FAQs - MiniPro RAID V2

1. Do I need an AC adapter to power the MiniPro RAID?
2. The blue LEDs on my MiniPro RAID are off, and I have two drives installed. Why are the LEDs off?
3. Can I use bus power with the eSATA or USB connection?
4. What types of RAID modes does the MiniPro RAID V2 support?
5. Why won't my computer recognize my RAID system?
6. Does the RAID remain connected to the host computer and usable during the automatic mirror rebuild?
7. I want to remove a drive from the RAID unit and install it in another enclosure for access to the files. How can I do so?
8. What eSATA ExpressCard do you recommend?
9. CanI change my RAID mode after I have put data on it?
10. I am using RAID 1 mode. What is the procedure for removing a drive and installing a new drive so that the data will copy to the new drive?
11. I am using BIG mode. If I remove a drive and connect it to a computer using a single enclosure. Is the drive recognized?
12. The MiniPro is connected to a Mac Yosemite computer via FW800. The MiniPro appears in Disk Utility, but I am unable to format the drive(s). Why?

The MiniPro RAID V2 will receive power from FireWIre bus power, or the included AC adapter. In addition, you may use a FireWire 800 to Thunderbolt adapter (not included) to receive power from a Thunderbolt port.

The D1 and D2 drive LEDs will only be ON when the MiniPro RAID is connected to a host computer. If the MiniPro RAID is disconnected from the computer, the LEDs will turn OFF. However, the white power LED on the front of the unit will remain ON if power is still present.

eSATA or USB does not provide bus power for the MiniPro RAID; however, you can power the MiniPro RAID using FireWire and use eSATA or USB for data. Please refer to the User Guide for instructions.

RAID 0 (Striping) : Provides increased performance by writing alternating blocks of data (referred to as the stripesize) to both drives simultaneously. Read performance is also improved since data is read from all drives at the same time. No redundant information is stored and failure of a SINGLE drive will cause ALL data to be lost. Total capacity is equal to the number of drives times the smallest capacity drive.

RAID 1 ( Mirroring) : Provides redundancy by writing all data to both drives. RAID 1 provides no increase in write performance. Read performance tend to be faster than a single drive, but not as fast as RAID 0. RAID 1 provides excellent data security. Total capacity is equal to the smallest drive.

JBOD (Just a Bunch Of Drives) : Not actually a RAID mode, JBOD is two independent drives, which can be of any size, are recognized as separate drives by the OS. JBOD provides no performance increase or data redundancy.

BIG (Large) : Big mode combines two drives into a single logical unit. Unlike Striping, Spanning writes data to the first physical drive until it reaches full capacity. When the first disk reaches full capacity, data is written to the second physical disk. Big mode does not increase performance or safety and is seldom used.

Windows 2000, XP & MAC OS 10.2 (& older) do not support partitions larger than 2TB. In order to support 2TB+ partitions, you must use Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Mac OS 10.3 or higher. Please note: Windows XP 64-bit and Windows 2003 support 2TB+ when using USB & eSATA, but are limited to 2TB when using FireWire.

You still can access the data when the RAID is rebuilding, but since it is rebuilding, the transfer speed will be slowed down. Please note: The typical rebuild time is 50GB to 100GB per hour.

You can do so for RAID 1 (Mirroring) or JBOD mode. Simply remove a drive from the MiniPro RAID V2 and place it in another enclosure or docking station to access the data.

What eSATA ExpressCard do you recommend?

For either Windows or Mac, we recommend Sonnet Tempo ExpressCard34, part # TSATAII-E342P or Sonnet Tempo Pro ExpressCard32, part # TSATAII-PRO-E34.

 Can I change my RAID mode after I have put data on it?

If a "Clear" procedure is performed on RAID 1 or JBOD drives, the existing data on the drives will not be deleted. However, if the mode is then changed (for example from RAID 1 to RAID 0) the data will be lost.

 I am using RAID 1 mode. What is the procedure for removing a drive and installing a new drive so that the data will copy to the new drive?

Disconnect (eject) the RAID system from the computer. Remove an existing drive without powering off the MiniPro RAID V2. Power down the MiniPro RAID and Install a new HDD in the empty slot (the new HDD should NOT be pre-initialized or formatted). The RAID system will initialize the new HDD, and consider the existing HDD as “source” and newly inserted HDD as “target”. The auto-rebuild process will begin and will be indicated by slow, steady blinking LEDs for both drives.

 I am using BIG mode. If I remove a drive and connect it to a computer using a single enclosure. Is the drive recognized?

No, the drive will not be recognized. A BIG drive set must stay together.