Welcome to the User Manual for the LaCie Thunderbolt™* Series. LaCie's Thunderbolt Series storage enclosures feature transfer rates with the potential to reach up to 10Gb/s! Plug them into a Macintosh computer that supports Thunderbolt technology for the ultimate in performance with High Definition video and graphics. This exciting new line of storage is ideal for professional editors, photographers, and graphic artists that demand extraordinary performance both in the office and the field.
This manual will guide you through the process of connecting your Thunderbolt Series enclosure and explain its features. For questions on installation or usage, please consult the Getting Help page.
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/.
* Thunderbolt and the Thunderbolt logo are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries.
The Thunderbolt Series enclosures feature metal bodies that dissipate drive heat. The large surface area of the heat sink casing absorbs all internal heat, keeping the drives safe and prolonging their life. Since LaCie's unique design draws heat away from the internal drives, the external casing will be warm to the touch after extended use. Please make sure that the vent on the back bezel is not obstructed and that there is a natural airflow across the casing.
In most instances, the 2big enclosure heat dissipation will be maximized when it rests on the stand in a vertical position.
Users interested in placing two 2big enclosures in a specially designed rack may visit LaCie for further information. When placing the enclosures in a rack, LaCie recommends that you allow for adequate airflow so that the units do not overheat.
Little Big Disk Thunderbolt Series
Heat dissipation is maximized when the Little Big Disk enclosure rests on its stand in a vertical position. Please make certain that it has ample space on all sides of the casing for proper airflow.
Do not stack the unit with other Little Big Disks or similar items. Stacking your Little Big Disk(s) will void the warranty.
To receive power, Thunderbolt Series enclosures must be:
LED Behavior | State |
---|---|
The product is in active mode. | |
Off | The product is: turned off; not receiving power; not connected to a Macintosh computer that supports Thunderbolt technology; experiencing system failure; or, experiencing electronic board failure. See below for information on powering down the drives within the enclosure. If the device is connected to a power supply and turned on but the LED remains off, contact LaCie Customer Support. |
LED Behavior | State |
---|---|
The product is in active mode, working properly and waiting for data access. | |
The product is starting up. The LED will become solid blue once it has initialized. | |
Disk access | |
Off | The product is: turned off; not receiving power; not connected to a Macintosh computer that supports Thunderbolt technology; experiencing system failure; or, experiencing electronic board failure. See below for information on powering down the drives within the enclosure. If the device is connected to a power supply and turned on but the LED remains off, contact LaCie Customer Support. |
The LED button may be used to conserve energy if you do not expect to use the disks for an extended period of time. To reduce power consumption:
The enclosure will stop sending power to the disks. Please note that the enclosure will maintain the daisy chain with other Thunderbolt devices even when the drives have been powered down.
To power on the drives, press the LED button. The partition(s) will appear on the desktop.
Thunderbolt technology is an active cable technology with extraordinary promise. A single Thunderbolt technology connection includes two bi-directional streams, each with a potential bandwidth of up to 10Gb/s. As the illustration demonstrates, the streams run in opposite directions to support simultaneous operations: one bi-directional stream for data operations and another bi-directional stream for video operations. For example, files can be copied to the Thunderbolt Series volume (upstream) while playing back an HD film on your computer (downstream). Certainly, it is possible to perform both actions with existing interface technologies but not at the speeds offered by a Thunderbolt technology connection. See the performance comparison in the illustration.
While maximum theoretical transfer rates are rarely sustained, it is no less impressive to imagine the amount of high-end data that can be passed to and from your LaCie Thunderbolt Series storage. To take advantage of the throughput offered by Thunderbolt technology, the two internal drives in your LaCie enclosure have been preconfigured as a Striped RAID Set (RAID 0).
The back of your Thunderbolt Series enclosure features two Thunderbolt technology ports for:
Connect the cable to one of the interface ports on the back of your LaCie Thunderbolt Series enclosure and to your Macintosh computer. The additional port may be used to daisy chain compatible computer peripherals, such as hard drives, monitors, and much more. A single Thunderbolt technology line can have seven devices, including the computer.
Please follow the setup steps in the order they are given to ensure that the Thunderbolt Series volume mounts correctly on your computer.
In order to avoid file system corruption, it is important to unmount the volume(s) before turning off the enclosure or disconnecting the interface cable. See Unmounting Your Drive for details.
Supported operating systems:
Windows users must install a special driver on their computers in order to use the Thunderbolt connection. Once the driver is installed, users can prepare the disks and RAID for a Windows environment.
RAID cannot be configured using Windows 7 Standard and Home editions.
To download the installer for the LaCie Thunderbolt driver, please select your product below:
Since this LaCie product is originally configured in the HFS+ file format (for use on Mac) and RAID 0, all partitions must be erased, including the EFI partition. Windows Disk Management cannot erase the EFI partition so you'll need to run Diskpart, a separate Windows utility. For additional information on Diskpart, please click here.
The steps below are illustrated using a LaCie Little Big Disk, which contains two hard disks.
If you successfully completed Part 2, then your LaCie Thunderbolt storage currently has no RAID set up. In Part 3, you'll set up a RAID array using Windows Disk Management.
* Thunderbolt and the Thunderbolt logo are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries.
Thunderbolt technology devices are plug and play, allowing you to connect and disconnect them while the computer is running. To prevent potential disk problems, it is important to properly eject the Thunderbolt storage volume(s).
LED button: The Thunderbolt enclosure will power down the disks when the front LED button is pushed. Please note that Thunderbolt devices daisy-chained to the enclosure will continue to work. See Receiving Power/LED Power Button.
