Can anything be done with this HDD?

N

Neverwhere

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I've found an old 500GB Seagate drive that was part of the 7200.11 batch that had all the firmware issues. It was originally on firmware SD15 and I updated it as recommended by Seagate to SD1A - this was ages ago. The drive never did work again..

So earlier today I booted into gparted and decided to give this drive another go - and I managed to format it to ntfs.
It picks up in windows fine, but the drive is not working well.. copying even tiny files to it just locks up explorer for minutes at a time... I ran seatools and it fails every test..

Seatools links me to a Seagate page that says the drive is still in warranty.. and that it can be replaced. Only thing is, how do I do this - I can't even remember where I bought this from :/

Is there a local distributor that can do anything for me, or should I just bin the drive? Only reason I'm considering it is the recent high prices in drives, and I could use another 500GB :)
 
When it comes to distro's just call around. Platinum micro, Sahara, etc. If they all say the serial isn't on their system, call rectron, if not on their system, they'll do an "out-of-warranty" swap out for you for R57
 
If the above fails, you can always take pot shots at it with a .45 :p
 
Awesome guys, thanks. I'll call around. I live in a middle of nowhere town, so I guess I'll have to courier it to them.. do you think they'll deliver back?

@ponder - thanks for the BSY tip - I looked into it, and I'm not sure that it's the issue I'm having. One of the symptoms that's mentioned for the BSY error is that the drive is not picked up in the BIOS. Mine has always been picked up in the bios.. it just stopped picking up in windows..(i cant remember what the issue was - it was a long time ago - but I do remember it started slowing down the system, felt like it was failing), so I updated the firmware, and then I couldn't see the drive in disk management, so I couldn't partition it..etc and I didn't bother after that.
 
I called ASBIS, and the drive is on their system, and they tell me that it was sold to Frontosa, and to call them. Also, if I send it to ASBIS, they will end up having to credit Frontosa for the drive.

I called Frontosa, and they can't find it on their system.. the guy checked both JHB and CPT. He also told me they don't deal with end users, and I'd have to call ASBIS.

ASBIS says one thing I could do is send the drive to them, and they'll send it to Seagate - and if Seagate approves of replacing it, they'll give me a repaired drive, not a new one.. which is fine.

So does that sound like I have a chance for success? I don't mind if it doesn't work out - all it'd cost me is the price to post it over to them. I guess it's worth a shot in the dark.
 
I would say give it a shot - replaced 5/6 drives with seagate so far... and no issue yet ( except for the small part of forgetting who sold it to me sometimes :P - so paying rectron the extra bucks to take it through their system is a no-brainer :)
 
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Maybe try rectron, I know they some times handle stuff that did not come from them and charge you a small handling fee.
 
ponder said:
Maybe try rectron, I know they some times handle stuff that did not come from them and charge you a small handling fee.
Click to expand...

+1
they charged me R50 and replaced my 500GB hard disk
 
ponder said:
Maybe try rectron, I know they some times handle stuff that did not come from them and charge you a small handling fee.
Click to expand...

I tried with 3 of my Seagates from Digital Addiction (who shut shop without warning) last year and Rectron would not RMA them at all. They insisted that I deal directly with whom I purchased them from.

No one would touch them.

I would have to RMA them to Seagate in the Netherlands myself to have them sorted out. It was such a run-around that I eventually binned them in frustration.... and then the floods hit Thailand.

Grrrrrr.
 
Dude pm me Monday morning and I will ask my account manager at asbis if they will assist.
 
Neverwhere said:
Awesome - I'll call them.. and if I courier it to them.. any idea if they'll ship the replacement back to me? Or do I need to go there physically?
Click to expand...

No idea but you can always get a courier to collect if they help you out.
 
Thanks D3x! Will do :)

@kilobits - I came across this drive as I was clearing out junk and I was gonna bin it, but then I saw 500gig drives are going for R900+ locally, and that's nuts considering I bought a 2TB external for R999 just before the flood.
 
Neverwhere said:
Thanks D3x! Will do :)

@kilobits - I came across this drive as I was clearing out junk and I was gonna bin it, but then I saw 500gig drives are going for R900+ locally, and that's nuts considering I bought a 2TB external for R999 just before the flood.
Click to expand...

i also picked up a 2TB for R999. still working well, lets hope it holds up until hdd's become cheaper again
 
Neverwhere said:
but I do remember it started slowing down the system, felt like it was failing), so I updated the firmware, and then I couldn't see the drive in disk management, so I couldn't partition it..etc
Click to expand...
It wasn't a good idea to do firmware upgrade on failing drive. Backup on first symptom, then surface scan with MHDD. If there is limited number of errors/delays, re-run scan with remapping and canceling delays. Many times drive can be restored to original condition. Specialised knowledge (and tools) not required. MHDD is free for download.

It is important to remember that hard drives firmware update should only be applied when drive is still working properly. If drive is failing, it might indicate corrupted firmware, it cannot be repaired by uploading new firmware.
 
kilobits said:
I tried with 3 of my Seagates from Digital Addiction (who shut shop without warning) last year and Rectron would not RMA them at all. They insisted that I deal directly with whom I purchased them from.

No one would touch them.

I would have to RMA them to Seagate in the Netherlands myself to have them sorted out. It was such a run-around that I eventually binned them in frustration.... and then the floods hit Thailand.

Grrrrrr.
Click to expand...

That's unfortunate... Last year I returned 2 x seagate freeagent desks with bad sectors, they charged me R100 odd and I got 2 x USB3.0 2TB freeagent goflex desks.

A week or so ago I also sent in a 1TB seagate that died, they charged R50 odd and replaced it with a new 1TB seagate

No questions asked :)
 
Neverwhere said:
Thanks D3x! Will do :)

@kilobits - I came across this drive as I was clearing out junk and I was gonna bin it, but then I saw 500gig drives are going for R900+ locally, and that's nuts considering I bought a 2TB external for R999 just before the flood.
Click to expand...

I paid R315 each for the 500GB drives back then... I am crying now. :cry:
 
robdutchmonkey said:
That's unfortunate... Last year I returned 2 x seagate freeagent desks with bad sectors, they charged me R100 odd and I got 2 x USB3.0 2TB freeagent goflex desks.

A week or so ago I also sent in a 1TB seagate that died, they charged R50 odd and replaced it with a new 1TB seagate

No questions asked :)
Click to expand...

I don't know what the trouble was, but when I went in they took the drives, a few minutes later called me over to the counter and then completely refused to do anything further, but refer me to Digital Addiction or Asbis. They said they could not do anything about RMAing them and I will probably have to contact Seagate directly.

I emailed everybody... Asbis claimed that the serial numbers on the drives did not track with them. Digital Addiction did not bother even replying or answering their phones, and all the email from Rectron said to deal with the retailer or Seagate directly.

I emailed Seagate and their reply was that I would have to courier them to The Netherlands for an assessment at my expense and then they would decide IF they would swap-out, which could take up to 6 months.

It was such a ping-pong exercise in frustration and added expense that one morning I tossed them into the dustbin.

I kinda regret that now...
 
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