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PC Gamers: Seagate Hard Disk Firmware Problems Acknowledged
- Thread starter Schrade
- Start date
Mr. Pointy
Member
Probably going to get one from mwave.com.au. I imagine online retailers would get newer revisions quicker.Valkyr Junkie said:
Seagate are the only company with drives in that size and they haven't been all that reliable with me. I used to have 2 320GB 7200.10s in RAID 0, but one of them died within 2 weeks. I'm currently running a 320GB Seagate as boot and a WD 750GB for data. I'm hoping to make the WD my boot drive and have 1.5TB for data.
Funnily enough, I've had 3 Maxtors (2 IDEs in RAID 0 at one time) and they've been rock solid.
I'm running a micro-ATX sized PC, so I only have 2 drive bays and I don't really want to have an e-SATA drive just yet.
SIP YEK NOD
Banned
Lacie only makes the enclosures, inside is likely seagate or maxtor drives.Kadey said:I use Samsung, WD and Lacie.
ElfoMan said:
I've been able to register, but whenever I try and create a support request the login fails, giving me this:
I thought that might have been because I'm in Australia trying to get support from a US link. But going through the Australian site forces me back to choosing support from Seagate US.
Gah.
I was worried about something like this happening after they acquired MaxtorQuasar said:
They used to be so good.Hmm, is there a simpler way to check what drive's inside the enclosure than cracking the thing open? My external's packed to the gills with stuff I'd rather not loseSIP YEK NOD said:
you guys might still be ok... go here:
http://seagate.custkb.com/seagate/crm/selfservice/search.jsp?DocId=207931
and run that little serial number check program to see if your firmware is problematic. i have a 1.5 gig drive from late november that the app says is not affected, so you very well might not have to worry about it either.
http://seagate.custkb.com/seagate/crm/selfservice/search.jsp?DocId=207931
and run that little serial number check program to see if your firmware is problematic. i have a 1.5 gig drive from late november that the app says is not affected, so you very well might not have to worry about it either.
maniac-kun
Member
not affected thanks for the shock :lol
Well, looks like I'm in for a busy week at work... All our PCs are on seagate drives and it looks like something like 30 of these are 7200.11. Including some in raid arrays... Fun times ahead.
I did a quick count though and since I've been at this job I've bought about 140 HD from Seagate, and so far (6 years) only 2 died. So it's still a damn good reliability, but this firmware thing is really stupid :/
I did a quick count though and since I've been at this job I've bought about 140 HD from Seagate, and so far (6 years) only 2 died. So it's still a damn good reliability, but this firmware thing is really stupid :/
Guys, use the online SN validator.
I have one of those drives but after putting in my serial number in their online thing it says the drive is unaffected by the problem - Seagate is claiming that the issue is due to faulty firmware being installed in those drives in their factory in Thailand that were manufactured in december '08.
If you drive is older than that, you should be fine. I have a SD15 revision drive and I've rebooted plenty of times and it's always worked fine. I guess it just depends on when you bought it.
I have one of those drives but after putting in my serial number in their online thing it says the drive is unaffected by the problem - Seagate is claiming that the issue is due to faulty firmware being installed in those drives in their factory in Thailand that were manufactured in december '08.
If you drive is older than that, you should be fine. I have a SD15 revision drive and I've rebooted plenty of times and it's always worked fine. I guess it just depends on when you bought it.
Make sure you enter your serial number entirely in upper case as apparently it can influence the results of the check (some people have reported that entering in lower case will make it say that it's not affected, but using upper case will say that it is).
I bought one of the ST3500320AS drives just after Xmas and it died within a week of me installing it. I returned it, was sent a replacement and according to the serial checker it's also affected. Looks like I'm not going to be using it until the firmware fix is released.
I bought one of the ST3500320AS drives just after Xmas and it died within a week of me installing it. I returned it, was sent a replacement and according to the serial checker it's also affected. Looks like I'm not going to be using it until the firmware fix is released.
Serial Number Check (it's a pop up) Mine isn't affected, though, and it was on the first list.
codswallop
Member
That link above says all my drives aren't affected. Since I already have a support case in the system I may as well leave it to double check.
