Installing your new SED with a new Operating System

These instructions will help you start with a new SED and a new computer. In this page, we will:

• Install your SED into your computer
• Install your Operating System
• Install Opal Commander
• Initialize your SED using Opal Commander
• Walk through how to login to you drive in the Pre Boot Authenticator

Install your SED into your computer

If you have an IT department, they can install the SED for you or give you instructions on how to install it into your new PC. If you plan on doing the installation yourself, please make sure you have all the ESD equipment necessary to make the change.

Our SED 30 and 300 NVMe drives use PCIe M.2 connection ports, their form factor is 2280. Carefully remove any existing NVMe drives from your M.2 port and connect the Kanguru SED; securing it down using the existing hardware.

Our SED 300 SATA is a 2.5" drive that will fit into any existing 2.5 inch hard drive space. If you require a 3.5" adapter, please reach out to Kanguru Support or Sales.

Install your Operating System

Because this is a new PC, there is no OS installed on the SED and we need to install one. Our self-encrypting drives are OS agnostic, we can guide you through the 2 different ways for initializing your drive based on your chosen OS.

Windows and popular Linux flavors: Continue to follow this guide.

Run through your designated OS instructions as if this drive was a standard hard disk. The SED does not prevent changes or user access until its security is initialized.

You can use Kanguru’s SEDs as uninitialized drives while you install all the necessary software or make as many hardware changes as needed. When you’re ready to initialize security, continue to “Install Opal Commander”.

Install Opal Commander

The Opal Commander software is available for download here: 

Download Opal Commander

We're going to run through the process on Windows:

NOTE: Make sure you have Administrator level permission when running this installer, afterwards, the application can be run at any permission level.

1. Navigate to the folder you've download the installer into.
2. Double click the Opal_Commander_Setup.exe (usually a version number is applied to the end of the executable name).
3. You will be prompted with an End User License Agreement (EULA), if you agree to the terms listed, choose “I accept the Agreement” and click “Next”.
4. There are additional settings in the next window, you may choose to “Create a desktop shortcut” or “Automatically start Opal Commander” when you login to your operating system. Make your choices and click “Next” to continue.
5. If you are ready to install Opal Commander, select “Install” at the next window.
6. The installation will progress with a loading bar and take you to the last window. You may choose to launch Opal Commander right away or simply click “Finish” to complete the installation process.

You have completed the Opal Commander installation, move onto the next section.

Initialize your SED using Opal Commander

We'll now go through the steps to initialize security on your Kanguru SED.

1. Start Opal Commander by clicking the designated shortcut on your desktop or running the Opal Commander application from your start menu.
2. In the navigation menu on the left, choose the “Security” option.
3. The Security information appears in the right pane of the window.
4. Use the “Select drive” drop menu to choose the drive you would like to initialize security on.
5. Click “Secure Initialization”, the Secure Initialization window will appear.
6. Name the device for the application’s use, as well as create an Administrator Username and Password.
   1. All configuration changes made to the device from now on will require the Administrator Password.
7. Optionally you can create a standard user, this user will be able to lock and unlock the drive but cannot make any settings changes.
8. To make this drive bootable, you'll need to install the PBA or Pre Boot Authenticator. Make sure this box is checked.
   
9. Please be aware, the Secure Boot PBA installation can take up to 30 minutes. This is the most intricate section of the process that will allow a user to login to the device through a Pre-OS Environment. Giving your drive complete encryption at rest with the ability to unlock using simple credentials. The loading screen may sit at 66% for a long duration, that section of the process takes the longest.
   
10. When the installation is completed, the drive will be left in the unlocked state to prevent the OS from crashing during a lock.

Your drive has activated its security, drive is now protected and in the unlocked state. The drive will remain unlocked until you cycle the power. Note: All drives will remain unlocked until locked through Opal Commander or the device is power cycled.