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Don't Buy LaCie
- Thread starter surfmadison
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You're a true American, surfmadison.
Oh, by the way, LaCie originated (and is still headquartered) in Oregon, USA.
LaCie is Not a US Company
LaCie might have offices and manufacturing in Oregon but they are not a US company. Do a little digging on their website and you will notice that they are publicly traded on the EuroNext Exchange and their revenue is stated in Euros. Their main headquarters are in Paris, France and they were founded by Philippe and Pierre. LaCie = French Company.
I really doubt an Oregon based company would trade on the EuroNext and state revenue in Euros!
So, once again my mantra continues. Don't buy LaCie hard drives, don't buy LaCie RAID enclosures. Plus as a video professional I am not interested in a product that sells at Walmart. I could be mistaken but I doubt your typical video pro is used to buying their video equipment at Walmart. It raises serious questions in my mind about their quality and customer service. Which is very sad, because other then the first DOA RAID, a poorly designed eSata Express Card I had to return, and them trying to screw me on RMA credits to my credit card, I was happy with my RAID. I use my drive, with its voided warranty everyday and it works great. Too bad I know have to flame them everyday. I gave them every chance to be nice to me.
LaCie might have offices and manufacturing in Oregon but they are not a US company. Do a little digging on their website and you will notice that they are publicly traded on the EuroNext Exchange and their revenue is stated in Euros. Their main headquarters are in Paris, France and they were founded by Philippe and Pierre. LaCie = French Company.
I really doubt an Oregon based company would trade on the EuroNext and state revenue in Euros!
So, once again my mantra continues. Don't buy LaCie hard drives, don't buy LaCie RAID enclosures. Plus as a video professional I am not interested in a product that sells at Walmart. I could be mistaken but I doubt your typical video pro is used to buying their video equipment at Walmart. It raises serious questions in my mind about their quality and customer service. Which is very sad, because other then the first DOA RAID, a poorly designed eSata Express Card I had to return, and them trying to screw me on RMA credits to my credit card, I was happy with my RAID. I use my drive, with its voided warranty everyday and it works great. Too bad I know have to flame them everyday. I gave them every chance to be nice to me.
Dude, I'm glad you finally did a little research on something, but LaCie was not founded by Phillippe and Pierre. Joel Kamerman, an American, started The Company in Oregon.
Phillippe and Pierre (French) started a company called electronique d2, which later acquired LaCie for the purpose of having a strategic distribution channel across North America.
I know that you said you were a video "professional", but many other video and graphics professionals that have been working on the Mac for years are quite familiar with LaCie and very comfortable recommending their products.
LaCie has been supporting the Mac community for a long time, and Apple has favored LaCie for many years due to their innovation from R&D and elegant designs that complement Macs.
When the Apple Stores first started opening, LaCie was the only hard drive manufacturer you could find there.
Anyway, I have used many LaCie hard drives over the years without problems (and I do video, audio, and graphic work).
I am sorry that your life is now so full of anger and hate over a bad experience with a hard drive.
How un-American
Country of origin has almost nothing to do with quality. Like others here I find Lacie's case designs to be flawed. At one point I had 3 Lacie drives, all failed. If just the interface would fail that would be one thing, but having the interface burn out and my drives getting fried is just too much. Like every drive, so people have never had issues were others have had enough to stay away.
Me too. I have never had any problem with these drives, and customer service has been excellent. I am still using a very old LaCie CD burner that I used years ago with a Mac 7300. Connected this burner to my iMac (first generation, PPC 1.8 MHz (17" screen), and worked flawlessly.
Different people have different experiences, but I run into very few video pros that use or recommend LaCie. The case designs don't seem to cool the drives enough (leading to early drive failure) and they seem to have an unusually high amount of bridge failures (the hardware that marries the HDD and FW/USB/eSATA interfaces). At least if the bridge fails you can still pop the HDD into another enclosure and get your data back. I have a 2-3 year old LaCie that I use as a system back-up drive and since it stays off 99% of the time I don't worry about heat being an issue. I have also had 4 LaCies at work, which get used much more, die on me in the past 8 months and the drives were 12-18 months old.
Lethal
Lethal
Which enclosures do you recommend LethalWolfe
Since I have so much data already on my new drives, I should consider getting a new enclosure. By the end of next week I should have four hard drives full of data. Anyone have recommendations for a good dependable and well designed RAID enclosure that allows me to use whatever hard drives I want.
