LaCie external HDD no longer recognised

Question

LaCie external HDD no longer recognised

My LaCie drive (2TB Rugged Thunderbolt) has been working fine connected via Thunderbolt 2 (the old squarish shaped connector) to my 2015 IMAC 5K. When this broke beyond economic repair, I have just now purchased a new 2020 IMAC 5k and am trying to connect the drive to it via the new Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) connexions on the IMAC. The drive is not recognised. I tried using a new branded Apple Thunderbolt 3 cable rather than the inbuilt one that comes with the LaCie drive with no success either.

If I connect the drive via the LaCie provided USB cable (USB-C on the LaCie to USB-3 on the IMAC, the drive IS recognised but obviously I want to use the faster Thunderbolt connection.

When the drive is attached via USB-C, the IMAC system report says no devices are connected. I have no other USB-C devices to test with the IMAC.

Is there a compatibility issue at play here or are the USB-C ports on the IMAC faulty?

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Posted on Sep 19, 2020 7:49 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

den.thed

Level 9

78,190 points

Sep 19, 2020 9:55 AM in response to gordonfromtetbury

You will need to try a > Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter - Apple

(can't promise that it will work though, because I do not have the same setup)

You can also use it with the USB 3.0 cable plugged into a USB-C port with a USB-C to USB 3.0 adapter, but it will only run at USB 3.0 speed. > https://www.amazon.com/Adapter?

What are you using the LaCie for that requires more speed than USB-3.0 speed can provide?

(if you need something faster, get a Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) external drive)

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Answer 2

rkaufmann87

Level 10

141,348 points

Sep 19, 2020 8:47 AM in response to gordonfromtetbury

If the drive has died (at about 5 years that is a distinct possibility) you likely want to replace it. Most experienced users prefer using the OWC solutions due to their enclosures great cooling which translates into the HD's living longer. Navigate to www.macsales.com and see what they have that may be a good solution for you.

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Answer 3

Sep 19, 2020 9:05 AM in response to rkaufmann87

Thanks. My previous IMAC may have been 5 years old but the LaCie Drive is less than a year old. I cannot see how the drive can be defective if as I said above it works fine when connected to the IMAC via USB3.0.

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Answer 4

Sep 19, 2020 9:32 AM in response to den.thed

You may well be right. I'm no expert on HDD technology but logic would tell me if it works with USB-3.0, it should work with USB-C. After all in both cases it is taking output from the LaCie drive from the same USB-C connection. No?

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