owc mercury helios pcie thunderbolt expansion chassis

Assembly and Users Manual

OWC Mercury Helios PCIeThunderbolt Expansion Chassis

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION 1 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS 1 PACKAGE CONTENTS 2 PORT VIEW 2 ANTI-STATIC HANDLING 3ASSEMBLY 3QUICK SET-UP 10GENERAL USAGE GUIDELINES AND FAQ 15CONTACTING TECHNICAL SUPPORT 18WARRANTY INFORMATION 18

Introduction

System Requirements• IntelMacintoshwithThunderboltport • ThefollowingaretheearliestThunderboltcapablemodels: o MacBookAir(Mid2011) o MacBookPro(Early2011) o MacBookPro(Retina,Mid2012) o MacminiServer(Mid2011) o Macmini(Mid2011) o iMac(Mid2011) • MacOSX10.6.8orlater,including10.7.xand10.8.x • Thunderboltcable(canbepurchasedfromApple) • PCIe2.0expansioncarduptox8(willbelimitedtox4 operation),half-length(up-to6.5”),full-height,single-width, thatiseitherAHCIcompliant(requiresnodrivers)orhas Thunderbolt-awaredrivers.

ForanextensivelistofPCIecardsqualifiedtoworkwithHelios,visit:http://eshop.macsales.com/tech_center/Thunderbolt/PCIe_Compatibility/

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Package Contents

1. Helios2. Powerbrickandcable

Port View

①②

DC Power Thunderbolt Ports PCIe Expansion Slot

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Anti-Static handling

HeliosandPCIecardsarestatic-sensitivedevices.Theyaresusceptibletoinvisibledamageifnotprotectedduringtheassemblyprocess.

Werecommendpropergroundingbyusingagroundingstrap.Makesuretoworkinacleanandstatic-freearea,andavoidwearingclothingthatretainsstaticcharges.

Formoreinformation,pleasevisithttp://www.macsales.com/static

Assembly

1.PlaceHeliosupside-downonasoftsurfacewiththerearfacing you. 2.RemovethetwoPhillipsPH2screwsfromtherearofHelios.

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3.RemovethetwoPhillipsPH2screwsfromthebottomofHelios.

4.TurnHeliosbackoverandplaceitonit’sfeet.Usingyourfingers,pushtheinnerchassisoutoftheouterenclosure.Donotsqueezethesidesoftheenclosurewhiledoingthis.

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5.FlipHeliosoverandorientitasshowninthepicture.

RemovethePhillipsPH2screwfromthePCIeexpansionslot.YouarereadytoinstallyourPCIecard.

6. Note: Only handle the PCIe card by its edges. Never touch the gold contacts or any components on the circuit board.

•OrientyourPCIecardsothebracketistotheleftandthe connectorwithgoldcontactsisfacingawayfromyou.

•LineupthebracketwiththeinsideedgeofHeliosandgently insertthePCIecardintotheslot.

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7.MakesurethePCIecardisfullyseated.

8.ReplacethePCIebracketscrew.Donotfullytightenthescrew.

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CarefullyliftuptheedgeofthecarduntilthebracketisstoppedbythePCIebracketscrew,thenfullytightenthePCIebracketscrew.

9.Slidetheoutercasingbackon.

Alignthescrewholesandreplacethebottomscrews.

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10.Replacethetworearscrews.

11.FlipHeliosoverandplugintheDCpowercableandThunderboltcable.

Note: Helios will only power on when it has DC power and is receiving an ac-tive Thunderbolt signal.

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Note: Your Mac can be on or off when connecting the Thunderbolt cable. If the PCIe card you are connecting needs to poll external devices before being powered on, make sure to connect those devices to the PCIe card before con-necting the Thunderbolt cable.

13.ThepowerLEDonthefrontofHelioswillemitasteadylight whentheDCpowerandThunderboltcablesareconnected andthereisanactiveThunderboltsignal.

12.PlugtheotherendoftheThunderboltcableintoyourMac.

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Quick Set-Up

1.Heliosdoesnotrequiredrivers. 2.ToverifythatyourPCIecardisbeingrecognizedbyyourMac andisworkingcorrectly,youcanlookin“SystemProfiler:(MacOSX10.6”or“SystemInformation”(MacOSX10.7.x/10.8.xorlater):

•ClickontheAppleiconintheupperleft-handcornerofthe screen. •Click“AboutThisMac”.

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•Awindowwillappearonthescreen.Clickon“MoreInfo…”

•IfyourcomputerisrunningMacOSX10.7.xorMacOSX10.8.x, an“AboutThisMac”windowwillappear.Clickon“System Report…”.IfyourcomputerisrunningMacOSX10.6.8,this windowwillnotappear.

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3.Clickon“Thunderbolt”toseeHelios.

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4.Clickon“PCICards”toseethePCIeexpansioncardinstalledinHelios.

