Product Description

Despite being one of the smallest desktop drives on the market, it offers a minimal footprint and is lightweight. The LaCie Desktop Hard Drive adds unique, sophisticated style to your desktop with a quiet, unobtrusive presence. Its sleek body has a tough metal top cover for advanced heat dissipation and the bottom has vents for natural airflow. This external hard drive is the affordable way to save your precious memories including up to 2,000,000 photos, 9,250 hours of music or 750 hours of video. LaCies '1-Click' Backup Software for PC and Mac is included for quickly saving files in one click. Up to 480Mb/sec Bus Transfer Rate with USB 2.0 Operating system - Windows 2000 or Higher, Mac OS X Approximate Unit Dimensions - 1.6 X 4.4 X 7.6 Approximate Unit Weight - 1.98 lbs

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #547 in Consumer Electronics
• Color: Black
• Brand: LaCie
• Model: 301285U
• Dimensions: 2.50 pounds
• Memory: 8MB
• Hard Disk: 500GB

Features

• 500 GB external hard drive provides a simple way to store and transport your files, music, video, photos and more
• Easy setup: ready to use just seconds after removing it from the box
• Fast USB 2.0 interface transfer rate: up to 480 Mbits/s
• Includes USB cable, AC adapter, and backup software
• Measures 4.4 x 1.6 x 7.6 inches (WxHxD); weighs less than two pounds; 1-year limited warranty

Amazon.com Product Description
The LaCie Desktop Hard Disk 301285U 500 GB USB 2.0 External Hard Drive is an affordable and easy way to add more storage to your computer. You no longer have to worry about running out of space for your latest music, movies, and photos. And with universal compatibility and a compact size, this portable drive lets you easily share your music, photos and video files with your friends and family.

The LaCie Desktop Hard Disk 500GB USB 2.0 External Hard Drive offers: 500 GB of additional disk space. USB 2.0 for fast speed and universal connectivity. Plug and play operation with preformatted, driver-less drive. Fanless design for near-silent operation.

A compact, fanless design allows for quiet operation. View larger.

A USB 2.0 connection offers fast transfer rates. View larger.

Expansive Space for Video, Music, and Photos
With 500 GB of disk space, the LaCie Desktop Hard Disk lets you store up to 35 hours of DV video or 125,000 songs or 550,000 photos. Instead of having all this data stored on an internal drive on your desktop computer that can't be moved around, imagine being able to carry your entire digital media collection with you on your travels. You can also use the drive to back up your computer files for extra security.

Fast Performance and Exceptional Compatibility
Using the universal and fast USB 2.0 interface, which offers a transfer rate of up to 480 Mbps, this drive will work with both Macs and PCs. Just plug it in and play it. The drive is pre-formatted for use across Windows and Macs, doesn't require any additional drivers, and is ready to go seconds after being removed from the box. The drive features a rotational speed of 7200 rpm and has a cache of at least 8 MB, providing performance that won't keep you waiting for your files to backup or your media to play.

The drive is compatible with Windows 2000, XP, and Vista, as well as Mac OS 10.3 or higher. Included in the box is LaCie's 1-Click Backup Software for both platforms, making backups a quick and easy process.

Smart, Compact Design
Utilizing a fanless design, the Desktop Hard Disk is nearly silent, even when you are working on intensive applications. This means that as you work on creating your audio files, you won't be disturbed by the background noise of a fan creeping into your recordings.

The drive features a sleek, black stylish design, letting it blend into any work environment. Sturdy and compact, it's constructed with a tough metal top cover for durability and heat dissipation, making it easy to carry your important files around with you wherever you need them. Measuring just 4.4 x 1.6 x 7.6 inches (WxHxD) and weighing less than two pounds, the drive can be easily transported into your briefcase, allowing you to shuttle files between your home and office, or move your work between your laptop and desktop with ease. The design is also stackable, which will save space when you want to further increase your capacity by adding another drive.

The LaCie 500 GB USB 2.0 Desktop Hard Disk is backed by a 1-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 Desktop Hard Disk, USB 2.0 cable, external power supply, quick install guide, LaCie utilities (preloaded on drive), user manual, backup software.

Customer Reviews

Great hard disk for backups,etc.
In my opinion, the LaCie 301285U works perfect: I use it to make daily/weekly backups of my web design works and haven't had any problem until now. Works smoothly with NAS's and although it's not the best option to carry it when you are traveling etc (not very small and heavy in my personal opinion), it's a perfect solution for keeping your important stuff safe.

Only thing I don't like at all is that sometimes it has a little but noticeable noise inside, like when those old HDD's on computers were installing software etc..

very fragile...hard drive failed with barely a bump
I used this hard drive successfully to back-up two laptops. I plugged it in to my desktop to back the data on that computer up and I kept getting error messages when I tried to transfer data. I then unplugged it and plugged it into my laptop with which it had worked fine and the laptop wouldn't recognize it. It also then began making beeping noises which my research indicates means the hard drive has probably failed. The only explanation I can come up with is that it was a failure waiting to happen or it broke when I barely bumped it with my elbow on the desk. If the latter was the cause, then it is very fragile and not worth the investment even though it is a great price for 500GB of storage. A few other notes: there is a warning in the manual to keep the drive away from magnetic sources such as computer screens and the USB cord provided is about 18 inches long. Also, the manual instructions, which I read dutifully, weren't consistent with my XP dialogue boxes, though I was able to get around that by making intuitive decisions. Also, you should know that there is no on-off switch.

I was very happy about this purchase and was willing to look past some things for the price, but it was out of the box for less than a day and it failed. I can even get past that--not all products are perfect. But I can't get past bad/no product support. The only way to reach tech support is via email and they have not replied for 48 hours. (I couldn't find the toll number mentioned by another reviewer.) The tech support appears to be unsatisfactory.

The worst thing is that now I have sensitive data on this which I have no idea how to remove, so it seems I can't return/exchange it. I don't feel comfortable returning it knowing that someone could extract the data somehow.

I recommend you research other drives that are more sturdy, have a longer USB cable, have an on/off switch, have accurate instructions, and which are built by companies which have great tech support reviews. I am just now starting that search with 100 fewer dollars in my pocket. Good luck!

Very satisfied with my purchase.
Excellent product, great value. I am very satisfied and would highly recommend this drive to anyone.