The Solution for Seagate 7200.11 HDDs

[VideoRipper]

Now do I try to upgrade the HP24 firmware to HP26 (I have win7 on the computer)?

If it's an OEM drive with HP-firmware and HP26 is the latest: yes, just like Jaclaz said

but when I tried to run a test it says "Test unavailable". It would run a generic "Short Test". I guess that is a HP thing.

I wouldn't worry too much about these messages.

My drive wouldn't run a short DST, while a long DST did and I have an original

(non OEM) Seagate drive, soo...

--------------- SeaTools for DOS v2.17 ---------------

Device 0 is Seagate Device ST3500320AS  9QM22HVN       On Intel ICH5
Max Native Address 976773167
Device is 48 Bit Addressed - Number of LBAs 976773167 ( 500.108 GB )
This drive supports Security Features
SMART Is Supported And ENABLED
SMART Has NOT Been Tripped
DST Is Supported
Logging Feature Set Is Supported
POH 5994  Current Temp 23

Started Short DST  2/12/2010 @ 11:37.4
DST -- FAILED - Read Element LBA = 0
Your SeaTools Test Code: A7E7D56A
Short DST FAILED  2/12/2010 @ 11:37.16
--------------- SeaTools for DOS v2.17 ---------------

Device 0 is Seagate Device ST3500320AS  9QM22HVN       On Intel ICH5
Max Native Address 976773167
Device is 48 Bit Addressed - Number of LBAs 976773167 ( 500.108 GB )
This drive supports Security Features
SMART Is Supported And ENABLED
SMART Has NOT Been Tripped
DST Is Supported
Logging Feature Set Is Supported
POH 5994  Current Temp 23

Started Long Test  2/12/2010 @ 11:38.8
Your SeaTools Test Code: A7E7D55A
DST -- FAILED - Read Element LBA = 963648851
Short DST FAILED  2/12/2010 @ 13:20.9
[ 963580219   --     Repaired ][ 963581115   --     Repaired ]
[ 963582011   --     Repaired ][ 963628659   --     Repaired ]
// LONG LIST OF ERRORS HERE //
[ 963994615   --     Repaired ][ 963994616   --     Repaired ]
[ 963995510   --     Repaired ][ 963995511   --     Repaired ]
DST -- FAILED - Read Element LBA = 964028566
Short DST FAILED  2/12/2010 @ 13:21.0
Long Test PASSED After Repair  2/12/2010 @ 13:21.0

Greetz,

Peter.

[Falcon7]

If it's an OEM drive with HP-firmware and HP26 is the latest: yes, just like Jaclaz said

HP says firmware upgrade HP26 is not for Win7!

Edited July 23, 2010 by Falcon7

[jaclaz]

HP says firmware upgrade HP26 is not for Win7!

Well NO.

HP fails to say explicitly that it is for Windows 7, which is a different thing from what you seem like fearing, i.e. that the HP26 is incompatible with Windows 7.

I guess we are talking of this one:

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareDownloadIndex?softwareitem=pv-68339-3&lc=en&dlc=en&cc=us〈=en&os=2100&product=3740339

Now, use some logic.

IF it was that this firmware is incompatible with Windows 7, it would mean that you couldn't migrate from any of the previous OS to Windows 7 - a bit hard to believe . (judging from the way Windows 7 is "pushed", MS would sue HP immediately )

If you check the HP ftp site:

ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/softlib/software10/COL27451/pv-68339-1/

you will see that the firmware file has a date of:

06/05/2009

Now, having Windows 7 been released on 22nd July 2009, it should mean that the HP guys had not a crystal ball capable of forecasting the furture over a larger than two months span.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_7

http://windowsteamblog.com/windows/b/windows7/archive/2009/07/22/windows-7-has-been-released-to-manufacturing.aspx

However rest assured, drive firmware is OS agnostic, and since the actual updating is done from a DOS based .iso there wouldn't be problems with compatibility during the update either.

