Using the HP Personal Media Drive in Windows Vista

Using the HP Personal Media Drive in Windows Vista
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In this document:
Inserting the drive into HP computers with a specially designed drive bay
Connecting the drive to a computer without a drive bay
Finding the HP Personal Media Drive in Windows
Installing Drivers and Software
Disconnecting the drive safely
Deleting and creating partitions
Formatting the HP Personal Media Drive
Troubleshooting the HP Personal Media Drive
This document applies to the HP Personal Media Drive when connected to a computer using Windows Vista.
HP Personal Media Drive is an external large capacity hard disk drive designed to store and transfer media files such as digital photos, music, video, and other files.
The HP Personal Media Drive connects and disconnects from a USB 2.0 connector on the front or back of most computers. On some computers, the HP Personal Media Drive fits inside a specifically designed horizontal or vertical drive bay.

CAUTION: Do not set the drive on its side, as it may fall over and cause damage to the drive. Do not set any liquids or drinks on the drive, as spilled liquids can damage the internal electronics. Do not block the airflow around the drive while it is turned on. Do not stack anything on top of the drive, as this can damage or overheat the drive.

CAUTION: Remove the drive from the drive bay before working with recovery, hard drive partitioning, or hard drive formatting software or all data on the Personal Media Drive may be lost.

Inserting the drive into HP computers with a specially designed drive bay
The HP Personal Media Drive is designed to fit into certain specially designed drive bays that include an internal USB port and power cable. The HP Personal Media Drive can be inserted and removed from the hard drive bay without turning off the computer (also called warm swappable).
To insert the HP Personal Media Drive into a specially designed HP computer:


Line up the ridges on the bottom of the drive with the two slots on the correct side of the computer drive bay.
Slide the drive all the way into the drive bay until the drive is firmly connected to the internal power and USB cables. Do not force the drive into the bay; it should slide easily into the bay.
When the computer is turned on, and the drive is inserted correctly, the power LED on the front of the drive is lit.

Connecting the drive to a computer without a drive bay
The HP Personal Media Drive can also be connected as an external hard disk drive using a USB 2.0 cable.
To connect the drive:

Install the software and drivers from the HP Personal Media Drive installation CD.
Plug the round power cable from the power adapter into the back of the HP Personal Media Drive.
Figure 1: Cable connections between a computer, the drive, and a power source
Plug power adapter into the power cable, and then plug the power cable into the wall.
Turn on the computer.
Plug the rectangular end of the USB 2.0 cable into an available USB port on your computer. Plug the square end of the USB 2.0 cable into the USB connector on the back of the drive.

CAUTION: Do not move the computer with the HP Personal Media Drive attached to a USB port. Incorrect handling, such as dropping the drive, can cause data loss and invalidates the warranty.
NOTE: The computer may take several seconds to recognize the HP Personal Media Drive.

Finding the HP Personal Media Drive in Windows
When the drive is connected to a USB 2.0 connector, Windows automatically assigns a hard disk drive letter to it. The assigned letter depends on other storage devices connected to your computer.
To find the HP Personal Media Drive on your computer, do the following:

Click Start , and then click Computer.
Look for the drive labeled HP Personal Media Drive.

NOTE: The default volume label of this drive is HP Personal Media Drive. You can rename the drive by right-clicking the drive, selecting Rename, and then typing a new name. HP recommends renaming the drive if you have more than one HP Personal Media Drive.

Installing Drivers and Software

NOTE: Only install the applications that are compatible with your language and your computer operating system.
To install HP Personal Media Drive drivers and software:

Click Start , click Computer, and then double-click the HP Personal Media Drive icon.
Open the PMD folder.
Double-click HPDI.exe.
Select the items you want to install by placing a check in the check box next to the software.
Click Install, and then follow the onscreen instructions to install the software programs. The programs are installed automatically.
After installing the software, restart the computer.
If available, read the NEWUPDATE file for any updates and changes to the software programs.

Installing Roxio Backup MyPC 7
Some HP Personal Media Drives ship with Sonic Backup MyPC 6, which is not compatible with Windows Vista. Use these steps to download Roxio Backup MyPC 7, which is compatible with Windows Vista:

Go to http://www.hp.com .
Click Software & Driver Downloads.
Make sure that Download drivers and software (and firmware) is selected and then type the following into the Product text field: HP Personal Media Drive.
Click the appropriate link for your HP Personal Media Drive.
Click Microsoft Windows Vista to select Windows Vista as the operating system.
On the Roxio Backup MyPC Application Update page, follow the instructions to install the Roxio Backup MyPC 7 software program.

