Joe L. Posted December 10, 2010 Share Posted December 10, 2010 Here is the reason from the Samsung HDD department for the firmware number staying the same: I just wanted to let you know the firmware version will not change after flashing. The version did not change because it takes a long time to get customers approval for change notices. It would have taken over a month before we could have released the fix. So... you can either anger the one "customer" at Samsung, or all customers of the drives. Personally, I would have done something to make identification of the patched drives possible. Please make sure that for each drive the flashing process is successful… How? That is the problem... apparently there is no way to know. We have already implemented the fix to our production. So drives available on the market in 2 months time will have the fix applied. To be sure check the manufacturing date on the drives, January 2011 would be safer… Do they realize that those next two months of production dates will be avoided like the plague since there is no firm date, and no other indication the drive has the fix. Stupid. Stupid... Very Very Stupid. Joe L. Quote Link to comment
jimwhite Posted December 10, 2010 Share Posted December 10, 2010 it all boils down to oriental culture and "face"... Quote Link to comment
drf Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 Samsung customer service is rather not what you would expect: http://forum.hddguru.com/verbatim-usb-external-with-samsung-f4eg-hd204ui-t18455-20.html#p124618 Quote Link to comment
Superorb Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 Apparently, the FW fix for the Japanese market drives changes the revision once successfully flashed, and it has been confirmed by Samsung to work on drives in other markets (namely USDM) I have a full F4 2TB drive with no other drive to move data to, so I don't want to flash the drive until I have a place to move the current data. Quote Link to comment
johnny121b Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 I've got an empty/new drive. Downloaded the flash utility here: http://www.samsung.com/global/business/hdd/faqView.do?b2b_bbs_msg_id=387 Copied it to a bootable USB key. Connected both into my spare machine. Ran flash utility. It reported drive firmware as 1AQ10001 and ran automatically. Ran flash utility. It simply exited this time. HDDScan v3.1 reports drive firmware as 1AQ10003 Quote Link to comment
Rajahal Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Thanks for the report, johnny, that's definitely a big step towards my giving these drives another look. I'm still not convinced that they are too worthwhile since the WD EARS and the new Hitachi greens are both pretty nice, but the next time these Samsung drives go on sale for $60 I might give one a shot. Quote Link to comment
642 Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 I've got an empty/new drive. Downloaded the flash utility here: http://www.samsung.com/global/business/hdd/faqView.do?b2b_bbs_msg_id=387 Copied it to a bootable USB key. Connected both into my spare machine. Ran flash utility. It reported drive firmware as 1AQ10001 and ran automatically. Ran flash utility. It simply exited this time. HDDScan v3.1 reports drive firmware as 1AQ10003 I've made some tests also (on some HD204UI waiting for my next server). Some HDDs were already patched with F4EG.exe, the program for the not-japanese hdd, some weren't patched at all. All HDDs are dated 2010-09 or 2010-10. The program for the japanese HDDs is HD240UI_JP.exe, for the rest of the world it's F4EG.exe Before this, I've made some try to reproduce the problem of the samsung HD204UI, but without failure. Anyway : - I've patched all my HD204UI HDDs, and the firmware version was correctly modified from 1AQ10001 to 1AQ10003. - Nor the HD240UI_JP.exe nor the F4EG.exe doesn't seem to verify anything, if it's launched two times on the same HDDs, it will does its job two times. - The programs can be launched one after the other, they seems to do their job. - The F4EG.exe doesn't modify the firmware version number at all, a HDD with version 1AQ10003 remains on this firmware version. Quote Link to comment
Superorb Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Thanks for the report, johnny, that's definitely a big step towards my giving these drives another look. I'm still not convinced that they are too worthwhile since the WD EARS and the new Hitachi greens are both pretty nice, but the next time these Samsung drives go on sale for $60 I might give one a shot. +1 for $60 I'd buy another one. I'm still waiting for someone to flash the drive that has data on the disk since I don't have another drive to store a 95% full 2TB drive. Quote Link to comment
Superorb Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 I've got an empty/new drive. Downloaded the flash utility here: http://www.samsung.com/global/business/hdd/faqView.do?b2b_bbs_msg_id=387 Copied it to a bootable USB key. What did you use to make the USB drive bootable? Quote Link to comment
642 Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Ran flash utility. It reported drive firmware as 1AQ10001 and ran automatically. Ran flash utility. It simply exited this time. What may be the change? When I use the firmware patch, any one, it seems to do the job. After which I eventually made a power cycle, it's a samsung's recommendation. 5. When FW Flash successfully message display , please Power Off system, to make F/W flash complete. Quote Link to comment
