LaCie 4big Quadra User Manual
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LaCie 4big Quadra User Manual

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LaCie 4big Quadra
User Manual

Table of Contents

1. Introduction .............................................................................................................. 5
1.1. Minimum System Requirements ..................................................................................................... 6
1.2. Box Content ................................................................................................................................ 7
1.3. Views of the Drive ........................................................................................................................ 8
1.4. Cables and Connectors .............................................................................................................. 10
2. Setting Up Your LaCie 4big..................................................................................... 12
2.1. Connect the Interface Cable ....................................................................................................... 13
2.2. Turn the 4big On ....................................................................................................................... 14
3. RAID ....................................................................................................................... 15
3.1. About RAID Modes ..................................................................................................................... 15
3.1.1. RAID 0 ............................................................................................................................ 15
3.1.2. RAID 10 .......................................................................................................................... 16
3.1.3. Concatenation ................................................................................................................ 16
3.1.4. RAID 3 and RAID 3+Spare ............................................................................................... 17
3.1.5. RAID 5 and RAID 5+Spare ............................................................................................... 18
3.2. Changing the RAID Mode ........................................................................................................... 19
3.3. Removing and Installing Drives .................................................................................................... 20
3.4. Formatting ................................................................................................................................. 21
3.4.1. File System Formats ......................................................................................................... 21
3.4.2. Formatting for Windows Users .......................................................................................... 23
3.4.3. Formatting for Mac Users ................................................................................................. 25
3.5. Partitioning the Disks .................................................................................................................. 26
3.5.1. Windows Users ................................................................................................................ 26
3.5.2. Mac Users ...................................................................................................................... 30
4. Troubleshooting ..................................................................................................... 31
4.1. LED Status Indicators .................................................................................................................. 32
4.2. Other Troubleshooting Topics ..................................................................................................... 34
4.3. Installing New Firmware ............................................................................................................ 34
5. Contacting Customer Support ................................................................................. 35
5.1. LaCie Technical Support Contacts ............................................................................................... 36
6. Warranty Information ............................................................................................. 37
ESIGN BY
EIL
OULTON
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  • Page 1: Table Of Contents

    1.2. Box Content ..........................7 1.3. Views of the Drive ........................8 1.4. Cables and Connectors ......................10 2. Setting Up Your LaCie 4big..................12 2.1. Connect the Interface Cable ....................... 13 2.2. Turn the 4big On ........................14 3. RAID ........................15 3.1.
  • Page 2 Modifications to this product not autho- radio interference. Install and use the rized by LaCie could void the FCC & equipment according to the instruction Industry Canada regulations and negate manual.

  • Page 3: Health And Safety Precautions

    II). shock, short-circuiting or fire. sive exposure to dust during use or Do not expose the LaCie 4big to tem- Use only the power supply shipped storage. Dust can build up inside the peratures outside the range of 5° C to with the device.
  • Page 4 Any loss, corruption or destruction of data while using a LaCie drive is the sole responsibility of the user, and under no circumstances will LaCie be held liable for the recovery or restoration of this data. To help prevent the loss of your data, LaCie highly recommends that you keep TWO copies of your data;...

  • Page 5: Introduction

    RAID system is an ideal means to safe-guard valu- able data while also stream-lining performance. The LaCie 4big is the ultimate approach to a flexible RAID solu- tion, with its ability to manage various RAID levels for a wide range of applications.

  • Page 6: Minimum System Requirements

    **Most computers do not come from the factory with FireWire 800 or eSATA ports, so you may need to purchase a PCI, PCI- X or PCI-Express card to be able to connect your LaCie 4big via FireWire 800 interface. LaCie offers a wide selection of PCI cards.

  • Page 7: Box Content

    OULTON User Manual page 7 1.2. Box Content Your LaCie 4big package contains the system tower and an ac- cessories box containing the items listed below. LaCie 4big RAID system tower with four hot-swappable hard drives Hi-Speed USB 2.0 cable...

  • Page 8: Views Of The Drive

    1.3. Views of the Drive Front View The blue button on the front of the LaCie 4big serves as a LED drive status indicator and the LaCie Shortcut Button. See the LaCie Shortcut Button User Manual on the Shortcut But- ton CD-ROM for more information.

