The 1TB drive failue is a very widespread problem. There are many threads from many forums (not just the Seagate forum) regarding this particular issue. I'm going to make a little summary below.
1) The problem is BIOS no detect after a few months of usage (typically 3 months)
2) This problem applies to, ST31000340as, SD15, Thailand, Seagate 1TB drive
3) There are also problems for Segate 1.5TB, 640GB and 500GB. The 1.5TB drive's problem seems to be fixed by the newer firmware. The problems are a bit different from the 1TB SD15 problem (those drives didn't die completely).
4) Until today, Segate denied there is problem with SD15 1TB drive. SD15 is still the newest firmware.
5) If you RMA today, you are likely to get the bad drive again which is likely to fail another 3 months later. That's why I haven't RMA it yet.
6) Calling them you will get no help because they haven't acknowledge this problem offically yet.
7) Email them and you won't get any response.
8) This problem is very widespread (go to any place that sells this drive and with a online forum, you will see what I meant. e.g. newegg, ncix, amazon)
9) The previous firmware SD14 has some performance issues. But I haven't heard of any dramatic failure for that version (Some Dead on arrival, but those are "normal"). By fixing the performance issue, SD15 introduced some serious bug. I suspect it's 100% failure after about 3 months of usage, but there's no way to verify this claim.
10) "Papadenadia" is probably just "Hamartolos" in disguise, who I suspected is the alter ego of this forum's moderator AlanM. But again, I've no way to verify this accusation. It's possible I'm accusing the innocent (unless this post got deleted or modified without my consent).
11) In most of the cases (applying only to no detect issue), the data are recoverable, but you have to pay for the recovery service. I haven't heard of any free solution yet.
12) Switching the PCB doesn't work.
13) No software solution I have heard of.
14) In most cases, the drive is still intact. No abnormal "clicking" sound (if it does, it's a different issue).
15) At the time of my purchase (August), there was no negative posting regarding this issue. There were a few "Dead on Arrival", but like I said, those happened to all drives.
16) The earliest complaints regarding this issue I've seen is around late October. It's more frequent in December (someone who has more time than me may want to do a more scientific count). So this problem is just starting to surface.
AlanM
