Thank you all for your invaluable suggestions. Fact is that the BIOS does not recognize the Seagate 7200.11 hard drive. This condition makes software recoveries/ fixes a problem. I contacted Seagate Recovery Services yesterday pm. They were very helpful and acknowledged there was as problem with the hard drives (claimed ~25%). There was solution was quite reasonable. They are paying for my UPS shipping to Seagate in Oakville. They will change the firmware (not affect data) and, if successful, they will ship my HD back to me with no loss of data. They stated it take max 4 weeks, but probably 2 weeks, at no cost to me. Success rate cannot be guaranteed, but ~98%. I would have accepted much less! If not successful, they will email me problem and they will try to correct it in their lab with an estimated cost. As for my other Seagate (same model) which is still functioning (but when will it fail?!), the warranty service area will replace it when I return it to them. I believe this is the best resolution as it is their product and they have to stand behind it to maintain their reputation. All these companies will have "bad apples" at some time. Thanks again, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed. neil