Mercury Elite Pro Mini

Assembly Manual & User Guide

Introduction

1.1 Minimum System Requirements

Mac Requirements
- OS X 10.6.8–10.11.6, macOS 10.12 or later
PC Requirements
- Windows 7 or later
Supported Drives
- Any 2.5-inch SATA drive (drive heights up to and including 15mm supported)
Hardware
- Any Mac or Windows host with a USB Type-A or Type-C port, or an eSATA port
Booting
- OS X 10.6.8-10.11.6, macOS 10.12. or later
- Booting not supported on Windows

1.2 Package Contents

OWC Mercury Elite Pro mini
USB 3.1 Gen 1 cable (Type-C to Type-A — 5Gb/s)
USB 3.1 Gen 2 cable Type-C to Type-C — 10Gb/s)
USB 3.1 Gen 1 cable (Micro-B to Type-A)
eSATA 6Gb/s cable
DC to USB cable

1.3 About This Manual

The images and descriptions may vary slightly between this manual and the unit shipped. Functions and features may change depending on the firmware version or driver version, if applicable. Please visit the product web page for the most recent product information. OWC’s Limited Warranty is not transferable and subject to limitations.

1.4 Rear View

eSATA port
USB 3.1 Gen 2 port
Power switch
DC power port

General Use Precautions

To avoid damage, do not expose the device to temperatures outside the following ranges:

Environmental (Operating)

Temperature (°F): 32° to 104°
Temperature (°C): 0° to 40°

Environmental (Non-Operating)

Temperature (°F): -4° to 158°
Temperature (°C): -20° to 70°

Always unplug the device from the electrical outlet if there is a risk of lightning or if it will be unused for an extended period of time. Otherwise, there is an increased risk of electrical shock, short-circuiting or fire.

Do not use the product near electrical appliances such as televisions, radios or speakers. Doing so may cause interference which can adversely affect the operation of the appliances.

Do not place the device near sources of magnetic interference, such as computer displays or speakers. Magnetic interference can affect the operation and stability of hard drives.

Do not place objects on top of the device.

Protect your device from excessive exposure to dust during use or storage. Dust can build up inside the device, increasing the risk of damage or malfunction.

Do not block any ventilation openings on the device. These help to keep the device cool during operation. Blocking the ventilation openings may cause damage to the device and cause an increased risk of short circuiting or fire.

Safety Precautions

Read this user guide carefully and follow the recommended steps for assembly.
Use proper anti-static precautions while installing drives into this enclosure. Failure to do so can cause damage to your drive mechanisms and/or the enclosure.
Do not attempt to disassemble or modify the device. To avoid any risk of electrical shock, fire, short-circuiting or dangerous emissions, never insert any metallic object into the device. If it appears to be malfunctioning, please contact technical support.
Never expose your device to rain, or use it near water or in damp or wet conditions. Never place objects containing liquids on the drive, as they may spill into its openings. Doing so increases the risk of electrical shock, short-circuiting, fire or personal injury.

1.5 Usage Notes

Connect only one data cable (USB or eSATA) at a time.
Even if the optional 5V power adapter is not connected, the ON/OFF switch must be in the “ON” position to use the Mercury Elite Pro mini.
For the safe removal of your drive and to ensure that no data is lost, always eject or unmount the corresponding disk(s) from your operating system before powering off. You can use the methods described below to safely unmount your disk(s).

OS X

Drag the icon for the disk you wish to unmount to the trash can; OR
Right-click the disk icon on the desktop, then click “Eject”; OR
Highlight the disk on your Desktop and press Command-E.

Windows

Go to the System Tray (located in the lower right corner of your screen). Click on the ‘Eject’ icon (a small green arrow over a hardware image).
A message will appear, detailing the devices that the ‘Eject’ icon controls, i.e., ‘Safely remove...’ Click on this prompt.
You will then see a message that says, ‘Safe to Remove Hardware.’ It is now safe to disconnect the Mercury Elite Pro Mini from the computer.

Device Setup

2.1 Quick Start

Follow the steps below to use the OWC Drive Guide utility to format your Mercury Elite Pro mini for Mac. If you installed your own drives, please use the formatting method you are most familiar with or use our recommended formatting tips: www.owcdigital.com/format

Connect the Mercury Elite Pro mini to your computer using the proper cable. If you prefer to use a different formatting utility, do so at this time and skip the rest of these instructions.
Your drive will appear as ‘OWC SETUP.’ Double-click the disk icon.
Double-click the OWC Drive Guide application.
Follow the instructions to complete the formatting process.
Once the formatting is finished the drive is ready to use.

