The company will be replacing the affected units free of charge at its retail stores. Alternatively, customers can visit an Apple Authorised Service Provider to have the work done.
As the International Business Times reports, Apple is contacting owners of computers that are eligible for the replacement. People who bought a 27-inch iMac with a 3TB hard drive between December 2012 and September 2013 will be emailed details of how to get the faulty unit replaced.
Owners should note that they must back up all of their data before bringing the computer to an Apple store. Once the hard drive has been replaced, the operating system will be clean installed onto the new disk so all user data will be lost unless it is backed up.
After the replacement, owners will have to reinstall any apps they had installed and then restore their personal data and files. The iMac will be left as if it had just been bought new from the factory, waiting to be set up.
Apple has launched a website to help owners establish whether their iMac is affected by the replacement program. If you have not received contact via email but have a 3TB hard drive in your iMac, you can enter its serial address online to confirm whether it is eligible or not.
Most people will not have 3TB hard drives. This option was aimed squarely at professionals whose job means that they produce very large volumes of data every day such as when video editing or photo processing.
An ordinary user would struggle to fill 3TB in the lifetime of a computer, but the people who bought iMacs with a drive this size are likely to also be those most affected should it fail. It is reassuring to see Apple acting responsibly and offering a free replacement though so its worth checking online if you think you may be affected.
