Lacie d2 Quadra 500GB Review

[dang]

Checkout our latest review of the Lacie d2 Quadra 500GB (http://reviews.digitaltrends.com/review5010.html)The d2 Quadra is one fully-loaded hard drive with eSATA, FireWire 800, FireWire 400 and USB 2.0 interfaces.

[pattianne]

Checkout our latest review of the Lacie d2 Quadra 500GB (http://reviews.digitaltrends.com/review5010.html)

Hi! I am considering buying this drive for my son, who is a college student. He is pursuing a film major, and they are required to buy a drive for storage of projects. He has a pc with Vista, but the school computers are macs. Will he be able to use this drive with both the macs at school, and his pc? Or once he formats it for the mac, it then becomes unusable with the pc? Any suggestions, or advice gratefully accepted!

[Jnorem]

Yes, it works with both Macs and PCs. When you first set it up it asks you how you want to format the drive, meaning which file system you'd like to use.

You can set it up so that it formats most of the drive for PCs (NTFS), and a small partition will be made in FAT32, which is compatible with Macs.

The biggest size of the FAT32 partition was 32GB, so the other partition was like 450GB or so.

I hope this answers your question.

[Ioman]

If you format the whole drive as FAT 32, it will show and work on both right?

[Jnorem]

Yes if you format it in FAT32 it will work on both. The only limitation to that approach is the max file size will be 4GB, so you could not copy a DVD ISO for example.

[neuroking]

Or, better yet, get him a copy of MacDrive (http://www.mediafour.com/products/macdrive/). The software lets you access Mac Drives as easily as Windows ones, and format the drive for Macs (HFS+? I think). I have used that with USB and Firewire drives, since I'm in grad school (as well as a staff member here, so I'm not affiliated with whoever makes the software) and many friends have Macs.

If he will be dealing with video editing, he will hit the FAT32 4GB file size limit quickly and often (I've been starting up some high end video work, and know this happens easily). So, avoid FAT32.

Make sure you get a drive with Firewire 800 and USB. USB for convenience, Firewire for speed. If his machine has eSATA, even better, but go for a drive supporting all 3.

Your formatting options are:
1) NTFS (PC) - let the Mac users deal with accessing it (no solid software on OS X does). Any projects can be burned to DVD-Rs, most likely
2) HFS+ (Mac) - deal with being hostage to a third party piece of software on a daily basis, but easy transfers to his Mac friends
3) Partition part for Mac, part for PC - generally the best of both worlds, but you have to know what the proportions will likely be
4) 2 Drives - one for regular use (whatever is fastest on his system), one for assignments formatted for Mac. Just copy files over using MacDrive as needed.

The best universal solution is probably, like Josh said, is probably just to get the biggest drive you can get (1TB are going for <$250) and partition it. Grab a copy of MacDrive, and that should cover all your bases.

(Ugh, totally sounds like I'm shilling for MacDrive, but I don't know of anything else that works!)

[pattianne]

Wow! You all are wonderful! Thanks so much for your quick responses and thorough answers, Jnorem, Ioman and neuroking! Please, can I beg your indulgence as I clarify some things and ask for further assistance?

Or, better yet, get him a copy of MacDrive (http://www.mediafour.com/products/macdrive/). The software lets you access Mac Drives as easily as Windows ones, and format the drive for Macs (HFS+? I think). I have used that with USB and Firewire drives, since I'm in grad school (as well as a staff member here, so I'm not affiliated with whoever makes the software) and many friends have Macs.

If he will be dealing with video editing, he will hit the FAT32 4GB file size limit quickly and often (I've been starting up some high end video work, and know this happens easily). So, avoid FAT32.

Definitely will be dealing with editing, so duly noted!

Make sure you get a drive with Firewire 800 and USB. USB for convenience, Firewire for speed. If his machine has eSATA, even better, but go for a drive supporting all 3.

I was thinking along the same lines, but then I spoke to a guy at the university, and he said that since they are not doing high def, it does not make that much difference if they have 400 or 800, but heck, by the time he graduates, he might be, so I like to not be penny wise and pound foolish.


Your formatting options are:
1) NTFS (PC) - let the Mac users deal with accessing it (no solid software on OS X does). Any projects can be burned to DVD-Rs, most likely

I apologize for not being clearer on this point. He will be using the school machines, which are macs, for all his editing, because apparently the software they use is only available for macs. This also means he will not be editing on his pc, unless he uses something else like Avid, for instance, but I think it best for him to stick to one package for now. So, I guess the issue has become will he be able to copy the files to his pc.


2) HFS+ (Mac) - deal with being hostage to a third party piece of software on a daily basis, but easy transfers to his Mac friends

Sorry for being stupid - but I am not sure what you are saying here. Does it make a difference that he is already being held hostage to the school machines? Will the drive, like the Lacie, format itself with this the first time he plugs it in?


3) Partition part for Mac, part for PC - generally the best of both worlds, but you have to know what the proportions will likely be

I am nervous about advising this, since he is not a techno person, his solution is to hit the power button whenever there is a problem. Also, we have no idea how much space he will need - he is just a freshman.....

4) 2 Drives - one for regular use (whatever is fastest on his system), one for assignments formatted for Mac. Just copy files over using MacDrive as needed.

Now this may be just the ticket! Let me see if I understand you - get the Lacie, let him format that one for the mac. Use it for his work, then bring it back to his room, use MacDrive, which is installed on his pc, and download the files to his pc, then store them on an external formatted for the pc. Right?


The best universal solution is probably, like Josh said, is probably just to get the biggest drive you can get (1TB are going for <$250) and partition it. Grab a copy of MacDrive, and that should cover all your bases.

(Ugh, totally sounds like I'm shilling for MacDrive, but I don't know of anything else that works!)

I am looking for the easiest way to do this, because as I said, low tech knowledge on his end, and I am not that hardware oriented either. My husband is, but for pcs not macs.

Thanks again for all your help and suggestions, and TIA for any further advice!!