Lost my data from my imac drive trying to backup to my Lacie.

You will need data recovery help. This guy does it remotely and works off of donations. FreeDataRecovery.us

This link has information and generic USB drivers for Win98 first edition.

www.technical-assistance.co.uk/kb/usbmsd98.php

The link on the second page at least offers a download, sorry i can't check it out any further.

Hello,
LaCie Setup assistant is made to make it easier for the customer.
If you do not have it, you can format your drive using your MAC or PC and you can download manual and utilities from the LaCie website, which are the only things the assistant really does.
Regards,

The hard disk inside it has probably died. Take it out of the case and put it in the pc directly - if even now it's not responsive then it's surely dead - junk it. if now you can see it then the electronics if the case are dead - junk it and buy a new external case.

Before you resort to freezers and desperation, know that the external power supplies for these things are a. crucial and b. delicate. If the output voltage is down for any reason, it can produce the same clicking symptoms. I would get to a repair shop, and ask them to test the drive with a 'known good' power supply. I did so this very morning with a LaCie drive: no more clicking, happily mounting drive...and power supply replaced under warranty. Good luck

Do you have a CD disc software installer of your external hard drive (F.A. Porshe 160GB).? If you got it, you must reinstall it, so that your Imac can detect it. Otherwise, find it at the internet and download it.
The power failure could have damage some stored data about your External Hard Drive in your Imac. That's why, you have to reinstall it. Send us your e-mail comments for us.

go in to add new hardware in control panel and run external drive ere from there use disc if u have one or go to vendor's support page and download driver's from there

this link shows you how to do it:
http://larrysthings.net/2009/05/31/opening-case-on-a-lacie-hard-disk-neil-poulton-designed-box/

Bob,
I had a similar problem with two LaCie external hard drives.
LaCie doesn't manufacture hard drives, they only purchase drives from other companies, like Seagate, and mount those drives in LaCie external enclosures.
If the drive is nearing the point of total failure, then your Mac is letting you know that point is very close. You had better find a new backup device to use. The Mac will let you access the drive for a while longer, but if you do not act, there will come a point when the Mac will not be able to read the data on the drive and any backups you have there will be lost.
When you get a new external hard drive to use for backup, you may not need to do anything with the current drive that is failing, as long as you do not anticipate that you will need anything from the backups that it contains. You can set up the new device as your primary backup. I would then advise that you perform a total backup on the new device ASAP, so that you are not left without at least one good backup.

I am not really sure where to start here because I am a little confused about your setup here. It seems you made a great choice to keep Windows and your data on separate drives. Your primary hard drive is a really fast SATA Raptor drive, which is great, but I would never use an external hard drive for general everyday data storage. Many will probably disagree with what I have to say, but external hard drives should really be used only for temporary backup. I would never suggest using an external hard drive as your only copy of your data or for regular everyday use. There are several reasons for this:
1. External Hard drives are generally slower than Internal Drives.
2. Many of them come preformatted with Fat32, so you are limited to files no larger then 4gig.
3. They are more likely to fail because they are normally subjected to a greater likelihood of accidental bumping or dropping.
4. Many external drive enclosures are not properly cooled for continuous usage and thus lead to premature failure.
5. You often have no idea what brand of hard drive is actually inside the enclosure.

Don’t get me wrong, external hard drives are wonderful and I use them all the time. I have three LaCie 160 gig drives myself that I use all the time for temporary backup, but I rotate them so that I have 3 consecutive backups and would never use them (not just Lacie but any external drive) as my only backup or as a primary data drive. And yes, I have had to replace a few of them due to failure.

So to address your specific questions:

What went wrong? –
1. Bad Cable - Well it is probably unlikely, but I would first try another USB cable just to make sure the cable is not damaged.
2. Power Supply - Try another power supply if you have or can borrow one.
3. Controller Failed – The Controller inside the Lacie has failed.
4. Drive Failure – The Hard Disk inside the Lacie has failed. Drives typically have an average 5 year lifespan, some last longer and some can fail much sooner. Unfortunately, you rarely have any warning, thus the need for backups.