Format the drive with win XP or use a third-party HDD software like partition magic.
keep in mind that the choice of a correct file system is very important, "NTFS support volumes up to 16EB" while FAT12 is limited to 32 MB.
Keep me posted!
Wrong answer. Upon right-clicking the file and choosing "Format," the computer formats the 9.99 MB partition in about 3 seconds and then says the format is complete; the rest of the drive is still not available for use. It is my presumption that it was a result of this format that the "Start Lacie" file would not run when I copied it to the drive from a brand new identical drive.
A correct answer consists of opening computer management (in control panel) and selecting disk management under the storage category. Here the 9.99 MB partition can be deleted and a new one created by right clicking and selecting the applicable option; the format process which follows however (following your choice to add a new partition) takes several hours.
The format is in progress at this time. Although I expect the drive to be usable after the format completes I am not sure that this will satisfy me entirely, as I fear that the drive will no longer be recognized as a Lacie drive which might cause otherwise free software provided by Lacie such as their encryption and backup software to decide to deny my drive permission to use it as I am sure it is intended for free use only with Lacie drives. I predict I will encounter this deficiency upon completion of the partition / format process, and therefore expect to be getting in touch with Lacie support to have this resolved.
I found the solution relating to deleting the 9.99 MB partition and adding a new one from a simple Google search which returned the following site, a site which I discovered after submitting details of the problem to this site:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?...
Now Andy, consider your last three post and ask yourself what make them different from the the answer I gave five days ago. Using disk management in Windows XP to format the drive or another third party disk tool like partiotion magic both bring the same result!
And... deciding wich file system to use is quite important!
Have a nice day!
Your answer was correct although not thoroughly complete as it was not sufficiently detailed to enable the average user to immediately provide for the resolution to the matter at hand; removing the 9.99 MB partition was key prior to making any further progress. The problem can be solved entirely within the Disk Management window with the few simple steps previously described without use of a third party application which most users probably don't already have installed. In answering questions we should be in the business of providing the most optimal, straightforward and complete answer that will be suitable to the widest audience possible. In regard to my previous posts I think I should acknowledge that it is probably somewhat apparent that I did not initially afford the Lacie solution much more than a brief look over which is why I did not immediately recognize that their solution essentially performed the same functions and resulted in the exact same end result. I do hold myself to a high standard and recognize that this failure of my part to thoroughly look over the solution provided by Lacie before asking additional questions about it and so forth probably did contribute to some of my subsequent posts seeming a little out of touch before coming to the correct realization.
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Wrong answer. Upon right-clicking the file and choosing "Format," the computer formats the 9.99 MB partition in about 3 seconds and then says the format is complete; the rest of the drive is still not available for use. It is my presumption that it was a result of this format that the "Start Lacie" file would not run when I copied it to the drive from a brand new identical drive.
A correct answer consists of opening computer management (in control panel) and selecting disk management under the storage category. Here the 9.99 MB partition can be deleted and a new one created by right clicking and selecting the applicable option; the format process which follows however (following your choice to add a new partition) takes several hours.
The format is in progress at this time. Although I expect the drive to be usable after the format completes I am not sure that this will satisfy me entirely, as I fear that the drive will no longer be recognized as a Lacie drive which might cause otherwise free software provided by Lacie such as their encryption and backup software to decide to deny my drive permission to use it as I am sure it is intended for free use only with Lacie drives. I predict I will encounter this deficiency upon completion of the partition / format process, and therefore expect to be getting in touch with Lacie support to have this resolved.
I found the solution relating to deleting the 9.99 MB partition and adding a new one from a simple Google search which returned the following site, a site which I discovered after submitting details of the problem to this site:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?...
I notice the title of this post was modified from my original submission. For your information, this is actually a USB 3 device.
On the basis of the wording chosen for this solution's title I think it likely will be less likely to appear as a search result when future users search for a solution to the failure (as the site I mentioned above) although be it that more complete information about the failure may now be available here.
I think my original title suggestion of "Included "Start Lacie" file not run on drive prior to Windows format; drive now has only 9.99 MB of availability" might be better; I think including the 9.99 MB figure is key, as this is the immediate problem encountered in the situation addressed by the information contained in this solution.
