I found the trick to access to the external USB drive using Crystal Disk Info 2.10; it's able to run the 'impossible query': it perfectly read the firmware and the serial #; this way checking at the Seagate web site resulted that my ST3500820AS is not affected; "No action required".
I checked that while Packard Bell drive has 1 year and half remaining warranty, validating the Seagate SN here is this reply: "The product you identified was sold as a system component. Please contact your place of purchase for service. Seagate sells many drives to direct OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) customers. These products are usually configured for the OEMs only, as components for their systems. You must contact your place of purchase for any warranty support on these drives." ..so essentially if I had to open the case I would have been f**k now. Thanks for Crystal Disk Info I checked it's all working with no firmware to be flashed
I agree gnome; another time with a WD drive your suggestion worked for me perfectly: I gained a further year on warranty.
I thought I was hosed with that external drive... was out of warranty, so no worries about breaking into the box. The 250G drive was fine, and I was surprised to find it was still under warranty. Mounted it into a new HDD Enclosure, didn't have to reformat it or anything... still running right..
knocking on wood... Been about a month... no problems yet. Already thinking about upgrading my machine in a few months to a dual quad core with RAID5 - at that point I'd get better, smaller than 1TB HDD's. Do you guys leave your PC's on 24/7/365 or something? When mine is not in use the power strip is switched off as well as the power strip to the modems/routers... Seems to cut down on the electric bill as well as the usage on the overall systems.