2.2 Assembly

Note: These assembly instructions are written for users who purchased the Mercury Elite Pro mini as an empty enclosure. The USB 3.1 Gen 2 / eSATA version is shown, but the steps are the same for the USB 3.1 Gen 1 / eSATA version. The instructions show how to open the enclosure in order to install a drive. If you purchased the Mercury Elite Pro mini with a drive already installed, and you remove the drive before the end of the warranty period, this will VOID the warranty. You may replace the drive after the expiration of the original warranty. You should start with Step 9 in that case and work backwards.

1. Required tools: Phillips PH2 driver — Remove the Mercury Elite Pro mini from its packaging, then use a Phillips driver to remove the two screws shown above.

2. Tilt the Mercury Elite Pro mini to allow the back plate to fall away from the outer enclosure. You may need to push the ON|OFF switch to disengage the ports from the back plate. Once the plate is removed you will see the inner chassis.

3. Push on the inner chassis. It should slide out the front of the outer enclosure. Once there is enough room, pull the front grill until the inner chassis separates from the outer enclosure.

4. Note the SATA connector on the inner chassis (highlighted in yellow). There are also four screw holes circled in red — two through the metal chassis on the right and two through the circuit board and chassis on the left.

5. Place the drive in the inner chassis as shown, then slide the drive into the SATA connector on the circuit board. Make sure the drive is fully seated before proceeding.

6. Use one hand to hold the drive in place, then turn over the inner chassis. Note the four screw holes with rubber grommets, circled in red.

7. To affix the drive to the inner chassis, insert the four screws (included) into the screw holes, then fasten them using a Phillips driver. When this is done, turn over the inner chassis.

8. Align the inner chassis with the guide rails as shown, then slide the inner chassis back into the outer enclosure. Note: be sure to slide the inner chassis into the same side you removed it from 8 9 in Step 3, otherwise the back plate will not sit flush with the enclosure.

9. Seat the back plate as shown and use a Phillips driver to reaffix the two screws that you removed in Step 1.

This completes the assembly process.

Support Resources

3.1 Troubleshooting

Begin your troubleshooting by verifying that both ends of your cable are properly plugged into the computer and the Mercury Elite Pro mini. If the drive is still not working properly, try connecting to another interface. You can also connect the Mercury Elite Pro mini to a different computer. If problems persist, please contact technical support (see below).

3.2 About Data Backup

To ensure that your files are protected and to prevent data loss, we strongly suggest that you keep two copies of your data: one copy on your Mercury Elite Pro mini and a second copy on either your internal drive or another storage medium, such as an optical backup, or on another external storage unit. Any data loss or corruption while using the Mercury Elite Pro mini is the sole responsibility of the user, and under no circumstances may OWC, its parents, partners, affiliates, officers, employees, or agents be held liable for loss of the use of data including compensation of any kind or recovery of the data.

3.3 Online Resources

To access our online knowledge base, please visit: www.owcdigital.com/faq

Changes

The material in this document is for information purposes only and subject to change without notice. While reasonable efforts have been made in the preparation of this document to assure its accuracy, OWC, its parent, partners, affiliates, officers, employees, and agents assume no liability resulting from errors or omissions in this document, or from the use of the information contained herein. OWC reserves the right to make changes or revisions in the product design or the product manual without reservation and without obligation to notify any person of such revisions and changes.

FCC Statement

Warning! Modifications not authorized by the manufacturer may void the user’s authority to operate this device. NOTE: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference with radio or television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures:

Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.
Connect the equipment to an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is connected.

Warranty

The Mercury Elite Pro mini has a 3 Year OWC Limited Warranty if it was bundled with drives. Mercury Elite Pro mini enclosures that do not ship with drives have a 1 Year OWC Limited Warranty. Please visit the web site for details.

Copyrights and Trademarks

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written consent of OWC.

© 2019 Other World Computing, Inc. All rights reserved. Mercury Elite, OWC, and the OWC logo are trademarks of New Concepts Development Corporation, registered in the U.S. and/or other countries. Apple, Mac, macOS and OS X are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the United States and other countries. USB Type-C and USB-C are trademarks of USB Implementers Forum. Microsoft and Windows are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Other marks may be the trademark or registered trademark property of their owners.

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