[CheshireCat]

66:9QM*****:ST3500320AS:9BX154-303:SD15:09075:KRATSG:September2008:N\A:OEM:CheshireCat:Israel:running_fine:xp32pro_vista32ult_now

I'm running this hdd literally 24\7 since it's purchase date. Most of the drives from the same box and ones that arrived a bit later are fine BUT there are problems now with the newest 500gb seagates. ~a month ago most of the new 500gb's started failing.

I have to mention that to run hdd properly you need a good PSU so maybe adding PSU type and number of drives\graphics card is relevant.
e.g. ENERMAX 500W @ 8800GT 3HDDs = FINE
ColorsIt 500W @ 8800GT 1 HDD = FAIL

[DerSnoezie]

CheshireCat, on Jan 15 2009, 08:15 PM, said:

I have to mention that to run hdd properly you need a good PSU so maybe adding PSU type and number of drives\graphics card is relevant.
e.g. ENERMAX 500W @ 8800GT 3HDDs = FINE
ColorsIt 500W @ 8800GT 1 HDD = FAIL

Thanks for your help. You're completely right; a low quality PSU can cause significant problems, just like the lack of adequate HDD cooling would. However, PSU related problems will (in general) directly surface when you add the HDD to your setup. All of these people were experiencing no problems with the stability of their system, everything was running fine - either for a couple days to even 4 months - when all of a sudden the HDD was no longer detected at the next boot.

I also think that the relatively older drives are of better quality compared to the recent batch (lets say the last 3-4 months), but for as yet I haven't gathered enough entries of older drives in the dataset to prove it.

This post has been edited by DerSnoezie: 15 January 2009 - 01:43 PM

[CheshireCat]

DerSnoezie, on Jan 15 2009, 09:39 PM, said:

All of these people were experiencing no problems with the stability of their system, everything was running fine - either for a couple days to even 4 months - when all of a sudden the HDD was no longer detected at the next boot.

Generally HDD will either fail early on (e.g. the first week) or will not fail for a long time. In case of failing after couple of months it can be because of two reasons:
1) Poor system setup (PSU\cooling)
2) Manufacturing problems (build quality, firmware, etc)
So i wouldn't through out psu factor, especially if it's not hard to mention alongside with os type.

[kadolf]

67:9SZ*****:ST3320613AS:9FZ-162-300:SD11:08391:TK:August 2008:2008-12-22:OEM:kadolf:Germany:0GB-Bug:WinServer 2k8 x64

Broke-down as a christmas present. Often recognized as 0GB, but twice it was recognized by the BIOS as 8GB.

[DerSnoezie]

CheshireCat, on Jan 15 2009, 08:55 PM, said:

DerSnoezie, on Jan 15 2009, 09:39 PM, said:

All of these people were experiencing no problems with the stability of their system, everything was running fine - either for a couple days to even 4 months - when all of a sudden the HDD was no longer detected at the next boot.

Generally HDD will either fail early on (e.g. the first week) or will not fail for a long time. In case of failing after couple of months it can be because of two reasons:
1) Poor system setup (PSU\cooling)
2) Manufacturing problems (build quality, firmware, etc)
So i wouldn't through out psu factor, especially if it's not hard to mention alongside with os type.

Yeah, we basically started this dataset with entries from the "computer enthousiast" user type, who - I think - would know to check the PSU before concluding otherwise. But now this thread has opened to a more general public it might be wise to add the PSU type to exclude a few non-related problems. Thanks

This post has been edited by DerSnoezie: 15 January 2009 - 02:13 PM

[DerSnoezie]

kadolf, on Jan 15 2009, 09:03 PM, said:

67:9SZ*****:ST3320613AS:9FZ-162-300:SD11:08391:TK:August 2008:2008-12-22:OEM:kadolf:Germany:0GB-Bug:WinServer 2k8 x64

Broke-down as a christmas present. Often recognized as 0GB, but twice it was recognized by the BIOS as 8GB.

Well.. thanks a lot Santa! We'll add yours to list. BTW what kind of power supply (PSU) do you use in your setup?

