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Resolution for Seagate Momentus XT ST95005620AS 500GB with SD26

A

ApoNono

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 23, 2010
3
0
Just thought I would give a quick post.

I received the Seagate Momentus XT ST95005620AS 500GB in the mail today from newegg.com. After I installed the HDD in my MacBook Pro 13 inch I copied the contents of my 320GB HDD to the new one. When I launched into the OS everything seemed fine for a about 30 minutes and then I received a Kernel Panic that forced me to reboot my laptop.

I verified after rebooting that my HDD shipped with Firmware version SD26 (I believe SD25 was just released a week or so ago). My initial thought was that I had a defective HDD but after digging around online I found steps to use the SD25 Firmware ISO and to force my HDD to revert to the previous version. I gave this a shot, knowing that people I work with are running this same HDD with the SD25 Firmware and are not having issues.

Prior to reverting to SD25:
Disc Utility: Repair was not working
OS X Install Disc: Could not install the OS due to a permissions issue

Post reverting to SD25:
Disc Utility: Repair was able to repair some issues with my volume and an issue with my keys.
I was able to successfully install the OS with the disc.


Here is the site I used to work out how to force SD25 to install onto the HDD.

http://forums.seagate.com/t5/Moment...s/Firmware-update-Momentus-XT/m-p/77254#M1133

Initial Issue: If you try to just use the SD25 ISO it will abort the upgrade due to not be compatible.

The command I ran was a version of what was listed here.

NOTE: Make sure you download the SD25 ISO and make a bootable CD. Boot into the CD by holding Option when the laptop powers on and select your disc.
Following everything up to the point you do Ctrl + C when it tells you to reboot.

Type this command in and hit enter. If you are using the 500GB model it should end with a Success message

FDL497A -m Anak -f ANSD25.LOD -i ST95005620AS -s -x -b -v -a 20

If it doesn't run you can do a 'dir' and see the .LOD file and edit the name to match as well as the .EXE that will be close to matching the FDL497A.

I hope this help someone else resolve this issue. Saved me from A) having to send the HDD back for a replacement that would probably have had the same issue due to the firmware version and B) give up on using the Momentus XT.

-- ApoNono
 
Guess I've been lucky. I have been running that same drive for about a week with no problems. Did notice MBP seemed "snappier" and it runs pretty quiet. It came with SD24. With all the horror stories on the forums regarding MXT upgrades I'm afraid to do anything since things are running smoothly. I think I got a good drive and thus far a happy guy:eek:.
 
mine came with SD24 and I upgraded to SD25. Are you saying I should keep SD25 and not upgrade? I have no problems with my current version so I will stick with it if SD26 has issues
 
From what I can see I would stay on SD25 and avoid SD26 when it comes out. I still am not 100% sure this has resolved my issue completely but will keep an eye on things over the next couple of days and will report back if this isn't ultimate solution.

--ApoNono
 
I didn't realize that SD 26 had come out yet. That's interesting that it's shipping. Too bad that it hasn't seemed to resolve all of the problems :eek:
 
I installed a Momentus XT 500 in my wife's macbook and it was fine until this morning, she started getting errors that the Startup Disk was full. Her drive has SD23, does SD25 resolve these issues?
I was gonna have her load the firmware, because I'm on the road, but I think I better wait.:eek: If it blows out the OS, she won't know what to do.
 
Want to buy one of these drives today but after seeing the number of issues people are having, I'm not sure. I'm running an older MacBookPro4,1, 2.5GHz 4GB RAM. Wondering if with SATA 1.5Gbit is it even going to make a noticeable speed difference.

Which firmware version are people having the least issues with? I see mention of SD26 but Seagates support site lists SD25 as the newest version. Did they pull SD26?
 
Had this drive for about 2-3 weeks. Came loaded with SD 24 and was working fine with no issues. Reluctantly, I updated to SD 25 last week since most firmware updates are usually important. Now using SD 25 with no issues. Can't say I noticed any improvements in performance since the change. My drive is fast, quiet, and does not run hot. Now I'm contemplating a Vertex 3 for main drive and moving the XT to the optibay using the OWC data doubler. Both ports on my MBP are sata 3 @ 6gbs.
 
