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June 27, 2003 8:15 AM PDT

Reason for Apple hard drive firmware updates

by CNET staff
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There is a page in IBM's support archives which may explain the motivation behind Apple's release of two firmware upgrades - one for Mac OS 9 and one for Mac OS X - that purportedly increase longevity for DeskStar hard drives.

The note states:

"As part of IBM's ongoing commitment to quality, IBM has made available the latest firmware update for the IBM DeskStar hard drives. This update is designed to enhance the stability of these drives by helping to avoid the excessive dwelling of any head in any particular area of the disk. In addition, this update also incorporates a previous firmware update which improved the SMART off-line data collection process."

IBM highly recommends using the IBM DeskStar Identification Utility (only available as a .exe file) or IBM Enhanced Diagnostics options to determine the vital information relating to the installed hard disk drive. "The third option of physically removing the hard disk drive should only be undertaken by technically experienced individuals."

As previously documented here on MacFixIt, readers are reporting extreme problems with the firmware updaters - in some cases losing entire volumes, and being left with non-functioning hard disks.

Feedback? Late-breakers@macfixit.com.

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    by dialect@attbi.com June 27, 2003 9:17 AM PDT
    Nice to know that its more IBM's fault than Apple's. Makes me not feel so bad sending them back their fried Deskstar drive.
    Reply to this comment
    by hrubin1000 June 27, 2003 9:17 AM PDT
    >
    This is a reply to a previous comment by dialect@attbi.com


    I also contacted IBM/Hitachi regarding the warranty on my fried DTLA-
    307045 slave drive and they agreed to replace it. They seemed to be
    very aware of the problem caused by the updater since the asked me to
    respond to the following questions:
    Were any updates from Apple run on your system?
    Was this the master drive or the slave drive?
    Does the drive spin up at all?
    Has the drive been tried on any other systems?
    Reply to this comment
    by FenrisUlf--2008 June 27, 2003 2:20 PM PDT
    This was a pretty huge problem for IBM, and the line of Deskstars it affected was considerably more prevalent than some of the other flaky drives coming down the pipe recently. I ditched mine after the "noise of death" ate my home directory.



    I replaced it with a quiet Western Digital. I didn't want another Deskstar, so I didn't bother sending it back. Thank goodness for backups. :)
    Reply to this comment
    by Hugh McMillan June 28, 2003 4:35 AM PDT
    I have a Quicksilver and About this Mac reports that my drive is a
    Maxtor. Does this mean I can avoid the Drive Update entirely?
    Reply to this comment
    by amanda99 June 28, 2003 4:35 AM PDT
    >
    This is a reply to a previous comment by Hugh McMillan


    yes
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