The Solution for Seagate 7200.11 HDDs

[Gradius2]

Good to see you around and know everything is fine.

But don't be too proud about hard disk manufacturer change, though the 7200.11 (and to some extents the 7200.12) have been total crap, we do have the deskstar/deathstar preceding issue:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitachi_Deskstar

so I won't bet against the possibility that sooner or later another disk manufacturer will fall in a similar issue.

jaclaz

The real option is backup, and you also need to check backup time after time.

I went for WD not Hitachi. Looks like Samsung is also a good (cheap) alternative.

Btw, the Seagate list with FW problem is:

Barracuda 7200.11

ST31000340AS

ST3750330AS

ST3750630AS

ST3640330AS

ST3640530AS

ST3500320AS

ST3500620AS

ST3500820AS

ST31500341AS

ST31000333AS

ST3640323AS

ST3640623AS

ST3320613AS

ST3320813AS

ST3160813AS

Barracuda ES.2 SATA

ST31000340NS

ST3750330NS

ST3500320NS

ST3250310NS

STM3320614AS

STM3160813AS

DiamondMax 22

STM31000340AS

STM3750330AS

STM31000334AS

STM3500320AS

SV35

ST31000340SV

ST3750330SV

ST3500320SV

ST3320410SV

I got a lot more apart of how/what HDD companies works/do, and I can tell you is a total prehistoric business.

They should unite and create an UNIVERSAL and up-to-date standard for HDD's firmwares. Just the algorithm would continue to be unique, but the way to access the drive and allows us a much easier way to recovery, diagnostic, etc any HDD would hundred fold (or even more).

S.M.A.R.T. is way too limited and not completely reliable.

Is time to change, specially when many of us know the real future is indeed SSD drivers, when they fail you can still easily read all the stuff there, just cannot write/erase/format anymore. The same will never happen with HDDs.

[smandurlo]

Looks like Samsung is also a good (cheap) alternative.

well, now Samsung is Seagate...

Is time to change, specially when many of us know the real future is indeed SSD drivers, when they fail you can still easily read all the stuff there, just cannot write/erase/format anymore. The same will never happen with HDDs.

I agree, but unfortunately now they are too small for storage.

Edited June 18, 2012 by smandurlo

[Gradius2]

Conclusion: Never ever give up!

That's right, and don't forget the Pizza + beer (or wine!).

[KingZ]

Btw, the Seagate list with FW problem is:

Barracuda 7200.11

ST31000340AS

ST3750330AS

ST3750630AS

ST3640330AS

ST3640530AS

ST3500320AS

ST3500620AS

ST3500820AS

ST31500341AS

ST31000333AS

ST3640323AS

ST3640623AS

ST3320613AS

ST3320813AS

ST3160813AS

Barracuda ES.2 SATA

ST31000340NS

ST3750330NS

ST3500320NS

ST3250310NS

STM3320614AS

STM3160813AS

DiamondMax 22

STM31000340AS

STM3750330AS

STM31000334AS

STM3500320AS

SV35

ST31000340SV

ST3750330SV

ST3500320SV

ST3320410SV

Hi this is my first post in this forum. My friend gave me his PC with the following drive that has the same symptoms as listed in this forum.

Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3750528AS

Would this be also included in this list? I want to know exactly before I start fooling around with it. Thanks!

KingZ

[jaclaz]

Hi this is my first post in this forum. My friend gave me his PC with the following drive that has the same symptoms as listed in this forum.

Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3750528AS

Would this be also included in this list? I want to know exactly before I start fooling around with it. Thanks!

KingZ

Good.

Please answer this question:

Is in your view a

Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3750528AS

a Seagate 7200.11?

If you answer NO, you posted on the WRONG thread as this is RESERVED to 7200.11 ONLY.

If you answer YES, you should see an optician , as, besides missing the thread title and the difference between 1 and 2 you also missed reading the Read-me-first, where among other consideration is written:

If you have been pointed to this, it means that you failed to read here before posting there yet another time one of those SAME questions/problems.

The intended Target:

The scope of a thread about problems of Seagate 7200.11 drives is to try and solve two specific problems:

1. BSY - or "busy" state
   
2. LBA0 - or drive detected by BIOS with size 0
   

that are caused on a specific model (the 7200.11) by a specific firmware bug

....

The non-targets:

• ANY other problem regarding this specific hard disk model (Seagate 7200.11)
  
• ANY problem regarding ANY hard disk BUT this specific one (Seagate 7200.11)
  
• ANYTHING NOT listed as "target"
  

and you have anyway posted on the WRONG thread .

Please start a NEW thread for issues with the 7200.12 and/or search for posts about the 7200.12 which is NOT the 7200.11.

(there are DIFFERENT procedures - mostly UNknown/UNdocumented - for issues with the 7200.12)

jaclaz

[mentalmike]

Hi, I'd be grateful for any help that can be given!

I have a Seagate ST31000340AS with firmware SD81. I have been trying to apply the fix shown here but haven't succeeded.

I have got a USB cable connected to my drive and can connect via hyper terminal. When following the steps I have a similar problem to what AVIATEL was having on page 206 when trying the Z command:

F3 T>/2

F3 2>Z

LED:000000CE FAddr:00280575

LED:000000CE FAddr:00280575

I always get this error no matter how long I seem to leave between pressing ctrl + z and any other command. The motor pins are not touching - I have card in between.

