WD Western Data G-Technology G-DRIVE mini User Manual [English Only]
Summary
The G-DRIVE mini is a high-performance portable external storage solution designed for professionals and users needing reliable backup space for large media files and critical documents. This manual serves as your complete guide to safe system integration, covering everything from essential safety precautions (moisture, temperature) to detailed setup instructions for both Mac and Windows platforms. It empowers cross-platform users to easily manage data backups using Time Machine or standard formatting, ensuring maximum portability and peace of mind wherever you go.
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Page 1 Text Content
PRODUCT MANUAL
G DRIVE® High-Speed Portable Drive
g-technology.com
Page Summary Contents For WD Western Data G-Technology G-DRIVE mini User Manual [English Only]
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PRODUCT MANUAL G DRIVE® High-Speed Portable Drive g-technology.com
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G DRIVE® Table of Contents Welcome to G-DRIVE mini Table of Contents Safety & General Use Safety Precautions ................................................... Backup Your Data .....................
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G DRIVE® Safety & General Use • Safety Precautions ......................................... p.4 • Backup Your Data ........................................... p.5
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Safety & General Use G DRIVE® Safety Precautions G-DRIVE® mini’s warranty may be void as a result of the failure to respect the precautions listed here. If you detect a problem with your drive, pl...
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Safety & General Use G DRIVE® Backup Your Data The disk drive contained in your G-DRIVE mini is a delicate electronic instrument and is susceptible to damage due to excessive physical shock. Under...
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G DRIVE® G DRIVE® About Your G-DRIVE mini • Introduction .................................................. p.7 • What’s in the Box ....................................... p.8 • System Requirements .....
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About Your G-DRIVE mini G DRIVE® Introduction Thank you for purchasing the G-DRIVE mini from G-Technology. G-DRIVE mini is the ideal storage solution for people on the go. G-DRIVE mini is a high-perfo...
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About Your G-DRIVE mini G DRIVE® G DRIVE® What’s in the Box The following items are included in the box: • G-DRIVE mini • (1) USB 3.0 cable (backwards compatible with USB 2.0) • (1) Fire Wire® 800 cab...
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About Your G-DRIVE mini G DRIVE® System Requirements G-DRIVE mini supports the folllowing Operating Systems. The drive is set up at the factory for use with Mac OS systems, and formatted as ‘HFS+ with...
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G DRIVE® Using Your Drive on Mac • Easy Installation for Mac .......................... p.11 • Optional Power Adapter .......................... p.11 • Use with Time Machine .............................
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Using Your Drive on Mac®G DRIVE® Easy Installation for Mac G-DRIVE mini easily attaches to your computer via a USB 3.0 or Fire Wire 800 cable. Simply plug one end of the cable into the G-DRIVE mini an...
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Using Your Drive on Mac®G DRIVE® Use with Time Machine G-DRIVE mini works perfectly and easily with Time Machine. Time Machine is an application that ships with your Mac and provides automatic backup ...
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Using Your Drive on Mac®G DRIVE® 3. In the dialog box that appears, select the G-DRIVE mini. Click the Use for Backup button. 4. Make sure the Time Machine switch is set to ON. You can set its options...
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Using Your Drive on Mac®G DRIVE® Disconnect the Drive A great feature of G-DRIVE mini is its ability to be connected and disconnected while your computer is running. To prevent failures and/or data lo...
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G DRIVE® Maintenance for Your Drive • Initialize Drive for Mac ............................... p.16 • Restore the Drive Icon ............................... p.19 • Reformat with Partitions ..............
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Maintenance for Your Drive G DRIVE® G DRIVE® Initialize Drive for Mac G-DRIVE mini was factory-formatted for use or ‘initialized’ for Mac OS. You can reinitialize if you would like to quickly erase th...
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Maintenance for Your Drive G DRIVE® 4. Click the Format pop-up and choose the Format option that you prefer. • Mac OS Extended (Journaled): Use this format if you intend to use the drive for Time Mach...
