harddrive update

Hello
Two questions
1-Dell site says upgrade hard drive urgent. Should I do this upgrade?
2-if I shoud do this, does it affect the content on the drive?
Thank you

 

Sounds suspicious to me? not sure how a website knows you need to upgrade your drive?

 

Hi all
I have attached a prntscrn of my laptop as I am away from the desktop in question.
As you can see Dell recommends a sata upgrade for this laptop.
Following the same prodcedure for the desktop, it was urgent

Am I making an error when I enter my service tag, the pc's features like audio, video, sata, chipset, bios, dvd etc. are displayed and there is a recommendeation from Dell for each feature ranging from optional to recommended to urgent.
I chose sata thinking that is my harddrive.
I wish I was at the desktop and could prnt scrn it but I think you get the idea from the laptop as a substitute.
If sata is not the hard drive, what is the designation for it?
Thank you

 

Is your current drive near its max? If not, then it sounds more like marketing to me. Have you checked the drive's integrity yet?

 

HI Plodr
I am sorry to put you to all that work but if you see my last post, the prntscrn was only for the lap(as an example of Dell's process) because I was not able to get to the desk - it was the desk that simply said urgent under sata.
I was taught not to udate unless necessary; seeing urgent with no explanation leaves me wondering what to do.
Peter

Auggie - please see the explanation that this prnt scrn is only an example of Dell's update process. I can't get to the desktop right now to send that screen shot.
It is that desktop that says 'urgent' with no explanation. I entered sata assuming that is the harddrive. Both pcs have 90% empty.

 

I'm thinking that the update you showed for the laptop is for how the computer communicates with the hard drive. The SATA interface driver. (Since it is an intel driver and intel builds chips not hard drives.)

Please do post the model of desktop so we can see what the update in question relates to. But if Dell says it is urgent then most likely the current driver is causing problems on some people's systems. If you click on the name on the second line (Rapid Storage Technology in your example) then on the details page you can expand Fixes and Enhancements which should tell you why the new desktop driver is needed.

 

I first took this to mean the actual drive needed updating rather than the driver.

If you aren't having specific problems then I wouldnt worry about it. As Sach2 says this is the SATA controller driver not the actual HD. If you can read and write to you drive OK then your controller driver is working fine.

 

>>Yes PLODR, that is the site I use to find updates.

Attached is a prnt scrn of my DESKTOP= SATA
It says urgent as you can see.
Where do I find my hard drive so I can tell which of the items listed apply to me?

"The LAPTOP's report was "urgent" for UTILITIES".

I have an XPS8300 desk, and an Inspiron N5010 or 15 R

Each has an intel i5, 6 GB ram and a terabyte for the desk and 600 GB for the laptop.

I hope you have enough information to let me know why urgent is on the screens of both machines, and if I should do anything about it.
Thank you
Peter

 

Agreed. If it aint broke, dont fix it,

 

Re: hard drive update

Thank you very much for all the hard work - time consuming I am sure.

I will do nothing as advised.

May I ask you a question? You mention that it has to do with a Samsung hd F3.
Where do I look in my pc to find the manufacturer of my hard drive?
I have looked in device manufacturer and everywhere except the right place, obviously.
Thank you

 

You can go into Computer and right click the C: drive and select Properties and under the Hardware tab it will give the model number of your HD.

I guess I am the only one that would do the firmware update on the Seagate drive on the desktop. This is the update http://seagate.custkb.com/seagate/crm/selfservice/search.jsp?DocId=207957&Hilite= and dell wraps it up in an installer.

 

Speccy by Piriform will also give you the details of your entire system

 

First, I did find the same information in C: prperties that I found in device manager >disc drives.
What threw me off was I though it would give the manufacturer's name but it gave letters and numbers and said to look it up on the web. It is there that it was identified by name. Thank you for the referral, however.
Secondly, because the pc is stable in the respect the update would attend to, I will not perform it, however, if there is a problem with intermittent boot problems, I will know what to do
Again, thank you all for your help.

Plodr, you made the following comment,"I rarely use the software that a manufacturer puts on the computer."
I though you were supposed to go to the manufacturer for updates etc like drivers, or am I reading this wrong?

 

>>That sounds very comprehensive and functional. I too am an orderly person but with 2 pcs I do not need as much attention. I do have each machine's paperwork, details cables etc with that particular pc be it a desk for the desktop or the carrying case for the latop.
Thanx again

 

>>I think Seagate is the laptop and Samsung the desktop.

 

Incidently it is not alway best to go to the manufacturer website for driver updates.

Dell dont build the components so if nVidia release a new driver for a card then Dell will have to find the driver package it up and add it to their site. Its not uncommon to find out of date drivers on these sites. This would also apply to bought Graphics cards ie nVidia make the chipset and write the drivers, Asus might make the card and Dell then put the card in their PC. Each website probably has the drivers but the most up to date will always be on the chipset manufacturers website.

 

Tueur
I get it -go to nvidia for the card update if necessary, for example.

 

Plodr
That is quite commendable of you to do that. We all shoud do so.
I try to on my level but must b careful not to make matters worse for someone -only if I am sure, will I yhen give advice.
Dell just asked for to update the Local Data Safe backup which is the program you use whe you first set up the pc and make 2 dvds.
I opted for the update for seurity reasons. I wonder if have to make a new set of discs -Dell said no but i do not trust them. It isn't like an image where you make a new rescue disc when you update the program.
Anyway, I think I know what you mean because Dell has a program which can run tests and report back to them. It supposedly tests hard ware and is called the Dell support center. There is a little gear where you can click a tab and unselect involving yourself.
I disabled it along time ago and have run the test when I thought there was a problem.
So, manufacturer like nvidea for updating drivers IF necessary.
I guess you avoid Windows and Dell and use the manufacturer of the drive or card etc for updates when needed.
Thanx for the help
ps few more birthdaysand I'll join your friends -between dvrs, pcs, multifunctons, new phones and other electronics, I look forward to a cowboy movie a la 1940.

 

Just to be clear... I dont believe Dell are testing your hardware. Hardware tests usually take a signifficant length of time to run. All dell will be doing is looking at you driver versions and the software that interacts with your hardware and seeing if there are newer versions available. Your system can be completely up to date and Dell will report no issues but your hardware could fail.

Not paranoid... Sound Advice.

I am still relativly new here but one thing that is apparent is the number of people who have inadequete backup routines. So many post go along the lines of "My computer is broke because of X and I have all my important data on there that I must get back... Can you help?" In short if you dont back your data up then you only have yourself to blame when something goes wrong. Additionally it becomes a lot easier to just wipe the PC and restore data from backup. I can do this in about an hour and a half to 2 hours. Troubleshooting a borked OS can take days, hence why most repair shop just reformat loosing all your data with a "well you should have backed it up" view.

 

I think data safe has to do with the 2 dvds you burn when you first get the pc.
I have those.
I also have sensitive data on 2 flashdrives as the liklihood of both going atthe same time is not likely. The same infor mation is on the Acronis backup. i have overdone it but better safe than ....
I do image with Acronis to my external harddrives which I woud not use a pc without.

 

Yup! I keep saying it to everyone of my friends to back up 'til I'm blue in the face! I'm with plodr here, at least back up to reliable media anything that is irreplaceable to two places and if one can, keep a copy off-site in case of a real life emergency like a fire. I have DVD'S of my stuff sitting in a yard shed ATM, all nicely vacumn packed too. I got the idea from when I worked, that's what they did.

I also have an Acronis image around just in case my main C drive goes the way of malware or the HDD starts the clicking of death. Best $50 I've spent that I luckily haven't had to use yet.