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This article is for informational purposes only and no longer being updated by Seagate.

4big Quadra - Change RAID modes

Change RAID modes on 4big Quadra.


The LaCie 4big Quadra drive supports 6 different types of RAID. The drive comes preconfigured in RAID 0 mode, but the device supports redundant modes as well (such as RAID 5) The RAID mode can be changed at any time.


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.
 

  1. Unmount or safely remove the 4Big from the computer, and disconnect the interface cable. Move the power switch to the OFF position.
  2. Press and hold the large button on the front of the drive, and simultaneously turn on the 4Big. Continue holding the front button for 15 seconds.
  3. Using the tool included with the drive, Press the + or – buttons to set the desired RAID mode:
    0 – RAID 0. Striping.
    1 – RAID 10. Creates two mirror sets, then stripes the two sets together.
    2 – Concatenation.
    3 – RAID 3. Striping with a dedicated parity disk.
    4 – RAID 3 + Hot Spare. RAID 3 with a drive set for immediate use in the event of a failure.
    5 – RAID 5. Striping with distributed parity.
    6 – RAID 5 + Hot Spare. RAID 5 with a drive set for immediate use in the event of a failure.
    7 – Unused.
  4. When satisfied with the RAID setting, press and hold the front button for 2 seconds to confirm the changes.
  5. Wait for the drives to turn on completely, then power down the drive. Finally, power on the drive again. The RAID mode is now changed.


NOTES:

  • The disk must be partitioned after all RAID mode changes. Use Disk Management (Windows) or Disk Utility (Macintosh) to do this.
  • It can take several hours for some RAID modes to be fully-functional.
  • The drive is pre-configured in RAID 0. RAID 0 allows access to the whole storage capacity, but does not provide any data security. If a drive fails, all data will be lost. For improved data security, LaCie suggests RAID 10, 3, or 5.