Acomdata E5 External Hard Drives User Manual

Acomdata E5 External Hard Drives User Manual Manual pdf 25 page image

– 46 – – 47 –Q: Can I use both the USB 2.0 and FireWire interfaces of myDrive at the same time?A: No. If you do, you may lose data, damage the Drive, and damageyour computer.Q: Can I connect an AcomData Drive to a USB or FireWireexpansion card?A: Yes, but you may need to update the software/firmware for thecard. We recommend you check with the card’s manufacturer forthe latest updates.Q: Is the AcomData Drive compatible with Windows 95, 98(First Edition) or Windows NT 4.0?A: No.Q: What’s faster, USB 2.0 or FireWire 400?A: USB 2.0 and FireWire are very similar in many respects, but thereare definite differences.At first glance it would appear that USB 2.0 (480 Mbps) is indeedfaster than FireWire 400 (400 Mbps). However, this is only trueunder ideal conditions. While 480 Mbps is the maximum speedachievable, USB 2.0 cannot guarantee a specified data transfer rate.This is mainly because USB 2.0 is a master-slave, host-dependenttechnology, meaning it relies on your computer’s CPU to facilitateand manage data transfers.FireWire, on the other hand, is a peer-to-peer technology thatdoes not require CPU resources to facilitate data transfers betweenFireWire devices. Moreover, FireWire devices can guarantee real-time delivery of data at a specific rate. Real time data delivery isnecessary for certain applications, such as digital video streamingwhere dropped or delayed data packets is unacceptable. This iswhy devices like digital camcorders have 1394 interfaces, and whyFireWire is the interface of choice for digital video editing applica-tions.For day-to-day hard drive use, USB 2.0 and FireWire 400 will havecomparable performance though FireWire 400 will probably havea slight performance edge, which can make a difference if youFrequently Asked QuestionsQ: Can I use my Drive on two computers at the same time?A: No. The Drive can only be used with one computer at a time.If you connect the Drive to two computers at the same time, youmay damage the Drive and the computers.Q: Do I have to format my AcomData Drive prior to using it?A: No. All AcomData Drives are formatted at the factory with theFAT32 file system, making them compatible with all supportedplatforms right out of the box. You can re-format the Drive if youwish to use a file system other than FAT32.Q: Can I format the AcomData Drive for use on multiple oper-ating systems?A: All AcomData Drives are formatted at the factory with the FAT32file system, making them compatible with all supported operatingsystems right out of the box.Q: What is the difference between FAT32 and NTFS?A: FAT32 is an older and more compatible file system but it hascertain limitations, such as file size (maximum 4 GB). NTFS is moresecure and has fewer limitations. The NTFS file system can only beused on Windows 2000 and XP. If you plan to use your AcomDataDrive on Windows 2000 and/or XP only, consider re-formatting theDrive using the NTFS file system. If you plan to use the Drive on aMac OS only, consider re-formatting the Drive using the Mac OSExtended file system.Q: Does the AcomData Drive work on Windows XP MediaCenter Edition?A: At this time, it is not supported.Q; Where are the drivers for XP, 200 and Me?A: They are built into the operating system. However, you mayneed to upgrade your Windows OS.