Welcome to the User Manual for the LaCie 4big Quadra USB 3.0. These pages will guide you through the process of connecting your LaCie product and will explain its features. If this manual doesn't answer your questions or if you are having trouble, consult the Getting Help page.
Your box contains the following:
Your system must meet certain requirements in order for your LaCie product to function properly. For a list of these requirements, please refer to the product packaging or consult the product support web page at www.lacie.com/support/.
This product includes a cable lock, a small plastic clasp that prevents cords from accidentally disconnecting.
To use the cable lock:
USB is a serial input/output technology for connecting peripheral devices to a computer. SuperSpeed USB 3.0 is the latest implementation of this standard, and it provides higher bandwidth and new power management features.
Transfer rates can attain up to 5 Gbits/s as opposed to USB 2.0's 480 Mbits/s. This means USB 3.0 is theoretically up to ten times faster than its predecessor.
Your LaCie drive is shipped with a SuperSpeed USB 3.0 cable to ensure maximum data transfer performance when connected to a compatible USB 3.0 port. The cable will also work when connected to a USB 2.0 or 1.1 port, but drive performance will be limited to their respective transfer rates.
FireWire, also known as IEEE 1394, is a high-speed serial input/output technology for connecting peripheral devices to a computer or to each other, and FireWire 800 is the implementation of the new IEEE 1394b standard.
FireWire 800 offers increased bandwidth and extended distance between devices. FireWire 800 is ideal for bandwidth-intensive applications, such as audio, video and graphics.
Connector Face (to computer) | Cable End (to computer) | Cable End (to product) | Connector Face (to product) |
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Please follow the setup steps in the order they are given to ensure that your LaCie product's volume(s) mount(s) correctly on your computer.
Turn on the drive by moving the power switch to On. It may take up to 40 seconds for all the disks to spin on.
The drive will mount on your desktop.
Since the disks are pre-formatted in HFS+ for Mac-only use, you will need to reformat the disks in order to access the storage. Follow the instructions below to do so. Refer to Formatting and Partitioning for more detailed information, precautions, and instructions.
You can now choose to install and run the included LaCie software utilities. Software are located on the CD that came in the product box. If you wish to set email alerts or modify front LED behavior, install LaCie Desktop Manager.
LaCie Desktop Manager unlocks the full potential of your LaCie product. It will allow you to check the status of your device, set up email alerts, create an action when you click the front blue button (shortcut button), and configure power-saving.
LaCie Desktop Manager software installer is located on the CD that shipped with your product. Launch the installer for your operating system, then follow the installation wizard to completion.
When setup has completed, launch the LaCie Desktop Manager from the System tray (Windows) or the Menu bar (Mac).
When you run LaCie Desktop Manager, you will see that all compatible connected LaCie devices will appear in the left-hand column. Choose the product you wish to manage, then use the tabs to navigate to the page you want.
On this page you will see advanced information on your drive, such as device name, the internal hard disk serial number (not the LaCie product serial number), available capacity, connection type, etc.
From the Info tab, you can reformat the disks.
The front blue LED is also a button that allows you to perform a variety of tasks. A long click (press and hold for several seconds) will put the product to sleep (Eco mode). When the product is in Eco mode, a short click (press and immediately release the button) will wake it.
Using LaCie Desktop Manager, you can configure a short click to trigger a task (when the product is not in Eco mode). Instantly back up your work, open a family budget spreadsheet, or launch your most commonly used applications. Click the Shortcut tab to start. Then, drag an application or document to be launched onto the gray Button click rectangle, or click the Change button and select the file or application from the menu.
From this page, you can manage your product's energy usage, and turn off the front LED. Note that if an alert is triggered, the front LED will blink red, even if you have turned off the LED from this page.
Based upon your LaCie product, Eco Mode may be managed by Mac OS X. If prompted, please click on Energy Saver Settings to enter the System Preferences. Select “Put the hard disk(s) to sleep when possible” to conserve energy.
By default, your drive will enter Eco Mode after 5 minutes of inactivity in order to conserve energy. To exit Eco Mode, simply access data and the disks will automatically restart, or click the product's front button.
Unclick the Automatic Eco Mode due to Inactivity box to turn off Eco Mode, or select a period of inactivity after which the disks will enter Eco Mode.
