Friend Buying iMac, Concerned w/ Lion, Seagate HD Recall

[dwarnecke11]

I'm helping my friend buy his first iMac sometime next week. He's currently using a 1st-gen black MacBook that is pretty worn out after 4 years of PoliSci at Texas A&M.

He's probably going for the stock low-end 27" model and I'll be upgrading his RAM from 4GB to 12GB using the same 2x4GB Crucial sticks I recently upgraded my 2010 i7 iMac with.

I understand this is a transitional time for all Macs, with Lion coming pre-installed, new keyboard graphics for Launch Pad and Mission Control, new packaging, etc. Also, the recent Seagate HD recall...

I want to make sure he gets a model that isn't affected by the recall. Are all new Lion-packaged iMacs exempt from this recall? ie. if the iMac's packaging has the new Lion desktop background, is it safe to assume it won't contain a faulty Seagate HD? Should I have my friend wait another month to be safe?

 

[tersono]

Yup - affected only a limited number of machines manufactured at a specific time. A new computer purchased direct from Apple now should not be affected.

 

[eoren1]

Just bought that same model iMac.
Got one with the Seagate drive from BHphoto (an authorized reseller). Took it to the local Apple store who (thankfully) swapped it for a new one and informed me they got rid of all affected iMacs from their inventory.
My advice is buy local or from the Apple store online and you will be fine.

By the way, did a fresh install of Lion via USB and the iMac runs like a dream! Haven't done any video yet and haven't installed Flash but it is otherwise a great machine. I came from a 2007 Macbook by the way

 

[dwarnecke11]

Great! I'll make sure to ask the Genius to pull one out of the back with the Lion desktop on the packaging. Thanks! My friend has no idea how big of an upgrade this iMac will be for him

 

[SawceBaws]

I'm wondering, if I ordered my BTO 27' i7 iMac on the 20th Of July, what are the chances of it being a model with the faulty hdd?

 

[Macman45]

I Think

Great! I'll make sure to ask the Genius to pull one out of the back with the Lion desktop on the packaging. Thanks! My friend has no idea how big of an upgrade this iMac will be for him

The new ones come with WD drives...Mine did )ordered on the 15 july, delivered on the 25th. Because of delays at the factory, mine came with SL installed, but I got the free upgrade to Lion included.

 

[peskaa]

I picked one up from the Apple Store in Coven Garden, London, yesterday. The box is Snow Leopard, so it needed the up-to-date Lion installing, and it has a 1TB Seagate drive.

However, the drive is NOT part of the recall. I've confirmed this with Apple, so clearly it was a problem with a certain production run (or several runs).