As this article reports, and I have been saying the same thing for the past 2 years, the Seagate laptop HDDs that are used in the first generation MacBooks and several other earlier Apple laptops/desktops are problem-ridden and generally die despite careful use.
While the article singles out Apple, the fact is that other manufacturers are using the same Seagate HDDs as well, and have experienced similar failures. Seagate refuses to acknowledge the problem, and as such Apple probably has no obligation to issue a mass product recall.
Do note that these drives are generally found only on the first generation MacBooks, which means if yours is a second, third, or lucky you, fourth generation MacBook, they are likely to come equipped with a Fujitsu or a Toshiba HDD instead.
If you own a MacBook or any other Apple laptop, it’s a good idea to check your HDD manufacturer, and do frequent backups. Even better, buy a replacement HDD from Hitachi or Toshiba, you’ll get much more capacity than the original 60GBs on the first generation MacBook, and changing the HDD on the MacBook doesn’t void your warranty as well.
I’m using an Intel Mac Mini, and System Profiler says
Model: ST98823AS
Revision: 7.01
Would I be affected too, despite this not being a MacBook, but having the same firmware (7.01) as what is reported on the Retrodata website?
I’m afraid there’s a high chance it might. MacBooks are the main laptops that have that particular Seagate HDD, but from what I know they are found in some MBPs and Mac Minis too.