On Thu, 14 Feb 2013 23:15:58 -0500, wrote:

Has anyone actually seen a drive with a virus clobbered firmware?
I think if I see a corrupted drive I am thinking deer, not unicorn.

All my past drive failures have been mechanical. I have had a virus
hit the Master Boot Record (MBR).

"...Crucially, the code in the MBR is run as your computer starts up
(before Windows) which makes it a great place for a virus or rootkit
to hide.

Even if you reinstall Windows or format your hard drive, a virus
infecting the MBR will not be deleted. So, after you reinstall
Windows, your computer first runs that same MBR virus code which then
reinfects your new installation of Windows with viruses – and you’re
back to square one…"

http://techlogon.com/2012/01/15/how-to-check-for-and-fix-mbr-virus-infection/

Fix the MBR.