Apple Confirms Fix for MacBook Pro Hard Drive Issue

Complaints about malfunctioning hard drives have prompted Apple to take steps into solving this issue, and, as such, initially confirmed by the company’s support staff, and now by spokesperson Bill Evans, the Mac maker is working on a firmware fix for it.

"We are aware of the issue and are working on a software update," Apple representative Bill Evans told CNET News on Monday. The spokesperson did not disclose an estimated release date, but users can expect the new software update as early as this week, given the widespread nature of the problem.

The problem seems to be affecting MacBook Pro notebooks with 7200rpm 500GB hard drives. An AppleInsider report signals that the issue has grown since January, when it was first reported. As noted above, Apple Discussions forum users claim to have been on the phone with AppleCare representatives who allegedly told them that Apple was working on a fix. User jgcamil is cited in the AppleInsider report as saying that he was told by Level 2 support that Apple was "highly" aware of the issue and it was one of the company's "highest priorities."

Apple generally makes these updates available under the form of an EFI or SMC firmware release. For this particular problem, the latter would be in order. SMC firmware updates refer to the System Management Controller (SMC) firmware update for Intel-based computers. The micro-controller existing on the computers’ logic board known as the SMC controls the power functions for the respective machine, including power and thermal management, the Sleep LED, battery, fans, the Sudden Motion Sensor, ALS, the power switch, etc.

The latest such update released by Apple added compatibility for the newest service replacement batteries. MacBook Air SMC Firmware Update Version: 1.2, posted June 29, 2009, was 623KB in size and required Mac OS X 10.5.7.