Dell releases firmware update to fix “clicking noise” on Seagate hard drives

Much turmoil has ensued surrounding Seagate’s drives this year, with many claiming that they’re outright unreliable in the face of (seemingly) hundreds of thousands of them exhibiting a specific “click” and “freeze” behavior on various laptop models in which they happen to be installed (including, but not limited to, MacBook Pros and Dell Studios).

Now, today, Dell has released firmware updates for the drives to supposedly fix the issue.  These fixes pertain to the following notebook models, per Dell’s update site:

If we could figure out how to link directly to the Dell download page, we’d do so.  But until we figure that out (as apparently it’s dependent upon session IDs, or maybe I’m just stupid), here are the direct links to the downloads.  Please keep in mind you will need to burn the firmware update to a CD and boot to it to install it.

There are two different fixes; one for the models with the G-Sensor, and the other for drives without the sensor.  This confirms that the sensor has nothing to do with the problem (as was previously theorized by some):

For drives WITH G-Sensor:

Firmware 4SDM1 or 5SDM1 fixes clicking noise on Seagate 2.5″ 7200RPM HDD’s Model #’s:

80G – ST980412ASG DP/N FC63Y
160G – ST9160412ASG DP/N C384R
250G – ST9250410ASG DP/N C385R
320G – ST9320423ASG DP/N C386R
500G – ST9500420ASG DP/N D111N

For drives WITHOUT G-Sensor:

Firmware 4SDM1 or 5SDM1 fixes clicking noise on Seagate 2.5″ 7200RPM HDD’s Model #’s:

160G – ST9160412AS DP/N J423T
250G – ST9250410AS DP/N K556T
320G – ST9320423AS DP/N F729T
500G – ST9500420AS DP/N G629T

We are attempting an install now and will report back with our findings.  Meanwhile, does the fix solve the problem for you?