Bought 3 new

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1452361-REG/lacie_stha8000800_8tb_d2_usb_3_1.html

None work, Blue light not come on. Mixed matched power cables of all three, and outlets in house. Cant get one to come up and work turn on. Most baffling thing ever seen.

Spoken to 3 Lacie tech (not great quality guys, just working out house), none have clue.

I am unfamiliar with the specific LaCie drive but typically on external drive enclosures, the blue light will not come on until you have a good power connection AND a good USB connection, but I have seen enclosures where the light only comes on when a read or write operation is in progress (in which case it typically flickers). It sounds as if you have tried all the power options so the next thing to look at would be the USB connection. That would include (in rank order from most likely to least likely to be a problem)...

1. any hub in the circuit
2. the connecting cables
3. the USB port on your Mac

Joe, think solved it.. after 3 bad techs and then one level 2 tech.

Incredibly, noticed right, they provided 6 international converters for the power supply (which don't' need), but not a converter to go to USB 3! Which many people still use.

the drive interface:
USB 3.1 Gen 2 TYPE C

The adapter needed:
USB 3.1 Gen 2 type C to USB 3.0


So can't use these get back running till buy these. I did try a converter that came with tiny ssd Sandisk (they do provide the converter), but did not work

USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type A to USB C adaptors and cables are hard to find but if you are using the Type A port on your Mac it is USB 3.0 so any USB A to USB C converter or cable will do. Personally I am trying to get rid of any cables with type A connections so my new cables are type C on both ends and I use a Type Adaptor like this or this. By the way, in case you have any lying around unused, an old Thunderbolt 3 cable will work as well or better than a USB C to C cable using these adaptors.

Thanks Joe, well, the adaptors that came with the 1TB sandisk tiny hardrives which came on the same day fit perfectly but did not work. "Probably" guessing as that is SSD to Type A. Yeah has to be real spefic.

I'm all with you, which is why buying these advanced hardrives now, as I will switch the new 27" imac with M! or M2 come out. But in meantime, I have 4 type A ports that go right into back of the late 2015 machine that would be nice to use.

To top off all the madness, I bought a 4th external for the bank. This one had to think enough to into a security deposit and arrived today, and I thought I could get back into action backing up my one remaining hard drive that still works, but alas, this one came with cable Type A to Type usb 3 in bizarrely, the hardrive does not have a type 3 port just two type As.

Seagate Lacie, have real problem providing the correct adapters / cables with their hardrives! Yes they provided 6 international power adaptors which I don't need at all!

Email, sent to Seagate now on last issue:

"Turn out this other Seagate
https://www.seagate.com/consumer/backup/backup-plus-desk/#product_comparison

Came in from Costco today does not seem to work. The cord provided is Type on one said that USB 3 on other. Inexplicable thought he hardrive only has 2 type A port on it no type. Can figure that out.
I did have a A to A in house but did not work. Also unfathomable.

So still need new bank or under that 1 1/4” height unless Seagate can explain this…

The box shows the hardrive going into something, cd drive who knows what not computer. Totally lost again.

https://imgur.com/a/dXc6f38


I thought this would start the process of getting me back in action, but still just with one old hardrive, an no backup yet.

Lacie, sells hardrive with 6 international converters which dont need but no converter, and you did not know, they did not come with converters. So still stuck no backup at all yet .

I'm slightly confused on what is going where. joemikeb, could you please clarify what the port is on the hardware to which you are connecting. Type C? If so, how do the adapters in the links you provided accomplish the connection? They both show a female Type C, and wouldn't the hardware be a female port and require a male Type C at the end?

I ask because I just set up my wife's 24" iMac M1 and the Time Machine backup hard drive needed a female USB Type A (probably USB 3.0) and a male Type C adapter like this one.

Looking back at the pic in kevs's initial post, I see that his new externals have female USB C ports, and he needs to connect them to his Mac which has a female USB A port, so the necessary cable looks to be one like this.

More: joemike's linked connectors are the reverse of the one that your wife (and I) need...female C to male A...the reverse external to Mac configuration due to external newer than Mac rather than the reverse.

Taking it from the bottom....


This picture shows the drive connected to a portable battery pack apparently advertising the fact the enclosure could be used in a mobile situation. I doubt they sell a lot of those battery packs. There are a number of HD enclosures that are "bus powered" and require no external power source of any kind but they are using 2.5" laptop drives which limits them to 2 TB capacity.


My shiney new M1 Max Studio has a total of eight USB ports. I doubt any new 27" iMac will have more or even as many

• 2 USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type C (10 Gbps) on the front
• 2 USB 3.1 Type A (5 Gbps) on the back
• 4 Thunderbolt 4 ports on the back compatible with USB 4 (40 Gbps) and backward compatible with USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) (by standard Thundebolt 4 ports are Type C)

You are confusing connector types with USB standards. They are related but Type A connectors can be used with USB 1, 2, 3.0, 3.1, or 3.1 gen 2 protocol standards. Type C connectors are used with USB 2.0 (revised), 3.0, 3.1 gen 2, 3.2, 4 as well as Thunderbolt 3 and 4. To make everything even more baroque, there are three type A connectors, two type B connectors, and a host of mini and micro-connector types. I keep an copy of this Wikipedia article for reference because I use it so often.