[kadolf]

It's a Xilence SPS-XP420.(12)R 420W PSU
I know that Xilence isn't a brand known for superior quality, but voltages are quite good even with Prime95 and 3DMark running and the whole system worked stable for months.
Further data about my PC you can find at http://www.sysprofile.de/id58426 - although it's a German page you should be able to gather all needed information.

[CheshireCat]

thanks for adding the psu to the list
now thinking about it, adding PC configuration is a common practice in relation to hardware problems.
so i hope this thread will grow and actually help people!

i'v got HEC Ace 580UB loaded with Core2Duo E6750 3hdds and 8800GTS
please edit my entry
66:9QM*****:ST3500320AS:9BX154-303:SD15:09075 (20-08-08):KRATSG:Sep2008:N\A:OEM:CheshireCat:Israel:running_fine:xp32pro_vista32ult_now
to
66:9QM*****:ST3500320AS:9BX154-303:SD15:09075 (20-08-08):KRATSG:Sep2008:N\A:OEM:CheshireCat:Israel:running_fine:xp32pro_vista32ult_now:HEC_Ace_580UB@C2D_E6750+8800gts+3h
dds

[DerSnoezie]

kadolf, on Jan 15 2009, 09:21 PM, said:

It's a Xilence SPS-XP420.(12)R 420W PSU
I know that Xilence isn't a brand known for superior quality, but voltages are quite good even with Prime95 and 3DMark running and the whole system worked stable for months.
Further data about my PC you can find at http://www.sysprofile.de/id58426 - although it's a German page you should be able to gather all needed information.

It's no problem. Also thanks for posting the link to the high quality article in the main thread! I can understand it perfectly

[DerSnoezie]

CheshireCat, on Jan 15 2009, 09:30 PM, said:

thanks for adding the psu to the list
now thinking about it, adding PC configuration is a common practice in relation to hardware problems.
so i hope this thread will grow and actually help people!

i'v got HEC Ace 580UB loaded with Core2Duo E6750 3hdds and 8800GTS
please edit my entry
66:9QM*****:ST3500320AS:9BX154-303:SD15:09075 (20-08-08):KRATSG:Sep2008:N\A:OEM:CheshireCat:Israel:running_fine:xp32pro_vista32ult_now
to
66:9QM*****:ST3500320AS:9BX154-303:SD15:09075 (20-08-08):KRATSG:Sep2008:N\A:OEM:CheshireCat:Israel:running_fine:xp32pro_vista32ult_now:HEC_Ace_580UB@C2D_E6750+8800gts+3h
dds

I think adding the PSU to the list will suffice. For convenience sake I would also like to keep the number of variables now constant. There are various reports of people who have encountered this specific problem and tested with different hardware or even placed the faulty HDD in other computers to find the same result. At the moment enough is known about the issue to trace the origin back to the firmware level or other HDD related factors.

[CheshireCat]

Purely for 7200.11 failing issue that will probably suffice.

[DerSnoezie]

CheshireCat, on Jan 15 2009, 10:11 PM, said:

Purely for 7200.11 failing issue that will probably suffice.

I can see where you are going. If one could compose a database containing the basic computer setup of a large number of users, one would have a solid basis for diagnosing/researching other (perhaps similar) problems. However, this would also require the maintenance and active participation of quite a large user group. Say, for example, if a new problem would arise with a specific product, you would first need to mobilize your user group, check if they also have bought the product and ask - if the awnser is yes - if they will monitor the functioning of the product and provide feedback. In the meantime new entries will also be added to the dataset, etc., etc. But for now I'm more or less running a "one man show" in this sub-thread and I simply can't guarantee the safety of such a publically available dataset, regarding abuse of all various kinds.

This post has been edited by DerSnoezie: 15 January 2009 - 03:37 PM

[CheshireCat]

Yeah, something like this I tend to globalize things.. It's not practical sometimes but hdd failure database could be a great.
There is a nice program, called hdd sentinel. And they are running beta of something simmilar:
http://www.hdsentine...nfo.php?lang=en

Let's see what seagate has to say. The had built a very good reputation over the years and i don't want to have 5 equally s***ty manufacturers when it concerns data storage.

