Thread: A warning to all seagate hard drives users and buyers

Thanks to the above link i was able to download drive detect software !!

The thread starter did not mention that it is bcos of the firmware that could have been downloaded frm their site. I mean if ur HDD was on the firmware it came with, then no problems. But if u had updated to that version, then ur disk has a chance to fail. They had removed that version and had replaced it with another one, but apparently even that had issues.

It always has to be firmware problems for such devices. The construction is similar and error free. But the software which makes the thing work must be buggy. Hence all the problems crop up..

I mean only a firmware update will cause the prob, not the older one.

Originally Posted by rajan1311

The thread starter did not mention that it is bcos of the firmware that could have been downloaded frm their site.

Well its mentioned in one of the links. I quote from the message on the 1st link:

Drive origin and firmware seem to be Thailand and SD15, but at least one user reports having had identical problems with a unit from the Wuxi(ng) fab and the SD35 firmware.

Its happening with the default drives which are made from Thailand and/or with SD15 and possibly SD35. Few were successful flashing the bios with the new one, but many have been bricked eventually.

Anyone using such defective HDDs from Seagate in this forum? Have u tried the fixes given in Seagate Knowledge Base ? Did it work out for u?

Originally Posted by cool_techie_tvm

Anyone using such defective HDDs from Seagate in this forum? Have u tried the fixes given in Seagate Knowledge Base ? Did it work out for u?

The harddisk was new and didn't show any problem but just to be safe I updated the 500 GB drive (ST3500320AS) with the latest firmware. Downloaded the CD-image provided, wrote it to a CD and booted from the CD to perform the update procedure. So far the harddisk is working fine.

Someone from chip forums also done a circuit board swap with his bricked HD with a new one with the same firmware and make which worked out well.

What made him change the entire circuitry of the HDD? Did he goof up the firmware installation?

He followed the same funda as applied here:
My dead hard drive story
I doubt accel frontline can see if its removed or not since there's no warranty void sticker across the board. The hard drive was pretty knew, so getting the drive with same firmware circuitry board was pretty easy most probably.

Interesting read. Thanks

my hdd is seagate 500gb 7200.12
i'm also having 20gb hdd of seagate which is abt 10 years old n samsung 80gb abt 4-5 years old

I confirmed with one of the mods @ tech enclave forums that the circuit board swap didnt work. So if it works consider yourself lucky. Just as an FYI- both were made in Thailand with SD15 firmware.

Guys .... ! I am a victim i guess mine is same 7200.11 1TB HDD, i got it as a complimentary from seagate company in return of my 500 GB HDD.... :surrender:

till now i have not done any firmware update etc....

please tell me clearly what to do now.....! :48:

We will have to be sure if that was the reason of the hard drive being damaged in the first place. Does the hard drive have any burn marks on the circuit board or do you smell something funny on the circuit board. Is your hard drive getting recognised on the bios?
If it is getting detected at bios? Get the new seagate firmware and do exactly what the seagate website tells you to flash. Keep an open mind when I say this- if your firmware flash works, consider yourself lucky but dont be dissapointed if its all lost.

I just bought a ST31000333AS. The firmware is CC1H. There are firmwares available for other drives at this page:

Seagate Knowledge Base

But below the list of the drives, it says that those with CC firmware do not need any updates, so I think I'm safe... but not so sure, because there are reports of drives with the CC firmware failing.

I have been using 250GB seagate hard drive for a year now. So far, I see no problem. I hope there is no problem with its firmware.

Originally Posted by puchu

ST380817AS -failed to boot after 2 years of use,then replaced with
ST380811AS -failed to detect after every 30-40 days,replaced 5 times,then for the last replacement I insisted upon changing the model,got ST380815AS -working fine for last 1year,but still there is some problem with SEAGATE HDDs.
I have got another HITACHI 250GB(more than 2 years), works better than SEAGATE(the latest one).

I agree with you , Hitachi Hard Drives are more reliable then Segate . I have had 2 Segate HDD's fail on me in 1.5 yrs , one IDE the other SATA . I was warned not to go for Hitachi because there is no service center in Pune .
I went for it anyway , I am happy with the performance .

I use "Hard Drive Inspector" to monitor the performance of my hard drives , it provides SMART information directly from the hard drive sensors , gets you more involved with your hard drive , you can see when your hard drive overheats . One of my hard drives were overheating really bad , I had to remove the side cover from my case and place a table fan next to it to cool it down ,
I make sure that the temperatures are below 100 F at all times .

AltrixSoft — Hard Drive Inspector

===========
Screenshots :
===========
http://www.altrixsoft.com/en/hddinsp/screenshots.php

My HDD Seagate 320 GB, just stopped working yesterday.
It is ST3320813AS, the dealer here is not co-operative (last time I had a problem with my WD HDD he did not help much except to buy it back at half price and gave me this HDD ).
So this time, I am thinking to directly contact the Seagate India. I have to send it to Chennai for replacement.
Its warranty is till 21/11/2013.
Somebody told me they had a service center in Bangalore. Is it true, if so may I have the address or Tel No. from any of the forum members ?
Thank you guys in advance.
Does flashing the firmware update work even now, can I take that risk, with the power going off so frequently in Karnataka ? Pl advise.

if it is in warranty do whatever you want.

I got the Toll-free number of Seagate,it is 1800 425 4535, from Google and I came to know that they have a service center right in Mysore, near my house. I have given it for replacement/repair.
It seems that earlier they would give a replacement immediately, now the policy is that it has to go to Chennai for inspection. If they find that the fault is due to voltage fluctuation and/or power-supply problems they will refuse to honour the warranty ! It would take 5-7 days for the replacement/rejection to arrive.
Thanks everybody for the help !

Originally Posted by pshrinivasan

I got the Toll-free number of Seagate,it is 1800 425 4535, from Google and I came to know that they have a service center right in Mysore, near my house. I have given it for replacement/repair.
It seems that earlier they would give a replacement immediately, now the policy is that it has to go to Chennai for inspection. If they find that the fault is due to voltage fluctuation and/or power-supply problems they will refuse to honour the warranty ! It would take 5-7 days for the replacement/rejection to arrive.
Thanks everybody for the help !

thanks for posting this info for it would certainly help others.

One of my frens in chennai tried to apply for a replacement sometime back he too got the same reply.

Thanks for the info. May be thats why my new 400GB hdd, sometimes hangs, and when i restart it even won't showing up in bios
but after some time it start working again

what is the model number...

hmmm so thats why my 7200.11 160GB hard disk failed.... and i was thinkin that it was because of the time it fell down from about 1 foot above the ground.... and why is that not the reason? cos it worked perfectly well till sometime last month and then suddenly bricked.....