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Does anyone have the firmware for Seagate 36GB ST336704LCV drives to make them Simbios compatible and revert back to factory default from EMC firmware?

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Short addendum keyed to the existing replies from , , and : the ST336704LCV is a Cheetah-class 36GB SCSI drive used in many OEM arrays, and that history (EMC/NetApp-branded disks appearing in second‑hand lots and some showing “inactive” on host tools) explains why generic retail firmware or a simple Windows-format sometimes won’t fix the problem. The notes below give practical, field‑tested options beyond running a GUI utility on Windows and outline likely causes when a drive reports “inactive.” (disctech.com)

What to try (ordered from least‑to‑most invasive):

  • Use vendor tools or Seagate’s supported utilities first (SeaTools / openSeaChest) and give Seagate/OEM the drive serials if you need an official reversion — they can authorize firmware changes for supported SKUs. (github.com)
  • If you have raw device access on Linux/Windows, sg3_utils’ sg_format can change a drive’s logical block size (for example, to 512). This is destructive and may take a long time; it only works if the host actually sees the physical device. Example: 
sg_format --format --size=512 /dev/sgX

Always back up first and run this from a machine with a non‑RAID HBA or direct SCSI passthrough. (manpages.debian.org)

Why some drives show “inactive” or get blocked: many RAID/backplane/controller firmwares hide or “block” OEM‑branded drives or only present them when the HBA is in true IT/JBOD mode. If SeaTools/openSeaChest report a device but the OS does not, move the drive to a plain SCA backplane or an HBA flashed to IT mode (not a hardware RAID BIOS) so tools can access the device directly. Community experience confirms this is a common catch‑22 when reformatting array drives. (forums.servethehome.com)

Troubleshooting checklist: verify the SCA/backplane supplies power and termination; test the drive on a known bare SCSI HBA; capture the device strings (vendor/product/rev) before attempting a firmware flash; if every attempt fails the OEM/RMA route may be required because some vendor firmware is intentionally locked. Proceed cautiously — firmware or low‑level formats can brick a drive. (techpubs.jurassic.nl)

Member Avatar for chipstone

EMC firmware drives are usually formatted in 520 sectors and not recognized by Windows/Linux operating systems since they will only read drives formatted into 512 sectors.

That may me your case, and if you are using a Windows operating system, you can download Seagate’s Sea Tools (Enterprise Version) from the Seagate’s Website.

Once installed it will scan the SCSI drives installed in your system and if the ST336704LCV is active you will see it with the Seagate utility even though you can’t see it with disk manager. You can then use the advance tab and the application will allow you to reformat the drive back into 512 sectors, once completed you may need to re-boot and the drive should appear on the disk manager, format and assigned a drive letter.

I believe the Linux operating systems have a similar command to reformat back to 512 sectors, although I am not very familiar with Linux.

Member Avatar for polshrk

Does anyone have the firmware for Seagate 36GB ST336704LCV drives to make them Simbios compatible and revert back to factory default from EMC firmware?

Any Luck with the Firmware? I have 20 of the same drive and need the firmware fix also. Seagate accidently told me that they are EMC drives but would not provide the firmware. Do you know anyone with a retail drive that would call into Seagate to get the firmware for us?

Thanks

Adam

Member Avatar for gorked

Once installed it will scan the SCSI drives installed in your system and if the ST336704LCV is active you will see it with the Seagate utility even though you can’t see it with disk manager. You can then use the advance tab and the application will allow you to reformat the drive back into 512 sectors, once completed you may need to re-boot and the drive should appear on the disk manager, format and assigned a drive letter.

Shows "in-active" for some reason for me.

Anyone ever have any luck finding the firmware or formatting any of these drives? If so, can you lead me in the right direction?

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