Seagate SCSI HDD Firmware Help

[Trader05]

hey guys, i recently got a used Seagate 146gb U320 drive. It's Dell oem branded and i'm on a HP workstation. I checked Dell's site for firmware updates and they have several revisions later than mine. So i downloaded the iso image and booted the cd. I get an error because im not on a Dell machine. Is there any way around this?

 

[Zepper]

Link to the firmware on Dell's site? I'd suggest contacting Seagate Tech Support to get generic firmware updates. You'll very seldom see drive firmware updates issued on a public basis. You may have controller firmware updates which are more common and publicly available but wouldn't apply to your controller.

.b.h.

 

[Trader05]

Dell Link

I contacted Seagate and they said they can't give me firmware for a Dell OEM Drive for some reason. I checked HP's website for controller updates, i didn't find any....i have a AIC-7902 Adaptec SCSI onboard with a year 2002 build firmware.

 

[XMan]

Just out of curiousity, why do you need to upgrade the firmware on the drive? Is it not recognized by your controller? If so, I'd do the Adaptec firmware first . . .

 

[Trader05]

i dont know if its a drive or controller issue because i dont know that much on scsi; when doing a lot of multitasking, it seems like the drive freezes or times out at points for a couple of seconds. When looking at Dell's firmware page, it seems it corrects that issue, so i was willing to try it. I used Seagate's Seatools and the drive tests good.

 

[Zepper]

You'll have to build your own boot CD and move the necessary files (seagate firmware update program and firmware .bin file) to that disk or do the update on a Dell server.

.bh.

 

[Trader05]

zepper..i can do that with a program like magic iso right?

 

[Zepper]

Looks like you can't even boot that Dell CD except on a Dell server or workstation - the files on the CD (except a text file) aren't visible under Windows. So you'll have to do that to get the files off. Not sure if the files (like the flash updater) will even run under DOS, etc. But you should be able to at least get the .BIN file(s) and maybe then you can get a generic copy of the Seagate firmware updater program to flash it/them.

You could probably use a boot CD like the Ultimate Boot CD for DOS and then flash the firmware from a floppy disk with the needed files on it. Might be able to boot right from a floppy as they generally need very little support from the OS to run.

.bh.

 

[Googer]

Originally posted by: Trader05
hey guys, i recently got a used Seagate 146gb U320 drive. It's Dell oem branded and i'm on a HP workstation. I checked Dell's site for firmware updates and they have several revisions later than mine. So i downloaded the iso image and booted the cd. I get an error because im not on a Dell machine. Is there any way around this?

Get a used dell with a p3 and then perform the updates.

 

[Googer]

Originally posted by: Trader05
Dell Link

I contacted Seagate and they said they can't give me firmware for a Dell OEM Drive for some reason. I checked HP's website for controller updates, i didn't find any....i have a AIC-7902 Adaptec SCSI onboard with a year 2002 build firmware.

I have already been down this route before with other dell drives. Seagate or any other DELL oem will not help you and will tell you to go to DELL's website for all of your needs.

Find a friend whom has a DELL and install your SCSI HBA and Drive on his system. But I really would not worry about it. Your HDD seems to be working fine with out it.

 

[Zepper]

Googer,
. Perhaps you missed the OP's 3rd post - his drive isn't working swimmingly...

OP,
. Look on http://www.SCSIFAQ.org to see if there are any resources there that could help you.

OTOH, it might be cheaper at the bottom line to just buy a retail drive rather than going thru the hassle to get the Dell OEM to work. OTTH, you could toss it back to the person who sold it to you as the drive was defective (defects were known prior to your purchase and weren't disclosed/fixed) when you received it.

http://www.hypermicro.com has some U320 ~150GB drives new and refurb at decent prices. And Newegg has a few Open Box units that are reasonable.

.bh.

 

[Trader05]

the dell firmware update only works under these systems:
Dell Precision WorkStation 380
PowerEdge 1800
PowerEdge 1850
PowerEdge 1950
PowerEdge 2900
PowerEdge 2950
PowerEdge 2800
PowerEdge 2850
PowerEdge 1600SC
PowerEdge SC1425
PowerVault 220S (SCSI)
PowerVault 221S (SCSI)
Dell Precision WorkStation 470
Dell Precision WorkStation 670

which i dont have or i know anyone has.

i might just sell it and get an oem if i can't rig up a boot cd..

Thanks for the tips guys

 

[Googer]

Lesson Learned here: Proprietary Parts SUCK!

 

[Zepper]

The drive is the same as the Seagate part but Dell assumed the support for their own drives to cut up-front cost. Unfortunately, such support is only given to original owners in original systems. I'm sure Seagate has the same firmware update for the same model drive, it's just a matter of getting it out of them...

.bh.

 

[Googer]

Originally posted by: Zepper
The drive is the same as the Seagate part but Dell assumed the support for their own drives to cut up-front cost. Unfortunately, such support is only given to original owners in original systems. I'm sure Seagate has the same firmware update for the same model drive, it's just a matter of getting it out of them...

.bh.

Unfortunally, it's not likely to happen as I have tried that in the past. Perhaps there is a way of ripping it from an genuine(non-dell) seagate drive?