Mac mini M1 - Not able to mount LaCie 5Big Thunderbolt storage

Hello all,

Since 1.5 weeks I am working with apple to solve my above issue. I am unable to mount the LaCie 5Big TB2 storage to my Mac mini M1. TB3 drives are find. It seems the Big Sur 11.1 does not allow that the required driver will be authorized. As we know from Catalina we need to check the Marvel and LaCie Ltd driver in the security options. When I start the latest LaCie LRM manager (v2.9) it says "Install Software" and there it stops.

The System Report is able to detect the TB2 drive, but the system is not able to mount.

Apple has in the meantime performed the system analysis and is looking into the files.

The question is, is anyone else experiencing this issue? If there are more problems, we can put this issue up in the priority list of bug fixes.

Posted on Dec 23, 2020 5:29 AM

Top-ranking reply

Jimcamel

Level 1

39 points

Posted on Apr 8, 2021 7:21 PM

April 8 - 2021. 5 few days ago I received a notice that LaCie had issued an update to the LaCie RAID manger that would work under Big Sur 11.2.3. Today, April 8th, I set aside the afternoon to download and install the RAID driver and physically move my 5BIG from my Intel Mac Pro 6,1 (2013) Thunderbolt-2 to my Mac Mini M1 (16GB ram/2TB storage). So this is LaCie Raid Manager 2.9.3.207. This time the install under Big Sur went fine - I had to approve the software's source with Privacy as expected and this time it went okay. The drive was recognized and I could read and write to it. However, it's performance is seriously impacted. On my Intel MacPro (TrashCan 6,1 Thunderbolt 2) I get at least, 400/400 MB/sec by any measure (transfer a really big video file and stopwatch it, Blackmagic, etc) - but on moving the drive to the M1 my speeds are roughly write 55MB/sec; read 270 MB/sec...there is some variability but this is the essence of it - not much better than a USB2 drive and on par with a FW 800.

So this is a serious problem. This drive, while readable, is useless for ay serious photographic/video work.

I spent some hours on the phone with tech support today and they do not have an answer for this. I swapped every TB2 cable and Apple adapter I have* - so it's not a cable or adapter issue. It's a driver issue - entangled with caches/buffers/optimization and all that.

*I have 3 Apple TB 2<-->3 dongles I have 2M and half-metre cables from different manufacturers - I counter-swapped, and all these work fine on the TrashCan - and when connected on the clearest/simplest path on the M1 Mac - much less performance.

Two questions

what numbers are you seeing*
How do we mount a claim on this.

*the reason I am asking this is if your 5Big (whatever) is performing differently than mine - I have done 2 failed drive swaps over the years and although I have replaced with IronWolf, maybe I have introduced something incompatible or less optimized. Nonetheless, the LaCie Techs cannot discern this and the drive currently does do 400+/400+ on the Intel and 55/270 on the M1.

I do not relish dumping this drive system - but it is useless on the new future of Macs. The LaCie tech sort-of admitted to this but has no solution and so we must apply some pressure.

Nest Steps. BTW - I am sure this applies to 6Big and 12Big as well....so this is not a small community that has had their hardware back-watered very prematurely.

jc - April 8-2021

View in context

Similar questions

42 replies

Jimcamel

Level 1

39 points

Feb 15, 2021 7:51 AM in response to NordicLightPhoto

Writing this on Feb 15th - 2021. I have been in exactly the same situation since mid-Nov 2020 when I got my M1 (M1 MM, Big Sur 11.2; correct apple adapter for TB 2<-->3). I have opened multiple tickets with Lacie; I actually spoke to a level 1 support tech @Lacie about it who promised me a level II tech would call - and has not in 3 weeks and I've filed more tickets. So, I too, can confirm that LaCie's support is a mess and is totally un-responsive. The ONLY reason I'm getting by is that I have it attached to my MacPro and can access it via networking - but, of course a little slower.

motegi

Level 1

4 points

Mar 2, 2021 6:42 PM in response to Jimcamel

Hi Jim,

Have you had any success since this post? Lacie is still "working" on the problem as per their website.

I have a 5Big TB2 that functionally useless right now. Not very professional.

Apr 14, 2021 11:57 PM in response to Jimcamel

Yes, we can do this offline. I am on FB - search for - Hendrik *** - or use my website - ***

[Personal Information Edited by Moderator]

stokstad

Level 1

4 points

Apr 20, 2021 6:05 AM in response to NordicLightPhoto

Reporting similar experience here.

Mac Mini M1 (16bg - 500gb) + Lacie 5big RAID 5 24TB:

800MB/s on a intel macbook pro..

Cheers,

Edvard

Apr 27, 2021 5:36 AM in response to stokstad

Reporting similar experience here.

