December 2005 Final Update:  I have been hold over this past two years that trying to get anything out of Thermaltake about this issue is virtually impossible.  Even after discovering this issue and driving from Seattle to LA to prove it to them in person, I still had a very difficult time trying to make them compensate me for the damage their case did to my equipment, to say nothing of the travel expenses I incurred because they refused to test for the problem themselves on-site.  I expect that at this point, getting them to even respond to this issue for tech support purposes may be futile, let alone trying to recover compensation for damaged equipment.  All I can suggest is that you keep this lack of customer support in mind when considering Thermaltake products in the future.  I personally will never purchase anything sold by them again, and I encourage you to do the same.

On July 1, 2003, Weller Chen from Thermaltake, Inc. contacted me to discuss the problem.  Thermaltake officially acknowledged the wiring defect, and said that they are actively trying to identify what Xaser III date codes are affected.  That was the last time I ever heard from Weller Chen, or any other Thermaltake representative for that matter.  As of December 22, 2005, nothing's changed.

If you think you have the wiring defect or you're sure your I/O Header Connector exactly matches these three pictures (Top, Bottom, Motherboard), you can try to contact Thermaltake for additional information, although they'll likely be very unresponsive about this very old issue.  If you do decide to contact them, please make sure you include the following data:

1. The DATE CODE and REV of your Thermaltake Xaser III Case.
2. A detailed explanation of how you found this problem.
3. A detailed list of any equipment or peripherals damaged by the defect and their approximate cost.  Be prepared to provide receipts in the unlikely event they actually respond to your inquiry.
4. Where and when you purchased you Xaser III case.

Thermaltake Technology USA Inc.
Tel: (626) 968-9189
Fax: (626) 968-7659
Web Site: http://www.thermaltake.com

UPDATE (5/22/2004): Thermaltake is apparently telling some people who contact them that the problem is  limited to cases manufactured only during March and April of 2003.  This information is completely inconsistent with the information I have received from several people affected by this defect, and I know for a fact that this problem affects cases manufactured from January through July of 2003.  In fact, I personally inspected and tested the first three Xaser III cases in the list shown below, one of which is dated January 2003, and I proved it had the 1394 wiring defect.

Known Affected Date Codes

For reference purposes only - This table is no longer updated with new information

(This table was last updated on 12/23/2005)

Home | The Issue | Communications | Current Status | Reference Materials

As of 12/2005, this site is for reference purposes only and is no longer maintained.
Copyright (C) 2005 Meltybrain and Co., All rights reserved.  Thermaltake is a trademark of Thermaltake Technology Co., Ltd.
The term "FireWire" is a registered trademark of Apple Computer, Inc.  All other registered trademarks belong to their respective companies.

Last modified: 12/23/05.