Enable alerts to receive a message via the LaCie Desktop Manager about changes to the status of your LaCie device.
Your LaCie product features a multi-functional LED on the front of the drive, as well as four status LEDs on the rear. See Views of the Product for LED locations.
If the front LED is: | Off | Solid blue | Blinking blue | Blinking blue/red | Blinking blue (30s off, 5s on) | Solid red |
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And the rear LEDs are: | Off | Solid blue | Flickering blue | Blinking blue | Drive(s) solid blue Drive(s) flickering blue and red | 1 drive solid red Other drives solid blue | 3 drives solid blue 1 off | Solid blue Or blinking blue | Off | Solid red | Off | |
Then: | The product is turned off or computer is in sleep mode. | The product is working properly. | Rear LEDs flicker blue to indicate drive access. | RAID rebuilding in progress. Can take hours. | RAID 10/5/5+spare sync in progress. | Single drive failure (RAID 10/5/5+spare). | Product is in RAID 5+spare mode. | Temperature alert. Refer to Getting Help for details. | Eco mode. | RAID 0: RAID failure due to one or multiple drive failures. | RAID 10/5/5+spare: RAID broken due to multiple drive failure. | Automatic shutdown due to excessive heat. Refer to Getting Help for details. |
Refer to the table below for an overview of the different RAID modes, and see the descriptions for details.
RAID Mode | Capacity | Protection | Speed | Factory Default |
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RAID 0 | 100% | None | Excellent | – |
RAID 5 | 75% | Good | Good | Yes |
RAID 5+spare | 50% | Excellent | Good | – |
RAID 10 | 50% | Excellent | Good | – |
RAID 0: RAID 0, is the fastest RAID mode. In a RAID 0 array, the available capacities of each drive are added together so that one logical volume mounts on the computer. It offers the best performance but no protection in the case that a drive fails.
RAID 5: In RAID 5, data is striped across all disks (minimum of three) and a parity block for each data block (P in the illustration below) is written on the same stripe. If one physical disk fails, the data from the failed disk can be rebuilt onto a replacement disk. No data is lost in the case of a single disk failure, but if a second disk fails before data can be rebuilt to a replacement drive, all data in the array will be lost.
RAID 5+Spare: RAID 5+Spare is a RAID 5 array in which one disk is used as spare to rebuild the system as soon as a disk fails. At least four disks are required. If one physical disk fails, the data remains available because it is read from the parity blocks. Data from a failed disk is rebuilt onto the hot spare disk. When a failed disk is replaced, the replacement becomes the new hot spare. No data is lost in the case of a single disk failure, but if a second disk fails before the system can rebuild data to the hot spare, all data in the array will be lost.
RAID10: RAID 10 (also called RAID 1+0) is another RAID level that combines the attributes of other levels, specifically RAID 1 and RAID 0. It is a “stripe of mirrored sets”, meaning that data is striped across two mirrored arrays. The striping occurs between arrays and the mirroring occurs within the same array, which makes the rebuilding very fast.
If your array is protected, ie in a RAID 10, 5, or 5+spare mode, you can remove a drive without damaging the array and losing data even when the product is turned on, a process also referred to as “hot-swapping”. However, if you remove a drive from an unprotected (ie RAID 0) array, you may lose data.
Note that for optimum storage use, the new drive should have equal or greater capacity than the drive it is replacing.
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.
Standard LaCie storage devices will prompt you to run LaCie Setup Assistant when they are first connected to a computer (Windows or Mac). LaCie Setup Assistant helps you to quickly format the storage device according to your needs.
Read the information below carefully if you:
Mac OS Extended (HFS+): Compatible with Mac only. Mac OS Extended refers to the file system used by Mac OS X.
exFAT: Compatible with Mac and Windows. exFAT is used as an alternative to FAT32 since it does not share the same limitations. It is therefore an excellent cross-platform file system.
FAT32: Compatible with Mac and Windows. A FAT32 partition can reach 2TB when formatted on a Mac. The individual file size is limited to 4GB. FAT32 is not recommended due to limited performance.
