Nichev

I am not looking to personally benefit, I just think that these companies should be a little bit more in tune with their customers. If it takes a lawsuit to do it, so be it. We are not here solely to contribute to their (short-sighted) quarterly numbers.

I hope someone launches a Class Action Lawsuit. These companies need to learn that they are responsible not only to their shareholders but their customers as well.

I found a plugin that takes images of the pages. Here is the page that Seagate does not want you to see: http://www.2shared.com/file/4655425/b395b9...ledge_Base.html

They pulled the webpage I quoted in my chat log pretty quickly, luckily I still have the page open in my browser. Here is the text: Welcome, Seagate hard drive owners. A number of Seagate hard drives from the following families may fail when the host system is powered on: Barracuda 7200.11 DiamondMax 22 FreeAgent Desk OneTouch 4 Barracuda ES.2 SATA Pipeline HD Pipeline HD Pro SV35 Once a drive has failed, the data is inaccessible to users. Seagate has isolated this issue to a firmware bug affecting drives from these families manufactured through December 2008. Please use the following tools and instructions to determine if you have one of the affected products. If you do, we recommend that you update the firmware on the disk drive. To help determine if you need to pursue this any further, you will need to check your model number, serial number and firmware revision. This can be done in Windows – it's easy! Download and run, or simply run as is, the Seagate Drive Detect software program. You will see a screen like this. Look for the drives that are Attached: Image In this example above the model number name is ST31500341AS, the serial number 9VS00J20 and firmware revision SD1A. Click here to download Drive Detect: Download Flash Or you can use Microsoft Windows Device Manager to see the model numbers of you disk drive. At the Windows Start button select Run and type: devmgmt.msc Then expand the Disk Drive branch to see the model numbers. Like this: Image Or you can download SeaTools for Windows which displays all of the needed information. See if your model number is in this list. Barracuda 7200.11 ST31000340AS ST31000640AS ST3750330AS ST3750630AS ST3640330AS ST3640630AS ST3500320AS ST3500620AS ST3500820AS ST31500341AS ST31000333AS ST3640323AS ST3640623AS ST3320613AS ST3320813AS ST3160813AS Barracuda ES.2 SATA ST31000340NS ST3750330NS ST3500320NS ST3250310NS DiamondMax 22 STM31000340AS STM31000640AS STM3750330AS STM3750630AS STM3500320AS STM3500620AS STM3500820AS STM31000334AS STM3320614AS STM3160813AS If you have one of the models listed above, Customers can expedite assistance by contacting Seagate via email. Please include the following disk drive information: model number, serial number and current firmware revision. We will respond, promptly, to your email request with appropriate instructions. Or you can call Seagate Support at 1-800-SEAGATE. Please be prepared to give the serial number of your drive as the solution depends on knowing the exact serial number. For a list of international telephone numbers to Seagate Support and alternative methods of contact, please access http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/about/contact_us/

Find my conversation below. They are admitting the problem now. But it looks like they are not going to do anything about the dead drives. This Jared guy was the slowest typist in the world. He was quick in closing the session on me though, I wasn't done. Seagate needs to be taught a lesson, they are quite combative with their customers... Here is the log: Hello. How may I help you? Nichev: hi Jared J.: hello how my I help you Nichev: I have one of the affected 7200.11 drives Nichev: sd15 firmware Nichev: http://seagate.custkb.com/seagate/crm/self...931&Hilite= Nichev: says to contact you Jared J.: SN of the drive Nichev: 9qj0xj01 Nichev: You still there? Jared J.: yes i am still here just forwarding the info to take care of the issue Nichev: So, my drive is dead... What's next? Jared J.: if you drive has failed just replace the drive under warranty Nichev: Seagate isn't going to fix it? Nichev: I mean, even ford fixed the Pinto Jared J.: we have 2 options does the drive still function? Nichev: no Jared J.: ok then we have one option replace the drive under warranty Nichev: is there a new firmware for functioning drives? Jared J.: not at this time Nichev: What was the other option? Jared J.: nothing because the drive doesn't work Nichev: If it did work? Jared J.: well it doesn't so the only option is to replace the drive Nichev: Ok, lets say I am mistaken, and my drive works, or I resurrect it... Jared J.: sorry but you said the drive is not working the only option is to replace the drive Nichev: I do have the option of paying a third party to unlock the BSY signal Nichev: Then what? Nichev: I would have a working drive at that point, what would my options be? Jared J.: what do you mean by BSY signal? Nichev: The drive reports BSY to the BIOS, that's why they are failing... Nichev: BSY means that the drive is currently busy, and inaccessible to the SATA controller... Nichev: Anyways, I just want to know what the other option would be.. Jared J.: ok heres the deal we have an update that is going to be coming out in a few days to resolve the issue. But your drive is past the point of the update fixing it so as I said before you will need to replace the drive Nichev: Thanks Jared. Thank you for using Seagate products. You may now close this window. Your session has ended. You may now close this window.

