Seagate 1TB Drives Dying in Droves

Iria · Jan 17, 2009, 04:18 AM

The magic (bad) sector (pun intended) of drives for Seagate appears to be those which are 1TB or larger in size. I wrote about an earlier problem with 1.5TB Barracuda 7200.11 Seagate drives, but now it appears that their 1TB drives are dying in droves.
___________
Source: Tech-Ex

Erroneus · Jan 17, 2009, 10:32 AM

Gotta love fixes, where you have to go through some tedious support.

BlueMak · Jan 17, 2009, 02:36 PM

I have the STM3500320AS. (500GB)
This news item is worrying. I have the drive on daily (many hours) operation for about 4 months now without any problem. Should I be worried? Hmm.

Judas · Jan 17, 2009, 03:28 PM

i've yet to have any of my 500gb 7200.11's die at all.. and there are insane numbers of those drives out and about.

Bob L · Jan 17, 2009, 03:43 PM

I don't plan on being the bad guy here (since I'm new to the forum) ... but I recently had a tech put a couple of new hard drives in for me ... and he mentioned to stay away from the larger Seagate drives for now. It was a big relief to me since I'd just bought a couple of the larger Western Digital drives for him to install. They are running like champs for the last couple of months. Even though they were a little more then the Seagate drives - they seems to be well worth it.

Just back up your work, make sure your data is stored on a reliable drive if you can. Even if your drive fails - the chances of you loosing 'everything' ... (the most critical of course would be you music project / files) .... would be impossible if you've backed up everything well.

Your OS drive isn't the most critcal of course - your projects are the main thing.

Best to all,

Bob

Judas · Jan 17, 2009, 04:40 PM

indeed.. i make frequent multiple backups of any sensitive data i have..

**kris23** · Jan 17, 2009, 05:08 PM

hey judas, when u gonna get the 7200.12s?

BlueMak · Jan 17, 2009, 09:46 PM

Question, according to the site they require the serial number of the drive. To get that you have to open the system and remove the hdd. I rather not do that. If I use SeaTools for Windows I get a serial number and firmware version with it. Do you know if the serial number there is the same as the one printed on the drive's cover?

MitchRapp · Jan 18, 2009, 02:56 AM

just glad i paid a bit extra to get the "ES" drives a while back
I'm using 4x500gb ES drives (ST3500630NS)

looks like even ES.2 have issues... no mention of the older ES so thank God for that

recently I was struggling between getting some 1TB 7200.11's or 1.5TB's from Seagate
I looked at reviews and then saw the WD Black Edition 1TB drives were about 25$ more a pop ... and meh... 25$ more but they're sure to work, why not.

Plus didn't Seagate lower their warranty time from 5 to 3 years just now? bad for Seagate owners...

WD Black Dual-Processor = 5 years

BlueMak · Jan 18, 2009, 03:50 AM

I filled in the online form and waiting for reply.

I wonder if I should also fear for my Freeagent Pro drives, 1TB each and I can't get info on what drives there are in them.

EDIT: NVM, they are also mentioned in the list, although not as Freeagent pro. But as far as I know you can't update them....am I screwed?

FDM80 · Jan 18, 2009, 01:57 PM

This is the knowledge base article people should be checking out.
Seagate Knowledge Base

Has a list of drives which could be affected.

Gaijin · Jan 18, 2009, 02:53 PM

Ahh, finally they added a online S/N checking system to the article mentioned above to verify if your particular drive is affected or not.

I got a 500GB drive which got identified as being affected by the bug (sadly my Vista boot drive too), luckily my new 1TB 7200.11 appears not to be affected.
Now to get Seagate to issue me with that damn fw upgrade.

Unfortunately Seagate apparently won't even provide firmware support over tech support chat, unless your running 1.5TB+ drives.
Plus 3-5 days to possibly get a response from disksupport via email.

Quote:

...
Christopher H.: I am sorry we do not support firmware under the 1.5Tb drives over chat please call in at 800 732-4283 or try our email at discsupport@seagate.com
...

BlueMak · Jan 18, 2009, 04:01 PM

Can someone please confirm if the serial number shown in the seatools and disc detect software by seagate is the same one as the one printed on the drive?

I used the tool and it said my C: drive is affected. It is 500GB.
I checked the two freeagent pro drives and according to the tool, they are not affected.

