user manual | page 28
5.2. Available Storage Capacity
A gigabyte (GB) means 1,000,000,000 bytes. In order to utilize a hard disk drive, it has to be formatted first. Formatting a
disk consists of the following: the operating system erases all of the bookkeeping information on the disk, tests the disk to
make sure that all of the sectors are reliable, marks bad sectors (i.e., those that are scratched) and creates internal address
tables that it later uses to locate information. Once formatted, the actual available storage capacity varies, depending on
operating environment, and is generally about 10% less than the non-formatted capacity.
5.3. Optimizing Data Transfers
Data transfers are the flow of data that accomplishes a task, usually related to moving
data from storage to computer RAM, or between storage devices. With external drives,
such as the LaCie Rugged Drive with Triple Interface, the data is transferred from the
drive to the computer via the FireWire or USB interface. The data is fed from the drive
through the FireWire port on the drive, and passes to the computer through the FireWire
host-bus adapter interface.
Computer manufacturer’s implementation of the FireWire host-bus adapter interfaces vary
widely. For computers running Windows 2000 and later, the FireWire interface, which is
referred to as either IEEE 1394 or iLink on PCs*, is less common as a native host-bus
adapter. Nearly all recent Apple computers have native FireWire interface ports.
The FireWire interfaces specify certain requirements, filed under the OHCI (Open Host
Controller Interface) standards. All LaCie drives comply to OHCI standards and have
been rigorously tested on computers that have host bus adapters that also comply to
OHCI standards. Unfortunately, not all manufacturers respect these guidelines, and
anomalies may arise with computers that have host bus adapters that do not conform to
OHCI standards.
For the best performance, connect your LaCie Rugged Drive with Triple Interface directly to a native FireWire port on your
computer, and avoid daisy-chaining*. During data transfers, it’s best to wait before launching other applications that will be
using the same port.
If you do not have a native FireWire port, LaCie offers FireWire host bust adapter cards, also known as PCI or PC/PCMCIA
cards, that have been tested and comply with LaCie drives. Please contact your reseller or LaCie Customer Support for more
information.
5. Tech Tips
Tech Note:
For more
information on the FireWire
interfaces, please see:
6.FireWire Questions & Answers
Tech Note:
Please see
3.3.Connecting Multiple Devices
for more information.
Tech Note:
Another important
factor in file transfer speeds is
how the drive has been
formatted. For more information
in choosing the correct file
system fomat, please see section
5.1 File System Formats.
