G-Technology G-DRIVE mobile USB User manual
Table of Contents
Introduction
Safety Precautions
System Requirements
What’s in the Box
G-DRIVE mobile Overview
Installing G-DRIVE mobile
Initializing G-DRIVE mobile
G-DRIVE mobile and Time Machine
Disconnecting G-DRIVE mobile
Optimizing Performance
Technical Support
Limited Warranty
Introduction
Thank you for purchasing the G-DRIVE™ mobile from
G-Technology™, G-DRIVE mobile hard drives from G-
Technology are the ideal storage solutions for professionals
on the go.
This drive is the perfect complement for your Apple MacBook
Pro®. Weighing in at less than 9 oz., G-DRIVE mobile offers a
stylish look with a heavy-duty feel. Up to 500 GB of storage
space is available to store or backup your important
documents, MP3s, digital video or digital photo les.
Back up all those les on your MacBook Pro
automatically. The G-DRIVE mobile is
Time Machine™ ready right out of the box! The
drive features a silent,“fan-less” design and an
integrated cooling system to ensure reliable operation and
long life.
G-DRIVE mobile is bus powered, eliminating the need to carry
around an external AC power supply to use the drive.
Portability was never so easy!
NOTE: G-DRIVE mobile is formatted for the
Mac®OS and will mount on the desktop right
out of the box. For details on reinitializing the
G-DRIVE mobile, using the G-DRIVE mobile on
Windows, or for using the G-DRIVE mobile for
both Windows®and Mac, click here.
Safety Precautions
The disk drive contained in your G-DRIVE mobile is a delicate
electronic instrument and is susceptible to damage due to
excessive physical shock. Place the unit in a vented area away
from moisture or liquids. Please handle the unit with care. Do
not open the case. Doing so will void the warranty. If the
product is returned with damage caused by improper handling,
the warranty will be void and liability will rest with the user.
System Requirements
FireWire™ 800 FireWire 400 (via a 9 to 6 pin cable)
and USB 2.0 operation
• Mac OS X 10.3 or higher
• Windows XP/ Vista/ Windows 7
What’s in the Box
Note: Take a moment to ensure that the
2
following items are included in the box.
G-DRIVE mobile
•G-DRIVE mobile drive (FireWire 800, USB 2.0)
•USB 2.0 cable (9 pin to 6 pin)
•FireWire 800 to 400 cable
•FireWire 800 cable
If anything is missing, please call G-Technology at
(310) 449-4599. For more details on this, click here.
G-DRIVE mobile Overview
Note the various features of the G-DRIVE mobile. There is a
Power and Activity LED on the front of the unit. On the rear of
the unit are 2 FireWire 800 ports, a USB 2.0 port, an On/Off
Switch and DC Power In.
Attention Mac OS X Users
G-DRIVE mobile is set up at the factory for use
with Mac OS X systems. If you are running Mac
OS X, G-DRIVE mobile will mount on the OS X
desktop right out of the box. If it becomes
necessary to re-format G-DRIVE mobile for Mac
OS X, go here.
Attention Windows Users
G-DRIVE mobile must be formatted for the
Windows Operating System before using the
G-DRIVE mobile.
For more information about using the G-DRIVE
mobile for Windows XP/Vista /Windows 7 use, please visit:
http://www.g-technology/support/windows
Attention Cross-Platform Users
G-DRIVE mobile can be used on both Mac and PC
systems by formatting the drive “FAT32.” There
are some limitations when using FAT 32.
Alternatively you can install software on the
3
Windows machine such as “MacDrive” which will
allow you to mount Mac formatted drives on
your PC.
For more information about using the G-DRIVE
mobile for cross-platform use, go here.
Installing G-DRIVE mobile
G-DRIVE mobile attaches to your computer via FireWire 800
ports or a USB 2.0 port. The G-DRIVE mobile has 2 FireWire
800 ports and a single USB port at the rear of the drive (see
below). Connect the drive with one of the enclosed cables
and then power up your MacBook. The drive will
automatically mount on the desktop. Note: No AC power
supply is necessary.
Initializing
G-DRIVE mobile
G-DRIVE mobile is set up at the factory
for use with Mac OS X systems. If you
are running Mac OS X, G-DRIVE mobile
will mount on the OS X desktop right
out of the box. If it becomes necessary
to re-format G-DRIVE mobile, follow the
instructions below.
• For Mac OS X installations see below
•For Windows XP /Vista/ Windows 7
installations go here http://www.g-
technology/support/windows
• For cross-platform use, go here.