[DerSnoezie]

CheshireCat, on Jan 15 2009, 11:13 PM, said:

Yeah, something like this I tend to globalize things.. It's not practical sometimes but hdd failure database could be a great.
There is a nice program, called hdd sentinel. And they are running beta of something simmilar:
http://www.hdsentine...nfo.php?lang=en

Let's see what seagate has to say. The had built a very good reputation over the years and i don't want to have 5 equally s***ty manufacturers when it concerns data storage.

Quite a nice link I believe there certainly is an opportunity for such systems.

According to a German article, which was posted this evening on the main thread, seagate is currenlty working on an official statement (see the concluding paragraph):

http://www.computerbase.de/news/hardware/l...rracuda_720011/

This post has been edited by DerSnoezie: 15 January 2009 - 04:30 PM

[CheshireCat]

thnx
I really want to hear whatever they have to say

[jkc120]

DerSnoezie, on Jan 15 2009, 05:29 PM, said:

According to a German article, which was posted this evening on the main thread, seagate is currenlty working on an official statement (see the concluding paragraph):

http://www.computerbase.de/news/hardware/l...rracuda_720011/

Someone just posted a knowledge base article to the seagate forums thread about the issue, and within 5 minutes the KB article was GONE.

I think until they have a press release tomorrow (seems fairly likely now, this sort of confirms the German article), that KB article will remain offline.

[DerSnoezie]

jkc120, on Jan 15 2009, 11:48 PM, said:

Someone just posted a knowledge base article to the seagate forums thread about the issue, and within 5 minutes the KB article was GONE.

I think until they have a press release tomorrow (seems fairly likely now, this sort of confirms the German article), that KB article will remain offline.

Yeah, those STASI-moderators at the seagate forum are pretty efficient..

This post has been edited by DerSnoezie: 15 January 2009 - 04:56 PM

[seannyc]

I'll chuck my drives and config into the list:

5QM2S***:ST3500320AS:9BX154-303:SD15:unknown:unknown:SUZHSG:JAN09:N\A:OEM:seannyc:United Kingdom:running_fine - removed after 1 day due to this thread\Antec EarthWatts 500
5QM2N***:ST3500320AS:9BX154-303:SD15:unknown:unknown:SUZHSG:JAN09:N\A:OEM:seannyc:United Kingdom:running_fine - removed after 1 day due to this thread\Antec EarthWatts 500
5QM2T***:ST3500320AS:9BX154-303:SD15:unknown:unknown:SUZHSG:JAN09:N\A:OEM:seannyc:United Kingdom:running_fine - removed after 1 day due to this thread\Antec EarthWatts 500
5QM2T***:ST3500320AS:9BX154-303:SD15:unknown:unknown:SUZHSG:JAN09:N\A:OEM:seannyc:United Kingdom:running_fine - removed after 1 day due to this thread\Antec EarthWatts 500

Now these drives are slightly different to the rest having been manufactured in SUZHSG and being 5QM. They were running fine - they only ran for 1 day in a RAID 10 before I took them out though. They're shelved.
I'm not sure if these drives may fair any better but I certainly wasn't about to find out in a server... I may set them up on an Ubuntu box copying large amounts of data and rebooting to see what they do.

Also, thanks to this thread, I've realised why a FreeNAS I built keeps falling over - it has some retail 9QM ST3500320AS drives installed in a mirrored RAID. It's been stumping me for ages but this *must* be the cause since people have reported instabilities with RAID and these drives.

I'll try and get the unknown data for the 5QM drives, the 9QMs might not be so easy because they're running at a remote site.

This post has been edited by seannyc: 15 January 2009 - 05:07 PM

[DerSnoezie]

seannyc, on Jan 16 2009, 12:07 AM, said:

I may set them up on an Ubuntu box copying large amounts of data and rebooting to see what they do.

Well, since they have only been online for one day their use is fairly limited to the dataset, but if you proceed with the idea above some interesting results may surface

This post has been edited by DerSnoezie: 15 January 2009 - 05:24 PM

[AlexLilic]

Here are the details of my new brick. Couple of months old with no BIOS detection:
9QM281K9:ST3500320AS:9BX154-303:SD15:08381:KRATSG:(unsure):(01-12-09):DeadST3500320AS:SWE:(No detect in BIOS)