Love my new Seagate Momentus XT !!!

[MBProXT]

I am getting a new mbpro 13" for christmas and I want to upgrade the hard drive. At first I thought it was a no brainer and I would go with the Seagate Momentus ST9750420AS 750GB 7200 RPM for all the space it offers now I am unsure about this because of the Momentus XT. Would both drives use the same amount of power? Just trying to way the pros and cons of each and make a decision

 

[fobis]

I am getting a new mbpro 13" for christmas and I want to upgrade the hard drive. At first I thought it was a no brainer and I would go with the Seagate Momentus ST9750420AS 750GB 7200 RPM for all the space it offers now I am unsure about this because of the Momentus XT. Would both drives use the same amount of power? Just trying to way the pros and cons of each and make a decision

The Momentus XT would ultimately use more power since it would likely ship with the still-broken SD23 firmware, causing it to never spin down and drain your battery rather quickly. It's a drive plagued by many issues and I do not recommend that you purchase it, thereby proliferating and promoting Seagate's horrible product support. Buy a nice Western Digital Black edition or something else - just not a Seagate Momentus XT.

 

[POX]

Seagate released a new firmware update for momentus XT drives: SD24

Can´t find any changelog.

 

[Kyffin]

Seagate released a new firmware update for momentus XT drives: SD24

Can´t find any changelog.

Hey thanks for the knowledge, have you done this yet? Be keen to see whether it stops the computer being inactive when the drive momentarily spins down but cant find any comments on the net? Thanks

 

[blownsphinctr]

Just added my new Momentus XT 500GB drive to my MBP last night. It's awesome! That is all.

 

[Kyffin]

Well, firmware update SD24 works...

 

[secretanchitman]

thanks for the heads up on SD24! will install momentarily after backing up...

 

[Kyffin]

Okay, first impressions on the SD24 firmware update;

Drive doesn't spin down (instead bursts of speed every so often!)
Constantly reading(/writing)
Substantial hit on battery life

I've included a pic below to give a rough idea (ymmv but for reference I've a 2010 13" MBP, 118 cycles and recently calibrated battery health of 95%), 10mins after fresh boot, full screen brightness and no running applications. Very subjective and taken minutes off the mains, and as I write its between 4:30 and 5:30 but would expect roughly 7:30+ from SD23.
/battery, &c.

As for boot time, loading &c. at least as good as before and accessing information seems perkier, but it be warned it may be best not to be a guinea pig if being away from the mains is a problem.

 

[secretanchitman]

the random spindowns are gone! FINALLY after a few months of owning this drive.

 

[Fofer]

apple menu/about this mac/more info/serial-ATA to check

update is 'a bag of hurt' or is that 'world of hurt' never can remember

Thanks. My new one, just installed today, has SD23.

I'm going to try to update to SD24, the instructions don't look so bad, just needed to burn a bootable ISO... will report back when it's done.

 

[Fofer]

The Momentus XT would ultimately use more power since it would likely ship with the still-broken SD23 firmware, causing it to never spin down and drain your battery rather quickly.

Huh? "Never spin down?" I thought the problems mentioned here was that with SD23, it spun down too often, and randomly. And now it sounds like SD24 has addressed this:

the random spindowns are gone! FINALLY after a few months of owning this drive.

Okay, first impressions on the SD24 firmware update;

Drive doesn't spin down (instead bursts of speed every so often!)
Constantly reading(/writing)
Substantial hit on battery life

So now I'm confused about SD24 and if it will actually be a worthwhile update for me.

 

[Fofer]

I'm going to try to update to SD24, the instructions don't look so bad, just needed to burn a bootable ISO... will report back when it's done.

Well, I decided to take the plunge regardless... and sadly it seems like I'm unable to update the firmware on this Seagate Momentus XT from SD23 to SD24, using the Bootable CD provided by Seagate here.

