CF Apple Computer

Apple spokesman Cameron Craig said the company was aware that there might be a problem. We’ve received a few reports that some MacBook consumer notebooks may have hard drive issues, and we’re looking into it, he said. About 50 Seagate hard drives from MacBooks have been brought to Retrodata for data recovery since the summer of 2006. With the exception of two or three cases, the data was lost forever because people ran the MacBook utilities to try to correct the problem.

This resulted in more scratches, Clarke said. If you switch the computer off immediately, you might be able to recover the data. Retrodata believes the problem is the result of a manufacturing flaw, and not in the design of the drive. Nevertheless, Apple needs to address the problem, much like a car manufacturer would recall a part from a supplier. It’s Seagate’s problem, but it’s Apple’s responsibility to address the problem, since they’re providing the part, Clarke said.

Apple needs to own up and take action. Retrodata has said a recall is warranted, and Apple should offer to replace the drives at no charge. We’ll keep you posted on this issue.