How to reformat HDD & SSD to 512B Sector Size

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ccie4526

ccie4526

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Jan 25, 2021
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Just a thought... like this thread is sticky because of the valuable info herein... could we get another sticky thread listing specific drive part numbers under categories of "Known Good Working Reformat from X to X" or "Known Unable to Reformat"? I remember there's a certain batch of Samsung 200GB SSD devices used in EMC that just won't reformat to 512-byte sectors, but I don't remember the specific part numbers to watch out for, etc., etc.
 
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amp88

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ccie4526 said:
Just a thought... like this thread is sticky because of the valuable info herein... could we get another sticky thread listing specific drive part numbers under categories of "Known Good Working Reformat from X to X" or "Known Unable to Reformat"? I remember there's a certain batch of Samsung 200GB SSD devices used in EMC that just won't reformat to 512-byte sectors, but I don't remember the specific part numbers to watch out for, etc., etc.
Click to expand...
Agreed, good idea. I've personally done three four different drives:

With the normal sg_format method:
Seagate Savvio 10K.6 ST600MM0006, NetApp part number: 9WG066-038, 600GB HDD - Originally in 520 byte format in a NetApp DS2246 disk shelf.
HGST Ultrastar SSD400M HUSML4020ASS600, EMC part number: 118033211-02, 200GB SSD - Originally in 520 byte format in an EMC enclosure.
HGST Ultrastar He8 HUH728080AL4200, 8TB HDD - Originally in 520 byte format, converted to 4kn.

With the setblocksize method:
HGST Ultrastar 7K3000 HUS723030ALS640 / HUS72303CLAR3000, EMC part number: 118032815-02, 3TB HDD - Originally in 520 byte format in an EMC KTN-STL3 Viper disk enclosure.

edit: Added fourth drive.
 
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ccie4526

ccie4526

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amp88 said:
Agreed, good idea. I've personally done three different drives:

With the normal sg_format method:
Seagate Savvio 10K.6 ST600MM0006, NetApp part number: 9WG066-038, 600GB HDD - Originally in 520 byte format in a NetApp DS2246 disk shelf.
HGST Ultrastar SSD400M HUSML4020ASS600, EMC part number: 118033211-02, 200GB SSD - Originally in 520 byte format in an EMC enclosure.

With the setblocksize method:
HGST Ultrastar 7K3000 HUS723030ALS640 / HUS72303CLAR3000, EMC part number: 118032815-02, 3TB HDD - Originally in 520 byte format in an EMC KTN-STL3 Viper disk enclosure.
Click to expand...
Likewise, I've done a bunch of EMC platter disks and a couple of 100GB SSDs, but there were two 200GB SSDs in the same enclosure that wouldn't go.... I just don't remember the specific part numbers, and can't get into that server from where I am right now... but would likewise happily contribute part numbers and reformat process used. :D
 
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Fritz

Fritz

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Just another thought....... until this becomes a sticky I've had great luck finding info on STH using Google including this thread. There have been several other instances where a Google search has led me to STH.

And taking the concept a little further, a "Hard To Find Info" thread would be killer.
 
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ccie4526

ccie4526

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Disks I have successfully reformatted:
HITACHI HUSRL401 NEO100 C140 - 100GB SSD

SEAGATE STE60005 CLAR600 ES0F - 600GB HDD

TOSHIBA AL13SXB6 CLAR600 0B06 - 600GB HDD

HITACHI HUC10909 NEO900 C600 - 900GB HDD

SEAGATE ST1000NM NEO1000 PS10 - All 1TB HDD, just various minor firmware differences
SEAGATE ST1000NM NEO1000 PS11
SEAGATE ST1000NMCLAR1000 PS10
 
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stamasd

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I have a bunch of 520-byte-sector Seagate 3TB drives (Constellation ES.3 ST3000NM023 ST3000NXCLAR3000 GS18) which I am reformatting using setblocksize. It works but takes a huge amount of time (about 12h per drive).

Is there a way to run several reformats in parallel on the same controller? I am using an IBM H1110 converted to 9211-4i in the machine used for the conversion. I could attach 4 drives at a time and run setblocksize on each of them in parallel in separate virtual terminals (in Linux of course). It could save me a huge amount of time if I could do it this way.

Any reason why I shouldn't do that?
 
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amp88

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stamasd said:
I have a bunch of 520-byte-sector Seagate 3TB drives (Constellation ES.3 ST3000NM023 ST3000NXCLAR3000 GS18) which I am reformatting using setblocksize. It works but takes a huge amount of time (about 12h per drive).

Is there a way to run several reformats in parallel on the same controller? I am using an IBM H1110 converted to 9211-4i in the machine used for the conversion. I could attach 4 drives at a time and run setblocksize on each of them in parallel in separate virtual terminals (in Linux of course). It could save me a huge amount of time if I could do it this way.

Any reason why I shouldn't do that?
Click to expand...
This is a perfectly valid way of reformatting multiple drives at once. I've used the setblocksize method with 5 drives at the same time, and the sg_format method in batches of 8 drives at a time, with no issues.
 