My non-Windows laptop certainly is Intel compatible, it's the latest MacBook Pro. And then I tried to use the Firmware Update utility .exe on mt Windows (HP) laptop, but it uses an older kind of drive, this one won't work in there. So back to the Mac I go...

On this MacBook Pro, I'm able to boot the CD, the DOS app sees the installed drive, but when I try to apply the firmware update, I get the following response:

Model matched, no firmware match! Will not download firmware!

--

Model matched but firmware version is not compatible.

Kyffin, secretanchitman, how were you guys able to update the firmware? Any pointers for Mac users trying to update the firmware on this drive would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Kyffin]

Well, I decided to take the plunge regardless... and sadly it seems like I'm unable to update the firmware on this Seagate Momentus XT from SD23 to SD24, using the Bootable CD provided by Seagate here.

My non-Windows laptop certainly is Intel compatible, it's the latest MacBook Pro. And then I tried to use the Firmware Update utility .exe on mt Windows (HP) laptop, but it uses an older kind of drive, this one won't work in there. So back to the Mac I go...

On this MacBook Pro, I'm able to boot the CD, the DOS app sees the installed drive, but when I try to apply the firmware update, I get the following response:




Kyffin, secretanchitman, how were you guys able to update the firmware? Any pointers for Mac users trying to update the firmware on this drive would be greatly appreciated.

Heya, very happy to meet a pioneer! First thing I did was to check in the "About this Mac" to see that that model number matched those on Seagate's website (you've been there, but the links for general reference) http://seagate.custkb.com/seagate/crm/selfservice/search.jsp?DocId=215451&NewLang=en&Hilite=. (Model no. indicated in pic below)

The disk image was from this link to the non-pc intel section "For non-Windows systems with Intel compatible processors we also offer a bootable CD ISO image http://www.seagate.com/staticfiles/support/downloads/firmware/MomentusXT-ALL-SD24.iso which will create a bootable CD."

After burning the disk image to CD via Disk Utility I booted with "c" held down from power up, and from there it was DOS and just a matter of selecting the (clear) option- and after 2ish minutes it was done.

I'm very happy to describe what I did, but this was my first time updating firmware this way and everything went smoothly. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'll be around this evening if you want to compare notes &c.- but I wouldn't be particularly helpful if anything didn't go to plan. /disclaimer.

Then again, if you've just got the drive today, chances are there's no harm in losing data, so... why not btw what was your method- probably my understanding amiss but what was your process? Cheers!

 

[kimbo1986]

I just installed my new momentusXT and did a clone with old drive. I can tell you boot times and all arouns speed ia excellent. But the drive itself is probably 5 times louder then previous hitachi 5400rpm 168gb drive that came stock on my mid 2009 13inch. Im wondering if I even mounted it right because its so much louder considering almost everyone I've heard bought this thing say its silent. Especially at startup when its booting. The stock drive is litteraly silent from start to finish. I record audio with this mac so im hoping the noise wont interfere with this.

Sent from my SGS-T959 running on Nero Beta 2

 

[Kyffin]

damn- only just conditioned myself to ignore it too! Yep- it is there in the background and pretty constant. I guess it depends on how you're recording but the nature of the beast I don't think can be got away from (noticeably more after SD24 too).

I don't find it an issue for my use, and a constant noise may be easier to filter out(?) but if you want totally silent I gather solid state is the way to go on that one... that aside the drive has been great though

 

[gr8tfly]

damn- only just conditioned myself to ignore it too! Yep- it is there in the background and pretty constant. I guess it depends on how you're recording but the nature of the beast I don't think can be got away from (noticeably more after SD24 too).

I don't find it an issue for my use, and a constant noise may be easier to filter out(?) but if you want totally silent I gather solid state is the way to go on that one... that aside the drive has been great though

I've had my XT installed for about a week now, and it's virtually silent. It's definitely quieter than my WD Scorpio Black (spindle "whoosh" is much less noticeable, and, thankfully the head load cycle click is gone).

