LaCie hard drives are ideal for professionals and home users, and for various applications such as databases, desktop publishing, digital content creation and digital audio/video. Other applications include pre-press, archiving, local backup, data exchange and additional storage.LaCie's d2 design features a sturdy aluminum case designed to enhance portability, durability, and appearance. Arrange them vertically on the desktop, horizontally stacked in a desk rack, or mounted in standard 19" racks with other devices. LaCie hard drives are hot-pluggable, allowing for connecting and disconnecting while the computer is running. Compatible with Mac OS and Windows, these drives enable simple cross-platform data sharing and exchange among workstations. Fast transfer rates provide throughput necessary for demanding applications like audio, video and digital imaging.
LaCie hard drives are ideal for professionals and home users, and for various applications such as databases, desktop publishing, digital content creation, and digital audio/video. Other applications include prepress, archiving, local backup, data exchange, and additional storage.
The new d2 design features a sturdy aluminum case designed to enhance portability, durability, and appearance. Arrange them vertically on the desktop, horizontally stacked in a desk rack, or mounted in standard 19-inch racks with other devices.
LaCie hard drives are hot-pluggable, allowing for connecting and disconnecting while the computer is running. Compatible with Mac OS and Windows, these drives enable simple cross-platform data sharing and exchange among workstations.
Transfer rates of up to 400 Mbits/sec provide throughput necessary for demanding applications like audio, video, and digital imaging.
This drive is compatible with Windows 98 SE, 2000, Me, and XP, as well as Mac OS 8.6, 9.x, 10.1.x, and later. A FireWire port is required to use this drive.
1 Great drive - just dont use it to store data
This was my fourth and possibly last LaCie drive.
Loved the spec, size, footprint, speed and yes its fairly quiet.
Unfortunatley however, and mine is not the first story, the drive is rather inept at actually storing data.
The drive was partitioned into two drives and worked well untill it started not opening folders. Instead it returned error 'unformatted drive' messages. This then spread to the whole of one drive before the next.
From reading other reviews the problem is the power down which wrecks the drive. Nice.
2 Absolutely the Best
I purchased the 160 GB version of this drive (Iomega mechanism), plugged it in and went to work. The drive spins down on sleep with my iMac, comes back up immediately on hitting any key or moving the mouse, and is quieter than the iMac itself. I read one review by someone who also took a stab at Mac users in general in which it was noted that the Lacie operated hot (it does - the aluminum shell dissipates heat, as intended), and overheated overnight because it wouldn't sleep with the computer. Obviously, this is a Windows problem, not a Lacie problem. Consider the source. Another review mentioned noise - no such problem here (with the Iomega mechanism, anyway). It's also wicked fast, much faster than the Que 80 gig it replaced.
All in all, couldn't be happier.
3 Excellent drive, great customer service
I have been using this drive for more than a year now. It's actually a replacement for the same model, since the first one died on me as a result of OS X's sleep mode feature. In fact, I have had other LaCie drives in the past that never failed. Although I'm aware of the fact that hard drives can fail at any given point in time, a LaCie drive has never failed on me as a result of the company's own manufacturing quality. Having said this, I recommend that while you have any firewire drive (any brand whatsoever) connected to your computer, don't put the CPU to sleep (just the drive and the screen, not the entire system). A short spike in current shoots through the FireWire connection on wakeup, which eventually will damage your external hard drive.
I am very pleased with LaCie. The drive works beautifully for backup and videoediting alike. Also, the company's customer service quickly sent me a replacement drive as the original was still under warranty. Since I don't put my CPU to sleep anymore, no problems with the drive whatsoever. A solid drive at a good price for anyone who needs to rely on their backup data.
4 Loud.
I purchased this hard drive because of its space-saving design, tasteful casing, and storage capacity. Unfortunately, however, after I got it out of the box, attached, and working (which, as it's Apple-friendly, was as easy and simple as all the other reviews say it is) its operating noise was so piercing and annoying I eventually unplugged it, packed it back up and ate my $17.49 restocking fee. Not that everyone might be bothered by such a minor technical issue as this, but paired with a virtually silent 20" iMac, the run noise of this hard drive made me feel like I was using a 7500 all over again.