I already tried to access my broken drive in SLAX. I found a program that allows sending raw SATA commands to the drive. Unfortunately SLAX wouldn't give me access to the drive or the channel. Here is some info my post on page 12 that may help: If anyone else is interested in mucking around the source code for the utility can be found at: http://users.tkk.fi/jwagner/electr/ata-query.c Here is a list of hex ATA commands: http://www.seagate.com/staticfiles/..&.../100452348e.pdf Look under section 4.3 Anyone know how to get hardware level access to the SATA channels in linux?

If anyone is looking for a cheaper data replacement option I spoke to a guy in Toronto who will resurrect these drives for $100. No point in rewarding Seagate's data recovery/extortion service... PM me if you want his email.

I haven't spoken to Timha about the dates, his hard drive may be some sort of terminator sent back from the future to unleash epic fail upon humanity... Which really wouldn't surprise me. Fixed: SerialNumber:Model:P/N:Firmware:DateCode:SiteCode:PurchaseDate:FailedDate:USername:Country Origin ====================================================================== 9QM7VZBP:ST3500320AS:9BX154-303:SD15:09146 (09/Oct/2008):KRATSG:Oct2008:24Dec2008:poolcarpet:Malaysia 9QM6X90B:ST3500320AS:9BX154-303:SD15:09115 (17/Sep/2008):KRATSG:Oct2008:28Dec2008:DaftMule 9QM6W2JE:ST3500320AS: - :SD15: - : - :5Dec2008:19Dec2008:DerSnoezie: Netherlands (no detect in bios) 9QM4G4PK:ST3500320AS:9BX154-303:SD15:08503 (16/Jun/2008):KRATSG:Aug2008:Nov2008:dskbrk 9QM3RWHJ:ST3500320AS:9BX154-568:SD81:08464 (20/May/2008):KRATSG:Aug2008:23Dec2008:ToKuRo:Chile (no detect in bios, reboot of death) 9QM7KSQJ:ST3500320AS:9BX154-501:SD15:09134 (30/Sep/2008):KRATSG:28Oct2008:07Jan2009:jeroen__online 9QM2MFS6:ST3500320AS:9BX154-303:SD15:08406 (10/Apr/2008):KRATSG:12Apr2008:23Dec2008:quattro150:Malaysia 9QJ0XJ01:ST31000340AS:9BX158-303:SD15:08496 (12/Jun/2008):KRATSG:Aug/Sep2008:8Jan2009:Nichev 9QM717SF:ST3500320AS:9BX154-303:SD15:09114 (16/Sep/2008):KRATSG:13Oct2008:14Dec2008:PrOdiGy1 9QJ1LESR:ST31000340AS:9BX158-303:SD15:09063 (11/Ago/2008):KRATSG:Nov2008:27Dec2008:AVINNC 9QJ1AGEV:ST31000340AS:9BX158-303:SD15:08515 (2/Jul/2008):KRATSG:Aug2008:4Jan2009:Ruddrage 9QM6354J:ST3500820AS:9BX134-505:SD15:09084 (26/Ago/2008):KRATSG:July2008:20Dec2008:rainshower 9QM33FL8:STM3500320AS:9GT154-325:MX15:08396 (03/Abr/2008):KRTASG:Sep2008:30Dec2008:fabio.cillo 9QM*****:ST3500320AS:9BX154-303:SD15:08367 (14/Mar/2008):KRATSG:Dec2007:Dec2008:Death_Angel:Malaysia 9QK*****:ST3750630AS:9BX146-621:HP24:08511 (21/Jun/2008):TK:Oct2008:7Jan2009:Taiketo 5QJ*****:ST1000340AS:9BX158-303:SD15:09121 (20/Sep/2008):WUXISG:October2008:28Dec2008:Styleman 9QM8DRHL:ST3500320AS:9BX154-303:SD15: - (13/Oct/2008):KRATSG:06Dec2008:24Dec2008:roadstarter 9QM6****:ST3500320AS:9BX154-303:SD15:09076 (21Aug2008):KRATSG:15Oct2008:29Dec2008:labraticmp3 9QM6****:ST3500320AS: - : SD15 - : - : Oct2008:2Jan2008:eli2k 9QM5****:ST3500320AS:9BX154-303:SD15:09063 (11/Ago/2008):KRATSG:6Nov2008:27Nov2008:poim76 9QM2CHR4:ST3500320AS:9BX154-303:SD15:08382 (23/Mar/2008):KRATSG:August-08:Nov-Dec-08:caba212 9QJ15ZBN:ST31000340AS:9BX158-303:SD15:08496 (05/Jun/2008):KRATSG:July2008:26Dec2008:GrayGhost 9QM27S5F:ST3500320AS:9BX154-303:SD15:08381:DEC 08:JAN 09: timha 9QJ0****:ST31000340AS:9BX158-303:SD15:08495:KRATSG:Oct2008:02Jan2009:viniciusferrao:Brazil