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Whaaat

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stamasd said:
I have a bunch of 520-byte-sector Seagate 3TB drives (Constellation ES.3 ST3000NM023 ST3000NXCLAR3000 GS18) which I am reformatting using setblocksize
Click to expand...
you can even change the firmware to oem seagate version on these drives
 
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stamasd

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Seagate says no firmware available to download (and no, there is no "certificate" download either.

seagatefirmware.png
 
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Whaaat

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stamasd said:
Seagate says no firmware available to download
Click to expand...
Of course, this drive was not indented for retails but for vendor distribution, nevertheless you can update its firmware from EMC GS18 to original E007 version
Code: 
\\.\PhysicalDrive6 - ST3000NXCLAR3000 - Z1Y36DMN    0000R531 - SCSI
        Vendor ID: SEAGATE
        Model Number: ST3000NXCLAR3000
        Serial Number: Z1Y36DMN    0000R531
        Firmware Revision: GS18
        World Wide Name: 5000C50063794FE7
        Copyright: Copyright (c) 2014 Seagate All rights reserved
        Drive Capacity (TB/TiB): 3.00/2.73
        Temperature Data:
                Current Temperature (C): 36
                Highest Temperature (C): Not Reported
                Lowest Temperature (C): Not Reported
        Power On Time:  2 years 75 days 9 hours 35 minutes
        Power On Hours: 25473.58
        MaxLBA: 5860533167
        Native MaxLBA: Not Reported
        Logical Sector Size (B): 512
        Physical Sector Size (B): 512
        Sector Alignment: 0
        Rotation Rate (RPM): 7200
        Form Factor: 3.5"
        Last DST information:
                DST has never been run
        Long Drive Self Test Time:  7 hours 13 minutes
        Interface speed:
                Port 0 (Current Port)
                        Max Speed (GB/s): 6.0
                        Negotiated Speed (Gb/s): 6.0
                Port 1
                        Max Speed (GB/s): 6.0
                        Negotiated Speed (Gb/s): Not Reported
        Annualized Workload Rate (TB/yr): 104.69
        Total Bytes Read (TB): 209.98
        Total Bytes Written (TB): 94.44
        Encryption Support: Not Supported
        Cache Size (MiB): Not Reported
        Read Look-Ahead: Enabled
        Write Cache: Enabled
        SMART Status: Good
        ATA Security Information: Not Supported
        Firmware Download Support: Full, Segmented, Deferred
        Number of Logical Units: 1
        Specifications Supported:
                SPC-3
                ----
                ----
                ----
                ----
                ----
                ----
                ----
                ----
        Features Supported:
                Application Client Logging
                Self Test
                Automatic Write Reassignment [Enabled]
                Automatic Read Reassignment [Enabled]
                EPC [Enabled]
                Informational Exceptions [Mode 6]
                Translate Address
                Format Unit
        Adapter Information:
                Vendor ID: 1000h
                Product ID: 005Bh
                Revision: 0005h
Code: 
\\.\PhysicalDrive6 - ST3000NM0023 - Z1Y36DMN0000R531LND6 - SCSI
        Vendor ID: SEAGATE
        Model Number: ST3000NM0023
        Serial Number: Z1Y36DMN
        PCBA Serial Number: 0000R531LND6
        Firmware Revision: E007
        World Wide Name: 5000C50063794FE7
        Copyright: Copyright (c) 2016 Seagate All rights reserved
        Drive Capacity (TB/TiB): 3.00/2.73
        Temperature Data:
                Current Temperature (C): 35
                Highest Temperature (C): Not Reported
                Lowest Temperature (C): Not Reported
        Power On Time:  2 years 75 days 9 hours 37 minutes
        Power On Hours: 25473.62
        MaxLBA: 5860533167
        Native MaxLBA: Not Reported
        Logical Sector Size (B): 512
        Physical Sector Size (B): 512
        Sector Alignment: 0
        Rotation Rate (RPM): 7200
        Form Factor: 3.5"
        Last DST information:
                DST has never been run
        Long Drive Self Test Time:  7 hours 13 minutes
        Interface speed:
                Port 0 (Current Port)
                        Max Speed (GB/s): 6.0
                        Negotiated Speed (Gb/s): 6.0
                Port 1
                        Max Speed (GB/s): 6.0
                        Negotiated Speed (Gb/s): Not Reported
        Annualized Workload Rate (TB/yr): 104.69
        Total Bytes Read (TB): 209.98
        Total Bytes Written (TB): 94.44
        Encryption Support: Not Supported
        Cache Size (MiB): Not Reported
        Read Look-Ahead: Enabled
        Write Cache: Enabled
        SMART Status: Good
        ATA Security Information: Not Supported
        Firmware Download Support: Full, Segmented, Deferred
        Number of Logical Units: 1
        Specifications Supported:
                SPC-4
        Features Supported:
                Protection Type 1
                Protection Type 2
                Application Client Logging
                Self Test
                Automatic Write Reassignment [Enabled]
                Automatic Read Reassignment [Enabled]
                EPC [Enabled]
                Informational Exceptions [Mode 6]
                Translate Address
                Rebuild Assist
                Format Unit
        Adapter Information:
                Vendor ID: 1000h
                Product ID: 005Bh
                Revision: 0005h
 
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stamasd

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May 30, 2020
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OK thanks. Can I flash that before converting from 520 to 512 bytes? I've never flashed a new firmware to Seagate drives.
 
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Whaaat

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Jan 31, 2020
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Jaket said:
I've got a pair of Dell 15TB SSD's which are not showing up on our raid card. Would a reboot show these on a centos system? Or should I try this on just a different server with CentOS and no raid card?
Click to expand...
Usually only an HBA will show the drive to OS once hot plugged, on a raid card you will need a reboot most likely. ssd that large can also have compatibility issues with older controllers.
 
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Jaket

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Jan 4, 2017
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Whaaat said:
Usually only an HBA will show the drive to OS once hot plugged, on a raid card you will need a reboot most likely. ssd that large can also have compatibility issues with older controllers.
Click to expand...
Thanks,
Two of the drives show up which are IBM branded without issues, but the two Dells are not guessing the Dells are 520B and not 512B.
Now to find a system that can detect these.
 
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