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Western Digital Caviar Series Quick Installation Manual

3.5-inch eide hard drives

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EZ-Drive Quick Installation
WD Caviar Series 3.5-Inch EIDE Hard Drives
EZ-DRIVE SOFTWARE OVERVIEW
If you did not receive the EZ-Drive software, you can download it
from our web site at www.wdc.com.
EZ-Drive software is included with the Western Digital hard drive to
help you:
Quickly and easily partition and format your new hard drive.
Overcome the 528 MB barrier.
Overcome the 2.1 GB barrier.
Partitioning and Formatting
Your WD Caviar drive has been low-level formatted at the factory.
The hard drive is defect-free and ready to set up. You must partition
and high-level format the drive so it can accept files.
There are two ways to format and partition your hard drive.
1. Use the EZ-Drive software that you received with the hard drive.
2. Use the DOS utilities FDISK and FORMAT.
We recommend using EZ-Drive. It is a safe, fast, and an easy way to
partition and format the hard drive. See the section Using EZ-Drive
Software on page 2 for instructions.
For instructions on using FDISK and FORMAT, see your DOS user
manual.
Note: DOS has a 2.1 GB partition limit. If you have a 2.5 GB or larger
hard drive, you must create at least two partitions to access the full
capacity.
Partition and Format
If your system supports the full capacity of the hard drive, EZ-Drive
will only partition and format the hard drive. It does not install code
on your boot sector.
528 MB Barrier
Most computer systems built before August 1994 do not support
hard drives larger than 528 MB unless the BIOS is updated or
third-party software such as EZ-Drive is installed.
2.1 GB Barrier
Some computer systems built before early 1996 do not support hard
drives with more than 4095 cylinders (hard drives larger than 2.1
GB) unless the BIOS is updated or third-party software such as
EZ-Drive is installed.
EZ-Drive Help Files
To access EZ-Drive help files on the installation disk, select
Installation Help from the EZ-Drive main menu.
79-850080-000 S0220 3-97
Compatibility
You can use EZ-Drive software with DOS 5.0 and above, Windows
3.1x, Windows for Workgroups, Windows 95, Windows NT, OS/2
2.1X, and OS/2 Warp.
You cannot use EZ-Drive with Novell NetWare or Unix.
Data Compression Software
EZ-Drive is compatible with Stacker, Drivespace, and Doublespace
disk compression utilities. Other data compression software may not
be compatible. Always back up your data before using any data
compression software.
Hard Disk Device Drivers
Products that use their own hard disk device drivers, such as
third-party disk controllers, may not be compatible with EZ-Drive.
Memory Managers
EZ-Drive is fully compatible with the standard memory managers
that come with DOS and Windows. However, EZ-Drive loads in
conventional memory and may not be compatible with some
third-party memory managers.
Ontrack Disk Manager and EZ-Drive
Ontrack Disk Manager and EZ-Drive cannot co-exist in the same
system. If your existing drive has Ontrack Disk Manager installed
and multiple partitions, you cannot install EZ-Drive. We
recommend using Ontrack Disk Manager to set up the new hard
drive.
If your existing drive has Ontrack Disk Manager installed and only
one partition, you can either use EZ-Drive to convert the Ontrack
Disk Manager partition or use Ontrack Disk Manager to set up the
new drive. During installation, EZ-Drive detects Ontrack Disk
Manager and prompts you to convert the partition to an EZ-Drive
partition. If you do, EZ-Drive converts the Ontrack Disk Manager
partition to an EZ-Drive partition.
Even though EZ-Drive can convert your Ontrack Disk Manager
partition to an EZ-Drive partition without data loss, Western Digital
recommends that you back up your data before selecting this option.
Note: EZ-Drive can convert single Ontrack Disk Manager partitions
only. It cannot convert multiple Ontrack Disk Manager Partitions.
BEFORE YOU BEGIN
Back up the data on your existing hard drive.
Make sure you have a bootable DOS system disk or Windows 95
Startup disk, EZ-Drive, DOS, and operating system software, and
your system manual.
Write down the hard drive type and parameters (cylinders/
heads/sectors) for the existing drive. Do NOT change the
parameters of your existing hard drive.
1

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Summary of Contents for Western Digital Caviar Series

  • Page 1 3.1x, Windows for Workgroups, Windows 95, Windows NT, OS/2 2.1X, and OS/2 Warp. EZ-Drive software is included with the Western Digital hard drive to help you: You cannot use EZ-Drive with Novell NetWare or Unix.
  • Page 2: Cmos Setup

    Western Digital recommends selecting the auto config drive type. The 1. After you complete CMOS setup, insert a bootable DOS disk or auto config drive type automatically sets up the Western Digital hard Windows 95 startup disk in drive A.
  • Page 3 5. At the EZ-Drive Main Menu, select Fully Automatic Installation. 7. EZ-Drive formats the drive now. If your drive is 2.5 GB or larger, Press the following screen displays. Press to accept the default ENTER ENTER partition sizes. Note: DOS has a 2.1 GB partition limit. If you have a 2.5 GB or larger 6.
  • Page 4: Frequently Asked Questions

    9. EZ-Drive has successfully set up your hard drive. Remove any disk UNINSTALLING EZ-DRIVE from your floppy drive. Press to exit and restart your system. This option removes EZ-Drive, and returns control of the drive to your system BIOS. Note: Before uninstalling EZ-Drive, make sure that you have properly configured the BIOS to recognize the full drive capacity.
  • Page 5: Technical Support

    Western Digital and Caviar are registered trademarks and WD Caviar, CacheFlow, FIT Lab, and The World’ s Most Recommended Hard Drive are trademarks of Western Digital Corporation. Other marks may be mentioned herein that belong to other companies. Product specifications subject to change without notice. © 1997 Western Digital Corporation. All rights reserved.