LaCie 301340U 1 TB D2 Ethernet Network Attached Storage

Pros:

 

Cons:

 

I bought this NAS to use with an Xbox hacked to run Xbox Media Center. I have an all mac household so buying a Lacie drive just made sense. I also have 2 separate Lacie d2 external hard drives. While this drive is fine as a simple NAS, it is billed as so much more. And when taking that into account, it is hard to give this a great review.

Evaluating this only as a NAS it is decent, probably 4 stars. The read speed is fine accessing HD video on my xbox over a 802.11G network works fine. Write speeds are not as great. Transferring a 300MB files takes about a minute.

So while it might not seem that bad, the "features" are where this really starts to fall apart. First, all of the setup must be done using a web browser. Lacie provides a taskbar program, but it does nothing except provide the link to the browser admin page. The bittorrent client is WORTHLESS. The only stats that it provides, or status, is the percentage complete. No speed, seeds, peers, NOTHING. Not to mention that to actually use the BT client you have to login to the NAS through a browser, then click on media, then click on bittorrent, then upload a .torrent to it. Why couldn't it just watch a folder named "Torrents" and download anything that enters?

Also, the remote power feature is complete BS. It is billed as being able to turn itself on when a network devices is requesting it. And it does, as long as you are referring to using the taskbar app and clicking on Wake Up Device. Same goes for it turning off, you have to use the web interface and pass through 4 menus to click "shutdown" It is basically just a digital power switch. Thats all.

I sound like I hate this, and I really dont. I just was not happy paying for features that do not exist. I was able to get a partial refund and keep it. But you might want to look elsewhere if those features are important to you.

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Pros:

 

Cons:

 

Previously I had a 500GB Lacie Disk Mini which served me very well for a backup drive for 3 years until the circuit board fried. The only real issue I had with the Disk Mini (other than the frying) was the loud fans which continuously ran since there was no remote power-on/off. Well Lacie fixed the loud fans and the remote power on/off in the 1TB D2 however there are some caveats.

I had my old Disk Mini unit sitting in a cabinet with my cable modem and router and it worked out fine. When I put the 1TB D2 in the same cabinet and did my first backup the unit over heated and shut itself down (I must say it was nice to receive the e-mail from the unit when it over heated -- a great feature) Since then I've had to move the unit outside of the cabinet and it has not overheated. Another advance in the D2 (over the Mini) is that you can remotely shut it down and start it up. The start-up function is nicely controlled from the desktop icon (in both mac and pc) however to shut it down you have to go to the unit's web page, click through several pages and then press a button -- but hey, they added the feature!

Over all the 1TB D2 seems good I use it to back-up a windows vista laptop as well as a os x leopard laptop. However we will see if this circuit board will fry after 3 years of use.

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Cons:

 

Cutting right to the chase, I put a lot of research into this product (obviously not enough) and have been using peacefully since this summer. (2009) About a month ago, the drive crashed. I just sent it in for repair a few days ago (I had to pay the shipping-ugh) and from what their techs tell me, I will not be getting my data back.

Well LaCie, congratulations, I will never buy another one of your drives again. I advise all of you people out there the same- as someone who works a lot with computers, I have not had a drive ever fail in just 4 months! So, if you're looking for a network attached storage device that you can backup your computer on and store some excess stuff that you don't want on your local HD, then look further. However, if you enjoy losing precious data, then LaCie drives are most certainly for you!

Well I understand defects happen, I have talked to several other people who I work with and most of which say that they will never buy another LaCie again, they are unreliable and certainly not well built. While customer service was very helpful, they advised me that there will be no attempt made to recover my data (stated in the warranty) and they will be doing nothing to compensate me, however they do advise redundant backup systems. Joy, so I can go out and buy more LaCie stuff? Pass.

Hope this review helps!

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Pros:

I can say nothing positive about this product. 

Cons:

This product has failed three times in the two years I've owned it. Support is EXTREMELY slow and obtuse. 

The power supply has failed twice and the unit must not have the power buffered through a UPS as per manufacture instructions. I have very poor power provided through my utility. Power is the main cause for drive faliure. Once you can finally get the support attention, they are so slow with any productive action. You know the kind of service; questions from the CS Rep. that states, "do you have the unit plugged in?"

I have old gear buffered with large UPS in my residence and have not had a faliure yet. This unit is poorly designed and manufactured. It was purchased to serve iTunes materials and clearly isn't adeqate for this purpose. Save yourself the headache and time, look for something else.

Oh yes, I've had two other faliures of Lacie products at my work but can not state the company due to standards and practices. This is my opinion based on my experience and is not the opinion of my employer.

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