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

[darkmax]

Hi there, this is my first post on this forum.

I am in a bit of trouble here. I tried to update my ST31500341AS harddisk, thinking it might solve the clicking noise and the delayed seek and search issue I have. So I downloaded the firmware update on the website and clicked on it. It ran for abit and requested restart, and so I followed the instructions.

After restarting, the update program ran, seemingly, normally. However, after detections, it made a quick displayed telling me my harddisk does not require the update and no dowload was made (so something to that effect). Then it started the update detection again.

This repeated itself over 8 times and I found no way to terminate the program or get into the safe mode of Windows 7 (64bit). It just keeps looping endlessly.

Safe for using the Windows Recovery Console, I have exhausted my knowledge of how to escape from the endless loop.

Any help from you would be very much appreciated.

[fzabkar]

Try the procedure from a bootable CD.

You may need to choose "legacy" mode in the BIOS setup if the drive is invisible in SATA mode.

[darkmax]

I don't get you.

The firmware update utility does detect the harddisk, but my harddisk does not require the firmware update.

[fzabkar]

What is your drive's current firmware version?

[Cantbecanit]

Recovery console won't help, thats for Windows not fw, two simple checks, remove the fw disc from whichever drive you have it in, and when booting normal hold down the boot menu key, F8 or F12 normally and select the HDD as the 1st bootable.

[cox]

#Cantbecanit Hi, I don't really know, but I bet 'cause I'm almost sure #darkmax is trying to tell you that the firmware update utylity has a real endless loop.

i'm really sorry if i'm wrong, but I guess that. why? because I have the same problem right now.

I just have RECOVER my disk from the past 4 days of searching solution to the problem related to the NO BIOS DETECT in barracuda 500GB SD15 FW (firmware)

I'm a advanced user with certain level of electronics knowledge & i dare to try recover my data from myself. the whole process was OK, (hyperterminal, command sequences trough a serial conection, i'm pretty sure you know what I mean) and it was OK, ALL my data recovered.

BUT, for this issue to never  happened me again, I went to download the ms-sd1a.exe applicattion from this site, and when it prompt for procedure to UPDATE the FW it , reboot and goes OK updating it, i fact I have now the SD1A FW,

BUUUUT the seagate firmware update utility doesn't stop to start over & over again... do you get the point here?? when the utility restart in place to show the "power cicle" message it says that the HD has the new UPDATE DONE & it has no need to update (because it already did) and starts again... and...

I must say that all data are OK, not corrupt, I use W7 (yes and OG license) and I access it from another HD with another OS, and it shows now 3 partition instead of the OG (original) 2 ones.

the third (in true the first) who has created the utility, has 100MB with a hiden datafiles from the utility who doesnt let me boot from the second partition (who has the ol FIRST boot data win files)

ABSOLUTLY SORRY FOR MY POOR ENGLISH !!! Please, understand its not my natural language and I have no translation here, just practice too hehe

well, I hope I have expressed well, I almost forgot to say that I have that photos with a sh** qualyty if they can have any use here to show you....

and the final thought is, can you HELP me, please with any kind of comment?

thank you a lot,

Kind regards, cox.

SN: 9QM9HXF5 (originall buyed with SD15 fw, broken, repair it, and update looop...)

[fzabkar]

See this thread:
http://forums.seagate.com/t5/Desktop-ATA-and-Serial-ATA/should-I-upgrade-to-SD1A-from-SD25/m-p/52918...

I'm wondering if there is reference to the activate.exe file in your startup axis? Try renaming that file. If the problem goes away, then remove any reference to activate.exe from your registry.

[cox]

Thank you #fzabkar

I read the thread you pointed. I can't understand what you mean with the 'startup axis' I guess youre telling the boot sector?? could be hehe

well, but the problema is different.

I cant access to win registry because windows doesn't starts.

I cant rename any file cause there is no prompt at all.

The seagate firmware utility is the first thing the disk has and is obviously the first thing it boot. I tryied at startup pressing F1 to F12, Crtl+c Crtl+z, etc etc, to see if its possible to stop any batch file, at least a prompt to see whats there but nothing either.

To refresh the process I did, I tell that the ms-sd1a file that I have downloaded, I have installed on windows, And I remember the last page of the program installation is a question similiar to "..proceed with the upgrade process? It will reboot your computer and be sure nothing else is runnig.." It was all ok, I say yes, update it!! then, the computer reboot like he promised and the DOS seagate fw started, searched on pci bus por the disk, found him, updated it, and... not reboot to restore to win, it started againd, search on pci bus the disk again, found it again, and not updated 'cause already did in the step before... and... started again, and.... on so goes until now...

Once again I hope I have expressed myself the right way.

Kind regards,

cox.

[fzabkar]

The "startup axis" is a sequence of events that happen during bootup.

For example, here is a Windows 98 version:
http://cquirke.mvps.org/9x/startup.htm

Unfortunately I'm basically ignorant about Win XP. :-(

It seems that F8 doesn't get you into safe mode, so AFAICS you need to boot from a CD or another drive. Then search your problem drive for activate.exe, or other files in the ms-sd1a.exe distribution. You can use 7-Zip or Winzip to unpack the EXE. For example, the flash updater is fdl477a1.exe, and the firmware files are 2DSD1A.LOD and 3D4DSD1A.LOD.

If it exists, rename the activate.exe file so that it doesn't get executed. Otherwise look for other likely suspects. For example, the config.xml file looks like it is a batch of some kind.

Other things you could try is to boot from a Ubuntu Live CD, or create an ERD Commander bootable CD. ERD (Emergency Repair Disk) will enable you to edit the registry.

See this thread for more info:
http://forums.seagate.com/t5/FreeAgent-Products/Any-ideas-how-to-do-this/m-p/52256#M11024

[marcoamf]

Oh my, just spent my day trying to solve this.

It seems there aren't many posts about this, and it seems its a specific case where you run the update utility for a Seagate drive by installing the updater in another Seagate drive where you have Windows 7.

Maybe it just happens on Windows 7, but the program will never exit.

And it sort of creates a program loaded at BOOT, in the middle of the way before Windows starts.

I followed this and fixed it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICV5dxlgbTM

I tried other ways but it seems Windows 7 is pretty picky about the Fixmbr you're trying to use, recovery disk for version x64 has to be one generated by x64 and so on...

Good luck. Hope this helps everyone and... Seagate, please pay attention to what you're doing!!!

I strongly recommend the Firware Utility in the bootable CD (in theory for non-Windows users) instead of the program that messes [Edit: Please do not evade the word filter] up your windows boot sector.