Buy LaCie 301825U d2 Quadra 500 GB eSATA/FireWire800/FireWire400/USB 2.0 External Hard Disk - Computers

Product Description: Fully loaded with all the best interfaces - eSATA 3Gbits, FireWire 800, FireWire 400 and USB 2.0 - this all-in-one professional hard disk offers universal connectivity for PC and Mac users. For easy setup, the LaCie Setup Assistant helps format according to your needs. The unique, fanless aluminum heat sink design with 60% more surface area for heat dissipation keeps it quiet and safe. With the LaCie Shortcut Button, easily launch any application in one push. Perfect for digital content creation, audio / video editing, DVD authoring, and web animation, etc., the d2 Quadra can handle multiple demanding professional tasks. It can be daisy-chained via FireWire or connected to your DV camera and is even bootable in FireWire for Mac and in eSATA for Mac / PC.

Amazon.com Product Description: With a unique ridged exterior that enhances the enclosure's cooling performance, and a quadruple interface for full Mac and PC compatibility, the LaCie 301825U d2 Quadra External Hard Drive is an all-in-one drive that's built with the professional in mind. Designed by internationally acclaimed designer Neil Poulton, this versatile drive offers extreme performance and an aesthetic touch that will enhance any work space.

The LaCie d2 Quadra Hard Disk offers:

eSATA 3Gbits, FireWire 400/800, and USB 2.0 for universal compatibility and extreme speed
500 GB of disk space.
7200 rpm spin speed and 16 MB cache.
Fanless ridged design for cool, quiet operation.

Unique ridged heat sink aluminum design increases surface area by 60% for cooler operation. (Show here with the Little Big Disk Quadra and the 2big Network.) View larger.

The minimalist space-saving design will enhance the aesthetics of any work space. View larger. View back.

The d2 can be racked horizontally and set up in a RAID configuration. View larger.

Quadruple Interface for Unmatched Performance and Compatibility
The LaCie 301825U d2 Quadra External Hard Drive features one eSATA 3 Gbit port, two FireWire 800 ports (9-pin), one FireWire 400 port (6-pin), and one hi-speed USB 2.0 port that is USB 1.1-compatible. (Cables for each connection are conveniently included with the drive.) This quadruple interface makes the d2 Quadra ideal for demanding multi-media applications that require extreme speed as well as universal connectivity. The USB and FireWire connections ensure that you can transfer or back up your data from your laptop or other computers, while the eSATA interface offers a transfer rate of up to 300 MB per second (3Gbits/sec).

The LaCie d2 is compatible with Windows, including Vista, and Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard, including Time Machine, making it an ideal partner for your Mac. Time Machine automatically backs up your Mac's system files, applications, accounts, preferences, music, photos, movies, and documents to an external hard drive and lets you easily go back in time to recover anything.

Superior Drive Performance for Power Users
Built for power users such as video editors, the d2 Quadra features a rotational speed of 7200 rpm and a cache of at least 16 MB. Perfect for digital content creation, audio/video editing, DVD authoring, web animation, and more, the d2 Quadra can handle multiple demanding professional tasks. It can also be daisy-chained via FireWire or connected to your DV camera and is even bootable in FireWire for Mac and in eSATA for Mac/PC.

With a capacity of 500 GB, the d2 Quadra can hold up to 500,000 photos, 175,000 songs, or 35 hours of DV video. If you purchase multiple drives, they can be daisy-chained and set to RAID 1 for data redundancy and protection, or RAID 0 for even greater speed.

The d2 Quadra also offers three power management options: "Auto" for energy efficiency; "On" for instant access; and "Off" for data protection. The drive also lets you back up files or launch any application with a simple push of the front blue button. This "shortcut button" can be configured to launch any document or application, or initiate the included EMC Retrospect Express software that offers automated backups.

Smart, Elegant Design and Loaded with Software
With the d2 Quadra, Neil Poulton has fashioned a unique, attractive and functional drive that offers excellent heat dissipation features and space-saving options for stacking. The fanless aluminum heat sink design features exterior ridges that provide 60 percent more surface area for heat dissipation, keeping the drive quiet and as safe as possible at all times. The d2 Quadra will sit nicely in an upright position alongside your PC or Mac machines, or it can be stacked horizontally with other drives or rack mounted to save desktop space.