5 Big Disc Does Not Work with either my Dell or Sony
I recently purchased the 120 GB version D2 with firewire connection. It does not work with my Windows XP Pro on either my Sony or my Dell laptops. The quick connect guide was useless, and the manual gives no useful advice. The online help is not applicable. The technical support phone is either busy or I give up waiting on the phone. I have sent two emails requesting help without any response other than the auto-response.
In general, I have been very happy with Lacie products in the past, I have purchased other equipment with no problem. However, this time is different.
6 Great Hand Warmer
I have a client running 8 of these drives by La Cie and they have replaced 6 of them within 1 year of purchase. They are not designed to be left running 24/7 because they overheat. My client has lost years worth of data due to the failure rate. What's with using Firewire still anyway? Get a FN clue La Cie and put a fan inside and lose the firewire, fricken MAC lovers.
7 Check your cable...B4 connecting with SONY i.Link
I bought the hard drive from amazon.com and a firewire 6-pin to 4-pin cable from eBay. I hook up the cable through i.Link port of my laptop. At the time,my computer couldn't detect the hard drive. Later, I found out the problem and then bought a new cable (Belkin #F3N401-03-ICE). Now, I can use the drive without any problems. I use the hard drive with my laptop,SONY FG-430, through S400 i.Link port OS/Windows 98SE. The drive works great. The process of installation with Windows OS is a little bit complicated. That's all...I can complain about.
8 excellent tech support for an excellent product
I had some question about the drive. The tech support answered the phone - yes a real person - and was very professionnal. It is nice to buy a rugged product and have a solid tech support. I was amazed when they told me that the product was built on Oregon. It is even nicer than a cool mac designed in Cuppertino but made in 10000 miles away.
I wanted to know more about it and tested the external drive against my internal hd. The Lacie external product was faster. How can it be ? I need to call them again.
9 Excellent support
I like the drive but more important, I loved the support when I needed it. Keep the good job.
10 Couldn't ask for more!
The other reviews pretty much say what needs to be said about this drive. I will add that the drive works flawlessly with the new Mac OS 10.3 (Panther).
11 Looks and works great
Installation (XP Home) was a cinch. I've had this for a month and have experienced no problems. Its main use is to back up a laptop in its entirety once a week, so it doesn't go through very rigorous paces. No comment on the back-up software included with this drive because I haven't used it. I already had software that I trusted and hesitated to change since it was unnecessary.
Aesthetically pleasing hard drive, seems well-built (love the metal case), has a pretty small footprint, and does what I need. I didn't give it 5 stars, though, because I'm cheap as hell and wished that it cost a little less that it did. However, if and when I'll need another hard drive I'd buy this one again.
12 Back up your data if it's new!
The LaCie installation was a breeze...no problems at all. I loved it! It worked great for 30 days and then it crashed. It took 3 days before I heard from technical support which gave the standard "mail it to us" speech. I called customer service who offered to have FedEx pick it up at my door; therefore, saving my expense on shipping, but they would not pay for data recovery. The CS rep. kept saying that the warranty states LaCie doesn't pay for data recovery. Would have been nice to see that on the outside of the box instead of on the warranty info on the CD inside the box.
Since the hard drive was brand new, I hadn't had the chance to backup all of my data. I had some work files on the hard drive that I didn't want to lose, but decided it was not worth my expense to have it retrieved and hoped that I would never need it. I decided to contact the Apple store where I bought the LaCie. They were fabulous and did an exchange because I had the original box. (Another good reason to keep the original packing.) They would have refunded my money if I wanted to, but two sales reps. at the store insisted that LaCie was a good product. By the way, Amazon's price is a little cheaper than Apple.