Anyway, you mention SD24 is noisier - in what way? I've been hesitant to upgrade (from SD23) before more feedback has been posted (there's not much out there, since it just came available yesterday).

When I'm on a/c, I have the system set to not spin-down drives, so the fact SD23 supposedly keeps the platters spinning isn't noticeable to me. I tried running on battery, and didn't notice spin-down. However, I booted from an external drive - then it would spin-down after several minutes.

I'd really be interested in more details regarding the differences between SD23 and SD24, before upgrading mine, since I'm not really having any problems. It'd be nice if Seagate posted a change log, but it looks like they're not in the habit of doing so. I do like to keep my equipment up-to-date, so I'm chompin' at the bit to do this upgrade.

 

[Kyffin]

I've had my XT installed for about a week now, and it's virtually silent. It's definitely quieter than my WD Scorpio Black (spindle "whoosh" is much less noticeable, and, thankfully the head load cycle click is gone).

Anyway, you mention SD24 is noisier - in what way? I've been hesitant to upgrade (from SD23) before more feedback has been posted (there's not much out there, since it just came available yesterday).

When I'm on a/c, I have the system set to not spin-down drives, so the fact SD23 supposedly keeps the platters spinning isn't noticeable to me. I tried running on battery, and didn't notice spin-down. However, I booted from an external drive - then it would spin-down after several minutes.

I'd really be interested in more details regarding the differences between SD23 and SD24, before upgrading mine, since I'm not really having any problems. It'd be nice if Seagate posted a change log, but it looks like they're not in the habit of doing so. I do like to keep my equipment up-to-date, so I'm chompin' at the bit to do this upgrade.

Hi, its a constant medium to low pitch 'whirr', can't say that I noticed it on SD23 and while I don't find it an issue it is definitely there- I'll see if I can make a recording for you now (not done this before so may be a few minutes figuring out how to do this...).

 

[planetwave2000]

It's a great Hybrid HDD

I bought this Seagate Momentus XT 500GB 7200RPM the same day I bought my 13inch Macbook Pro. What a big difference!!!!!!!!!!!!! My MBP boots up like 15 seconds. Faster than the current 15inch & 17inchMBP's. My applications also opens up a lot faster (especially Adobe CS5 programs). My Momentus XT is quiet and my battery life is improve because of its built in 4GB cache. Get it.

Now my next upgrade is to max out my RAM to 8GB. Hopefully, this lowest class MBP will perform like a BEAST!!!! I'm looking forward to get the RAM before Christmas...............

Happy Holidays everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Kyffin]

Hi, re: sound with SD24 this is a really poor recording from the built in mic via quicktime- through the white noise if you crank it (I promise no surprises) you might get a flavour of the tone- don't have a decibel meter though so I stress its very limited but the best I can think of right now...

 

[Kyffin]

I bought this Seagate Momentus XT 500GB 7200RPM the same day I bought my 13inch Macbook Pro. What a big difference!!!!!!!!!!!!! My MBP boots up like 15 seconds. Faster than the current 15inch & 17inchMBP's. My applications also opens up a lot faster (especially Adobe CS5 programs). My Momentus XT is quiet and my battery life is improve because of its built in 4GB cache. Get it.

Now my next upgrade is to max out my RAM to 8GB. Hopefully, this lowest class MBP will perform like a BEAST!!!! I'm looking forward to get the RAM before Christmas...............

Happy Holidays everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Holidays! I'm loving this drive too- swapped it at the same time as doing the RAM thing and its amazing! The baby of the pack it may be, but the 13" is a Trojan in its own right- able to do loads of really cool stuff with it all at the same time. Honestly, I think its the best one of the lot

 

[gr8tfly]

Hi, re: sound with SD24 this is a really poor recording from the built in mic via quicktime- through the white noise if you crank it (I promise no surprises) you might get a flavour of the tone- don't have a decibel meter though so I stress its very limited but the best I can think of right now...

