MacBook Pros suffer 7,200rpm drive issue; Korea iPod nano recall - Page 2

I just ordered the ST9500420AS after reading that it was supposedly just the ASG models (of the Seagate drives) that are affected. However, that does not seem to be the case as some people on the Apple Discussions page are also reporting problems with AS models as well. Damn! Most of them report problems getting the drive to format properly so I guess I'll throw it into an enclosure and try formatting it first before going through the hassle of popping it into my MBP. If I have the same problems, I'll just leave it out and format it with my Windows home system to use as a backup drive until Apple releases another firmware update to address this issue. (assuming they do).

July 08 is not a week

After Snow Leopard comes pre-installed on MBP 17, I'll be looking to upgrade, with BTO 500GB 7200 and RAM from OWC,of course, I LOVE those guys for their INCREDIBLE SUPPORT!!!

This stuff about noises etc makes me nervous.... Who wants to start on the new machine with PROBLEMS....

Hope this ISSUES and this FORUM is watched by Apple, and CLOSELY, so that they can FIX it ASAP, and officially announce the RESOLUTION of these issues, instead of hearsay on various sites....

Thank you EVERYONE here for your time! I love this AI FORUM!!!! Makes me even more proud, if that's even possible, to be a Mac User!!!!!!!!!!!!! A little more tolerance (humble hint, ok?), and this Forum would be PERFECT!!! Apple Users UNITE! Happy Summer 2009 to everyone!

This is something that keeps getting misrepresented from the Apple forum. It's not 7200 RPM drives. People have been using 320 GB 7200 RPM drives for over a year now without any problem. It's specifically the 500 GB 7200 RPM ST9500420ASG drive made by Seagate (obviously, as only Seagate is making 500 GB 7200 RPM drives at this point).

I don't know how many people have the drive to say how overwhelming the issue should be. It's not a standard configuration, it's a CTO, and only available in the higher end models. Within the first two weeks of availability, there were literally hundreds of complaints of the issue on the Apple forums. Given the short availability, and the fact that it was a high end CTO only option, I'd say that it's a fairly pervasive problem.

However, I'm glad to hear you have the same drive without any problem. That would suggest, if you're correct, that there were bad drives and good drives. It's just a matter of getting a replacement. As I said, replacing mine with a Seagate 500 GB 7200 RPM purchased from NewEgg fixed the issue for me.

Go to the forums and look for the video links. A user recorded a game of Halo which beautifully illustrates the problem. The game will freeze for a second every time the drive beeps. This happens consistently. The problem is, at the moment, Apple calls this behavior "normal." Pardon my French, but what a fucking joke. Normal?

For the record the WD Scorpio Black 320GB 7200rpm drive I have has some vibration issues. Quite distinct in the Macbook White Core Duo I had. Now it is in the Alu MacBook 2.0ghz, for some reason after a few months I don't *really* feel the vibration issues.

Nonetheless the speed improvement is definitely worth it. 7200rpm drive in notebook is the only way to fly. With 4GB of RAM... Can't wait till SSDs and 4GB sticks drop in price, then this baby can go to SSD hard drive with 6GB of RAM. Aw yeah. LOL. Overkill maybe.

Good luck to those with the Seagate 500GB issue. Apple can sometimes be the big evil corporation, the thing is give them some time and within a few weeks once enough people are firm (but don't be a total ***hole) the problem will be escalated. All the first-line support Apple employees will be giving standard responses until more direction from higher up the chain.

And I do agree with a previous poster Apple Discussions can be a total mess of hype, some truth, panic, paranoia and some useful bits hidden among the posts.

I was very concerned about using Kingston KTA 4GB (2x2GB sticks) in my MacBook Alu but a few weeks now and no wake-from-sleep issues, etc... Maxxing out RAM with VMWare (ditched Parallels) and CS4 running, etc. is fine so far.

No doubt the speed is worth it and, in my own tests as well as those of Bare Feats, the 500 GB 7200 RPM drive is considerably faster than even the 320GB 7200 RPM drives. Using the one I purchased from NewEgg (not the CTO model from Apple) the difference is quite noticeable in real world usage. Far and away the fastest drive I've used in a Power/MacBook (never used an SSD). So I still recommend going with that option, even if it means buying it 3rd party until Apple gets the problem solved.

Your advice re Apple is very sage, and typically what I'd recommend as well. Given time, they usually fix the issues and the front line guys are always uninformed. Here's the catch. The hard drive issue has already been escalated to engineering. Engineering took a look, noted the beeps, clicks, and stutters/hangs/freezes, and issued a tech note to the support reps on the phones and at the Genius Bars declaring this "normal behavior for 7200 RPM drives." As such, they'll no longer provide support for the issue.

Now you've been using a 7200 RPM drive. I've used them exclusively in my notebooks since they were first available. Have you ever experienced this behavior before? I haven't, not even in the equivalent drive I purchased 3rd party. Forgetting the beeps and clicks which are annoying, how are pro users expected to work on RAW photos and HD video with a hard drive that freezes up momentarily every few minutes? It's beyond comprehension that Apple has labeled this as "normal."

do it... it seems my new MBP work better! Anyone tried?
yo

Yeah, disabling the Mac's sudden motion sensor is exactly what some people are suggesting, someone posted a link on how to do it.

