Manage updates with the Download App
The software works with the Minimus drive or any other storage locations as backup destinations. You won't be able to create an image of the computer's hard drive from which to restore the entire system at a later time, though.
Apart from that, the Minimus also includes a one-year 10GB subscription to Wuala online backup, which costs $29 per year after that.
Performance
The LaCie Minimus USB 3.0 performed well in our testing, though it wasn't the fastest drive we've seen, both with USB 3.0 and USB 2.0.
In tests with USB 3.0, the drive scored 87.7MBps in writing and 104.9MBps in reading. Both of these numbers were high but still slower than the 106.6MBps and 108.8MBps of the WD My Book 3.0 in write and read testing, respectively.
When used with USB 2.0, the Minimus registered 28.7MBps in writing, among the top three of external hard drives we've reviewed. In reading, it did a little worse comparatively at 36.6MBps, slightly lower than the average.
In all, we were happy with the drive's performance. We also noticed that the drive remained cool during even heavy loads, which was impressive considering its compact size.
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
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Read | |
Write |
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
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Read | |
Write |
Service and support
As with other LaCie's storage devices, such as the Network Space 2, the company backs the Minimus USB 3.0 with a two-year warranty, which is shorter than the three- or five-year warranties that other hard-drive vendors offer. And for external hard drives, the warranty time is the most important factor in service and support, as you likely won't need many other types of help. LaCie's telephone support is available Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. PT. At LaCie's Web site, you can download software that accompanies the device. There you'll also find its GPL source code, and you can access documentation, a knowledge base, FAQs, and other ways to contact LaCie.