Note: If the status of “Tunnel Compatible” (as seen to the right pane above) is “Yes”, your PCIe card will function correctly over Thunderbolt. If your card has a “Tunnel Compatible” status of “No”, check with the card’s manufacturer for a Thunderbolt-aware driver.

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Note: Other information about the PCIe card installed in Helios may be seen in another section. For example, the PCIe card we used in this set-up is the OWC Mercury Accelsior PCI Express SSD. The status of the SSD can be seen under the Serial-ATA section.

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General Usage Guidelines and FAQ

TheOWCMercuryHeliosPCIeThunderboltExpansionChassis: •WillonlypoweronwhenDCpowerandanactiveThunderbolt signalarepresent. •Hasintelligentpowermanagement,allowingittopowerupand downwithyourcomputer. •IsbootablewithAHCIcompliantPCIecards. •Candaisy-chainuptosixThunderboltdevicesandoneMini DisplayPortdisplayattheendofthechain. •Canbus-poweroneThunderboltdevicethatsupportsbus powering. Note: The Thunderbolt bus-powered device has to be the last device on the chain, furthest away from the computer. •CancarryaMiniDisplayPortvideosignal,buttheMini DisplayPortdevicehastobethelastdeviceonthechain,furthest awayfromthecomputer. •Isdriverless;nodriverisneededfortheenclosureitself. Thunderbolt-awaredriversmaybeneededforyourPCIecard. •Ishotpluggable,canbeconnectedanddisconnectedwhilethe computerison.IfanydevicesareconnectedtothePCIecard, makesuretoproperlyremovethembeforedisconnectingHelios.

Q. How do I change the installed PCIe card?

Never remove or install a PCIe card while Helios has either DC power or an active Thunderbolt connection. This is a safety precaution for you, the PCIe card, Helios, and your computer.

1.IfthePCIecardhasanyharddrivesconnectedtoit,makesure toejectorunmountthemproperlybyright-clickingontheicon ontheDesktoporintheSidebarofaFinderwindow,andselect “Eject”. 2.UnplugtheDCpower,Thunderboltcable,andanycables connectedtothePCIecard. 3.Followtheassemblyinstructionsinreversetoremovethe currentlyinstalledPCIecard. 4.FollowtheassemblyinstructionstoinstallthenewPCIecard.

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Q. My PCIe card has lower performance than expected when installed in Helios. •Thunderboltoffersupto10Gb/sbandwidthforPCIe.Thisis morethanenoughbandwidthformostcards.Somecards, however,mayrequiremorethan10Gb/sofbandwidthandmay notoperateatfullspeed.

•ConnectingmultipledevicesinaThunderboltchaincanaffect theoverallperformance.EachdeviceaddedtotheThunderbolt chainwilladdlatencyandreducethebandwidthavailableinthe chain.Higherperformingdevices,suchasHelios,shouldbeas closetothebeginningofthechainaspossible,closesttothe computer. oMoveHeliostothebeginningofthechain,closesttothe computer. oRemoveonedeviceatatimefromtheThunderboltchain tofindthearrangementthatprovidesthebest performanceforyourneeds. Q. I updated to a newer version of OS X and now Helios doesn’t work.

•Heliosisdriverless;nodriverisneededfortheenclosureitself. •PCIecardsthatarenotAHCIcompliantrequireThunderbolt- awaredrivers.ThesemaybebrokenbynewerMacOSXversions. oCheckwiththePCIecard’smanufacturertoverifythe currentdriveriscompatibleorforanupdateddriver beforeupgradingtheMacOSXversion.

Q. I connected the OWC Mercury Helios to my Mac, but it did not power up and is not being seen in System Information.

1.Checkthepoweroutletwithaknown-gooddevicesuchasa lamp. 2.Checktheportonyourcomputertomakesureitisa Thunderboltport.Alsocheckthecableyouareusingtomake sureitisaThunderboltcable.

MiniDisplayPort(MDP)hasthesamephysicalconnectionas Thunderbolt.HelioswillnotworkconnectedtoaMDPportor withaMDPcable.

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AMiniDisplayPortporthasasymbolwithtwoverticalbarssurroundingasquare.

AThunderboltportismarkedwithalightningboltsymbol.

3. ChecktheThunderboltcableendstoseeiftheplugsaredirty, corroded,ordamaged.TryadifferentThunderboltcable.

4. IfHeliosisinaThunderboltchain:

•Checktheotherdevicestoensuretheyareworkingcorrectly. •Alldevicesinthechain,exceptforbus-powereddevices,needto haveactiveDCpower.Ifadeviceinthechainispowered-off,all devicesconnectedafteritwillnotfunction. •MoveHeliostothebeginningofthechain.

•RemoveallotherdevicesinthechainandonlyconnectHelios.

