Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, OS, Software Update, Leopard
Is the Mac OS X 10.5.7 update causing you grief?
Against my better judgment, I always download and install Mac OS X updates immediately. That has never caused an issue with any of my Macs until now. Since I installed 10.5.7 literally minutes after hearing about its release, I have been experiencing sporadic issues with USB on my first-generation Intel iMac.A look through the Apple Support discussion forums showed that this isn't an isolated issue. A number of people have reported losing connectivity to USB hard disks and peripherals. What's rather discouraging to see, however, is that USB issues aren't the only problem that 10.5.7 hath wrought. Other frustrations reported in the forums include:
- Loss of connectivity to Bluetooth peripherals including keyboards, mice, and phones
- Monitor resolution issues (former resolution settings missing, colors "off", screen redraw oddities)
- Mac crashing as it goes to sleep, having problems waking from sleep
- No sound, or sound quality is bad
- Intermittent problems with WiFi connectivity
- Spontaneous shutdowns
- Older MacBook Pros overheating
TUAW wants to hear from readers who have experienced issues of any sort since updating a Mac to 10.5.7. If you have, what kind of problems are you seeing? What, if any, fixes have worked for you?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 12)
Bob said 4:36PM on 6-11-2009
perfect here on eight machines, all intel. :-)
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Brian said 4:41PM on 6-11-2009
+1 on 3 Intels
oliver hart said 4:46PM on 6-11-2009
are they for work? or does your house have 8 macs?
lolz
2 of mine are good to go, but my macbook has been screwy when it comes to sleep and restarts. Upon every restart or cold start my wallpaper is completely different and now out of nowhere it has started asking me for my password whenever it wakes up from sleep-thats never happened prior to the 10.5.7 update.
Michael said 5:09PM on 6-11-2009
First, a look at any large company's support forum will ALWAYS help you feel you're not alone. With EVERY update there will be people whose specific configuration combined with the update will give them problems.
Second, a very good idea if you've had a problem is to go through at least a reinstall. Turn your startup items off if you have any, make sure you're not short on disk space on your system drive.
As for myself, the software seems to have solved some minor issues with sound that I've had on my 2-year-old MacBook. It works great.
William said 7:21PM on 6-11-2009
"Second, a very good idea if you've had a problem is to go through at least a reinstall. Turn your startup items off if you have any, make sure you're not short on disk space on your system drive."
Michael,
My apologies, but if I have to re-install after every update because Apple did not do proper quality control, then I'd rather switch back to Windows. That has to be the worst advice I've ever heard. Sure, no vendor can anticipate every possible configuration someone does to their OS, but one of OS X's greatest strengths is the isolation of the OS from the various drivers and applications that use it -- it should not be so easy to break it. Even going the route of the combo update should not be necessary, though IME it usually is.
What I would recommend to those experiencing problems is to try to isolate the problem, and if it's reproducible report it to Apple via bugreport.apple.com. If enough of us report the same issue, it will get fixed. Perhaps if enough people complain, Apple will up the ante on bug testing. They have to realize that people rely on their software and it's not only about the next greatest thing. When the company starts taking too many of their best developers to work on new products and only leave a handful fixing the problems with the existing product, they are in effect abandoning those who have invested in them. Apple should know that is not acceptable. 10.5.7 took way too long to be released to have these sorts of major issues.
ws
Chad Carmichael said 1:58PM on 6-12-2009
All is well here with an '08 model.
Daniel Berk said 4:37PM on 6-11-2009
No problems yet, but now you guys have me paranoid :P
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Fade2blac said 4:29AM on 6-12-2009
I was the same way but last night I had to manually reset my MBP because it wouldn't wake up properly! I thought it was just a random event but after seeing this post I'm a bit paranoid!
James said 4:38PM on 6-11-2009
On my first generation aluminium imac I have noticed the weird colour issue as well. At first i thought it was my eyes but it definitely appears and disappears again.
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Noktrnl said 4:39PM on 6-11-2009
Ever sense 10.5.7 my Cricked UTStarcom mobile broadband has not worked correctly. Although I blame the crapy coding of the Cricket software. Their was a workaround for it that worked under 10.5.6, but not 10.5.7 :(
I miss my crapy slow mobile broadband now that I dont have it :(
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Tom said 4:41PM on 6-11-2009
I'm indeed experiencing problems with Bluetooth since I installed 10.5.7. I have an Apple Wirless Keyboard and an Apple Wireless Mouse and I lose connection to them like 3-4 times a day. Before 10.5.7 I never ever had a single problem with Bluetooth. Strangely, as soon as I open System Preferences and click on the "Bluetooth" icon both the mouse and keyboard suddenly are working again. No solution until now.
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Zews said 5:25PM on 6-11-2009
I also have an Apple bluetooth keyboard, and ever since I have had it, I would get messages on the screen that tell me that the "connection to the keyboard has been lost".
The funny thing has always been, that those messages have always been wrong. I never lost the connection to the keyboard, that message notwithstanding. I would usually test this by opening any program and type some random characters. The keyboard always works.
The messages happened under 10.5.5, and I have noticed it at least once under 10.5.7 (I never updated to 10.5.6)
Tom said 8:00PM on 6-11-2009
Hmm, I get this occasionaly with my mouse. But the problems with 10.5.7 are definitely "real" the keyboard and mouse are not working again and I have to use the trackpad to get to Sys Prefs to re-enable Bluetooth.
milovr said 1:45AM on 6-12-2009
I have the same problem and I have to do as Tom does.
jr said 6:25AM on 6-12-2009
I had a bit of a problem with Bluetooth but not with a keyboard and mouse but with my phone. After updating to 10.5.7, I couldn't make a connection to my phone to sync or to use it as a modem via Bluetooh. I tried removing then adding again the device in Bluetooth Preferences, and everything seems to be back to normal.
dsw said 3:02AM on 6-13-2009
Since installing 10.5.7 my Logitech bluetooth mouse disconnects on a frequent basis, this never happened in 10.5.X - 10.5.6, or even in Tiger.
I've also tried using the combo update installer as suggested to fix the problem. It didn't Fix it.
Usually I'm on the edge of my seat and waiting for the update and get it within the first few hours of its release, but after this latest one its cause more problems than fixes.
Marcus Heller said 4:41PM on 6-11-2009
I've actually found that 10.5.7 has helped all of the crashes I used to get constantly! I haven't had a problem with my Macbook 2.0Ghz merom. My friend has a Macbook Pro 1.86Ghz first gen, so I'll have to see if he's experiencing any of these problems..
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ilkyone said 4:40PM on 6-11-2009
since 10.5.6, and still there with 10.5.7, my Jay Leno chin 24" imac has been lethargic to awaken from sleep, often forgetting to present the login box to unlock the screen saver. many times, it takes putting it back to sleep with the power button to make it realize that it is time to get up.
OTOH 10.5.7 did fix the airport connectivity drops -- airport is solid on again.
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Ryan Trevisol said 5:03PM on 6-11-2009
I've isolated the problem with 10.5.7 and waking from sleep issues. For me (90+ Macbooks), having a network Location with any interface disabled (notable en0, the Built In Ethernet) would have strange effects on sleep and wake.
When you booted the computer, the first time you slept and woke, it would be fine. The second time, it would either freeze trying to sleep, and never shut the screen off (causing fans and overheating), or the screen would go black and never come back.
"Activating" the Ethernet interface in all network locations and rebooting solved this issue for me.
Joe Brown said 5:51PM on 6-11-2009
I've found that streaming embedded video doesn't work any more, or plays for a few sections, then stops.
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