OWC Mercury Elite Pro Dual User manual

Assembly Manual
OWC Mercury Elite Pro
FireWire 800 / USB 3.0 / eSATA

OWC Mercury Elite Pro Table of Contents
1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
1.1.1 Mac Requirements
1.1.2 PC Requirements
1.1.3 Supported Hard Drives
1.2 PACKAGE CONTENTS
1.3 ABOUT THIS MANUAL
1.4 PORT VIEW & CABLE CONNECTIONS
1.5 DETAILED VIEW
1.5.1 LED Indicator
2 SYSTEM SETUP
5 APPENDIX
6 CUSTOMER SERVICE
6.1 BEFORE CONTACTING CUSTOMER SERVICE
6.2 CONTACT INFORMATION
2.1 HARD DRIVE ASSEMBLY
2.2 CONNECTIONS TO COMPUTER
2.3 DESKTOP USE OPTIONS
2.4 PORTABILITY OPTIONS
3 FORMATTING
3.1 MACINTOSH FORMATTING
3.2 REMOVING AN EXISTING GUID PARTITION
3.3 WINDOWS FORMATTING
4 TROUBLESHOOTING & TIPS
4.1 TROUBLESHOOTING
4.2 USAGE TIPS
5.1 FAQ
5.2 ABOUT DATA PROTECTION

OWC Mercury Elite Pro Chapter 1 - Introduction
1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 System Requirements
1.1.1 Mac Requirements
• Minimum PowerPC G4 CPU, 128MB RAM
• eSATA interface, Mac OS X 10.3 or later
• FireWire interface, Mac OS X 10.2 or later
• USB 3.0 interface - see your interface card manufacturer for specications
1.1.2 PC Requirements
• Minimum 500MHz Intel Pentium III CPU, 128MB RAM
• eSATA interface, Windows XP / Vista / Windows 7
• FireWire interface, Windows 2000 / XP / Vista / Windows 7
• USB 3.0 interface, Windows 2000 / XP / Vista / Windows 7
1.1.3 Supported Hard Drives
• Any 3.5” SATA hard drive
• Any 2.5” SATA Solid State Drive (SSD) (when used with auxiliary bracket, not incuded)
1.2 Package Contents
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 rmware
version. Please visit the product webpage for the most recent specications.
Assembly Manual
OWC Mercury Elite Pro
➈➉
➀➁
➂
➃
➄
➅
➆➇
Item
➀ OWC Mercury Elite Pro
➁ Vertical Stand
➂ Power Cable
➃ Power Supply
➄ Rubber Feet (for horizontal use)
➅ eSATA cable
➆ USB 3.0 (A-B) cable
➇ FireWire 800 (1394B) cable
➈ Software CD Bundle (not all models)
➉ User Guide & Owner’s Manual
Not pictured: Screw Pack (inside enlosure)

OWC Mercury Elite Pro Chapter 1 - Introduction
Cable Connections:
The OWC Mercury Elite Pro has multiple interfaces to work with any computer
system.
➀ On/O Switch - Turn the OWC Mercury Elite Pro on and o here.
➁DC IN port - Attach the included 12V external power supply here.
➂eSATA Port - The utmost in speed. If you’re trying to make your OWC Mercury
Elite Pro the fastest it can be, attach an eSATA cable to this port.
➃USB 3.0 Port - Connect one of your computer’s USB ports to the OWC Mercury
Elite Pro here using the included cable. Great for cross platform use or to connect
to systems that do not have an eSATA or FireWire interface.
➄FireWire 800 (1394B) Ports - Connect one FireWire 800 port to your
computer using the included cable and have an extra FireWire 800 port to daisy
chain to additional peripherals with!
1.4 Port View & Cable Connections
1.5 Detailed View
1.5.1 LED Indicator
The OWC Mercury Elite Pro has a single cool blue LED at the front of the hard
drive enclosure. It will illuminate blue when powered on, and ash on drive
activity (both reading and writing).
➀ ➁ ➄➃
➂