  • Page 9: Rear View

    User Manual page 9 Rear View CAUTION: To avoid overheating, the LaCie 4big should be installed in a well-ventilated area and in such a way as to main- RAID selection switch tain sufficient airflow across the controller chips. Also ensure Power input connection that the Ventilation Fan is not obstructed.

  • Page 10: Cables And Connectors

    Included USB Cable Your LaCie drive is shipped with a Hi-Speed USB 2.0 cable, to ensure maximum data transfer performance when connected to a Hi-Speed USB 2.0 port. The cable will also work when con- nected to a USB port, but drive performance will be limited to USB 1.1 transfer rates.
  • Page 11 User Manual page 11 eSATA Your LaCie 4big Quadra uses the latest in SATA technology, al- eSATA Benefits lowing interface (or bus) transfer rates of up to 3 Gbits/s. SATA technology was originally developed to serve as an internal inter- eSATA interface can achieve up to 3 Gbits/s transfer face, delivering improved performance to internal connections.

  • Page 12: Setting Up Your Lacie 4Big

    User Manual page 12 2. Setting Up Your LaCie 4big This section covers the installation and configuration of your LaCie 4big. Follow the steps below to power on and configure your LaCie 4big: Step 1: 2.1. Connect the Interface Cable Step 2: 2.2.

  • Page 13: Connect The Interface Cable

    LaCie 4big Quadra Setup ESIGN BY OULTON User Manual page 13 2.1. Connect the Interface Cable Plug one end of the interface cable (USB, FireWire or eSA- TA) into the corresponding port on your host computer. Connect the other end of the cable to the matching port on the 4big.

  • Page 14: Turn The 4Big On

    2.2. Turn the 4big On The power supply kit is composed of two cables: one cable (A) connects to the LaCie drive; and the other cable (B) connects to a power outlet, such as a wall outlet or a surge protector.

  • Page 15: Raid

    N/A (no RAID changes will take effect if 7 is selected) 3.1.1. RAID 0 The 4big Quadra is pre-configured in RAID 0, the fastest RAID RAID 0 mode. Requiring at least 2 drives, RAID 0 stripes data onto each disk. The available capacities of each disk are added together so that one logical volume mounts on the computer.

  • Page 16: Raid 10

    LaCie 4big Quadra RAID ESIGN BY OULTON User Manual page 16 3.1.2. RAID 10 RAID 10 (also called RAID 1+0) is another RAID level that com- RAID 10 bines the attributes of other levels, specifically RAID 1 and RAID 0. It is a “mirror of stripes”, meaning that data is striped across two mirrored arrays.

  • Page 17: Raid 3 And Raid 3+Spare

    LaCie 4big Quadra RAID ESIGN BY OULTON User Manual page 17 3.1.4. RAID 3 and RAID 3+Spare RAID 3 RAID 3 uses byte-level striping with a dedicated parity disk (Disk 4 in the illustrations, right) so that one volume mounts on the computer.

  • Page 18: Raid 5 And Raid 5+Spare

    LaCie 4big Quadra RAID ESIGN BY OULTON User Manual page 18 3.1.5. RAID 5 and RAID 5+Spare RAID 5 RAID 5 combines the striping of RAID 0 with data redundancy in an array with a minimum of three disks. Data is striped across all disks and a parity block (P) for each data block is written on the same stripe.

  • Page 19: Changing The Raid Mode

    Modes. IMPORTANT INFO: Changing the RAID mode destroys data stored on the LaCie 4big. If you have saved data on the drives, back up data before following these steps. To change the RAID mode: Unmount or safely remove the 4big Quadra volumes from your computer, disconnect the interface cable and switch off the 4big.

  • Page 20: Removing And Installing Drives

    User Manual page 20 3.3. Removing and Installing Drives In the event that an individual hard disk fails in the LaCie 4big, IMPORTANT INFO: Drive warranty will be void if you re- please contact your LaCie reseller or LaCie Customer Support.

  • Page 21: Formatting

    User Manual page 21 3.4. Formatting The 4big Quadra comes pre-formatted in HFS+ (optimized for Mac OS X). Please read the following information on file system formats for Windows and Mac operating systems to determine if you need to reformat the 4big’s disks. See sections 3.4.2...

  • Page 22: Mac Os X Users

    22 Windows XP and Windows Vista without resorting to help from third-party products. The LaCie 4big Quadra comes preformatted in HFS+ for op- timum performance with Mac OS X. Mac OS X Users: You may customize the drive by reformatting and/or partitioning the drive with separate file system formats.

