Seagate Drives with Defective firmware!!!!

[johnrr6]

I just read this on another forum and guess what----I have TWO of the affected drives----both 500 gig Barracudas

Seagate Knowledge Base

Some additional details here:

Seagate Hard Drive Firmware Bug « MS Windows Home Server

If you are in a RAID----none of the Seagate utilitles will read information off the drive----but fortunately----the Intel Matrix Storage manager tells you everything you need to know about individual drives in an array......

Both my two drives in my brand new i7 Rig are affected by this.....

Oh Joy....

Looks fixable----but what a pain.....

[Brian]

Yeah, I just updated the firmware on my two 500GB Seagates today.

[johnrr6]

Brian----I can find ZERO instructions as to what to do with the CD once you make it with the ISO....been all over Seagate's site.....

And Seagate Tech has put me on hold for over an hour on the phone (I can't imagine why with the PR disaster they are going through right now----I wouldn't want to be the Seagate guy who ordered that broken firmware fix to be put out with the VERY little testing they did)....

and both my drives are in RAID....

so here's my plan----can you take a look and see if it makes sense based on your experience.

1. do a full backup to my Windows Home Server----just in case......

2. go into bios and unset the RAID option so both disks can be seen as individual disks

3. unplug the SATA DVD burner----and one of the two HDDs

4. boot off the CD and run the firmware update on the one remaining HDD

5. shut down----unplug the updated drive----plug the remaining drive in

6. Boot off the CD again and update the remaining drive

7. shut down-----plug everything back in

8. boot into BIOS and reset RAID

9. finish Booting and HOPEFULLY----everything WORKS!!!

Sound like a plan to you?????

[Brian]

Originally Posted by johnrr6

Brian----I can find ZERO instructions as to what to do with the CD once you make it with the ISO....been all over Seagate's site.....

And Seagate Tech has put me on hold for over an hour on the phone (I can't imagine why with the PR disaster they are going through right now----I wouldn't want to be the Seagate guy who ordered that broken firmware fix to be put out with the VERY little testing they did)....

and both my drives are in RAID....

so here's my plan----can you take a look and see if it makes sense based on your experience.

1. do a full backup to my Windows Home Server----just in case......

2. go into bios and unset the RAID option so both disks can be seen as individual disks

3. unplug the SATA DVD burner----and one of the two HDDs

4. boot off the CD and run the firmware update on the one remaining HDD

5. shut down----unplug the updated drive----plug the remaining drive in

6. Boot off the CD again and update the remaining drive

7. shut down-----plug everything back in

8. boot into BIOS and reset RAID

9. finish Booting and HOPEFULLY----everything WORKS!!!

Sound like a plan to you?????

That sounds like a plan. Both my hard drives are in IDE mode so my flashing the drives was not that complicated. I just turned off the PC, disconnected one of my two hard drives, changed the BIOS to boot from the DVD burner, booted from the CD, read their text instructions on the boot screen, hit ESC to get to the firmware flashing screen and selected Option A (to flash the drive). I let it finish completely and allowed it to power down the computer, restarted, booted back into Windows (with the one storage drive still detached), let Windows reinstall drivers for the "new" drive and then shut down again, disconnected my Windows hard drive, reconnected my storage drive and repeated the flashing process.

Make sure you have the LATEST version of the firmware iso because the one they posted on the 16th is the one that "bricked" a bunch of hard drives. The current, corrected one has a file name called, "MooseDT-SD1A-2D-8-16-32MB". The previous one had a much shorter file name (although I can't recall it by name).

Seagate Knowledge Base

For what it is worth, I used my one and only optical drive, a SATA DVD burner, to do the flashing.

Hope it helps!

[johnrr6]

Thanks Brian----perfect....

Will do it tonight.....

John

[Brian]

I think I should reitterate that, for the purpose and duration of flashing the hard drives, you should make sure they are in IDE Emulation mode. Most of the people who are reporting success on Seagate's forums had it set that way.

Also want to add that my drives have been working perfectly since the flash (although they were working perfectly fine before the flash as well). I just didn't want to take any chances. Some of the affected drives worked fine for a while and then just stopped working, period.

I may not have even needed to update the firmware but better safe than sorry.

[johnrr6]

"IDE Emulation Mode"

How do I do this Brian???

BIOS setting?

Option in the Flasher??

How??

[Brian]

Originally Posted by johnrr6

"IDE Emulation Mode"

How do I do this Brian???

BIOS setting?

Option in the Flasher??

How??

In your BIOS. Should be the first page (tab). If not on first screen, it is in there somewhere.

Look for SATA Configuration.

Click it. Then set it so it says:

SATA Configuration [Enhanced]
Configure SATA as [IDE]

Once the firmware updating is done, I assume you can merely set it back to RAID.

