G-SAFE Product Guide G-SAFE™ Installation Guide TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION 2. SAFETY PRECAUTIONS 3. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS 4. WHAT’S IN THE BOX 5. G-SAFE OVERVIEW 6. INSTALLING G-SAFE 7. G-SAFE OPERATION 7.1 Powering on G-SAFE for the First Time 7.2 Front Panel STATUS LED & Alarm 7.3 LCD Panel Messages 8. REPLACING A DISK DRIVE MODULE 9. USING G-SAFE FOR OFFSITE DATA BACKUP 9.1 Disaster Recovery using Offsite Backup Module 10. INITIALIZING G-SAFE 10.1 Mac OS X (10.4.x) 10.2 Windows 2000/XP 10.
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G-SAFE Product Guide 1. INTRODUCTION Thank you for purchasing G-SAFE™ from G-Technology, Inc. (G-Tech)! G-SAFE is the ideal storage solution to safeguard digital photo files downloaded from flash memory cards. G-SAFE offers the ultimate in peace of mind by simultaneously writing to two independent hard disk drives providing instant back up of the images as you save them. And unlike single drive backup systems, if a drive failure occurs your images are safe and accessible. 2.
G-SAFE Product Guide 5. G-SAFE OVERVIEW STATUS LED LCD Panel Alarm Mute Button Disk Module Lock Removable Disk Modules Drive Activity LED On/Off Switch Attention Mac OS X Users G-SAFE is set up at the factory for use with Mac OS X systems. If you are running Mac OS X, G-SAFE will mount on the OS X desktop right out of the box. If it becomes necessary to re-format G-SAFE for Mac OS X, see section 10.1. Attention Windows Users G-SAFE must be formatted for the Windows Operating System before use on a PC.
G-SAFE Product Guide 6. INSTALLING G-SAFE G-SAFE attaches to your computer via a USB 2.0 or FireWire port. For maximum performance we recommend using a FireWire 800 connection. 7. G-SAFE OPERATION 7.1 Powering on G-SAFE for the First Time Power on your computer, wait a few seconds and then power on G-SAFE. The power switch is located on the back panel of the G-SAFE enclosure.
G-SAFE Product Guide 7.2 FRONT PANEL STATUS LED & ALARM During normal operation, the front panel STATUS LED will glow green. If a failure occurs, the STATUS LED will change to yellow and the alarm will sound. The alarm can be muted by pressing the mute button located on the front panel of G-SAFE STATUS LED Green Alarm OFF Yellow ON If a drive failure occurs, the LCD will indicate which disk must be replaced as shown below.
G-SAFE Product Guide Pressing the ENT button on the front panel will show the following on the LCD display. Pressing the up arrow will display the RPM of G-SAFE’s fan as shown below. 2. Identify the failed disk drive module indicated by the LCD panel and the blue LED on the disk module (in this example Drive 2) as shown below. 3. Remove the failed disk drive module by inserting the provided key in to the lock hole and gently pull out the module. 8.
G-SAFE Product Guide 4. Carefully insert a new disk drive and secure the module by latching the handle. G-SAFE will ask if you would like to rebuild the array. (in this case G-SAFE will rebuild from Drive 1 (top) to Drive 2 (bottom) 9. USING G-SAFE FOR OFFSITE DATA BACKUP With the addition of a third drive module it is possible to add a greater level of protection by storing a copy of your data offsite.
G-SAFE Product Guide 3. Turn on G-SAFE (the alarm will sound and the display will indicate a MISSING drive) 4. Mute the alarm by pressing the “MUTE” button on the front panel. 5. Insert the target drive module while the unit is on. (This could be the drive module you had stored offsite) 6. G-SAFE will ask if you would like to rebuild the array. (in this case G-SAFE will rebuild from Drive 1 (top) to Drive 2 (bottom) 7.