OWC Mercury Elite Pro Chapter 2 - System Setup
2 SYSTEM SETUP
This guide will get you up and running quickly, demonstrating how to install your
own 3.5” drive into the OWC Mercury Elite Pro enclosure.
Your computer is a static-sensitive device.
It is susceptible to invisible damage if not
protected during installation.
We recommend proper grounding by using
a grounding strap. Make sure to work in a
clean and static-free area, and avoid wearing
clothing that retains static charges.
For more information, please visit
http://www.macsales.com/static
Got tools? If you don’t have the tools necessary to complete this
installation, Newer Technology has a fantastic toolkit with everything you need
included to perform this installation, and most common computer hardware
installations.
It’s available at:
http://www.macsales.com/tools

OWC Mercury Elite Pro Chapter 2 - System Setup
2.1 Hard Drive Assembly & Installation
On the bottom of the OWC Mercury Elite Pro enclosure you will nd 2 Phillips
screws. Remove those two screws and the drive compartment will slide out
towards the front of the enclosure. Remove the outer shell to proceed with drive
installation.
Here you see the OWC Mercury Elite Pro internal drive tray compartment. There
will be a package of 4 screws inside of the compartment taped down, please
remove them to use in step 4.
Insert your SATA 3.5” hard drive in the bay, and fully seat the drive connector
onto the bridge board. The bridge board is the green circuit board pictured to
the left in this photograph. You will see there is a connector built onto the bridge
board that will interface with the drive, providing power and signal connections -
no cables to connect!
2 SYSTEM SETUP
➁
➀

OWC Mercury Elite Pro Chapter 2 - System Setup
2.1 Hard Drive Assembly & Installation (continued)
2 SYSTEM SETUP
Place your drive mechanism into the chassis and onto the bridge card, and press
the drive towards the ports to rmly ax the drive into the SATA connector. You
may need to wiggle the drive from side to side to t it in between the rubber
grommets that the drive is secured with. Be sure to not tear them when inserting
the drive into the chassis.
➃
➙
Insert (but not fully tighten) 2 of the included Phillips screws into the drive
mechanism through the rubber grommets on the side of the enclosure. Repeat
on the other side of the enclosure - there are 4 screws total. Once you have
inserted all 4 screws into the drive you can fully tighten them.
➂

OWC Mercury Elite Pro Chapter 2 - System Setup
2.1 Hard Drive Assembly & Installation (continued)
2 SYSTEM SETUP
Since hard drives have been introduced with capacities greater than 2.2TB, the
industry has worked to resolve known capacity addressing limitations that date
back to the original design of the PC.
These limitations are caused by 32-bit denitions used for partition sizes and
logical block addresses (LBAs) resulting in a maximum addressable capacity size
of 2.199TB.
The most direct way to resolve this issue is to use Long LBAs. However, Long
LBAs are only supported in 64-bit operating systems, like Mac OS X, Windows 7
and Windows Vista. Users of older operating systems wishing to use these high-
capacity drives will need to limit the drive size to under 2.2TB to be able to use
the storage solution.
To limit the OWC Mercury Elite Pro’s maximum drive capacity to 2.2TB, ip the
dip switch (circled below) to the 1 position. The default position is ON meaning
volumes larger than 2.2TB are able to be created.
IMPORTANT - IF YOUR DRIVE IS LARGER THAN 2TB

OWC Mercury Elite Pro Chapter 2 - System Setup
2.1 Hard Drive Assembly & Installation (concluded)
2 SYSTEM SETUP
Screw holes on bottom
Once you have completed installation of your drive, turn the chassis so that the
ports are on your left as shown in the above picture. You can see the 2 screw
holes that the drive enclosure outer shell screws into circled. Slide the outer shell
onto the inner chassis from the rear and insert the 2 Phillips screws you removed
to start the assembly process. The enclosure is now fully assembled.
2.2 Computer Connections
The OWC Mercury Elite Pro requires external power to operate. Insert the power
adapter into a wall outlet and plug it in to the back of the OWC Mercury Elite Pro.
To use the OWC Mercury Elite Pro, connect any interface cable to the drive and
the computer. Then, turn the power switch to the ON position, and verify the blue
LED on the front of the drive is illuminated.
Your drive should mount on your computer’s desktop, or a dialog box will appear
if you have a new, unformatted drive installed.
➄

