Seagate ST2000DL003-9VT166

Beisser,

Thank you for your quick response. I will call Seagate and explain the situation and hope I speak to a person who can look up this issue. I believe it would be better if we had a case number or equivalent to make it easier for Seagate to look up. I’ll let you know how it works out.

Regards,
Dave

Hi All,

I finally got around to updating the firmware on my 3 Disks. I had firmware CC3C and was able to successfully upgrade to CC3D.
To get this to work, I borrowed a friend's pc and used his sata power cable and connection cable and made sure my nas drives (Seagate ST2000DL003)
Green drives were the bootable drives. I installed the bootable disk from seagate with fw CC3D (Big Thanks MDGM).The upgrade took all of 2 minutes. Make sure to power off the pc when firmware is updated (Big "SUCCESS" shows on screen). I powered of the pc, disconnected the drive and then installed the 2nd drive. After getting all 3 done, I inserted them back into the nas (Ultra 4) and powered up. All seemed fine. I checked under status, health and smart + and saw my drives were now CC3D. I backed up all my data prior to upgrading the firmware on a few external drives. Knowing my data was safe, I ended up performing a system-update- factory default and started from scratch. rebuilt the array with X-raid 2 and also upgraded my fw to the latest 4.2.21. All is humming away working just fine. I want to give a big Thanks!!!! to Beisser for all his hard work and MDGM for his help. Thanks again! Hopefully this resolves the issue.

Daveman wrote:
Beisser, Thank you for your quick response. I will call Seagate and explain the situation and hope I speak to a person who can look up this issue. I believe it would be better if we had a case number or equivalent to make it easier for Seagate to look up. I’ll let you know how it works out. Regards, Dave

How did it go? I have a problematic drive with firmware CC32 that I need to replace. When using the RMA form at seagate.com, I can't seem to enter any comments or descriptions, just the drive s/n, model and my contact information. How do I go about letting Seagate know that I need a drive with CC3C (or CC3D) firmware and tell them that CC32 firmwares contain a bug that makes the disk hang and drop out of raid?

Okay so I have the ST2000DL003-9VT166-301 2TB disk from Seagate with fw. CC32. I used the RMA form at segate.com and shipped my disk following the guidelines. I contacted Seagate regarding comments/descriptions I wanted to include with the RMA. The contact person told me to mail him the description ("CC32 firmwares contain a bug that makes the disk hang and drop out of raid") so that he would include that with the RMA request. I even did this twice and explained that I needed a new disk with fw. CC3C or newer and that Seagate should be aware of this problem. A couple of days ago a received a new disk (Certified Repaired HDD) with a new serial number but of course with the same fw cc32. Seagate states that they will not fix your disk if they find nothing wrong with it, obviously they found something wrong with my disk but why they would return a new disk with the same fw. (CC32), I do not understand.

So now I am stuck with the same problem as before, which is not a typical "bad disk" problem. Since the first day with readynas ultra 2 and the CC32 disk, I have always had to start the readynas TWICE for raidar/frontview to detect the readynas. On the first power event, the readyas fan spins up to max level and the disk is not detected (stays like this forever). This also happens when trying to reboot from frontview or typically after a frontview firmware upgrade. I hold the power button down, start the device again and everything is perfect, the system is up and running. Anyone else experience this or have some insight into what might cause this?

Do you use social media? You could try tweeting @AskSeaGate referring to your post here or posting on the SeaGate FaceBook wall (http://www.facebook.com/seagate) with a report of this experience. In addition to contacting SeaGate how you did before.

