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Apple Acknowledges Reports Of MacBook Hard Drive Failures

Great, this is nice to know. my disk has never failed in 18 months, but if that happens, I have everything backed up on an external HD. I haven't used Time Machine to do my back up though. What does it offer more than backing things up manually?

I have the original 80Go 2,5" HD in my machine right now, but if I ever have to replace it, I'd like to swith to an even bigger HD. What size offer the best value ?
 
lozanoj83 said:
Does this also go to Mac Mini HD's?
I just checked right now and I have a seagate with firmware 7.01, im not worried because I have time machine working and all... but arent the harddrives that go in the Mac Mini the same ones that go in the Macbooks? *since they are both 2.5"*
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Yes and Yes.

I have three: Seagate model #ST98823AS with firmware revision 7.01

Another Source:

And the drives in question all came from Apple machines, Clarke claimed. Retrodata only gets the drives, not the host computers, so Clarke couldn't specify exactly which Macs they came from, but since they're all 2.5in models, that suggests not only laptops like the MacBook and MacBook Pro, but also potentially desktop Macs that use laptop-oriented components, like the Mac Mini.
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whose fault...

i´m not personally affected by the issue (although my boyfriend has a macbook with the doomed hard drive) it´s interesting to read the messages. it´s funny how users try to defend apple and blame the chinese manufacturer for the problem.

i´m planning to buy a new macbook in the following weeks, but still...

don´t you think it´s apple who chooses its suppliers, who puts the gadgets into the box and sells it at a good price? don´t you think it´s apple who really should take care of quality checking? this story pretty much rhymes to the latest toy scandal. i love the chinese response: we can produce quality, but you (toy companies) should pay its price.
 
hi my MacBook stopped working today. I set it down on a table while on sleep and open and i guess the left side corner hit the table though it wasn't that hard. Then my computer wasfrozen and when I tried starting it up again the dreaded flashing folder ? Came. That's when I looked online and found this. I tried using the install disk but there was no drive to install it on. Then I checked the system profiler and under serial ata it said "there was an error while scanning for serial ata devices." I bought this mac in dec of 2006 and had never checked the hard drive so if anyone has a mac from the end of dec 06 can y tell me what hard drive u had. Also does anyone have ne suggestions on what I should do. I am now planning on taking it to the apple store tomorrow.
 
sjsharks27 said:
hi my MacBook stopped working today. [snip] Also does anyone have ne suggestions on what I should do. I am now planning on taking it to the apple store tomorrow.
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That's pretty much what happened to my daughters MacBook.
If you don't have the data backed up ... ouch.:(
If you not handy with a screw driver (torx and philips) then the Apple store or other Mac type store.
Buy new internal hard drive.
Buy new external hard drive like a WD Passport.
Use TimeMachine if on Leopard or something like Supduper on Tiger ...
 
I pulled my ad on Craigslist selling my 60GB Seagate drive that came with my MacBook once I saw this. It worked perfectly up until I replaced it with a 120GB WD drive. It still works; I booted up from it then I booted from an external to wipe it so I could sell it. But I still wouldn't want to sell it and have the buyer pissed off if it craps out on him.

Think I could bring the HD to an Apple Store and get it replaced/sent for a new one?
 
quick question do I have to schedule something at the apple store or can i just show up with my MacBook??
 
You can schedule an appointment with a "Mac Genius" online (look for your local store on the Apple site and use the concierge). I don't know if an appointment is required, but on busy days you may be stuck waiting a long time without one.
 
Macrumors said:


Apple has acknowledged to InformationWeek that it has received reports of MacBook hard drive failures and is looking into the problem.



UK data recovery firm Retrodata earlier this month discovered a flaw in the some hard drives employed in Apple's MacBook and MacBook Pro computers. The firm's analysis at that time had indicated that Seagate hard disks in the models with firmware 7.01 were unusually prone to read/write head failures that caused physical gouges in the hard drive platter, making recovery impossible.


Article Link
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*whew*, glad my MacBook didn't come with a Seagate hard drive:

TOSHIBA MK2035GSS:

Capacity: 186.31 GB
Model: TOSHIBA MK2035GSS
Revision: DK021B
Serial Number: 67FKF2D8S
Native Command Queuing: Yes
Queue Depth: 4
Removable Media: No
Detachable Drive: No
BSD Name: disk0
Mac OS 9 Drivers: No
Partition Map Type: GPT (GUID Partition Table)
S.M.A.R.T. status: Verified
Volumes:
Macintosh HD:
Capacity: 185.99 GB
Available: 116.14 GB
Writable: Yes
File System: Journaled HFS+
BSD Name: disk0s2
Mount Point: /
 
Ditto

notredewey said:
My hard drive went completely dead about a month ago. I bought my MacBook when they came out about a year and a half ago. I did not purchase applecare so it was no longer covered under warranty. So I had to fork over nearly 300 dollars to get both a new hd and a new optical drive. I've pretty much had nothing but problems with this machine (random shutdown syndrome, bad hd and optical drives, etc.) So in a way im glad Apple is acknowledging these hard drive failures; maybe i'll get some of my money back I just payed to have them repair it. Sorry to complain so much but when I bought my Macbook I was a new switcher and I've been given more than enough reasons to switch back but i've stayed loyal.