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Maintenance for Your Drive G DRIVE® G DRIVE® WARNING: THIS NEXT STEP WILL ERASE ALL DATA ON YOUR DRIVE. 6. Click on the Erase button to continue. A progress bar in the lower right corner of the window...
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Maintenance for Your Drive G DRIVE® Restore the Drive Icon If the G-DRIVE mini drive icon was erased during the reinitializing process (see previous section), you can restore the icon with the followi...
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Maintenance for Your Drive G DRIVE® G DRIVE® 4. Select the G-DRIVE mini icon on your desktop and press Command+I. This opens its Get Info window. (below left) 5. Select the default icon in the Get Inf...
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Maintenance for Your Drive G DRIVE® Reformat with Partitions ‘Partitioning’ a hard drive is the process of dividing a hard drive into separate, discrete sections called ‘volumes’. Each volume works li...
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Maintenance for Your Drive G DRIVE® G DRIVE® 2. Select the Fire Wire or USB icon – not the G-Technology drive icon – by clicking it in the left-side column. 3. Click on the Partition button in the mai...
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Maintenance for Your Drive G DRIVE® 5. Click on the first partition in the Volume Scheme area. Your partition will be highlighted by a blue bounding box. • In the Name field, type a name for the parti...
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Maintenance for Your Drive G DRIVE® G DRIVE® 8. Click on the Partition button to continue. A progress bar in the lower right corner of the window will show you the progress of the disk’s reformatting....
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G DRIVE® G DRIVE® Using Your Drive on Windows • Windows Use ................................................. p.26 • Cross Platform Use ...................................... p.27
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Using Your Drive on Windows®G DRIVE® G DRIVE® Windows Use G--DRIVE mini is set up at the factory for use with Mac OS systems. A simple initialization will prepare your drive for use with Windows 10, W...
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Using Your Drive on Windows®G DRIVE® Cross Platform Use You can set up G-DRIVE mini for use on both Windows and Mac system by formatting the drive as ‘FAT32’. To do this, use the Disk Utility applicat...
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Using Your Drive on Windows®G DRIVE® G DRIVE® 4. Select MS-DOS® File System from the Format pop-up menu. This will format to FAT32. NOTE: You may need to rename the drive because FAT32 does not suppor...
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Using Your Drive on Windows®G DRIVE® WARNING: THIS NEXT STEP WILL ERASE ALL DATA ON YOUR DRIVE. 6. Click the Erase button. A progress bar in the lower right corner of the window will show the progress...
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G DRIVE® Support & Warranty • Technical Support ....................................... p.31 • Limited Warranty ......................................... p.32 • Copyright ............................
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Support & Warranty G DRIVE® Technical Support Thank you for purchasing G-DRIVE mini. If you have any comments or questions about this manual or the product, please let us know! G-Technology apprec...
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Support & Warranty G DRIVE® Limited Warranty HGST, a Western Digital Company (“HGST”) Including G-Technology for External Hard Disk Drives What does this limited warranty cover? This Limited Warra...
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Support & Warranty G DRIVE® What must you do? If you are having trouble with a product, before seeking limited warranty service, first follow the troubleshooting procedures that HGST or your resel...
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Support & Warranty G DRIVE® CAPACITY DEFINITION AND DISCLAIMER For G-Technology products 1TB or greater: “One gigabyte (GB) is equal to one billion bytes and one terabyte (TB) equals 1,000 GB (one...
Manual Details
| Brand | Mini |
|---|---|
| Pages | 34 |
| File Size | 1.79 MB |
| Published | May 26, 2026 |
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Frequently Asked Questions
Does this portable drive require an external power adapter to operate?
No, it is bus powered, eliminating the need for a bulky external AC power supply.
What temperature and humidity conditions are safe for storage?
Store it at 5°C to 35°C; avoid damp or wet conditions and direct heat sources.
How should I approach backing up important data using this G-DRIVE mini?
We highly recommend keeping two copies of your data in separate storage locations.
What do I do if the drive stops working or malfunctions?
Do not attempt repairs, as it has no user-serviceable parts; contact Technical Support instead.