I accept that products will break because sometimes there are lemons; however, a company should immediately offer their services and apologies for something that breaks so quickly after purchase. LaCie's response seemed too rehearsed.
You will notice that some of the negative comments posted show that the hard drive either works great or immediately crashes. You decide what you want to do. I will give them one more try, but I will distrusting for awhile.
13 Poor quality - no response from support - 1 star for support
I bought one of these to move video editing stuff between my Win2000 PC and my WinXP laptop. The drive arrived quickly and installed under both operating systems in minutes. Excellent install instructions. Very good quality of the enclosure. I felt I had made a very good choice. Apparently not.
I used the drive for two days, and then it died - none of the PCs could find the drive when I plugget it in.
I sent a request to support at LaCie, they never responded at all. Not a single word. Not even an autoresponse that my question had been received.
Since I had data on the disk I didn't want to lose, and the support site said that all data would be erased, I decided not to send the drive to LaCie support. Assuming that the drive was fine but the FireWire to IDE card was hosed, I broke the seal, removed the HD and installed it as an internal drive in my PC. This worked like a charm, but now my warranty is gone.
What was I left with - a very expensive harddrive and a need to buy a new enclosure for it.
Due to the absolute silence from LaCie support I will never du business with LaCie again. I can accept that stuff breaks, it may have been a stroke of bad luck, but I do expect support to respond to questions.
14 Avoid at all cost
absolutely awful. Do not buy if you have a PC, comes with no software to allow you to backup your data, the tech support insisted that it is sold solely as an external hard drive. none-the-less they do have software for scheduled back-up for MACs. why? who knows.
the drive itself vibrates so strongly that i had to take it off my desk.
15 Quick and easy
I just pluged everything in and started right up. I didn't even look at the instructions. I am using an apple, and I don't know if you need to reformat it for PC. That could take a little while.
Now I am using using it with eyetv (like tivo for mac) from elgato (http://www.elgato.com/) as a media drive to store my tv recordings (300Meg a peice). I just chose for it to store stuff in /Volumes/MediaDriveName/EyeTV. I am also going to use it for all of my music storage.
This is a heavy duty product. I was expecting a light cheap plastic frame, insted it has a heavy steel casing. It is small, but feels like a brick. Definately a good choice for people that want something that takes a beating. It has an easy to attach base and plenty of little rubber things to keep it from scratching any delicate surfaces.
16 For techies and Mac lovers
If you are looking for something simple that is as easy as most things for Windows XP, look elsewhere. Notice that most of these reviews are from Mac users.
On the PC side, there is no 'easy' install, like is being claimed here. Yes, as a geek, I figured it out, but it was not for the normal people out there. You have to follow instructions! Worse, the instructions aren't easy to find. You have to know to search for the manual on the disk.
No compatible software!
Even though it mentions that it's 'compatible' with all the operating systems (it is), the software that comes with it for backups.... does not work on XP. So, that leaves you with a hard drive that you need to know how to install.
If you are looking for something simple, this is NOT it. My low rating is based on installation and setup. I am not knocking it, but want you all to be cautious if you're not a geek or Mac Addict.
17 Perfect!! AND Mac OS X friendly
No kidding - from the box to first successful backup took 5 minutes. This baby is perfect. Connect the firewire and power cables, and Mac OSX does the rest. It even drops a cool looking icon on the desktop that looks like the d2 drive. I used the beta version of Backup 2.0 (a .MAC application) and backed up my 30 GB iTunes library in no time. Before buying, I read the reviews on this site and read some magazine reviews, all of which were glowing. They were right; 120 GB is a lot of storage for the money. This product is a "no muss, no fuss" storage solution and works beautifully. Get this drive, you won't be disappointed.