  • Page 23: Formatting For Windows Users

    LaCie 4big Quadra RAID ESIGN BY OULTON User Manual page 23 3.4.2. Formatting for Windows Users The process of formatting a drive on a computer running Win- dows 2000, Windows XP or Windows Vista consists of two steps: (1) installing a signature on the drive, and (2) formatting the drive.
  • Page 24 LaCie 4big Quadra RAID ESIGN BY OULTON User Manual page 24 Click Next. Click Next. Click Next. Click Next. On the Format Partition window, select Quick Format. Click Next. Figure 3.4.2-C Click Finish to begin the formatting process. Windows Disk Management will format and partition the disk according to your settings (Fig.

  • Page 25: Formatting For Mac Users

    In the Utilities folder, double-click Disk Utility. The Disk Utility window will open. Select the volume labeled LaCie Hard Disk from the list of available hard disks on the left side of the window. Select the Partition tab.

  • Page 26: Partitioning The Disks

    3.4.1. File System Formats. IMPORTANT INFO: The disks shipped with the 4big Quadra are formatted HFS+. To use the drives with Windows operating systems or for cross-platform use between Mac and PC, the drives must be reformatted. For more information, see section 3.4.1.
  • Page 27 LaCie 4big Quadra RAID ESIGN BY OULTON User Manual page 27 Right click the configured disk’s unallocated space and se- lect New Partition. If the New Partition option is not avail- able, select the disk and initialize it first (Fig. 3.5.1-C).
  • Page 28 LaCie 4big Quadra RAID ESIGN BY OULTON User Manual page 28 Specify the partition size. By default, the partition occupies the entire volume. Click Next (Fig. 3.5.1-F). Fig. 3.5.1-F Assign a drive letter or mount path and click Next (Fig.
  • Page 29 LaCie 4big Quadra RAID ESIGN BY OULTON User Manual page 29 Review the settings and click Finish to create the logical partition (Fig. 3.5.1-I). Fig. 3.5.1-I...

  • Page 30: Mac Users

    Open Disk Utility. In the disk list on the left side of the Disk Utility window, find the disk corresponding to your LaCie hard disk. For each disk there is a listing for the drive controller and one for each volume on the disk. Select the listing for the controller Figure 3.5.2-A...

  • Page 31: Troubleshooting

    31 4. Troubleshooting In the event that your LaCie 4big is not working correctly, please refer to the table on the following page to identify the status of your device. If you have gone through all of the points in the table and your drive is still not working correctly, please see the FAQs that are regularly published on our Web site –...

  • Page 32: Led Status Indicators

    LaCie 4big Quadra Troubleshooting ESIGN BY OULTON User Manual page 32 4.1. LED Status Indicators Use the 4big’s front and rear LEDs and the chart below as a reference to determine the status of your 4big: If the front And the rear...
  • Page 33 Dimming red (5s)* are improperly inserted; RAID is not functional. Dimmed LED stays on for 30 minutes. Temperature critical; LaCie recommends that following this event Dimming red (5s)* you leave the 4big in standby for at least an hour before restart- ing to prevent damage to the disks.

  • Page 34: Other Troubleshooting Topics

    The power supply is no longer func- tional. www.lacie.com 4.3. Installing New Firmware LaCie may periodically offer firmware updates for the 4big. Visit LaCie’s Web site, www.lacie.com, for the latest firmware update. For the procedure, please contact LaCie technical support.

  • Page 35: Contacting Customer Support

    firmly attached. 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, contact us at www.lacie.com. Before contacting us, make sure that you are in front of your computer and that you have the...

  • Page 36: Lacie Technical Support Contacts

    LaCie 4big Quadra Contacting Customer Support ESIGN BY OULTON User Manual page 36 5.1. LaCie Technical Support Contacts LaCie Asia, Singapore, and Hong Kong LaCie Australia Contact us at: Contact us at: http://www.lacie.com/asia/contact/ http://www.lacie.com/au/contact/ LaCie Belgium LaCie Canada Contact us at: Contact us at: http://www.lacie.com/be/contact/ (Français)

  • Page 37: Warranty Information

    Warranty Information LaCie warrants your LaCie 4big against any defect in material LaCie and its suppliers accept no liability for any loss of data and workmanship, under normal use, for the period designated during the use of this device, or for any of the problems caused on your warranty certificate.

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