johnny121b Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 What did you use to make the USB drive bootable? Sounds so simple, but I swear, I've never seen a bigger P.I.A. before finding this webpage/utility!!! I used the instructions (and utility) listed here: http://www.techpowerup.com/articles/overlocking/vidcard/34/5 Don't forget to download both the program and the 'zip file' (nothing more than the files from a boot floppy) Quote Link to comment
642 Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 Another solution that works easily, is to load Hiren's CD content, and to install it on a USB key . Pretty straightforward, and very useful, btw. Quote Link to comment
Superorb Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 Yes, it's always a total PITA for me to make a bootable USB drive unless it's something like Hiren's or other premade bootable media. I'll give both a look, thanks guys. Quote Link to comment
ratmice Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 I agree, I spent a long time last week trying to get a bootable USB working only to be disappointed. I used the HP utility and the Win 98 boot files, via bootcamp on my MacBookPro, and no joy. An F4 drive came with my case and I hate to leave it sitting around collecting dust. Hiren's CD seems like what I will try. Quote Link to comment
Superorb Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 What did you use to make the USB drive bootable? Sounds so simple, but I swear, I've never seen a bigger P.I.A. before finding this webpage/utility!!! I used the instructions (and utility) listed here: http://www.techpowerup.com/articles/overlocking/vidcard/34/5 Don't forget to download both the program and the 'zip file' (nothing more than the files from a boot floppy) This was very easy and worked great for me. Quote Link to comment
ubergeek Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 I have 5 of these that I got on the newegg deal @ 60 each...2 are in my whs, but I really wanted to use for unRaid...I flashed two of the empty ones with the japanese FW already...I wish we could have some sort of feedback to test the functionality of the new FW for corruption issues... I also did not preclear before assigning data drive and parity drive...can i unassign and preclear these still? I did set default to 4K aligned. Quote Link to comment
Joe L. Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 I also did not preclear before assigning data drive and parity drive...can i unassign and preclear these still? I did set default to 4K aligned. Yes, you can, but you will lose any data on the data drive. (and lose parity protection while it is being cleared too) Make sure you are using the latest preclear_disk.sh script. It is up to version 1.6 now. Joe L. Quote Link to comment
CDLehner Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Wouldn't you know it! I've been rolling with 1.5s for the longest time, and with a new box I'm getting ready to port over to, I saw this drive on sale for $80 at NE (where are you guys finding it for $60...2T for $60?). I decided to take the parity up to 2T, and start upgrading from there. Then I come across this thread, and I'm like "why do I have a feeling they're talking about that drive I just purchased"...lol. Sure enough. Man, I'm a newbie, and I've not been big on jumpers, and special FW and such; I kind of plug and play, and I'm not looking to change that a whole lot. So what's the verdict? I haven't unpacked this yet; should I try to send it back to NE and get something else? I used to roll pretty strictly WD, but now I see you need a jumper for the EARS, etc. Is this just for 2T? Maybe I should just stick with tried and true 1.5s? CD Quote Link to comment
Superorb Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 ^^ It's a new drive, so there's no risk of data loss (not that it's occurred yet from flashing). download the firmware, unplug all other drives in the system, and boot to USB/Floppy with the patcher and run it. Be sure to check the firmware version number to confirm it successfully flashed. BTW, Meritline has this drive for $76.99 shipped right now. Personally, I don't buy a new 2TB drive unless it's $70 or less (after rebate is OK). Quote Link to comment
CDLehner Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 ^^ It's a new drive, so there's no risk of data loss (not that it's occurred yet from flashing). download the firmware, unplug all other drives in the system, and boot to USB/Floppy with the patcher and run it. Be sure to check the firmware version number to confirm it successfully flashed. BTW, Meritline has this drive for $76.99 shipped right now. Personally, I don't buy a new 2TB drive unless it's $70 or less (after rebate is OK). Uh, here's what I heard: blah, blah...blah, blah, blah? Oh, and you paid too much...lol. Seriously, I thought I made it clear I was hoping to avoid so much "prep" work. Is this really the new world order, or should I just pay like $5 more for another drive? CD Quote Link to comment
