Apple working on software fix for MacBook Pro hard drives
Owners of Apple MacBook Pro notebooks with 7200rpm 500GB hard drives have been complaining for months of clicking sounds followed by temporary stalling. According to Apple, a fix is in the works.
(Credit:
Apple)
"We are aware of the issue and are working on a software update," Apple representative Bill Evans, told CNET News on Monday. He gave no time frame for the release of the software update.
People have been reporting that they hear a beep from the computer shortly before the hard drive clicks and then the computer stops responding. The computer is unresponsive for 10 seconds or so and then begins to work normally again.
The hard drive issue does not require the user to force-reboot the computer, which would cause any unsaved work to be lost. Simply waiting out the unresponsive system apparently works every time.
There doesn't appear to be any specific task that triggers the hard drive to enter its unresponsive state. Users on Apple's support forums are reporting that it seems to be completely random and doesn't matter where they are or what they are doing when it happens.
It does appear that the issue only affects the 500GB hard drives that run at 7200rpm.
Jim Dalrymple has followed Apple and the Mac industry for the last 15 years, first as part of MacCentral and then in various positions at Macworld. A guitar player for 20 years, Jim also writes about the professional audio market, examining the best ways to write and record songs on a Macintosh with Logic Pro and Pro Tools. Jim is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. 
How am I getting duped? Give me a reason. I'll go head to head with you on this anytime.
I think the issue or concern here is that Apple has a reputation for rigid hardware control on what goes into a system of their design. This particular issue has been known for months with no acknowledgement by Apple of the issue. Now they do note the issue exists, and ownrs are wanting to know why this was allowed to happen in the first place.
Yes, it happens to any hardware OEM. Most OEM's are a bit more forthcoming to address such issues when it comes to hardware like this.
not at all true, mine was a standard config (shipped directly from apple)
Windows 7 wow the best thing that happened to me and my hp. no driver issue at all. now I am on 3gb ram and even on 2gb and I tested with 1gb the os just flies. I'd never called hp. But the story for my elder sister is different. On her mac book as she has to buy apple care to support her problems. Maybe mac may last longer as ******** claim but I am seeing here makes me doubt. I can't game on my hp its underpowered. DV6125ea graphics card is poor from intel. but I love it. Finally crapple has shown another worm in the apple.
I cannot take it any longer..from then on I swear to high heavens not to buy an any HP laptop anymore...my ^ year old ASUS still running well with XP SP1 to this day...but HP? I cursed to high heavens for that barand and vista as well..
Now my Macbook unibody which I bought January of this year is running smoothly and I have not encounterd a single issue...I lave mac really love it...all my headaches i encounterd with Vista and HP is gone...
Moral of the story?
DONT EVER BY AN HP LAPTOP WITH VISTA AS OS if you dont like to experience what I have gone through with my experience...
Regarding vendor locked "crap".....there is something to be said for a much higher degree of consistency and compatibility when you have a platform ecosystem that follows that "locked" model. When you look at the Windows side of things it is basically "wild west" in that regard. Just think of the number of PC/Windows devices that need to have drivers written and tested for. Not that Apple is lightning fast with their releases, they are faster than Microsoft though. How late was Vista? Isn't Windows 7 really what Vista was supposed to be?
Anyway all that is blah, blah, blah, my 2 bits (for free) is that if you want to tinker with your system, consider yourself a "technical geek" and want to swap hardware (video cards, HDs, etc) when the latest and greatest comes out so you get max frame rate in the latest versions of Call of Duty or Far Cry then you should have a Windows/PC configuration.
If you want to work and play on a platform that is designed from a end-user standpoint then you should be on a Apple. Microsoft is always going to be playing catch-up from a usability standpoint.
Oh, did I mention I worked @ MSFT over 17 years....Windows/DirectX.... Mouse/Keyboard/SideWinder..... Xbox..... Microsoft Games.....groups. I have a "little" more perspective than others on this thread.
