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Seagate Barracuda ES.2 HP branding


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Hey,

finally managed to revive my brother's stubborn ES.2 [sT3250310NS] but now I have come to a new issue with the firmware upgrade:

The drive is a HP server one, the model is GB0250EAFJF and firmware is HPG1. The firmware on server drives from HP cannot be upgraded without some smart array which I don't even know how to operate, let alone install one in my PC...

(http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/SoftwareDescription.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&prodTypeId=329290&prodSeriesId=3690351&swItem=MTX-ff5b5a7e60aa4d63bf54338e90&prodNameId=3863122&swEnvOID=1005&swLang=8&taskId=135&mode=4&idx=1)

So my question: seeing as the drive is physically still a Seagate ES.2 in its essence, would it be possible to install a Seagate branded firmware on it (which doesn't require some advanced server hardware)?

If so, which one should I choose - the SN06 or the SN16?

Also, could a firmware update render my data unusable by any chance? :P

Thanks a ton in advance!

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So my question: seeing as the drive is physically still a Seagate ES.2 in its essence, would it be possible to install a Seagate branded firmware on it (which doesn't require some advanced server hardware)?

Yes.

If so, which one should I choose - the SN06 or the SN16?

NEITHER ! :ph34r:

Also, could a firmware update render my data unusable by any chance? :P

Yes.

NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, for ANY reason attempt to write a firmware that is NOT specifically targeted for the device UNLESS you are told to do so by:

  1. a representative of the manufacturer
  2. someone that really knows on the SPECIFIC device and whom you can trust blindly

You want the HPG6 from HP:

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?objectID=c01612429

You may want to explore the possibilities of the OFFLINE update utility:

For ProLiant 100-series servers and ProLiant 300-series servers using the HP Integrated SATA RAID Controller, HP SC40Ge HBA, or HP SC44Ge HBA, use the Offline Flash Tool for SATA HDD FW available for download as SoftPaq SP43542 at the following URL:

ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/softlib2/software1/pubsw-windows/p787421430/v53295/

SoftPaq SP43542 contains a USB Key based offline SATA hard drive firmware upgrade utility. The utility will upgrade SATA hard drives to Firmware Version HPG6. Follow the instructions in the "100 series USB Drive FW Update Tool how-to.doc" file that is created when SP43542.EXE is executed. The "how-to" document contains additional information and sample upgrade instructions for select platforms.

jaclaz

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Hey,

Thanks for the suggestions. I tried the offline update tool and when I run the installer, it said:

"The software is not supported for installation on this system.

The OS is not supported.

Press 'Close' to exit Setup."

So I tried unpacking it manually and the USB installer started fine. When it got to the point where it installs the boot data on my USB pen drive, the program just freezes and does not finish the process :(

The USB stick I'm using is a Kingston DataTraveller 4Gb formatted in FAT32 like the tool suggested.

Any suggestions?

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So I tried unpacking it manually and the USB installer started fine. When it got to the point where it installs the boot data on my USB pen drive, the program just freezes and does not finish the process :(

WHICH EXACT USB installer?

WHAT EXACTLY are the unpacked contents of that thingy?

jaclaz

Edited by jaclaz
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The package contained the standard HP usb disk formatting tool which ran just fine, and a special program which was meant to put the boot files onto the formatted drive.

I got the latter to "finish" the process of making the usb stick bootable once after about 30 failed tries. But when I tried booting from it afterwards, there was just a white _ blinking on a black screen and nothing happened for 5 minutes...

I guess the program isn't compatible with my computer setup. It is meant for servers as the document on HP's page said, after all.

I'm using an Asus P5QL-Pro motherboard with the standard SATA controller if that matters.

EDIT! Forgot to mention that the package you linked me in your first post contained a doc file telling me to download this:

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/SoftwareDescription.jsp?lang=en&cc=US&swItem=MTX-9dce57232dd147989f8d00c6df

It contained a "HP USB Ky utility 1.1" which is the program that is used to make a bootable usb drive <- this is the program which crashes!

Edited by martinlink
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The package contained the standard HP usb disk formatting tool which ran just fine, and a special program which was meant to put the boot files onto the formatted drive.

I got the latter to "finish" the process of making the usb stick bootable once after about 30 failed tries. But when I tried booting from it afterwards, there was just a white _ blinking on a black screen and nothing happened for 5 minutes...

I guess the program isn't compatible with my computer setup. It is meant for servers as the document on HP's page said, after all.

I'm using an Asus P5QL-Pro motherboard with the standard SATA controller if that matters.

