LaCie Big Disk User Manual
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LaCie Big Disk User Manual

LaCie Big Disk User Manual

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  • Page 1: How To Use This Manual

    LaCie Big Disk User’s Manual How to Use This Manual page i How to Use This Manual In the toolbar: Previous Page / Next Page Go to Previous View / Go to Next View Go to Contents Page / Go to Precautions Page On the page: Click on the text within the Contents page to jump to information on that topic.
  • Page 2 LaCie assumes no liability resulting from errors or omis- sions in this document, or from the use of the information contained herein. LaCie reserves the right to make changes or revi- sions in the product design or the product manual without reservation and without obligation to notify any person of such revisions and changes.
  • Page 3 This Class A digital apparatus meets all requirements of the Canadian Interference-Causing Equipment Regulations. Manufacturer’s Declaration for CE Certification We, LaCie, solemnly declare that this product conforms to the following European standards: Class B EN60950, EN55022, EN50082-1, EN61000-3-2 With reference to the following conditions:...

  • Page 4: Health And Safety Precautions

    Your hard drive contains no user-serviceable parts. If it appears to be malfunctioning, have it inspected by a qualified LaCie Technical Support representative. • Never expose your device to rain, or use it near water, or in damp or wet conditions. Never place objects containing liq- uids on the drive, as they may spill into its openings.

  • Page 5: Table Of Contents

    1.1. Icons Used in This Manual 1.2. What Is FireWire? 1.3. What Is USB 2.0? 1.4. LaCie Storage Utilities Software 2. Getting To Know Your LaCie Big Disk 2.1. Minimum System Requirements 2.2. LaCie Big Disk – Views 2.3. FireWire Cables And Connectors 2.4.
  • Page 6 LaCie Big Disk User’s Manual Table of Contents page 5 5. Technical Information 5.1. User Advice When Using FireWire 5.2. User Advice When Using USB 2.0 5.3. Data Transfers 5.4. Available Storage Capacity 5.5. FAT 32 vs. NTFS 5.6. Mac OS Standard vs. Mac OS Extended 5.7.

  • Page 7: Introduction

    Macs and PCs. The LaCie Big Disk was designed to allow you to use your desk-space efficiently – included with your LaCie Big Disk is a drive stand, so you can stand the drive vertically, freeing up even more valuable space. Engineered to be rack mountable, you can quickly and easily integrate the LaCie drive into your standard 19-inch computer equipment racks using the LaCie rackmount kit (sold separately).

  • Page 8: What Is Firewire

    Manual Updates LaCie is constantly striving to give you the most up-to-date, comprehensive User’s Manuals available on the market. It is our goal to provide you with a friendly, easy-to-use format that will help you quickly install and utilize the many functions of your new device.

  • Page 9: Lacie Storage Utilities Software

    1.4. LaCie Storage Utilities Software The LaCie Storage Utilities CD is a hybrid CD-ROM that has the Mac version, Silverlining Pro and SilverKeeper, and the PC version, Silverlining 98, on the same CD. Mac users will be able to only view and use the Mac portion, and PC users will be able to only view and use the PC version.

  • Page 10: Getting To Know Your Lacie Big Disk

    LaCie Big Disk User’s Manual Getting To Know Your LaCie Big Disk page 9 2. Getting To Know Your LaCie Big Disk What can your external hard drive system do? • Store and exchange data between several computers. • Back up your computers’ internal hard drive.

  • Page 11: Lacie Big Disk - Views

    6 – Serial Number Sticker This is where you will find your LaCie drive's serial number. Write down the serial number and keep it in a safe place, because you will need to provide the number in the event you have to call LaCie Technical Support for any reason in regards...

  • Page 12: Firewire Cables And Connectors

    LaCie drive to a laptop, you will need to purchase a 9-to-4-pin cable. Important Note: If the cable supplied with the LaCie drive does not meet your requirements, please contact your computer supply specialist. 2.4. USB Cables And Connectors Your LaCie drive is shipped with a USB 2.0-certified USB cable, to ensure maximum data...

  • Page 13: Setting Up Your Lacie Big Disk

    You may use your LaCie drive when in a foreign country, thanks to its auto-switching 100-240 Volt Important Note: power supply. To be able to use this feature, you may need to purchase an appropriate adapter. Consult LaCie Technical Support for assistance in choosing the right adapter. LaCie accepts no responsibility for any damage to the drive resulting from the use of an inappropriate adapter.

  • Page 14: Windows 2000 And Windows Xp

    3) Connect the other end of the 9-pin FireWire 800 cable into an available FireWire 800 port on your computer. 4) Your LaCie Big Disk will now be ready for use. Now you will be able to format and partition the drive to suit your needs.
  • Page 15 2) Connect the 9-pin end of the FireWire bilingual cable into the FireWire 800 port on the back of the LaCie Big Disk. 3) Connect the 6-pin end of the FireWire bilingual cable into an available FireWire 400 port on your computer.

