Mac OS X 10.4.10 (#7): USB disasters and recovery

Fixes for problems recognizing devices and more

CNET staff

Sept. 2, 2009 1:38 a.m. PT

3 min read

[Published Thursday, June 28th]

USB problems: devices not recognized, more, fixes Since Mac OS X 10.4.10 makes major modifications to the USB subsystem in Mac OS X, it's no surprise that many users are experiencing significant issues with USB devices after the update. These include inability to mount or recognize devices, crashes when connecting devices and more. Many of these issues were also occurring under Security Update 2007-005, which is rolled into Mac OS X 10.4.10.

One MacFixIt reader writes:

"Ever since installing the 10.4.10 update on my first generation MacBook my USB 2.0 Mercury Elite Hard Drive from Other World Computing will not mount. The drive was working perfectly before the update and now won't mount at all. I can however see the drive under the USB tab of Apple System Profiler it shows up as 'Macpower USB2.0A 3.5" HDD.' I can't get it to mount with either Disk Utility or DiskWarrior.

"I've done all the basics including restarting, repairing disk permissions, running all my cron scripts (using Cocktail), swapping out the USB cable, swapped ports, tried it with and without a hub. I've plugged in a different USB drive and it works fine so I know it's not an issue with the port. , and I even reinstalled the 10.4.10 combo updater. The only thing I can figure is it's an issue with the 10.4.10 update."

Another reader adds:

"After downloading and installing the update Mac OS X 10.4.10 intel version I can no longer address my external backup USB hard disk. Hardware system profile find the usb 2.0 storage device, but I can't see it on my desktop or with the disk utility program. I have a similar usb disk which I have tried with with the same result. The Usb hard disk is of the type Amitech. I have tried with another USB cable, same result. It worked fine with Mac OS X 10.4.9."

There are three commonly successful fixes for these issues:

Fixes

Get the update off your Mac Use our tutorial on reinstalling Mac OS X to get Mac OS X 10.4.10 off your Mac and revert to an earlier system state. Note that since many USB issues also occurred with Security Update 2007-005, you may want to abstain from that update and stay at a vanilla copy of Mac OS X 10.4.9.

Revert kernel extensions This problem can sometimes be resolved by reverting to an earlier version of the IOHIDFamily.kext and IOUSB.kext via the following instructions:

Download the appropriate version of the Mac OS X 10.4.9 and Mac OS X 10.4.8 combo updaters for your system (more on why later) from Apple's download page, but do not install either.

Download and install the shareware application Pacifist

Drag the Mac OS X 10.4.9 installer package onto the Pacifist application icon.

Click the triangle next to "System" to expand it

Click the triangle next to "Library" to expand it

Click the triangle next to "Extensions" to expand it

Find the file IOHIDFamily.kext. Click the Install button in Pacifist and enter your administrator password.

Find the file IOUSBFamily.kext. Click the Install button in Pacifist and enter your administrator password.

Restart your Mac and check for resolution of the issues. If the problem still exists, repeat the steps, but use files from the Mac OS X 10.4.8 combo updater.

Update USB device firmware Outdated firmware or drivers may be precluding recognition for some devices. Try checking your device manufacturer's Web site for the latest downloads.