Your drives are USB 3.0 (5 Gbps), therefore -- because each USB standard is backward compatible with the previous standards -- they can be connected to a USB 3.0, 3.1, 3.1 gen 2, 3.2, 4, or Thunderbolt 3 or 4 port. But the data transfer rate and power provided will be limited to the lowest device standard in the chain which in your case is the drives. The situation is improving because manufacturers are beginning to actually submit their products for compliance with the standards and mark them with the standard symbols, but unfortunately most of us have several unmarked cables lying around and have no idea what they really are other than the connector type. I have begun replacing all my cables with the one cable type that supports all the serial data and power protocols, Thunderbolt 4. It isn't cheap but it works in virtualy every situation -- at least for now. For port compatability I am also acquiring an extensive collection of USB C to USB A, Thunderbolt 2, and lightning adaptors. The hardest to find are USB C to A Superspeed 10 Gbps and then you run into the issue of power delivery for external devices. The one I haven't found is USB C to USB B or USB B SuperSpeed

I suspect your issue is finding an identifying the proper adaptor. I find Amazon a good place to shop IF YOU READ THE DETAILS CAREFULLY.

I'm not sure how that relates to my post.

one aspect of kev's initial link shows an external drive with a female C port connected to a Mac with an unidentified female port, and that suggests that the cable to which I linked is the one he needs. (I don't see your linked pic.)

It does not relate to your post. You and keys posted while I was composing.


The type of adaptor depends on the cable you are using. Personally because Type C appears to be the wave of the future, I am converting all my cables to Thunderbolt 4 which is type C male on both ends and compatible with Thunderbolt 4, Thunderbolt 3, Thunderbolt 2¹, Quicken¹, USB 1¹, USB 2¹, USB 3.0¹, USB 3.1¹, USB 3.2, and USB 4 protocols . Given that and since the device port is almost invariably female, the adaptor needed would always be female Type C to Male Type A (or B, or Quicken). If you are using existing USB cabling the adaptor type would be dependent on the type of connector on the cable and the port on the device, and there are a LOT of possible combinations. My illustration was intended as an example, not a suggestion. In the case of your wife's external drive I would use the adaptor on the computer end of the cable, not the external enclosure end and I would probably chose a 6" adaptor cable not a connection adaptor as you showed.

FOOTNOTE:

1. port adaptor required

A photo is worth a thousand what?

I bought this: just one for the bank off site and not sure the d2 Lacies of which bought 3 and are better more long term, would fit in box at the bank, as thicker width.

https://imgur.com/a/HnX8Wux

https://imgur.com/sVmYJpP

The back of my 2015 27" has these ports

https://imgur.com/lDYfPEV

The only cord the idiotic company provided is this:

https://imgur.com/C0A3YFG

Hence I cannot use the hardrive right now. Can I use it later if I buy an adaptor and if so what?

Why would they include this cable , insane right? Whats the point?

What is that cable they provided for?

BTW, I did have in house a cable that had, (just guessing terminology, please correct me: Type a to type a) that did fit into their hardrive and into my old 2015 computer, yet did not work -- why did it not work, it git perfectly both ends

And BTW this is just the bank security deposit hardreive t... The 3 other D1 Lacies just received brand new are still not usable, waiting to monday tuesday, to find out the perfect adapter for that as Lacie (Seagate) did not included adapters as Sandisk and other companies do.. all while on just working harding, no backups.

Was in Apple store today and even they did not have, what 2nd tier Seagate tech said need for those 3 d2, that sit here unused:

The adapter needed:
USB 3.1 Gen 2 type C to USB 3.0

Did not have this in the Apple store today. This is from a new d2 Lacie to an old Apple 2015

But good news, the D2 do come with 7 types of international power coverters or UK, Italy and others countries ( I love love countries, but have no interest in taking this bulky hardrive to.. but no adapters for a non C computer which I imagine 50% of population are still on ( as I'm still on as new 27" imac is still not our in M! or M2)

The cable is a USB 3 type A male to USB 3 Type micro A super speed or micro B super speed (I can't determine for sure without an end-on picture of the connector). I suspect it was intended to connect to some Windows machine. It is an older connector intended for use on laptops or other devices with a very thin form factor. As far as I know, it was never used on Apple products. You would have to ask someone in the Seagate marketing department why cable is included but clearly, they don't consider Apple as a major target market.

The ports on both of the drives appear to be common USB Type A female ports, and as there are no other visible markings to go by I think it safe to assume they are USB 3.0 (5 Gbps). The ports on your 2017 27" iMacs are unquestionably USB 3.0 Type A (I cheated and looked it up on MacTracker). The cable you need is a Male Type A to Male Type A which will almost invariably be made to the USB 3.0 standard but in this case any cable with a Type A connection on each end will do.

