SEAGATE STLH500400 Expansion Desktop User Manual

: June 5, 2024
: Seagate

Table of Contents

Box content
Minimum system requirements
Getting Started
Connect to computer
Back up ﬁles
Optional Forming and Parenting
Safely Remove Device From Your Computer
Regulatory Compliance
References
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SEAGATE STLH500400 Expansion Desktop
User Manual

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Welcome

Box content

Seagate Expansion Desktop
18W power adapter
USB 3.0 cable (USB micro-B to USB-A)
Quick start guide

Minimum system requirements

Ports
Use the included cable to connect your Seagate device to a computer with a USB-A port.
This device supports connections to computer ports that are USB 3.0 and higher.
Operating system
Go to Operating System Requirements for Seagate Hardware & Software.

Getting Started

Connect power

Place the adapter plug for your location into the channel on the power supply. Slide it down to lock it in place.
Connect the power cable to Expansion Desktop.
Connect the power supply to a live power outlet.

Connect to computer

Connect the USB micro-B end of the cable to the USB Micro-B port on the Expansion Desktop.
Connect the USB-A end of the cable to your computer’s USB-A port.

You can connect your Seagate device to a USB-C port on your computer. The USB-C port must support USB 3.0 or higher. A USB micro-B to USB-C cable is not included with this device.

Back up ﬁles

Expansion Desktop is ready for use!

How to back up files (Windows)
How to back up files (macOS)

Optional Forming and Parenting

Your device is preformatted exFAT (Extended File Allocation Table) for compatibility with both Mac and Windows computers.
Choosing a ﬁle system format
When choosing a file system format, consider whether compatibility or performance is more important in your everyday use of the drive.

Compatibility— You need a cross-platform format because you connect your drive to both PCs and Macs.
Performance— You connect your drive with only one type of computer, so you can optimize file copy performance by formatting the drive in the native file system for your computer operating system.

Compatibility with both Windows and Macs

exFAT is a lightweight file system compatible with all versions of Windows and modern versions of macOS.

If you use your drive with both PCs and Macs, format your drive in exFAT. While exFAT offers cross-platform access to both computers, keep in mind the following:

exFAT is not compatible or recommended for built-in backup utilities such as File History (Windows) and Time Machine (macOS). If you want to use one of these backup utilities, you should format the drive in the native file system for the computer running the utility.
exFAT is not a journaled file system, which means it can be more susceptible to data corruption when errors occur or the drive is not disconnected properly from the computer.

Optimized performance for Windows

NTFS (New Technology File System) is a proprietary journaling file system for Windows. macOS can read
NTFS volumes, but it can’t natively write to them. This means your Mac can copy files from an NTFS-formatted drive, but it can’t add files to or remove files from the drive. If you need more versatility than this one-way transfer with Macs, consider exFAT.

Optimized performance for macOS

Apple offers two proprietary file systems.
Mac OS Extended (also known as Hierarchical File System Plus or HFS+) is an Apple file system used since 1998 for mechanical and hybrid internal drives. macOS Sierra (version 10.12) and earlier use HFS+ by default.

APFS (Apple File System) is an Apple file system optimized for solid-state drives (SSDs) and flash-based storage systems, though it also works with hard disk drives (HDDs). It was first introduced with the release of macOS High Sierra (version 10.13). APFS can only be read by Macs running High Sierra or later.
When choosing between Apple file systems, consider the following:

Windows cannot natively read or write to APFS or HFS+ volumes. If you need cross-platform compatibility, you should format the drive in exFAT.
If you intend to use your drive with Time Machine:
The default format for macOS Big Sur (version 11) and later is APFS.
The default format for macOS Catalina (version 10.15) and earlier is HFS+.
If you intend to use your drive to move files between Macs running older OS versions, consider formatting your drive in HFS+ rather than APFS.
macOS file systems and Android: Formatting your drive for macOS may not be supported with connections to Android mobile devices.

Learn more
For additional considerations when choosing a file system format, see File System Format Comparisons.
Forming instructions
For instructions on formatting your drive, see How to format your drive.

Safely Remove Device From Your Computer

Always eject a storage drive from your computer before physically disconnecting it. Your computer must perform filing and housekeeping operations on the drive before it is removed. Therefore, if you unplug the drive without using the operating system’s software, your files can become corrupt or damaged.

Windows
Use the Safely Remove tool to eject a device.

Click the Safely Remove Hardware icon in your Windows System Tray to view the devices you can eject.
If you don’t see the Safely Remove Hardware icon, click the Show hidden icons arrow in the system tray to display all icons in the notification area.
In the list of devices, choose the device you want to eject. Windows displays a notification when it is safe to remove the device.
Disconnect the device from the computer.

Mac
There are several ways you can eject your device from a Mac. See below for two options.
Eject via Finder window

Open a Finder window.
On the sidebar, go to Devices and locate the drive you want to eject. Click the eject symbol to the right of the drive name.
Once the device disappears from the sidebar or, the Finder window closes, you can disconnect the interface cable from your Mac.

Eject via Desktop

Select the desktop icon for your device and drag it to the Trash.
When the device icon is no longer visible on your desktop, you can physically disconnect the device from your Mac.

Regulatory Compliance

Product Name	Seagate Expansion Desktop
Regulatory Model Number	SRD0NF2

China RoHS

China RoHS 2 refers to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology
Order No. 32, effective July 1, 2016, titled Management Methods for the Restriction of the Use of Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Products. To comply with China RoHS 2, we determined this product’s Environmental Protection Use Period (EPUP) to be 20 years in accordance with the Marking for the Restricted Use of Hazardous Substances in Electronic and Electrical Products, SJT 11364-2014.
Taiwan RoHS
Taiwan RoHS refers to the Taiwan Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection’s (BSMI’s) requirements in standard CNS 15663, Guidance to the reduction of the restricted chemical substances in electrical and electronic equipment. Beginning on January 1, 2018, Seagate products must comply with the “Marking of presence” requirements in Section 5 of CNS 15663. This product is Taiwan RoHS compliant. The following table meets the Section 5 “Marking of presence” requirements.