Jan 17, 2009, 04:18 AM	#1
Iria DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 7,275 Rep Power: 89	Seagate 1TB Drives Dying in Droves The magic (bad) sector (pun intended) of drives for Seagate appears to be those which are 1TB or larger in size. I wrote about an earlier problem with 1.5TB Barracuda 7200.11 Seagate drives, but now it appears that their 1TB drives are dying in droves. ___________ Source: Tech-Ex

Jan 17, 2009, 10:32 AM	#2
Erroneus Get off my lawn! Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Denmark Posts: 13,419 Rep Power: 119 System Specs	Re: Seagate 1TB Drives Dying in Droves Gotta love fixes, where you have to go through some tedious support. __________________

Jan 17, 2009, 02:36 PM	#3
BlueMak HH's Asteroids' Dominator Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Hellas->Macedonia->Thessaloniki Posts: 13,478 Rep Power: 349 System Specs	Re: Seagate 1TB Drives Dying in Droves I have the STM3500320AS. (500GB) This news item is worrying. I have the drive on daily (many hours) operation for about 4 months now without any problem. Should I be worried? Hmm. __________________ The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm *Sic semper tyrannis.*

Jan 17, 2009, 03:43 PM	#5
Bob L HardwareHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 20 Rep Power: 0	Re: Seagate 1TB Drives Dying in Droves I don't plan on being the bad guy here (since I'm new to the forum) ... but I recently had a tech put a couple of new hard drives in for me ... and he mentioned to stay away from the larger Seagate drives for now. It was a big relief to me since I'd just bought a couple of the larger Western Digital drives for him to install. They are running like champs for the last couple of months. Even though they were a little more then the Seagate drives - they seems to be well worth it. Just back up your work, make sure your data is stored on a reliable drive if you can. Even if your drive fails - the chances of you loosing 'everything' ... (the most critical of course would be you music project / files) .... would be impossible if you've backed up everything well. Your OS drive isn't the most critcal of course - your projects are the main thing. Best to all, Bob

Jan 17, 2009, 05:08 PM	#7
kris23 Going Insane..... Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 6,019 Rep Power: 131 System Specs	Re: Seagate 1TB Drives Dying in Droves hey judas, when u gonna get the 7200.12s? __________________ Hardwareheaven Super-Moderator Building a new computer system and not sure where to start? Click Here! last updated (5/18/11) Rosewill FUTURE case replaces CM 690 II with its greater interior length. Building a PC: Step by Step Guide Written by Kristopher Pedemonte and Nathan Marks-Forder Edited by Allan Campbell Questions or Comments? feel free to post them in the forums!

Jan 17, 2009, 09:46 PM	#8
BlueMak HH's Asteroids' Dominator Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Hellas->Macedonia->Thessaloniki Posts: 13,478 Rep Power: 349 System Specs	Re: Seagate 1TB Drives Dying in Droves Question, according to the site they require the serial number of the drive. To get that you have to open the system and remove the hdd. I rather not do that. If I use SeaTools for Windows I get a serial number and firmware version with it. Do you know if the serial number there is the same as the one printed on the drive's cover? __________________ The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm *Sic semper tyrannis.*

Jan 18, 2009, 02:56 AM	#9
MitchRapp a.k.a. pepiman Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Montreal Posts: 998 Rep Power: 51 System Specs	Re: Seagate 1TB Drives Dying in Droves just glad i paid a bit extra to get the "ES" drives a while back I'm using 4x500gb ES drives (ST3500630NS) looks like even ES.2 have issues... no mention of the older ES so thank God for that recently I was struggling between getting some 1TB 7200.11's or 1.5TB's from Seagate I looked at reviews and then saw the WD Black Edition 1TB drives were about 25$ more a pop ... and meh... 25$ more but they're sure to work, why not. Plus didn't Seagate lower their warranty time from 5 to 3 years just now? bad for Seagate owners... WD Black Dual-Processor = 5 years

Jan 18, 2009, 03:50 AM	#10
BlueMak HH's Asteroids' Dominator Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Hellas->Macedonia->Thessaloniki Posts: 13,478 Rep Power: 349 System Specs	Re: Seagate 1TB Drives Dying in Droves I filled in the online form and waiting for reply. I wonder if I should also fear for my Freeagent Pro drives, 1TB each and I can't get info on what drives there are in them. EDIT: NVM, they are also mentioned in the list, although not as Freeagent pro. But as far as I know you can't update them....am I screwed? __________________ The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm *Sic semper tyrannis.* Last edited by BlueMak; Jan 18, 2009 at 03:55 AM.

Jan 18, 2009, 01:57 PM	#11
FDM80 DriverHeaven Lover Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Silver Spring, MD Posts: 136 Rep Power: 0	Re: Seagate 1TB Drives Dying in Droves This is the knowledge base article people should be checking out. Seagate Knowledge Base Has a list of drives which could be affected. __________________ Verizon FIOS rules!

Jan 18, 2009, 04:01 PM	#13
BlueMak HH's Asteroids' Dominator Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Hellas->Macedonia->Thessaloniki Posts: 13,478 Rep Power: 349 System Specs	Re: Seagate 1TB Drives Dying in Droves Can someone please confirm if the serial number shown in the seatools and disc detect software by seagate is the same one as the one printed on the drive? I used the tool and it said my C: drive is affected. It is 500GB. I checked the two freeagent pro drives and according to the tool, they are not affected. __________________ The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm *Sic semper tyrannis.*