The drive finally finished formatting. I tried using Lacie Genie Backup assistant, one of the downloads on the site and did not encounter any failures relating to the software deciding not to operate as a result of not detecting a Lacie drive, which is a good aspect. The software however didn't even bother to tell the user where the backup was to be stored, or offer the user the option of where to save it; the only location listed in the options menu was a temporary file location, not where one (at least myself, not necessarily having a full understanding of the matter at hand) might expect to constitute a safe location for the permanent storage of a backup.
The initial format of course, as mentioned in my initial inquiry was my first attempt to resolve the 9.99 MB disk space condition. As indicated, more than this was required to resolve the failure encountered.
It looks like my original concern regarding the possibility that Lacie software might decide that my drive no longer deserves to be allowed for use with it was not without merit. Upon trying to use the Lacie Desktop Manager, the message "No LaCie Desktop Manager compliant device found" appears. The relevant question for myself however, is whether or not there are any applications that I might actually want to use. Other than for the Public/Private application which supposedly provides for encryption (the download link for which, happens to be missing from the site anyway) I think there may not be many, and perhaps none of significance.
I provided the following feedback to Lacie on their website via Support Ticket #: 101595361:
I would like to recommend that your drives not require the user to double click the "Start Lacie" link to select a partition option before allowing more than 9.9 MB of the drive space to be usable. In my case I was not expecting this ridiculous requirement to be a factor, and my experience is detailed here:http://www.fixya.com/ThreadAsker.aspx?th...
Andy L.
Posted: May 28, 2011 @ 8:08 PM
Another thing to consider is that many users may not do a Google search as I did regarding the 9.9 MB disk space condition or have another brand new drive to use also which could allow the user to realize that the reason the available disk space is limited to 9.9 MB is that the "Start Lacie" option was not selected upon first use. After formatting the drive as a first attempt to resolve the 9.9 MB condition it is now too late to use the "Start Lacie" setup option even if it were available for download online.
Andy L.
Posted: May 28, 2011 @ 8:15 PM
An experience of this nature which resulted in the expenditure of perhaps an hour or so of my time and a delay of several hours before even being able to use the drive caused me to wonder, who would have thought that limiting the drive capacity to 9.9 MB (or disallowing any use of it, for that matter) without the taking of a specific action on the part of the user in order to be able to use the drive would be a good idea? Presumably, someone at your company must have thought that this restriction would be a good idea and that it would somehow be beneficial.
Posted: May 28, 2011 @ 9:22 PM
Another thing to consider is that most people expect plug and play functionality these days, and most everyone knows that driver software necessary for a USB device to be properly recognized is included in the device itself and loads autmatically; this is why USB devices typically no longer come with driver software on a CD. It is quite ridiculous that your device has the artificial and intentional deficiency of not allowing use of the disk space until the "Start Lacie" option is run, something which should not reasonably be expected to be a necessity simply to copy files.
Andy L.
Posted: May 28, 2011 @ 9:28 PM
The packaging mentions the setup assistant but provides no indication that this is required simply to use the hard drive; your website does not bother to provide any information regarding any solutions to the problems that are bound to arise and be experienced by a fair number of consumers, all as a result of, what (perhaps) someone at one time thought was a bright idea.
Regarding my earlier suggestion about search results, I should acknowledge that my understanding of how they are selected is not thorough, and I would presume also that other page content (if not all of it) in addition to the title should hopefully be as well; I do not know what additional impact the wording of the title may have if any in search result placement.
If I am not mistaken, the requirement to manually run included software on the drive to enable its use may be something unique to Lacie, as I have had many drives in the past and do not recall ever encountering anything of the sort.
Upon providing the information above to Lacie I received the following response, followed by their solution for the initial failure that I encountered following my attempt to resolve the 9.99 MB disk space condition by right-clicking the drive and selecting format. Note that my suggestion to eliminate the necessity to run this "Start Lacie" file in order to enable use of the remaining disk space was not specifically addressed:
Posted: May 29, 2011 @ 3:36 AM
Good morning Andy,
My name is Michael, and I will be happy to help you with your LaCie product. First of all, I would like to thank you for choosing LaCie, and we appreciate your patience and trust in our products.
