Does flushing an HDD's firmware,format it?

[beefteki]

Trying to revive a fairly old Seagate HDD.It appears on the device manager but on "my computer" and the data cannot be accesed.I was advised to flush the drive's firmware but I can't find an answer on whether it will delete it's data as well.I'd prefer for this not to happen.Thanks for the help!

Edit: It's a Seagate 5400.6 HDD. I can provide more info if needed

 

[kanewolf]

If you are concerned about the data then destroy the disk. I usually drill several holes through my hard disks that need to be recycled. Some people like to shoot a few holes in the disk. One or more holes through the disk will guarantee all but governments won't get any data off the disk. If you are worried about the government, then you need to melt down the disk.

 

[beefteki]

If you are concerned about the data then destroy the disk. I usually drill several holes through my hard disks that need to be recycled. Some people like to shoot a few holes in the disk. One or more holes through the disk will guarantee all but governments won't get any data off the disk. If you are worried about the government, then you need to melt down the disk.

Thank you for the reply,but it seems you missunderstood me.My English may be a bit rusty.I am actively trying to PREVENT data loss since I'm not even sure what's on that Hard Drive.

 

[seagate_surfer]

Hi beefteki, if the drive does not need a firmware update, then it is not recommend you do it. If you wish to go ahead and do this anyways, it will not erase your data.

 

[beefteki]

Hi beefteki, if the drive does not need a firmware update, then it is not recommend you do it. If you wish to go ahead and do this anyways, it will not erase your data.

thanks! losing the data is my main concern.If you have any other suggestions that could help with my issue,they are more than welcome!

 

[seagate_surfer]

Hi beefteki, can you see the drive in the BIOS? If so run Seatools on it. That will let you know the health of the drive. Another option would be try it on another computer. Best of luck.