Frequently Asked Questions
Does Imation's Media Manager Software have to be installed on each PC I'm using?
Loading the Media Manager software is mandatory when the Imation Odyssey Storage System is to be used with the Microsoft Windows Vista operating system.
Loading the Media Manager software is required on Windows PCs to enable functionality of the eject button on the docking station.
The Media Manager Software is found on the Utilities CD that is included with each Imation Odyssey Storage System. The software is also available for download from Imation.com.
Why does an error message appear saying I must contact an Administrator for more information when I try to install the Media Manager software for my Imation Odyssey System?
In Windows 2000 and XP, you must be logged in as an administrator when you install the Media Manager software.
This is similar to the set up used on many home computers, where parents designate themselves as administrators and create user access for their children in order to prevent the introduction of unwanted software. In corporate and educational settings, most or many users are not administrators.
What should I do after I connect the Imation Odyssey docking station to the USB port?
As soon as the Imation Odyssey docking station is connected to the USB port, the operating system will recognize and initialize the device. Afterwards, the drive will appear as a Removable Disk on the system, and can be used exactly like a hard disk drive. From Windows, to find the Imation Odyssey docking station click on My Computer or Windows Explorer and the Imation Odyssey docking station will appear as an additional drive. Macintosh users will find the drive on their desktop after the media is inserted.
When I power up the Odyssey docking station the LED on the dock flashes green then goes red or just goes out; what is wrong?
A communication error with the dock has most likely occurred. To clear this, just restart the dock by unplugging the dock at the AC outlet & plug it back in again. This should clear the unit & the green light on the eject button will remain on.
The LED on the Odyssey docking station blinks Red for two seconds at power up before turning solid Green. What does this indicate?
This happens if the eject button is pushed while power is applied to the Odyssey docking station. Make sure the eject button is not held in while the unit is being powered up. If this behavior still persists this may indicate that the eject switch could be malfunctioning. Please note that the Odyssey docking station is still functional. The cartridge in the docking station can be ejected from the right-click eject menu of the drive letter under My Computer.
When I plug my USB cable into a front panel USB port on my computer the LED on the docking station stays red and the unit is not recognized.
Front panel USB ports can be incompatible with some USB devices. Plug the USB cable into a back panel USB port of the computer.
When I loaded the Odyssey cartridge into the docking station the LED turned red or went out completely, what is wrong?
During the load process the cartridge most likely did not establish communication with the Odyssey docking station creating a load error. Simply reset the Odyssey docking station by unplugging the unit at the AC outlet & re plugging the unit back in. The cartridge may automatically eject and will need to be reinserted. The LED on the unit will be Green and the cartridge will now be recognized by the host computer.
My cartridge is stuck in the docking station and will not eject, what should be done?
Because the Odyssey docking station is self loading/unloading the easiest and preferred method for cartridge removal is to reset the Odyssey docking station. To do this, simply remove the AC power to the unit by unplugging the unit at the AC outlet. Restore power and the LED on the docking station should be green & the cartridge should automatically eject or will eject after pushing the eject button.
Where does the Imation Odyssey System show up in Windows Explorer?
Within My Computer and Windows Explorer the drive will appear as a removable disk drive for Windows 2000 and Windows XP, with the drive letter designation being the first available drive letter in your folder index after drive C.
Why doesn't a disk icon appear in Windows Explorer?
Possible causes and remedies:
- Windows Explorer has not refreshed after inserting the drive
- Refresh the Windows Explorer by pressing the F5 key
Cable for the Odyssey docking station is not fully inserted into the USB port
Remove the Imation Odyssey cable from the USB port and then reinsert it.
Why don't I see a drive letter for my Imation Odyssey docking station?
In Windows XP, if you have mapped shared or network drives to beginning letters
(i.e., F, G, H), the operating system may fail to assign a drive letter for the
Odyssey docking station. It is best to map all network drives to later drive
letters (i.e., M, N, or O).
To see if the operating system is seeing the drive but attempting to assign it to a drive letter already in use, perform the following steps.
- Click on your Control Panel
- Find the Administrative Tools icon and double click
- Double click on Computer Management
- Double click on Disk Management
- Disk 0 is always the local hard drive; so the Odyssey docking station should appear as Disk 1 or Disk 2 depending on how many hard drives you have, and the assigned drive letter will be visible here*
- If you have to change the drive letter, right click on the appropriate Disk and choose Change Drive Letter and Paths
- Click on the Change button
- Assign a free Drive Letter and click OK
You will get a warning that this may cause some programs to stop running. This could happen if you have scripts directing automated actions to a specific drive letter.
The new drive letter will be assigned and will be seen as the new letter until you reboot the computer or remove the Odyssey docking station from the USB port.
*Note: In the Drive Management program any external drives such as an Odyssey Storage System will been seen in the upper right window, but won't be seen as a logical drive in the lower right window.
Why do I get the message that my Imation Odyssey cartridge is write protected?
Imation's Odyssey cartridges have a write protect switch that prevents the user from accidentally deleting files. To make your cartridge accessible for writing, find the small switch next to the lock symbol located on the contact side of the cartridge. This is the write protect switch. Slide the switch away from the lock symbol, towards to the center of the cartridge. You will now be able to write to the cartridge. To re-engage write protection, slide the switch toward the lock symbol.
Do I need to format my Imation Odyssey Cartridge before using it?
Your Imation Odyssey cartridge comes formatted and ready to use right out of the box.
