Community: Hang out with the Boleh family > General Discussion
Warning to Seagate 7200.11 hard drive owners
geebox07:
Just thought I'd share this info as I've just been affected by it:
There is a known firmware issue affecting a range of Seagate 7200.11 hard drives. The fault seems to manifest without warning during a power on/off cycle. One day, you'll switch on you PC and the hard drive will no longer be recognised by your PC's BIOS. The data on the affected drive will not be corrupted (generally & going off my own experience) and tthe drive will still power up and spin normally but there will be no way to access the drive through a PC, no early warning signs (abnormal noises, clicking, crunching etc) and no way for the customer to retrieve their data/fix the dirve.
This happened to me about four weeks ago (Seagate Barracuda 500GB 32MB 7200.11). I turned on my PC and the affected drive (a secondary drive in my PC) simply 'wasn't there'. Checked in BIOS - only saw my smaller primary HD!
I checked on the web and was able to find loads of similar stories from people affected like me. Also found loads of adverts from data recovery companies offering to fix the problem for a fee (ranging from £150 to £1200). DON'T PAY TO FIX THE PROBLEM IF YOU'VE BEEN AFFECTED! If you approach Seagate and let them know of the problem (and of the fact that you are aware it's due to a firmware issue) they will agree to retrieve your data free of charge (even if your drive was bought as an OEM drive - contrary to what some of the data recovery companies may tell you). They'll even arrange for it to be picked up via TNT and sent to their data labs in the Nederlands, then send the same drive back to you - WORKING AGAIN!
Anyone who has one of these drives but hasn't had it fail yet; look into it because you'll be able to do the firmware update yourself if it hasn't yet failed; thus preventing a furure failure due to this fault.
I'm quite happy that Seagate have fixed my problem (though I had four weeks of worry & inconvenience) but I think it's wrong that they are not performing a recall or even publicising the fault so that people can take preventetive measures. They are simply quietly dealing with the fallout and hoping that most of the hundreds of thousands of people affected will not look into their drive failure and simply 'cut their losses' & get a new drive.
I've posted the link below for anyone affected as it contains more info and a list of drive models affected. The link is to one of the data recovery firms offering a paid solution - I don't work for them and urge people NOT to use their services; it was just the first link I found detailing the issue! ;-)
http://www.abcdatarecovery.co.uk/7200-11/
ShadowTek:
I've got 2 250GB 7200.10s that haven't croaked yet.
I didn't see anything about models other than the *.11s, so hopefully I won't have to deal with this.
dexbot.fallout3:
This firmware issue has been around since late last year, with the fix released in January. They did publicize the issue somewhat, you just have to know where to look (read: tech enthusiast websites). The reason; end users shouldn't be meddling with firmware in the first place; those that do should/would have known the risks of doing so. Quite a lot of people bricked their working 7200.11 in a so-called attempt to "fix" the problem before it happens.
Anyway, here's a link related to plenty of news/discussions regarding the 7200.11 firmware issue.
http://www.google.com/search?sitesearch=techpowerup.com&q=seagate+firmware
@ShadowTek: The issue only affects the 7200.11 range. Older and newer ranges are not affected.
Just to add for everyone; just because you know how to assemble PCs doesn't mean you know how to fix them. That's what technicians are for.
freeman85:
--- Quote from: dexbot.fallout3 on September 06, 2009, 10:01:20 AM ---This firmware issue has been around since late last year, with the fix released in January. They did publicize the issue somewhat, you just have to know where to look (read: tech enthusiast websites). The reason; end users shouldn't be meddling with firmware in the first place; those that do should/would have known the risks of doing so. Quite a lot of people bricked their working 7200.11 in a so-called attempt to "fix" the problem before it happens.
Anyway, here's a link related to plenty of news/discussions regarding the 7200.11 firmware issue.
http://www.google.com/search?sitesearch=techpowerup.com&q=seagate+firmware
@ShadowTek: The issue only affects the 7200.11 range. Older and newer ranges are not affected.
Just to add for everyone; just because you know how to assemble PCs doesn't mean you know how to fix them. That's what technicians are for.
--- End quote ---
well said dex :D
most of time end user tend to brick the hardware when changing firmware rather than fixing it
eugenet:
Thanks for the info. I have two almost full 7200.11 drives (1.5TB) so naturally this is very relevant to me.
Unfortunately, I am a little confused. Geebox07 seems to suggest that we do the firmware update.
However, dexbot and TechPowerup seems to be saying otherwise.
--- Quote from: http://www.techpowerup.com/82331/Seagate_Offers_Firmware_Fix_for_All_Problematic_Barracuda_7200.11_Hard_Drives.html ---You might want to think again before flashing your Seagate hard drive with whatever firmware the company provides as a 'fix' to pending firmware issues with some of its Barracuda 7200.11 series hard drives. The latest firmware by the company, version SD1A turned many hard drives to paperweights.
--- End quote ---
Search on Seagate turns up this link which tells me I have a firmware for my drive model ST31500341AS (http://seagate.custkb.com/seagate/crm/selfservice/search.jsp?DocId=207957&Hilite=). However, using the serial number check utility (https://apps1.seagate.com/rms_af_srl_chk/), Seagate tells me 'No action required'.
Would appreciate clarification - does this error occur only after you apply the new firmware? Or do I have to apply firmware to avoid the problem? Thanks.
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