Just some tips based on what happened to me about knowing if your hd is going bad (not sure if all these were related to the hd but just to note a few of the things I noticed before it complexly died)...computer would just shut off, no low battery warning or anything, sleep light stopped working, and also screen was flickering from time to time. When it came to dieing, I opened my Macbook to awake it and the screen was frozen, reset it and got nothing but a white screen with a blinking folder with a ? mark.

Good luck to everyone who has these hard drives in their Macbooks, make sure to keep things backed up.
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I got the flashing folder with the ? and thought "Well, you tell me what ? means"
 
John Musbach said:
*whew*, glad my MacBook didn't come with a Seagate hard drive:

I don't want too rain on anyone's parade but:

Just because your computer didn't come with the notorious Seagate drive doesn't mean it won't fail. It just means it's less likely to.

Just because your computer did come with that 7.01 Seagate drive doesn't mean it will fail. It just means it's more likely to.

Backup. Backup. Backup.
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Mine bloody failed about 3 days after my bluetooth went on the blink again, just got the machine back today and it's another Seagate 7.01
 
I got the seagate HD (80 Gb) on my MB Pro CoreDuo 2 GHz which I bought on Nov '06. So far it hasn't failed, but it sucks to know that I have high chances of bad surprises on the way.....
I have had 2 cd-rom drives replaced in less that 12 months on the same machine, if the hd fails I'm going to get pissed at apple and claim an exchange of my MB Pro with a new one ! These machines cost too much to have all these problems...
 
ign said:
These machines cost too much to have all these problems...
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Unfortunately, the price you pay doesn't have much to do with the quality you receive. Apple sells their computers at high prices to make money, not because they spend extra time assuring the gear won't break down. It would be great if the Apple Tax were an insurance against bad craftsmanship, but it just isn't.
 
I had a hard drive failure on my MB Core Duo 2.0 Ghz which I bought new in Oct. '06. Except the hard drive that failed was one that I installed myself, a 100GB Hitachi.

So now I'm back with the 60 GB Seagate and lo and behold, it has the revision number 7.01. Should I be worried again, considering I've already had one failure? I'm running Leopard and as soon as my new external arrives for Christmas, I'll start using Time Machine...

india349
 
Replacements

Hi

Has anyone had any success in getting a replacement hard drive (out of warranty) from Apple? I've got my dead one sitting in a box, and would love to have a spare one available.

Similarly - any idea what the best way to approach Apple about is?
 
hirenj said:
Hi

Has anyone had any success in getting a replacement hard drive (out of warranty) from Apple? I've got my dead one sitting in a box, and would love to have a spare one available.

Similarly - any idea what the best way to approach Apple about is?
Click to expand...

What about contacting Seagate (or other) directly?
I tend to buy Seagates for the 5 year warranty. So perhaps its under warranty.
 
Call Apple. Tell them what drive you have, installed in what computer and when it failed. You should be able to get a replacement. If the first person can't help you, ask nicely to talk to their supervisor. Etc.

Seagate only warrants when you buy them from Seagate (or reseller). This is an Apple OEM drive, so the warranty goes through Apple.
 
This happened to me yesterday morning. Never had a problem, no warning at all. Was working fine the night before, went to use it the next morning, got the dreaded, flashing, question mark folder.

Went to apple store last night and they said since it is out of warranty there is nothing they can do. I do have a Seagate drive, but I do not know for sure it is the Firmware revision is 7.01. Most of my stuff was backed up (except stuff I was working on for work the day before, ARG!), so it is not a complete loss, but now I do not have a working computer!

Anybody know of a good place to buy a new hard-drive? Any other ideas on what I should do?

Thanks everybody in advance for your help!
 
bharkness said:
This happened to me yesterday morning. Never had a problem, no warning at all. Was working fine the night before, went to use it the next morning, got the dreaded, flashing, question mark folder.

Went to apple store last night and they said since it is out of warranty there is nothing they can do. I do have a Seagate drive, but I do not know for sure it is the Firmware revision is 7.01. Most of my stuff was backed up (except stuff I was working on for work the day before, ARG!), so it is not a complete loss, but now I do not have a working computer!

Anybody know of a good place to buy a new hard-drive? Any other ideas on what I should do?

Thanks everybody in advance for your help!
Click to expand...

Newegg if you don't need it today. Otherwise BestBuy or CompUSA sells hard disk for notebooks (at a premium though).
 
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