Update external HDD firmware (FreeAgent Desk)?

[t0xin]

Hi,

I have a couple of FreeAgent Desk external hard drives with the following drives embedded in them:

1. ST31000528AS (Firmware: CC44)
2.  ST31000333AS (Firmware: SD35)

I saw both have firmware updates available to download from Seagate that are labeled as "important":

1. CC44 => CC49

2. SD35  => SD3B

I tried both EXE and ISO update methods (with the drives still in the FreeAgent enclosure) and both failed (big read FAILURE message in the DOS window).

Can you please verify the following?

1. In order to upgrade the firmware, I'll need to physically detach them from the external enclosures (e.g. like this) and connect them as internal HDDs (via SATA)
2. It is worthwhile to partake in this endeavor, as failing to do so might cause my hard drive to brick one day (especially the SD35 from what I gather)

Thanks!

[tain]

Did the software detect the drives?  Often this sort of software needs to wait for Windows to properly ID the drives and load appropriate drivers first. 

Don't break any enclosures open yet.  Disconnect both drives and reboot.  Just plug in one drive and wait for Windows to get it all ready for you.  Once you can access the drive via Windows, then try your software. 

I've seen some instances where different types of USB ports are finicky for this sort of operation so you can try this procedure with different ports.

[t0xin]

Hi tain,

Thanks for the quick response!

Windows identifies the drives and they work fine, but the flashing software is not run from Windows - it's a self booting DOS-like program.

I tried this procedure 3 times, and all 3 attempts failed. To be fair, I couldn't find anywhere any mention of someone updating external Seagate drives via their firmware update tool. The flash util README doesn't mention USB drives either (just (S)ATA).

Thanks again.

Edited October 24, 2016 by t0xin