Mac Mini M1 (8GB - 128GB) + Lacie 6big RAID 50 48TB:

1200MB/s on a Intel Mac Pro 2013.

Apple, please investigate!!!!

Apr 27, 2021 6:01 AM in response to OlegVienna

Thanks Oleg.... see my note to Edvard. (One above you...)....

Let's hope Apple is making this work. It is a nightmare.

Jimcamel

Level 1

39 points

Apr 28, 2021 6:54 PM in response to Jimcamel

Feb 15, 2021 9:15 AM in response to Jack_et_al

LaCie / Seagate perhaps think that their equipment is only used by hobbyists? How is this possible? Their service is a disaster! Perhaps it is the last device I have bought from them. I may be switching over to Promise Tech.

Feb 15, 2021 10:44 AM in response to Jack_et_al

Jack_et_al wrote:

Compare LaCie/Seagate’s and G-Technology/WD’s response to the problem vs Promise Technology’s response.

Do you work for Promise Technology?

I ask because most of what you wrote is simply not factual and only opinion.

Version 15.8.108 of the NTFS Paragon Driver is officially supported on both Intel and Apple silicon (M1) based Macs.

I use several Seagate and G-Tech drives with my M1. They work perfectly fine once formatted correctly via the M1.

LaCie drives are a whole other matter. I will never waste my time buying another LaCie drive.

Feb 15, 2021 12:29 PM in response to MyApple8MyPC

I am a data scientist for a pharmaceutical company. It appears you maybe an outlier considering you are the ONLY one that is not having an issue with the RAID DAS solutions. Your experience is an outlier from what the general public has had. I am guessing you have not done your homework. Try going to the LaCie support page. The OFFICIAL statement is that Apple M1 IS NOT COMPATIBLE. You can not use the Thunderbolt 3 I/O. They are “working” on it. You can only use the USB-C I/O with the Apple M1 powered computers and it will run at a much slower speed. Their advertising states USB-C 10Gbps but when you dig into support page it is actually USB-C 5Gbps. Now try going to Promise Tech or Areca you will notice that those RIAD DAS solutions have fixes/solutions that mitigate the Apple M1/Big Sur issues.

Your statement of “I have use several Seagate and GTech drives...” is irrelevant considering the rest of the general public have had the same problem. We are not using regular drives. We are using high performance RAID DAS solutions. The driver you reference does not resolve the issue. Try using the Thunderbolt 3 I/O on the 6Big/12Big or GTech G-Speeds it will not mount on the M1 powered Macs running Big Sur.

FYI....LaCie does not make hard drives. Seagate owns LaCie and makes the hard drives. Try looking at the support page that you downloaded the driver you reference. Also WD owns G-Tech and makes the hard drives.

Feb 15, 2021 3:55 PM in response to Jack_et_al

Jack_et_al wrote:

Your statement of “I have use several Seagate and GTech drives...” is irrelevant considering the rest of the general public have had the same problem.

Not true. I work with hundreds of other people who have never reported any issues. How presumptuous of you to speak for the "rest of the general public". Your experience may be yours, but please don't speak for what I have personally observed. The OP owns a LaCie drive. I have already stated that I would never buy another LaCie drive.

Jimcamel

Level 1

39 points

Apr 12, 2021 9:56 AM in response to NordicLightPhoto

Hi Hendrik - just checking - you said you installed ".307" - but the '3's a typo-right ??? - did you mean ".207" ???. But if you did install a .307 then, man, I'm not installing THAT - your BlackMagic 36MB/sec is even worse than my 55 ! Sorry, I need an emoji here ...

I did raise some of these issues with "The Constant Geekery Podcast" (Britain - several hundred subscribers).... and they discussed the whole issue of RAID performance on the M1's for about 10 minutes today (Apr 12). That was my first effort at exposing this to a wider audience....I may chime in on a few other YouTube channels and see if we can learn more about what people are seeing out there; and what people are doing with effectively moth-balled 5Big, 6Big and 12Big RAID systems.

And, LaCie sent me a followup on my case this morning - I will reply to that and with a letter to my "case contact" outlining my views as to how dismal this is, that more transparency is needed from LaCie as well as a thorough public acknowledgement of the problem accompanied with a commitment to followup and fix it.

6 or 7 year old industrial hardware ought not to be considered obsolete....that it works on Intel but not on Apple Silicon should be a red flag; hopefully it is fixable with a software or firmware update.

So, on my side I'm going to be working to try and spread the word more and hopefully that will provide some incentive to LaCie to work with Apple to resolve it.

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

Mac mini M1 - Not able to mount LaCie 5Big Thunderbolt storage