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LaCie external drive data recovery

Rugged, Mobile Drive, d2 and the big-series RAID units. LaCie drives carry a lot of photo and video work, and we recover them when they fail.

  • Free evaluation
  • No recovery, no charge
  • Free shipping to the lab

LaCie recovery for photographers, editors and studios

LaCie, a Seagate brand, is the drive of choice for many photographers, videographers and Mac users. The orange Rugged goes on location, and the d2 and big-series units sit on the editing desk. When one fails it usually holds a project with a deadline attached.

LaCie drives we recover

Rugged, Rugged Mini and Rugged USB-C
Portable hard drives. The rubber bumper protects the case. The 2.5-inch Seagate drive inside is still vulnerable to drops.
Rugged SSD, SSD Pro and SSD4
Portable NVMe SSDs on USB-C and Thunderbolt, including the Thunderbolt 5 Rugged SSD Pro5.
Mobile Drive and Porsche Design
Slim portable drives.
d2 Professional and 1big Dock
Single-drive desktop units with enterprise-class disks.
2big RAID and 2big Dock
Two-drive units, often set to RAID 0.
6big and 12big
Thunderbolt RAID towers for video work, usually RAID 5 or 6.
Older models
5big, Little Big Disk, Quadra, CloudBox and network units.

Faults we see on LaCie drives

Dropped Rugged drives
Clicking, beeping or no spin after an impact. The heads or platters of the internal drive are damaged.
RAID 0 failure on 2big
One of the two drives fails and the whole volume disappears. Both drives are needed, and the failed one is repaired first.
Degraded or failed RAID on 6big and 12big
A second drive drops out during a rebuild.
Power supply and bridge board faults
The unit is dead or not detected while the drives inside are healthy.
Rugged SSD failures
Sudden non-detection. Handled as an SSD recovery.
Formatting mix-ups
Mac-formatted APFS or HFS+ drives erased or reformatted for Windows.

LaCie models we recover, 2013 to 2026

Examples of the model numbers we see most often, grouped by the years each range was sold. Check the label on the underside of the drive (under the orange bumper on Rugged models) for the P/N, which starts LAC, 9000 or ST.

YearsRangeModel numbers
2013–2026Rugged Mini (USB 3.0), 1–5TBLAC301558, LAC9000298, LAC9000633, STJJ5000400
2014–2019Rugged Thunderbolt (USB 3.0 with built-in Thunderbolt cable), 1–2TBSTEV1000400, STEV2000400
2014–20195big Thunderbolt 2, 10–40TBFive-drive hardware RAID; keep the drives in their original orderSTFC10000400, STFC20000400, STFC30000400, STFC40000400
2015–2019Rugged RAID, 4TBTwo 2TB drives, ships as RAID 0LAC9000601, STFA4000400
2016–2020Porsche Design Mobile Drive and Desktop Drive (USB-C), 4TBSTFD4000400, STFE4000401
2016–20216big and 12big Thunderbolt 3, 24–96TBShips as RAID 5STFK24000400, STFK48000400, STFJ48000400, STFJ96000400
2017–20242big Dock and d2 Thunderbolt 3, 8–20TB2big Dock holds two drives and ships as RAID 0STGB8000400, STGB16000400, STGB20000400, STFY8000400
2017–2026Rugged USB-C and Rugged Thunderbolt USB-C, 1–4TBSTFR1000800, STFR2000800, STFR4000800, STFS2000800, STFS4000800
2017–2026Rugged RAID Pro and Rugged RAID Shuttle, 4–8TBTwo drives, ships as RAID 0STGW4000800, STHT8000800
2018–2026d2 Professional, 1big Dock, 2big RAID, 2big Dock and 8big Pro5STHA8000800, STHA20000800, STHS8000800, STHJ8000800, STLG16000400, STNC64000400
2019–2026Mobile Drive, Rugged SSD and Rugged SSD Pro, 1–4TBRugged SSD and SSD Pro are NVMe flash drivesSTHG2000400, STHG4000400, STLP2000400, STHR1000800, STHR2000800, STHZ2000800
2022–2026Rugged Mini SSD, Rugged SSD4 and Rugged SSD Pro5, 1–4TBNVMe flash; SSD4 is USB4 and SSD Pro5 is Thunderbolt 5STMF1000400, STMF2000400, STMF4000400, STND2000400, STND4000400, STNA4000400

Not listed? These are examples, not limits. If your model is missing we almost certainly still recover it. Give us the number when you start a case.

Video and photo files

Large video files are stored in many fragments. We rebuild the file system and do not rely on raw scanning, so camera originals and project files come back with their names, folders and structure intact.

Call RMLD on (951) 595-8065 to discuss your LaCie drive, or start a case online. For multi-drive units, send every drive, labeled by bay.

How a case works

Six steps from the first call to your files. You approve the quote and check the results before paying.

  1. Tell us what happenedCall or start a case online. A technician reviews it and tells you how to send or bring the device.
  2. Ship it or drop it offShipping to the lab is free. You can also hand it in at Temecula or London.
  3. Free evaluationWe diagnose the fault and send a firm quote. Nothing is charged for this.
  4. Recovery in our labOnce you approve, the work is done in-house. Your device never leaves our company.
  5. You check the filesYou receive a list of what was recovered and confirm it before paying.
  6. Data returnedOn a new drive, your own drive, or by encrypted download. No recovery means no charge.

More recovery services

Talk to a technician before you try anything else

The evaluation is free, and the first advice you get can decide whether the data comes back.

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