I picked up the 500 GB model today, duplicated my old 500 GB drive to it using dd under Linux, and installed it into my 2010 Macbook Pro. Noticed it came with SD26 firmware.

No problems so far after a couple hours. I'll keep an SD25 update disc nearby just in case it acts up later... after about 5 bootups it boots within 10 seconds from the moment the grey apple appears, absolutely brilliant so far.
 
I just put this drive in my old MacBook pro. No idea which firmware it's running, but it arrived last week. No problems to note as of yet.

27ish second boot on an old Santa rosa machine.
 
Mac wouldn't see the HDD Seagate Momentus XT hybrid 500GB

Hi All,

Thank you for all the posts, I finally downgradd my ST95005620AS firmware from 26 to 25 as I couldn't install the Snow Leopard on my Mid 2010 Macbook pro 13".

Unfortunately the OS still couldn't recognize the HDD although I used the same Macbook to update the SD25 (apparently Seagate can see the HDD but Macbook can't). It keeps asking Power Down after working on the OS CD for couple of minutes. This goes on and on like an infinite loop. I couldn't install the OS.

Has anyone else figured this out? It looks like lots of people installed this HDD albeit with some issues. I chose to install the OS and use the time machine afterwards. But no avail. I am thinking about returning the disk back otherwise.

Again, I have ST95005620AS with firmware 25 (SD25). I had upgraded my memory to 8GB though. Not sure if that makes any difference?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
eguner said:
Hi All,

Thank you for all the posts, I finally downgradd my ST95005620AS firmware from 26 to 25 as I couldn't install the Snow Leopard on my Mid 2010 Macbook pro 13".

Unfortunately the OS still couldn't recognize the HDD although I used the same Macbook to update the SD25 (apparently Seagate can see the HDD but Macbook can't). It keeps asking Power Down after working on the OS CD for couple of minutes. This goes on and on like an infinite loop. I couldn't install the OS.

Has anyone else figured this out? It looks like lots of people installed this HDD albeit with some issues. I chose to install the OS and use the time machine afterwards. But no avail. I am thinking about returning the disk back otherwise.

Again, I have ST95005620AS with firmware 25 (SD25). I had upgraded my memory to 8GB though. Not sure if that makes any difference?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

When you say "the OS" couldn't recognize the drive, do you mean the installer or (if you've tried it) Disk Utility? Did the drive already have an OS installed on it (while it was on SD26)?

If the installer can't find it as an install target, make sure it's partitioned and formatted correctly.

Using Disk Utility, set it to create 1 partition, Mac OS Extended (journaled). Set the partition table to GUID by clicking on the Option button before applying the partition setting.

I've been running SD24 since November with no issues (SL 10.6.7 now). I've been holding off upgrading to SD25 until the dust settles. As far as SD26 goes, I haven't seen any specific reports of SL incompatibility, and I can't think of why there would be (which, if course, doesn't mean it would be).
 
Last edited:
Thank you so much for the response.

Since I am new to Mac-world I skipped the formatting piece it seems. Via disk enclosure I had seen the Momentus XT HDD fine and partitioned it (not formatted as you suggested though). First chance I get, I will try the method you outlined and post the response ASAP.
 
OK. I have erased and repartitioned the HDD making sure that I have one partition with GUID option selected.

I have even started installing the Snow Leopard on the attached Seagate HDD. It started and then after copying all the related OS files asked for restart (usual Mac OS X install). Of course it didn't come back up. Kernel panic. Asked me to restart my computer.

Just in case, thinking that I should have used only the Seagate HDD for the install, I put the 10.6 CD/DVD. Also put in the new HDD (Seagate). Same failure. CD tries to read the OS for install (usual question mark appears on the screen with apple logo). Then panic... Shows "You need to restart your computer".

I don't know what to do.

One thing I will do is to remove my memory (which was working fine with my original HDD for months now) and try it with only one memory module.

Please help. I am not sure what I am doing wrong here...
 