Mac File System Formats |
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Use HFS+ if: |
…you will be using the storage device on Macs only. |
Use exFAT if: |
…you will be using your storage device with both Windows and Mac computers. |
Use FAT32 if: |
…you will be using your storage device with Windows and Mac computers, and at least one of these computers is incompatible with exFAT. |
exFAT: Compatible with Mac and Windows. exFAT is used as an alternative to FAT32 since it does not share the same limitations. It is therefore an excellent cross-platform file system.
FAT32: Compatible with Mac and Windows. A FAT32 partition can reach up to 32GB when formatted with Windows. The individual file size is limited to 4GB. FAT32 is not recommended due to limited performance.
NTFS: Compatible with Windows and Mac (Mac requires third-party drivers for write access.). The native file system for Windows. NTFS offers several features that are not available with FAT32: file compression, encryption, permissions, auditing, and mirroring drives. The maximum volume size is 2TB when initialized in the MBR format. The more recent GPT format does not assign limits to file or partition sizes. Volumes created in NTFS are native read and write for Windows. Earlier versions of Mac OS X 10.5 or higher may read and write to the NTFS partitions with the help of third-party drivers.
See the table below for a comparison of NTFS and FAT32.
Windows File System Formats |
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Use NTFS if: |
…you will be using the storage device only with Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8 since performance is enhanced when compared to exFAT or FAT32. This file system is compatible in read-only mode with Mac. |
Use exFAT if: |
…you will be using your storage device with both Windows and Mac computers. |
Use FAT32 if: |
…you will be using your storage device with Windows and Mac computers, and at least one of these computers is incompatible with exFAT. |
The steps listed below can help you to format and partition a storage device. For more information on choosing the optimal file format, refer to About File System Formats above.
If you are having problems with your LaCie product, consult the table below for a list of available resources.
Order | Source | Description | Location |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Quick Install Guide | Concise steps to follow for getting your product up and running | Either a printed leaflet or accessory box and included in the product box, or download PDF from the product page |
2 | Support Pages | Includes interactive troubleshooting topics for most common problems | www.lacie.com/support/, select your product, then click the “Troubleshooting” tab |
3 | User Manual | Includes common troubleshooting topics | See Troubleshooting Topics below |
4 | Customer Support | Create an account on lacie.com, register your product, and fill out a support ticket | Create an account here: www.lacie.com/us/mystuff/login.htm?logout&rtn=mystuff |
A: RAID failure has resulted from disk failure. Depending on the RAID mode, it could be that one or more drives have failed. Data has most likely been lost. Contact LaCie technical support to replace the failed drives.
A: Your 4big is in a protected RAID mode (10, 5, or 5+spare) and one of the drives has failed. Data loss has not occurred. Contact LaCie technical support to replace the failed drive.
A: The product was overheating and has automatically turned off to protect your data. Make sure the fan is functioning (see above) and that the room temperature is not too high before restarting your product (turn it off and then on).
Q: USB 3.0 connection: Have you installed USB 3.0 drivers on your computer?
Q: USB 3.0 connection: Does your computer or operating system support SuperSpeed USB 3.0?
Q: Is your computer's internal hard drive limiting transfer speeds?
Q: Is your Finder configured not to show hard drives on the desktop?
Q: Is the drive listed in Device Manager but not in my Finder?
Q: Did you follow the correct installation steps?
LaCie offers first-rate service and support through our generous three-tiered warranty policy. Our 1-, 2-, 3-, and 5-year policies include comprehensive, complimentary web-based resources, expert in-house technical support, and worldwide repair and/or replacement coverage. To benefit from this warranty, please contact LaCie Support at www.lacie.com/us/support where you can find online support and contact information. You may also contact representatives at the original point of purchase who will be able to help guide you.
Standard warranties vary depending on the product. To verify your product’s warranty status and to see which standard warranty is included with your product, type in your product’s serial number at www.lacie.com/us/support. If no warranty is listed under your product’s name, this means that the warranty has expired.
If you wish to extend your warranty coverage, you can purchase Silver, Gold, or Platinum Care or Advanced Exchange. For details, see www.lacie.com/warranties.
A standard LaCie limited warranty is included with all products. Please read the terms and conditions below.
