Barracuda XT, Barracuda, Barracuda Green, DiamondMax and other desktop SATA and IDE drives

[Inviste]

Good day.

I've been using Seagate hard drives for 8 years.And that's why when, being in Beijing 

(Olympycs'08) and feeling a lack of space for photos, i've purchased a ST3500320AS.

It was working ok as a reserve-hdd for 2.5 months, when, suddenly, did not appear in the 

morning after the PC started...

The problem is:
-the motor is started (the power is ok)
-not detected by bios
-not detected by winxp
-after winxp boot from an other drive - the PC is very slow for 5-7 minutes (maybe detecting 

the drive) - and then works fine - the hdd is not detected by any win' programm

Searching the internet i've found that:
-it should be (probably) the firmware problem called "CC" (SA-problem - LED:000000CC 

FAddr:0024A051)
-about 20-30% of 7200.11 have such problems(not detecting or "0gb space")
-seagate knows about this problem
-such drives are still selling all-around-the-world

So' i have some questions:
1)can it be fixed at home (by myself) - wia firmware update or something else
2)can i restore some data
3)as the drive was purchased in China and i live in Belarus - can i hope for some kind of 

warranty?

ps Sorry for posting this message in the forum - i cant create a question case at seagate's 

site - it writes that there is a "missed xml" or smth like this.

Message Edited by Inviste on 12-25-2008 02:44 PM

[Inviste]

It looks like that seagate don't care what is happening to their's production... It's a pity.

Hey, guys-why do you write "You should expect a response from us within 24 hours" in your e-mails if you do not answer for days (or weeks)?...

 

ps guys from WD are supporting Seagate's products maybe?...

[markk82]

I have the same problem with ST3100340AS-SD15-7200.11. After rebooting my pc the harddrive wasn't recognized in the bios anymore.

I tried:

) Switching cables etc

) Using Seatools - hangs when scanning for harddrives

) Using Ultimate Boot CD Windows - I can't start it

) Using Hirens Boot CD - No tool detects the harddrive

What I didn't try:

) Connect the harddrive with a sata to usb cable

) Connect it via esata

) Switching logic boards as shown here: http://www.deadharddrive.com/

http://www.datarecoverypros.com/hard-drive-recovery-logic-board.html

Is there anyone who can try to switch logic boards?

Or did anyone have any success accessing his harddrive after the drive stoped responding in bios? It is still spinning after all.

Message Edited by markk82 on 11-29-2008 11:54 PM

[Niklasmu]

Right now I'm sitting with the exact same problem.

For 3 months ago I bought a Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31000340AS 32MB 1TB and it has been working fine until 2 days ago. When i started my computer it took several minutes to boot up and I couldnt find my storage harddrive in windows. When I rebooted I also notified that it didnt even show up in BIOS so I cant even try to use recovery program to recover my data.

The hard drive spinns up as it should and I've not had any problems with bad sound before the crash.

I've tried several cables and i also tried the hard drive in one of my friends computer. We also tried a USB->Sata converter without any success.

I would really appriciate if someone had a solution for this problem.

[Sharkus]

I'm having the same exact problem with my 500 gbyte ST3500320AS drive.  It has been working without a problem for several months.  Then all of the sudden it is no longer seen in the BIOS.   I also tried changing cables, computers, etc.  I can hear the drive spin-up and calibrate just fine.

I also see people on newegg mentioning this problem.  It seems to be pretty widespread at this point.  I also noticed some others have been successfull in getting the drive to work again from time to time.  Unfortunately, I've had no such luck.

Looks like I'm going to RMA a replacement drive and use it for backup purposes ONLY.  I just can't trust a drive that seems to have systematic issues.  I'm also very dissapointed that Seagate charges $20 for an advanced replacement and doesn't supply shipping materials for the return.  I must say this is a different experience than I've had with the few hard drive failures I've had in the past.