What am I typing the post on? My brand new 17" Macbook Pro. What do I have for a cell, a new iPhone 3G S. Bought the 16 gb model, but fell in love again (I started using Macs 22 years ago on a 512) and upgraded to the 32b model and started shopping for this notebook.
Neither MSFT or Apple are perfect, but from where I stand and have experienced over the last 22 years, Apple is much more perfect than MSFT.
Mac users troll all the time. Every time there is an article about Microsoft, Dell, etc/ people start to bash these company and praise Apple. Just look at some of the comments here... And the article is about Apple.
I don't understand why people need to bash other OSes, OEMs, etc. Use whatever you like...
I have to say though: Apple opened the door for Trolls by attacking MS in their ads.
At least my computer is updated automatically and I am not risk of a patch turning my PC into a door stop. The amount of pin wheels I have been hearing from Mac users who have updated to 10.5.8 is mind boggling."
I will give you one thing Mr. Dee. You are consistent. Problem is, in this case, the only thing you hearing is Microsoft whispering in your ear. No spinning pin wheels here. Oh, and it's called the spinning beach ball of death LOL!! Nice try though Mr. Shill.
You mean the FREE windows updates?
Really? On mine I have to confirm, enter my password and then wait for it to restart.
@LaTene_Man--Being a "Mac lingo" nazi is just as bad as the grammar nazis and trolling. Stay on point people.
Welcome back to the Windows world. Feel free to ask any questions you like and you won't be ridiculed at all. Although it sounds like your wife is quite proficient at Windows already. There is no need to learn a new operating system since your PC will do everything a Mac can do, there's no point. It's too bad you've already spent the money on the Mac hardware though. Maybe you can sell it. Use the funds to buy a better video card, more memory and maybe a larger hard drive.
One last thing, I promise no one in the world of Windows will be a jerk to you if you spell Windows using all caps.
Some people like their Macs, and that's fine, however there is no point changing to a new system if your current system does all you need and you already know how to use it well.
"Mac is short for Macintosh. "
Just to give you an example and to be correct, it is short for 'Apple Macintosh. ' No offense, but I have no tolerance for stupidity or ignorance. It's not new lingo. There are many different types of Macintosh products out there. Apple Incorporated did not invent the Macintosh. That is a type of apple. Be sure when you are admonishing others for making such mistakes that you are not in fact guilty of even greater ones yourself.
Heck, even I don't know the full extent of it, and I sure woudln't go about correcting people for using MAC and Mac interchangably. Seems petty for you to be doing so. I only do so here to demonstrate exactly how silly it appears when you do it.
You use mac, how do you tolerate that, and how do you tolerate yourself?
ckh u the fool"
And you are the typical name calling troll that has nothing of real value to say.
I wasn't exactly worried about it because my plan was always to replace that drive, I just hoped to do it six months or a year later.
Thanks to hearing about all the problems with the 500GB drive, I was able to steer clear of the ST9500420ASG and bought a ST9500420AS. It's like the ST9500420ASG, but without the "G-Force" shock protection. I've been happy ever since. (I have the old drive, it's a Fujitsu, but I have no idea where the model is on it.)
So it's quite likely that Apple will simply have to turn G-Force off to make the drive act like a ST9500420AS. But I find it really odd that they got drives *with* G-Force to begin with.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/169913/Evil_Steve_Drives_Apples_Problems.html
I find it amusing that you are entirely too ready to dismiss any article or story that might cast doubts upon Apple's good name, however trot out any half baked rumor blog as factual and higly respected journalism.
Just accept it and move on. None of it really matters. They are just blog posting for the most part. You don't have to take personal offense that someone doesn't believe in your particular religion.
sorry but that comment ofckh1272 is just stupid"
Refer to my earlier posting. That article is just another opinion based article. I give that about as much credibility as what trolls like you (and all the others on both sides) write.
@ckh1272:
I find it amusing that you are entirely too ready to dismiss any article or story that might cast doubts upon Apple's good name, however trot out any half baked rumor blog as factual and higly respected journalism.
