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

[mfjones]

Hello first time poster here.

I recently purchased 4 ST2000CL003's to use as storage on a personal server. I had to RMA one of the drives because it failed seatools for dos longtest and reported error codes.

All 4 of my original drives came with CC32 firmware, the replacement drive I received came with CC3C firmware. The Seagate website states CC32 is the current firmware.

http://seagate.custkb.com/seagate/crm/selfservice/search.jsp?DocId=218171&NewLang=en

CC32 drive reference

ST2000DL003

P/N: 9VT166-301

F/W: CC32

Date: 11444

+5V 0.50A

+12V 0.33A

CC3C drive reference

ST2000DL003

P/N: 9VT166-302

F/W: CC3C

Date: 12094

+5V 0.50A

+12V 0.33A

From the product number it appears the CC3C drive is more recent. I have no idea as to whats going on in the 5 digit Seagate date format.

I tried adding the new CC3C drive to my LVM in Linux and noticed something odd while setting up the LVM partition in fdisk.

CC32 drive fdisk (p) print before write when setting up LVM paritition.

Disk /dev/sdb: 2000.4 GB, 2000398934016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 243201 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x000becb6

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sdb1               1      243201  1953512001   8e  Linux LVM

CC3C drive fdisk (p) print before write when setting up LVM partition.

Disk /dev/sde: 2000.4 GB, 2000398934016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 243201 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 4096 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 4096 bytes / 4096 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x00098cce

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sde1               1      243201  1953512001   8e  Linux LVM
Partition 1 does not start on physical sector boundary.

The physical sector boundary error is inconsequential since it can be overcome by toggling msdos mode (fdisk -u /dev/sd*) and starting at sector 64. My real concern is the write performance on the CC3C drive appears to be less than the CC32 drives when testing a 4GB file. These leads me back to updating the firmware (since CC32 is stated as the current) but now I'm concerned over the physical sector difference between the drives. The CC3C physical is 4096 whereas the CC32 is 512.

I've tried to find references to the CC3C firmware with no results so far hence I'm making this post.

Is it safe to and should I update my CC3C (P/N 9VT166-302) 4096 physical sector drive to the CC32 firmware even though my CC32 (P/N 9VT166-301) firmware drives all have 512 physical sectors? This all doesn't seem "right" to me. I could use  pro-tip.

[fzabkar]

I believe that going from CC3C to CC32 would be a downgrade. "3C" and "32" appear to be hexadecimal numbers, in which case 0x3C is greater than 0x32.

http://www.google.com/search?q=0x3C+in+decimal

Here is a Seagate date code calculator:
http://www.bugaco.com/calculators/seagate_date_code.php

12094 corresponds to 2011 August 30th
11444 corresponds to 2011 May 3rd

I believe that the physical sector size for both drives is 4096 bytes. The difference would be in the firmware. That is, some firmware does not report the drive's actual physical sector size, which means that the software then assumes a default size of 512 bytes.

If you are concerned about alignment issues, then don't be. Seagate's Advanced Format models incorporate SmartAlign which handles misalignments transparently in the firmware.

The following thread discusses a similar question:
http://community.wdc.com/t5/Desktop/Physical-Sector-Size-different-between-WD20EARS-00MVWB0-and/m-p/...

[mfjones]

Thank you fzabkar that all makes sense to me.

The CC3C mystery was compounded by the seagate website stating CC32 was the current firmware for ST2000CL003 9VT166 drives with no mention of 9VT166-301 vs 9VT166-302.

After posting I did a simple hdparm -tT on logical volumes for both drives and they reported back with similar results. Perhaps the speed differential is all in my head.

I'll leave it alone.

Thank you again.

[-NightWolf-]

Hello.

I am not an expert in HDDs. I also bought  ST2000DL003a few days ago, and I am still afraid of using it without firmware update. My current version is "CC3C", but on seagate site it is still written that "CC32" is the lates, I tried to install it, but after reboot I got message that my drive matches, but current firmware does not match update to CC32.

I am confused. I've read a lot that update is mandatory, otherwise my HDD can get broken.

Are you sure that CC3C is the latest?

Thanks a lot in advance.

Alexander.

[AskTheLeaf]

Firmware version CC32 is the most recent for your drive model.

If you continue to experience difficulties while attempting the update, please contact our technical support for your region:

http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/about/contact_us/world_wide_contacts/contact-techsupport-emea

[fzabkar]

If a drive that was manufactured on August 30, 2011 shipped with CC3C firmware, and a drive manufactured on May 3, 2011 shipped with CC32 firmware, wouldn't that suggest that CC3C was more recent than CC32?

[-NightWolf-]

Hello all.

I wrote to support team several days ago an got this reply:

Dear Mr Khomyakov

Thank you for contacting Seagate Technical Support.

Unfortunately there is no Firmware update available for your Drive. The Model number appears to match but the Serial number is the important part and no updates are available.

Enclosed the Download Finder for all Drives : https://apps1.seagate.com/downloads/request.html

Always use this Tool to check for Firmware updates.

If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact Seagate Technical Support.

Best regards

Kerstin

EMEA Seagate Solutions
Seagate Technology.
00.800.4.SEAGATE (00-800-4732-4283)(Europe)
1 800 759 109 (Asia, Australia and New Zealand)
001-405-324-4714 Europe, Middle East & Africa
Web: www.seagate.com/support/index.html

My HDD is made in December-11, so now I have no doubts that CC3C is the most recent.

[astro666]

Sorry to throw a spanner in the works, but here is an interesting thing....

I purchased 2 of these drives.

One is ST2000DL003 9VT166-515   (date 12345) - Feb 22nd 2012 - F/W CC45

One is ST2000DL003 9VT166-302   (date 12335) - Feb 15th 2012 - F/W CC3C

So.... Considering the 'latest' firmware is CC32 according to seagate website.....

Thoughts?

[boblam]

I have four drives:

The full Part Number on the drive was: 9VT166-302
F/W: CC3C

I saw a post: http://www.readynas.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=62934

Quote

"I would not recommend the ST2000DL003 drive at this time. There is a known issue with that drive that is addressed by a test firmware released by SeaGate."

Anyone know which version of the F/W has the issue or anything about a test firmware?

[mag357]

Hi, I have a ST2000DL003 with the CC3C firmware...I tried with the automatic tool and I got "no firmware match"; I also tried with the "download finder" with my serial number...and says:

Global

Name Importance Version Release Date Short Description Downloads and Actions

No Firmware Available	Suggested		01-Jan-11	No firmware download is available for this serial number. Please help us to improve the Download Finder - More...	Please read...

So.... since its quite confusing...should be ok?

Thanks!