Was this content helpful?
How could we make this article more helpful?
Do not remove the SeaTools USB device while the tests are running.
Insert the SeaTools USB device and reboot or power on your computer. The system willboot to the Linux operating system. If your system fails to boot, see the Troubleshootingsection #5 later in this file.
After SeaTools loads, the Drive List will show different storage devices in your system.Select the drives you would like to test. Make sure to choose the correct drive! Theselected drives will be highlighted in green.This screen also displays information about the drives such as the Model Number andSerial Number. Seagate model numbers begin with the letters "ST". Seagate serialnumbers are alphanumeric and eight characters long.
The menus provide an array of diagnostic tests. Select the test you would like to performon the selected drives
The S.M.A.R.T. Check examines the drive's S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology) log, which is maintained by the drive during its normal operation, to quickly determine if the drive has previously encountered issues. A failure in this test is called a "SMART Trip" and is a near term prediction of failure. A warranty exchange is advisable when the SMART Check test fails.
Short DST, or Drive Self Test, is a thorough diagnostic routine that is built in to the hard drive's firmware. Firmware is the machine language installed on the disk drive which controls its behavior. DST is completely data safe. A warranty exchange is advisable when the Short Drive Self Test fails.
Short Generic Test is similar to the DST in functionality, but is implemented in software, and does not require the drive to support any special commands. Short Test is completely data safe.
Long Generic Test scans the entire drive for defects. It will take a long time to complete. Because this test reads every sector on the drive, the amount of time required will depend on the speed and capacity of the disk drive. The highest capacity drives often take 3 to 5 hours per terabyte to complete. At any time, feel free to Cancel the test without harming the drive. Long Test is completely data safe.
The Fix All feature repairs bad sectors when possible. Fix All Fast and Long require the F8 key to be pressed which is your acknowledgement that SeaTools should attempt to repair any problem unreadable LBAs (sectors) it might detect. It is important to know that when the sector is bad and unreadable then any data in it is already lost. See "Help Topic: Bad Sector Found" for more information on this topic.
Acoustic Test - (Spin Down) Sometimes a defective hard drive makes unusual noise. However, often the power supply or CPU fans are mistaken for the hard drive. This test will spin down the drive just like a power management idle condition. If the drive was the source of the noise then the sound will stop. If the noise continues, you can eliminate the hard drive as the source.
Set Max LBA - Occasionally, a disk drive may be too large and its size needs to be reduced to a lower capacity. Similarly, a drive with a reduced capacity may need to be reset to its native maximum capacity. Three choices are available under this section
The Advanced Tests menu has options that could erase your data or make the drive unusable for your system. If you continue you could lose data.
The Erase Overwrite Full feature erases the entire device by writing zero value to every sector. This operation will take a long time to complete, depending on the speed and capacity of the disk drive. WARNING!!! Any data on the drive will be lost. ZERO FILL DATA PATTERN WRITING IS A DATA DESTRUCTIVE OPERATION EQUIVALENT TO ERASING THE DATA OFF THE DRIVE.
Seagate is not responsible for lost user data. Erase Drive is available for Seagate, Samsung, LaCie or Maxtor drives only.
Caution: Boot drive detection is sometimes difficult so be careful to confirm that the boot drive is not selected.
Be very careful because using SeaTools Bootable Erase options will cause data loss. Seagate is not responsible for lost user data.
If this is your drive, you should always keep a current backup of your important data.
If this is not your drive and the original owner has no claim of ownership to it or the data stored on it, then you may still be responsible for the data in your possession. To protect yourself from potential liability and to protect the previous owner's privacy, you should remove all data by performing a data erasure on this drive.
Not all drives support the following advanced Erase commands. If the drive does support the command then the software will show a menu selection.
Erase Write Same - Use this option to start a WRITE SAME erase at the specified starting LBA. Use 0 for the starting LBA to mean the beginning of the drive. The last sector (Max LBA) on the drive is given at the top of the window. The Write Same data pattern will be all zeros (0000... etc) for the specified range.
Erase Write Same is faster than Erase Overwrite Full. This is especially true for erasing USB drives because Write Same can be three to five times faster.
On SCSI devices, this option uses the writesame16 command. On ATA devices, this uses the SCT writesame feature.
Erase Sanitize - Sanitize Overwrite on hard disk drives (HDD) takes a very long time to complete at approximately three (3) hours per TeraByte. Once this command starts it must finish the overwrite erase before normal use of the drive is returned. Even if a power reset is performed during overwrite erase the drive will continue from where it was stopped until it reaches the end of the of erasure. Automatic sector reallocation (repair) is permitted during the operation of this function.
SED Crypto Erase (PSID) - Self-Encrypting Drive Instant Secure Erase. If the drive supports hardware encryption, this menu will be displayed. Like Full Erase this command will permanently destroy access to all user data on the drive, but will do so by the erasure of the drive encryption key which takes only a few seconds to complete.
When SED Crypto Erase is selected the user will need to enter the PSID (Physical Security IDentification number) password located on the drive label. The PSID is a 32- digit number & capital letter sequence printed on the label. There is no electronic query for this number, therefore the drive must be removed in order to read the PSID number. Many drives have a PSID code on the label but are NOT marked as "Seagate Secure"; these drives do not support revertSP cryptographic erase.
Enter the PSID without spaces. FIVE attempts are allowed before a power cycle is required. It can also be read by 2D barcode reader.
This SED Crypto Erase command is very fast at less than one (1) second. It changes the internal encryption keys that are used for user data causing all previous data to be useless. This operation performs an Opal SSC specification revertSP on a Self Encrypting Drive (SED). This operation is available on all Seagate SED drives which are marked on the label with the words "Seagate Secure". Upon completion, the drive will be "like new" with all user data being cryptographically erased and all other settings set to factory defaults.
See the Seagate Secure website (http://www.seagate.com/solutions/security/) for more information about Seagate Instant Secure Erase.
The SeaTools performs a data-safe test of the selected hard disk drive or device for possible malfunctions. Long tests may be aborted at any time. Press the ESC (escape key) from the keyboard.
During the "LONG Test" only, bad sectors (LBAs) may be detected. They could be part of a data file or even part of the operating system directory structure. Sometimes, problem sectors are empty or not in use. It is important to know that when the sector is bad and unreadable then any data in it is already lost. See section "Help Topic: Bad Sector Found" for more information on this topic.
Upon completion of running the diagnostics, the test results will be given. A log for each device is automatically saved if you have booted from a USB device.
The following conditions may apply:
Log files can only be permanently saved if operating SeaTools from a USB device.
Test results are automatically saved in a log file with a file name based on the drive serial number. As you are using the applications, the contents of these logs will also be displayed in real time in the tabs in the lower right panel.
You may also view these logs by exiting the SeaTools Bootable application clicking on the small x icon in the upper left hand side of the screen. The terminal screen will show the names of the various serial number logs which are available on the USB drive. You can view these logs by using the Linux "more" command by typing "more yourserialnumber.log" (do type in the actual serial number). After reading the log, press the q key to quit back to the command line. To restart SeaTools Bootable type the command "sudo ST4L --exitPowerOff". (Be sure to use the exact upper and lower case letters when you type a command in Linux.)
To exit the program, select Exit from the main menu. This will automatically perform a shutdown of your computer. If the shutdown hangs, simply press and hold your computer's power button.