Apple to publish software fix for clicking MacBook hard drives

<p>If you're one of the unfortunate MacBook Pro owners plagued by a stalling and clicking hard drive, then you're in luck. Apple has stated that MacBook Pro models with malfunctioning 7200RPM 500GB hard drives are in for a fix - and it won't require you to ship your laptop off.</p> <p>Cupertino has reported to numerous sources that they have been working on a way to circumvent the problem, and the fix will come <a href="https://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10306301-37.html" target="_blank">through a software patch</a>. Anyone affected by the issue will know right away. Your hard drive will let out a clicking sound, followed by a stall which generally lasts about 10 seconds. It's not known to cause data loss or system lockups, and is more a nuisance than anything else.</p> <p>The symptoms mimic what most know to be imminent hardware-level failure, but that doesn't appear to be the case here. Apple hasn't published a timeline for the fix yet, but given the benign nature, they probably aren't in a rush.</p><p><a rel='canonical' href='https://www.techspot.com/news/35772-apple-to-publish-software-fix-for-clicking-macbook-hard-drives.html' target='_blank'>Permalink to story.</a></p><p class='permalink'><a rel='canonical' href='https://www.techspot.com/news/35772-apple-to-publish-software-fix-for-clicking-macbook-hard-drives.html'>https://www.techspot.com/news/35772-apple-to-publish-software-fix-for-clicking-macbook-hard-drives.html</a></p>

That does sound odd that it is a software fix. If I heard that I too would immediately diagnose it as a dying hard drive.

Possibly a firmware update to resolve a hardware issue? It sounds like the drive's heads aren't parking or are seeking. Yeah, it does make me wonder what Apple is up to. Seems fishy.