Hi,

I have a seagate 7200.12 ST31000528AS 1TB drive which was not being detected in BIOS or anything. I followed the BSY fix at http://www.overclock.net/t/457286/seaga ... -with-pics.

This was the output after "F3 T>F712", (which I noticed is different from what it says it should be in the guides):
--------------------------------------------------
Byte:05C1: Expansions =
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
00 00 00 00 00 00 00

F3 T>m0,2,2,,,,,22
Max Wr Retries = 00, Max Rd Retries = 00, Max ECC T-Level = 16, Max Certify Rewr
ite Retries = not supported

User Partition Format 5% complete, Zone 00, Pass 00, LBA 000000009A64, ErrCode
00000080, Elapsed Time 0 mins 30 secs
User Partition Format Successful - Elapsed Time 0 mins 30 secs
Zone re-format was skipped.
-----------------------------
It then gave a LBA=0 error is seatools, so I did the LBA = 0 fix. At first the drive was recognised by WIndows 7 OS, and Seatools info on the drive read a much largre LBA size ( I dont remember the exact number). However the drive couldnt be formatted´ (´Drive could not be formatted´ error from Windows disk manager).

I have updated the firmware sucessfully to CC49.

I tried zerofilling the drive using HD tune pro but it returns an error just saying that the drive couldnt be formatted.

Test disk gives a critial error that it ´cannot access any partitions on the drive, possibly due to firmware´.

The drive is now in the condition that after I fix it each time with the LBA fix method, it can be recognised, but intermittently fails to be recognised when I restart, and then I have to follow the fix again.

Seatools returns a fail for the Short Generic Test, and long generic test, and attempts to repair with seatools start OK but then hang an no progress is made. Seatools for DOS is reporting the correct capcity and LBA now, but same fails as above

I don´t have any data on the drive. Just want to get it up and running if possible, at least until I can afford to buy another drive.

Thanks for any help.

Hi califauna,

As you have tried zeroing the drive then your not trying to recover data which is what this forum is about.
Just buy a replacment hard drive & move on.
The internet fix you linked to is for 7200.10 & 7200.11

Loki

Error #1 : this is 7200.12 not .11 - a totally different dish.

Error #2 : what was the original FW and was the new one "approved" by Seagate for this specific drive OR did you FORCE update as the FW update refused it ? Where the idea come from ?

P.S. the problem is elsewhere. Unfortunately it cannot be solved by yourself without tools AND/OR know how (our bread and butter, unluckily !).
Unique solution without spending what's not necessary : get an used 1 TB drive on Ebay possibly in good conditions, zerofill it, test it and carry on.

@blackST

OK. I tried the fix for the 11 drives as some sites said it worked for the 12 drives too.

Sorry I dont remember the number of the original firmware, but Seagtes update facility automatically did the update. I didnt force it in any way.

Thanks.

Bump.

This problem I is not resolved, and if there are any experts out there who are interested in helping repair this drive (rather than just with data recovery), and do not regard giving help of this sort a conflict of interest, I welcome any assistance.

I have posted at this forum looking for repair help based on the fact that the title of the forum is ´data recovery and repair´, and I have seen nothing to the contrary in FAQs / stickys etc, and do not presume to know that helping with problems such as mine would be a conflict of interest for ALL experts here.

For my future reference, and understanding of the scope of help available on these forums, I welcome the opinions of any other experts regarding these points.

You want a remote diagnose that is impossbile because of many factors.
If I have the drive in my hands with the appropriate tools I can tell you if it is easily fixable, fix it, fix it with some modification or do what is possible.
But I have to see some internal parameters of the drive you can't access in any way without proper gear.

Other solution : find someone in your area who knows his stuff (this stuff) and can refurbish the drive for you. I don't see anything else.

@BlackST

OK. I was thinking there may be something I could try using hyperterminal and service commands (and a little guidance). I would have a go myself but I have been unable to find an up to date service manual (if there is one). I have found a couple but they are at least 3 years old.

Yesterday the drive passed both the long and short generic tests in Seatools, but formatting of the drive failed.

From what I can make of it, the command m0,2,2,0,0,0,0,22 seems to result in only a 5% format of the disk. Is it straightforward to completely format the drive using the service commands? If so, could you let me know what command I could try?

Unfortunatly for you, no one will tell you how to fix this issue on this forum. You will need to pay or someones services or live without your data.