Importance of the Intel-based Mac firmware restoration disc

Whenever you are updating firmware on an Intel-based Mac (either the 1.0.1 general firmware update released in April, or the SMC firmware update released this week) it's very important to have a copy of the Firmware Restoration CD handy.

If anything goes wrong during the update process, you may be left with a system that does not boot properly. In this case, the firmware restoration CD can usually get you back up and running.

MacFixIt reader Peter Zieseniss provides a case in point:

"One of my clients installed the firmware update on his MacBook Pro not realizing he was only using the battery as a power source; the update got interrupted half way (right at the moment when the progress bar appears on the gray screen) which rendered the computer useless.

"Hitting the power key would not have any effect other than the optical drive making the same sound as when it loads or ejects a disk.

"I used the firmware restoration CD and it worked perfectly and I was subsequently able to upgrade the firmware properly."

Feedback? Late-breakers@macfixit.com.

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