If I understand your issue correctly, your drive seems to be having an issue showing 9.0MB only instead of the full size 1TB.
I would like to let you know we thank you for notifying us of your complaint. We strive to provide you with the best possible service, and when you feel that it fails to meet your expectations, it’s important for us to know.
Your patronage is important to us, and we hope that you’ll continue to give us opportunities to serve you.
If your new drive is showing as 9.9MB instead of the full size, its likely not a permanent issue. The reason this happens is because the Setup Assistant program is stored on a 9MB partition and in some instances when its run, the entire drive isn't erased. This can be caused by security policies or manual formatting instead of the automatic.
In rare circumstances, the LaCie setup assistant fails to function properly. As it usually isn't possible to run the setup assistant a second time, the drive must be repartitioned manually. The most consistent method to do this is to treat the failure as if it the disk, and reformat using your operating system's disk tools.
The Lacie solution for the failure, which I continue to presume is quite common in consideration of the numerous posts regarding the subject which can be found online is as follows:
The reformatting process will erase the data permanently, so it must be recovered prior to attempting to fix anything.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Following the procedure below will ERASE ALL DATA on the drive. Prior to following these directions, verify important data is stored securely on a different storage device.
Begin by clicking Start, then Run.
In the box, type:
cmd
Click OK.
A DOS window will open. Use a command called "diskpart" to perform the beginning part of the format process.
Type:
diskpart
then press enter. The system will change the prompt to say DISKPART>
Next, type:
list disk
then press enter. Doing so will display a list of all hard drives attached to the system, the size, and the "disk number" assigned.
Identify the disk. This can be difficult if there are multiple, identical disks. If this is the case, unplug the drive, then type list disk again. Note which drive is missing, then reconnect it. Type list disk once again to get the new listing, and identify the proper drive.
The next step is to target the right disk with the program. Type:
select disk
followed by the disk's disk number. In the example, we used the command:
select disk 4
Disk 4 is the problematic one, so that was correct. This differs from system to system, so ensure the correct disk is selected. Press enter when ready.
Finally, type the command:
clean
then press enter. This will erase the partition information, and allow a new format to be applied. The message "DiskPart succeeded in cleaning the disk." will appear The DOS window can be closed, now.
The next step is to apply a new format to the disk, and perform a test to see if the drive is physically working properly. Use a program called Disk Management to do this.
To access the Disk Management program, begin by clicking your Start button. Choose "Run" out of the menu.
Type the command:
diskmgmt.msc
Click OK.
The Disk Management program will open. If a window called the "Initialize and Convert Wizard" appears, click cancel.
The top frame lists partition summaries for connected drives. The bottom frame shows how the disks are physically related to these partitions. We are interested primarily in the bottom frame. Look for the disk number selected earlier in the DiskPart program. It should have a different icon (a red "do not enter" sign, specifically.)
Right-click that symbol, and choose to "Initialize Disk". A new window will appear asking for confirmation. Confirm this decision.
When it has completed, it will now appear like so:
Next, space must be allocated to hold files. Computers call these "Partitions." Right-click the area marked "Unallocated", and choose to make a "New Partition."
For the following choices presented, the default is the most desirable option. It will set up the entire disk as one drive, make it the Windows file format (NTFS), and run a read/write test on the drive. Read each question carefully to ensure that it will meet any required needs, as reformatting erases the data, again.
Once it has completed, the drive will be accessible.
PS: I thank you for bringing this matter to our attention, and we are waiting to continue to serve you.
NOTE: Would you please provide me with your drive serial number in order to facilitate any further assistance.
Thanks, and please let me know if you have any difficulty.
Michael
Reply to Lacie, Posted: June 1, 2011 @ 8:58 AM
I did not follow your steps to resolve the failure, as I had already deleted the 9.99 MB partition and selected the option to create a new one in disk management, a procedure which took more than two hours to complete. Does your solution take this long? If I were to follow the steps in your solution would my drive still be recognized as a Lacie drive and therefore be allowed for use with your Lacie Desktop application? If not, what is the solution for this failure? Might the solution (to ensure compatibility with Lacie Desktop Manager) differ for my present circumstance, consisting of the fact that I resolved the failure encountered through Disk Management (as described above) instead of following your procedure?
