READ THIS | If your model 7200.11 Seagate Barracuda drive ST3500620AS has stopped working.

[mdkinc]

I have a  have the 500gb seagate 7200.11 drive in a HP Desktop.

- my drive suffered the firmware bug and bricked

- seagate would not repair it as it is an OEM drive

- HP will send a replacement, but will not repair/reset the drive

- after lots of research I found out about Wayman daskinkaid@gmail.com on this board.  I emailed him and he responded in minutes!

He gave me his phone number and I arranged to have him un-brick my drive.  He did it and sent it back the same day.  Wow, what a great service, and the drive works perfectly.  Wayman even updated the bios.

THANK YOU WAYMAN!

[amit_ahuja]

Wayman also fixed mine. His service is invaluable. I really appreciate it Wayman

[Cleedus]

Wayman fixed my drive also. I got nowhere with the manufacturer, supplier or retailer. I saw Wayman's email (daskinkaid@gmail.com) while I was looking for solutions on this forum. He sent me the shipping information, I sent him my drive, and he fixed it and shipped it back within 2 days.

He even followed up to make sure I go the drive delivered okay.

Wayman has "A-1" service. Don't waste your time trying to get help from anyone else, just send it to him and you'll be happy you did.

I know I am.

[dgeye]

I got the touchsmart with 720 drive.  Had the same problem.  Did the firmware upgrade few months ago but only started to develop problems recently.  HP support determined that it was a HD problem and sent me a new one which I installed today.  But I am having the same problem with the new hard drive!  Thank god my system is still underwarranty.  I spoke to tech support and they suggested sending a third HD!  I said no and that I want a new computer.  Will get a call back from a manager.  I also tried upgrading the firmware, get a message that it is up to date.  Will see what happens.

[AnnaM]

Wow.  Seagate completely refused to help me out and denied any responsibility.  I purchased Seagate 500GB 7200.11 ST3500620AS hard drive, the drive “bricked” 4 months after the purchase - the BOIS stopped seeing the hard drive, all the same symptoms as described by other posters.  Seagate’s free data recovery only offers free diagnostics with no guarantee that your data will be retrieved or even that the drive will be returned to you intact.  Various “data recovery” rip-off outfits quoted $400-$700 only to recover your data, but not to repair your drive (and they specifically advertize data recovery for Seagate 7200.11). 

I read about Wayman Ng on several forums.  I emailed him and he responded within an hour.  I send him my drive with prepaid shipping back and got it back with all data recovered and in perfectly working condition – all for less than $100!  He unbricked it, updated the firmware – and voila, the problem solved!  Wayman is very professional, cordial and responsive.  You can reach him at<text removed for privacy> or on Twitter: http://twitter.com/daskinkaid, or look him up on Google under Wayman and DASKinkaid.  Thank you, Wayman!  You are a good man and great professional!  Anna

[msdummbunny]

Sorry to be so ignorant, BUT...what is "bricking"?

Also, if i can summize it means, "freeze and become in an unusable state", WHY does this happen?  AND How does the computer work AT ALL to be able to fix it?  If hard drive is "frozen", how can you even use the computer?  I'm about to recieve this computer on Monday and reading this post is making me very nervous.

Thank you!

Dumm

[doon]

"Bricking" is the technical term for "useless piece of hardware."

This happens on different pieces of hardware for different reasons. In this case, the hard drive is crapping out due to a firmware (software) issue. Basically, the drive is doing a self-check when starting and is getting lost. It's waiting for a reply from the system to tell it that it can continue. That reply never comes. Hence, the drive gets stuck or frozen.

This problem is pretty well known and has been addressed. You can do a firmware check on your hard drive when you get it. HP has tools you can download for this. If you don't need it, you are all good. If you do, do it right away.

If you are hearing clicking noises from your drive, you have a different issue.

hope that helps.

[msdummbunny]

Hi Doon,

Thanks for your quick reply.  I have another quick question, i hope its not too off topic but i think it just requires a YES or NO.

If i were to ATTEMPT the "FULL (versus UPGRADE)  Installation of Windows 7 couldn't i leave the Windows VISTA Recovery partition in tact, but if screwed it all up because i couldn't find and install all the drivers PROPERLY, and if i fugged the WHOLE thing up, couldn't i RESTORE it to Vista, THEN pop in the CD and do just the UPGRADE option INSTEAD of Custom?

In other words, ONCE u attempt a FULL install, does it wipe the D Recovery Drive clean?

Thank you!

Dumm

[215]

I had my HD drive diagnosed as defective by the on line technicians. I took it out and had it analyzed by the Geek Squad to try to access my data. They confirmed that the drive was completely dead and I purchased a new one as HP said I was 15 months and out of warranty. The new drive indicated that Seagate had a 5 year limited warranty, but they said that as I had not purchased it from Seagate my recourse was HP. Has anyone had experience?

[dianebrat]

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@215 wrote:

They confirmed that the drive was completely dead and I purchased a new one as HP said I was 15 months and out of warranty. The new drive indicated that Seagate had a 5 year limited warranty, but they said that as I had not purchased it from Seagate my recourse was HP. Has anyone had experience?

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That is correct, the Seagate 5 year warranty is for retail purchased drives, items inside manufactured computers such as HP are considered OEM (original equipment manufacturer) and retail warranties do not apply. The fixed firmware does prevent the failure, and information on it is easy to come by, even the HP support assistant suggests you apply the update. Diane