Even after wading through their awful sign up and new case process, the case was only set to "self serve" so I then had to log in and choose "escalate to support". What a pain.
Even after wading through their awful sign up and new case process, the case was only set to "self serve" so I then had to log in and choose "escalate to support". What a pain.
Valkyr Junkie
Member
avaya said:
True, but you gotta have something for that Home Server
Philanthropist
Banned
The forums at the Seagate site are going crazy. Apparently the SD1A firmware they released today is bricking all 500 GB ST3500320AS drives, so beware.
It looks like it works to some people with drives of higher capacity though, but they seem to lose RAID functionality.
It looks like it works to some people with drives of higher capacity though, but they seem to lose RAID functionality.
A Black Falcon
Member
They've pulled the update now. And yeah, the serial checker seems to be flawed. Seagate's sure doing well here...
SIP YEK NOD
Banned
outsidah said:
Yeah, they've taken the new firmware offline as well.
Well, I guess its back to quivering in the corner, living in fear.
vanguardian1
poor, homeless and tasteless
M3wThr33 said:
*whew*
I got one of these in my machine!
It's sad, when I was first into computers, WD was the brand to avoid at all costs, then IBM, and now Seagate. I guess they each have to have their "15 minutes of bad fame".
Edit : I forgot that at some point Maxtor drives had a lot of problems too. I think it was after IBM's "Deathstar".
outsidah said:
So the firmware here http://seagate.custkb.com/seagate/crm/selfservice/search.jsp?DocId=207951
doesn't work yet?
Has anyone here tried it?
My Drive is a ST3500320AS with firmware SD15
Schrade
Member
According to the new posts in this thread:ElfoMan said:
Does the SD1A break 500GB cudas?
The firmware is fixed and working for the 500 GB drives. Would be wise to wait a bit if your drive is working right now though. Wait to make sure everything is ok before applying it to a working drive.
DOUBLE WTF!
I know its not related to the newer hard drives but I just got back another RMA from seagates.
Originally I got a hard drive from a friend who didn't want to bother RMAing it.
So it's a 300gig and I'm not gonna pass up on it. I RMA it for him and I get back a newer drive, originally it was a Maxtor but I assume its the same thing. I get back a 7200.10 drive, nice. I set it up and after attempting to format it, it dies...wtf.
So now I had to RMA the RMA.
I just got the new one and I attempt to plug it in, I check BIOS and it detects it and now I start up windows and it attempts to install the drive. Once its done I go to My Computer and I don't see jack...wtf don't tell me its a fault drive!
I'm not 100% sure but I'm annoyed as heck and I know I won't buy Seagate again. Western Digital strictly now.
I know its not related to the newer hard drives but I just got back another RMA from seagates.
Originally I got a hard drive from a friend who didn't want to bother RMAing it.
So it's a 300gig and I'm not gonna pass up on it. I RMA it for him and I get back a newer drive, originally it was a Maxtor but I assume its the same thing. I get back a 7200.10 drive, nice. I set it up and after attempting to format it, it dies...wtf.
So now I had to RMA the RMA.
I just got the new one and I attempt to plug it in, I check BIOS and it detects it and now I start up windows and it attempts to install the drive. Once its done I go to My Computer and I don't see jack...wtf don't tell me its a fault drive!
I'm not 100% sure but I'm annoyed as heck and I know I won't buy Seagate again. Western Digital strictly now.
A Black Falcon
Member
Schrade said:
Yeah, plugging in a hard drive doesn't immediately make new partitions appear. Use something like the downloadable tools Seagate has for formatting and partitioning a drive.
domokunrox
Banned
I just bought a Seagate yesterday. Couldn't resist the price. $65 for a 500GB SATA drive.
Schrade
Member
That's not necessary. The only tool you need is built in to the OS.A Black Falcon said:
Right click on My Computer (or Computer in the Start Menu) and select Manage.
Click on "Disk Management" in the Storage Section.
Select the unpartitioned drive and partition/format it. Voila, all done.
