Q: What is Seagate drives busy bug
A: This is very specific firmware bug which causes working drive to hang and stay busy. There are different names for this bug: Seagate LED:000000CC bug, Seagate busy bug, Seagate Tsetse (CC) fly bug

Q: Which drives are affected by this firmware bug
A: Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 and Barracuda ES.2 models: ST31000x40xS, ST3750x30xS, ST3500x20xS, ST3250310NS, ST31500341AS, ST31000333AS, ST3640x23AS, ST3320x13AS, ST3160x13AS
Maxtor Diamond Max 22 models: STM31000x40AS, STM3750x30AS, STM3500x20AS, STM31000x34AS
Other models are not affected
Only some firmware revisions are affected. (Most popular affected firmware revisions: SD15, MX15, DE13, HP24, SN05) Latest firmware revisions are not affected

Q: My drive stays busy is it the firmware bug
A: First make sure your drive is in above models list. Then make sure the drive continue to spin even if it stays busy. If your drive spinning and it’s in the models list and it stays busy then there is a big chance that it is firmware bug

Q: My model is not in the list but the drive stays busy. Is it the firmware bug
A: No, it is not. It is something else

Q: My drive shows capacity/LBA 0. Is it the firmware bug
A: No, it is not. It is different symptom and it’s not a firmware bug. This symptom can represent many problems

Q: My drive is in the list, it stays busy but it spins down. Is it the firmware bug
A: No, it is not. If you drive is in the list and it spins down (and stays down) it is a good indicator that your drive has internal mechanical problem

Q: My drive is in the list but it doesn’t spin at all. Is it the firmware bug
A: No, it is not. It is something else

Q: Is this bug dangerous to data
A: No, all data stays intact and can be retrieved from affected drive (unless there are additional problems)

Q: My drive stays busy and I’m sure it’s firmware bug. How do I get my data back
A: If you drive is not OEM (not Dell, HP, Apple, etc) then call Seagate tech support and ask them for free data recovery, they will check your drive’s serial number and if your drive considered as affected you will get free data recovery. If your drive is OEM you have to call their tech support

Q: How do I protect my drive from the firmware bug
A: Make sure your model is in the list. If it is not then there is nothing to worry. If your model is in the list, contact Seagate tech support to get latest firmware update for your drive. Newest firmware has a bugfix for this problem

Nice post seagate. Better late than never. Now what about the flaws in the rest of seagate models?

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Zero Alpha > https://zeroalpha.com.au