Customer Reviews

LaCie Starck 2 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive 301889KUA

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I've got a macbook running OSX 10.6 and with Windows XP on a boot camp partition, so I was able to test the drive's software under both mac and Windows.

Physically this is a nice drive. The casing is solid metal and the drive is pretty heavy. I think it should work well as a "heat sink" but unfortunately there is no fan to reduce internal temperatures. The drive looks nice, but has a funky looking faceplate. The LED is a small orange light on the bottom left of the front panel. It isn't too bright, but is also easy to see.

The drive comes formatted into a small partition and is not usable without running the mac or windows setup utility on the drive itself. There is no software CD. You can bypass the built-in utility and partition/format it manually using the mac or windows utilities, but will need to download and install the software manually from the Lacie website.

I figured most users would test the drive under Windows, so I ran the setup utility under OSX. The utility allows you to setup the drive as a single mac partition or as a split mac/windows partition. Unfortunately, it only allows you to setup the windows partition as a 32 mb FAT32 partition. This is unusual in that most other external drives can be setup as a single FAt32 partition to use their full size. In fact, most drives come pre-formatted as a single FAT32 partition.

I setup the drive with the split partitions and it did a fine job of partitioning and formatting the drive with OSX and FAT32 partitions. It installs the manuals and software on the FAT32 partition, so they can be accessed from both OSX and Windows.

I ran the drive manager under OSX and, after installing all the required software, it reported that no compatible Lacie drive could be found. This means I cannot use the gimmicky "touch sensitive" front panel to start programs under OSX. So, while the drive is very functional as an external drive for a mac, it doesn't perform the gimmick function that separates it from other drives. Since the drive is more expensive than other 1TB drives, mac users would be better off going with a cheaper drive, unless they are enamored of the funky front-panel appearance.

I rebooted into Windows and ran the disk manager utility. This time it recognized the existence of the Lacie drive and allowed me to setup the programs to be run when I touch the front panel. There are two functions available, one by a short press of the front panel and the other by a long press. To run a particular program, you can simply drag the icon into the disk manager utility. I dragged Windows Explorer into the short-press functionality and it seems to work properly. However, I don't really see the value of this functionality. I usually keep my external drives out of reach, so touching the front panel is a pain. I can more quickly locate the programs I want to run on my desktop and can click the icon to run them quicker than I can reach down and touch the front panel, even with the drive located within easy reach. Also, the ability to assign only two functions limits the value of the "touch panel" capability.

So, while it works with Windows, it is still a gimmicky function that has a very limited usefulness. Since the drive is more expensive than other 1TB drives (such as the Western Digital Elements drive) most Windows users would also be better off going with a cheaper drive option. This isn't a bad drive, it just isn't anything special.

Additional notes:

1. The drive has a mini USB connector on the back so you cannot use standard USB cables.

2. I did finally get the disk manager software to work on the mac, but again, it is pretty useless for my purposes.

3. While I was able to uninstall the software on the Windows side, I cannot find out how to get rid of the parts it installed on the mac, except the main utility program in the Applications folder.

I've had a lot of external drives, from a 10 meg oh so many years ago (the size of a shoe-box) to the ultra-modern LaCie Starck - and many in-between.

First impression - this is the HEAVIEST external I've had in several years. It's built like a tank. Instead of a fan, it uses the case to dissipate heat.

Looks - It's the coolest looking external I've ever seen. From the contoured face to gun-metal gray case, to the orange laser + projected on my desk surface.

But what about really counts - speed, reliability and ease of use?

Installation: Plugged in the USB and power, turned it on, and Windows 7 recognized it immediately. It comes with 10 meg formatted - this has the installer / formatting application. Run it, agree to the standard terms, select the system (PC, etc. - see my screen capture) and the drive starts to format.

Windows also popped up a warning / message (see screen capture) that it wanted to format the drive - since LaCie's application was already formatting the drive I did not Windows format it as well. Windows really should have detected it was already being formatted!

Formatting took about two minutes - pretty fast. Part of the formatting procedure (and another reason NOT to let Windows format the drive) is writing the manuals and some different applications to the drive. See the screen capture.

