Seagate Barracuda 7200 issues

Question

I have a Seagate Barracuda SATA Model: ST31500341AS, Serial: 9VS3C36R, Firmware: CC1H and it worked perfectly until two days ago, it crashed everytime I tried to boot the system, and it makes the click of death sound, so I tried it on a different Pc only to find the same issue, but it works perfectly on an older machine. I then tested another Seagate Barracuda, but this time IDE Model: ST3500630A, Serial: 9QG2M6XX, Firmware: 3.AAC and have the exact same issues. And also, it works perfectly on the older machine.

Facts:

1.-The two computers which won't work with these disk drives have no connection amongst each other, and are both up to date, one running on windows Xp and the other on windows 7.

2.-The computer on which the disks run without issues is an older pc with windows 7 installed.

3.-I downloaded "Drive Detect" from Seagate which checks the drive's firmware, serial no., and model, and it connects to the Seagate website to check for firmware updates, but it tells me on both cases, that there is no firmware update available for such models.

Anyone have any idea of what I can do to have these disks working on my Pc again?

Thank you!

Answer 1

It could be that the lubrication is breaking down, and these drives are drawing more power as a result. The power supply rail in the newer systems may to be up to the task. Whatever the cause, I would replace these ASAP.

Answer 2

Just a guess -- but have you verified the power in the non-functioning computers? Since the drives are functioning properly in one machine, then we can presume that the drives should function in an environment within its current operational tolerance. (It might be that a failure in the drive has reduced tolerances below the original specification and only the older machine is within those tolerances.) The other possibility is the temperature is too hot in the two non-functioning machines (dust build-up, failing fans, etc).

I would recommend counting your blessings that the drive is functioning in any machine and dup the drives. The cost of a new drive is trivial compared to your time.