[Inviste]

---

I also see people on newegg mentioning this problem. It seems to be pretty widespread at this point.

---

My driend is working in a company, which is sellin PC-hardware - they have 30% returns of barracuda.11 - and most of them have a problem in firmware (our problem or "0GB" problem). This problem was issued to seagate - but there are no changes. unfortunately.

the data recovery company answered just "its senseless to repair barracuda.11"

---

I just can't trust a drive that seems to have systematic issues.

---

i can say, that i can't trust seagate now... unfortunately...

ps. my suppirt case (opened 27.11) - still not answered...

[markk82]

I found out that we probably really have a firmware issue. The firmware can be repaired and I assume that it is simple enough for someone who has experience with the specific issue.

I won't send my drive in yet since I think that there will be cheaper data recovery solutions coming up in the next months. The drive is garbage anyway and the replacement would only serve to hold temporary data.

Seagate should offer to fix the firmware for its customers. They should offer to do it for a reasonable price at least but that will never happen.

Message Edited by markk82 on 12-02-2008 06:35 AM

[Niklasmu]

---

Sharkus wrote:

I also see people on newegg mentioning this problem. It seems to be pretty widespread at this point. I also noticed some others have been successfull in getting the drive to work again from time to time. Unfortunately, I've had no such luck.

---

Newegg? Is this some kind of forum or how did you hear about it? It seems like a hardware store, did you read it from a review?

Do you know what they did to make it work again? Were they just lucky and the hard drive suddenly started working again or did they do anything special?

Have any of you guys seen this discussion on any other forum?

---

markk82 wrote:

I found out that we probably really have a firmware issue. The firmware can be repaired and I assume that it is simple enough for someone who has experience with the specific issue.

I won't send my drive in yet since I think that there will be cheaper data recovery solutions coming up in the next months. The drive is garbage anyway and the replacement would only serve to hold temporary data.

Seagate should offer to fix the firmware for its customers. They should offer to do it for a reasonable price at least but that will never happen.

---

So you are saying that this problem might can be fixed with a firmware update? When I spoke to a guy from the chat support last night he told me this wasn't a common problem... I don't really belive him, he just told me to send it in and get a new one in return...

[Sharkus]

Newegg is just a very popular online retailer.  They have lots of user reviews (which is where I originally saw that people were having this problem.)

This other thread on the Seagate forum is filled with people having similiar issues (some drives seem to work on and off, mine has never recovered).

http://forums.seagate.com/stx/board/message?board.id=ata_drives&thread.id=2388

[markk82]

So you are saying that this problem might can be fixed with a firmware update? When I spoke to a guy from the chat support last night he told me this wasn't a common problem... I don't really belive him, he just told me to send it in and get a new one in return...

I read that data restore companies are getting flooded with 7200.11 drives so yes, Seagate is not telling you the truth. 

A simple firmware update which we could perform ourselves can't fix the problem probably because our drives are not recognized by the bios anymore. But someone with the right tools and knowledge can do it. There are companies which are able to repair the firmware and make the drive functional again. There are not many companies which can do it yet, since those which found out how to repair the firmware keep their knowledge a secret. People which had their drives repaired said that the drive wasn't opened when they got it back so it is certainly not a mechanical failure.

Newegg has 17% customer reviews with 1 star rating for my harddrive because it fails within 2 months. A lot of people are angry about Seagate and we all understand why. A competing Western Digital drive got 4% 1 Star ratings.

What really upsets me about it is that it's not even a mechanical problem and just a software bug. Seagate should start caring about data of its customers and offer to repair the drives. Yet they are totally ignorant.

I also called Seagate Data Recovery in China. They told me that it is possible to replace a chip(I didn't understand exactly what) and that Seagate will do it for free because my drive is under guarantee. I was asked to call another number but there I was told that they won't repair the drive and just send me a new one.

Message Edited by markk82 on 12-02-2008 11:10 PM