so this is my story, please don't clog it with useless responses, as i will continue to post my progress on the issue here.
january 24th: packed up my system and computer business for moving to a new house.
january 26th: moved into said new house, move was gentle as could be, wasn't alarmed/worried about any of my equipment.
february 4th: finally have custom built desk in place and network setup, time to get my personal system working. system wont' boot windows. after restart, i see bios won't even detect drive (ST31000340AS, fw SD15). i try the drive in my wife's system, also won't detect. i try in one of customer's systems, also won't detect. i get frustrated, start research online. post on experts-exchange.com (http://www.experts-exchange.com/Storage/Hard_Drives/Q_24114593.html), was recommended to try changing logic boards with another drive of similar firmware and model.
february 9th: get new drive, same model and firmware, try swapping logic boards, drive still does not detect. i switch them back and start browsing online, finding many forums relating to this issue, and ultimately leading me to this forum.
february 11th: research this problem for the better part of the entire working day, discovering that unless you discuss the issues with tech support, no one from the industry has put forth anything substantially easy to follow, or steps of advancement. problem being: both phone and online technical support are not working...
february 12th: restart my research, documenting what works and what does not. after calling tech support, and being on hold for a length amount of time, i get through to a lovely lady who, after explaining that i ran the serial number checker and was found to be faulty, understood the problem, but didn't know what to do. she put me on hold and researched it for a bit, checking back to make sure i knew she was still trying.
she then returned, where i had to give info on the drive, my info, etc. then she gave me the info i needed! i received a case number, was then forwarded to the data recovery team i365, and that gentleman told me what had to be done and answered the rest of my questions.
i was sent to a website to fill in the rest of the info, print off a UPS expidited shipping label (both shipping expenses paid for by seagate), and told that the total service time should take roughly 5 working days. i was quite impressed, other than the lack of online support or information, and long hold times, that i received such great help from the staff. the gentleman from i365 explained that they would not actually perform data recovery, but that they would just 'unlock' the logic board, update the firmware, and check to make sure the data and drive are back to normal. if the drive would require further data recovery, i would receive a phone call explainign the situation, and outlining some options, which would be an additional cost only at that time.
here is what you should do if lost (and drive is bricked, as in cannot update firmware):
1) go here: (http://seagate.custkb.com/seagate/crm/selfservice/search.jsp?DocId=207931), run through serial checker utility, and find if drive is on the affected list.
2) if it is not, sorry, lol i don't know. perhaps follow along anyways? if it is, call technical support at 1.800.732.4283, explain to the service representitive that you have a drive that you feel is faulty, that the serial checker utility did find it "affected", and that the data on the drive is important to get back. they will do their research, and forward you on. you must ask for a case ID number, as well as the phone number for the data recovery team in case you ever have to call them in the future. you will then be forwarded to the i365 team.
3) once forwarded, they will ask you to go to (https://services.seagate.com/), where you will be asked to click "SUBMIT A CASE" under the RELAX image on the home page. after submitting all your personal info, the bottom section will become accessible, allowing you to enter the case ID number in the "Customer Reference:" slot. the next page has a check list of how to get your drive updated: follow the instructions, printing out the appropriate labels for shipping, and pages for including inside the package along with the drive.
4) go to your nearest UPS store, and ship the package. it is free, shipping and handling is paid for by seagate. a tracking page is provided in the instructions from step 3 above, including a preassigned tracking number. as i am writing this, i just checked that my parcel is now in winnipeg, manitoba, canada, ready to be shipped to ontario, canada. that is impressive, as i dropped it off at only 3pm this afternoon in a small town a few hours away from winnpeg.
i will post updates as i get them, and when my drive returns, i will post if the data is recoverable and if the drive has been updated to stable firmware, etc. so far i have been quite impressed with the companyies steps to resolving my problems, allbeit slow to publish public instructions for the public. hopefully this post will help a few out there in the same shoes as i was!