OWC Mercury Elite Pro Chapter 2 - System Setup
2 SYSTEM SETUP
2.3 Desktop Use Options
The OWC Mercury Elite Pro includes a vertical stand and also rubber feet for
those who wish to stack multiple drives on top of each other. For those that do
not want adhesive rubber feet or prefer a more elegant solution, a horizontal
desk stand has been designed and is available at:
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/MEP1STAND/
2.4 Portability Options
OWC oers a single-stitched nylon case
that holds your OWC Mercury Elite Pro,
along with accessories such as power
supply, eSATA, USB or FireWire cables.
Great for keeping everything together
when you’re on the go.
The case is made from high quality
Cordura nylon, foam padding and
a plush nylon interior to cradle and
protect your OWC Mercury Pro from the
rigors of everyday use.
The case for the OWC Mercury Elite Pro is available at:
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/MEFWCASE/

OWC Mercury Elite Pro Chapter 3 - Formatting
3 FORMATTING
3.1 Formatting your OWC Mercury Elite Pro on a Macintosh with
Mac OS X
Click on the “Initialize” button. (If this does not appear, open Disk Utility
located in /Applications/Utilities)
Select the device with no volumes attached to it; in this picture, that would be
the 320.07 GB OWC device. Click on the picture of the drive icon next to the text.
➁
IMPORTANT NOTE: This procedure will erase all data on your disk
drives in the OWC Mercury Elite Pro. Back up any important data before
proceeding!
➀

Once you’ve selected the OWC device, you will notice the above change in the
Disk Utility application. Click on the “Erase” tab in this picture.
You then need to name the volume that you want to format, and erase it. Name
the volume as you want, choose the Volume Format pulldown (Mac OS Extended
(Journaled) is default), and click the Erase button.
➂
➃
OWC Mercury Elite Pro Chapter 3 - Formatting

OWC Mercury Elite Pro Chapter 3 - Formatting
Click the erase button to conrm you wish to erase the disk.
After a few moments, the erase command will complete and the OWC Mercury
Elite Pro volume will mount on your desktop. You can quit Disk Utility, you’re all
set!
➄
➅

OWC Mercury Elite Pro Chapter 3 - Formatting
3.2 Removing the GUID Partition Scheme
Only for XP, 2000, ME and earlier. (XP 64-BIT, Vista & Windows 7 can continue to the next section)
➆ Type exit and hit enter.
➇ Close the command prompt window.
You may now proceed with formatting the drive.
If you are not installing a brand-new hard drive into your enclosure, it
may have a GUID drive partition already installed on it, especially if it
was originally used with a Macintosh. Unfortunately, this is not readable
by Windows without special software. If you wish to use your storage
solution on a computer running Windows, you will need to repartition
and reformat using the following instructions.
➀ Go to the DOS command prompt by
selecting “Run” from the Start Menu.
➁ Type cmd into the text box, and click
the“OK” button.
➂ Type diskpart and hit enter.
➃ Type list disk and hit enter.
➄ Type select disk x replacing x with the number of the disk you want
to reformat. (Typically, you will see an asterisk (*) under “GPT” for the disk
requiring formatting.)
➅ Type clean and hit enter.
WARNING: The clean command will destroy ALL data on the disk you run it on!!! Be sure
there is nothing you need to keep on your drive before proceeding.

OWC Mercury Elite Pro Chapter 3 - Formatting
3.3 Formatting your OWC Mercury Elite Pro on Windows 2000
and later
Instructions for other operating systems can be found at http://www.macsales.com/format.
① With the drive connected to the com-
puter and powered on, right click on the “My
Computer” icon and select “Manage” from the
menu. The “Initialize and Convert Disk Wizard”
window should appear.
If the Wizard does not appear, expand the
Storage menu by clicking on the plus (+) sign.
Then, right click next to the
disk number of the drive
that you have just con-
nected and click Initialize to
bring up the Wizard.
② In the next window,
there should be only one
drive listed. That will be the
drive that you connected
via eSATA, FireWire or USB.
Make sure the box next to
the drive name is checked and click “Next.”
③ The Wizard will perform
its tasks, and you will get the
following screen. You may
click “Finish.”
IMPORTANT NOTE: This procedure will erase all data on your hard
disk drives in the OWC Mercury Elite Pro. Back up any important
data before proceeding!