Background info about the drive it constantly sounds like it is spinning up then down, once I hit Z this stops and I get the LED:000000CE FAddr:00280575 resposnce in the terminal.

Any suggestions on what to do or try now would be much appreciated!

[mentalmike]

I have managed to get one step further by removing all the screws:

F3 T>/2

F3 2>Z

Spin Down Complete

Elapsed Time 0.155 msecs

F3 2>U

once I send the U command I can hear that the drive is trying to spin up but seems to spin up and then down endlessly. The sound isn't a buzz but a whirring sound.

So again it sounds like the same problem as AVIATEL. He was recommended to read a few posts higher by Jaclaz - which post was this specifically?

I'm guessing I have a bigger problem than the standard bsy problem?

[jaclaz]

So again it sounds like the same problem as AVIATEL. He was recommended to read a few posts higher by Jaclaz - which post was this specifically?

Probably this one:

AND links in it.

jaclaz

[mentalmike]

Probably this one:

AND links in it.

jaclaz

Thanks for the reply jaclaz.

I have tried this:

"Easy test, holding the drive in your hand, with NO power attached, then try slowly rotating it from a horizontal position to a vertical one and continue until you have completely flipped over the drive.

Power it up and try doing the same movements, you'll notice immediately (if it is spinning ) a kind of resistance due to the gyroscopic effect of the rotating platter(s)."

I can feel the drive spin up, then spin down, then spin up and down in an endless loop. What I can't feel or hear compared to a drive that I know works is the heads moving - no clicking, no feeling of them seeking at power up.

Any advice on what I can do or is it a case of send it away for data recovery?

[jaclaz]

Any advice on what I can do or is it a case of send it away for data recovery?

It could be something completely UNrelated to the "main issue" described in this thread.

Is the disk LBA0 or BSY?

What I personally would do would be:

1. clean the contacts (BOTH heads and motor one) THOROUGHFULLY
   
2. try, following it to the letter, this guide:
   http://www.mapleleafmountain.com/seagatebrick.html
   
3. try at first with the head contacts insulated, if it doesn't work, try again with the motor contacts insulated.
   

jaclaz

Edited July 7, 2012 by jaclaz

[smandurlo]

I fixed a drive spinning on and off like yours. I used the normal procedure in the first page, the last command (m0,2,2,,,,,22) the drive spinned off for several minutes and then it spinned on again.

Check my experience in this post. Anyway I am not the only one, another user had the same result.

[ChuckleHut]

This worked for me, without the need for the optional step. I'm now copying data off that drive. Thank you. This has been a great help.

One thing - the last step didn't take 15-30 seconds, it took a few minutes. The output came in three steps, with a minute or so in between. But still as expected.

[BlouBul]

, without the need for the optional step.

One thing - the last step didn't take 15-30 seconds, it took a few minutes. The output came in three steps, with a minute or so in between. But still as expected.

That is because you did not do the optional power down. It can take up to a couple of hours (or forever) if you do not do that

This worked for me,.. I'm now copying data off that drive. Thank you. This has been a great help.

Anyway, glad you managed to fix it

[smandurlo]

That is because you did not do the optional power down. It can take up to a couple of hours (or forever) if you do not do that

I disagree, it happens both if you power down or if you don't power down the drive.

[jaclaz]

@BlouBul

@smandurlo

It is so RARE an occasion to be able to disagree with BOTH of you that I cannot miss it .

You seem to forget how the "solution" is actually the solution to an original quite "narrow" problem, or actually is/was a cure for a single, specific "illness" that presents/presented with two specific symptoms (LBA0 and BSY).

At the beginning of this story, we knew for a fact that these Seagate disks had this "congenital" disease, that presented itself with these symptoms.

But the cure was intended for the illness, NOT for the symptoms (if provoked by another illness).

Let's take Aspirin as an example.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspirin#Medical_uses

Aspirin is good for "common cold" and consequent fever.

Aspirin is also very good for "rheumatic fever".

BUT it is NOT a cure for *any* fever and actually doses to cure the two different kind of fevers above are VERY different AND the time needed to have a positive effect varies.

A patient having a "common cold" will be threated with Aspirin for (say) three days with relatively low dosage.

A patient having a "acute rheumatic fever" will be threated with Aspirin for one, two or more weeks with relatively high dosage.

If you prefer the same "cure" when applied to different illnesses will produce beneficial results in different times.

We know (or presume to know) that when we apply the "solution" to a disk that is in either BSY or LBA0 BECAUSE of the original log position issue, the message comes out in a few seconds.

We also know that in some cases the time needed to get to that message is much longer.

This could well be because these latter disks (expecially if recent and not being affected by the congenital "factory + SD15" issue) have another illness, let's call it "rheumatic fever", that - by pure chance - has the same symptoms of "fever", BUT that is NOT caused by "common cold".

It is also well possible that the "optional power down" is not-so-optional when curing "common cold", but it is vital (or completely unneeded and possibly counter-productive) when curing "rheumatic fever"....

jaclaz