In case of problems with the self extracting exe:

http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Hardware/HP-firmware-update-for-Seagate-drive-fails-sp40966-exe-upgrades/m-p/55596

use 7-zip to extract the contents and burn the .iso manually.

jaclaz

[Falcon7]

HP says firmware upgrade HP26 is not for Win7!

Well NO.

HP fails to say explicitly that it is for Windows 7, which is a different thing from what you seem like fearing, i.e. that the HP26 is incompatible with Windows 7.

I guess we are talking of this one:

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareDownloadIndex?softwareitem=pv-68339-3&lc=en&dlc=en&cc=us〈=en&os=2100&product=3740339

Now, use some logic.

IF it was that this firmware is incompatible with Windows 7, it would mean that you couldn't migrate from any of the previous OS to Windows 7 - a bit hard to believe . (judging from the way Windows 7 is "pushed", MS would sue HP immediately )

If you check the HP ftp site:

ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/softlib/software10/COL27451/pv-68339-1/

you will see that the firmware file has a date of:

06/05/2009

Now, having Windows 7 been released on 22nd July 2009, it should mean that the HP guys had not a crystal ball capable of forecasting the furture over a larger than two months span.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_7

http://windowsteamblog.com/windows/b/windows7/archive/2009/07/22/windows-7-has-been-released-to-manufacturing.aspx

However rest assured, drive firmware is OS agnostic, and since the actual updating is done from a DOS based .iso there wouldn't be problems with compatibility during the update either.

In case of problems with the self extracting exe:

http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Hardware/HP-firmware-update-for-Seagate-drive-fails-sp40966-exe-upgrades/m-p/55596

use 7-zip to extract the contents and burn the .iso manually.

jaclaz

Thanks jaclaz, it's now updated to HP26.

[jaclaz]

Thanks jaclaz, it's now updated to HP26.

Good, another happy bunny in the basket:

http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=128727&st=10

jaclaz

[camdengbe]

Someone please help!

I followed all the steps down to the part where I typed the N1 command. After I typed it, the prompt came back up, I power cycled the hardrive but it wouldn't let me input anything. Found out the batteries went dead. Set everything back up now I can't get back to the prompt because i had to close putty. (computer shutdown) HELP!

[GAG]

I report a successful unbricking operation of my Seagate 7200.11 HDD. Many thanks to Jaclaz, Videoripper and all others on this forum, whose posts guided me. The procedure went off like a charm. At present I am backing up the data on a USB hard disk.

I want to share some of my learnings below, with a disclaimer that these worked for me -- not necessary that the same will work for you.

I used a Nokia CA-45 (not CA-42) cable. 3 wires inside. Made in China. USB powered i.e. no need to attach an external battery. If you do not want to hassle yourself by having AA batteries stuck together to power the USB-serial converted, you should go to a phone accessory shop with your laptop. Any cable which is detected when USB plug is inserted (without the phone attached at the other end) is a reasonable bet. I tried 15 odd cables (all CA-42s) before I got the USB powered one.

While not necessary, it helps to upfront identify GND, RX, TX on the cable (varies from cable to cable so no rules here -- some investigative work needed) as well as on the drive (please see recent posts by Videoripper and Jaclaz, which are very clear) so that the initial connection itself is correct.

Grounding : I connected the GND of Nokia cable to the GND on the HDD. The HDD was powered by an external SATA power adapter. That had a different GND. I took my chances by not connecting that GND to the HDD / Cable GND. Did not face any problems.

Loopback : I did the loop back test on the Nokia CA-45 cable by setting up HT (windows XP home) and connecting the RX / TX cables. What you type appears on the screen only ONCE. If you do not connect RX and TX cables then the text you type does not appear on screen and the screen remains blank. This confused me initially because I was looking at double text appearing. But the cables worked perfectly and when it was connected to the HDD, I could see, what I was typing in the HTT.

I covered the ‘head contact’ with a piece of paper and not the ‘motor contact’. The PCB was attached to the HDD throughout the process. 3 screws close to the motor contact were fully tightened from beginning. There is a mention in some posts to keep the other 3 screws loose. I learnt that I can keep only 2 screws loose in place. The third small one which is very close to the head contact, cannot be even positioned because the thick paper covers the threaded hole. I put this 6th screw in position only after I pulled the paper out midway during the process.