If I'm wrong about that someone please correct me!

[k0NG0]

I love how Seagate screwed this up. Twice! Criminally stupid.

I sure hope everyone gets their drives up and running again.

[johnrr6]

After 90 minutes on hold (no big deal----toll free number and i just put it on speakerphone and kept working)

anyway----talked to a Seagate Tech

Told me "it's been a long week" for them......

Said that the latest firmware would work fine----just unset RAID---and set the BIOS to IDE Compatability mode----NOT Enhanced

And unplug one of the drives

Boot from the CD you make----follow the instructions......

Flash one drive at a time.

What he didn't mention was that the CD boots into FreeDos----and automatically into a Text File----and you actually have to close the text file before you can go any further....somewhat confusing

I figured it out----but I was expecting some type of DOS flashing utility to appear on screen----it does not!

Just pick Option A or B or C is all you really see on the screen (each option represents a different drive type)

Fairly easy----and it worked!!! Both my drives flashed fine.....

After it was done----I reset my SATA Storage Configuration back to RAID----and all seems well....

PHEW!!! I just built this rig and have spent HOURS getting it tuned----and set up----and all the software I use loaded.....

These drives better be IRON from here on out----or I'll NEVER buy Seagate again.

Interestingly----I read an article that there was a WAR going on between the Tech side and the Marketing side in Seagate over this.....

The Tech side pleaded that the first fix was not well tested and could very well wind up in disaster......

The "suits" said---don't care----get it out.....

Disaster....

[Underwater Mike]

Wow, am I glad I saw this thread! I wonder if this is why I've been having issues with Vista 64 and IASTOR?

If I have two of the affected drives in RAID 1, then do what you guys suggest, I should be able to place them back into RAID 1 and not have any issues, right?

[Brian]

Originally Posted by Underwater Mike

Wow, am I glad I saw this thread! I wonder if this is why I've been having issues with Vista 64 and IASTOR?

If I have two of the affected drives in RAID 1, then do what you guys suggest, I should be able to place them back into RAID 1 and not have any issues, right?

If your problem stems from the buggy firmware and you follow the instructions you, should have no problems.



Glad to see that all went well for you, johnrr6!! Was not aware myself that you were not supposed to have it set to "Enhanced" when you put it in IDE mode and the only reason I said to do it that way is because the firmware update flashed perfectly for me with that setting selected for both of my hard drives. So when I wrote my post to explain how I did it, I was being honest in posting what settings had worked (for me).

But sorry for the slightly incorrect information!

[GWillakers]

I was one of the guys with a defective drive.
I posted somewhere else in this forum that I bought a 1TB seagate
ST31000333AS Firmware:SD15 built in Thailand DateCode:09101
on Dec 5, 2008. The BIOS stopped recognizing it 9 days later.

Problem is, that once a drive stops responding, it can't be flashed.

Toms Hardware ran an article saying that Seagate is offering free recovery,
but I haven't seen that offer from Seagate.

Seagate says that the data is intact, and they can fix the drive under warrantee.

Now most of my data is backed up....

What is a pisser, is that I don't think I want to send a drive with all that
personal information on it ... and put it into the hands of strangers.

I just might have to eat the 200 bucks.

[johnrr6]

Originally Posted by GWillakers

I was one of the guys with a defective drive.
I posted somewhere else in this forum that I bought a 1TB seagate
ST31000333AS Firmware:SD15 built in Thailand DateCode:09101
on Dec 5, 2008. The BIOS stopped recognizing it 9 days later.

Problem is, that once a drive stops responding, it can't be flashed.

Toms Hardware ran an article saying that Seagate is offering free recovery,
but I haven't seen that offer from Seagate.

Seagate says that the data is intact, and they can fix the drive under warrantee.

Now most of my data is backed up....

What is a pisser, is that I don't think I want to send a drive with all that
personal information on it ... and put it into the hands of strangers.

I just might have to eat the 200 bucks.

G----Try the new firmware------supposedly it has brought some "Bricked" drives back from the dead.....

[johnrr6]

Originally Posted by Brian

Glad to see that all went well for you, johnrr6!! Was not aware myself that you were not supposed to have it set to "Enhanced" when you put it in IDE mode and the only reason I said to do it that way is because the firmware update flashed perfectly for me with that setting selected for both of my hard drives. So when I wrote my post to explain how I did it, I was being honest in posting what settings had worked (for me).

But sorry for the slightly incorrect information!

Brian-----you were a GREAT help----and I don't think you posted ANY incorrect information.....

I think it is just the way these Asus BIOS are set up in my particular machine.

No need to apologize whatsoever.

Thanks----you not only "got me in the Ball Park"----you got me to first base as well....

A HECK of a lot better than what Seagate support did......