Yup, this just isn’t my day. Worse, my affected barracuda drives are running in a Solaris system as part of a zfs-based software RAID file system, and Seagate wants me to plug them into a windows-based PC.  That isn’t going to happen, so once they send me the updates, I’m going to use the -flash command SMARTMon-UX to upgrade firmware natively from Solaris and my LINUX machines that are using these disk drives.

Once a drive has become affected the data becomes inaccessible to users but the data is not deleted.  Seagate has isolated this issue to a firmware bug affecting drives from these families manufactured in December 2008. Please use the following tools and instructions to determine if you have one of the affected products. If you do, we recommend that you update the firmware on the disk drive to prevent this condition:

Click here for instructions on how to find the serial number on your drive.  Click here to use the online serial number validation tool to check whether your drive requires a firmware update or not.
Important Note: When typing in your serial number into the validation tool, make sure to use ALL CAPS. Using lower case characters will invalidate the result.

If the online serial number validation tool states that your drive is affected, we recommend that you contact Seagate Customer Support for a firmware update to your hard drive.  You can expedite assistance by contacting Seagate via email. Please include the following disk drive information: model number, serial number and current firmware revision. We will respond to your email request with appropriate instructions.

To retrieve the model number, serial number and firmware revision there are multiple methods:  Seagate DriveDetect.exe method (recommended)

Click here to download Drive Detect:

When running Drive Detect you will see a screen like this. Look for the drives that are attached:

drive detect screenshot

In the example above the Drive Name is the same as the Model: ST31500341AS, the serial number is 9VS00J20 and the firmware revision is SD1A.

Device Manager Method :

Use Microsoft Windows Device Manager to see the model numbers of you disk drive.
- Choose Start | Run | type: devmgmt.msc
- Click Ok.
- Expand the Disk Drive branch to see the model numbers:

Seatools for Windows Method:
Download SeaTools for Windows which displays all of the required information.

You can also contact Seagate Support via phone at 1-800-SEAGATE. Please be prepared to give the serial number of your drive as the solution depends on providing the exact serial number.

For a list of international telephone numbers to Seagate Support and alternative methods of contact, please access http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/about/contact_us/

The following are potentially affected models. It is important however to use the online serial number validation tool to verify whether or not your specific drive is affected as not all drives of the same model necessarily share the same firmware revision.
Important Note: When typing in your serial number into the validation tool, make sure to use ALL CAPS. Using lower case characters will invalidate the result.

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Editor’s Note:  Seagate’s firmware update program is limited to Windows-based and MS-DOS based PCs.   Once I get the update, I will test with SMARTMon-UX software to see if it can be used to update firmware on Solaris, AIX, LINUX, etc …

In general, don’t bother calling Seagate, WD, or any of the other drive vendors and ask them for the firmware update.  Unless somebody posts otherwise, it is almost onheard of that they will just send it to you.   You typically need to get that from the company that sold you the hardware.

Helpful places to look

• Support blog sites from high-volume PC resellers who purchase disks directly from the manufacturer
• Use your favorite search engine. You might get lucky.
• Contact a company that sells the products that are in need of a firmware update.  They may not be able to legally send you the firmware update, but I am sure for a fee they would be glad to work something out.

Once you have the firmware image (make darned sure it is the right image, as it is possible to turn your peripheral into a paperweight.

WARNINGS:

• Some firmware updates may reformat the disk, which will destroy all data.  Always read release notes. If you do not have the release notes, then think again about your motivation to update the firmware. Remember the old adage, don’t fix it if it isn’t broken.
• Firmware updates nearly always change mode page settings, so you should save the mode pages before you flash updates, then restore them.