Since you are planning to get a new M1 or M2 iMac, if you have to buy a new cable I would get one with Type C connectors on each end and get two USB C female to USB A male adaptors or a USB C to USB A cable and one USB C Female to USB A Male adaptor. In either case, I would advise you to invest in good cables. It really is a market where you get what you pay for.


There are a lot of reasons the cable may not have worked, including the fact there are double-ended Type A and Type A to Lightning cables that are power only and not equipped for data transmission, intended for use in charging external devices such as cellular phones. By the same token there are also cables that are data only and not equipped to carry power to external devices.

RULE OF THUMB: never buy a cable, or adaptor, that does not have the protocol type clearly indicated on the connectors.

Thanks Joe, well on Seagate does not say Mac:

https://www.seagate.com/consumer/backup/backup-plus-desk/#product_comparison

But on Costco site says Mac.
https://www.costco.com/seagate-back...recovery-services.product.100458004.html

But you think work on Mac, if get right cable. Not sure keep it but good to ask.. good info at end....

Thre is no reason the drive won't work on a Mac however it will almost certainly come formatted NTFS which your Mac can read but not write to. The first thing to do is reformat the drive to MacOS Extended (journaled) or APFS. If you plan to use the drive for Time Machine then it must be formatted APFS with a GUID partition table.

As you pointed out to me previously, Joe, a TM drive must not only be formatted APFS but also Case Sensitive. When I had formatted my TM drive APFS and then designated it for TM, it was automatically reformatted APFS Case Sensitive before it started to work.

Good catch Jon! Thanks!

"As you pointed out to me previously, Joe, a TM drive must not only be formatted APFS but also Case Sensitive. When I had formatted my TM drive APFS and then designated it for TM, it was automatically reformatted APFS Case Sensitive before it started to work."

Did not understand a word of that... they have drop and you chose, you dont type in case

To clarify: My TM drive was getting quite full, despite (theoretically) that it is purged (oldest data first) to make more room. I found out because TechToolPro is set to monitor drive capacity and it warned me. This has happened in the past and I followed my previous procedure, namely reformat the drive (losing all data) and start from scratch. I used Disk Utility to format it as APFS but, when I chose that drive in Time Machine preferences, it took some time (not long, really) to reformat it before it started backing up. Later, I did a Get Info on my TM drive and it was APFS Case Sensitive.

I hope that this answers your question.

You seem to have overlooked this:
(I searched the Apple Store, and they indeed do not offer the linked cable.)

Amazon has a good selection of the required Type A male to male cables.


The format Options on the drop down menu in Disk Utility include APFS (Case Sensitive) and APFS (Case Sensitive, Encrypted) Either of which will work for Time Machine backups.

The page to which you linked is almost entirely male A to male A cables, with only one C to A, the one kevs needs, included.

There's a better, but still not very extensive, selection here, but for some reason, the one to which I originally linked isn't included. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Right now keys has a type A port on both the drive and the computer. The Type A to Type C you suggested, or a Type C to Type C cable with two Type C female to Type A male adaptors would provide future-proofkng.

In post #61813, kevs specifically says that he needs a C to A, and if you follow the link in his first post to the drives he bought you can confirm that.

Turns out that drive, just discovered today, from Seagate facebook rep, did have a pot of micro 3 type on the drive in back. So black did not see port, assumed -- got two very visible Type A ports so you'd assume those go into computer. They are a 'hub", no idea that that is, external drive hub.

Still so know can be used. Not sure still keep it, as old style vs new style C... may keep/ may return.. but yeah, after a few days I can now see how works..

BTW, got: 3 of newere Lacies d2,, which still waiting for right converters for and 1 old style seagate ..... both of these brought mass confusion, but think sorted it out now..

Those are the ones to which you linked in your initial post, their spec is "1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C Port," and your Mac has got a type A port, so the C --> A cables to which I just linked are the ones you need for them.

That means you can daisy-chain other USB devices through the drive enclosure. That could be virtually any USB device of any kind although they will always operate at the USB 3.0 (5 Gbps) and cannot expect more than 5 watts of power through the USB connection.


If you use the drive and then return it, don't forget to erase it before returning. I would suggest using a secure-erase.


Odds are the LaCie enclosures have Seagate drives.

Thanks, Joe have no used it yet, and I was delayed, since could not figure it out! For $80 I could get Lacie d2 more advanced, but not sure fits in the security box and the stand I don't think comes off d2s like used to for d1s, but sounds like you would get the latest greatest right? Even double price?

OF course, I could return it and use one of the the current Seagate if one test ok.. JUst got Drive DX, but have not used it yet..... You may vote to use of older ones keep for bank.. I"d guess if test good...

Also got daisy disk.. not used yet but will

Since joemike mentioned my name relative to GrandPerspective/DaisyDisk somewhere, I'll respond here, since you've mentioned DD.

I'm running both GP and DD, and while GP's output is awfully pretty and very easily digestible, it doesn't give as much detail as DD does, although DD's output is not the least bit clear or explicit.

Bottom line is that I use one or the other depending on what I'm looking for, so I don't consider either one more useful than the other.