G-SAFE Product Guide 9.1 Disaster Recovery using Offsite Backup Module If the data on your G-SAFE somehow becomes compromised, follow the directions below to restore from your offsite backup drive. 9. G-SAFE will now rebuild the data to the target drive. 1. Turn off G-SAFE. 2. Remove both drive modules. 3. Insert the offsite backup drive module in either bay. 4. Turn on G-SAFE (the alarm will sound and the display will indicate a MISSING drive). 10. Reset the “MUTE” button to re-enable the audible alarm.
G-SAFE Product Guide 10. INITIALIZING G-SAFE G-SAFE is set up at the factory for use with Mac OS X systems. If you are running Mac OS X, G-SAFE will mount on the OS X desktop right out of the box. If it becomes necessary to re-format G-SAFE, follow the instructions below. 2. Select G-SAFE by clicking on the entry in the left-hand column as shown below. Information about G-SAFE will be displayed at the bottom. • For Mac OS X installations, proceed to Section 10.
G-SAFE Product Guide 4. Set the Volume Scheme: to 1 Partition. Enter a Volume Name: under Volume Information (in this example G-SAFE) and set Format: to Mac OS Extended as shown below. 6. When partitioning is complete, G-SAFE will be displayed in the left-hand panel as shown below. 7. Exit the Apple Disk Utility. Note: Alternatively, G-SAFE can be set up in multiple volumes by selecting the desired number of partitions from the Volume Scheme pull-down menu. 8.
G-SAFE Product Guide 9.2 Windows 2000/XP 1. Power on G-SAFE, wait 10 seconds, then power on your computer. 4. Click on the button to continue. 2. Open the Disk Management utility by right-clicking on the My Computer icon on the desktop and selecting “Manage” from the drop down menu as shown below. 5. The following window will appear. G-SAFE (Disk 1) is now identified as Basic and Online. 3. The Computer Management console will appear as shown below. Click on “Disk Management” in the left-hand panel.
G-SAFE Product Guide 6. Right-click on the Disk 1 “Unallocated” bar entry and select New Partition… from the pull-down menu as shown below. 8. The following window will appear. Click on the button to continue. 7. The window shown below will appear. Click on the button to continue. 9. The window shown below will appear. Click on the button to continue. This will create one large volume using all of the available space on G-SAFE. Note: Multiple partitions can be created on G-SAFE.
G-SAFE Product Guide 10. Windows will automatically assign a drive letter (in this example E:). Accept this assignment and click on the button to continue. 12. The following window will appear. Click on the button to continue. 11. Enter a Volume Label: (in this example, G-SAFE), check the Perform a quick format box and click on the button to continue. 13. Windows will format the volume and then display the following window. Disk 1 is now identified as G-SAFE (E:).
G-SAFE Product Guide 14. G-SAFE will now be displayed as an available hard disk drive under My Computer as shown below. 3. Click on the erase button and the screen on the next page will appear. G-SAFE (E:) G-SAFE is now ready to safeguard your data!! 9.3. Cross Platform Use To setup your G-SAFE for use on both Windows and Macintosh systems, use the Apple Disk utility and format G-SAFE FAT32. 1. Open the Apple Disk Utility.
G-SAFE Product Guide 10. UNMOUNTING/DISCONNECTING G-SAFE A great feature of G-SAFE is its ability to be connected and disconnected while your computer is running. To prevent failures and/or data loss it is important to follow the steps below when unmounting/disconnecting G-SAFE from your computer. 10.1 Mac OS X Computers 1. Before powering down and disconnecting G-SAFE, you must unmount the system by simply dragging the G-SAFE icon to the trash located in the dock. 11.
G-SAFE Product Guide 13. LIMITED WARRANTY G-Technology Inc. (G-Tech) warrants your product against any defect in material and workmanship, under normal use, for the designated warranty period. If the product should become defective within the warranty period, G-Tech, will at its discretion, repair or replace the product. Repair or replacement parts or products will be furnished on an exchange basis and will be either new or reconditioned. All replaced parts or products shall become the property of GTech.