LaCie (“LaCie”) warrants, to the original purchaser, that this equipment shall be free of defects in materials and workmanship for a period of one (1), two (2), three (3), or five (5) years, depending on the model, from LaCie's date of original shipment when the equipment is used normally and is properly serviced when needed. If you discover a defect covered by the warranty set forth above, your sole and exclusive remedy will be for LaCie, in its sole discretion to (i) repair or replace the product at no charge to you; or, if a repaired unit or replacement product is not available, (ii) to refund the current market value of your product. You acknowledge and agree that replacement product, at the sole option of LaCie, may be a new product or a remanufactured product. In order to receive the remedy set forth above, you must return the product during the warranty period and include with each returned product (i) a copy of your original purchase invoice to verify your warranty; (ii) a Return Material Authorization number; (iii) your name, address and telephone number; (iv) a copy of the bill of sale bearing the appropriate LaCie serial numbers as proof of date of original retail purchase; and (v) a description of the problem. The customer must pay all transportation costs for a returned product. The product will need to be returned to LaCie within the country of original retail purchase. This warranty applies only to hardware products; LaCie software, media, and manuals are licensed and warranted pursuant to separate written agreement. This warranty does not apply if the product has been misused or has been damaged by accident, abuse, misuse, or misapplication; if it has been modified without permission of LaCie; or if any LaCie serial number has been removed or defaced. If a customer has purchased a LaCie Advance Care Option (ACO) to go with this equipment, the ACO shall be valid for three (3) years from activation.
EXCEPT FOR THE LIMITED WARRANTY SET FORTH ABOVE, ALL PRODUCTS ARE SOLD “AS IS” AND LACIE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, NONINFRINGEMENT AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. WITHOUT FURTHER LIMITING THE GENERALITY OF THE FOREGOING, DOES NOT WARRANT (1) THE PERFORMANCE OR RESULTS OBTAINED FROM USING THIS PRODUCT, (2) THAT THE PRODUCT IS APPROPRIATE FOR THE CUSTOMER'S PURPOSES, (3) THE MANUAL IS ERROR FREE, OR (4) THAT NO DATA WILL BE LOST WHILE USING THE PRODUCT. THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE RESULTS AND PERFORMANCE IS ASSUMED BY THE CUSTOMER. THE WARRANTY AND REMEDIES SET FORTH ABOVE ARE EXCLUSIVE AND IN LIEU OF ALL OTHERS, ORAL OR WRITTEN, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED.
This Limited Warranty applies only to hardware products manufactured by or for LaCie that can be identified by the “LaCie” trademark, trade name, or logo affixed to them. The Limited Warranty does not apply to any non-LaCie hardware products or any software, even if packaged or sold with LaCie hardware. Manufacturers, suppliers, or publishers, other than LaCie, may provide their own warranties to the end user purchaser, but LaCie, in so far as permitted by law, provides their products “as is”. Software distributed by LaCie with or without the LaCie brand name (including, but not limited to system software) is not covered under this Limited Warranty. Refer to the licensing agreement accompanying the software for details of your rights with respect to its use.
LaCie does not warrant that the operation of the product will be uninterrupted or error-free. LaCie is not responsible for damage arising from failure to follow instructions relating to the product's use. This warranty does not apply: (a) to consumable parts, unless damage has occurred due to a defect in materials or workmanship; (b) to cosmetic damage, including but not limited to scratches, dents and broken plastic on ports; © to damage caused by use with non-LaCie products; (d) to damage caused by accident, abuse, misuse, flood, fire, earthquake or other external causes; (e) to damage caused by operating the product outside the permitted or intended uses described by LaCie; (f) to damage caused by service (including upgrades and expansions) performed by anyone who is not a representative of LaCie or a LaCie Authorized Service Provider; (g) to a product or part that has been modified to alter functionality or capability without the written permission of LaCie; or (h) if any LaCie serial number on the product has been removed or defaced.
No LaCie dealer, agent, or employee is authorized to make any modification, extension, or addition to this warranty.
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; one copy on your external hard disk, for instance, and a second copy either on your internal hard disk, another external hard disk or some other form of removable storage media. LaCie offers a complete line of CD and DVD drives. If you would like more information on backup, please refer to our website.
