Just hours after Apple Computer Inc. acknowledged problems with FireWire 800 hard drives and its new operating system, Mac OS X Panther, hard disk maker LaCie Corp. issued a warning to users about using its FireWire 800 drives with Panther. The incompatibilities only affect FireWire 800 and not the earlier FireWire 400 hard drives, according to Apple and LaCie.
“With the retail release of Mac OS X Version 10.3 Panther, LaCie has learned that a compatibility issue exists with FireWire 800 drives and Apple’s new operating system release,” LaCie said in a statement. “We believe this problem affects all manufacturers of FireWire 800 drives. LaCie has been actively investigating these reports to identify the cause of the problems, and to provide our customers with a solution.”
LaCie said they have not found any issues with other FireWire products, including the company’s FireWire 400 line. LaCie products that may be affected would have been shipped from April 2003 to September 30, 2003 and include the d2 FireWire 800 Hard Drives and Big Disk products — serial numbers 1312xxxxxx – 1339xxxxx – 0312xxxxx – 0339xxxxx.
LaCie recommends users take the following steps immediately:
1. Unmount and disconnect your FireWire drives from your Macintosh computer before installing Mac OS X Version 10.3 Panther, before shutting down your system.
2. Visit LaCie’s Web site and follow the instructions for updating your FireWire 800 drive. An updater is available immediately for users with access to Macintosh computers that can boot Mac OS 9. LaCie plans to release a Mac OS X compatible updater as soon as possible.
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