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I have a LaCie 2big Network that currently has 2 500GB drives in it (mirror).

I'd like to upgrade the drives to 1TB each using something like this

I know that Lacie sells a 1TB drive designed for the 2big Network but it would seem to me that these drives are standard drives with the Lacie holder included.

Do I need to use their drives or can I get my own? (Their customer support pushes me towards their drives) I'm assuming the device can format the drives for me when I add them in.

Jason
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5 Answers5

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I did the same yesterday, after breaking my head about the fact that replacing both disks at the same time does not work. There seems to bee some kind of linux software on the drives that make them "network". replacing both drives at the same time means the device is NOT accessible anymore. The trick that did it: replace one drive by the bigger one, go to the admin page to the RAID section and add this new drive. the drive is being added but no change in total disk size. after the raid is rebuild (takes some time), exchange the second drive and do the same procedure. After both drives are rebuild, format the raid and the total disk size is correct

SalF
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They are hot swappable; you can replace them with any drives which meet the specs defined by the hardware. They do not need to be LaCie drives; however I would get the same make/model with varying manufacturer dates for each drive existing in the array.

Aaron McIver
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    SO, I can get 2 1TB drives and take one 500GB out, throw in the new 1TB and let it rebuild then repeat the process for the other disk? – Jason Mar 04 '11 at 15:10
  • @Jason Yes...that in theory would work. RAID can be an interesting animal...proceed with caution (make certain your data is backed up before proceeding). – Aaron McIver Mar 04 '11 at 15:55
  • @Jason Keep in mind the drive will need to be formatted via LaCie software if they supply it or via other means before it can be used. – Aaron McIver Mar 04 '11 at 16:01
  • Thanks...it looks like Lacie keeps the system on the disk so I'll have to try to rebuild it...keeping my fingers crossed – Jason Mar 04 '11 at 18:42
  • how did this go and what drives did you get? I want o do the same with by 2 big lacie drive. – v3nt Jan 24 '14 at 12:13
  • @Jason would appreciate a follow-up as well, was this successful? – trisweb Sep 15 '14 at 15:48
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    @trisweb It was, I went from 500GB drives to 1TB drives. I did one at a time...Swapped out one, waited a week, then did the other. I purchased 2 1 TB Hitachi Deskstar drives (7200 RPM). I can't remember it being terribly difficult of a process either. – Jason Sep 15 '14 at 18:43
  • Thanks so much for the first-hand report. Just ordered two 3TB drives to try to upgrade a 2TB (dual 1TB) 2Big. Will use the same strategy and report back on results so this thread remains useful (it's near the top of search results). Thanks again. – trisweb Sep 15 '14 at 23:38
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Just make sure to backup your data elsewhere!! All data is lost when you rebuild the raid..

You DON'T need to use Lacie spare drives - You just have to swap ONE disk at a time, just like "SalF" wrote. Replacing BOTH drives at the same time will leave you with a NAS without an OS..

MuHcOw
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If you use ghost and do a sector by sector copy you dont need to do the mirror process and you can do data as well but it took me 5 hours for 1.5 tb x 2 drives I replaced mine with 2x3tb drives

Dan
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For those users who use Lacie 2Big devices, they do not run a software OS on the disks, they run what is called hardware RAID. This runs right from the mainboard or motherboard of the device if you will.

To upgrade simple: 1) Insert two Seagate-brand NAS disks of the same model and disk size, in my instance I downgrade from a 2x5TB disks Enterprise to 2x4TB disks NAS by Seagate. 2) Hold down the Lacie reset-pen or if you don't have it, a normal real pen will do to hold down the 'Select' button on Power-on for about 10 seconds. The Fast / Safe lights will start flashing. 3) Click the pen a few times on the Select hole to choose 'Safe or Fast'. This will install the setup of choice on this device and format the drives. Tip! I have noticed that changing it to the opposite setting of what you previously had might be required to force a re-format on the newly inserted disks.

Download Lacie Desktop Manager (google it) to check the RAID-status on your device once the drives get formated.

The normal format time is about 10 seconds. We are talking fast, quick-format here by Lacie, writing 0's over both of the disks nearly instantly.

Enjoy.

user76122
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