether here.
2.Thunderbolt 2 ports — Attach the included Thunderbolt cable to one of these ports
and to your computer, or to another Thunderbolt device. Use the other Thunderbolt 2
port to add more Thunderbolt devices to the chain.
3. On/o switch — Turn on and off power to the ThunderBay 4 here.
4. Power input — Connect the included power cable here.
NOTE:
• Although the on/off switch controls power to the device, the ThunderBay 4 requires a
data signal in order to turn on. As long as the on/off switch is in the ‘on’ position, the
ThunderBay 4 will turn on when it receives a data signal through the Thunderbolt cable.
If there is no Thunderbolt cable connected, or if the computer is off or in a sleep or
hibernation mode, the ThunderBay 4 will turn off and its power LED will turn orange to
indicate that it is not receiving a data signal.
• In order to use any Thunderbolt devices chained through the ThunderBay 4, the on/off
switch of the ThunderBay 4 must be in the ‘on’ position.
• Thunderbolt device chains can support up to six Thunderbolt devices.
• Thunderbolt 2 is backwards compatible with Thunderbolt, but any devices connected
in a Thunderbolt chain after a Thunderbolt device will operate at original Thunderbolt
speed (10Gb/s) rather than Thunderbolt 2 speed (20Gb/s). If mixing Thunderbolt 2 and
original Thunderbolt devices, make sure all Thunderbolt 2 devices are in front of the
Thunderbolt devices (i.e. computer>Thunderbolt 2 devices>Thunderbolt devices).
• For the safe removal of your drive and to ensure that no data is lost, always eject or
unmount the drive from your operating system before powering off.
1
2
3
4

OWC THUNDERBAY 4 DEVICE SETUP
3
DEVICE SETUP
As the OWC ThunderBay 4 has been pre-configured, the four drives have been installed
into their drive trays and have been packed separately from the enclosure. Follow the
instructions in Section 2.1 to install your own drives or when replacing a failed drive. The
drive trays are labeled A, B, C, and D, but the arrangement of the drive trays when they are
installed into the ThunderBay 4 does not matter.
2.1 HARD DRIVE INSTALLATION
Follow these steps to install hard drives into your ThunderBay 4 enclosure, or to replace exist-
ing drives. Repeat steps 1 through 8 as necessary for the number of drives you are installing.
1. Insert one of the included keys into the lock on the upper left of the faceplate.
2. Turn the key clockwise, then pull the key towards you. The faceplate will swing open, as
shown.
3. Once the faceplate has swung open as far as it will go, pull up to remove it.
4. On the drive tray you wish to remove, turn the thumbscrew counter-clockwise until you
no longer feel resistance. Then hold onto the thumbscrew and pull the drive tray out.
5. Set the drive tray as shown on your work surface. If you are replacing an existing hard
drive, unscrew it from the drive tray at this time. If your ThunderBay 4 was purchased
without drives, each drive tray will have a plastic bar to help the drive tray keep its shape
during shipping. Unscrew the plastic bar before proceeding.
6. Place the hard drive inside the drive tray as shown. The label should face up and the SATA
connectors should be on the far rear corner of the drive.
7. Fasten the drive into the drive tray using six of the included screws.
8. Slide the drive tray back into the rails in the ThunderBay 4 and push until it is seated
fully, then push in on the thumbscrew and turn it clockwise until it stops moving. If you
encounter resistance, do not force the drive tray. Remove it, check to make sure that there
are no obstructions and that the drive tray is lined up correctly, then slide it in again.
1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8

OWC THUNDERBAY 4 DEVICE SETUP
4
2.2 QUICK START
1. Install hard drives into the ThunderBay 4 according to the instructions in Section 2.1.
2. Connect the power cable to the back of the ThunderBay 4 and a power outlet, then make
sure the on/off switch is set to the ‘on’ position.
2. Connect a Thunderbolt cable between the ThunderBay 4 and a computer. When you do
this, the ThunderBay 4 will turn on and the drives will be available for use on the computer.
3. If the ThunderBay 4 was purchased with drives, or if you are using new drives that have
not been used before, the drives will need to be formatted before they can be used.
4. Go to www.owcdigital.com/format for information on how to format drives for
Mac or Windows.
5. Once the formatting is finished, the drives are ready to use.
2.3 SOFTWARE RAID
While the ThunderBay 4 has no built-in RAID capabilities, it is possible to use software to
configure the drives inside the ThunderBay 4 as members of a RAID array. OS X and Windows
both have software RAID capabilities natively through their disk management applications,
and there are third-party applications that offer expanded RAID support, including SoftRAID
for the Mac. To learn more about SoftRAID options for the ThunderBay 4, please visit:
www.macsales.com/softraidsupport/
2.4 CHANGING DRIVES
You can add or remove any drive without needing to turn off the device or unmount any
of the other drives. Each drive operates independently of the others and is not affected by
the addition or removal of another drive unless you set them up as members of a RAID array
using software.
2.4.1 Drive Failure
By itself, the ThunderBay 4 does not monitor drive health, and it will not alert you to a drive
failure. You can monitor the health of your drives through software in order to determine
when a drive has failed or is in a pre-failure state. To replace a failed drive, simply remove
the drive from its bay and replace it with another drive, following the steps in Section
2.1. The ThunderBay 4 does not need to be turned off during this process.