Superorb Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 ^^ It's a new drive, so there's no risk of data loss (not that it's occurred yet from flashing). download the firmware, unplug all other drives in the system, and boot to USB/Floppy with the patcher and run it. Be sure to check the firmware version number to confirm it successfully flashed. BTW, Meritline has this drive for $76.99 shipped right now. Personally, I don't buy a new 2TB drive unless it's $70 or less (after rebate is OK). Uh, here's what I heard: blah, blah...blah, blah, blah? Oh, and you paid too much...lol. Seriously, I thought I made it clear I was hoping to avoid so much "prep" work. Is this really the new world order, or should I just pay like $5 more for another drive? CD Honestly, if you think this is too much prep work than you shouldn't be tinkering with computers. It's a very easy process, someone outlined everything a few posts ago on this thread or one of the other F4 2TB threads. And I was just listing the price if anyone else was looking for one. I paid $80 for my drive back in the summer, it's still a good price. Quote Link to comment
CDLehner Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 ^^ It's a new drive, so there's no risk of data loss (not that it's occurred yet from flashing). download the firmware, unplug all other drives in the system, and boot to USB/Floppy with the patcher and run it. Be sure to check the firmware version number to confirm it successfully flashed. BTW, Meritline has this drive for $76.99 shipped right now. Personally, I don't buy a new 2TB drive unless it's $70 or less (after rebate is OK). Uh, here's what I heard: blah, blah...blah, blah, blah? Oh, and you paid too much...lol. Seriously, I thought I made it clear I was hoping to avoid so much "prep" work. Is this really the new world order, or should I just pay like $5 more for another drive? CD Honestly, if you think this is too much prep work than you shouldn't be tinkering with computers. It's a very easy process, someone outlined everything a few posts ago on this thread or one of the other F4 2TB threads. And I was just listing the price if anyone else was looking for one. I paid $80 for my drive back in the summer, it's still a good price. Well, I don't think that's a great attitude for the unRAID boards. One of the things that I always list as a "plus" for unRAID, is it's fairly easy to run. Sure, the "advanced" users do more with it, but you can have a pretty low "server IQ" (comparitively speaking...compared to the public at large, I'm probably a server genuis...lol) and still roll with unRAID. Let's put it this way; I've built 2 separate boxes, and had my array running fairly error-free for nearly a year. Could I update the firmware, and place a stupid jumper on a drive...especially if someone has outlined the process thoroughly? Sure. But I've never had to do such a thing to this point, and some of us try to keep server maintanence low. After all, I have other family and obligations, other than just my box...lol. CD Quote Link to comment
Superorb Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Well, I don't think that's a great attitude for the unRAID boards. One of the things that I always list as a "plus" for unRAID, is it's fairly easy to run. Sure, the "advanced" users do more with it, but you can have a pretty low "server IQ" (comparitively speaking...compared to the public at large, I'm probably a server genuis...lol) and still roll with unRAID. Let's put it this way; I've built 2 separate boxes, and had my array running fairly error-free for nearly a year. Could I update the firmware, and place a stupid jumper on a drive...especially if someone has outlined the process thoroughly? Sure. But I've never had to do such a thing to this point, and some of us try to keep server maintanence low. After all, I have other family and obligations, other than just my box...lol. CD Building and setting up a server is a lot more detailed and intensive than flashing a drive. If you can build a PC, you should have no problems flashing firmware. If you want to be lazy, don't buy an F4 2TB or an EARS, it's as simple as that Things will always require tweaking, it's just the name of the game. Yes, you shouldn't have to, but is it worth data corruption or premature drive failure? Quote Link to comment
prostuff1 Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 The issue with these drives is outside the realm of unRAID and it can effect the drive on ANY operating system. You can run without patching the firmware but you are playing with fire and I highly suggest you do not try doing it. Just do some google searching for patching the firmware on the drive and you should be able to accomplish the task Quote Link to comment
CDLehner Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 The issue with these drives is outside the realm of unRAID and it can effect the drive on ANY operating system. You can run without patching the firmware but you are playing with fire and I highly suggest you do not try doing it. Just do some google searching for patching the firmware on the drive and you should be able to accomplish the task That's fine fellas; I'm sure you get my point though (or maybe not). There's hardware tweaking, there's network tweaking; there's the tweaking for the streaming devices themselves. In my house, that's Squeezboxes, Dunes, Popcorn Hours, XBMC. There's tweaking the Home Theater itself, and calibrating PJs and Plasmas. I'm not saying I'm alone; I assume we're all that kind of geek. But it gets to be a bit much, and you know; maintain a job, family, and life...lol. To this point, I had never had to do much to the drives. Was I playing with fire; I guess so...but blissfully unaware. Just hate adding one more "tweak" to keep track of, to the ever expanding list. Maybe I should just go back to records and Laserdiscs...lol. So...this drive should be fine, with the necessary precautions; even as parity? Thanks, CD Quote Link to comment
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