OWC Mercury Elite Pro Chapter 3 - Formatting
④ Your drive will
appear similar to
how Disk 1 does
below. Notice that
the space on the
lower right reads
as “Unallocated.”
Right click in this
space and choose
“New Partition.”
⑤ The “New Parti-
tion Wizard” will
launch. Click “Next” to
continue.
⑥ Specify your partition type as
“Primary,” and click “Next.”
⑦ The wizard will display the
maximum partition size for your
drive. It is strongly recommend-
ed that you do not change the
default value. Click “Next”

OWC Mercury Elite Pro Chapter 3 - Formatting
⑧ If you like, you can specify
the drive letter designation for
your new drive. Otherwise, one
will automatically be assigned.
Click “Next.”
⑨ Before you can use
the drive, it must be
formatted. On most
systems running Win-
dows 2000 or later, it
is advisable to specify
the le system as NTFS.
Leave the Allocation
unit size as “Default,”
and feel free to give the
drive whatever name
you prefer. Be sure to
check the box “Perform
a quick format”.
If you do not, it will likely take several hours for your drive to format.
Click “Next.”
⑩ At the end of the
Wizard, you will see
a summary of the
information that you
specied during the
previous steps. Click
“Finish.”

OWC Mercury Elite Pro Chapter 3 - Formatting
⑪ Once you have
nished with the
formatting wizard,
you will see that
your new drive
(represented as
“Disk E” in this
case) will display
a message of
“Formatting.” This
should only take
a couple of min-
utes if you chose
the quick format
option.
⑫ After a moment
or two, the drive’s
status will change
from “Formatting”
to “Healthy.”

⑬ At this point, you may close the Computer Management window.
Your drive is ready to use and can be found in “My Computer.”
Using your new Storage Solution on both Macs and PCs?
MacDrive™ takes the guesswork out of sharing les. Whether you are transferring les
between home and the oce, a class room lab and your dorm room or even on the
same computer, MacDrive makes it painless.
In fact, you’ll hardly know MacDrive is working.
Once installed MacDrive will automatically
give you access to any Mac disk you pop
into your computer. MacDrive even puts an
“apple” icon on the Mac disk, just to keep
things clear.
You can access les on the Mac disk just like
you would with a Windows formatted disk.
Open les from the disk or from within a
program. Mac les automatically get the right
icons and le name extensions under both
Windows and Mac OS.
Works great with software from Microsoft,
Adobe, Quark, FileMaker, Avid, Digidesign,
Corel, NewTek and more.
You can nd MacDrive at:
http://www.macsales.com/macdrive
OWC Mercury Elite Pro Chapter 3 - Formatting

OWC Mercury Elite Pro Chapter 4 -Troubleshooting & Tips
4 TROUBLESHOOTING & TIPS
4.1 Troubleshooting
Some of the most simple problems can be traced to power, or connectivity is-
sues.
Verify that your cables (both ends!) are properly plugged into the computer and
storage solution. If they are, and the storage solution is still not working properly,
try connecting to another interface such as the USB connection and see if the
device works properly. If these suggestions do not work, try the OWC Mercury
Elite-A Pro mini on a dierent computer, if available to you.
4.2 Tips
To properly dismount any connected hard drives from your computer, you need
to follow a few simple steps.
• For Macintosh systems:
There are two methods to umount disks with Macintosh systems. Either drag the
icon for the hard disk you wish to dismount to the trash can, or click the eject
icon next to the hard disk name in under the “DEVICES” tab in the sidebar in any
nder window.
• For Windows systems:
1. Go to the System Tray (located in the lower right corner of your screen). Click
on the Eject icon (a small green arrow over a hardware image).
2. A message will appear, detailing the devices that the Eject icon controls. i.e.
“Safely remove...” Click on this prompt.
3. You will then be given the following message. “Safe to Remove Hardware”. It is
now safe to unhook the OWC Mercury Elite Pro.