18 THIS HARD DRIVE ROCKS!!!
I highly recommend the La Cie d2 hard drive. I bought the 120GB model to back up my critically important files from my Dell Latitude C400 laptop (many Gigs worth) as well as my Outlook emails and contacts (About another Gig worth). I bought a PCMCIA-to-Firewire converter card so that I could take advantage of La Cie's Firewire connection and easily connect the external hard drive to my laptop. Then I popped in the CD which came with the La Cie hard drive and followed the instructions on how to format the new hard drive for Windows 2000 machines (I know nothing about formatting hard drives by the way). It was easy but the formatting took about an hour. But it was basically automatic. Then when that was finished, I just opened up Windows Explorer and copied my "My Documents" folder and pasted it on the new drive letter that represented the La Cie hard drive. It took about 15 minutes and it was a snap. I am sooooo delighted that I bought this hard drive that I am planning to buy another one for my Mac. Anyway, BUY THE LA CIE d2 HARD DRIVE. It works great, is easy to hook up and it won't let you down. Oh and by the way, it looks very cool too.
19 Reliable and fast
I purchased this drive from an Apple store last year. Originally, it had a problem restarting after waking my Powerbook from sleep mode. At first I thought that it was a problem with OS 9, but I decided to contact LaCie's technical support anyway. They told me that some of the first shipment drives had a problem with a faulty board inside the casing. LaCie's tech support arranged to have the drive shipped back and repaired at no cost to me. Within a few days, I had my new drive repaired. It has been working perfectly ever since. When I upgraded to OS 10.2, the drive still worked perfectly. It is very easy to install and it is very fast and reliable. I use it mainly for recording audio, which requires speed and data integrity. The design of the case matches perfectly with my powerbook and is very compact and extremely solid. Although it is very quiet, it does make a soft, high-pitched whine while running, which can pick up in audio recording situations.
20 Ipod killed my hard drive
I have an 800 mhz ibook with an external 120gb LaCie hard drive that HAD 85gb of music on it (1,016 albums). When I daisy chained my shiny new ipod to the port on the back of the LaCie, it caused a power surge that destroyed the directories on the hard drive and I now have to rip all my CD's again. Please don't point out I should have had a back up hard drive. I am in enough pain as it is.
I called LaCie, who said "Oh yeah, very rarely this could happen"
I bought a fire wire hub to kep this from happening again as well as another hard drive for back up. For what it's worth, my new back up is a LaCie, so no hard feelings, but if this happens again........
21 Fast, inexpensive and painless
I work with PCs for a living: when I get home, I use Macintosh for pleasure. Products like the LaCie firewire drives only make my life happier. What can I say about an installation process which consists of:
1) Plug the drive into your Mac's Firewire port;
2) Plug the drive into a surge protector;
3) Turn it on.
Aesthetically, it goes well with my PowerMac; it's slender, with nice curved lines, and it doesn't take up a lot of desktop space. I'd recommend it to any Mac user -- or any PC user with a Firewire port. (If you spent enough money to buy a Firewire-ready PC, you should have bought a Mac anyway... but I digress).
Bottom line -- buy this product. It's some of the most cost-effective, easy-to-implement storage you're likely to find.
22 Fast, Quiet, Sturdy, Elegant
On a Mac running OS X this drive is a breeze and a joy. Attach the base (if you are going to use it in a vertical position), plug in the power supply, plug in the firewire connectors, and there it is on your desktop. It is quick, relatively quiet, has a sturdy case, and it looks good next to my G4 Cube. I can't imagine a product meeting my needs -- storing photos, doing backups for our 4 Macs, holding music -- any better than this. I have owned LaCie products before and have never had a problem with one.
23 Great drive, but early crash
This is a very good drive for the money, if only it would last a bit longer. While it was working (it crashed after just five months of very light usage), it copied files very fast, gave great access to video and was always available without a glitch. Even though any hard drive can crash at any point in time, I expect better from LaCie. They are currently working on getting a replacement, but of course I lost all the backup data, something I had the drive for in the first place.
24 Great product
I have purchased three of these over the last 3 months, and all are working flawlessly. At the end of the day, most external hard drives work the same, so for me it's about design, price, warranty, etc. LaCie's drives exceed all of the standards, and the company has great tech support to boot. I called to get some info on setting up a RAID, and the person on the phone was very knowledgeable.
