"}

The Mac Observer

Some MacBook Drives Suspected of Fatal Design Flaw

November 1st, 2007 at 3:00 PM - News by John Martellaro

Investigators are looking at a possible design flaw in some Seagate hard drives found in MacBooks and MacBook Pros, according to Techworld on Friday. The problems leads to catastrophic data loss.

The problem is suspected with Seagate 2.5-inch SATA drives made in China and loaded with firmware version 7.01. Model numbers affected include ST96812AS and ST98823AS. The read/write head can detach and cause a catastrophic failiure of the drive and loss of all data.

"There is absolutely, definitely a flaw with these drives," said Duncan Clark, the managing director of Retrodata in the UK. "I have seen enough to know there is a problem with them ... any Apple Mac that uses a 2.5 inch drive is at risk."

While the number of reported instances is still small, and Mr. Clark conceded that one would need to see several hundred or thousand drives fail in this way to be sure of a design flaw, the problem reports are still being looked at carefully.

Also, it is not clear if the problem is related to Macs shipped only to the UK or worldwide. In any case, MacBook owners would be wise to check their drive models and be sure their daily backup procedures are firmly in place.

  • Related Entries
  • Email This
  • Tweet This
  • John Martellaro on Twitter
Login. Need an account? Register here.



Auto-login on future visits

Show my name in the online users list

Forgot your password?


Commenting is not available in this section entry.
 

Recent Headlines - Updated November 10th

Tue, 8:58 AM
News - AT&T: iPhone Tethering Really is Coming… Eventually
8:16 AM
News - Apple Releases Security Update 2009-006 for Leopard, Snow Leopard
Mon, 7:20 PM
Rumor - Apple May Update iPod touch in December
6:45 PM
Product News - MacUpdate Desktop Updated to 5.0.1 with New Features, Bug Fixes
5:16 PM
Apple Releases Mac OS X 10.6.2 - Guest Account Bug Fixed, Much More
4:12 PM
Games - New For iPhone: Star Rangers, Air Force Supremacy, Blood Beach, More
2:51 PM
Apple Stock Watch - Radio Shack Jumps 14% on iPhone Deal, Apple Up 3%
2:25 PM
Games - EA Scoops Up Social Games Publisher Playfish
1:51 PM
Deal Brothers - Western Digital 1TB SATA Intellipower Hard Drive:  $84.99
10:58 AM
News - StarHub Signs Singapore iPhone Deal
10:36 AM
Hot Forum Topic - Reader Speculation: What’s in Apple’s Tablet?
10:08 AM
News - Apple Kicks Off New Credit Program
 

The Mac Observer Reader Specials

  • TypeStyler For Mac OS X is Now Shipping! Download The Free Fully Functional 60 Day Tryout at www.typestyler.com
  • RamJet Memory: Mac Pro 8-core 8GB Kit $199.99, 4GB Kits $109.99! Sale on MacBook and MacBook Pro 8GB kits $549.99! New MacBook DDR3 2GB for $49.99. iMac and Mac mini 4GB Kits for $79.99! 1TB SATA Hard Drives for $109.99! Click here
  • OWC: Get the Right Memory for Your Mac Top Quality, Competitive Price, Lifetime Backed Free Expert Support + Installation Videos too! MacBook & mini 8GB, iMac 16GB, Mac Pro up to 32GB. Click here
  • Poker Mac If you're using a Mac, then you've gotta check out Full Tilt Poker for Mac. This Full Tilt Poker bonus code does the unthinkable, it actually rewards!
  • For the latest Apple products use Ciao, a price comparison website, to find laptops like MacBook Air. Then find the best prices on MP3 players and use our comparison tool to evaluate mobile phones like the Apple iPhone.

  • Laptop Hardware Provided by TechRestore - Overnight Mac & iPod Repairs.
  • Buy Stuff, Support TMO!
  • __________
  • Macworld Expo 2010 Hotel Deal
  • TMO on Twitter!

Apple Stock Quote

  • AAPL: $202.68. Change: +1.22.
  • (Prices delayed up to 20 minutes.)
  • Discuss in our Apple Finance Board

Hot Topics

TMO Express

Join the TMO Express Daily Newsletter to get the latest Mac headlines in your e-mail every weekday. Find out more!

Top Deals From DealBrothers.com

Recent Features