LaCie drive failed AFTER new power supply

[Mariposa-]

My LaCie drive suddenly failed to mount (firewire) to my iMac. I tried disconnecting and reconnecting to no avail. I could not detect the drive in Disk Utilities.

I called LaCie, they said I probably need a new power supply. Got the new power supply and it did seemingly "wake up" my LaCie, it started making it's usual sounds and the weak flashing blue light became steady and bright.

The LaCie still did not show up on my desktop but I could see it in Disk Utilties. After running verify and repairs I got the same results for both;

Invalid node structure
Volume check failed
Error: Filesystem verify or repair failed

LaCie said if the new power supply failed to solve my problem I would have to send it to them so they could attempt to recover files at a cost of $600.

Does anyone have any suggestions before I resort to this expensive repair?

Thanks in advance for your patience and advice

 

[firestarter]

Which LaCie is it? Which capacity?

Do you have a backup?

 

[Mariposa-]

LaCie 500 Gb Big Disk, 4 years old.

I don't have any other external drive and I only have one computer.
Thanks

 

[firestarter]

It sounds like your power supply might have failed while the disk was being updated, and now it's corrupted.

If the disk is making all the right noises, and you can actually see it in Disk Utilities - then that's good news. It shows that it's more likely to be data errors than a serious hardware failure.

Something like Disk warrior should be able to recover data:
http://www.alsoft.com/diskwarrior/index.html

If I were you, I would:
- Buy DiskWarrior
- Buy two 500GB (or larger drives - they're so cheap now it makes sense to get larger ones)
- Try and recover your data onto one of these drives and MAKE A BACKUP ON THE OTHER IMMEDIATELY
- If you manage to recover your data, then don't keep using the LaCie. It's failed once and corrupted your data - you can't trust it again.

Disks are mechanical devices and they will wear out and fail - the question isn't 'if' but 'when'. Important data needs to be in at least three places at once to be secure. Also, maybe buy another brand next time... LaCie have great advertising but they're no better than any other brand (some would say worse).

 

[Mariposa-]

I appreciate your informative reply firestarter,

I'll follow all your suggestions.

I'm unsure whether to continue to buy LaCie drives, they offered me a discount it I went with them. Can I ask what brand you use?

Thanks again

 

[firestarter]

There's only 4 or 5 different manufacturers that make disks - Seagate, Western Digital, Hitachi, (Samsung and Fujitsu are smaller).

There's only a few different chips that enclosure makers use to convert from the SATA plug on the back of the disk, to the USB socket on the back of the enclosure.

All the 'manufacturer' (like LaCie) does is to design the box, put standard components in and buy in a power supply (usually a Chinese made wall-wart).

So unless you're getting special high performance stuff, a lot of companies sell almost the same hardware - just with different design and advertising.

Personally I buy separate disks (I like Western Digital and Seagate best) and cheap boxes (about $20, with power supply) and I make my own. You can buy a 1TB disk drive to put in these enclosures for < $60.

If I had to buy one, I'd go with a branded Western Digital. If I was feeling rich, I'd buy a G-tech (because I think G-tech's designs are better). I wouldn't buy LaCie - since I think they spend a lot on fancy boxes and advertising, without having better electronics or reliability.

 

[Mariposa-]

It's great to learn I can build my own.

Thanks for sharing your experience so generously,
Happy Holidays!