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ST31000528AS need AP24

I bought HDD ST31000528AS for my iMac, but without correct Firmware AP24,
it is not work correct in my iMac. Please give me a link for ISO disc with firmware AP24.

My HDD is working, but without AP24 firmware iMac can not get correct thermo data from jumper connection. That is why fans going to fly away...

iMac10,1, Mac OS X (10.6.6)

Posted on Jan 8, 2011 4:58 AM

Reply
8 replies

Jan 10, 2011 11:28 AM in response to Mitya2011

Got reply from Seagate. About Apple's HDD and firmware AP24.

Thank you for contacting Seagate in writing.
The firmware is only available from Apple. It is specific firmware they have made available for the drives to work with their system. You will need to contact Apple about this problem.

I do not understand, why Apple do not provide users with this firmware. How to install new HDD???
Is there any way to get firmware from Apple?

Feb 7, 2011 10:32 PM in response to Mitya2011

I just found this topic, because I was looking for information on the same topic.

I have put a replacement Seagate drive in a 27" imac that already had a 1tb seagate drive in it. The fan speed increases to full over a time period of 10 minutes. This is despite the new seagate drive having the same 4 pin connector as the apple OEM seagate drive.

One possible solution I am considering is to get an ST31000528AS drive (just like the OEM unit) and put the OEM circuit board from the old drive onto the new drive. I don't have full confidence in this working, but I do think it's likely to be an effective solution. (This would only work in cases where the failure of the original drive is of a mechanical nature and not of an electrical nature.)

Feb 21, 2011 4:47 AM in response to MacProCT

there's a debate on this issue at OWC/macintouch with not so many solutions yet. Some people have retrofitted iMac external temperature sensors that they have lying around, some have gone for a zero ohms resistor!.

I will make the HDD upgrade but my iMac is 2008 so hopefully I shouldn't have this issue as I still have the external thermistor on the HDD to help carefully manage the thermal profile of the iMac .
As for swapping HDD circuit boards over, I did try this onece in a Bondi-Blue iMac, and got no response. I think that the eeproms, memories on the HDD motherboard are specific for individual hdd characteristics, fault-sector-map etc. It could be an interesting experiment but might need a very low level format afterwards, usually having to be done on a PC?

Feb 21, 2011 6:17 AM in response to David.Shaw

I agree that doing a board swap is a very risky solution. Here's the solution that I chose, in order to get a new hard drive working in a 27" aluminum intel iMac...

As mentioned above, installing a replacement hard drive does not allow the HD temperature sensor to work correctly. The original Apple drive has a unique firmware that allows the factory sensor connector to work as the logic board expects. Any drive without Apple firmware will not feed the temperature info to the motherboard and the internal fan speed will eventually crank up to its max RPM. Even installing a new drive that matches the brand of the original factory drive will not stop this from happening. I tried putting a Seagate 7200.xx drive in place of the original 7200.xx drive and the fan still went full tilt boogie.

So, I decided to buy an optical drive sensor (Apple part #922-9141) and use that in place of the original HD sensor. It plugs into the logic board where the old HD sensor did and sticks to the hard drive with an adhesive that is already on the sensor. After installing this and reassembling the computer, the system's fan behavior was normal.

A VERY important detail regarding disassembly of the computer...

Before you lift the LCD panel out of the system, it is critical that you ONLY lift the display panel a few inches at the top edge. Then, you need to gingerly undo the small ribbon cable (that is for display sync), which is located in the upper left corner of the computer:

I specifically call out this part of the process, because this cable is very fragile. It's a horrendous design where the contacts are essentially copper leaf glues onto a thin piece of plastic. If the connection is pulled at the wrong angle, or perhaps even inserted/removed too many times, the copper will separate from the backing. And I suspect that this cable is not easily replaced, as it appears to be hard-wired to the display panel.

The service instructions at a popular fixit site show the removal of the LCD panel, in order to replace the hard drive. I did not find this to be necessary. After disconnecting the aforementioned sync cable connector and perhaps one other, I was able to simply prop up the top of the display panel to a sufficient height ( about 8 inches) to allow full access to the HD. I propped the display with an inverted plastic DVD-R spindle (saved after I used up the 100 discs). I did this in order to avoid disconnecting any connectors that I didn’t have to. I was worried about the fragility of the other connectors and felt it was best to avoid pulling apart anything that I didn’t have to. You may want to do the same.

Jun 20, 2011 12:32 PM in response to Mitya2011

I replaced my ST31000528AS with an ST31000524AS at a local tech store.
While installing a fresh OS I noticed that my fan speed increased in the first 5 minutes after rebooting to a annoying max speed. At least it sounded like that. After installing the OS I downloaded an app called iStat Pro and found out that the fan speed of my HD increased from 2000 to a stunning 4500 rpm.


After some research I found a website that had made an app called HDD Fan Control. This app is specifically for this fan speed problem on iMacs. I bought it for 25 euros and I was amazed that it actually worked after installing.


The website is http://www.hddfancontrol.com/


Cheers and good luck to everyone in the world with a fan issue..


Pat

Feb 12, 2012 12:34 PM in response to MacProCT

I have the same issue. Replaced the 1TB drive with the exact same model, minus the apple firmware (seagate f/w CC46 versus apple AP24) and have the same fan issue. Looks like the two solutions are


1) H/W - use Apple part #922-9141 that Chris listed above to replace the current thermo cable that plugs into the drive with one that will stick to the outside of it - has anyone else used this?


2) go the software route


It seems like option 1 is the better route because the fans would be controlled at the hardware level no matter what the computer was booted to (single user, dual boot windows, whatever). I was just hoping to get confirmation that #922-9141 will get the job done for a late 2009 27" iMac.


Regards,


-mike

May 19, 2012 3:56 PM in response to MacProCT

Hi!


I was reading the post and found your solution of using the Apple part #922-9141. I bought it and i was going to install it but I found that at the end of the connector is like a cover or someting that apparently the only way to remove it is by cutting that part. I was wondering if you can provide me assistance on how exactly i need to install the cable as I already replaced the HD but I dont know how to install the cable. Thank You!

ST31000528AS need AP24

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