Q4OS Forum

Leon

Member

From: Germany

Registered: 2026-09-20

Posts: 8

Samsung HD502HJ HDDs do not spin up on cold boot

Hello,

I hope this is the right place to post this, as I'm very new to the forum and this is only my second post.

I have a strange hardware problem, so this is nothing Q4OS-related, with two identical Samsung HD502HJ 500 GB / 7200 rpm SATA HDDs in an older PC, and I would be grateful for any advice.

The motherboard is a Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3 with an AMD 970/SB950 chipset. The PC has a 350 W PSU, two HDDs, one SATA DVD drive, and three case fans.

The problem is the following:

On a cold boot, both Samsung HD502HJ drives do not spin up.
They are therefore also not detected by the BIOS under Hard Disk Boot Priority.

This also happens when only one HD502HJ is connected, so it does not seem to be caused by the combined power consumption of two HDDs.

However, if I disconnect the SATA power connector from the HD502HJ and reconnect it while the PC is already running, the drive immediately spins up and becomes detectable. I know this is not a recommended procedure; I only did this as a diagnostic test.

Both HD502HJ drives behave in exactly the same way.

The drives work perfectly when connected externally to another PC.

Windows 8 has already been installed successfully on this machine once the drives were running.

I also tested an older Samsung HD501LJ 500 GB / 7200 rpm / 16 MB HDD. Interestingly, this drive starts immediately on a cold boot using the same SATA power connector, with the DVD drive and all three fans connected. No other hardware was changed.

I also checked the HD502HJ drives with hdparm -I.

For both drives, the relevant output is simply:

Power-Up In Standby feature set

There is no * in front of this line, so as far as I understand, PUIS is supported but not enabled.

The SATA controller is configured as AHCI in the BIOS.

So at this point, I am wondering whether this could be some kind of spin-up/power-on compatibility issue specific to the HD502HJ, perhaps related to the motherboard, SATA controller, or the PSU's power-on behavior.

Has anyone experienced this with a Samsung HD502HJ or a similar older AMD 970 motherboard? I've never encountered a problem like this before, and I must say I'm at my wit's end.

Any suggestions for further tests would be very much appreciated.

Thank you!

Taige

Banned

Registered: 2025-08-19

Posts: 104

Re: Samsung HD502HJ HDDs do not spin up on cold boot

Yes, it is a problem of incompatibility known to Samsung at the hardware level and is specific to the Spinpoint F3 series of disks, among which there is your HD502HJ.
If they are combined with certain Sata controllers such as Amd chipsets of the SB850 or SB950 series and some older generation Intel chipsets (such as P67 / H67) here is where the problem manifests itself.

The disk remains off or inert on cold boot, but it boots and works perfectly if hot-plugged back in or on other computers is just the classic symptom of this Sata bug.

Take a look here:
https://www.seagate.com/em/en/support/k … -223631en/

Last edited by Taige (2026-09-25 13:57)

Midas

Member

Registered: 2017-12-15

Posts: 275

Re: Samsung HD502HJ HDDs do not spin up on cold boot

Don't have a solution but I'd venture the HDDs aren't being supplied with enough power at power up -- I recently had a similar problem with an external 3.5 HDD that would be detected over USB(3) but would remain unavaialble...

The problem disappeared when external power was supplied. YMMV though. 

Last edited by Midas (2026-09-25 13:55)

Leon

Member

From: Germany

Registered: 2026-09-20

Posts: 8

Re: Samsung HD502HJ HDDs do not spin up on cold boot

Yes, it is a problem of incompatibility known to Samsung at the hardware level and is specific to the Spinpoint F3 series of disks, among which there is your HD502HJ.
If they are combined with certain Sata controllers such as Amd chipsets of the SB850 or SB950 series and some older generation Intel chipsets (such as P67 / H67) here is where the problem manifests itself.

The disk remains off or inert on cold boot, but it boots and works perfectly if hot-plugged back in or on other computers is just the classic symptom of this Sata bug.

Take a look here:
https://www.seagate.com/em/en/support/k … -223631en/

Thank you, I'll try that. I really didn't know that was even a thing!