Perhaps I should clarifiy in regard to the opening sentence in the second prior posting that I was referring to the failure as having numerous mentions online, not the solution to the failure provided by Lacie, which I am not aware has been posted publicly online anywhere other than here prior to now.
Reply to Lacie, Posted: June 1, 2011 @ 7:32 PM
The steps you provided now show images, which previously did not display for me; it is now clear to me that the steps you provided would provide for the exact identical result as those which I performed, as your images display Disk Management with the applicable drive being entirely unallocated, which is not consistent with how the drive will appear upon being connected in its initial state of only allowing 9.99 MB, as no such 9.99 MB partition is shown in your image. This causes me to wonder, might your directions be somewhat incomplete, in the sense that they skip to Disk Management displaying the entire space as unallocated without directing deletion of the 9.99 MB partition which would otherwise appear? Regardless of this however my question remains: What is your solution now to ensure that the drive is recognized as a Lacie drive which is therefore entitled to compatibility with Lacie applications such as the Desktop Manager? Might this scenario necessitate a device exchange?
It would be nice if this forum allowed editing of posts, as this information could be more concise; the steps provided by Lacie were not incomplete (as I suggested in the last post,) as they directed removal of the 9.99 MB partition using the command prompt, something which I overlooked five minutes ago.
The only difference between the steps provided by Lacie and those which I followed consists of the Lacie steps directing use of the command prompt to remove the problematic partition before going to Disk Management to add a new one. Use of the command prompt can be eliminated however, as the entire solution can be completed in Disk Management simply by right clicking the 9.99 MB partition, selecting "Delete Partition" and then right clicking again and selecting the option to add a new one.
The question now remains, what solution will Lacie offer to the users affected by this failure to provide for their drive's compatibility with the Lacie software to which they are entitled? I am awaiting their answer.
I have received their answer, which is obviously not a correct answer: Posted: June 2, 2011 @ 3:41 AM
Good morning Andy,
Thanks a lot for your response.
I would like you to know that following the previous procedures will isolate your drive's issue immediately and it will be recognize as a LaCie drive.
So, please just proceed with the last information I provided you with and let me know the results.
Your answer was correct although not thoroughly complete as it was not sufficiently detailed to enable the average user to immediately provide for the resolution to the matter at hand; removing the 9.99 MB partition was key prior to making any further progress. The problem can be solved entirely within the Disk Management window with the few simple steps previously described without use of a third party application which most users probably don't already have installed. In answering questions we should be in the business of providing the most optimal, straightforward and complete answer that will be suitable to the widest audience possible. In regard to my previous posts I think I should acknowledge that it is probably somewhat apparent that I did not initially afford the Lacie solution much more than a brief look over which is why I did not immediately recognize that their solution essentially performed the same functions and resulted in the exact same end result. I do hold myself to a high standard and recognize that this failure of my part to thoroughly look over the solution provided by Lacie before asking additional questions about it and so forth probably did contribute to some of my subsequent posts seeming a little out of touch before coming to the correct realization.
Your answer was correct although not thoroughly complete as it was not sufficiently detailed to enable the average user to immediately provide for the resolution to the matter at hand; removing the 9.99 MB partition was key prior to making any further progress. The problem can be solved entirely within the Disk Management window with the few simple steps previously described without use of a third party application which most users probably don't already have installed. In answering questions we should be in the business of providing the most optimal, straightforward and complete answer that will be suitable to the widest audience possible. In regard to my previous posts I think I should acknowledge that it is probably somewhat apparent that I did not initially afford the Lacie solution much more than a brief look over which is why I did not immediately recognize that their solution essentially performed the same functions and resulted in the exact same end result. I do hold myself to a high standard and recognize that this failure of my part to thoroughly look over the solution provided by Lacie before asking additional questions about it and so forth probably did contribute to some of my subsequent posts seeming a little out of touch before coming to the correct realization.
The prior two postings were intended to appear below the solution category; upon selecting the reply link in this area and posting the above comments they initially appeared under the category intended but changed to this location upon refreshing the browser. Apparently, the "Add a comment" option in the solution category must be selected instead of "Reply."