  • Page 16: Windows 98Se, Windows Me, Windows 2000 And Windows Xp

    3) Connect the 6-pin end of the FireWire bilingual cable into an available FireWire 400 port on your computer. 4) Your LaCie Big Disk will now be ready for use. Now you will be able to format and partition the drive to suit your needs.

  • Page 17: Mac Os

    To achieve USB 2.0 speeds, you will need to purchase a third-party USB 2.0 host interface PCI card. Otherwise, you will be limited to USB 1.1 speeds. 4) Your LaCie Big Disk will now be ready for use. You can then use the formatting and partitioning capabilities in Silverlining...

  • Page 18: Windows Me, Windows 2000 And Windows Xp

    3) Connect the other end of the USB 2.0 cable into an available USB port on your computer. 4) Your LaCie Big Disk will now be ready for use. Now you will be able to format and partition the drive to suit your needs.

  • Page 19: Disconnecting Your Lacie Big Disk

    LaCie Big Disk User’s Manual Setting Up Your LaCie Big Disk page 18 slows down the transfer rate by lengthening the path of the signal. To optimize performance, connect your drive directly to one of the built-in ports in your computer.

  • Page 20: Attaching The Drive Stand

    2) From the rear of the drive, separate the two rails and slide the larger stand rail into the side groove of your LaCie drive as shown below: 3) Slide the stand forward until its rail touches the front of the drive.

  • Page 21: Formatting And Partitioning Your Lacie Big Disk

    20 4. Formatting And Partitioning Your LaCie Big Disk Once you have set-up your LaCie Big Disk, you can reformat or partition it to suit your needs. 4.1. Mac Users • Mac OS 8.6 and 9.x – Install and use LaCie Silverlining Pro, which is included with your drive.

  • Page 22: Windows Users

    4.2. Windows Users • Windows 98 SE and Me – Install and use LaCie Silverlining 98, which is included with your drive. • Windows 2000 and XP – Use the Disk Management Utility, which is native to the operating system.
  • Page 23 LaCie Big Disk User’s Manual Formattng And Partitioning Your LaCie Big Disk page 22 5) Windows will list the new drive(s) attached. If you are formatting a single drive, only one drive should be visible. Select the checkbox next to the drive and click Next.

  • Page 24: Formatting And Partitioning Using Windows 98Se And Windows Me

    LaCie Big Disk User’s Manual Formattng And Partitioning Your LaCie Big Disk page 23 4.2.2. Formatting And Partitioning Using Windows 98 SE And Windows Me Important Note: If you want to create a new partition and format the drive, you should install and use Silverlining 98.

  • Page 25: Technical Information

    Power Save The LaCie Big Disk manages power consumption. If the system’s power save feature supports it, the drive will spin down dur- ing the power save mode. After the system comes out of power save, the drive will take a few seconds to spin up to full power before it can be accessed.

  • Page 26: Data Transfers

    1) Make sure that the USB or FireWire cable is connected tightly and securely on both ends of the cable, from the drive to the computer. If you are using a USB or FireWire cable other than the one supplied with your LaCie drive, check that your USB or FireWire cable is properly certified.

  • Page 27: Available Storage Capacity

    LaCie Big Disk User’s Manual Technical Information page 26 5.4. Available Storage Capacity A gigabyte (GB) means 1,000,000,000 bytes. In order to utilize a hard disk drive, it has to be formatted first. Formatting a disk consists of the following: the operating system erases all of the bookkeeping information on the disk, tests the disk to make sure that all of the sectors are reliable, marks bad sectors (i.e., those that are scratched) and creates internal address...

  • Page 28: Mac Os Standard Vs. Mac Os Extended

    LaCie Big Disk User’s Manual Technical Information page 27 5.6. Mac OS Standard vs. Mac OS Extended There are basically two file systems for the Mac OS: Mac OS Standard (HFS) and Mac OS Extended (HFS+). Mac OS Standard Mac OS Standard refers to the file system used by Mac OS 8.0 and earlier. This was the original Hierarchical File System employed by Apple, and was used before computers really began to see dramatic increases in hard disk drive sizes.
  • Page 29 If your computer is equipped with a USB 1.1 port and a FireWire port, you will get noticeably better performance by using the FireWire connection. Even though your LaCie drive comes with a USB 2.0 cable and interface, by connecting through the USB 1.1 port, the drive will be limited to USB 1.1 speeds and performance.

