WiebeTech FW8 User manual

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Fire800™
User’s Manual
Revised July 3, 2007

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Table of Contents
Chapter 1
-
Introduction
3
The Fire800 3
Available Interfaces 3
Features 3
Over Voltage Protection (OVP) 3
Low Voltage Detection (LVD) 3
Inverse-Polarity Protection 3
Automatic Detection of the Interface 3
LED Indicator (Double Colored LED) 3
System Requirements 4
PC Requirements 4
MAC Requirements 4
Package Contents 4
Chapter 2
-
Installing the
HDD
4
Preparing the Enclosure 4
Hard Drive Assembly 5
Chapter 3
-
System Set
U
p
5
Connection to Your Computer 5
Installation on a PC (Microsoft Windows) 5
WIN2000 or WINXP With a USB or FireWire Connection 5
WIN98SE with a FireWire Connection 6
WIN98/SE with a USB Connection 6
Unplug Procedure 6
Installation on a MAC (APPLE MAC OS) 6
MAC OS 9.X or MAC OS 10.X With a FireWire or USB Connection 6
MAC OS 10.2 or 10.3 With a FireWire 800 or USB 2.0 Connection 6
Unplug Procedure 6
Partitioning & Formatting 7
PC Running WIN98/SE or WINME 7
PC Running WIN2000 or WINXP 7
MAC OS 8
Technical
Questions
8
About this
M
anual
8

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Chapter 1 – Introduction
The Fire800
The 'Alumni Fire800' provides cutting-edge technology with maximum durability, flexibility and practical
design. Passive cooling through the aluminum casing eliminates the need for an onboard fan, therefore
making this the ideal solution for a quiet environment.
Product Dimensions: 22.5cm x 13.0cm x 4.0cm (8.86” x 5.12” x 1.58”)
Available Interfaces
• USB 2.0 High Speed
• FireWire 1394a
• FireWire 1394a & USB 2.0
• FireWire 1394a & FireWire 800 & USB 2.0
Features
Over Voltage Protection (OVP) with a limit of 10% before shut down (max 30V). Use protection for
device or Hard Drive. Damage can be caused by sudden voltage spikes in the power supply and wrong or
faulty power adapter.
Indication: Blue LED off, Red LED on
Low Voltage Detection (LVD) indicating insufficient power supply. This can be possibly caused by a
sudden voltage slump in the power supply or faulty power adapter.
Indication: Blue LED on, Red LED on
Inverse-Polarity Protection to prevent any damage to the device or Hard Drive caused by using a wrong
adapter.
Correct: internal+, external-
Automatic Detection of the Interface for Combo Interface Units, which means that there is no
mechanical switch required. The first cable detached will be the one used by the system until unplugged.
If a second cable is plugged in, it will not affect the system at all and can be used as soon as the main
cable is unplugged.
LED indicator (double colored LED)
Blue LED
Red
LED
Status ON, working normal
ON
OFF
Status ON, low power (LVD)
ON
ON
Status ON, over voltage (OVP)
OFF
ON
Status OFF (or faulty PCB/LED)
OFF
OFF
* Blue LED flickers on data access
NOTE: If the red LED is blinking and not ON permanently, there is no problem with your unit. This only
indicates the spin up of your drive or a temporary spike or slump in the power consumption and does not
harm your drive or device at all. The product can be used normally.

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System Requirements
PC Requirements
• Minimum Intel Processor II 350MHz, 64MB RAM
• USB 1.1 equipped PC; WinME, Win2000, WinXP
• USB 2.0 equipped PC; WinME, Win2000, WinXP
• 1394a equipped PC; Win98SE, WinME, Win2000, WinXP
• 1394b equipped PC; Win2000, WinXP
Mac Requirements
• Minimum Apple G3 processor (G4 for 1394b), 64MB RAM
• USB 1.1 equipped Mac; Mac OS 9.1, 9.2, 10.1.5, 10.2, 10.3
• USB 2.0 equipped Mac; Mac OS 10.2, 10.3
• 1394a equipped Mac; Mac OS 9.1, 9.2, 10.1.5, 10.2, 10.3
• 1394b equipped Mac; Mac OS 10.2, 10.3
NOTE: Mac OS 8.6 users should use USB extension 1.41 or FireWire extension 2.6 and later, to be able
to use USB 1.1 or 1394a.
Package Contents
• Fire800
• External Power Adapter; Input 100-240V, Output 12V/3A
• Power Cord
• Interface Cable
• Stand
• Tool for Front Panel removal
• Driver CD (single USB 2.0 and 1394a/USB2.0 Fire800 only)
Chapter 2 - Installing the HDD
Preparing the Enclosure
If your unit does not come with a drive already installed, remove the stand. Use the provided tool, place it
on the marked spot (hole) and press gently to remove the front panel. Slide the top cover and side panels
to the front to open up the case.