OWC THUNDERBAY 4 SUPPORT RESOURCES
5
3.1 TROUBLESHOOTING
Begin your troubleshooting by verifying that the power cable is connected to the
ThunderBay 4 and to a power source. If the power cable is connected to a power strip, make
sure that the power switch on the strip is turned on.
Then, simply verify that both ends of your cables are properly plugged into the computer
and the ThunderBay 4. If the ThunderBay 4 is still not working properly, try connecting to
another computer or using another Thunderbolt cable. Remember that the ThunderBay 4
needs an active data signal to remain on. If it is disconnected from the computer, or if the
computer goes to sleep or turns off, the ThunderBay 4 will go to sleep.
If you are still experiencing problems, consult Section 3.4 for OWC technical support
contact information.
3.2 ABOUT DATA BACKUP
To ensure that your files are protected and to prevent data loss, we strongly suggest that you
keep two copies of your data: one copy on your ThunderBay 4 and a second copy on either
your internal drive or another storage medium, such as an optical backup, or on another
external storage unit. Any data loss or corruption while using the ThunderBay 4 is the sole
responsibility of the user, and under no circumstances will Other World Computing be held
liable for compensation or the recovery of any lost data.
3.3 DATA MIGRATION
To access a step-by-step walkthrough of our recommended method for migrating your data
from an old drive to a new one, please visit:
www.owcdigital.com/support/data-transfer.html
3.4 CONTACTING TECHNICAL SUPPORT
SUPPORT RESOURCES
Hours:
8am to 8pm (CT) Monday - Friday
Telephone:
866-692-7100 (North America)
[phone] (International)
Live Chat:
www.owcdigital.com/support
Email:
www.owcdigital.com/support

Copyright 2015 Other World Computing. All Rights Reserved. Other World Computing’s
Limited Warranty is not transferable and subject to limitations.
Changes:
The material in this document is for information purposes only and subject to change without notice. While reasonable efforts
have been made in the preparation of this document to assure its accuracy, Other World Computing and its officers and em-
ployees assume no liability resulting from errors or omissions in this document, or from the use of the information contained
herein. Other World Computing reserves the right to make changes or revisions in the product design or the product manual
without reservation and without obligation to notify any person of such revisions and changes.
FCC Statement:
Warning! Modications not authorized by the manufacturer may void the user’s authority to operate this device.
NOTE: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class A digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of
the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference when the equipment
is operated in a commercial environment. This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not
installed and used in accordance with the instruction manual, may cause harmful interference with radio communications.
Operation of this equipment in a residential area is likely to cause harmful interference, in which case the user will be required
to correct the interference at his own expense.
NOTE:This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the
FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation.
This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the
instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will
not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference with radio or television reception, which
can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or
more of the following measures:
• Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
• Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.
• Connect the equipment to an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is connected.
Health And Safety Precautions:
• Use proper anti-static precautions while performing the installation of your hard drives into this drive enclosure. Failure to do
so can cause damage to your drive mechanisms and/or the hard drive enclosure.
• Read this user guide carefully and follow the correct procedures when setting up the device.
• Do not attempt to disassemble or modify the device. To avoid any risk of electrical shock, fire, short-circuiting or dangerous
emissions, never insert any metallic object into the device. If it appears to be malfunctioning, contact Other World Computing
technical support.
• Never expose your device to rain, or use it near water or in damp or wet conditions. Never place objects containing liquids
on the drive, as they may spill into its openings. Doing so increases the risk of electrical shock, short-circuiting, fire or personal
injury.
General Use Precautions:
• To avoid damage, do not expose the device to temperatures outside the range of 5° C to 40° C (41° F to 104° F).
• Always unplug the device from the electrical outlet if there is a risk of lightning or if it will be unused for an extended period
of time. Otherwise, there is an increased risk of electrical shock, short-circuiting or fire.
• Do not use the device near other electrical appliances such as televisions, radios or speakers. Doing so may cause interference
which will adversely affect the operation of the other products.
• Do not place the device near sources of magnetic interference, such as computer displays, televisions or speakers. Magnetic
interference can affect the operation and stability of hard drives.
• Do not place heavy objects on top of the device.
• Protect your device from excessive exposure to dust during use or storage. Dust can build up inside the device, increasing the
risk of damage or malfunction.
• Do not block any ventilation openings on the device. These help to keep the device cool during operation. Blocking the ven-
tilation openings may cause damage to the device and cause an increased risk of short-circuiting or fire.
• For up-to-date product and warranty information, please visit the product web page.
Copyrights:
© 2015 Other World Computing. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior
written consent of Other World Computing. Other World Computing and OWC are trademarks of New Concepts Development
Corporation, registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and in Canada. ThunderBay, the OWC logo and OWC Digital are
trademarks of New Concepts Development Corporation. Apple, Mac, and OS X are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the
U.S. and other countries. Thunderbolt and Thunderbolt 2 are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries.
Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. Other marks may be the trademark
or registered trademark property of their owners.
OWCMANTB4R6D 07/23/15 DM