Taige

Banned

Registered: 2025-08-19

Posts: 104

Re: Samsung HD502HJ HDDs do not spin up on cold boot

Yes, it is a problem of incompatibility known to Samsung at the hardware level and is specific to the Spinpoint F3 series of disks, among which there is your HD502HJ.
If they are combined with certain Sata controllers such as Amd chipsets of the SB850 or SB950 series and some older generation Intel chipsets (such as P67 / H67) here is where the problem manifests itself.

The disk remains off or inert on cold boot, but it boots and works perfectly if hot-plugged back in or on other computers is just the classic symptom of this Sata bug.

Take a look here:
https://www.seagate.com/em/en/support/k … -223631en/

Thank you, I'll try that. I really didn't know that was even a thing!

You're welcome! Let us know if you were able to solve the problem. 

Leon

Member

From: Germany

Registered: 2026-09-20

Posts: 8

Re: Samsung HD502HJ HDDs do not spin up on cold boot

I have one quick question: how do I flash the HDDs? I've never done this before, and AI is failing me miserably.

Taige

Banned

Registered: 2025-08-19

Posts: 104

Re: Samsung HD502HJ HDDs do not spin up on cold boot

I have one quick question: how do I flash the HDDs? I've never done this before, and AI is failing me miserably.

Did you follow the steps in the link?

Leon

Member

From: Germany

Registered: 2026-09-20

Posts: 8

Re: Samsung HD502HJ HDDs do not spin up on cold boot

I have one quick question: how do I flash the HDDs? I've never done this before, and AI is failing me miserably.

Did you follow the steps in the link?

Yes, but I somehow can't get it to flash. I created a bootable USB drive with DOS and tried running F3.exe, but I couldn't get it to actually start the flashing process.

I first tried F3 /AUTO, which detected the HD502HJ and showed firmware version 1AJ100E4, but didn't flash anything. I also tried F3 /SCAN, which only scanned the controller, and F3 /RUN:1107.EST /AUTO, which resulted in "Error: Couldn't open File."

I also switched the SATA mode in the BIOS from AHCI to Native IDE, as an AI suggested that this might be necessary for the old Samsung flashing tool. In IDE mode, F3.exe does detect the drive, but I still haven't been able to start the actual firmware update.

Taige

Banned

Registered: 2025-08-19

Posts: 104

Re: Samsung HD502HJ HDDs do not spin up on cold boot

I have one quick question: how do I flash the HDDs? I've never done this before, and AI is failing me miserably.

Did you follow the steps in the link?

Yes, but I somehow can't get it to flash. I created a bootable USB drive with DOS and tried running F3.exe, but I couldn't get it to actually start the flashing process.

I first tried F3 /AUTO, which detected the HD502HJ and showed firmware version 1AJ100E4, but didn't flash anything. I also tried F3 /SCAN, which only scanned the controller, and F3 /RUN:1107.EST /AUTO, which resulted in "Error: Couldn't open File."

I also switched the SATA mode in the BIOS from AHCI to Native IDE, as an AI suggested that this might be necessary for the old Samsung flashing tool. In IDE mode, F3.exe does detect the drive, but I still haven't been able to start the actual firmware update.

If it's not flashing anything, it's probably because the firmware of your disks is already updated to the latest version available.
Try with firmware version 1AJ100E5, here is some information:
https://smarthdd.com/database/SAMSUNG-HD503HI/1AJ100E5/

You have to use FreeDOS loaded on a usbstick and since the original Samsung flash utility dates back many years, it works in pure dos environment only and requires the temporary configuration of some Bios parameters.
Perform the procedure on one disk at a time, temporarily disconnect all other disks and leave only the one to be updated connected to avoid any problems.

Create the bootable usb stick with FreeDOS:
- 1. Download Rufus from https://rufus.ie/en/
- 2. Insert a empty usb stick into your computer
- 3. Open Rufus and configure it like this:
• Device/Drive: Select your usb stick;
• Boot Selection: Change from "ISO Image" to FreeDOS in the menu;
• File System: Select FAT32;
- 4. Click Startand after this Rufus will format the flash drive and make it a dos bootable volume in a few seconds;
- 5. Download the official patch, the dos executable file inside the archive will generally be called F3.exe or F3_Patch.exe (for the standard Spinpoint F3 series).
- 6. Extract the .exe file and copy it directly to the root folder of the usb stick, without putting it in any folder;
- 7. Modern controllers manage disks in Ahci or Raid mode, but Samsung's dos utility is unable to see them, so restart the computer, enter the bios and look for the Sata configuration section;
- 8. Temporarily change the mode from Ahci to Ide/Legacy/Compatibility;
- 9. Make sure that the boot order (Boot Priority) sees the Usb stick as the first device;
- 10. Save the changes and restart;