Please note that this section pertains to the 2big Thunderbolt only. LaCie RAID Monitor and replacing disks are supported with enclosures that allow for hot-swapping hard drives.
LaCie RAID Monitor is a utility optimized for your LaCie Thunderbolt Series storage. Once installed, LaCie RAID Monitor runs in the background to keep tabs on the health of the storage. Should one of the drives experience problems, LaCie RAID Monitor will alert you to take action.
If you do not have the LaCie RAID Monitor installer, go to the Downloads page for the latest version.
LaCie RAID Monitor will launch automatically following a successful installation. The utility runs in the background while you work, polling the 2big storage to verify the health of the RAID. To view the health of your 2big:
The LaCie RAID Monitor gives you an easy color-coded reference to instantly know if your 2big is in good health:
You do not have to launch LaCie RAID Monitor to receive an alert regarding the health of the RAID. Should one or both disks encounter problems, the LaCie RAID Monitor icon in the menu bar will blink with an exclamation mark inside a triangle.
If you receive the alert, open LaCie RAID Monitor to view the source of the problem.
In the event that an individual hard disk fails in the LaCie 2big Thunderbolt Series, please contact your LaCie reseller or LaCie Customer Support. Failed hard drives within the 2big Thunderbolt Series enclosure should only be replaced by a compatible LaCie disk with equal capacity.
Once you have received your replacement disk, follow the steps below for proper installation.
Once the replacement disk is installed in the 2big enclosure, go to Formatting for instructions on building a Striped RAID Set.
The 2big Thunderbolt Series RAID is configured using Mac Disk Utility. Please visit the Apple® Support page for instructions on how to recover from a hard drive failure on a mirrored array (Apple Support).
The two drives within the 2big Thunderbolt Series and the Little Big Disk Thunderbolt Series are pre-formatted as HFS+ Journaled for your Macintosh computer. Further, the disks have been preconfigured as a Striped RAID Set (RAID 0) for optimal performance.
A Striped RAID Set pairs the two drives within the enclosure for enhanced transfer rates. Data is stored across both disks in a striped pair, allowing them to share the demands of reading and writing files. Unlike a Mirrored Striped Set (RAID 1), the available capacities of each disk are added together for maximum storage availability.
With its improved read/write seek rates and maximum storage capacity, a Striped RAID Set is a great complement to the extraordinary performance already offered by the Thunderbolt technology. Data is easy to access since a stripe creates one logical volume that mounts on the desktop.
One disadvantage of a Striped RAID Set is the lack of built-in data security. In the event that one disk fails, all the files become inaccessible since parts of each string of data are written across the striped pair. Therefore, LaCie highly recommends backing up data stored on a Striped RAID Set at least once a day. You can back up the data to your computer’s internal disk or another hard drive with sufficient capacity.
In a Mirrored RAID Set, the two physical disks are mirrored together so that one single logical volume mounts on the desktop. Please note that the combined storage will not exceed the available capacity of the lowest-capacity single disk. All data is saved simultaneously on each disk which means that files will not be lost if one drive should fail.
Follow the directions below when reformatting the Thunderbolt Series hard drives.
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 |
Q: Are there other Thunderbolt technology devices connected to the same port?
A: Disconnect any other Thunderbolt devices and see if the Thunderbolt Series volume appears on the desktop.
Q: Does the icon/Do the icons for the Thunderbolt Series volume(s) appear on the desktop
A: The drive icon(s) for the Thunderbolt Series storage should appear on your desktop. Please confirm that the Finder preference for displaying external disks on the desktop is selected at Finder > Preferences > General.
A: The connection type for Thunderbolt technology on the Mac is the Mini DisplayPort. While earlier Macintosh computers include one or more Mini DisplayPorts, they are only used to connect one or more monitors. Please note that legacy Macs with Mini DisplayPorts do not support Thunderbolt technology peripherals such as the LaCie Thunderbolt Series storage.
Q: Did you follow the correct installation steps?
A: Review the installation steps (Getting Connected). Please make certain that both ends of the Thunderbolt technology cable are firmly connected to the ports and that the device is receiving power via the included power supply.
A: The Thunderbolt Series storage requires cables specifically constructed for Thunderbolt technology. Go to www.lacie.com for more information on cables that support Thunderbolt technology.
A: The Thunderbolt Series enclosure must receive power via the included power supply. See Getting Connected.
Q: Are both ends of the Thunderbolt technology cable securely attached?
A:
Q: Did you get an "Error -50" message while copying to the storage?
A: When copying files or folders from a computer to a FAT 32 volume, certain characters cannot be copied. These characters include, but are not limited to:
? < > / \ :
Since it does not offer optimal performance, LaCie does not recommend using the FAT 32 file system with Thunderbolt Series storage. Please consider formatting the drive as HFS+ Journaled with a Striped or Mirrored RAID Set. See Formatting. Additionally, Time Machine is only compatible with disks formatted in HFS+ or HFS+Journaled. Reformat the drive for Time Machine compatibility
A: Ignore this message. The drive will remount to the desktop.
A: Disk space will not be reclaimed until the file is erased. To remove the files forever:
A: After formatting, the available capacity of a drive will show less than advertised on the box. The difference is based upon how capacity is viewed by the operating system. For example, a hard drive that can store 500,000,000,000 bytes is divided by 1,000,000,000 to equal 500GB. This is the actual capacity listed on the manufacturer’s box. The operating system uses slightly different math, dividing 500,000,000,000 by 1,073,741,824 to equal 466GB.
Q: I just received my replacement drive from LaCie. How do I rebuild my Mirrored RAID Set?
A: Please see Apple Support for instructions on rebuilding a Mirrored RAID Set.
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.