I found useful two rounds of practice of pulling the paper with no power and then attaching the single screw while trying not to touch the PCB.

Lastly, Seagate’s authorised RMA service (outsourced in India) was neither aware of the BSY issue nor were they prepared to help out by trying to remedy. They offered to just replace the HDD. When I called the Singapore helpdesk, a very polite and helpful representative asked questions, concluded that this is a BSY issue and offered to get the HDD picked up from my residence, arrange for firmware upgrades at their service center located in Southern India and return the repaired HDD (not another replacement) to my residence. I did not select this option because of data privacy issue as well as the fact that I did not want to risk the transit physical damage possibility. Because of this acceptance of responsibility by Seagate and their gesture of making an offer to take care of the matter at no cost to me, I will continue to be a Seagate customer!

I am also planning to upgrade the firmware using the ISO file from Seagate website. I am aware that some people have had issues with the SD1A version. Is that now corrected by Seagate?

"For this step, I like to unplug any other drives I may have in my system and plug in only the SATA data and power connectors of our repaired drive and a CD/DVD drive. "

Thanks CarterinCanada for this tip. Will remember.

Regards GAG

[zacktheman]

Help!

I believe my hdd is in bsy state, as it was suddenly no longer detected in bios and there is no other explanation imo. This is what I have:

ST31000340AS Barracuda 7200.11 SATA 3Gb/s 1-TB Hard Drive, firmware sd15 (manufactured sept 2008)

http://www.robotshop.ca/sfe-db9-rs232-shifter.html

http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=5_95_96&item_id=003394&sid=ff6to27q1dtm4g9ukh1pf4jap5

I believe that's all correct. When I load hyper terminal, I don't get the prompt "F3 T>" and when I press ctrl +z, I get an arrow, ->. Does this lack of prompt mean the hdd is not connected?

I have enabled echo typed characters locally in hyperterminal. Port settings are correct, 38400 8 n 1. I also tried both tx-tx rx-rx and tx-rx rx-tx. I've also tried both the 3.3 and the 5v power, of course making no difference. Using xp pro.

[jaclaz]

That is the particular "converter" that need 3.3V, 5V won't work with his one.

Does loopback work?

CTRL +z is NOT CTRL +Z.

Did you try insulating the head contacts?

If yes try with the motor ones:

http://www.mapleleafmountain.com/seagatebrick.html

If you tried the motor, try with the head ones:

Try getting a PC with a built-in serial (to avoid the intermediate USB-to-RS232 conversion) and try again.

jaclaz

Edited July 25, 2010 by jaclaz

[VideoRipper]

I have enabled echo typed characters locally in hyperterminal.

Disable that option again: the drive should echo them for you when it's

connected properly and in working order.

Like Jaclaz said, using a 2 step conversion is not recommended

But assuming you already spent money on these two items, you should check

them individually, starting with the USB -> RS232 convertor:

• Connect the USB->RS232 convertor to your computer
  
• Make sure it's seen and you know the used port
  (lookup in "Device Manager")
  
• Open a connection in Hyperterminal (set echo off)
  
• Take a small flat screwdriver and short pins 2 and 3 in the convertor's
  9-pin Sub-D connector (these are the RX- and TX-pins)
  
• While having these pins shorted, type something on the keyboard:
  you *should* see the same characters echood back.
  (I can be a bit tricky, shorting those pins with a screwdriver while typing the characters,
  but it can be done and no harm will be done if you accidently short the wrong pins)

If that test is successful, we can carry on to the next part B)

...but first: tell us your progress

Greetz,

Peter.

