Fantom Drives - Service and Support

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Fantom Drives Support Titanium II FAQs

General

1. I’m using Windows 98se/ME and I cannot see an icon or the drive in Explorer.

Your USB/FireWire drive may need to be set as a “Removable Device” in Windows Device Manager. If you have already plugged in the drive to the computer, open the Device Manager by right clicking on the “My Computer” icon and choosing “Properties”. The Device Manager will come up - after it does, expand the “Disk Drives” tree and check to see that the drive is correctly recognized by the operating system. It will be designated by a series of letters and/or numbers or a brand name followed by a series of letters and/or numbers.

If you see such designation, right click on the drive and again, choose “Properties”, then choose the “Settings” tab after the resulting dialog box has appeared.

In the “Settings” menu, place an X in the box next to the “Removable” option and click OK, then OK or CLOSE for the remaining boxes – the machine will ask you to restart it, at which point you should do so. Once the desktop has reappeared, open your MY COMPUTER icon and the drive should be available there for you to use just as a regular drive.

2. My Hard drive is clicking and/or beeping, what do I do?

Clicking, beeping and other unusual sounds are a symptom of mechanical failure. Please contact technical support to request an RMA for repair or replacement. http://www.fantomdrives.com/rmaform.html

3. Why does my operating system only recognize 128 GB or 137 GB of my large capacity drive?

Due to limitations in Windows and many types of system BIOS, partitioning and formatting drives larger than 137 Gigabytes without proper driver or controller support WILL CAUSE DATA LOSS when storing data to the drive beyond the 137 GB Barrier.
In order for your system to recognize more than a 137 GB perform one of the following recommended solutions:
If you have a motherboard that has a Intel chipset (810, 810E, 810E2, 815, 815, 815E, 815EP, 815P, 820, 820E, 830M, 830MP, 830MG, 840, 845, 850, or 860) please visit www.intel.com/support/chipsets/iaa/ and download the Intel Application Accelerator. Intel's Application Accelerator supports the full capacity of drives larger than 137 GB.

If you do not have a motherboard that has a Intel chipset then it is recommended to purchase a Ultra ATA 133 PCI card that supports 48 bit Logical Block Addressing (LBA). You can purchase the Maxtor Ultra ATA 133 PCI Card at www.maxtordirect.com which supports drives that are larger than 137 GB.

If you did not follow one of the above steps and you are trying to go by other means of "tweaking" the system to recognize the drive past 137 GB please note, if your ATA controller, chipset drivers and/or system BIOS do not properly support 48-bit Logical Block Addressing, DATA LOSS WILL OCCUR when storing data to the drive beyond the 137 GB barrier.

4. Why does my hard drive report less capacity than indicated on the drive's label?

Hard drive manufacturers market drives in terms of decimal (base 10) capacity. In decimal notation, one megabyte (MB) is equal to 1,000,000 bytes, and one Gigabyte (GB) is equal to 1,000,000,000 bytes.
Programs such as FDISK, system BIOS, and Windows use the binary (base 2) numbering system. In the binary numbering system, one megabyte is equal to 1,048,576 bytes, and one gigabyte is equal to 1,073,741,824 bytes.
Simply put, decimal and binary translates to the same amount of storage capacity. Lets say you wanted to measure the distance from point A to point B. The distance from A to B is one kilometer or .621 miles. It is the same distance, but it is reported differently due to the measurement.

Capacity Calculation Formula
Decimal capacity / 1,048,576 = Binary MB capacity
Example: A 40 GB hard drive is approximately 40,000,000,000 bytes (40 x 1,000,000,000).
40,000,000,000 / 1,048,576 = 38,162 megabytes

In the table below are examples of approximate numbers that the drive may report.
Decimal Binary MB Windows Output:
20 GB 19,073 MB    /    18.6 GB
40 GB 38,610 MB    /    37.3 GB
60 GB 57,220 MB    /    55.8 GB
80 GB 76,293 MB    /    74.5 GB
120 GB 114,440 MB    /    111.7 GB
160 GB 152,587 MB    /   149 GB

5. Why doesn’t Windows XP Pro/Home Edition or Windows 2000 offer a FAT32 option for formatting my drive?

When XP or 2000 is installed on an NTFS volume it will only offer NTFS as a formatting option. If it is installed on the internal hard drive as a FAT32 volume it will provide both as an option though you must set the partition size as 32GB or smaller.

