Seagate busy/0 LBA problem twice on same drive?

[sknopp]

Just got a call from a client who says the drive I previously fixed for the standard busy/0 LBA problem is exhibiting the same symptoms once again. I don't have the drive in hand yet to confirm, but wanted to know if it was common/possible for the exact same drive to have the same firmware problem twice. I was under the assumption that once the drive was fixed for this problem that it should not occur again. Thoughts?

[XanderSholtz]

I was always under the assumption that the problem could and likely would happen again, we have always recovered the data to a new drive then advised our clients they should discontinue use of the previously affected drive, Guru answers / opinions?

[drc]

I was under the assumption that once the drive was fixed for this problem that it should not occur again.

When you say fixed do you mean that you updated the fw too?

[dick]

Hi,
Wow thats a coincidence as I have just fixed one this aftenoon that I had previously fixed about 9 to 12 months ago.

So your assumption is incorrect.

In my case it was a ST3500820AS with SD81 firmware. After fixing the 'busy LED' problem I searched for a firmware upgrade for the model and none was available for SD81 so I had to leave it as it was. I seem to remember Seagate thought my firmware version was unaffected which was of course complete rubbish. Today I checked and new firmware is now available so hopefully that will finally solve the issue.

[CK]

I never recommend re-use of these drives. By applying the "fix", it is of course possible for the drive to fail again. You need to update the FW to prevent it happening again, but I don't trust the FW updates.

Given the drives are so cheap, why would you bother re-using it? RMA it.

[sknopp]

Nice to know. Thanks for the quick replies.

[hddguy]

I never recommend re-use of these drives. By applying the "fix", it is of course possible for the drive to fail again. You need to update the FW to prevent it happening again, but I don't trust the FW updates.

Given the drives are so cheap, why would you bother re-using it? RMA it.

I agree, doesnt anyone else recommend to their clients not to re-use a failed disk? Or actually recover data to a new replacement?

In my case it was a ST3500820AS with SD81 firmware. After fixing the 'busy LED' problem I searched for a firmware upgrade for the model and none was available for SD81 so I had to leave it as it was.

Did you advise this client that the media was potentially going to fail again?

[dick]

In my case it was a ST3500820AS with SD81 firmware. After fixing the 'busy LED' problem I searched for a firmware upgrade for the model and none was available for SD81 so I had to leave it as it was.

Did you advise this client that the media was potentially going to fail again?

Yes of course but it was like speaking to deaf ears!
He also hadn't bothered to back up since the first failure even though he had a new external drive for just that reason.
After this second failure he now has a Samsung replacement.

[zebong]

in this cases i always sell a different drive to put the data

[dick]

You need to update the FW to prevent it happening again, but I don't trust the FW updates.

No I don't either!
The windows based update didn't work so i had to use the iso cd image file. To be quite honest it wasn't for your typical end user.
My advice is also to change the drive for new and to discard the original.

[fzabkar]

The windows based update didn't work so i had to use the iso cd image file.

The Windows updater compares your drive's "package version" against an update matrix in a configuration file, whereas the CD ISO version just checks the drive's family and model number.

In your case, the drive's original firmware did not match a list of affected firmware, so the Windows updater aborted the upgrade. The FreeDOS version didn't care.

When an upgrade fails in both instances, and if you are certain that the update can be applied without bricking the drive, then you can forcibly update the firmware by means of an appropriate command line at the FreeDOS prompt. This procedure is well documented in Seagate's forums.

[BlackST]

Until you don't fix the cause of the original problem, the problem will show up again. It is fixable - almost definitively - but not with FW update. If you update let's say from SD15 to SD1A without removing the problem / problems , the SD1A or higher will brick again.

NOTE :
SEASONED PROS can ask me in PM. People with less than full 2 years activity and/or noticeable post count and/or I don't know will have their PMs dropped.

[guru]

I always put a massive sticker over the interface saying that the drive is not suitable for re-use. Simples!

As to reaccurance of the same fault with the same FW it is obvious that this will happen again. Sometimes it is good to know WHY/How the drive bricked in first place.

[BlackST]

Not entirely. For example I have in use (non-critical storage) many of them , they bricked 1st time after few months of use, fixed, re-bricked again, re-fixed and this time fixed the rest, voila.... still in use after more than 1 year now without weakness.

[Clusterox]

I had seen that third time with a same drive..

[BlackST]

and you didn't fix once for all ?!

[lcoughey]

As the problems are usually tied to bad sectors, I always tell the client that even though the drive now detects, it is only a temporary fix and suggest that they RMA the drive. I figure that it is the least Seagate can do for a client who just had to pay for data recovery on a drive that shouldn't have failed.

One client didn't listen and ended up coming back and paying me again less than six months later.

I'm not in the drive repair business, so I try to avoid having the same drive come back to me as much as possible.

Luke

[BlackST]

I still don't get what is the problem...

[Clusterox]

and you didn't fix once for all ?!

Why should I? If the client is WILLING to store his important data in that drive even after the big warnings, and subsequently, paying me thrice, should I even have a problem?

[BlackST]

Because it is possible at extra price