The passivation layer that is normally removed from bond pads to allow connection to the outside world was only partially removed with the result that real-time clock circuitry can be susceptible to excessive leakage, the report said.

The report did not say now many bond pads had been afflicted by partial removal of the passivation layer or explain how the unintended presence of an insulating passivation layer might increase current leakage or prevent boot-up. Nor did the report say what proportion of Intel's manufacture of Grantsdale chipsets is affected

An un-named Intel official was quoted saying said the extent of the problem is not known and that the company has begun polling its customers for the lot numbers of the affected chips.

The reported quoted Intel's High as saying that "Almost none of it is in the end-user community," and that all PCs currently shipping are free of the problem.

The problem lies in an I/O controller hub chip -- the ICH-6 -- which is included in both the 915 and 925 chip-set families, formerly known as "Grantsdale" and "Alderwood.

The I/O hub controls some of Grantsdale's new features, including the circuitry to turn a PC using the chip set into a wireless access point.

It is believed that Intel uses different bond out options of a single common die to produce multiple products with additional features that it gradually releases on to the market over time.