6. FireWire and USB are supposed to be hot-swappable. Can I just unplug or power down the device while the computer is running?

Select the Eject/Remove Hardware icon on the task bar to unmount the device. You will get a message that it is safe to disconnect or power off the device. (Older versions of Windows 98se did not include an eject icon. You have to just unplug it if no eject icon is available).

7. If I send a drive in for warranty repair, will I get my data back?

No. All drives are typically formatted as part of the repair process. You will need to copy the data before sending it in. If the data is not accessible and you need it, you will want to contact a data recovery company.

Before sending a drive to a data recovery company, check with the drive manufacturer to verify that the company is authorized to perform data recovery. If it is not an authorized company, the warranty will be voided.

8. My drive crashed and I need my data. Do you do data recovery?

No. We are not a data recovery company. Before sending a drive to a data recovery company, check with the drive manufacturer to verify that the company is authorized to perform data recovery. If it is not an authorized company, the warranty will be voided.

9. How do I setup my hard drive in Windows 2000 or XP?

Power on the drive and connect the FireWire or USB cable to your computer.

1. Open your control panels and select the "Administrative Tools" (XP users may have to switch to classic view in order to see this option.

2. Select "Computer Management"

3. Click once on the "Disk Management Section”

4. Windows 2000 needs to create signatures for the drives in the system. It will automatically ask you to do this when you click on disk management Windows XP users can skip this step.

5. After you have created a signature, Right-click on the drive to create an active partition.

6. Select the partition Size. (you can use this utility to make multiple partitions)

7. After you select the partition size, You must select the drive letter.

8. Select the format you want to use for your external drive and select “Quick Format”.

10. Does this product include a fan? Why does my drive feel hot to the touch?

The Titanium IIFirewire / USB external drive does not require a fan for cooling. The precisely crafted aluminum skin has been designed to help your drive eliminate excess heat through the skin of the enclosure. To assist in this we suggest that you place the drive in an open, well-ventilated area. Also, using the included foot can improve the heat dissipation of your drive.

12. My 500gb or greater hard disk appears to have a 5400rpm spindle speed at times, how can this be?

To date we have not sold a high-capacity drive with less than 7200rpm rotational speed. It is possible that the drive you have has Western Digital’s GreenPower mechanism inside it. This drive will spin slower under lower load in order to conserve energy.

13. When I connect my hard drive to the USB port of my Windows XP machine, I get a message that I would get better speeds if I used a USB 2.0. How can I check if I have USB 2.0?

If you are getting this error message you probably have USB 1.1 in the location your drive is currently plugged into. Try a different port, if you are connecting to a hub please try to connect the drive directly to your PC. Also, please note that Windows XP requires service pack 2 in order to support USB 2.0 speed.

14. How long is the Manufacturer’s warranty on my Fantom Drives product? Can I elect to service the drive myself after the warranty is expired?

The manufacturer’s warranty on all Fantom Drives consumer grade products is one year. We do offer lifetime support at our factory for a small fee, but you may feel free to do with your drive as you please after the warranty is expired. We cannot offer assistance on how to do this and do not encourage our customers to “self service” our drives.

15. What sort of hard disks do you use in your external drives?

Fantom Drives utilizes only top-quality mechanisms from the major drive manufacturers. In our enclosures you can find Hitachi, Seagate/Maxtor, Western Digital and Samsung drives.

FireWire

1. I have a FireWire Hard Drive for my PC. What drivers do I need?

No additional software is needed. The FireWire card will recognize the device and Windows will install a FireWire driver for it.

2. Why won’t my FireWire device work correctly when connected to a Sony VAIO laptop, when it has a S200 ILINK port instead of a S400 ILINK port?

The S200 port is designed for cameras and other non-mass storage devices. Full mass storage support will ONLY work with the S400 port on the VAIO. This is not an upgradeable item. Contact Sony for compatibility questions.

3. The included FireWire (IEEE 1394) cable has a connector that is too large to fit in my laptop's IEEE 1394 port.

The cable we include is the universal standard for all manufacturers (both computers and devices), except for a few laptop models. Primarily these exceptions are the Sony VAIO, Vision Notebooks, some Dell Latitude's. These use the 4-pin FireWire "S400" FireWire connection which is a smaller 4-pin connector typically for DV camcorders/cameras. You will need to purchase a separate cable that is compatible with your computer or an adapter for your existing cable.

