How to Recover Data from a LaCie External Hard Drive on Mac

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recover data from lacie hard drive

Viruses, corruption, unsupported formats… A lot of things can cause data loss on a LaCie hard drive, which makes it hard to figure out the next step. The good news is that you can still restore that data (as long as you act fast). But you’ll need the right tools.

This article is an in-depth guide for 2 reliable methods of LaCie hard drive recovery, as well as all the info you need to help you figure out what caused the data loss. Read on.

Common Problems with LaCie Hard Drives that May Lead to Data Loss

If you have already suffered data loss or want to know more before it happens, here’s a list of common LaCie hard drive problems that may lead to losing your data:

  • LaCie external hard drive not showing up on Mac. Depending on the scenario, this could mean that the drive is not properly connected to your device or the computer is not able to recognize it.
  • Beeping noises. LaCie hard drive beeping occurs when there are symptoms of eventual hard drive failure. Usually, something is wrong with the platter or the drive’s ability to draw power. This can be due to hardware age or bumps/falling while the platter is still spinning. Regardless, your drive is dying.
  • Corruption. Lacie external hard drives may become corrupted due to virus attacks, software issues, or getting interrupted while it’s reading and writing data (for ex. sudden power outage or improper ejection). Corruption always eventually leads to data loss.
  • Unassigned Drive letter. When you connect your LaCie hard drive to your Mac, it gets assigned a drive letter as it gets mounted. This is a critical step to allow your Mac to properly interact with it. If something interferes with this step (such as a bogged down computer with no resources left to spare), you won’t be able to access your data.
  • Unsupported File System. If you connect your LaCie hard drive to a computer that does not support the file system it uses, you may be prompted to format the drive. Don’t! This will wipe your data.
  • Data degradation. If you have a particularly old LaCie external hard drive, it’s possible that your data literally died of old age. Data gets degraded over time, no matter what. So make sure you have a regular backup routine!
  • Physical damage. It’s possible for physical damage to immediately result in data loss. LaCie hard drives are prone to extreme temperatures, dust/debris inside the enclosure, water, etc.

How to Recover Lost Data From a LaCie External Hard Drive

Depending on what scenario you’re facing, there are 2 methods for LaCie hard drive data recovery– we’ve got step-by-step instructions for both of them below. Just remember this rule of thumb: if your drive has problems, they get worse the more you use it.

Method 1: Use Data Recovery Software (Disk Drill)

Data recovery software can often be enough to restore most of your data. For this article, we’ll be using Disk Drill as our LaCie data recovery software. It’s trusted, effective, and easy-to-use for users of all levels.

It works best to recover data from an erased hard drive (or formatted), but you can also use it to safely restore corrupted drives. Using the Byte-to-byte backup tool, you can create a complete clone of your drive. You can then extract data from the clone to avoid further damage and/or data loss.

If your drive suffered physical damage, you should not use software for LaCie hard drive recovery. Instead, skip to Method 2.

Step 1. Securely connect your LaCie external hard drive to your Mac.

Step 2. Download and install Disk Drill for Mac Mac. Then, launch the app (Finder > Applications > Disk Drill).
Disk Drill icon in the Finder Applications folder

Step 3. From the list in the middle pane, select your LaCie external hard drive and click “Search for lost data.”
Disk Drill LaCie drive selection screen

Step 4. Wait for Disk Drill to finish scanning your drive. Once it’s done, you click “Recover All…” from this screen and jump to step 8 to complete the LaCie data recovery. Or, click “Review found items.”
Disk Drill LaCie drive scanning process

Step 5. Use the search bar in the top-right corner of the screen as well as the filters in the left sidebar to search for the files you want to restore.
Disk Drill filter LaCie drive files

Step 6. To preview your files, hover your mouse pointer to the right of a file name and click the eye button that appears.
Disk Drill LaCie drive file preview

Step 7. Make your selection by ticking the boxes in the left-most column beside the files you want to recover. Then, click “Recover.”
Disk Drill LaCie drive file selection screen

Step 8. Use the dropdown button to select a destination on your computer for the restored files. Then, click “OK.”

Disk Drill Basic for Mac does not offer free data recovery. However, you can preview as many files as you want for free. This is a great way to determine if your files are salvageable by software (and to identify data, since there are cases where software can’t extract exact file names).

Method 2: Send Your Drive to a Professional Data Recovery Service

If you are faced with one of these scenarios, you’ll need to send your drive to a professional data recovery service:

  • Your drive has suffered physical damage.
  • Your drive has been severely corrupted by a virus infection, software issues, and other logical damage.
  • You have tried these methods (applicable to LaCie hard drive repair) and none of them worked.
  • You are unable to restore your data using data recovery software.
    You’ve tried all the guides from LaCie troubleshoot.

Fortunately, LaCie data recovery services come with your warranty. If your LaCie external hard drive’s product warranty is still valid and intact, you’ll also be for the Rescue Plan. You can request for one in-lab data recovery attempt on your LaCie drive and get your data back on a different drive or download it from a cloud-based account within a 60-day time period.

LaCie Data Recovery Services have a global coverage and a 95% success rate, as well as status updates as your drive gets repaired.

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