New LaCie 160GB d2 External Drive

[Mayo]

I visited my first Apple store last week...it was a real kick to be in a computer store that didn't have any Windows stuff in it!

I wasn't in the market for an external drive, but the looks of the LaCie d2 drive made me do something I never do...I just bought one.

Installation was a real breeze, maybe five minutes including partitioning the drive using Disk Uitility.  I used SilverKeeper to immediately make a bootable copy of the OS 10.3 volume on my iBook.

I do have some issues with the drive.  Most importantly, I do not get a S.M.A.R.T. Verified message in Disk Utility, while the built-in drive is verified.  The drive in the LaCie is a WDC WD16 00BB-00DWA0, for those who know about these things...Could it be that this particular drive does not support S.M.A.R.T.

Amazingly, the drive has a slight lean to the right to it, so I have dubbed it The Leaning Tower of LaCie.  It would appear that the machining of the aluminum is less than perfect...  And apparently the power cord spontaneously ejects from the power pack.  It was disconnected this morning, and then it popped out while the drive was going.  I have pushed it in more firmly and we'll just see if it stays put.

Finally, the vibration from the drive was too much, so I put an old mouse pad under it and it is Much Better.  However, the drive makes a sound that seems to be at just the right pitch to unpleasantly stimulate my brain.  Unplugging it improves the sound problem...Maybe I'm just too sensitive to sound.

A little looking around on the Internet leads me to believe that the drive does not support S.M.A.R.T. since nothing shows up rather than a warning that failure is imminent.

So is this drive a Dog (no offense to my canine friends...)?  For some strange reason I thought LaCie made decent stuff.  Exchange it or return it?  It would be a hassle to return it since the store is about 270 miles away, and the receipt states that the drive must be returned no later than 12/27 for an in-store exchange.  Anyone have experience with how the Apple stores handle this sort of thing?

Just checked with the Apple store...returns have been extended to 1/3/03.  They suggested contacting LaCie tech support, which is closed until 12/29/03. No luck getting to talk with one of the store's "geniuses" regarding the S.M.A.R.T. verification issue.  And the salesperson I spoke with told me it is his last day...Am I Entering Retail Hell?  Glad I used a credit card!

[kelly]

If you're not happy with it return it.

I have several LaCie products I'm happy with.

But there's always an exception.

[Paddy]

Mayo, not sure about the "S.M.A.R.T." bit, but the drive inside the LaCie housing is a Western Digital - one of their "mainstream" (as opposed to "high performance") drives, with the 2MB cache instead of the 8MB cache of the high performance drives. I have a 120 GB WD with the 8MB cache and have been very happy with it - as have many others who've commented online on various boards. It has a 3 year warranty too - which the "mainstream" drives from WD and just about every other drive manufacturer these days don't have. This was a big factor in my decision-making process when buying the drive. My drive is extremely quiet - I never hear it. I don't know about the mainstream drives - though generally, WD's reputation has been pretty good in recent years.

http://www.westerndigital.com/en/products/....asp?DriveID=33

[kps]

I think you should return it. LaCie is not what it used to be. I have been dissapointed with some of their recent products. Things I bought years ago were excellent.

I now buy drives from Seagate or Western Digital and install them in a firewire enclosure. I have two such drives and they work without any problems.

I have two ADS enclosures, but have a look here:

http://www.cooldrives.com/firen.html

There's other stores as well. I buy mine localy.

[Mayo]

Thanks for the input.  The information from the Apple store regarding returns was vague, to say the least...  The invoice states that items can be returned for an exchange or refund within ten days, and a store associate told me that the return date had been extended to 1/3/03.  There is another note on the receipt that opened boxes will require a $22 charge, which isn't too much to eat, should it become necessary...

When I called the store about the drive I was told that they don't provide support for LaCie because it isn't an Apple product, and that I should contact LaCie directly.

I suppose I better call again and speak with a manager...

[Mayo]

The LaCie shipped via FedEx today.   I have to say that the customer service at the Apple Store has been a D- so far.  The fellow I spoke to on 12/24 told me that my 12/27 return deadline had been extended until 1/3/04.  When I called again on 12/26 to arrange the return I was told that no, that extension was only meant for GIFT returns.  Of course, the person I spoke to the first time no longer works for Apple, as of 12/24...

Then the second salesperson informed me that they don't accept shipped returns, and I will just have to drive the 300 or so miles to personally hand-over the item...

At this point I asked to speak with a manager, since it was obvious that I was going to get nowhere with this person.  "Wellll, okay, but we're REAL BUSY and I don't know if a manager will be available.  Do you mind waiting awhile?"  The salesperson's demeanor was what I might experience at a fast food outlet rather than a retailer selling expensive techno gear.

Happily, a manager got on the line within a minute, and after explaining my situation she agreed to accept the return on 12/31.  The Apple Store will credit my credit card, minus a 10% restocking fee.  It may or may not be debatable whether the drive is indeed defective, but it wasn't worth $22 for me to get into it with the manager.  Hopefully the return will go without a hitch.

Will I ever make a another purchase at an Apple Store?  Probably not...I'm disappointed that there seems to be some rot under the Apple gloss, and I have other computer retail options that don't make it difficult to conduct routine business matters.

Now I'm going to check out some of these suggestions for Firewire drives, and hopefully I won't be beguiled by good looks this time!

[Mayo]

An update... I received an e-mail from the Apple Store this morning letting me know that they were crediting my account the full $219.  I guess they agree that the drive wasn't quite Up To Snuff...