I contacted Seagate today and explained the problem and the need to use firmware cc3d (upgradable from cc3c). They kept apologising for any inconvenience, but also said that the CC32 firmware was the latest version for my drive model. This is our conversation:

(2:50:37 pm) Ali: Hello Mattias. Thank you for contacting Seagate Chat Support. How may I help you today? (2:50:59 pm) Ali: How may I be of assistance to you today sir? (2:51:35 pm) Mattias Malm: Hi, I have a drive that has problems in my NAS. It needs a newer firmware, but my drive cannot be upgraded. What do I do? (2:52:24 pm) Ali: I am sorry to hear that you have a problem with one of your drive installed on a NAS. (2:52:55 pm) Ali: I understand you would like to update the firmware of your drive,and I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you sir. (2:53:24 pm) Ali: However have you tried to install the drive into a PC and then download and update the firmware? (2:53:31 pm) Mattias Malm: The drive has firmware cc32, which contains a bug that makes the disk hang and drop out of raid so I need a drive with cc3d firmware or cc3c (that can be upgraded to cc3d). (2:53:56 pm) Mattias Malm: cc32 cannot be upgraded to cc3d (2:54:11 pm) Ali: I understand and I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you. (2:54:22 pm) Mattias Malm: the drive need to have cc3c in order to be upgraded to cc3d (2:55:11 pm) Ali: Is this the serial number XXXXXXXX [s/n edited out by me] of the drive that needs a firmware update? (2:55:20 pm) Mattias Malm: yes (2:56:32 pm) Ali: I understand the new firmware version is CC32.Please click on the link below for further information: (2:56:41 pm) Ali: http://knowledge.seagate.com/articles/en_US/FAQ/218171en (2:58:46 pm) Mattias Malm: you lost me there. I allready have cc32 on my drive. that firmware contains a bug that makes the disk hang and drop out of the raid. the firmware cc3d fixes this issue, but cc32 cannot be upgraded to cc3d, only cc3c can be upgraded. (3:00:06 pm) Ali: The latest firmware version is CC32 for that particular model sir,there are no firmware updates for your drive,I apologize again for any inconvenience this may have caused you. (3:00:57 pm) Mattias Malm: The disc is used in a Netgear ReadyNAS, and apparently Netgear har spoken to seagate about this. Netgear tells me that Seagate will send me a new disc with fw cc3c that I can upgrade to cc3d, but I wonder how to go about this. (3:02:14 pm) Ali: I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you sir,however the latest firmware version available for your model is CC32. (3:02:52 pm) Ali: I would recommend installing your drive into a PC and run Seatools for dos if your drive fail the diagnostic send the drive for replacement. (3:03:48 pm) Mattias Malm: I think you are wrong. There are plenty of ST2000DL003 drives with firmware cc3c. how can you say that cc32 is the latest? (3:05:24 pm) Ali: Based on the model number you have provided it shows that the latest firmware version is CC32, you may use the link I provided above and download drive detect software in order to verify the firmware version of your drive. (3:07:00 pm) Mattias Malm: Please have a look at what Netgear has to say about this: (3:07:02 pm) Mattias Malm: http://www.readynas.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=64510 (3:07:18 pm) Ali: One moment please. (3:08:45 pm) Ali: I would need to further research the issue and discuss your issue with my supervisor then email you back sir. (3:08:48 pm) Ali: Is that okay sir? (3:10:44 pm) Mattias Malm: thats fine. when can i expect to hear back from you? (3:12:20 pm) Ali: I will reply back to you within an hour or less sir.

I recieved this email within the hour:

Dear Mattias Malm, Thank you for sending your Seagate E-mail inquiry. I am sorry to hear that your drive is not longer functioning on your netgear,I understand how frustrating this must be for you and I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you,however I have verified and also confirmed with my supervisor that the latest firmware of the model you have is in fact the CC32 . To determine if your drive requires a firmware update, I would use the following web link. You can use the drive detect software: http://knowledge.seagate.com/articles/en_US/FAQ/218171en If your drive qualifies, the serial number checker will check to see if an update can be done and then will allow you to click on a web link for the appropriate update for your drive. Please follow the instructions on how to perform the update listed there. If you have any additional questions you may call us during your regional business hours listed below. For your convenience we also have on-line chat assistance. Live Assistance: Chat: Americas: http://support2.seagate.com/ChatLaunch?rc=1 Europe: http://support2.seagate.com/ChatLaunch?rc=2 Regards, Ali Seagate Global Customer Support

I really don't know where to go from here. Any suggestions? Did anyone succeed in getting new drives from Seagate?

I haven't tried RMA'ing my disks to get cc3c yet, but in a previous RMA exercise I did get back a disk that has cc3c on it so I can confirm it exists and that Seagate will ship a disk with that firmware on it. Getting them to do it on purpose seems to be the trick.