From what you say there must be some issue with making the USB stick bootable, and/or in the copying of the files.

The blinking cursoer is typical of a "wrong" setttings in the bootsector, (wrong CHS values) and this can in some case be a fault of the HP USB utility.

Can you try making the stick bootable with RMPREPUSB with grub4dos, verify it boots on your machine and then try running the "special program" on it?

It doesn't make sense that it doesn't boot, the thingy should work (to create the bootable stick) oon *any* machine, not necessarily on the intended targeted server.

jaclaz

P.S.: EDIT:

out of curiosity I did a quick check.

The thingy I got contains a "plain" .iso image of a Linux system.

I managed to run it in QEMU allright, not by directly loading the .iso, but using a grub4dos boot floppy with this menu.lst entry (parameters got from isolinux.cfg):

title stupid HP
root (cd)
kernel /SYSTEM/VMLINUZ media=cdrom rw root=/dev/ram0 ramdisk_size=121260 init=/bin/init loglevel=3 ide=nodma ide=noraid pnpbios=off usrramfs=1 splash=silent showopts
initrd /SYSTEM/INITRD.IMG
boot

I presume you can do the same on USB stick using the settings in syslinux.cfg.

Then it seemingly hangs on udevd, after having printed "this is not a supported server", and It takes forever to load (several minutes), but eventually you have an option to run the update for EITHER:

Flash SATA drive models - GB0250C8045, GB0500C8046, GB0750C8047

Flash SATA drive models - GB0250EAFKF, GB0500EAFJH, GB0750EAFJK, GB1000EAFJL

Tthe first choice seemingly runs CP010461.scexe

and second CP010456.scexe

(these are files that are in the .iso under COMPONENTS)

BTW the documentation says:

NOTE: the fwutil.iso file must be mounted as a windows driver letter or burned to CD media. The USB key utility will not correctly with an .iso file.

and that the HD controller has to be set as "IDE" and NOT to "SATA" or raid.

I guess you need to find a friend with some Linux knowledge and understand if these files can be run from a "plainer" Linux or if the firmware can be extracted form those .scexe files. :unsure:

Good hints are here: http://lackof.org/matt/hacking/proliant/Debian-ProLiant-Guide.html

Most probably the good guys at HP ask you to download a huge installer only to have it execute the 4 (four) batch lines in usbcreator.cmd:

xcopy %1\*.* %2\ /e /k
move %2\system\initrd.img %2\
move %2\system\vmlinuz %2\
move %2\usb\syslinux.cfg %2\

that should equate to:

copy whole contents of CD to USB stick (in root or possibly in a folder \boot\) then move to the same (root or folder) initrd.img, vmlinuz and syslinux.cfg.

Edited by jaclaz
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  • 4 months later...

Hello again after half a year of leaving this baby aside :D

I started testing this harddrive recently to see if it can be used as normal after reviving it. It works with small files and stuff, everything can be copied normally to the HDD and played back from it. But when I try to put something larger on it, like 4gb files, it just hangs during the copying process for like 5 minutes and then the drive disappears from windows!?

I've done tens of restarts, and the drive reappears after these and is always there both in the BIOS and in windows. But as soon as I transfer something big onto it, the same thing happens.

Have tried formatting it many times (both quick and slow formats), connecting it to different ports on the motherboard and also tried it in my brother's PC (Gigabyte p35).

The drive's capacity (250gb) is showing correctly and everything, it just keeps disappearing after I try to put big things on it. It doesn't even show up in Disk Management (Windows 7) nor device manager.

What could I try to make it stay?

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What could I try to make it stay?

Nothing. :(

I.e. in this cases, you need to buy TWO :w00t: items:

  1. a dust bin
  2. a new disk drive

Quick instructions:

  1. throw the old disk in the dustbin
  2. use the new disk instead

You have to live with the fact that sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, and it is NOT worth the time and effort (EVER) to "repair" a disk drive if not for the sheer recovering of data (if any) on it.

A "botched" drive is - strangely enough - "botched".