After this was complete, I installed the included backup software and desktop manager. The desktop manager is pretty useless - unless you want to use the touch interface. You can program two actions - one for a short touch, the other for a long touch. I have the drive under one of my monitors and I've toched it accidentally a few times. Positioning it elsewhere would solve that, but I like it where it is.

It's USB 2, so the speed is limited by the USB interface (cable included,) but it's still pretty speedy.

So far I'm really impressed. I'm going to spend the next few days copying about 800 gig of files I want backed up, and I'll see how long it takes.

Bottom line - 1 TB of data storage in what looks like desktop artwork - a great addition to my storage needs, and these are growing daily. I shoot around 3000 photos on some weekends, and have a LOT of music files. I've learned the hard way that you can't have too many backups!

Followup: I copies 700 gig of files overnight - speed was decent - taking into account that there were almost 200,000 files!! The darn thing is so quiet I forget that it's there! Totally silent.

So far I like this product, except for one minor complaint, which I'll get to in a bit.

I like how the on light is a little glowing X projected right in front of the drive. I like the silver front. I like that this is sturdy.

I copied a 19.3 gb file from my laptop, and it took 16 minutes. I watched a DVD file from the drive, and it seemed to play OK. The voice seemed to be just a microsecond off, so I watched it from my laptop drive, and it was synced a little better.

The case has sharp edges, and the metal is stylishly rough. It's a little darker grey than the picture. You can only stack 2 of these, but since I only have 1, that's just fine. I also have a Western Digital 1 TB My Book drive that is going to stand on top of this so that I have my bank of hard drives and gaze at it in absolute nerdvana.

There is a nifty little feature that took me forever to figure out because the instructions aren't very clear. There is a touch pad on the front of the drive that you can program to do various things like open Firefox or your Kindle for PC app. Right clicking and dragging the icon over to the Desktop Manager will do it, but I didn't find anything that tells you that. For the frustration this caused, I'm knocking off a star. Well, I'm knocking off half a star. A little bit gets knocked off because there's this LaCie Desktop Manager file that I can't close. Minimize, sure. Close, no. A little more because of the sharp edges and the very short USB wire, and there's your 4-stars.

This seems solid - I wouldn't want to drop it, but I'm not worried about accidentally hitting it with something. Except for the Desktop Manager thing, it's easy to use and set up. The price is decent, especially considering how sturdy this is. I don't think it's as elegant looking as the company thinks it is, but it's a nice drive. And it holds a whole lot of stuff.

I bought this drive from the Apple store as a replacement for my old drive which I outgrew a few months ago. I panicked when my computer wouldn't boot properly (I had accidentally changed a setting) so I ran out to the store instead of buying online. I bought it because it was a decent price for the size ~$100 and it had good reviews compared to a lot of other drives I was looking at. The drive is heavy and has a nice look. It also comes with a few adapters for the power plug to work abroad (I don't remember which countries the adapters were for).

I ultimately decided to return the drive because it wasn't very practical for my needs. The USB cable is super short and the power cable is not particularly long either so I had to move my computer to connect it to the drive. Would have helped if either cable were longer but I would have preferred to have a longer USB cable. My camera cable is longer than this one. If you plan to keep your drive stored right next to your computer (and have an outlet near by) then this drive will be great for you.

It seemed like a good product but it wasn't going to work for me. Good luck with your decision.

BTW, I have a Mac.

This is a MUST HAVE hard drive specially for those who own the new imac 27"...is a very stylish and works perfectly with Time Capsule and the front touch works as described by Lacie. I had to replace a old Lacie hard drive 300 Gb for this new 1 Tb to be able to save all my precious data.

Both in appearance and functionality, the LaCie Starck is startlingly different from your average, plastic-body device. The drive is encased in a solid, charcoal gray metal box (and its weight reflects it) with a front that looks like liquid metal -- think Terminator II inside a radioactive containment box. The shiny chrome front acts as a shortcut touch pad for the included software. To protect your desk from the rugged exterior, two padded strips are attached to the bottom. The drive comes with outlet adapters for various countries; from my memory of adapters, I believe that they can be used in US, the UK, Europe, and Japan.