Another unlucky soul PM'ed me his info: SerialNumber:Model:P/N:Firmware:DateCode:SiteCode:PurchaseDate:FailedDate:USername:Country Origin ====================================================================== 9QM7VZBP:ST3500320AS:9BX154-303:SD15:09146 (09/Oct/2008):KRATSG:Oct2008:24Dec2008:poolcarpet:Malaysia 9QM6X90B:ST3500320AS:9BX154-303:SD15:09115 (17/Sep/2008):KRATSG:Oct2008:28Dec2008:DaftMule 9QM6W2JE:ST3500320AS: - :SD15: - : - :5Dec2008:19Dec2008:DerSnoezie: Netherlands (no detect in bios) 9QM4G4PK:ST3500320AS:9BX154-303:SD15:08503 (16/Jun/2008):KRATSG:Aug2008:Nov2008:dskbrk 9QM3RWHJ:ST3500320AS:9BX154-568:SD81:08464 (20/May/2008):KRATSG:Aug2008:23Dec2008:ToKuRo:Chile (no detect in bios, reboot of death) 9QM7KSQJ:ST3500320AS:9BX154-501:SD15:09134 (30/Sep/2008):KRATSG:28Oct2008:07Jan2009:jeroen__online 9QM2MFS6:ST3500320AS:9BX154-303:SD15:08406 (10/Apr/2008):KRATSG:12Apr2008:23Dec2008:quattro150:Malaysia 9QJ0XJ01:ST31000340AS:9BX158-303:SD15:08496 (12/Jun/2008):KRATSG:Aug/Sep2008:8Jan2009:Nichev 9QM717SF:ST3500320AS:9BX154-303:SD15:09114 (16/Sep/2008):KRATSG:13Oct2008:14Dec2008:PrOdiGy1 9QJ1LESR:ST31000340AS:9BX158-303:SD15:09063 (11/Ago/2008):KRATSG:Nov2008:27Dec2008:AVINNC 9QJ1AGEV:ST31000340AS:9BX158-303:SD15:08515 (2/Jul/2008):KRATSG:Aug2008:4Jan2009:Ruddrage 9QM6354J:ST3500820AS:9BX134-505:SD15:09084 (26/Ago/2008):KRATSG:July2008:20Dec2008:rainshower 9QM33FL8:STM3500320AS:9GT154-325:MX15:08396 (03/Abr/2008):KRTASG:Sep2008:30Dec2008:fabio.cillo 9QM*****:ST3500320AS:9BX154-303:SD15:08367 (14/Mar/2008):KRATSG:Dec2007:Dec2008:Death_Angel:Malaysia 9QK*****:ST3750630AS:9BX146-621:HP24:08511 (21/Jun/2008):TK:Oct2008:7Jan2009:Taiketo 5QJ*****:ST1000340AS:9BX158-303:SD15:09121 (20/Sep/2008):WUXISG:October2008:28Dec2008:Styleman 9QM8DRHL:ST3500320AS:9BX154-303:SD15: - (13/Oct/2008):KRATSG:06Dec2008:24Dec2008:roadstarter 9QM6****:ST3500320AS:9BX154-303:SD15:09076 (21Aug2008):KRATSG:15Oct2008:29Dec2008:labraticmp3 9QM6****:ST3500320AS: - : SD15 - : - : Oct2008:2Jan2008:eli2k 9QM5****:ST3500320AS:9BX154-303:SD15:09063 (11/Ago/2008):KRATSG:6Nov2008:27Nov2008:poim76 9QM2CHR4:ST3500320AS:9BX154-303:SD15:08382 (23/Mar/2008):KRATSG:August-08:Nov-Dec-08:caba212 9QJ15ZBN:ST31000340AS:9BX158-303:SD15:08496 (05/Jun/2008):KRATSG:July2008:26Dec2008:GrayGhost 9QM27S5F:ST3500320AS:9BX154-303:SD15:08381:JAN 09: DEC 08: timha