This problem is because the drive has its own sensor and it conflicts. If you ever do change drives again later, it's a good idea to turn the Mac's sensor back on if the drive doesn't have its own built in. Not all drives have this sensor. It turns out that mine doesn't so I shouldn't have it. For me, I think this might be my last platter-based notebook hard drive though, who knows. We'll see how the prices go. This time, I was pretty sure I was going to need a big drive for media that I make, and SSDs are still a bit expensive.

I just received my new MBP about 3 days ago. Thing is Amazing. I Love this thing. But it seems I may be affected by the HD problem. Is extremely slow when just listening to music in Itunes and freezes every once inahwhile, pretty annoying. Only have heard one click so far, but i listen to music pretty loud so I may have missed others, idk.

As for the last couple posts. Here is the link to disable the motion sensor.


http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1934

Havn't tried it yet but hopefully it works.

Update

Well it didn't fix what I think is a problem.
So either its not the same thing everyone else is experiencing and its just a really slow hard drive or I just need to wait for a hopefully soon update from apple.

No luckily I've never experienced such behaviour from the 7200 RPM drive, and my SATA shows SATA2 3.0 gigabit thingy...

I think Apple engineering saying this is "expected behaviour" is usually just Apple buying time until they get more info or increasingly more people complain... This issue should be solved by the end of the month or there's going to be lots of unhappy people which is honestly not so common when it comes to Macs...!

My 2-week old MacBook Pro seems to be issue free...and others here with new machines seem to be ok too so maybe Apple have addressed the issue in currently shipping drives.

Well my 1 week old MBP 3.06 ghz 4gb ram 500gb 7200 hd isn,t really making the beebing and clacking noises others have described. But it hangs up alot when doing comon tasks like selecting a song in itunes or scrolling through pictures. Is it just me or is it not supposed to lag for 5 seconds with the spinning beach ball everytime you select a new song to play???

It's not just you, it is definitely NOT supposed to be like that. It's sounding like I'm one of the lucky ones. I have a few gripes about the new 17" but they are relatively minor.

My mac 15"7200rpm is fine after 10 days
in fact its fast ,

Apple reps have assured me that everything is ok in the world /

If you do have a problem .
call and get a case number.
and then visit a store ,
They may give you some firmware or not .
Right now its a small issue .

REMEMBER GET A CASE NUMBER

9

So got talked to a very helpful apple expert today who set me up with an appointment time and case number. Did ask to many question or ask me to try anything to fix the problem. Just set me up with an appointment. So many they know now that enough people are having problems where they just try to fix the problem. IDK.

It could be many things causing troubles. They will step by step check things out for you .
please let us know how it went ..BESt of luck dude.

peace

9

• I received my MacBook in June.
• My system was beeping and locking up all over the place until I found the thread on Apple Discussions (official forum) detailing other customers experiencing the same issue.
• Repeatedly AppleDontCare have been telling customers the behavior is normal, that the beeps and freezes are designed to protect your drive from damage and data loss. Sorry 40 second freezes whenever you do anything drive intensive is not normal behavior in a laptop. It might be in a Crapple CrapBook but no other laptop I have owned has EVER done this.
• For seven weeks Apple has refused to acknowledge there is any kind of problem. Now the media is all over their butts about these problems, they have started talking and telling reporters they are working desperately hard on a fix. WHY COULDN'T THEY TELL PAYING CUSTOMERS THIS?

People have paid upwards of $4,000 for these computers. I think they have a right to get their "panties in a bunch" when Apple Corp. treats people like idiots by trying to pretend there is no problem and everything is normal with their systems.

I can tell you now. I have received significantly better customer care and support when my Dell laptops have developed all manner of faults: including drive defects. They shipped out a replacement drive to my home premises NBD for the last problem after only spending 20 minutes on a call doing some basic troubleshooting. Oh and the Dell warranty cost 3 times less than the rip off AppleCare that gets you nothing in return in my experience.

In comparison, I have lost count of the hours and the calls I have logged with Apple support, supervisors, geniuses about this issue. I have given up with them 10 days ago. I replaced my own drive at my own expense, fitted it, and will unlikely ever purchase another Apple computer again.

Performance still feels flaky but maybe that's because I'm used to the smoothness of the new Windows 7 release from Microsoft. Bitter? You bet I am.

windows 7? smoother than mac? wow.. thats got to be one of the dumbest things i've ever heard. No one told you to buy a Mac, and if windows is so great why the hell did you buy a mac? my guess is because you know how shitty windows really is. It's funny cause this HD problem with the Mac is what I compare to how a PC normally runs.

NOT true
you have an option to go to the store and if it beeps and freezes then apple will replace the drive,
/And since you have apple care you would be fast tracked.Also since you also called the help line first you would have a case number/.

Your whole post is filled with flotsam and debri from a windows reject
.And you saying paying cust . ?? What other kind are there ?


YOU came here and lied/

WHY ??


Enjoy the smooth feel of vista .... no i mean window 7
WE here are a happy bunch and want you to be happy too .

We all await your ipod/zune review