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Contacting Technical Support

Shouldyouneedsupport,therearethreewaystocontactourTechnicalSupportteam:• Email o Youcansubmityouremailrequestat: o http://eshop.macsales.com/Service/ts_email.cfm• Phone o 815-338-8685Option3 o 8AM–8PMCSTMondaythroughFriday o 9AM–4PMCSTSaturday• LiveChat o OWCofferslivetechnicalassistanceat http://eshop.macsales.com/service/livechat o 8AM–8PMCSTMondaythroughFriday o 9AM–4PMCSTSaturday

Before contacting Technical Support, please have the following available: • TheserialnumberofHelios.• Yourinvoicenumber.• Whatoperatingsystemyouareusing.• Whichkindandmodelofcomputeryouareusing.• WhichPCIecard(s)youwanttousewithHelios.

Warranty Information

AllHeliossolutionsincludeanOWC3-YearSolutionWarrantywith48-hourTurnaroundTime.

Forfulldetailsofthewarranty,referto:http://eshop.macsales.com/Service/warranty_info.cfm

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Copyrights:Copyright©2002-2012OtherWorldComputing,Inc.OWCisatrademarkofNewConceptsDevelopmentCorporation,registeredinU.S.PatentandTrademarkOfficeandCanada.

MercuryAccelsior,MercuryHelios,OtherWorldComputingandtheOtherWorldComputinglogoaretrademarksofNewConceptsDevelopmentCorporation.

Mac,theMaclogo,MacOS,MacBookAir,MacBookPro,MacBookProRetina,Macmini,MacminiServer,iMacaretrademarksofAppleInc.,registeredintheU.S.andothercountries.

ThunderboltandtheThunderboltlogoaretrademarksofIntelCorporationintheU.S.and/orothercountries

Othermarksmaybethetrademarkorregisteredtrademarkpropertyoftheirowners.

Changes: Thematerialinthisdocumentisforinformationonlyandsubjecttochangewithoutnotice.Whilereasonableeffortshavebeenmadeinthepreparationofthisdocumenttoassureitsaccuracy,OtherWorldComputingassumesnoliabilityresultingfromerrorsoromissionsinthisdocument,orfromtheuseoftheinformationcontainedherein.OtherWorldComputingre-servestherighttomakechangesorrevisionsintheproductdesignortheproductmanualwithoutreservationandwithoutobligationtonotifyanypersonofsuchrevisionsandchanges.

Health And Safety Precautions:• Useproperanti-staticprecautionswhileperformingtheinstallationofyourPCIecardsintotheOWC MercuryHelios.FailuretodosocancausedamagetoyourPCIecardsand/ortheOWCMercury Helios.• ReadthisAssemblyandUsersGuidecarefully,andfollowthecorrectprocedurewhensettingupthe OWCMercuryHelios.• NeverexposetheOWCMercuryHeliostorain,oruseitnearwater,orindamporwetconditions. NeverplaceobjectscontainingliquidsontheOWCMercuryHelios,astheymayspillintoits openings.Doingsoincreasestheriskofelectricalshock,short-circuiting,fireorpersonalinjury.

General Use Precautions:• DonotexposetheOWCMercuryHeliostotemperaturesoutsidetherangeof5°Cto40°C(41°Fto 104°F).DoingsomaydamagetheenclosureortheinstalledPCIecard.• AvoidplacingtheOWCMercuryHeliosnearasourceofheatorexposingittosunlight(even throughawindow).Conversely,placingtheOWCMercuryHeliosinanenvironmentthatistoocold orhumidmaydamagetheunit.• AlwaysunplugtheOWCMercuryHeliosfromtheelectricaloutletifthereisariskoflightningorifit willbeunusedforanextendedperiodoftime.Otherwise,thereisanincreasedriskofelectrical shock,short-circuitingorfire.• Useonlythepowersupplyshippedwiththedevice.• DonotusetheOWCMercuryHeliosnearotherelectricalappliancessuchastelevisions,radiosor speakers.Doingsomaycauseinterference,whichwilladverselyaffecttheoperationoftheother products.• DonotplaceheavyobjectsontopoftheOWCMercuryHelios.• Ifyoudetectaproblem,consulttheGeneralUsageGuidelinesandFAQsectioninthismanual.• ProtecttheOWCMercuryHeliosfromexcessiveexposuretodustduringuseorstorage.Dustcan buildupinsidetheenclosure,increasingtheriskofdamageormalfunction.• OtherWorldComputingrecommendstheuseofnormalglasscleaningproductstokeepthehigh- lusterfinishatitsfinestwiththisproduct.Besurenottogetanymoistureinsidetheholesandifyou do,allowtimetoairdrybeforeuse.

DonotblocktheventilationoutletsonthefrontorrearoftheOWCMercuryHelios.ThesehelptokeepyourPCIecardcoolduringoperation.BlockingtheventilationoutletsmaycausedamagetoyourPCIecardandcauseanincreasedriskofshort-circuitingorfire

OWCMANHELIOS1 2012-09-14 CMA