Samsung HD204UI & firmware

[CarpetMan]

I'm reading lots of issues with this H/D and the needing of the firmware update.
I have one ordered and will be useing it as storage in my computer. Are the issues people are complaining about mostly with useing it in raid boxes?
I dual boot win xp and win7 64 bit ( mostly win7).
Am hoping to just install, format and use. So do I need to do the firmware update. And will it make any difference if I decide to partition it?
Thanks for any info on this.

 

[ronbo613]

I have two of those being used as storage drives on a Win 7 system. I would definitely do the firmware update; you can lose data under some circumstances.
It's a pain to do the upgrade, but it's worth the effort in the long run.

 

[gevorg]

Its a pain to update, but you can avoid updating if you disable write caching:

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/10392-write-caching-enable-disable.html

 

[Auric]

It corrects for potential data loss under certain conditions (involving SMART) so for practical purposes it is necesssary; furthermore since the installed version cannot be confirmed (both old and new have same number) then the user must perform the update.

It is a simple procedure though. I recommend putting both the patch and ES-Tool on the boot media. After patched and powered off and on again, run the full diagnostic scan, then in Windows the full format. Ten minutes of user time and ten hours of computer time is a small price for minimizing potential data loss.

 

[ronbo613]

I recommend putting both the patch and ES-Tool on the boot media. After patched and powered off and on again, run the full diagnostic scan, then in Windows the full format. Ten minutes of user time and ten hours of computer time is a small price for minimizing potential data loss

Good advice, why take any chances? I patch the firmware and run a full surface scan using ES Tool before using the drive.

 

[CarpetMan]

Thanks for all the good advice. Got the h/d today ,and it is dated 12-2010.
So now to take that advice,and update the f/w.

 

[ensign_lee]

Firmware is a friggin' PAIN to install. Took me 4 hours and I had to use other computers in order to do it.

Worst thing is that the firmware number stays the same before AND AFTER the installation of the firmware. :/ who thought of that?!?!

 

[Auric]

Supposedly the version was not changed to avoid having to be qualified again. The odd thing is that surely those companies that do so must be informed anyway (particularly of the need to patch earlier production models) so perhaps it was mutually agreed with large customers so that certain procedure was not invoked thus costing everyone with delays. However, there is an interchangable firmware designated for Japan with an updated version number. Different business culture?

As for applying the patch, it merely requires being accessible from a DOS-booted system (not necessarily on the same media). Certainly most mainboards from the last decade can boot to a USB drive and it is preferable even if optical and floppy disk drives are present.

 

[ensign_lee]

Supposedly the version was not changed to avoid having to be qualified again. The odd thing is that surely those companies that do so must be informed anyway (particularly of the need to patch earlier production models) so perhaps it was mutually agreed with large customers so that certain procedure was not invoked thus costing everyone with delays. However, there is an interchangable firmware designated for Japan with an updated version number. Different business culture?

As for applying the patch, it merely requires being accessible from a DOS-booted system (not necessarily on the same media). Certainly most mainboards from the last decade can boot to a USB drive and it is preferable even if optical and floppy disk drives are present.

ya, except when there are errors in the firmware installation... *&^@%%&%*(^&(#$&*(%^&%@&*%@)@&*()@^^*(@%%&*@$*@^%^#

and multiple versions of the 204UI hard drive, each requiring an entirely *different* firmware update... @&*^&%@^*%@&*^@*@^)@&%&*@

 

[Matt_Stevens]

Great, I just ordered two of these and am now terrified I will fail at this. It looks far too complicated. How do you know you are successful if the number is the same? I'm nowhere near as technically proficient as many of you guys.

WTH is Samsung making this so hard?

 

[jojiboy]

Great, I just ordered two of these and am now terrified I will fail at this. It looks far too complicated. How do you know you are successful if the number is the same? I'm nowhere near as technically proficient as many of you guys.

WTH is Samsung making this so hard?

It's not really as difficult as some would make it to be. I have eight of these running in a server, many with different build dates and had no problem updating the firmware on each. No more than 15 minutes total for all eight. I ran the update twice, once to do the actual update and the second to see if it would attempt to update again. When I ran it the second time, it didn't try to update any of the drives so I figured the firmware update was completed successfully the first time I ran the update. I used a bootable flash drive to run the firmware update.

 

[Auric]

ensign lee, what errors did you encounter and under what conditions?

There are only two patches: one for JP (Japan) models and one for others.

http://www.samsung.com/global/busine...Type=QI&page=1

Matt Stevens, to eliminate doubt the JP patch may be applied which does update the version number. Granted, the difficulty level is relative to the experience of the user but otherwise it is equivalent to any other firmware update. Even if it was possible to have a Windows GUI version (as there are for some devices), I would still opt for the DOS CLI one to minimize potential problems.

jojiboy, if the patch is run again without the power having been cycled then it will not be applied again.

Again, powering off after running the patch is a necessary step for the update to complete (do not merely reset).

 

[jojiboy]

Ah, thanks Auric. I went ahead and re-ran the update, after cycling the power, it completed the updates to all the drives without issues.

 

[Termie]

Found a good tutorial on creating a DOS boot thumb drive and applying the patch: http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/1597038.

Just updated my Samsung F4. Only took about 20 minutes, including all the temporary BIOS settings and unplugging other drives.

 

[Matt_Stevens]

Looks like I need to call my Network friendly bud and ask him for help on this. It's above my pay grade.

 

[ch33zw1z]

Glad I found this thread, I've got two drives to update...

 

[Matt_Stevens]

My two drives just arrived. They have manufacture dates of 2011.01 so I wonder if I need to do the update...???

My serial numbers do not have the Z plus # or letter in them so I think I'm safe.

 

[ensign_lee]

ensign lee, what errors did you encounter and under what conditions?

It was a very unhelpful error. "Unknown error has occurred." :/ Finally fixed it by going to achi instead of IDE...or vice versa, can't remember.

 

[nweissma]

but what are the consequences of invoking the firmware patch to an HD204UI that does not need it (because it was manufactured after Dec. 2010) -- can it cause permanent damage? http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?p=31905330#post31905330 ? is it possible that the firmware patch is inferior to the firmware installed in those HD204UI's manufactured after Dec. 2010?