I tried replacing the memory and went back to my old factory default 4GB memory and HDD. Attached the enclosed Segate Momentus 500GB to my MBP7,1 (13" mid 2010). MBP sees the HDD just fine. I partitioned it with Mac OS extended(journaled) with GUID option again. I can use the HDD as a USB drive just fine.

Then I replaced the original HDD with my Seagate (firmware 25), wanted to boot from my Snow Leopard media, but, MBP doesn't even recognize the drive and the end result is kernel panic (Shows "You need to restart your computer"). Rebooted several times. But now I need some sleep.

I also started the MBP in Verbose mode. It freezes right here (image attached)

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 

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Did you install the OS onto the disk (as it sounds like you did not)? You say you are new to Mac, so how are you trying to boot your computer? Put the CD in and then hold the "C" key during start up. It should load the OS from the CD and then give the option to install the OS onto the drive from that point. With the CD in, Mac will not automatically try to boot from the CD (like most PCs will unless you have changes the boot settings in BIOs). Try this and see if you get farther.
 
possibly my DVD is scratched?

Thank you all. My crusade still continues.

No, I have not installed the OS onto the disk (Seagate).

I have tried booting up with Option/Alt, C etc and DVD wouldn't boot up the computer. This is the second time I am using the DVD (once I used it for some h/w testing). I think it is scratched or something.

I still get the Kernel Panic when trying to boot from the SL media.

I used my macbook to create a USB thumb drive (GUID, Mac OS extended (journaled)). Tried booting with the thumb drive (via selecting the thumb drive as the primary boot device and rebooted). Kernel panic again.

Not sure how the restore process works as, when you think about it, if the DVD has something wrong why would it copy at the first place?

I think I will go to Apple store and ask for their SL DVD to try. If that does not work, I guess I just need to pack the HDD and send it back with no future upgrade hope... I am frustrated.

FYI: I am trying to restore my current HDD onto Seagate (GUID partitioned already with Mac OS extended (journaled)). Fingers crossed...
 
Restore did it! Bad SL media!...

It was the bad SL media! I restored my current HDD onto Seagate. Restarted via HDD enclosure-USB. No issues.

Replaced my old HDD with Seagate and voila! All working fine.

I had been wasting my time with the bad disc for all these days.

I will be watching to see if battery meter is going to start from 7 hours or 3... I hope this new drive wouldn't eat up the battery.

FYI. I have SD25 firmware on the Segate Momentus XT 500GB Hybrid drive.

thank you all...
 
I said no problems a bit early I guess.

Well... Not quite... I have SD25 on my Seagate Momentus XT 500GB HDD. it. I do realize that HDD goes to work for unnecessary reasons sometimes with high pitch noise (7200RPM alright). Of course the battery life gets affected negatively. Then HDD goes to kind of sleep mode and my battery meter goes up again. Weird. I do not see any performance hit because of it so far though.

I am not sure if I need to install any software?

Since I couldn't use my OS X media due to issues with it, I am not sure if correct drivers gets loaded for the drive.

Any ideas?
 
There are no special drivers required for the drive. Standard drive control software within OSX is all that's needed. Just run an update to make sure you are on the latest version and that should be all you need (it will insure that the latest bridge drivers for the hardware are installed, but if it is running you more than likely already have them.
 
squeakr said:
There are no special drivers required for the drive. Standard drive control software within OSX is all that's needed. Just run an update to make sure you are on the latest version and that should be all you need (it will insure that the latest bridge drivers for the hardware are installed, but if it is running you more than likely already have them.
Click to expand...

Ditto! It is all good now. Even the battery life came back. Not sure how that happened. I have no sleep, noise, heat, performance, clicking issues so far. Fingers crossed.

I will update after couple of months with success or if any issue I face.

Thank you all!
 
I received my 500GB XT and it's in my MBP 2011. I updated the firmware from SD23 to SD25. I've got nothing but praise for this drive. It's totally quiet, I can't feel it, it's fast (boots in 17 sec) en battery life seems fine.
 
I updated the firmware to SD25 prior to installing the OS.
I had no problems at all. The drive is fast and quiet. The only thing I can't comment about is battery life as I use my MBP primarily while plunged in.
 
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