If you will be using the drive exclusively with Macintosh computers, you should format the Odyssey cartridges in a Mac native format of your choice. NTFS format can be read on Mac OS 10.2 and above.
How do I format my Imation Odyssey cartridges in Mac OS X?
In order to write to an Odyssey cartridge, Mac users must reformat the Odyssey cartridge from the default NTFS format to a native Mac format for first time use.
- Disconnect the Odyssey docking station from the computer.
- Click on GO and open Applications.
- Select Utilities and then open Disk Utilities.
- Reconnect the Odyssey docking station with the cartridge to be formatted inserted and unlocked (write-protection off). The cartridge can only be reformatted if the write-protect switch is in the UNLOCK position.
- Click on the Erase tab and follow the instructions for choosing an appropriate format.
How do I format my Imation Odyssey cartridges in Windows?
Odyssey cartridges are pre-formatted with the NTFS file system. Formatting can be changed to FAT32*. Formatting an Odyssey cartridge will destroy all data files on the cartridge; so users should be certain that all important data are stored somewhere else before reformatting any cartridge.
- Insert a cartridge into the Odyssey docking station.
- In My Computer or Windows Explorer, highlight the Odyssey docking station's drive letter.
- Right click on the drive and select Format. A dialogue box opens up that allows user to reformat the drives or to choose a different format. The cartridge can only be reformatted if the write-protect switch is in the UNLOCK position.
*Note: FAT32 will limit the size of any single file to a maximum of 4GB. This limitation may cause problems with backup software if the entire backup file exceeds 4GB.
When I try to format my Imation Odyssey Cartridge in Windows, NTFS is not listed as an available option in the File system pull-down menu. How can I format my Odyssey Cartridge using the NTFS File system?
To enable NTFS as an available File system option in the pull-down menu, the policies for your Imation Odyssey cartridge must be set to "Optimize for performance".
- Insert a cartridge into the Odyssey docking station.
- In My Computer or Windows Explorer, highlight the Odyssey docking station's drive letter.
- Right click on the drive and select Properties. The Removable Disk
- Properties dialogue box will open up.
- Select the Hardware tab and then select the "Imation Odyssey RHDD USB Device".
- Click the Properties button near the bottom of the dialogue box. The Imation Odyssey RHDD Device Properties box with open up.
- Select the Policies tab in the dialogue box and then select the "Optimize for performance" radio button.
- Click the OK button in the Imation Odyssey RHDD Device Properties dialogue box to exit. Click the OK button again in the Removable Disk Properties dialogue box to exit.
- The NTFS option will now be an available option to select for the File system format. Follow the instructions for formatting Imation Odyssey cartridges in Windows.
Is the Imation Odyssey Storage System backwards compatible with USB 1.1 ports?
Yes. The Odyssey system will work with both USB 1.1 and USB 2.0 ports. Note that USB 1.1 ports will not transfer data as fast as USB 2.0 and may be inadequate for the recording and playback of video information.
Can Imation Odyssey cartridges be infected with a virus?
Imation Odyssey cartridges can be infected with a virus if you save a virus-infected file to the unit. A virus-infected cartridge can then infect any other computer you might use with the cartridge. Avoid this problem by using anti-virus software on your computer and update it regularly with the most recent virus definitions.
Is my Odyssey Storage System compatible with Microsoft Windows Vista?
The current version of the Odyssey Storage System is certified for use with Microsoft Windows 2000, Microsoft Windows 2000/2003 Server and Microsoft Windows XP as well as Apple Mac OS 10.2 or later.
Certification for use with Microsoft Windows Vista is expected to be completed by mid-year 2007. Until Vista certification is complete, loading of the Imation Media Manager software is required when using the Imation Odyssey Storage System with the Microsoft Windows Vista operating system.
The Media Manager Software is found on the Odyssey Resource CD that is included with each Imation Odyssey Storage System. The software will also be available for download from Imation's website soon.
When installing the Retrospect software I'm given several options; What option should be installed?
For your primary host computer you need to install the Retrospect software only.
The Retrospect client needs to be installed in all other computers that will be designated as clients of the host computer. The Retrospect software does not need to be installed in client computers.
Adobe Acrobat Reader needs to be installed on the host computer to view the user's guide which is in a PDF format.
When installing Retrospect on my Microsoft Windows Vista computer the installation abruptly quits.
Retrospect software version (7.5.324) is compatible for use with Microsoft Windows 2000, 2000/2003 Server, Microsoft Windows XP and Apple Mac OS 10.2 or later.
To Install Retrospect software on a Microsoft Windows Vista computer please use Retrospect version (7.5.370). Please contact the Imation help line to obtain this version.
I have questions regarding the EMC Retrospect Backup software.
For questions regarding EMC Retrospect Backup software please visit EMC.
Once I have the Odyssey storage system running on my computer; how can I upgrade to the latest Retrospect software?
Retrospect software will automatically notify the end user of any upgrades and will automatically prompt the end user to upgrade when Retrospect is opened provided you're connected to the internet.
Can I use my existing backup software with Odyssey?
Yes. Odyssey is compatible with all the leading backup applications.
How do I safely shut down the Odyssey storage system?
When shutting down the Odyssey storage system it is important to always remove the Odyssey cartridge from the docking station. The cartridge should only be removed when the system has completed all reading/writing operations to the cartridge. Once this has been achieved we recommend you follow the Microsoft Windows OS guidelines for the safe removal of hardware. This is explained on page 11 of the Odyssey Users’ Guide.