The behaviour of Seagate is a pretty disturbing... You would figure that they would know about the streisand effect. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streisand_effect They should also know that previous engineering failures often indicate that costs escalate greatly with lack of acknowledgement of the issue. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Pinto Seagate is doing their shareholders a disservice. I hope this issue escalates for them. On the recovery front: I have looked further into attempting to issue hardware level SATA commands to the drive, it looks like it is a wild goose chase without special hardware. Linux doesn't allow access to SATA channels that do not have recognized hardware attached AFAIK... Maybe someone knows of a workaround to get hardware level access?

I have rebooted my machine at least once in 2009. So that rules out some sort of y2k bug. I am probably on a wild goose chase here, but I am going to spend the night trying to resurrect this drive. I have found a utility that allows sending raw ATA commands to the hard drive. I have found that Ubuntu's liveCDwill not boot with the hard drive attached but Slax will. If anyone else is interested in mucking around the source code for the utility can be found at: http://users.tkk.fi/jwagner/electr/ata-query.c Here is a list of hex ATA commands: http://www.seagate.com/staticfiles/..&.../100452348e.pdf Look under section 4.3

SerialNumber:Model:P/N:Firmware:DateCode:SiteCode:PurchaseDate:FailedDate:USername =========================================================== 9QM7VZBP:ST3500320AS:9BX154-303:SD15:09146 (09/Oct/2008):KRATSG:Oct2008:24Dec2008:poolcarpet 9QM6X90B:ST3500320AS:9BX154-303:SD15:09115 (17/Sep/2008):KRATSG:Oct2008:28Dec2008:DaftMule 9QM6W2JE:ST3500320AS: - :SD15: - : - :5Dec2008:19Dec2008:DerSnoezie 9QM4G4PK:ST3500320AS:9BX154-303:SD15:08503 (16/Jun/2008):KRATSG:Aug2008:Nov2008:dskbrk 9QM3RWHJ:ST3500320AS:9BX154-568:SD81:08464 (20/May/2008):KRATSG:Aug2008:23Dec2008:ToKuRo 9QM7KSQJ:ST3500320AS:9BX154-501:SD15:09134 (30/Sep/2008):KRATSG:28Oct2008:07Jan2009:jeroen__online 9QM2MFS6:ST3500320AS:9BX154-303:SD15:08406 (10/Apr/2008):KRATSG:12Apr2008:23Dec2008:quattro150 9QJ0XJ01:ST31000340AS:9BX158-303:SD15:08496 (??):KRATSG:Aug/Sep2008:8Jan2009:Nichev EDIT: Looks like I am the first terabyte drive on the list, so it probably effects all the 7200.11 drives from kratsg....

I am yet another victim of the disappearing hard-drive... I just got off the phone with seagate, I waited nearly an hour to get to a human. I told the rep about my problem and that I am not the only one, who is experiencing it, but he wouldn't acknowledge that it was a bigger issue. I was given a soft sales pitch for the data recovery service option ($1000 ha!) even though I told him it wasn't realistic for me. I feel pretty ripped off by seagate, I will definitely not be buying another one of their drives... I asked about the RMA options, it looks like I have to pay for shipping my drive. The kicker is that they replace the drive with a refurb, and they can't guarantee that the problem will not return... So, what do I do? RMA it or hope for a fix? Ebay the refurb and buy myself something else? This is pretty frustrating...