[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

fyi

[palmer]

You can always pop off the cover and read the bits with a large magnifying glass.

[ShadowAce]

[TChris]

It is a strict computer commandment of mine to NEVER apply a firmware update without a specific reason, e.g. that the device doesn't work and needs the update.

Habitually applying firmware updates WILL bite you eventually, especially those that are hot off the grill.

[Still Thinking]

I hate it when that happens.

[ButThreeLeftsDo]

Obama’s fault...

[martin_fierro]

Seagate just laid off a bunch of people and replaced their CEO.

[mkjessup]

Where are the resident iSnobs to pop up and say (as if it were actually a factor) “should have bought an Apple, these things never happen to Apple computers” ?

[Toki]

Thank you so much for posting this. I have a 500 gig Seagate, and though I don’t update it, I still one of these days might have done it without knowing :D. And considering it has like my life on their for the moment (in between computers sort of) it could have been messy.

[TChris]

...oh, and I've always had much better reliability from Western Digital hard drives.

In my 20 years of computer support work, I've replaced only a few (fewer than ten) bad WD hard drives. Ever. I've replaced countless Maxtor, Seagate and IBM (now Hitachi) units.

[tacticalogic]

It’s not quite as bad as Micropolis actually shipping bricks.

[tacticalogic]

Correction: It was Miniscribe that shipped bricks.

[Justa]

Thanks for the thread. However, the ST3500320AS (SATA II) are 7200.11 series which are now superseded by the 7200.12 series which should be an improvement. Unfortunately, I have 4 7200.11 drives in my computer. Hopefully, I can get a replacement if one goes down before another one in the array dies.

From what I can tell in the forums the old firmware is causing issues and the new firmware bricks it immediately. Most people don't upgrade firmware so it shouldn't apply to them. Oh, yeah, people should only upgrade hard drive firmware to all drives in an array and must re-initialize their drives or arrays. Never upgrade firmware on an existing system with the expectation it will be usable afterwards!

I've managed 100s of servers, almost all with Seagate SCSI and a few with SATA II drives and have been impressed with Seagate's reliability. I suppose with the downturn there's gonna be a shakeout in more than one manufacturer. Look for product development to go from tech to cost cutting, like more composite materials and shorter, less comprehensive warranties. Another Recession Redux -for those of us who remember the '70s.