Seagate firmware update bricks hard disks

A new product-related woe has emerged to dog leading hard disk maker Seagate, even as the company announced that it would trim 6 percent of its workforce. An earlier firmware fix released to rectify "freezing" problems with its 1.5-TB Barracuda 7200.11 hard disk reportedly caused the 500GB variant to stop working, or to "brick" in geek-speak. The freezing issue was first reported by tech site Tom's Hardware, though the resulting firmware release cured the problem. It is now apparent that this particular version has not been tested thoroughly on other models.

Seagate promised on Wednesday to release a final fix within 24 hours, and has since kept to its word. A new firmware has been released, and according to incoming reports, is succeeding at reviving the previously bricked hard disk drives.

For more on this story:
- check out this article at DailyTech
- check out this article at Tom's Hardware

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