I have over 100 hours of video that I am working on getting on DVD and converted to FLV's for the web, and I do need reliability.
Since I have so much data already on my new drives, I should consider getting a new enclosure. By the end of next week I should have four hard drives full of data. Anyone have recommendations for a good dependable and well designed RAID enclosure that allows me to use whatever hard drives I want.
I have over 100 hours of video that I am working on getting on DVD and converted to FLV's for the web, and I do need reliability.
The truth of the matter is which drives they are using.
LaCie does make plenty of high end RAID5 enclosures and cases that do have cooling systems.
When you compare those enclosures to the consumer ones you will notice a performance and lifespan difference. IMHO, if a video pro is using the drive for anything other than backup, they should be looking for an enclosure that is RAID5 from LaCie, G-Tech, Buffalo, or home built.
And they should be using Fibre channel connections or eSata. Anything other than that and they just aren't doing anything important enough to warrant a complaint.
To the OP, I know you asked for LW opinion, but any enclosure that does RAID5 will be your best bet for reliability, speed, performance. Give NewEgg a shot.
Skunk I'm almost certainly looking in the wrong place, but as far as I can see, NewEgg does not sell any mac-compatible RAID5 enclosures.
They have two RAID5 enclosures, and both state that the RAID5 function is Windows only.
They have two RAID5 enclosures, and both state that the RAID5 function is Windows only.
Yes, LaCie advertises that disks are swappable, provided you purchase their disk modules (I own 2 2Big Triples and this is clearly stated in the manual). Again, this practice is no different than similar models from competitors like G-Tech and CalDigit. Based on your logic, you wouldn't buy drives from those companies either by principle. All I can really say is research before you buy.
Any facts to back up your claims of "strict sense of law?" If LaCie states in their documentation that the drives are to be interchanged using LaCie modules, I don't know how well your argument would actually hold up in court. Comparing the policies of an external hard drive manufacturer to those of a computer manufacturer is pointless. The Mac Pro manual says it's okay to add third-party hard drives, RAM and expansion cards without voiding the warranty (though those parts would not be covered under AppleCare) and they even show you how to do it. Turn-key external hard drive manufacturers apparently view this differently.
If you're so concerned about paying inflated prices for additional drive modules, you should just buy a bare RAID enclosure because I honestly don't know of a single turnkey external hard drive manufacturer that has a policy that caters to your needs. What you're doing right now is singling out a manufacturer after you failed to read the fine print.
Many Apple mac models are non-upgradable. The Mac Mini is a desktop computer with nothing that can be upgraded without breaking the warranty - not RAM, video nor HDD.
The iBooks had non-upgradeable HDDs, and so did many other apple mac models. It's not just Apple, many other computer companies have at some point sold various models that you could not upgrade yourself without breaking the warranty.
I won't even mention the mainframes that were sold with only permission to use half the installed computing capacity. If you wanted more power, you had to pay Sun or IBM a big wodge of money, and they would send over an engineer, who would flick a single small switch, activating the second mainboard or the second bank of memory, and then bugger off back home. The whole process took less than 30 seconds but it cost an arm and a leg.
I did a quick search at NewEgg, and found about three that just stated that they work with Mac OS X. One was a ten bay RAID 5 that was $4000 that I wouldn't spend the cash on IMO.
For most enclosures, you may have to get an eSATA card, or if you are going to be doing some high end work go to a company that will be guaranteed to work with Mac OS X, and even provide either the eSATA card or Fibre Channel card as well.
Replacing metal tray on new 2Big Tirple Dirve
In thinking about purchasing a 2big Triple Drive, is it possible to buy your own internal drives say a Seagate, and unscrew/take-off the metal tray that Lacie has installed on the 2 big Triple Drives, move it to the new drive, and use them inside the 2 Big Triple?
I don't care about voiding the warranty, just want to make sure I can upgrade the size of the RAID without having to get the overpriced drives from Lacie.
In thinking about purchasing a 2big Triple Drive, is it possible to buy your own internal drives say a Seagate, and unscrew/take-off the metal tray that Lacie has installed on the 2 big Triple Drives, move it to the new drive, and use them inside the 2 Big Triple?
I don't care about voiding the warranty, just want to make sure I can upgrade the size of the RAID without having to get the overpriced drives from Lacie.