4. Can I run a FireWire device on Windows 98 or NT?

No. Only Windows 98SE (Second Edition), Windows 2000, Windows ME and Windows XP support FireWire

5. Can I boot off of my FireWire Drive?

No. The PC does not support booting from FireWire devices at this time.

USB

1. Windows 98 / ME doesn't recognize my USB 2.0 Drivewhen it is attached. Do I need drivers?

USB2.0 devices require drivers to work with Windows 98 and ME. You must install the USB 2.0 drivers even if you are connecting the device to a USB1.1 bus. The install program will install USB 2.0 drivers on Win98SE/ME/2000/XP. To install the USB 2.0 drivers, double-click on the "TPPINST" installer (depending on the version) located on the USB2 CD before physically connecting the USB 2.0 drive. Newer versions of Windows may have USB 2.0 drivers installed. If you are running a newer version and the device is recognized, you do not have to run the TPPINST installer. Note: Windows 98 does not support USB 2.0 devices.

2. Can I run my USB Hard Drive off a USB hub?

It may work, but we recommend running directly off of the USB port on the computer. The hub needs to be a powered hub. If you are having problems with a USB device running off a USB 2.0 powered hub, connect it directly to the computer. If it works, the hub is more than likely the problem.

3. Can I run a USB 2.0 device on Windows 98?

No. Only Windows 98se (second edition), Windows 2000, Windows ME, Windows XP, and Windows 2003 support USB 2.0

4. I hooked up my USB 1.1 hard drive and am not getting the 12MB/sec speed that I should be. What’s wrong?

USB has a transfer rate of about 12Mb/sec, which equals about 1.5MB/sec.
MB = MBytes & Mb = Mbits. (8 Mbits makes 1MByte).

5. My USB 2.0 hard drive is running very slow. What is wrong?

On a PC, you must have the USB 2.0 device connected to a USB 2.0 card with USB 2.0 drivers and a USB 2.0 cable to achieve USB 2.0 speeds. If you don’t, it will run at USB1.1 speeds. Also confirm that your drive is formatted properly for your computer - NTFS for Windows or Mac OS extended.

6. Can I boot off of My USB Drive?

Most PCs do not support booting from USB devices. You would need to check with the PC manufacturer to see if your computer supports it.

MAC

1. How do I reformat my hard drive for use on my Mac?

If you are using OSX or Jaguar, please use Apple’s Disk Utility to Erase your drive and reformat it as Mac OS Extended. Once this is done it should show up on your desktop and be ready for use.

If you are using Mac OS 8.x or 9.x, please use the supplied Hard Disk Speed Tools software to reformat your hard drive. Install the software, turn on the drive, then connect the FireWire cable to the computer. Open the HDST application and you should see the drive in the window. Click once on the drive to highlight the drive, then select the “Set-up” button on the right. Follow the instructions for the set up and initialization of the drive. Once this is done the drive should show up on your desktop and be ready for use.

2. After I startup my computer, I turn on my FireWire drive but it doesn't automatically appear/mount on my desktop or my Mac freezes - what's' wrong?

This problem is related to the way that the firmware was developed on the FireWire bridgeboard (your disk's ATA to FireWire conversion board). In other words, its a hardware problem and a common one for that matter. Unfortunately, there is no software cure for this. However, there are a few instructions/tips that we can share that will help with the problem:

1. If you can, turn on you FireWire drive before you turn on your computer.

2. If the above instruction is not convenient, unplug the FireWire drive from your computer, turn on the drive, then reattach the cable back to the computer.

3. Lastly, if you already made the mistake of turning on your FireWire drive without unplugging its cable from the computer first and your computer has frozen, try unplugging the cable now and plugging it back in. This remedy should reset the FireWire bus and resolve the freeze.

3. My hard drive gets a message "This disk is unreadable, do you want to initialize" at boot up.

The directory is probably damaged.

• Isolate the drive as the only device on the bus if possible.

• Go to the Extension Manager, duplicate a base set and restart.

• Try to repair using Norton or Tech Tools Utilities.

• The drive may need to be re-formatted.

FireWire and USB

• You need to unmount the drive before unplugging it or powering it off. To unmount it, just drag the disk icon to the Trash. You can then unplug it or power it down.