Just accept it and move on. None of it really matters. They are just blog posting for the most part. You don't have to take personal offense that someone doesn't believe in your particular religion."
@Vegaman_Dan--So tell me, oh wise one, where did get you insight, regarding me, from?? You really have no clue what you are talking about. I have not once tried to dispel the above article. NOT ONCE!! Read for once instead of just scanning the bit parts of a post to make your point. I have clearly stated what is wrong with both sides. How does that reflect on my "beliefs". NO product, for me, is like a religion. That is about the most ignorant thing I have heard in a long time. Sounds like you are the one who doesn't like when someone has an opinion that is not yours. Want to try to spew out some more BS?? Just become a full time blogger!
my Linux machine, XP machine and Vista machine have constant updates for security/performance/stability reasons... just because Apple does, does not make it news...
"Computers are like drills."--Um...no. Stick to carpentry, dude."
Actually, I think he has a good point. Get back to work and quit your b------g.
@Happy_switcher
Its funny to see trolls get so rabid that they attack their own.
@ckh
@Happy_switcher
Its funny to see trolls get so rabid that they attack their own."
@monkeyfun14--Nice to see, once again, that you have no clue what you are talking about. Try doing your homework next time before you say something so ignorant. I know it will hard, but maybe you could try just this once.
Tech is one of the rare exceptions because there are those who live to complain and will stop and take the time out of being productive simply to complain. We have many fine examples of this here.
Oh well.
500Gb 2.5 drives are known for getting really hot and thermal recalibration, maybe that is why this happens. In my humble opinion no laptop should have 500 gb of storage, its way to much precious info on a very easy to loose piece of equipment (does not matter the brand). But hey I am the same guy that said 10 years ago that a Gigabyte was a lot of space.
BTW the equipment doesnt fail, just hands for 10 seconds with no loss of info, 10 seconds is very little time compared to the ammount of time lost closing the miriad of pop ups that windows has.
Mr. Dee and Monkey nice to see you keeping up the work to Mr. Balmer.
- by EvanSei August 10, 2009 10:39 AM PDT
- what happened to macs being perfect? really though good job to apple for making a fix for this if it was a pc you would need to fix it yourself, trust me I know.
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- by ckh1272 August 10, 2009 11:06 AM PDT
- And just how do you know? Do you know exactly what the problem is? BTW PC or Mac, most users are not going to try to fix it themselves, especially if it is under warranty. Think about it for more than second.
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- by EvanSei August 10, 2009 11:13 AM PDT
- ckh1272
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- by ckh1272 August 10, 2009 11:23 AM PDT
- @EvanSei--That is your choice to risk your warranty if you so please but the problem is you assume that everyone else should do the same. BTW, I repair my own systems whenever possible. I also don't refer to customer support unless I absolutely need to, whether it is my Windows system or my Mac system. Assuming things doesn't solve anything BTW.
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- by EvanSei August 10, 2009 11:31 AM PDT
- I don't see how I am assuming anything, I never once said that everyone needs to fix there own stuff, no not once , what I did say is that allot of problems with pc's, such as software issues microsoft puts out no letters on how to fix it, not all of them but some of them, I also think you misunderstood me when I said I like to fix my own problems, am not going to open up my machine and void the warrantee, I like fixing other issues, issues where if I screw up I can do a hard reset and fix it.
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- by ckh1272 August 10, 2009 6:06 PM PDT
- @EvanSei--I get what you're saying and I think we both are saying the same things, just from different angles. No biggie.
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Showing 1 of 2 pages (111 Comments)PC, and I try to fix it myself because (you may find this odd) I enjoy finding the problems and fixing them myself, and both my computers are still under warranty, just to let you all know if it's anything to big, (only one big thing so far) I call support. Oh and I don't dare mess around with my apple products anything goes wrong with them and I am immediately calling customer support. only a few things have gone wrong with them in the past 3 years.