Set-up and use is quick and easy, thanks to LaCie's preloaded Setup Assistant that helps format the hard disk according to your needs. For instance, the d2 Quadra lets you easily create a FAT32 partition for use with Macs. With the LaCie 1-Click Backup, you can backup any file into the location of your choice with a simple "click"--either via the desktop icon, or CTRL-S on your keyboard. And LaCie's Shortcut Button lets you easily launch any application with one push.

Also included with the d2 is EMC Retrospect professional backup software for PC and Mac users. This award-winning software offers several back-up options, including fast backups and scheduled back-up of either a single file or your complete system. With EMC Retrospect Express, you'll never have to worry about losing your data again.

The drive measures a slim 1.7 x 6.3 x 6.8 inches (WxHxD), weighs 3.31 pounds, and is backed by a 3-year limited warranty.

About LaCie
Established in France in 1989, LaCie is a leading manufacturer of computer peripherals for Windows, Apple and Linux users. With offices and plants in the USA, Canada, Japan, Australia, Europe, Singapore and Hong Kong, LaCie develops and manufactures external storage solutions and color monitors that help professionals and everyday people easily manage their digital lives. LaCie has differentiated its products through original designs and leading-edge technology.

What's in the Box
LaCie d2 Quadra Hard Disk; eSATA-to-eSATA cable; FireWire 800 (9-to-9 pin) cable; FireWire 400 (6-to-6 pin) cable; USB 2.0 cable (USB 1.1 compatible); external power supply; drive stand for upright desktop use; LaCie Utilities (preloaded): LaCie '1-Click' Backup Software for PC or Mac; SilverKeeper Software for automatic backup and file verification (Mac); EMC Retrospect Express 6.1 (Mac); and EMC Retrospect Express HD 2.0 (Windows).

Customer Reviews:

Great product December 2, 2008
We haven't had this drive very long, however so far it has performed flawlessly. We love the all aluminum case - much more attractive and robust than those other external hard drives with plastic cases.

Great Sleek Hard Drive December 2, 2008
Fast access to your data on FireWire 800. I wish you could connect two computer to one hard drive. I would recommend this product.

Good so far November 30, 2008
Easy to set up (at least on a Mac). Quiet operation. Still working after one month. If it's still working after two years, I'd give it five stars.

Good product, would recommend November 30, 2008
I've used these drives for video production usage since 2003 and have loved every iteration of it. I like these in particular because they are one single drive instead of two drives in a RAID-0 arrangement. Yes it doesn't have as much throughput but it sure is way more reliable.

On that note this space is all for large video files and work files as I'm compressing and compiling DVD's. These drives hold up under hours and hours of reads and writes for years to come. In fact some drives I bought in 2005 just died but to clarify the housing died but the drives are still usable as internal drives. That said I would NOT use these drives or any firewire drive as an archival medium. Despite these being great drives there are other ways I would store sensitive material like spreadsheets and photographs. Any firewire drive is easy to knock over or unplug correctly and each time this happens you take a chance that it won't start up again.

One thing I would recommend if you use a mac is "Diskwarrior." it's a bit spendy but it has saved many a firewire drives from the clutches of re-formatting because it was having trouble mounting.

Nice while it lasted - horrible customer service November 27, 2008
This was SO easy to hook up with my iMac, just took literally a few minutes. And it worked perfectly; the noise when it was backing up wasn't bad at all. I really liked the blue light in front because, well, just because it looks cool. :)

However, I bought it only about six weeks ago, it was on sale as I recall, however it unfortunately died tonight. VERY loud clicking noises and my Mac froze up, which is beyond rare. Darn. All those backups lost since they'll have to refurbish it or replace it, which I'd of course prefer. Since they are closed the next two days, I don't know exactly how they will handle it.

Added: Once I finally got hold of customer service, after being on hold for an hour, the rep was not very responsive. The capper is that I have to pay for shipping (not a light unit) back at my cost, with stipulations as to how to send (3" bubble wrap - like I just have that sitting around). No refund unless they can't fix it. If I had it to do over again, I'd give it one star. If the returned unit (no ETA on when that might be) also fails, I WILL get a refund. You know when you call tech support and your 21st in line - AND there is no toll free number - it's time to prepare for the worst.

Of course, all my backups are gone either way. Please read their warranty VERY carefully before considering this unit.

LaCie 301825U d2 Quadra 500 GB eSATA/FireWire800/FireWire400/USB 2.0 External Hard Disk

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