Make sure that you are disconnecting or powering down the drive correctly. Failure to do this properly risks directory corruption.

4. I get dropped frames when capturing video from my camera to the FireWire drive.

Cameras run at 200Mbit speed. FireWire Mass storage devices run at 400Mbit. If both types of devices are connected to the same FireWire bus, it can cause disruption and dropped frames. If you are experiencing dropped frames keep the two types of devices on separate busses. Also, older cameras may have a timing issue that will continuously reset the bus. This can cause error messages or a crash. You would need to run the two devices off of separate FireWire busses if you experience this problem. Other things to try: In OS 9:

• Turn off FileSharing

• Turn off AppleTalk

• Turn off Virtual Memory

• Update Quicktime 5 to v5.0.2

• Update Final Cut Pro if possible

In OS X: Make the following settings in the Preferences:

• Media Capture location - Firewire drive

• Waveform/Thumbnail Cache location - Internal Harddrive (startup disk)

Autosave Vault - Internal hard drive (startup disk)

5. My Hard Drive gives an Error 50 when transferring data

The Drive is sent to you formatted for PC Fat32. If you are getting an error 50 message you should format it Mac OS extended. To do this in OSX, you will want to use apple's disk utility and perform an erase disk. Under OS9 you will want to use the hard disk speedtools software provided.

6. Do I need to restart or turn off my computer when I want to plug in or remove my hard drive?

You can move drives from computer to computer without restarting. The only thing you want to make sure of is that you remove the drive correctly from the computer. On the Mac, make sure you drag the drive to the trash before you remove it. On the PC, make sure you "safe disconnect" the drive before you remove it. Once you have removed it and have taken it to another computer, first turn the drive power on, wait for about 10 seconds, then plug in the FireWire or USB cable, whichever you are using. You just want to make sure the drive is correctly removed and is powered on before plugging in the interface cable.

7. Can I boot off of my FireWire Drive?

Macintosh

FireWire booting is possible on all Macintosh models that have built-in FireWire ports except the Blue & White G3 and the PCI Graphics models of the G4. (See Apple Knowledgebase Article # 58606).

• Connect the FireWire drive and verify that the drive mounts.

• Install the appropriate system software to the drive.

• Open the StartUp Disk Control Panel and select the FireWire drive.

• Restart.

8. Can I boot off of My USB Drive?

Booting from a USB drive is possible on all Macintosh models beginning with the Power Mac G4 (AGP Graphics) and the slot-loading iMac (See Apple Knowledgebase Article # 58430).

• Connect the drive and verify that the drive mounts.

• Install the appropriate system software to the drive.

• Open the StartUp Disk control panel and select the USB drive.

• Restart.

9. Can I run my Hard Drive off a USB hub?

It may work, but we recommend running directly off of the USB port on the computer. If you are having problems with a USB device running off a hub, connect it directly to the computer to test. If it works, the hub is more than likely the problem.

10. My USB2 hard drive is running very slow. What is wrong?

The built in USB bus on the Mac is USB 1.1 only. A USB2 device will run at USB1.1 speeds off the built in bus. 3rd party companies are starting to release USB2 cards with drivers for the Mac and USB2 speeds are obtainable with these cards.

11. My drive crashed and I need my data. Do you do data recovery?

12. If I send a drive in for warranty repair, will I get my data back?

13. I just received my Hard Drive and I am missing a cable, software, etc.

Please contact us via this form - Missing Part Request Form.

14. My new hard drive is getting hot. Is this normal?

The newer cases are designed with exceptional heat sinking abilities to take heat away from the drive and dissipate it through the enclosure body rather than utilizing the less efficient large internal air baffle of other units. While the skin or outer surface of the external drive may feel moderately warm, or even hot to the touch, this affirms that the cooling system is working perfectly to keep the internal drive mechanism itself cool.

The internal drive mechanisms, sourced from the only four makers of hard drives in the world, are designed and manufactured under strict quality requirements. These makers - Seagate, Hitachi, Western Digital and Samsung (Toshiba doesn't make a 3.5" drive) - have excellent products that perform and compete comparatively in the marketplace. We maximize longevity and performance by working with their exacting specifications in our designs and build processes. This is how we produce top quality products providing long life and trouble free operation.