  • Page 30: Troubleshooting

    6. Troubleshooting In the event that your LaCie Big Disk is not working correctly, please refer to the following checklist to find out where the prob- lem is coming from. If you have gone through all of the points on the checklist and your drive is still not working correctly, please have a look at the FAQs that are regularly published on our Web site –...
  • Page 31 LaCie Big Disk User’s Manual Troubleshooting page 30 The Problem Questions to Ask Possible Solutions The drive is not recognized. Are the USB or FireWire drivers installed Windows 98 SE & Me Users: Go to correctly and enabled? Start > Settings > Control Panel > System >...
  • Page 32 Did you get an error message telling you Simply ignore this message. The drive that the drive has been disconnected will remount to the desktop. LaCie drives when coming out of sleep mode? conserve power by spinning down when time to spin-up from its sleep mode.
  • Page 33 System support USB 2.0? Adapters And Performance for more information. Are you using a USB 2.0 certified cable? Ensure that you are using a certified USB 2.0 cable. The USB 2.0 cable that was shipped with your LaCie drive is certi- fied.
  • Page 34 LaCie Big Disk User’s Manual Troubleshooting page 33 The Problem Questions to Ask Possible Solutions You wish to uninstall the USB 2.0 driv- What is the uninstall procedure? 1) From the Start menu, go to Settings > ers from your PC.

  • Page 35: Contacting Customer Service

    If you have asked yourself all of the pertinent questions in the troubleshooting checklist, and you still can't get your LaCie drive to work properly, call us directly using the number below. Before calling, make sure that you are in front of your computer...
  • Page 36 LaCie Big Disk User’s Manual Contacting Customer Support page 35 Technical Support Help Hours - Continued LaCie Italy LaCie Japan LaCie Netherlands • Monday through Friday, 9AM – 6PM • Monday through Friday, 9AM – 5PM • Monday through Friday, 9AM – 5PM...

  • Page 37: Warranty

    LaCie warrants your Big Disk against any defect in material and workmanship, under normal use, for the period designated on your warranty certificate. In the event this product is found to be defective within the warranty period, LaCie will, at its option, repair or replace the defective hard drive.

  • Page 38: Appendix 1 - Firewire Questions And Answers

    LaCie Big Disk User’s Manual Appendix 1 page 37 8. Appendix 1 – FireWire Questions & Answers What Does IEEE 1394 Mean? IEEE (the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) refers to the engineering corps that developed the 1394th standard, defining the high-performance serial input/output (I/O) bus used to connect peripheral devices.
  • Page 39 LaCie Big Disk User’s Manual Appendix 1 page 38 What Are The Ideal Uses For FireWire? FireWire helped fuel a revolution for digital content creators, and was awarded a 2001 Primetime Emmy Engineering Award by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for its contribution. Due to its high bandwidth and support of both isochronous and asynchronous data delivery, FireWire has found a very successful place in both the computer and consumer electronics industries.
  • Page 40 LaCie Big Disk User’s Manual Appendix 1 page 39 cific card that will work with your system. For more information about the FireWire interface, please visit: http://www.lacie.com/technologies...

  • Page 41: Appendix 2 - Usb Questions And Answers

    LaCie Big Disk User’s Manual Appendix 2 page 40 9. Appendix 2 – USB 2.0 Questions & Answers What Are The Benefits Of The USB Interfaces? The USB 1.1 and 2.0 interfaces provide many of the same benefits, particularly: • They are based on serial bus technology.
  • Page 42 LaCie Big Disk User’s Manual Appendix 2 page 41 on the same bus. However, if you plug in a USB 2.0 device to a USB 1.1 bus, the speed of the USB 2.0 device will decrease to 12Mb/s. What Is A USB Hub? Will USB 2.0 Devices Work On USB 1.1 Hubs And Vice Versa? You can connect up to 127 devices to a single USB bus.

  • Page 43: Glossary

    LaCie Big Disk User’s Manual Glossary page 42 9. Glossary Asynchronous – Data transfer method where the data is transferred independently of other processes. With this transfer method, the intervals between transmissions can vary, and data can be resent if it is initially missed.
  • Page 44 LaCie Big Disk User’s Manual Glossary page 43 connected to the computer. Cross-platform – Term that refers to a device that is able to be operated by both Mac and Windows operating systems. Data Stream – The flow of data that accomplishes a task, usually related to moving data from storage to computer RAM or between storage devices.
  • Page 45 LaCie Big Disk User’s Manual Glossary page 44 Initialize, -ed, Initialization – After a hard drive (or other storage device) is formatted and partitioned, some special data needs to be written to it that helps the Mac and Windows create files and save data. The process is called initialization. This process, like formatting, causes all user data on the storage device to be lost.
  • Page 46 LaCie Big Disk User’s Manual Glossary page 45 Overwrite – To write data on top of existing data thus erasing the original data. Partition, -ing – After formatting, the hard drive is not yet ready to store files. It must be divided into sections that will contain special information required for a Mac or PC to operate and other sections that will contain the files.
  • Page 47 LaCie Big Disk User’s Manual Glossary page 46 the disk drive may not be the same as the transfer rate for writing data to the disk drive. Transfer rates are CPU dependent, meaning that regardless of how great a transfer rate your drive is capable of, the actual transfer rate can only be as fast as the slowest of your hard drive and computer.

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