Yes You Can Get Your Own Drive
That was what started my whole rant against LaCie. I have the 2Big, I just wanted eSata since it is faster then FW800. I filled my 2TB RAID and figured I would go buy two new 1 TB drives and put them in. I also figured I would order some new trays so I didn't have to unscrew the four screws on each drive each time I want to switch back.
So, since LaCie sucks and won't sell me trays, unless I pay outgrageous prices for theirs, I removed the warranty sticker and used my new drives. I just unscrew the four screws from each drive and swap out the drives when I need to switch. Yeah, it is a pain in the ass, but it works.
Go ahead and buy from LaCie if you really want to, but I again must recommend that you don't. The only reason I don't is because they won't sell trays, or their replacement drives with trays at a good price. If they would have agreed to sell me new drives with trays at a decent price that didn't have a 100% markup, I would have bought from them. But no, they wanted $219 for a drive with tray for the same tray I bought at Fry's for $109. That is a total ripout on LaCie's part and I will have none of it. So I will continue to bash LaCie for as long as I can.
That was what started my whole rant against LaCie. I have the 2Big, I just wanted eSata since it is faster then FW800. I filled my 2TB RAID and figured I would go buy two new 1 TB drives and put them in. I also figured I would order some new trays so I didn't have to unscrew the four screws on each drive each time I want to switch back.
So, since LaCie sucks and won't sell me trays, unless I pay outgrageous prices for theirs, I removed the warranty sticker and used my new drives. I just unscrew the four screws from each drive and swap out the drives when I need to switch. Yeah, it is a pain in the ass, but it works.
Go ahead and buy from LaCie if you really want to, but I again must recommend that you don't. The only reason I don't is because they won't sell trays, or their replacement drives with trays at a good price. If they would have agreed to sell me new drives with trays at a decent price that didn't have a 100% markup, I would have bought from them. But no, they wanted $219 for a drive with tray for the same tray I bought at Fry's for $109. That is a total ripout on LaCie's part and I will have none of it. So I will continue to bash LaCie for as long as I can.
But, don't you realize that they all do this? All RAID manufacturers I have experienced, since I am looking to get a RAID system, have their own drives that they sell for their own RAID systems. Overpriced, yes, (if you are talking about pricing a third party drive from places like Newegg), but I understand the reasoning why using a third party drive will void any warranty.
The shouldn't be responsible for using a drive in their product that is from another manufacturer.
I Won't Buy From Any Company That Doesn't Sell Trays
I didn't realize "all" companies have this stupid ploy of forcing you to buy their overpriced drives with trays. My experience was with hot swappable drives for servers. In the computer hardware side of the biz you could buy any hard drive you wanted.
What reasoning is there that a third party drive would void the warranty? All hard drives are made to the same general specs. If you purchase a Samsung, WD, Seagate, etc. you can be assured that it will fit in your system and work.
I am not asking them the warrant my hard drives. We all know they fail. Putting in a third party hard drive, especially when I purchase the same exact one they sell should not void the warranty.
So, besides not recommending LaCie to anyone, I would not recommend that anyone purchases a RAID from any company that doesn't sell drive trays. If all the companies are this way, then fine. When we all start buying "DIY" RAIDs maybe they will get the hint.
For the time being I will continue to use my LaCie RAID screwing and unscrewing drives each day until the new MacPro's come out. Then I will either make my own RAID or SAN with a company that understands that their customers should be able to easily purchase new drives and not have to get screwed buying overpriced drives from them.
I didn't realize "all" companies have this stupid ploy of forcing you to buy their overpriced drives with trays. My experience was with hot swappable drives for servers. In the computer hardware side of the biz you could buy any hard drive you wanted.
What reasoning is there that a third party drive would void the warranty? All hard drives are made to the same general specs. If you purchase a Samsung, WD, Seagate, etc. you can be assured that it will fit in your system and work.
I am not asking them the warrant my hard drives. We all know they fail. Putting in a third party hard drive, especially when I purchase the same exact one they sell should not void the warranty.
So, besides not recommending LaCie to anyone, I would not recommend that anyone purchases a RAID from any company that doesn't sell drive trays. If all the companies are this way, then fine. When we all start buying "DIY" RAIDs maybe they will get the hint.
For the time being I will continue to use my LaCie RAID screwing and unscrewing drives each day until the new MacPro's come out. Then I will either make my own RAID or SAN with a company that understands that their customers should be able to easily purchase new drives and not have to get screwed buying overpriced drives from them.