LACIE IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES RESULTING FROM ANY BREACH OF WARRANTY, OR UNDER ANY LEGAL THEORY, INCLUDING LOST PROFITS, DOWNTIME, GOODWILL, DAMAGE TO OR REPLACEMENT OF EQUIPMENT AND PROPERTY, AND ANY COSTS OF RECOVERING, REPROGRAMMING, OR REPRODUCING ANY PROGRAM OR DATA STORED IN OR USED WITH LACIE PRODUCTS EVEN IF IT HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of implied warranties or liability for incidental or consequential damages, so the above limitation or exclusion may not apply to you. This warranty gives you specific legal rights, and you may have other rights, which vary from state to state.
Your opening of your package, your use of the product, or your return of the enclosed Registration Card acknowledges that you have read and agree to the terms of this Agreement. You further agree that it is the complete and exclusive state of the agreement between us and supersedes any proposal or prior agreement, oral or written, and any other communications between us relating to the subject matter of this Agreement.
Read carefully all information related to warranty and precautions of use of your new LaCie product in the user manual.
For products purchased in the United States, you may contact LaCie at 7555 Tech Center Drive, Tigard, Oregon 97223 USA. Email: sales@lacie.com. Website: www.lacie.com. Customer service: 503-844-4503.
On rare occasions, a newly purchased LaCie product may be delivered in non-working order. We are working to avoid these issues, but unfortunately, these situations may arise from time to time. Within the 15 calendar days of purchase, should you experience an issue with your new LaCie product, we ask you to return the product to the place where it was originally bought. You will be required to give a proof of purchase.
Please be sure to back up your data before returning your drive to LaCie for repair. LaCie cannot under any circumstances guarantee the integrity of data remaining on a returned drive. We make no provisions for data recovery and cannot be held liable for any data loss on drives or media returned to LaCie.
All products returned to LaCie must be securely packaged in their original box and shipped with postage prepaid, except for Products registered under the Advance Care Option.
Our goods come with guarantees that cannot be excluded under the Australian Consumer Law. You are entitled to a replacement or refund for a major failure and for compensation for any other reasonably foreseeable loss or damage. You are also entitled to have the goods repaired or replaced if the goods fail to be of acceptable quality and the failure does not amount to a major failure.
Contact us:
LaCie Australia, 6/151 Beauchamp Rd, Matraville NSW 2036 AUSTRALIA
Phone: 02 8063 3711
Email: info.au@lacie.com
For fast technical support, create a support ticket after registering your product at www.lacie.com/au/register.
Copyright © 2024 LaCie. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written consent of LaCie.
The material in this document is for information only and subject to change without notice. While reasonable efforts have been made in the preparation of this document to assure its accuracy, LaCie assumes no liability resulting from errors or omissions in this document, or from the use of the information contained herein. LaCie reserves the right to make changes or revisions in the product design or the product manual without reservation and without obligation to notify any person of such revisions and changes.
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one of the following measures:
FCC Caution: Any changes or modifications not expressly approved by the party responsible for compliance could void the user's authority to operate this equipment.
This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions: (1) This device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) this device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation.
This transmitter must not be co-located or operating in conjunction with any other antenna or transmitter.
The availability of some specific channels and/or operational frequency bands are country dependent and are firmware programmed at the factory to match the intended destination. The firmware setting is not accessible by the end user.
This symbol on the product or on its packaging indicates that this product must not be disposed of with your other household waste. Instead, it is your responsibility to dispose of your waste equipment by handing it over to a designed collection point for the recycling of waste electrical and electronic equipment. The separate collection and recycling of your waste equipment at the time of disposal will help to conserve natural resources and ensure that it is recycled in a manner that protects human health and the environment. For more information about where you can drop off your waste equipment for recycling, please contact your local city office, your household waste disposal service, or the shop where you purchased the product.
We, LaCie, solemnly declare that this product conforms to the following European standards: Electromagnetic Compatibility Directive (2004/108/EC); Low-Voltage Directive: 2006/95/EC
Apple, Mac, Time Machine, and Macintosh are registered trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. Microsoft, Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7 are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Other trademarks mentioned in this manual are the property of their respective owners.
This Class B digital apparatus meets all requirements of the Canadian Interference-Causing Equipment Regulations.
CAN ICES-3 (B)/NMB-3(B)
This is a Class B product based on the standard of the Voluntary Control Council for Interference from Information Technology Equipment (VCCI). If this is used near a radio/TV receiver, it may cause radio interference. Install the equipment according to the manual. This statement does not apply to the LaCie CloudBox.