@BlackST:
I have absolutely no problem with pros helping pros and pros keeping the real secrets to themselfs. What I have a problem with is your attitude. And as I see, it's not just me. Just don't post in threads that you know you won't help in. As simple as that. That would be much more respectable than showing off arrogantly by not helping and posting some dumb, boastful line with no other meaning than "I'm the Pro and you are not".
But I doubt that this very posting will change anything. Just voicing my opinion here.

Back on topic:
More or less gave up on that harddrive anyway. Don't have the time ATM to really tinker with it and it's not that important to me.

I understand if you don't wish to help someone. That's business. But asking the moderator to delete helpful posts is callous and mercenary. If you don't wish to help someone, then don't bother responding at all. It doesn't help one iota for you to keep stating, smugly, that "the problem is elsewhere". If you know where the problem is, then tell us. If you don't want to tell us, then don't say anything at all. We don't need to know that you know, or think you know, something that we don't. That kind of one-upmanship belongs in the playground, if anywhere at all.

When I say "the problem is elsewhere" is a help by itself - it's elsewhere. If you want the complete solution, you have to pay. I know that hurts but live with it.
Sorry I won't feed someone else's knowledge or bank account if I can't have something in return, but I can help for free maybe saving some minutes in a life searching for the wrong problem. Welcome to the real economy.

Once for all : just because of the so-called "helpful posts" here and elsewhere, people are screwing so many disks at the point that when comes to DR (here too) , the problem that could be solved safely and at reasonable price costs a lot more (pleasant side effect). Like bricked 7200.11 and removed TVSs that make more damage, or preamps checked with 10$ multimeter that give +9V at the tips for checking continuity or in Ohm x 1 . And people coming in with still smoking drive are not ashamed to say "I've read it on the internet" - answer "It didn't work, eh ?" . Welcome money.

Hey MadOCer
I have exactly the same versionning problem of one of my friend's disk.
I don't have a BSY error, but tt's now impossible to read. On a linux, I have these kind of logs as soon as I try to read it : wd5000abys-did-bad-target-linux-issue-t15065.html
It was part of a "Maxtor Network Storage II - 1 To", which was converted by my friend into a "Seagate Central Axis". My friend did the change upgrading the NAS firmware.
I wanted to force the upgrade to the firmware ST31000340NS, but I couldn't find a way to do it.
I tried this kind of procedure: http://niallbest.com/seagate-2tb-st3200 ... e-upgrade/
but with "fdl468.exe -m Moose -f 2D4DSN06.LOD -s -x- b -v -a 20" (extracted from the upgrade script)
still, I have a "Download procedure failed".

You told you found a way to upgrade it, but couldn't because of you BSY problem. Can you tell me what was the way you found if you remember please ??