Reformatting for Mac OS X
You’ll rst need to open Apple Disk Utility in order to initialize
the disk for Mac OS X. Apple Disk Utility is in the Utilities
Folder located in the Applications Folder on the Macintosh
HD (or press Shift + Command + U to open the Utilities
folder).
A window like the following will appear. G-DRIVE mobile will
be displayed in the left-hand column.
4
1. Select G-DRIVE mobile by clicking on the drive icon in the
left-hand column, as shown. Information about G-DRIVE
mobile will be displayed at the bottom of the window.
2. Select the Erase tab to view the formatting options. By
default, the Format is set to Mac OS Extended (Journaled),
as indicated in the Format category.
3. Choose the Format:
• Set the format to Mac OS Extended (Journaled) if you
intend to use G-DRIVE mobile for Time Machine or to
create a separate bootable installation of OS X.
• For best performance and for media storage, set the
Format to Mac OS Extended. Click on the Format menu
to change it to“Mac OS Extended”.
5
4. Click the Erase Button in the lower corner of the window.
5. A dialog box will launch after clicking the button.
WARNING: THIS NEXT STEP WILL ERASE ALL DATA ON
YOUR DRIVE.
5. Click on the Erase button to continue.
A progress bar in the lower right corner of the window will
show you the progress of the disk’s reformatting.
After reinitializing the G-
DRIVE mobile the icon for
the G-DRIVE mobile has
been erased. You can
restore it.
Restore the icon by doing
the following:
1. Go to the G-Technology
website and download the“icon package”. Click here to
download the package.
6
2. Once downloaded, select the icon for the G-DRIVE mobile
in the G-Technology Icons disk.
3. Press Command + C to copy the icon.
4. Select the G-DRIVE mobile FireWire icon on the Desktop
and press Command + I.
5. Select the FireWire Icon in the“Get Info” window (left)
6. Press Command + V to paste the icon into the Get Info
window (right).
The icon for your G-DRIVE
mobile has now been restored.
You can now close the Get Info
window.
After reinitializing the drive and
restoring your icon, your G-
DRIVE mobile is ready for use.
Using G-DRIVE mobile with Time Machine
G-DRIVE mobile is a perfect candidate to use with Apple Time
Machine. Time Machine provides automatic backup for your
crucial les. The following steps will guide you in setting up
the G-DRIVE mobile with Time Machine.
Format the drive as Mac OS Extended (Journaled) as
described in “Reformatting for Mac OS X”here.
7
After the drive is reinitialized, you should see the following
dialog box. Click the Use as Backup Disk button.
If the dialog box did not launch, go to the Apple Menu >
System Preferences and click on the Time Machine icon.
The Time Machine pane of System Preferences will then
launch and be automatically switched to on.
You are now free to set options by
clicking the Options button. This
chooses les you do not want to
backup.
The G-DRIVE mobile is now
backing up your important les
automatically with Time Machine.
Cross Platform Use
To setup your G-DRIVE mobile for use
on both Windows and Macintosh systems, use Apple Disk
Utility and format G-DRIVE mobile to MS-DOS (FAT), also
known as “FAT32”.
Open Apple Disk Utility. Apple Disk Utility is in the Utilities
Folder located in the Applications Folder on the Macintosh
HD (or press Shift + Command + U to open the Utilities
folder).
A window like the one below will appear.
8
1. Select the G-DRIVE mobile from the left-hand column
2. Click on the “Erase button at the top of the window as
shown.
3. Select MS-DOS File System from the Format drop down
menu. NOTE: You may need to re-name the drive because
FAT32 does not support more than 11 letters in the drive
name.
4. Click the Erase button in the lower right corner of the
window.
9
5. A new dialog box appears.
WARNING: THIS NEXT STEP WILL ERASE ALL DATA ON YOUR
DRIVE.
6. Click the Erase button.
A progress bar in the lower right corner of the window will
show you the progress of the disk’s reformatting.
Your drive will be formatted to its full capacity as FAT32.
7. Reset the G-DRIVE mobile icons as described here.
8. Exit Apple Disk Utility.
With this format, you will be able to READ/WRITE on both
Windows XP/ Vista/ Windows 7 and Mac OS X machines.
NOTE: You could format your drive on a
Windows machine FAT32, however Windows currently
limits FAT32 partitions to 32GB in size.
NOTE: The 'MS-DOS File System' cannot write
les over 4 GB. If you are working with les over
4 GB, you may want to choose a software option
like MacDrive. MacDrive is Windows software that
enables the Windows OS to mount Mac formatted
drives. (www.macdrive.com)
Disconnecting G-DRIVE mobile
A great feature of G-DRIVE mobile 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 disconnecting or “unmounting” the
G-DRIVE mobile from your computer.
10
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