Although Lacie did not provide a solution to the problem of the drive no longer being recognized as a Lacie drive (and its resulting non-compatibility with Lacie software) when I afforded them this opportunity, perhaps it should be considered also that the reason (at least my reason) for choosing this drive, the 1TB version of the "LaCie Rikiki USB 3.0" was due to its status as the smallest USB 3.0 1TB drive on the market right now.
I have some doubts as to the likely usefulness of the Lacie software anyway; Although I have already commented on one of the Lacie applications (the Lacie Desktop Manager,) perhaps I'll now share my experience with an application called "Private-Public," for which the download link (as I had mentioned earlier) was missing from the site. Upon bringing this to their attention in a support ticket I received a reply with the application attached; the download link for the application however, as I understand is still (suspiciously) missing from the website. My experience with the application, consisting of the following questions and uncertainties (which I provided to Lacie) is as follows: "Upon running the application the initial screen says "Free space on drive C:\ is..." The next screen asks the user to enter a password. The next screen offers a button that says "format" which seems to be the only option the user has to proceed (the next button changes to a "format" button.) It is not clear however, which drive it is about to format if this option to proceed is selected. Your software does not even bother to allow the user to select a drive to format; in fact, the only drive mentioned on the screens presented by your software at all was the C:\ drive as I mentioned earlier. Does this mean your software would attempt to format the C:\ drive if I were to proceed? Posted: June 1, 2011 @ 9:17 PM
One of the thoughts that came to mind regarding this software, is that it was not as though the logical option that you would expect to be there (which drive to format?) was there but just wasn't working as intended, but rather it seemed more as though the software just wasn't intended to work."
This Private-Public software, according to the user manual is supposedly intended to allow the user to encrypt a folder on the drive; supposedly it is necessary to establish this encryption on an otherwise empty folder after specifying the desired amount of storage that the user wishes to allocate this folder on the drive. A format process follows, which supposedly takes one minute per GB, which equates to 16 hours for a 1TB drive. As I indicated in the prior post a very obvious problem is that it doesn't allow the user the option to specify the folder or even the drive for that matter where the format is to occur, and almost seemed as though it was about to attempt to format the C:\ drive if the option to proceed was selected. Clearly this software was not designed in an optimal manner at the very least, even if it does have any potential at all to work.
In considering the last (unsatisfactory) answer I was given by Lacie regarding compatibility with the Lacie software ("I would like you to know that following the previous procedures will isolate your drive's issue immediately and it will be recognize as a LaCie drive") I thought I would ask one additional question to see what they have to say:
Posted: June 4, 2011 @ 3:18 AM
Next question: Do you think there might be any wisdom in posting the solution to the 9.99 MB disk space condition (which you provided me) on your website in consideration of the prevalence of this failure's occurrence among the users of your drives? A brief online search will indicate such is the case.
Perhaps it might seem as though I'm giving them a hard time now, which is not entirely intended; they have a so called "Knowledge Base" on their website which has no information about the initial 9.99 MB disk space limitation at all, which happens to be one of the first places I checked upon encountering the failure I described in my initial submission to the Fixya site. I think they should have enough information now regarding this non-optimized aspect relating to the initial configuration of their drives to make some meaningful improvements. Perhaps I should emphasize again that aside from this minor potential for inconvenience upon initially using the drive it is otherwise fine, and again (from what I understand) does (the Lacie Rikiki USB 3.0) currently hold the status of being the smallest USB 3.0 1TB drive on the market right now.
Hello... I think I should mention, that upon connecting the drive which had encountered the failure (as described above) to a different computer this morning it was, recognized as a Lacie drive. Upon retrying with the previous computer which previously had not identified it as a Lacie drive following the format process which had been necessitated by deletion of the "Start Lacie" file (as described previously,) it here too was recognized as a Lacie drive; ...this is of course, quite unlike the previous occasion described above. In other words, consistent behavior (of the software and drive) in this regard cannot be guaranteed and although the response from Lacie (suggesting the drive would still be recognized as a Lacie drive) may be accurate in some scenarios it certainly cannot be depended upon to be applicable for all.
Upon performing a quick format on the drive this morning to clear the drive in preparation for a new drive copy attempt the drive no longer appears as a Lacie drive.
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