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

[Malechai]

barleyguy said

"Also, I would like to point out that the Knowledgebase page for the firmware update says specifically to "contact tech support to get new firmware".  It's obvious that the people who bricked their drives probably downloaded the firmware without contacting tech support, and therefore did so against the specific instruction provided by the manufacturer."

people like you make me laugh. wrong. the page said nothing about contacting tech support.. go have a look:

http://seagate.custkb.com/seagate/crm/selfservice/search.jsp?DocId=207951

this page is directly linked to in the first post in the stickied announcement thread in this very forum.

(hint: click the "Barracuda 7200.11" link)

a table outlining affected models with the affected firmware is listed and a utility is provided to find out what you have.

at that point, once determining if your HD is affected, a download was available with instructions on how to flash.

thanks for coming out though!

Message Edited by Malechai on 01-21-2009 10:38 AM

[myrdhinn]

It's one thing to warn about flashing to AD14 when the horse is already out of the barn... in other words the poor sods like me that were told by a tech from support to flash to AD14. I'm not the only one but if the fix won't work on my drive because of what I was told to do but works for those that never flashed to ad14 I'm gonna be plenty upset off.

[mazzy]

@JATownes

First of all You (and I) can only awaiting that the new formware will be posted  and after try to reflash.

If the driver revive, backup all the data if you've not just done it before.

After ask to yourself : Can I trust again this HDD in thsi state ?

Complete reformat them and maybe a restore of original data is a more safe approach ?

Sell or throw away them and build a new set from a different maker brand new ?

I don't expect that seagate post any suggest procedure for the unluckly user that will try to revive your HDD bricked by a faulty firmware

Message Edited by mazzy on 01-21-2009 10:41 AM

[JATownes]

@Mazzy

From the way my drive ran before the f/w flash, these platter are awesome, (i.e. Density, R/W rates).  My drives were flawless until I flashed, so I think I would be comfy with a format and reinstall of data.  I have all data backed up to 2 x 320Gb Seagate 7200.10 and LOVE THEM. 

If the f/w fix works, I will still be a Seagate fan.  This is the first time in years that Seagate has let me down.  I didn't have to deal with the "Deathstar" debacle, so for a HDD issue such as this, this is new to me.  I literally LIVE on my machine, so this has caused a MAJOR disruption to my life.  Hence the reason I have been pursuing this issue so diligently since Monday. 

[wreck1080]

Will seagate honour warranties for drives which fail while applying a firmware update? 

That might be just the easiest if so.  Backup the drive data , apply the firmware , if it bricks, claim a new one under warranty.     THe only problem , is if they send out another bad drive. 

This is one thing that really annoys me, suppliers are still issuing drives with bad firmware.

[WoRkZ]

---

barleyguy wrote:

Today's technology is very, very complex.  So complex in fact that it's almost by sheer magic that it works.  All high tech companies run the risk of having a bad product line, or a bug in software or firmware. This is not necessarily negligence, but is simply a symptom of the difficulty of the technical problems that need to be overcome.

---

Uh... are we talking about outdated 7200RPM hard drive technology here??? As in "storing data by polarizing atoms of a ferrous compound on a rotating platter"? I mean, I've been wondering for years now about why this outdated technology still happens to be the best storage medium we can get our hands on. I mean, It's only marginally more advanced than storing data on vinyl tape coated with ferrous oxyde. 70's technology in the 21st century.

So yeah, density has been improved... oh, and yeah, memory is cheap so they've put more of it in... and oh yeah, controllers are faster so seeks times are lower. It's not like it's rocket science or anything. Then again, come to think of it, rocket science seems to consist of strapping a bunch of solid rocket boosters to a metalic cylinder these days... and putting a capsule on top. I have a strange feeling of dejà-vu here too...  LOL

Message Edited by WoRkZ on 01-21-2009 11:11 AM

[elmo2006]

@wreck1080

Reading through your post, you answered your own question...RMA may be ok with ppl like you or me, however those with arrays and such are in a different predicament!

You can try to claim warranty on said drive, but there-in-lies the problem where you may get a replacement drive with the SD15 firmware applied to the drive, minus your data and in essence you are back to square one.

The only option they have is a firmware update to unlock the drive to make the data readily available.

What is really disturbing is that there are no recalls of any type for these drives.  Seagate continues to ship drives out and the retailers continue to sell.

(edited to comply with the rules)

Message Edited by AlanM on 01-21-2009 11:40 AM

[michael55123]

Has anyone seen this behavior on the 1 or 1.5TB drives?  After upgrading to SD1a on 3 1.5's I'm seeing the exact same problems.   Random read errors and what not.  I also noticed there was firmware in "validation" for the 1.5's as well. Just curious.

thanks,

Mike

[Rob2222]

UNBRICKED two 500GB 9QM-Thailand harddiscs! All data is completely fine.

http://forums.seagate.com/stx/board/message?board.id=ata_drives&message.id=6468&jump=true#M6468

Message Edited by Rob2222 on 01-21-2009 11:51 AM

[WoRkZ]

Congrats! But I tried the same thing and it didn't work on mine though... I'll get back to you about the specifics of my drive if it can help some of you.

EDIT: Mine is serial 9QM46Axx and came with SD15. I don't want to take appart half of my computer, so I can't tell you what the rest of the info is right now.

Message Edited by WoRkZ on 01-21-2009 12:06 PM