(last character in the above is a "full stop" or "period")

Try to see it this way:

  1. when you get a brand new disk drive you expect that it will "live forever" (and this WON'T happen)
  2. before or later you will loose some (often important) data because you didn't have a sound backup strategy exactly because that new disk drive will fail
  3. if - by sheer luck - you manage to revive the disk to recover data, you are in a different situation from #1 above, you now KNOW that that particular disk drive failed at least once and actually using it further would be "pure folly", the first time you didn't imagine that this could happen, after, you KNOW that it can happen
  4. now, a disk drive that suffered ONLY from a minor issue - like the original "botched firmware" of the 7200.11 and that after the repair passes BOTH the short and long "manufacturer test" AND it appears to work normally may be re-used - with all the cautions and as a redundant storage media, BUT if you experience *any* quirk of *any* kind, even if it passes the tests, should go in the dustbin in NO time

jaclaz

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Well, I'm not going to give up this easily. After all, the drive worked like a charm after reviving it from the BSY state (we were able to save all the data etc:)

So now I am willing to brick/break this HDD just to try to flash a new FW onto it :P

I have managed to find a HP OEM firmware file (HPG8), but the documentation it comes with says that the drive has to be in a HP INTEGRITY server to be able to put it on the HDD.

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/SoftwareDescription.jsp?lang=en&cc=US&swItem=co-72017-1&mode=4&idx=0&jumpid=reg_r1002_usen_c-001_title_r0001

I already tried Seagate's own stock firmware of SN06 (meant for ES.2 drive ST3250310NS, which mine is) but even though it found the harddrive during the check, it said it did not find a HDD that can be updated.

As I am basically not risking anything with this, please advise me on what I could try despite the fact that the HDD belongs in a bin :P

EDIT: I think the seagate updater does not want to update it just cause the "model" name of the drive is also changed by HP, so in stead of ST3250310NS it shows GB0250EAFJF. Is there any way to change this model in the HDD's info so it would "trick" the updater into recognising the drive?

Thanks!

Edited by martinlink
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EDIT: I think the seagate updater does not want to update it just cause the "model" name of the drive is also changed by HP, so in stead of ST3250310NS it shows GB0250EAFJF. Is there any way to change this model in the HDD's info so it would "trick" the updater into recognising the drive?

Thanks!

Sure :), of course at your complete risk, try with the hints given here ;):

jaclaz

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Ehhhh, I tried opening the updater ISO with winrar, 7zip, daemon tools and everything, but the only things that show up are

drivedetect.exe

README.txt

How do I make the updater files visible? I tried to set windows to "show hidden files" and "show operating system files"

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Ehhhh, I tried opening the updater ISO with winrar, 7zip, daemon tools and everything, but the only things that show up are

drivedetect.exe

README.txt

How do I make the updater files visible? I tried to set windows to "show hidden files" and "show operating system files"

WHICH .iso? (link please).

jaclaz

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http://knowledge.seagate.com/articles/en_US/FAQ/207963en

From here, either the SN06 or SN16 link lead to a firmware update ISO. I do not know of any other way to update the firmware; if there is one, tell me :P

Anyway, both the iso's, when booted, do run a firmware flash utility, but when opened in windows, only show the 2 files i mentioned.

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Ehhhh, I tried opening the updater ISO with winrar, 7zip, daemon tools and everything, but the only things that show up are

drivedetect.exe

README.txt

How do I make the updater files visible? I tried to set windows to "show hidden files" and "show operating system files"

In the flash.bat (inside the .zip, inside the floppy .img inside the .iso) there is a line like:

Here, kid :), let me take your hand so that you can UN :w00t: safely cross the road .... :whistle::ph34r:

Open the .iso with 7-zip.

You will see:

[BOOT]
Drivedetect.exe
README.txt

Open from within 7-zip [bOOT]

You will see:

Bootable_1.44M.img

Open from within 7-zip Bootable_1.44M.img

You will see something LIKE:

AUTOEXEC.BAT
COMMAND.COM
CONFIG.SYS
ES2SN16C.ZIP
HIMEM.EXE
KERNEL.SYS
RDISK.EXE
TDSK.EXE
unzip.exe

Open from within 7-zip ES2SN16C.ZIP

You will see something LIKE:

CHOICE.EXE
FDAPM.COM
fdl464.exe
flash.bat
LIST.COM
README.TXT
seaenum.exe
SN16c.lod
sn16ccfg.txs

jaclaz

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Hehe, thanks for holding my hand, daddy :D

I downloaded the new version of 7z and now it shows the [bOOT] in the iso; the old one didn't...

BUT! now, I opened the img, opened the zip and renamed the flash.bat to flash.txt, changed the model and saved, tried to close the zip but I get an error: "No such interface supported" and then "Cannot update file "ES2SN06C.ZIP""

I tried to unpack everything and build the img myself but neither magiciso, poweriso nor ultraiso managed to create the img correctly.

Please advise.

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