FreeAgent Theater and GoFlexTV

[seriousm]

I have a CRT HDTV, that only has component inputs. I thought it was 1080p, so I went and set the FAT+ to 1080p in the video settings and my screen went black.

Now I think it was originally set to 480i.

I can't see any of the menus to navigate and change the settings. So it looks like I'm stuck at 1080p, with a black screen.

I tried pressing the reset button on the back of the FAT+, no luck. I've held down the reset button. No luck. I've restart the FAT+ while holding down reset. No luck.

I can't see anything onscreen. Anyone have a fix?

[seriousm]

So I followed the info for reseting the FAT+ that are in the guide. I unplugged the power, plugged in a USB flash drive, held down the reset button and put the power in...

Now all I have is "Seagate" on my screen and a blink amber light on the FAT+. Tried doing this reset again and same result.

[Tinwable]

Here's what you want to do.  First, you want to extract the "image.img" file from the firmware file you downloaded to the root of a blank Thumbdrive.  Make sure that the image.img file is on the root of the drive, not in a folder. 

Then:

1. Unplug the FreeAgent Theater+ media player from power.
2. Safely remove the USB drive from your computer and insert it into one of the FreeAgent Theater+'s USB ports.
3. Press and hold in the Reset button on the rear of the FreeAgent Theater+ next to the power outlet while simultaneously reconnecting the Theater+ power cord to the back of the Theater+.
   (Refer to the FreeAgent Theater+ User Guide for a more precise location of the Reset button.)
4. Continue to hold the Reset button until the Seagate logo appears on the TV. The Updating screen will then open. Wait until it finishes the update before using the FreeAgent Theater+.

[seriousm]

Thanks for the quick reply. Much appreciated.

I don't know if I screwed this whole thing up by resetting it over and over...

I just did a firmware update earlier, as I just bought it today. So I'm familair with putting the img on the flash drive.

I did as you said, numerous time to no success. Right now, when I put the USB flash drive in and do a restart, the Seagate logo is immediately onscreen and the FAT+ blinks orange.

It's like it doesn't recognize the USB or go to the next step after showing the logo. I've alternated between holding reset while the logos onscreen and taking my finger off the reset button. Like I said, the logo is onscreen as the unit powers on.

I've tried leaving it unplugged for 5mins and I've also tried reinstalling the img on the flash drive, even though the one from earlier today worked fine.

Is the another option, or do I need to send this in...? It's not even 2 hours old.

Here's what I'm doing, if anything is wrong.

1. Unplug power from FAT+

2. Put img on flash drive

3. Put flash drive in USB port of FAT+ (tried both)

4. Hold down reset button

5. Plug power in

When I do this... The Seagate logo pops up and stays onscreen. The FAT+ blinks.

[Tinwable]

Ok, so try this.  First I would re-format your USB to FAT32 (even if you had already done so), then re-download the firmware, reason being you could have gotten a corrupted download.  By the way if you hadn't upgraded to the 1.55 FW, then you can try the 1.26 FW US version (if you need a different version let me know).  If you have then you will have to use the 1.55 FW because you can't rollback from it.

Any, then put the image.img on your Thumbdrive.  Go to the FAT+ and hold the rest button then unplug the power.  While still holding the rest, plug in the Thumbdrive and then plug the power back in.  Wait for the the Seagate logo to come up then release the rest button.

If this doesn't work, then do the same thing again but plug the Thumbdrive into the rear port.  Which reminds me, before you do anything, make sure that you unplug any other drives that you have attach to the FAT+.

[seriousm]

I grabbed 1.55 again, as I updated the FAT+ earlier today.

I'm using a mac, so I don't know about FAT32. I did erase it using Disk Utility, with the FAT setting. It didn't say FAT32 though.

I put the new img of 1.55 firmware on it, held down reset, plugged it in the front USB slot and plugged in the power. Instantly the Seagate logo appears, so it's not really a question of pulling off reset when you see the logo on screen. It pops up as soon as the power is plugged in.

Then I repeated the process on the rear USB port. Same issue. Left it in and it's been blinking for 5mins with "Seagate" on screen.

Is is possible there's another way to force a reset? It doesn't seem to take.

Also, my USB flash drive has an LED that blinks when it's been used. So it's giving some info as to what's happening... In each case, I plugged the USB drive in, plugged in the power and then pulled off the reset button when "Seagate" appears. No activity on the USB flash drive. Only after sitting there for 20-30 seconds does it finally start to blink, showing it's being accessed. Blinking only lasts a second and that's it.

Like I said, the "Seagate" name appears on screen right away. Maybe that's a clue as well?

[Tinwable · Accepted solution]

Did you hold the rest when you unpluged the power?

Also, it doesn't have to be FAT32, the FAT+ just seems to see that format better than others.

The Seagate logo pops up when it is looking for the firmware.  Either the image.img file is corrupt, or on the Thumbdrive in a way that the FAT+ can't see it or there is a problem with the read/write on the FAT+ itself.  There has been an issue with some people not being able to re-flash their firmware no matter what they do, especially with the 1.55 FW.

There is also one other option that you can try.  Instead of using a Thumbdrive, you can install the "image.img" on the root of  an external hard drive (you shouldn't have to delete any data) and then try the Cold Method (unplug power, hold rest, plug power back in).  Some people have had some luck using this method when they couldn't get it to re-flash off of a Thumbdrive.

If none of this works, then you may want to contact Seagate support (good luck with that) and let them know that the 1.55 FW has bricked your unit and that you want to return it for an exchange.  Or if you got it from somewhere like Bestbuy, I would take it back and have it exchanged.  If you go this route though, and you get a new one, just make sure that you turn off the Auto Updater on the FAT+ before you plug it into your network.

[seriousm]

These are alll good ideas. Thanks.

I did the USB external drive, with the img... Same result.

I think this whole thing might be due to a faulty reset button. I mean, this all came from me incorrectly setting the video to 1080p, when I should have picked 1080i. Hitting reset did nothing and since then, holding reset has done nothing.

I was hedging my bets and bought this though Best Buy, just so I can take it back...

[richardhare]

Thanks - I had the same problem and this sorted it out.

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