Faulty Floppies - Toshiba laptop computers defective in copying information on to floppy disks - Brief Article

Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine, April, 2000 by Ed Henry

COMPUTERS | A HARD CASH AWARD and a software fix for millions of Toshiba laptops.

HAVE YOU ever copied a file to a computer floppy disk only to discover later, in a moment of great frustration, that the file isn't there? You probably blamed yourself for doing something stupid. But maybe you can blame your computer--especially if it's a Toshiba laptop.

The computer company has agreed to pay $2.7 billion to settle a class-action lawsuit charging that a flaw in its laptop floppy drives can cause the loss or corruption of data. If you own a Toshiba laptop, not only can you get the snafu fixed, but you may also be in line for a cash award of up to $443.

The data-loss problem surfaced in 1986 when IBM discovered a bug in its chips and alerted suppliers Intel and NEC. NEC was initially named in the Toshiba suit but was exempted because it alerted users and corrected the problem.

The defect persisted in Toshiba laptops, however, and in the floppy-disk controllers it sold to other manufacturers. While denying any wrongdoing, Toshiba agreed to the multibillion-dollar deal to close the case.

Clive Moon of Plano, Tex., who uses laptops in his property-and-management business, discovered the defect in his Toshiba machine in 1998 and ultimately became a lead plaintiff in the suit that covers five million laptops, many of them owned by AT&T, Deloitte and Touche, Arthur Andersen and the federal government.

If you purchased a Toshiba laptop between 1985 and 1999, you are entitled to a share of the settlement, unless you opted out of the class action.

* Owners of machines purchased between March 1998 and December 1999 are eligible for cash payments ranging from $210 to $443. You can also get a software patch to fix the controller problem and prevent data loss.

* If you bought before March 1998 and the computer is still under warranty, you get the software fix and a credit (delivered to you as a debit card) worth $225 toward the purchase of any Toshiba computer product. If the software fix is not to your liking, you can have a new external or internal floppy drive and a $200 credit.

* If you bought before March 1998 and the computer is no longer under warranty, you can get the software fix and a credit worth $100 on the purchase of a Toshiba computer product.

You'll need proof of when you purchased your laptop, but that doesn't mean you have to produce the sales receipt. A photocopy of the serial number on the bottom of the machine indicates when it was made. Call 888-353-8138, or visit www.csd.toshiba.com/tais/csd/support/fdc/index.html to get an application for the settlement or to learn more details.

The settlement--which earned the lawyers $147.5 million--won't be the last word on the floppy-disk problem. Wayne Reaud, the lead lawyer in the Toshiba case (who has also brought class-action suits against the tobacco and asbestos industries), has targeted NEC, Compaq, Hewlett-Packard, Packard Bell and E-machine desktops, which allegedly contain the faulty disk-drive controller.

Kiplinger.com

Cash in. Go to home page to see How big a settlement you're eligible For and to download a claim form.