NEC Recalls Crusoe-Powered Notebooks

Several of Japan's largest notebook computer manufacturers went into a spin Thursday morning after NEC announced it is recalling around 10 percent of the notebooks it has produced based on Transmeta's Crusoe microprocessors because of a fault inside the chips.

NEC began recalling a total of 284 computers based on the TM5600 Crusoe processor due to a problem with memory inside the processor itself.

"There is an error in the cache on-board the processor," says Sammy Sakamoto, an NEC spokesperson. The company has sold about 2800 machines based on the Transmeta processor since releasing them in Japan in mid-October, Sakamoto says.

Sakamoto says NEC suspects the problem is not due to a fundamental problem with the processor itself, but rather a faulty batch of chips.

Nonetheless, news of the recall prompted other Japanese notebook makers that use Transmeta chips to check whether their machines have the same problem. Among them are Fujitsu, Hitachi, and Sony.

The faulty cache causes problems when Microsoft Windows 2000 is loaded, Sakamoto says. It was discovered by NEC during its own testing, and the company has received no customer complaints regarding the issue.

"This matter is now under investigation," says Ted Kanno, a Sony representative. The company has released two models of Crusoe-powered notebooks. "We have not decided anything yet regarding a recall although we recognize this is a highly urgent matter and will take the appropriate action as soon as possible," he adds.

Vendors Reexamine Crusoe

A Hitachi representative says his company is also looking into the issue.

In contrast, Fujitsu says it believes it has nothing to worry about. "We're not affected by it," says Bob Pomeroy, a Fujitsu spokesperson. "We use the 533-MHz chip and not the 600-MHz one so as far as we know, we don't see any problems."

This is the latest glitch for Transmeta, which unveiled its low-power mobile chip earlier this year amid great fanfare. Both IBM and Compaq have stalled their initial plans to release notebooks using the Crusoe CPU.

Transmeta says it is working with NEC on the issue and "stands behind Crusoe and will continue to work with its customers to insure Crusoe's quality and reliability."

The Crusoe microprocessors NEC is replacing came from a limited manufacturing batch, Transmeta says in a statement. "Any remaining inventory of this material at NEC or other customers has been returned to Transmeta. Transmeta is currently shipping Crusoe microprocessors to its customers to replenish their production lines to meet the demand for Crusoe systems."