Fujitsu Hard Disk Drive Class Action Settlement

A lawsuit against Fujitsu Computer Products of America, Inc., and other Defendants, including Gateway, alleges that certain Fujitsu brand Desktop 3.5-inch IDE hard disk drives in the U.S. contain a defective computer chip and a bug in the controller firmware. This results in the failure of the hard disk drives at unacceptably high rates and/or problems with data integrity.

Fujitsu has elected to settle the suit. Consumers who may have purchased Gateway computers with these hard disk drives are beginning to receive notification of the settlement and can contact Gateway.

Potentially affected drives were used in Gateway desktop computers with either 10 gigabyte (GB) or 20 GB hard disk drives purchased between June 2000 and October 2001. No hard disk drives used in portable (Notebook) computers are affected. Gateway continues to provide customer service and warranty support to its customers to resolve hard disk drive issues, should they occur. Fujitsu is providing compensation to allow anyone in the industry with one of their affected drives to cover the cost of replacement, even if the drive has not failed.

To test your hard disk drive and confirm whether it is one of the models potentially affected, you can download a utility at http://www.hddclassactionsettelment.com. Alternatively, if you are a Gateway customer, you may also utilize Gateway's Support Web site, located at http://support.gateway.com for access to system-specific information. In the My Support area, enter your 10-digit, Gateway system serial number, and then click Continue. In the My System Info area, click the My Support Documents link, and then determine whether your computer was manufactured with a hard disk drive designated by one of the following four part numbers: 5501688, 5501689, 5501854, and 5501855.

Direct additional questions, requests for claim forms, etc., to the Settlement Administrator:

    Online: www.hddclassactionsettlement.com

    Toll free telephone number: (800) 878-2618

    Write to:
    HDD Class Action Settlement Administrator
    P.O. Box 9000 #6146
    Merrick, New York 11566-9000