Thanks on that SWM!
So far it has reacted after --fwdownload command with missing sense data errors but after restarting it has shown up without safe mode enabled with the same signature as it was in the safe mode before flashing:
=== START OF INFORMATION SECTION ===
Device Model: SAMSUNG SATA SSD
Serial Number: 00000000000000
LU WWN Device Id: 5 002538 544584d30
Firmware Version: ROMMEX17
User Capacity: 435,990,528 bytes [435 MB]
Sector Size: 512 bytes logical/physical
Rotation Rate: Solid State Device
Device is: Not in smartctl database [for details use: -P showall]
ATA Version is: ACS-2, ATA8-ACS T13/1699-D revision 4c
SATA Version is: Unknown, 6.0 Gb/s (current: 1.5 Gb/s)
Local Time is: Sat Mar 22 13:31:45 2025 CDT
SMART support is: Available - device has SMART capability.
SMART support is: Enabled

Read SMART Data failed: scsi error badly formed scsi parametar"

Now I am issuing secure erase command, it has not rejected as before but there is no confirmation either so I am waiting that half hour.
Should I rename it in origin name.bin next time?

Thanks on that SWM!
Posting again because there is no my earlier post.
I got error sense data, but after restarting it shows up as a devide without safe mode with the sme signature as before:
=== START OF INFORMATION SECTION ===
Device Model: SAMSUNG SATA SSD
Serial Number: 00000000000000
LU WWN Device Id: 5 002538 544584d30
Firmware Version: ROMMEX17
User Capacity: 435,990,528 bytes [435 MB]
Sector Size: 512 bytes logical/physical
Rotation Rate: Solid State Device
Device is: Not in smartctl database [for details use: -P showall]
ATA Version is: ACS-2, ATA8-ACS T13/1699-D revision 4c
SATA Version is: Unknown, 6.0 Gb/s (current: 1.5 Gb/s)
Local Time is: Sat Mar 22 13:31:45 2025 CDT
SMART support is: Available - device has SMART capability.
SMART support is: Enabled

Read SMART Data failed: scsi error badly formed scsi parameters

Also after flashing it has not rejected secure erase command, but ether confirmed.

Thanks on that SWM!
Posting again because there is no my earlier post.
I got error sense data, but after restarting it shows up as a devide without safe mode with the sme signature as before:
=== START OF INFORMATION SECTION ===
Device Model: SAMSUNG SATA SSD
Serial Number: 00000000000000
LU WWN Device Id: 5 002538 544584d30
Firmware Version: ROMMEX17
User Capacity: 435,990,528 bytes [435 MB]
Sector Size: 512 bytes logical/physical
Rotation Rate: Solid State Device
Device is: Not in smartctl database [for details use: -P showall]
ATA Version is: ACS-2, ATA8-ACS T13/1699-D revision 4c
SATA Version is: Unknown, 6.0 Gb/s (current: 1.5 Gb/s)
Local Time is: Sat Mar 22 13:31:45 2025 CDT
SMART support is: Available - device has SMART capability.
SMART support is: Enabled

Read SMART Data failed: scsi error badly formed scsi parameters

Also after flashing it has not rejected secure erase command, but ether confirmed.

SG_IO: bad/missing sense data, sb[]: 70 00 05 00 00 00 00 0a 04 51 e0 01 21 04 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Repeated error after fwdonload command.

Also:

ormat unit:
Fixed format, current; Sense key: Illegal Request
Additional sense: Invalid command operation code
Format unit command: Illegal request, Invalid opcode, type: sense key + asc,ascq
FORMAT UNIT failed

Dear Mr. SWM,I have a copy.FWH file needs to be converted into lod file. Can you help me? Thank you very much.

Hi guys,

I have a batch of Seagate ST33000650SS 3TB SAS drives running stock factory firmware (0005). I want to cross-flash them to the Dell RS17 firmware specifically to gain control and disable the Background Media Scan (BMS), which is causing issues on my setup.

I tried the common method of stripping the first 208 bytes from the Dell package to isolate the raw microcode, but the drive rejects the flash payload. It's clear that removing the Dell container header breaks the file's internal 32-bit checksum and misaligns the Seagate signature blocks.

Since the hardware family is identical, what is the current tool, Python script, or method used to correctly recalculate the Seagate firmware checksum and adjust the header signature after removing the OEM capsule bytes? I am trying to avoid using a hardware flasher if this can be achieved via SAS pass-through commands.

Any direction on how to fix the modified .lod/.bin checksum would be highly appreciated.

Thanks!

Link?

_________________
A backup a day keeps DR away.

The "proper" way to extract the firmware from a Dell fwh file is read byte at offset 0x3F. This is the number of 0x30 (aka 48) byte hard drive records for the firmware file. The number of bytes to skip is then 64+(48 x byte 0x3f)

Basically the number of bytes to skip depends on the number of hard drive models the .fwh file is valid for. So for example on the .fwh firmware file for the Seagate Megalodon drives is 256 bytes and for Seagate Avenger drives it is only 160 bytes. It will only be 208 bytes for firmware files that are valid for exactly three drives models.

Bytes 0x9-0xC are an ASCII string of the firmware version the file contains. The drive model records appears to contain two ASCII strings, both of which are right aligned with the leading characters padded with spaces. The first eight bytes appear to be a number which identifies the model. On handful of .fwh files I have looked at these eight character strings appear in the actual firmware. The rest of the drive model record is the drive model.

So the N440.fwh file for Hitachi CobraE drives

" 27926"
" HUC109030CSS600"
" 27927"
" HUC109060CSS600"
" 27928"
" HUC109090CSS600"

Credit for the significance of byte 0x3F and the size of the drive records goes to user mostlycorn on the servethehome forums.