I just received another email from Seagate:

Dear Mrs./ Mr. , Thank you for contacting Seagate Technical Support. The firmware bug you are referring to is so far not known as an issue. Plese send any documentation and evidence about this bug to us so that we can put a solution in place that can benefit other customers as well. Firmware upgrades, if and when they become available for your drive, will be listed on our website. Unfortunately, there is no upgrade at this time, and we won't be able to provide you with a manual upgrade. When you create a RMA, we have unfortunately no influence over what firmware version the drive will have. If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact Seagate Technical Support. Best regards Ulrich

I was glad to see that they didn't just dismiss me. However, I don't know what to send them.

beisser, can you help me out here? You obviously had contact with Seagate and they acknowledged the problem and suggested we send in our drives for a replacement with another firmware. Is there any documentation or reference number I can refer to?

Thanks / Mattias

mattiasmalm wrote:

Daveman wrote: Beisser, Thank you for your quick response. I will call Seagate and explain the situation and hope I speak to a person who can look up this issue. I believe it would be better if we had a case number or equivalent to make it easier for Seagate to look up. I’ll let you know how it works out. Regards, Dave How did it go? I have a problematic drive with firmware CC32 that I need to replace. When using the RMA form at seagate.com, I can't seem to enter any comments or descriptions, just the drive s/n, model and my contact information. How do I go about letting Seagate know that I need a drive with CC3C (or CC3D) firmware and tell them that CC32 firmwares contain a bug that makes the disk hang and drop out of raid?

Mattiasmalm,

I’m afraid my experience has been similar to yours. I can fill out an RMA form on Seagate’s website, but their website doesn’t let you enter a description of the problem. I then called Seagate and was told they have no way to guarantee what firmware I will get on a replacement drive. I’m not sure how to proceed. I will probably try to call tech support next, but don’t know if that would help. I may have to just send in the drives and hope I get a newer drives back.

Dave

O.K. So here's a summary of the issue so far. There's a serious bug with CC3C and older firmware that causes problems when the ST2000DL0003-9VT166 is used in a RAID array such as in the ReadyNAS.

SeaGate confirmed this issue and released a CC3D firmware update which addresses the issue. Unfortunately this firmware update is only for drives with CC3C firmware.

SeaGate informed beisser of the following:

beisser wrote:

ok we got news from seagate. at this point it doesnt look good for any update for the cc32 drives. its just too old. instead customers are advised to rma their cc32 drives with seagate and specifically request cc3c drives in return. you need to mention in the rma process that cc32 contains a bug that will make the disk hang and drop out of raid until reboot. if you dont do that you may get your old drive back because it passes seagates automated function-tests.

So users then went to RMA their drives, couldn't make a note about this and when they rang SeaGate, SeaGate's support people were unaware of their own policy (poor communication within SeaGate it seems) and said that they couldn't guarantee which firmware people would get. So users have got back drives with CC32 firmware on them, drives which have the same bug.

SeaGate support should be able to lookup what the CC3D firmware update does you would think.

SeaGate really should do one of the following:
1. Provide an easy way for users to be guaranteed to get a RMA and get drives with CC3C firmware (or preferably drives with the CC3D firmware already applied) if they need it.
2. Produce a firmware update for CC32 drives.
3. Not issue CC32 drives as RMA replacements, recycle/trash them and only issue drives with CC3C (or newer firmware)

NAS users buy lots of disks so can have lots of disks (spending hundreds of dollars to purchase these) and over time need to purchase new disks to expand arrays etc. SeaGate needs to do something about this or I'm sure some users will be more likely to consider other drive brands when it comes to their next drive purchase.

My wish list: it would be nice too if there was a Linux CLI version of SeaTools made, and a Linux CLI tool to do firmware updates. Somehow I don't expect either of those as other drive manufacturers don't make tools for Linux though I think if one brand did it would give them a competitive edge when it comes to the NAS market. However it does continue to be an issue as there's no way to run SeaTools or firmware updates directly on a NAS itself and with many users not having a PC to use to do the update this is another problem.