How to identify HDD firmware version?

[wallywalters]

I have a hard drive almost identical to the one pictured here: http://cgi.ebay.com/IBM-DeskStar-34GXP-DPTA-372730-27-3-GB-ATA-66-EIDE-/120629659284?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c16168694

Which, if any, of the numbers on the label represent the firmware version?

Thanks!

 

[sminlal]

Can't help with the label, but if it's an internal drive you can get the firmware version by using a utility such as "DiskCheckup": http://www.passmark.com/products/diskcheckup.htm

 

[John_VanKirk]

Hello,

I agree with Sminlal, the firmware Version can be extracted using DiskCheckUp, or HDTune.

I looked at your HDD, and don't see the firmware Version listed.
For IBM drives of that year 2000 vintage, they were listed similar to VA30B40K.

Don't know if I would purchase the IBM Deskstar from that era, since they had a bad record of crashing and a class action law suit, later called "DeathStars". I don't remember the exact "problem" sizes, but think they were less than 100 MB.

If you need an IDE drive, you can still find PATA drives, up to 500 GB, which are relatively inexpensive.

 

[wallywalters]

Thanks, guys. The reason I need to find a unit identical to the one in the picture is so I can swap the logic board on it with the one on the dead HDD in my Mom's 10-year-old computer, which had a lot of family photos and the like on it.

Unfortunately, the fact that it's dead means I can't retrieve the firmware version through software.

 

[John_VanKirk]

Hi again,

Don't forget if you are going to swap out the PCB board, you will almost certainly need to have reprogrammed or swap out the BIOS chip that holds the original HDD timing settings and other unique data done at the factory.

 

[fzabkar]

I have a similar IBM drive that used to suffer from frequent stiction problems. I used to slap-start it whenever this happened.

 

[wongsakon]

Can't help with the label, but if it's an internal drive you can get the firmware version by using a utility such as "DiskCheckup": http://www.passmark.com/products/diskcheckup.htm

sminlal, Thank You Very Much. ^^