Aleratec 11 HDD PortaCruiser Hard Disk Drive Duplicator and RAID User Guide

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Overview
Power Up Sequence
During the normal power-up sequence of the HDD PortaCruiser, the following 
information will be displayed.Figure 1 shows the firmware version
• 
Figure 2 shows the memory initialization
• 
Figure 3 shows the scanning of the drives
• 
Figure 4 shows the number of drives loaded. 
• 
Figure 5 shows the first function. The HDD PortaCruiser will initialize in either 
• 
Duplicator Mode or Dual Disk RAID (USB) Mode depending on its last sta\
te. 
Duplicator Mode...

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Overview
Understanding RAID
RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) is a system composed of many hard 
drives; that is, multiple physical drives form a single virtual drive to be recognized 
by the system. Different RAID modes have different advantages and disadvantages.
RAID 0 (Striping)
RAID 0 must be composed of a pair of hard drives at least. When data is written into 
the whole hard drive, it will be equally striped and written into each hard drive of the 
array. Thus the...

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Overview
Duplicator Main Menu
In Duplicator mode, there are eight main menu items that can be seen in \
the HDD 
PortaCruiser Copy Controller Display Panel. These are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Note: The Advanced Setup function is a hidden menu. To access this menu, 
press ESC for 3 seconds. After you have completed any desired adjustments, 
press ESC to exit Advanced Setup.
1. Copy HDD ENT
ESC
RESETMUTE

2. Compare HDD ENT
ESC
RESETMUTE

3. PreScan Source ENT
ESC
RESETMUTE

4....

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Overview
Duplicator Subfunctions
The “Setup” menu has eight (8) subfunctions. These are:
6-01 Language
6. Setup ENT
ESC
RESETMUTE

6-02 DMA Mode
6-03 Copy Size
6-04 Startup Menu
6-05 Auto Compare
6-06 Copy with Detect
6-07 Button Sound
6-08 Device Info
6-09 System Info 

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Overview
The Duplicator “Advanced Setup” menu has eight (8) subfunctions.\
 These are:
8-01 ReScan Bus Delay
8-02 Read Error Skip
8-03 Quick Erase HDD
8-04 H/W Diagnostic
8-05 Load Default
8-06 Link Option 
(for USB Mode)
8-07 USB Auto Link
8-08 Copy HPA
8. Adv Setup ENT
ESC
RESETMUTE
 

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Overview
Dual Disk RAID (USB) Mode Main Menu
In USB mode, the options seen in the HDD PortaCruiser Display Panel depe\
nd on 
the RAID mode of the system. These are:
Normal Mode
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
JBOD Mode
1.
2.
3.
4.
1. Duplicator Mode ENT
ESC
RESETMUTE

2. Information ENT
ESC
RESETMUTE

4. D1 Drive Select ENT
ESC
RESETMUTE

3. Change RAID Mode ENT
ESC
RESETMUTE

5. D2 Drive Select ENT
ESC
RESETMUTE

1. Duplicator Mode ENT
ESC
RESETMUTE

2. Information ENT
ESC
RESETMUTE

4....

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Overview
RAID0 Mode
1.
2.
3.
4.
RAID1 Mode
1.
2.
3.
4.
1. Duplicator Mode ENT
ESC
RESETMUTE

2. Information ENT
ESC
RESETMUTE

4. Initial RAID0 ENT
ESC
RESETMUTE

3. Change RAID Mode ENT
ESC
RESETMUTE

1. Duplicator Mode ENT
ESC
RESETMUTE

2. Information ENT
ESC
RESETMUTE

4. Initial RAID1 ENT
ESC
RESETMUTE

3. Change RAID Mode ENT
ESC
RESETMUTE
 

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Using the HDD PortaCruiser 
Loading the Hard Drives
IDE Drives 
Use an IDE cable (not included) to connect the source/target hard drive’s IDE 
1. 
port to the HDD PortaCruiser’s Source/Target IDE port.
Use an IDE cable (not included) to connect the source/target hard drive’s power 
2. 
port to the HDD PortaCruiser’s Source/Target port.
SATA Drives 
Position the HDD PortaCruiser on a flat surface with enough area around it to 
1. 
place the source/target hard drive.
Align the...

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Using the HDD PortaCruiser 
Removing Hard Drives
Remove the IDE and power cables (for IDE drives) or slide the hard dri\
ve away 
1. 
from the HDD PortaCruiser unit (for SATA drives).
Note: Do not attempt to remove the hard drive if the drive activity LED is on\
 or 
the unit is in the middle of a process.  

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Using the HDD PortaCruiser 
Duplicator Mode 
Main Menu: Copy HDD
The “Copy HDD” function performs an actual copy from the source HD\
D to the target 
HDD. The target HDD must be at least as large as the source. The HDD PortaCruiser 
will copy every block of capacity on the source HDD. Load the source HDD and the target HDD into the HDD PortaCruiser. The system 
1. 
will auto-detect the hard drives. After the drives have been detected, a screen 
similar to the one below will be...