Apple finds a cure for the ‘Shutdown Syndrome’

Taking steps to ensure the customers’ comfort, Apple Computer Inc. on Thursday issued a significant software update, which according to the company will be able to fix the problem of some MacBooks which have been shutting down inexplicably.

Some MacBook owners have been bothered by the random shut-down of their PCs since July. ‘Random shutdown Syndrome’, as the users call it, often results in corrupted files and lost work. This has forced some of the users to return or repair the machines which cost them more than $1000.

According to Apple's advisory, the MacBook SMC Firmware Update, will improve the MacBook’s internal monitoring system but customers remain unconvinced that the firmware update will solve the crisis as they believe it is essentially a hardware problem.

Affected users have reported that the problem is in fact related to a faulty ''heat sink'' a hardware component that dissipates heat. In some cases the thermal sensor wires have been misplaced. The fix issued by Apple could solve the heat sink issue, but not the faulty wire problems.

Apple spokeswoman Teresa Weaver said that the problem affects only ''a small percentage'' of machines but she declined to comment on how widespread it is. Whatever be the company claims, the shut-down problem has caused a great deal of inconvenience to the customers.

A frustrated MacBook user in Marietta, Ga., even launched a website devoted to the cause. More than 1,500 users have signed in to the website called www.macbookrandomshutdown.com and many of them said that they’d like to sue Apple or force it to recall the defective machines.

The 13-inch wide-screen MacBooks have been a hit for Apple, whose notebook sales are outpacing the PC industry's growth rate and fixing the problem with its key product is inevitable for Apple.