Seagate Firmware Update Failed

I tried to perform the recommended firmware update to the Seagate HDD on my Optiplex 780 (from the drivers download page for my machine).  The update is Seagate ST3320413AS, file name B765JC49.zip, released 6/28/12).  Device Manager shows my current driver is J47 and the HDD model is Seagate Model ST3250312AS.  Machine is Win XP Pro, SP3, all Microsoft updates applied.

During the reboot part of the firmware upgrade process, here's what I got after following the instructions to "Please wait while files are being copied to memory...DO NOT INTERRUPT THIS PROCEDURE!":

Model ST3250312AS  SN 5VMXK2JB JC47 on Generic PCI ATA Bus 0 Device 0

Invalid data..1:00

Download procedure failed

FAILED (in big red letters)

I hit "c" to return to Windows, and the machine is still fine, but what could have caused this, and how important is this update anyway?  I like to keep my machine firmware and drivers up to date, especially since this update is in Dell's "Recommended" category.  Thanks for any help,  Chashood