Well, just playing the devil's advocate here, but I assume they only want to warranty their RAIDs with a Hard drives they approve, to limit the variables that could cause problems. I HAVEN'T seen a RAID system that doesn't have a voided warranty for this. I was even looking at CALDIGIT, one of the most respected RAID manufacturers out there, and they too have the same warranty limitations.
Also, if its any consolation, I know that you can find the Lacie drives that are refurbished for a pretty big discount.
and also to keep all of the drives the same make/model... you don't want to create a RAID with different types of drives.
You do know that LaCie is on the consumer end of RAID drives right?
Not recommending them to most people because they don't sell the trays is much like not recommending a Mac to anyone (anyone at all) because they don't have any desktop computers besides the Mac Pro.
And yes Lethal, I completely forgot about Wiebetech.
If you do have a problem with a Lacie drive, don't expect to get any kind of service from them. I tried online and on the 800 number (on which I could only leave a message) when the drive I bought had a power supply problem right out of the box. It's been 2 weeks now and I still have not heard from them... from technical support or customer service. Thank God MacMall let me return the drive for refund. My company has been using Lacie drives for many years, but it seems every time we buy a new one it lasts a shorter time than the previous one. And then after this customer service fiasco... no more Lacie drives for me.
surfmadison, I hear you, but I disagree with you being ticked off. Ultimately, it's your right, but i think you shouldn't be mad at them.
I do agree that their policy may not be the smartest by making you buy the HDs, but it's buyer beware. Honestly, it's your fault for not checking into it. You did the same thing I did when I bought an esata enclosure from addonics.
It works fantastic. I don't have trays, but at the time, I only bought 2 esata cables from addonics thinking that if i needed more, I would add them later from a local store.
Well, I was wrong - only their cables work for some reason. I can't figure it out, but it's definitely proprietary (or at least, I haven't found an esata cable to work with it other than the included ones).
My own fault for not checking into b/c I assumed I knew what i needed to do.
I might have missed it, but have you tried calling lacie and explaining your situation? maybe they can cut you a deal for this time?
either that, or sell it on ebay or something.
cheers and good luck,
keebler
I do agree that their policy may not be the smartest by making you buy the HDs, but it's buyer beware. Honestly, it's your fault for not checking into it. You did the same thing I did when I bought an esata enclosure from addonics.
It works fantastic. I don't have trays, but at the time, I only bought 2 esata cables from addonics thinking that if i needed more, I would add them later from a local store.
Well, I was wrong - only their cables work for some reason. I can't figure it out, but it's definitely proprietary (or at least, I haven't found an esata cable to work with it other than the included ones).
My own fault for not checking into b/c I assumed I knew what i needed to do.
I might have missed it, but have you tried calling lacie and explaining your situation? maybe they can cut you a deal for this time?
either that, or sell it on ebay or something.
cheers and good luck,
keebler
No, we don't all know this.
wettter it is legal or not depends on where you live. Laws are not the same world wide nor are they the same between states in the US.
Thanks for keeping the post alive
Thanks for keeping the post alive, but it is time for this thread to die. I still hate LaCie and will never buy from them or recommend them under any circumstances. Had I known that I couldn't buy trays but had to buy their overpriced drives to get them I would have never bought them. I have learned my lesson. I now use a FirmTek enclosure http://www.firmtek.com/seritek/seritek-5pm/ and they sell drive trays. FirmTek has received high marks from the Arizona Mac Users Group and my enclosure has been running nearly non stop since I got it. There is very little fan noise and it seems to run very cool.
But since we all now know that we should avoid LaCie and other brands that force you to buy overpriced drives we should stop posting to this thread.
Thanks for keeping the post alive, but it is time for this thread to die. I still hate LaCie and will never buy from them or recommend them under any circumstances. Had I known that I couldn't buy trays but had to buy their overpriced drives to get them I would have never bought them. I have learned my lesson. I now use a FirmTek enclosure http://www.firmtek.com/seritek/seritek-5pm/ and they sell drive trays. FirmTek has received high marks from the Arizona Mac Users Group and my enclosure has been running nearly non stop since I got it. There is very little fan noise and it seems to run very cool.
But since we all now know that we should avoid LaCie and other brands that force you to buy overpriced drives we should stop posting to this thread.