Disconnecting the drive safely

CAUTION: To avoid hardware damage and data loss, always disconnect your HP Personal Media Drive safely when it is not saving or transferring data. Do not remove any cables or power cords without first properly disconnecting the drive.

Double-click the Safely Remove Hardware icon in the system tray at the bottom of the desktop. The Safely Remove Hardware window opens.
Double-click USB Mass Storage Device. This name may appear differently for some computers.

NOTE: USB Mass Storage Device may be listed more than once. One may be a memory card reader or other mass storage drives. Look for the HP Personal Media Drive label.
Select your device, and then click OK.
A Safe to Remove Hardware message appears letting you know that the device is safe to disconnect.
Click OK, and then click Close.
Disconnect the drive from the computer.

NOTE: If the Safely Remove Hardware function does not allow you to disconnect the drive safely, close all open software programs and documents, and try again.

Deleting and creating partitions
Partitions are allocated hard drive spaces that can appear as drive letters to Windows. A hard drive needs to have at least one partition before you can store files on the hard drive. Do the following to add or delete a partition on the HP Personal Media Drive:

CAUTION: Deleting Partitions on a hard disk drive destroys all data on the drive. If you have data you want to keep, back up the data before deleting the partition.

Click Start , then right-click Computer and select Manage.
The Computer Management window opens.
Click Disk Management (located under Storage).
The available disks display.
Right-click HP Personal Media Drive and select Delete Volume. A confirmation window opens.
Click Yes. The partition on the disk is deleted, and Disk Management shows the disk space as Unallocated.
Right-click the disk and select New Simple Volume.
The New Simple Volume Wizard opens.
Click Next on all the screens to accept the default options. Click Finish to begin creating the partition.
The wizard creates the new partition and formats it. The formatting process may take 30 minutes or more. During formatting the disk status displays as Formatting. When the disk status displays Healthy, formatting is complete.

Formatting the HP Personal Media Drive
Formatting a partition on a drive prepares the space for file writing. Do the following steps to format the HP Personal Media Drive:

CAUTION: Formatting a hard disk drive destroys all data on the drive. If you have data you want to keep, back up the data before formatting the drive.

Click Start , then right-click Computer and select Manage.
The Computer Management window opens.
Click Disk Management (located under Storage).
The available disks display.
Right-click HP Personal Media Drive and select Format.
The Format window opens.
Click OK to accept the defaults.
A confirm window opens. Click OK. The format begins.
The formatting process may take 30 minutes or more. During formatting, the disk status displays as Formatting. When the disk status displays Healthy, formatting is complete.

Troubleshooting the HP Personal Media Drive
Make sure you have the latest Windows service packs and other Windows updates installed on your computer before trying to troubleshoot a drive problem. Service packs are issued to fix bugs, add drivers, and enhance the security features of your system. For more information about how to obtain Updates for Windows refer to the HP support document HP and Compaq PCs - Updating Drivers and Software with Windows Update .
Drive can not be found in Windows
Use the following steps to make the drive appear in Windows.
Click Start , then click Computer after completing each step and check to see if the drive is listed.

Make sure the power adapter is securely plugged into the drive and into a power outlet. If the drive is plugged into a power strip, try plugging it directly into the wall outlet.
Check to see if the drive is on. The power LED on the front of the drive and the light on the power adapter should be lit.
Ensure the USB cable is securely and properly connected to the drive and the USB connector on the computer.

NOTE: Use the cable supplied with the drive. Other cables may not work properly.
While the computer is turned on, unplug the USB cable. Wait 10 seconds and then reconnect the USB cable.
Use Device Manager to see if the USB port is available:

Click Start , and then right-click Computer and select Properties.
The System window opens.
Click Device Manager.
Click the plus (+) next to Disk drives.
If present, double-click HP Personal Media Drive.
Check the status of the device by looking in the Device status area on the General tab.
If these steps fail to make Windows recognize the drive, the USB port is bad or configured incorrectly or the drive is bad.