The drive works almost silently, a real change from my Western Digital My Book Essential 1 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive WDBAAF0010HBK-NESN, and it's quicker as well. The real difference here, however, is the touch pad which is powered by special software. Using the LaCie Desktop Manager, you can select two functions, one activated with a short touch and the other by holding your finger against it. For instance, when used in conjunction with the included backup software, you can instantly copy all your documents to the drive with a tap of your finger. And then back up all your photos with a longer touch.

Mac users will appreciate the option of partitioning the drive to have one Mac section and a Windows or Linux section, allowing backups from both operating systems without having to swap hard drives. Of course, the drive can also be formatted for Time Machine.

Like any device, the LaCie Starck is not perfect. Its power cord is too short, and the installation of the software is not as intuitive as it should be. For example, when the Desktop Assistant is formatting, you cannot tell its progress. If you abort, you'll then have to reformat the drive and download the software from the LaCie website since the reformatting will erase all the included software. The documentation out of the box is minimal since the manual is instead on the hard drive itself -- a real issue if you reformat before reading the manual. LaCie recommends moving the manual from the external drive to your computer before beginning, and the advice should be followed. Even when you do read the manual, the instructions are not explicit. For Macs (I did not test the PC software), you have to launch and set up both the Desktop Assistant and the Intego Backup Assistant before you can use the touchpad. It took me a full hour to figure out everything so I could use all the features. Most external hard drives are plug-and-go. Of course, most hard drive don't have the touch features that the LaCie has.

Once I got the LaCie Starck up and running, I loved it. It is quiet, rugged, and, yes, cool.

-- Debbie Lee Wesselmann

I bought the LaCie Stark 1 TB for my Aiport Extreme Base Station as a backup hard drive for use with Time Machine on my MacBook Pro. It's a funky looking hard drive, with a thick, strong aluminum case that helps it from overheating and protects to moveable parts. I have my AEBS and LaCie on a shelf, with a closed back and I was worried about overheating. However I have check from time to time and have not noticed the drive to be very hot.

Another neat feature is the indicator light shines onto whatever surface it is placed. This is nice as I can see it easily from across the room. My only complaint is the sound of it turning on is louder than most other hard drives I have had in the past. I'm not saying that it sounds like a 747 taking off, but I can hear it spool up from across a 12 foot room.

Overall though I am very happy with my LaCie Stark hard drive and will be recommending them to my friends in the future!

It was easy to install and was exactly what I wanted. The only bad thing is that it's heavy. It's pretty much like a brick.

The Lacie 1 TB USB hard drive is a perfect storage machine. Quick and easy to run, fast download and upload speeds, and is nice to look at. I am very pleased with the purchase

What makes this drive different from all other drives? Two things.

First is the rather useless ability to control it with a touch. You can set two functions, one if you touch the panel and one if you keep your finger on the panel until the program you've selected pops up. Although there are a few drop down options, Explorer, which I would think is the most obvious, isn't one of them. Point to c:\Windows\Explorer.exe to set that program to a touch or a hold. It's awkward to take your hands off the keyboard and mouse and reach over to launch a program. After the novelty wears off, you won't find any use in this.

Second is the really useful ability to partition it for multiple platforms in the setup utility. This is great if you want to use the machine for a Mac and a PC or a Windows box and a Linux box. For the sophisticated user with multiple environments this is a fabulous drive. I can find none better.

The good:

It works for Linux, Windows, and Mac.

It's fast.

It's easy to format for NTFT without having to run Microsoft's convert utility--useful if you're going to be storing larger files.

The bad:

The finish feels uncomfortable to touch. It's not smooth.

The set up is a little buggy and I had trouble getting Windows XP to recognize it.

If the drive isn't recognized, or even if it is in disk management but you can't get a drive letter mapping, start with a reboot. That worked for me. If that doesn't do it, go to control panel->Administrative Tools->Computer Management and then click on Drive Manager. In drive manager you should see the drive and can format it from there. This will, of course, erase the set up utility that lets you partition this so nicely. It's a last resort to get the drive working. Once the drive is formatted, either manually or by the utility provided, it is recognized easily by the next computer.

I use the Iomega eGo 1 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive 34268 (Midnight Blue) and have found it to be a better drive at a lower price for a casual user.