Following reports of Sandy Bridge chip shipments stopping due to a design issue, Intel issues a statement for OEMs to work around the situation-- thus reducing product delays.
The chip problem was due to transistors leaking current, causing SATA performance problems.
Intel's temporary solution for OEMs working with the flawed chips involves their not using the 4 affected ports on the chips-- thus shipping with only the mainboard's first 2 SATA ports enabled.
The solution should mainly effect laptops, whose majority only has a single HDD, 1 optical drive and no eSATA sockets.
Meanwhile, Intel also starts manufacturing a redesigned Sandy Bridge version, which should start shipping by mid-February.
