USB, FireWire, Thunderbolt, and eSATA external devices feature “plug & play” connectivity, which means that your LaCie storage can be connected and disconnected while the computer is running. To prevent failures, however, it is important to follow these steps when disconnecting your device.
From the System Tray (located in the lower right-hand side of your screen), click the Eject icon (a small green arrow over a hardware image). A message will appear, listing the devices the Eject icon controls (it should say, “Safely remove…”). Click on the LaCie storage device in this prompt.
This message will appear: “Safe to Remove Hardware” (or similar). It is now safe to disconnect the device.
From the System Tray (located in the lower right-hand side of your screen) click on the plug icon (note the white check mark inside a green circle).
A message will appear, detailing the devices that may be safely unmounted.
Select Eject for the device you wish to unmount. A message will appear notifying you that it is safe to remove it.