If the above steps are correct, the screen will show the FreeDOS command line ending with c:\> or c:\src>:
- 11. Type the exact name of the file you copied earlier (F3.exe or F3_Patch.exe) and press Enter;
- 12. The program will analyze Sata/Ide channels to detect Samsung hard drive;
- 13. Follow the on-screen instructions, you will usually be shown the current version 1AJ100E4 and asked to confirm by pressing a key to confirm;
- 14. The progress will take a few seconds and when finished, if the process successes a message like "Flash successfully completed"
- 15. Turn off your computer completely by removing the power. Wait about 20 seconds, put the power back on and turn on the computer;
- 16. Enter the Bios on your first reboot;
- 17. Reset Sata mode to Ahci (or set the original value you had before driving), otherwise your main operating system will fail to boot;
- 18. Restart normally the computer and if everything has been done right, the problems related to the failure to detect the unit will be solved;

Last edited by Taige (2026-10-03 08:47)

Leon

Member

From: Germany

Registered: 2026-09-20

Posts: 8

Re: Samsung HD502HJ HDDs do not spin up on cold boot

Did you follow the steps in the link?

Yes, but I somehow can't get it to flash. I created a bootable USB drive with DOS and tried running F3.exe, but I couldn't get it to actually start the flashing process.

I first tried F3 /AUTO, which detected the HD502HJ and showed firmware version 1AJ100E4, but didn't flash anything. I also tried F3 /SCAN, which only scanned the controller, and F3 /RUN:1107.EST /AUTO, which resulted in "Error: Couldn't open File."

I also switched the SATA mode in the BIOS from AHCI to Native IDE, as an AI suggested that this might be necessary for the old Samsung flashing tool. In IDE mode, F3.exe does detect the drive, but I still haven't been able to start the actual firmware update.

If it's not flashing anything, it's probably because the firmware of your disks is already updated to the latest version available.
Try with firmware version 1AJ100E5, here is some information:
https://smarthdd.com/database/SAMSUNG-HD503HI/1AJ100E5/

You have to use FreeDOS loaded on a usbstick and since the original Samsung flash utility dates back many years, it works in pure dos environment only and requires the temporary configuration of some Bios parameters.
Perform the procedure on one disk at a time, temporarily disconnect all other disks and leave only the one to be updated connected to avoid any problems.

Create the bootable usb stick with FreeDOS:
- 1. Download Rufus from https://rufus.ie/en/
- 2. Insert a empty usb stick into your computer
- 3. Open Rufus and configure it like this:
• Device/Drive: Select your usb stick;
• Boot Selection: Change from "ISO Image" to FreeDOS in the menu;
• File System: Select FAT32;
- 4. Click Startand after this Rufus will format the flash drive and make it a dos bootable volume in a few seconds;
- 5. Download the official patch, the dos executable file inside the archive will generally be called F3.exe or F3_Patch.exe (for the standard Spinpoint F3 series).
- 6. Extract the .exe file and copy it directly to the root folder of the usb stick, without putting it in any folder;
- 7. Modern controllers manage disks in Ahci or Raid mode, but Samsung's dos utility is unable to see them, so restart the computer, enter the bios and look for the Sata configuration section;
- 8. Temporarily change the mode from Ahci to Ide/Legacy/Compatibility;
- 9. Make sure that the boot order (Boot Priority) sees the Usb stick as the first device;
- 10. Save the changes and restart;

If the above steps are correct, the screen will show the FreeDOS command line ending with c:\> or c:\src>:
- 11. Type the exact name of the file you copied earlier (F3.exe or F3_Patch.exe) and press Enter;
- 12. The program will analyze Sata/Ide channels to detect Samsung hard drive;
- 13. Follow the on-screen instructions, you will usually be shown the current version 1AJ100E4 and asked to confirm by pressing a key to confirm;
- 14. The progress will take a few seconds and when finished, if the process successes a message like "Flash successfully completed"
- 15. Turn off your computer completely by removing the power. Wait about 20 seconds, put the power back on and turn on the computer;
- 16. Enter the Bios on your first reboot;
- 17. Reset Sata mode to Ahci (or set the original value you had before driving), otherwise your main operating system will fail to boot;
- 18. Restart normally the computer and if everything has been done right, the problems related to the failure to detect the unit will be solved;

Thank you very much! The problem was actually even simpler: the F3.exe was in the wrong folder... My genius is frightening, I know. 🙃 
The solution really was that simple. Thank you for your help — I would never have thought that the firmware itself had a compatibility bug. 
This was quite an experience. I've never done anything like this before, and I'm happy to say that it was successful!