Thanks for doing that recording.

Can't really make out any constant sound, even after normalizing, but I can hear some head "clicks". One about half-way through and a couple near the end. They're very quiet, and not really much above the noise level. They're similar to what I might hear if I put my ear to the palm rest (literally).

It seems like the difference [between SD23 and SD24] you're hearing isn't much and wouldn't be described as going from quiet to noisy.

I'm still going to give it a bit longer before upgrading and see if what the forums are saying about the upgrade. The Seagate forum is pretty quiet, and this is actually one of the only threads that's been active on the subject.

At any rate, I'm still very pleased with the drive. I wouldn't hesitate to say it's the best I've had in a portable. Definitely "zippier" than the WD, too.

 

[Fofer]

After burning the disk image to CD via Disk Utility I booted with "c" held down from power up, and from there it was DOS and just a matter of selecting the (clear) option- and after 2ish minutes it was done.

I'm very happy to describe what I did, but this was my first time updating firmware this way and everything went smoothly. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'll be around this evening if you want to compare notes &c.- but I wouldn't be particularly helpful if anything didn't go to plan. /disclaimer.

Then again, if you've just got the drive today, chances are there's no harm in losing data, so... why not btw what was your method- probably my understanding amiss but what was your process? Cheers!

Thanks for the feedback...

My process was the same as yours, I burned the ISO and booted from it, I see the DOS instructions, but when I get to the part where I try to apply the firmware update, I get this error:

Model matched, no firmware match! Will not download firmware!
--
Model matched but firmware version is not compatible.

My drive is the 500 GB Momentus XT (ST95005620AS.)

It shipped with SD23 and I'd like to get SD24 on there, if at all possible. My Windows laptop uses an older hard drive type so updating there isn't an option.

I wish Seagate made this easier...

 

[Kyffin]

Thanks for doing that recording.

Can't really make out any constant sound, even after normalizing, but I can hear some head "clicks". One about half-way through and a couple near the end. They're very quiet, and not really much above the noise level. They're similar to what I might hear if I put my ear to the palm rest (literally).

It seems like the difference [between SD23 and SD24] you're hearing isn't much and wouldn't be described as going from quiet to noisy.

I'm still going to give it a bit longer before upgrading and see if what the forums are saying about the upgrade. The Seagate forum is pretty quiet, and this is actually one of the only threads that's been active on the subject.

At any rate, I'm still very pleased with the drive. I wouldn't hesitate to say it's the best I've had in a portable. Definitely "zippier" than the WD, too.

Oh, definitely agree with you on the drive's quality, and for what its worth it does seem a bit snappier with SD24 (there was some thread on Overclockers.net that I can't seem to find now, and this one which seems the most active http://forum.notebookreview.com/har...mentus-xt-hybrid-hdd-w-built-4gb-ssd-118.html) but the recording doesn't justice to the constant frequency, its not 'noisy' and can only describe it as being just within earshot of a waterfall. Hey, by the way, thank you too- when I had to look how to record this it was on a MR thread that you posted the answer to!

Apart from the clicks, the drive occasionally accelerates but this isn't frequent or noticeable, if I can get a better recording somehow I'll post it but unfortunately the inbuilt mic is about as far from the hd as you can get

 

[iPadThai]

1

 

[iPadThai]

Thanks for the feedback...

My process was the same as yours, I burned the ISO and booted from it, I see the DOS instructions, but when I get to the part where I try to apply the firmware update, I get this error:



My drive is the 500 GB Momentus XT (ST95005620AS.)

It shipped with SD23 and I'd like to get SD24 on there, if at all possible. My Windows laptop uses an older hard drive type so updating there isn't an option.

I wish Seagate made this easier...

Probably due to the model that has these APM issues. After a reflash to sd24, the drive seem to be even snappier!