About Backups; Hot-Pluggable; Fanless Design; Plug & Play Setup - Acomdata HD500FPMM User Manual

About Backups

The Backup process "packages" backed up files into a Backup Set. Files in a
Backup Set are not accessible via the Desktop. To retrieve a file in a Backup
Set you need to "restore" the file using Retrospect's Restore function.
Instead of overwriting previously backed up files with the latest versions,
with Backups all previous versions of backed up files are saved, which allows
you to restore multiple versions of the same file as it has changed over time.
As well as backing up your files, Backups can also save other types of data,
including user settings, applications and their settings, and the operating
system and its settings (including the registry). This information is invaluable
if you need to perform disaster recovery on a computer that has become
unresponsive. Backup Sets can be compressed to save space, and encrypted
for added security.
The Backup operation is best suited for users who want to backup their entire
startup disk.

Hot-Pluggable

You can turn the mini Pal on and off while your computer is running (i.e. "hot"),
in order to conserve energy. Let's say you use your mini Pal solely for data back-
ups––so it only needs to run a few minutes every day––but your computer
needs to run all day. If mini Pal was not hot-pluggable, you would either have
to shut down your computer every time you wanted to turn mini Pal on or
off; or you would have to leave the mini Pal running all day unnecessarily.
You can also connect or disconnect mini Pal while your computer is run-
ning, making portability easier and faster. See "How to Safely Turn Off (and
Disconnect) mini Pal" for details.
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Even if mini Pal is turned off, as long as it is plugged into an AC outlet, any
attached USB and FireWire devices will still work.

Fanless Design

mini Pal was engineered to generate less heat and to dissipate that heat so
efficiently that it does not need a fan, for near-silent operation.
Plug & Play Setup
In most cases, installing mini Pal on your system involves nothing more than
connecting the cables and turning it on. PushButton™ Backup requires the
installation of the PushButton™ Backup software suite.
Mac & PC Ready
Although mini Pal was designed specifically for Mac mini, it is also compatible
with other Macs and even Windows PCs. As a matter of fact, mini Pal is ready
to use on either a Mac or a PC right out of the box––no formatting is required.
mini Pal was formatted at the factory using the FAT32 file system, which
makes the mini Pal compatible with all supported operating systems. That
said, you may want to consider re-formatting the mini Pal using one of the
other file systems that may be available to you.
For more information and formatting instructions, see "Re-Formatting mini Pal. "
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