Hello,
I have a 2.5" Seagate ST9500325AS (5400.6, 500 GB) hard drive from a Lacie USB enclosure. The drive was taken out from the enclosure in order to be used in a laptop, but it had very bad access times (>21 ms). So I went to update its firmware from 0002BSM1 to 0003LVM1 (from the Lenovo site, specially for ST9500325AS drives). After the update the drive starting clicking immediately. Since then it's not recognized anymore.
Anyone having the same issue or any idea how I could correct the firmware (from a donor drive, or by software, perhaps) ?
Can anyone tell me where is the firmware stored in such a Seagate drive ? On the PCB board (in which case I could do a PCB swap) or on the platters themselves (in which case it is probably very hard to get control on the heads to rewrite a new firmware in the right place).

As an extra information, I can tell that the firmware versions of a "standard" Seagate 5400.6 500 GB drive is something like 0002SDM1. SD probably comes from Seagate Drive. It seems that BSM firmwares are for drives in USB enclosures and the LVM firmware is a specific Lenovo firmware.

Could anyone help me out with this please. I would need the data from this drive.

Thanks a lot !

With proper equipment it can be accomplished (at least rebuild the original FW), at end user level I see it "a bit" difficult. Probably data is still safe and sound, but without seeing what happens NOW , I can't tell.

FW is stored in PCB AND on the platters. Both parts are critical to make the drive work correctly and for access of data.

More details:
when I connect the drive on a SATA port and try to boot, the drive spins up, produces some clicks and then spins down. With Everest I can see that the firmware version is 0002. Not 0002BSM1 as it was before the update.It seems that part of the firmware is damaged/deleted/not compatible.
I would appreciate any solution.

Thanks a lot.

I see no simple and SAFE DIY solution.

Thank you for your reply.
I would like to try any ideas out there, maybe someone can help ? ANY help would be greatly appreciated !
Best regards.

You want to hear something else ... OK.

Buy a professional tool that support your drive, HW + SW (you'll be surprised about the price.... )
With such tool, you can communicate, or at least try to, with the drive.
Then you can try to revert the changes you have made, and pinpoint if crucial parts of the firmware recorded on platters have been overwritten by the different FW update the help judging what to do.
Or it can help to determine exactly what is the problem.
Naturally you have to full study and understand the manuals and possibly you need a certain background on Seagate FW structure.

Another simple solution is to seek pro help in your area or otherwise, if you really want, there are valuable members of this forum near you that can handle your case.

I can't pronounce as I didn't see the drive and don't know the exact history of the case - remote clairvoyance is not between my offered services.

P.S. according to what has been written /overwritten during the update process, data on your drive may be altered or the recovery will be more difficult than usual.

Thank you,
I don't have money for PC3000, is there anyone on this forum who has the knowledge to repair this hard drive ? Any suggestions welcomed. I live in France, but can send the drive to other countries with no problem.
Regards,
LH.

There are plenty of people who can handle the case ( % chances of successfull recovery is another thing ) near you and not so far from you.
Just one thing : don't expect to have the job done for few EUR.

I believe SD is an acronym for Standard Distribution.

_________________
A backup a day keeps DR away.