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SeaTools for DOS is a comprehensive, easy-to-use diagnostic tool that helps you quickly determine what is preventing you from accessing data on your desktop or notebook computer. It includes several tests that will examine the physical media on your Seagate or Maxtor disk drive and any non-Seagate disk drive. This is the walk-through for both the old (text) and new (GUI) version.
In order to use SeaTools for DOS choose to download the floppy diskette version or the bootable CD image version.
Creating a diskette
For the floppy diskette version you will need one 1.44MB floppy diskette. Click the .EXE file downloaded from the Seagate web site and follow the on-screen instructions.
Creating a CD using the bootable CD image .ISO file.
View Document ID: 201431 for details on burning the .ISO file to a CD.
Just copying the files to a CD will not work; the file must be burned as an image to the CD.
Once the bootable media has been created then boot the computer with the media in the drive. If it doesn't boot from the media the boot order may need to be adjusted in the computer BIOS. See Document ID: 184971 or the user guide for your computer for information on changing boot sequence.
This utility will not detect external drives. Please use SeaTools for Windows to test external drives.
There are three different ways to use SeaTools for DOS:
SeaTools for DOS, Graphical version:
At bootup, you will see an End User License Agreement:
Simply click I Accept to continue.
This will take you to the main menu page.
Under the Basic menu:
Advanced Features
Below is the Results and Progress screen:
Text Version
Once you have booted into SeaTools a license agreement will appear.
Read the agreement and press Y to accept the terms and continue to the testing or press N to exit the program. Use the Page Up and Page Down keys to scroll.
Once you agree to the license terms the testing screen will appear.
See here the varying elements of the old version's testing screen.
The explanation for the multi-colored text near the bottom follows:
White text: The device (ie, Device 0) and its model and serial numbers.
Yellow text: The motherboard chipset.
Aqua text: Whether the motherboard supports 48-bit logical block addressing, and the maximum LBA for this drive along with its capacity.
Green text: S.M.A.R.T. status. If SMART has been tripped, then there is no need to run a test. The drive should be replaced.
Green text: DST (Drive Self Test) support status - If DST is supported it will be used during testing.
Blue text: Operating temperature status - Current and Max registered temp - useful in determining if heat is a factor in drive trouble or drive failure. See Product manual for specified Operating temperature. The Worst Temp refers to the highest temp that the drive has ever experienced in its lifetime.
A common unusual reading displays 253 Celsius, which simply means that the drive does not support the temperature reading feature. It is nothing to worry about.
POH = Power on Hours - Tells how long the drive has been running in its total lifetime.
Acoustic Test
Once activated, the drive will spin down so you can tell if noise is coming from the drive or other components (like a computer fan). The drive will remain spun down until user presses a key.
The Pop-up window will remain open for several seconds until the drive spins back up.
Set Capacity
Zero Fill
Main menu options: Z-Erase Drive is the zero-fill option.
Here is the Zero-fill submenu.
On the Zero Fill sub menu you have the following options:
Drive Information
This is the yellow text seen on the bottom of the main menu screen.
Shows hard drives detected
If a drive does not show up in this area then power off the computer and confirm the drive is installed correctly.
View the installation assistance page for details on configuring various types of drives.
Log File
Log file is stored on boot media if writeable or in memory for the CD version. It is stored as: Serial#.LOG
Ex: 5NF0R4RC.LOG
To view log in software, press V.
To exit log viewer, press the Escape key.
Test Status (during a DST)
During a test the top part of the display shows a progress bar and the middle area shows the results.
After the test is complete, the middle area continues to show the result, and the top goes back to showing command options.
Bad Sector Repair (Long Test)
If bad blocks are found during a long test, a prompt will ask how to proceed.
The screen below appears at the end of the scan or if the user aborts the test if bad sectors have been discovered on the drive.
Example:
Follow the instructions on the screen to proceed.
For further information about SeaTools for DOS view the SeaTools for DOS User Guide.txt file.
SeaTools for DOS on an Intel-based Mac (for internal drives only)