Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.
Can you share the solution that worked for you? I'm experiencing exact same symptoms and have not been able to resolve yet, it's under warranty and Seagate says to send it in and they'll replace, but there is data on it I'd like to be able to save before sending it. Thank you for any updates.