Mac OS X 10.3.3 #16: Software Update not running automatically; Resetting PMU can fix FireWire issues?; more

Software Update not running automatically Roger Wilco reports a problem with Software Update not running automatically since updating to Mac OS X 10.3.3, an issue for which we are seeking confirmation.

Wilco writes "Since upgrading to 10.3.3, software update is not running autonomously on my G4. I have my software update set to check for new updates daily and that worked fine until the last OS upgrade. Now I find that software update runs once immediately after each reboot and does not run again. If I look in the software update preference pane, I see the date and time of my last reboot, previously I would see some time within the last 24 hours. My son has confirmed the same situation on his G5."

All of our in-house systems at MacFixIt were set to run Software Update weekly, so we've changed the setting to Daily to determine whether or not we can reproduce this behavior. For what it's worth, the weekly update appears to have run on schedule since updating to Mac OS X 10.3.3.

Resetting PMU can fix FireWire issues? In addition to previously noted workarounds for dealing with FireWire failure that can occur after the upgrade to Mac OS X 10.3.3, MacFixIt reader Philip Chadwick reports that resetting the PMU (power management unit) on his PowerMac G4 resolved mounting problems:

"I installed 10.3.3 when it was released (not the combo version) on a G4 MDD 1.25x2. I have two LaCie external hard drive and I had no problems whatsoever with the install. However, I installed the Retrospect 6 update that was released wed 3/31; Friday I left from work at 6, leaving my machine sleeping & with a weekly 7pm backup script in effect.

"When I came in this morning, my machine had shut down (weird, as I never shut it down myself). When I booted it up, I noticed some Retrospect glitches happening (the little "moving gears" icon popping up & then disappearing) & then saw that neither of my FireWire 400 drives were visible.

"Did the usual Diskwarrior/Disk Utility things?the drives were not visible in any utility and the System Profiler showed no FireWire information.

"Booting OS 9 and trying SilverLining also showed nothing. [...]]

"Finally reset the PMU by using the button on the circuit board inside the G4. Did a Open Firmware reset and all is well.

"No problems now."

Instructions for resetting the PMU on certain PowerMac G4 models can be found in Knowledge Base article #95037.

More success with IO .kext file reversion for FireWire/SCSI issues Steve Tuckerman writes "Taking a hint from your recent article on FireWire problem fixes, I replaced the FireWire Family Kext files and the IOSCSI files from an old backup DVD and I now have my SCSI drives and all FireWire devices working again. Thanks MacFixit!"

To recap, exchanging the IOFireWireFamily.kext to the old version 1.7.0 ( from Mac OS X 10.3.1 or 10.3.2) solves FireWire device mounting problems for a number of readers problem.

You can find the IOFireWireFamily.kext file on your original Mac OS X 10.3 installation CD (with the help of a tool like Pacifist), or by searching for the file (both visible and invisible items) on a system running Mac OS X 10.3.1 or Mac OS X 10.3.2. The file is located in /System/Library/Extensions/ on a standard installation.

Resources