The drive "disappears" at times, noticed when backup has failed & icon is 'red' &/or a message is flagged on my desktop showing an 'unable to write' error. Although the drive is powered-up & USB connection's in place, Seagate Manager doesn't see the drive. Disconnecting/reconnecting USB cable has no effect. The only way to get the drive back is to cycle the power. Immediately afterward the drive is back on-line, all drive tests are run & they show the drive functioning normally. Drive options for power-saving mode is set to 'never'. Backup is set to run every other day at midnight & will run successfully for a week or so before this failure occurs. No new updates have been found for either the s/w or f/w. F/W is CC34 and drive PN is 9ZG2AG-50. Repeated tests of the drive come up clean. My system is a Dell Dimension 4600 running XP SP3. Search of the forum doesn't find any similar events, hence this post. Thanks to anyone who can assist. 
The drive sits on the top of the desk with lots of air circulation around it. It's been 'dusted' to ensure the vents are all clear & the case is hardly warm to the touch - so I don't t think it's an internal heat issue - unless these drives are not designed to run 24/7?
Which chipset are you referring to that may need a 'refresh'?... the drive or ?
Thanks.
It sounds like your drive has intermitently lost power or USB connection to your computer as you indicated "The only way to get the drive back is to cycle the power".
Try these simple steps before updating the "firmware":
1) Connect power to your drive. The spindle motor starts spinning; the LED flashes quickly then goes off.
2) Connect the USB cable between your computer (switch USB port(s) as needed) and your drive. Now, the LED will turn ON and will remain dimmed (while your drive in low power mode) ONLY when both power and USB cable are connected.
If, after a short while, the LED suddenly went off, this indicates that your drive has lost one of the two mentioned connections, most likely the USB cable. When this occurs, your computer won't "see" your drive regardless of whether you use "My Computer", "Disk Management", or "Seagate Manager".
Good luck!
According to the Dell site, my system is up-to-date on all chipsets, so all 'should' be well in that area.
I 'cycled' the drive to confirm that it behaved as you indicated & indeed it does, so at this point in time, the LED is on (dimmed) & the drive is running normally.
I'm also starting to 'wonder' if I've got some sort of USB 'overload' in that of the 8 ports on the system, I have 6 being used as: 2-hard drives (Seagate 1Tb + 75G Acomdata); 2 printers (Dell A810 + Samsung CLP300); Dell Sound System; ION USB turntable. However, none of the other USB 'users' have a problem & it still leaves 2 spare USB ports for other applications. Still, I wonder, given the 'age' of the system (6 yrs) & the OS (XP), if the USB bus may be overloading at times?
As already said, when it has failed, cycling the USB cable (& yes, I have changed it) has no effect, only cycling the power.
Anyway, I'll watch what happens & then go from there & post back results.. 
You have so many devices connected to your computer! Even though they are powered by their own power adapters, to be safe, consider a higher rated computer power supply (400 - 500W) so they won't overload your computer when they all connected.
Similarly, your FA HDD is also powered by its own power adapter. Your FA works when "only cycling the power".
Possible problems:
a) power plug of power adapter might have broken internal wires
b) power plug of power adapter and power jack (most likely) on FA HDD interface board don't make good (loose) contacts.
Connect USB and power cables between your computer and FA HDD. The LED should go ON. Try these steps:
1) use the LED as a visual tool. Keep an eye on this LED. Hold the power connector tight against the case while wiggling the cable in all directions as near to the strain relief (three grooves) as possible. If the LED suddenly goes OFF, the problem is a) above.
2) use the LED as a visual tool. Keep an eye on this LED. Wiggle the power connector in all directions. If the LED suddenly goes OFF, the problem is b) above.
Good luck!
Hello All,
You're probably wondering what's happened in the past month or so since I posted this problem? Sorry to report that 'nothing' has happened. The drive has performed flawlessly for over a month now with daily backups running without incident. The drive is still connected to the same USB port with the same USB cable & power supply that I've had all along. I have NO idea what the problem was, & of course I'm 'wary' about whether or not I should continue to 'trust' the drive for storing those 'irreplaceable' files.
Thanks for all your suggestions, but without finding something specific that might have been causing the problem, I guess I'm just going to have to wait to see if it happens again. I would have much rather found something, rather than waiting for the 'shoe to drop' again! 