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Hard Drive Assembly
Connect the ATA cable and the power line to your hard drive. Install the hard drive and fasten the screws.
Align the top cover with the body and fasten the screws, before you insert the side panels and top cover.
Align the front panel with the enclosure and press gently on both ends. Connect your power adapter and
interface cable.
NOTE: The hard drive jumper settings should be master or factory default. Also, be careful not to damage
any cables or components and double check the connection between the cables, the bridge board and
your hard drive before you close up the case.
Chapter 3 - System Set Up
Connection to your Computer
A few tips on how to connect your external storage enclosure:
• Make sure your PCI Host Card is installed correctly
• Double check that the Host Card driver is up to date
• If required, update your Operating System or BIOS
• Only one interface at the time can be used
• Only one computer at the time can access the drive
• To use one drive on several computers, it can be shared through one computer on the network (1394
network, company network)
• FireWire can be daisy chained
• All devices in a daisy chain have to be switched on to permit the hub/daisy chain function
• Do not cover the Enclosure and leave enough room around it for the drive to cool down
• Do not expose the product to water or humid conditions
• If possible, arrange the cables so they do not cross each other
• Always check for visible damage and defects of power and interface cables before using it
• We recommend using the cables and adapter supplied with your product
NOTE: If you buy a spare power adapter for your working place or at home, make sure the output and
polarity is identical with the power adapter supplied!
Installation on a PC (Microsoft Windows)
Win2000 or WinXP with a USB or FireWire connection:
• Turn on your Computer and start Windows
• Connect the Fire800 and turn it on
• Let Windows search and install the driver automatically
• Open “My Computer” to see your external hard drive **

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Win98SE with a FireWire connection:
• Turn on your Computer and start Windows
• Connect the Fire800 and turn it on
• Let Windows search and install the driver automatically
• Open “My Computer” to see your external hard drive **
Win98/SE with a USB connection:
• Turn on your Computer and start Windows
• Insert the driver CD into your CD-ROM
• Connect the Fire800 and turn it on (in some cases the driver must be installed before connecting the
device, see note on CD or readme file)
• Follow the onscreen instructions and install the drivers
• Open “My Computer” to see your external hard drive **
Unplug Procedure:
• Click on the taskbar icon for external hardware
• Choose your external hard drive and confirm to remove it
** For factory new drives and formatting, see “Partitioning & Formatting”
NOTE: If the system doesn’t recognize the drive, turn on the power first, before connecting the
USB/FireWire cable. Win98 does not support FireWire, you need to upgrade your OS to Win98SE or
higher. The Fire800 does not support Win98/SE, you need to upgrade your OS to WinME or higher.
For safe removal of your drive and to assure that no data is lost, always follow the unplug procedure. If
not, an error message will show up.
Installation on a Macintosh (Apple Mac OS)
Mac OS 9.x or Mac OS 10.x with a FireWire or USB connection:
• Turn on your computer and start Mac OS
• Connect the Fire800 and turn it on
• No driver installation required
• The external drive will mount and show up on your desktop**
Mac OS 10.2 or 10.3 with a FireWire 800 or USB 2.0 connection:
• Turn on your computer and start Mac OS
• Connect the Fire800 and turn it on
• No driver installation required
• The external drive will mount and show up on your desktop**
Unplug Procedure:
• Drag the external hard drive icon into the trash bin
• Turn off your device
** For factory new drives and formatting, see “Partitioning & Formatting”
NOTE: If the system doesn’t recognize the drive, turn on the power first, before connecting the
USB/FireWire cable. For Mac OS 8.6, the USB extension has to be at least v1.41. For Mac OS 8.6, the
FireWire extension has to be at least v2.6. For save removal of your drive and to assure that no data is
lost, always follow the unplug procedure. If not, an error message will show up.
Mac Screen

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Partitioning & Formatting
Be aware that this will destroy all your existing data on the drive, so make sure you have a backup! This
step is usually only required the first time you install a factory new hard drive, if you change the format or
want to erase all data on your drive.
PC running Win98/SE or WinME:
MS-DOS command “fdisk” (press Enter to confirm)
• Type “fdisk” and press Enter
• Select ”Y” and press Enter
• Enter "5” to change the drive
• Select the drive you want to format
• Choose “1” and follow the onscreen instructions
NOTE: You can choose to create several
partitions but be aware that if you want to
change this at a later point, it’s required to
format the drive again or use 3rd party
software. Win98/SE and WinME do not
recognize NTFS formatted drives, so if
you want to use your drive on those
platforms, we recommend you to use
FAT32 instead. If you use this device to
backup your data using a 3rd party
software running MS-DOS, we
recommend you to format the drive using
FAT32.
PC running Win2000 or WinXP:
Disk Management Program
• Right click on “My Computer” and choose “Manage”
• Select “Disk Management”
• Choose the drive you want to format and right click on it for further commands (Choose New Partition)
• Follow the Partition Wizard
NOTE: Mac OS does not
recognize NTFS formatted
drives, to use your device on
both platforms, we
recommend you using
FAT32. If you use Win2000
or WinXP and FAT32, the
biggest single partition you
can create will be 32GB. To
create larger partitions, you
need to use the DOS
command under Win98SE or
WinME or change to NTFS
format. If you can not see the
drive, make sure the jumper
settings of your hard drive
are correct, the drivers are
installed and the power is
turned on!

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Mac OS:
Mac OS9.2 and earlier, does not support creating partitions on an external drive. To do that, you would
need to purchase additional 3rd party software. Initializing is no problem on all Operating Systems.
For Mac OS X, use the Disk Utility to format and create partitions on your external disk.
• Select “Disk Utilities” in the utilities folder
• Choose your external drive and format it according to your requirement
NOTE: If you want to use
your drive on a PC running
Microsoft Windows as well
as on your Mac, we
recommend you to use a PC
to format the drive. Choose
FAT32 when formatting and
do not change anything on
the partition or format on
your Mac, otherwise the PC
will not be able to recognize
the drive anymore.
If you can not see the drive,
make sure the jumper
settings of your hard drive
are correct, there are no
extension conflicts and the
power is turned on!
Technical Questions:
For RMA and other questions, please see our online support area!
About this Manual:
This manual covers all interfaces and combinations for the Fire800 Enclosure. Images and descriptions
might therefore slightly vary between this manual and the actual product you have.