Edited July 25, 2010 by VideoRipper

[halbarad]

Actually you may find a more clear tutorial guide here (still in English):

http://www.mapleleafmountain.com/seagatebrick.html

(it is actually preferred - by me - as it is very well written and less "confusing" then summing up the original Gradius' guide + the Aviko's mods + the whatever came after it on the present "mega-thread")

If you check these pictures:

you will see how the connector on the right is the SATA power connector, you simply plug in it the cable coming from your PC (or from an external power supply, like one of these):

http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=128807&view=findpost&p=890636

the connector is actually soldered to the PCB.

jaclaz

Thanks for this explanation, it's clearer now However I have another question already. I bought this cable

http://cgi.ebay.it/Cavo-Seriale-JTAG-USB-TTL-rs232-fonera-DD-WRT-Seagate-/230488097483?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Cavi_Prolunghe_Convertitori&hash=item35aa2942cb

It's got 4 plugs, GND, TX, RX, and VCC (which should supply the power). My question is, where do I plug the VCC? I don't want to mess my HD even more by putting power in the wrong place!

Thanks in advance and bear with my ignorance please!

Elena

[VideoRipper]

and VCC (which should supply the power). My question is, where do I plug the VCC?

No...

You should supply power (3V) to that pin, the pin doesn't supply power

So put a 3V (or 2 1.5V batteries in series) between Vcc and GND to get it to work.

(Don't forget that the GND-pin should also be connected to the GND-pin on the drive)

Greetz,

Peter.

[halbarad]

and VCC (which should supply the power). My question is, where do I plug the VCC?

No...

You should supply power (3V) to that pin, the pin doesn't supply power

So put a 3V (or 2 1.5V batteries in series) between Vcc and GND to get it to work.

(Don't forget that the GND-pin should also be connected to the GND-pin on the drive)

Greetz,

Peter.

I thought to understand from every guide I read that when you use that sort of cable you don't need the battery because the power is supplied by USB port, I think even Jaclaz mentioned it when he suggested to buy that same cable.

I'm confused

[jaclaz]

I thought to understand from every guide I read that when you use that sort of cable you don't need the battery because the power is supplied by USB port, I think even Jaclaz mentioned it when he suggested to buy that same cable.

I'm confused

Yep.

@VideoRipper

I wouldn't be so sure about the need of that adapter needing to be powered.

For all I know the "+" pin OUTputs +5V (and not between 3V and 5.5 V), drawing it from the USB connection.

Otherwise the three cable version:

http://cgi.ebay.it/USB-to-serial-adapter-PL2303-TTL-console-recovery-RS232-/180528396085?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a0854b735

would NEVER work.

Of course it is well possible that there are TWO different versions, one powered from the USB port (above) and one with 4 wires because it needs to be powered:

http://cgi.ebay.it/2-x-PL2303-USB-TTL-rs232-adattatore-convertitore-cavo-/220645333205?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Cavi_Prolunghe_Convertitori&hash=item335f7c98d5

http://cgi.ebay.it/2-x-PL2303-USB-TTL-RS232-Serial-Port-Converter-Adapter-/320563532928?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4aa3135480

but I frankly doubt it.

@halbarad

No need to make it more complex than needed.

1. DO NOT connect ANYTHING to the cable adapter.
   
2. Plug it in a USB port.
   
3. Do a loopback test.
   

Two possibilities:

1. If it works, it means that it is powered form the USB.
   
2. If it doesn't you need to supply power to VCC+GND
   

OR:

1. DO NOT connect ANYTHING to the cable adapter.
   
2. Plug it in a USB port.
   
3. Test with a multimeter the Voltage (if any) between VCC and GND
   

As often happens the seller has published incomplete, wrong or deceiving information.

Sentences like this:

[italian]

(a volte bastano anche solo RX, TX e GND, dipende dal dispositivo)

[/italian]

i.e.:

(sometimes only RX, TX and GND are needed, it depends from the device)

contribute a lot to confuse ideas.

jaclaz

[GAG]

halbarad

If you insert the USB end of the cable in the computer's USB port (without the phone attached to the other end) and the cable is detected by the PC as a 'USB to serial' device then you do not need an external power, assuming you are able to install the USB drivers. If there is no detection of the cable then you need to provide power, as mentioned by VideoRipper.