25 I would never order a LaCie product again
I own several of these drives, but I would never buy another product from LaCie again. I ordered directly from the company. When I didn't receive notice that the drive had shipped, I emailed the company. The reply I received from the company was shocking. It was an email making fun of my name, and how funny it is when you glance at it. It was then followed by another email stating they weren't laughing at my name, but merely commenting on it. This is unprofessional and immature. LaCie has lost me as a customer forever. I ended up purchasing the Maxtor 5000 dv. The Maxtor drive works better, and is a better value. From now on I am sticking with Maxtor, they don't insult their customers.
26 This thing rocks
I use mine to transfer video footage between a Power Mac G4 and an iMac G3 for use on FInal Cut Pro. It works without a hitch. You don't even have to turn it on because it does it for you when you connect the firewire to your computer. It's solid too. I haven't done it yet, but I bet you could drop it on cement and it would still work. I wouldn't try it either, but I bet it could take it.
27 Slick as can be!
It doesn't get any easier. A transparent, reliable and hot-swap by design hard drive that serves any OS that supports the IEE 1394 "firewire" six-pin standard.
Fast, fast, fast backups are what this drive does for my PC, Mac & Linux boxes and laptops.
I would have a hard time beating this drive, but the fine folks at the La Cie designed these drives to permit RAID arrays to be daisy-chained and set up right from the box. Buy five and create your own RAID 5 array. Nothing could be easier to do . . .though RAID 5 was once the private turf of the hardware professionals.
This drive has it all: speed, construction, MTBF (great reputation & warranty), ease of use, ease of implementation and tremendous versatility in supported OS and array formats.
28 Best external enclosure you will come across!
I purchased the old LaCie external HD a long time ago with no problems. This year I added the new D2 case when I needed more space.
The aluminum enclosure is very classy. It's small and very quiet. There is no internal fan and power supply, which avoids noise and heat build-up. The case itself dissipates heat from the hard drive. Some people find the external power source a disappointment, which is baffling to me. It helps reduce the extra weight. If there is something wrong with the power supply, then at least you can easily replace it without opening the case. It comes with a very heavy metal stand which one should connect when being used alone. It is not needed when adding to another D2 unit for stacking.
I use these hard drives for DV editing in my Mac. I have never come across with any bad sectors or problems, whatsoever (knock on wood). To be fair, LaCie does not manufacture the hard disks, they only make the [cool] enclosures.
I have to be honest, I was disappointed with their old enclosures which were very much plastic and came with poor quality. I also have an external CD-R/RW from LaCie in the old design and it did not stack up well with my old LaCie hard drive. Moreover, both were very noisy. They were only recommended by professionals, that's why I made the purchase.
Now they solved the problem with these great D2 cases. You won't believe how quiet and sturdy these enclosures are. It looks unbreakable and expensive. A must have especially if you were to own one type of external case.
29 An easy to use storage solution
I have an Apple Powerbook with a 12GB hard drive. When I bought the laptop, I had no intention of using it to store music or to edit videos. Up until three months ago, I was still running OS 9.2 Two months ago, I decided that I didn't want to compromise on my home movies, and I certainly didn't want to give up any of the music on my computer.
I purchased this drive, and I have been totally impressed ever since. The drive is quiet, it transfers information quickly, and it's energy control is very efficent.
Unlike other users, I haven't had a need to daisy chain two of these together yet, but it sure wouldn't be a problem. My external CD burner is hooked up to this drive and it works flawlessly.
30 Cheap, fast and reliable storage
I could not afford the 500GB storage spaces and I needed about that much for my CD collection.
So, I bought a bunch of these chaining them together. They are wonderful, quiet work horses who will not give up on you. Plug and play. That is how easy they are to use.
They are attractive enough that they can sit next to your sound system and still look good and god bless them they are really cheap.