Taige

Banned

Registered: 2025-08-19

Posts: 104

Re: Samsung HD502HJ HDDs do not spin up on cold boot

Yes, but I somehow can't get it to flash. I created a bootable USB drive with DOS and tried running F3.exe, but I couldn't get it to actually start the flashing process.

I first tried F3 /AUTO, which detected the HD502HJ and showed firmware version 1AJ100E4, but didn't flash anything. I also tried F3 /SCAN, which only scanned the controller, and F3 /RUN:1107.EST /AUTO, which resulted in "Error: Couldn't open File."

I also switched the SATA mode in the BIOS from AHCI to Native IDE, as an AI suggested that this might be necessary for the old Samsung flashing tool. In IDE mode, F3.exe does detect the drive, but I still haven't been able to start the actual firmware update.

If it's not flashing anything, it's probably because the firmware of your disks is already updated to the latest version available.
Try with firmware version 1AJ100E5, here is some information:
https://smarthdd.com/database/SAMSUNG-HD503HI/1AJ100E5/

You have to use FreeDOS loaded on a usbstick and since the original Samsung flash utility dates back many years, it works in pure dos environment only and requires the temporary configuration of some Bios parameters.
Perform the procedure on one disk at a time, temporarily disconnect all other disks and leave only the one to be updated connected to avoid any problems.

Create the bootable usb stick with FreeDOS:
- 1. Download Rufus from https://rufus.ie/en/
- 2. Insert a empty usb stick into your computer
- 3. Open Rufus and configure it like this:
• Device/Drive: Select your usb stick;
• Boot Selection: Change from "ISO Image" to FreeDOS in the menu;
• File System: Select FAT32;
- 4. Click Startand after this Rufus will format the flash drive and make it a dos bootable volume in a few seconds;
- 5. Download the official patch, the dos executable file inside the archive will generally be called F3.exe or F3_Patch.exe (for the standard Spinpoint F3 series).
- 6. Extract the .exe file and copy it directly to the root folder of the usb stick, without putting it in any folder;
- 7. Modern controllers manage disks in Ahci or Raid mode, but Samsung's dos utility is unable to see them, so restart the computer, enter the bios and look for the Sata configuration section;
- 8. Temporarily change the mode from Ahci to Ide/Legacy/Compatibility;
- 9. Make sure that the boot order (Boot Priority) sees the Usb stick as the first device;
- 10. Save the changes and restart;

If the above steps are correct, the screen will show the FreeDOS command line ending with c:\> or c:\src>:
- 11. Type the exact name of the file you copied earlier (F3.exe or F3_Patch.exe) and press Enter;
- 12. The program will analyze Sata/Ide channels to detect Samsung hard drive;
- 13. Follow the on-screen instructions, you will usually be shown the current version 1AJ100E4 and asked to confirm by pressing a key to confirm;
- 14. The progress will take a few seconds and when finished, if the process successes a message like "Flash successfully completed"
- 15. Turn off your computer completely by removing the power. Wait about 20 seconds, put the power back on and turn on the computer;
- 16. Enter the Bios on your first reboot;
- 17. Reset Sata mode to Ahci (or set the original value you had before driving), otherwise your main operating system will fail to boot;
- 18. Restart normally the computer and if everything has been done right, the problems related to the failure to detect the unit will be solved;

Thank you very much! The problem was actually even simpler: the F3.exe was in the wrong folder... My genius is frightening, I know. 🙃 
The solution really was that simple. Thank you for your help — I would never have thought that the firmware itself had a compatibility bug. 
This was quite an experience. I've never done anything like this before, and I'm happy to say that it was successful!

These mistakes can happen to all of us, including those who have decades of experience, however I'm glad you fixed it.