Installation guide

10 15
Formatting
your AcomData
External Hard Drive
It is not necessary to format your AcomData External Hard
Drive. It was formatted at the factory with the FAT 32 file
system, which makes the Drive both PC and Mac compat
-
ible. We provide formatting instructions in the event that
you need to reformat your Drive, or if you want to format
your Drive with a file system other than FAT 32.
Reformatting Options for PC
Users
If you are running Windows 2000 or XP and do not plan to
use the Drive on a Mac or on Windows 95 or ME, consid
-
er reformatting your Drive with the NTFS file system. NTFS
provides several advantages over FAT 32, including support
for files larger than 4 GB.
Reformatting Options for Mac Users
If you plan to use the Drive only on a Mac, you may want to
consider reformatting your Drive with the Mac OS Extended
file system.
Reformatting the Drive for Cross-Platform Compatibility
If you ever need to reformat your Drive and you need PC/
Mac cross-platform compatibility, you have two recom
-
mended options:
1. Format the Drive on a PC with the FAT 32 file system (if
this option is available with your operating system).
2. Format the Drive on Mac OS X v.10.3.x with the DOS
file system.
Although it is possible to format a hard drive on earlier
versions of Mac OS X and on Mac OS 9 using the DOS file
system, we do not recommend this, as an artificial capacity
limit may be imposed on the drive and performance will be
unpredictable.
safe to remove the device.
4. Click OK. The Drive will dismount and you can then safely
turn if off. You may then unplug the power cord and data
cable if you want to disconnect the drive.
Mac Users
Drag the icon for the External Hard Drive to the Trash. The
Drive will dismount and you can then safely turn if off. You
may then unplug the power cord and data cable if you want
to disconnect the drive.
How to turn off and disconnect the
Drive with the computer turned off
(PC and Mac)
When you shut down your computer the Drive dismounts
automatically. With the computer turned off, simply turn off
the Drive. You may then unplug the power cord and data
cable if you want to disconnect the drive.