Mac OS X 10.5.x Special Report: What's fixed (and not fixed) in 10.5.1: Documented and undocumented; other issues
Mac OS X 10.5.x Special Report: What's fixed (and not fixed) in 10.5.1: Documented and undocumented; other issues
Documented fixes
And here, as predicted, it is - the Mac OS X 10.5.1 update. There is a single download for both Intel and PowerPC machines. According to Apple's information page, this update delivers the following improvements:
AirPort
- Allows password-protected accounts on AirPort Disks to show up on in the Finder's Shared Sidebar.
- Resolves an issue with saved passwords for wireless networks.
Back to My Mac
- Improves the reliability of Back to My Mac-enabled Macs appearing in the Finder's Shared Sidebar.
- Improves compatibility with D-Link NAT gateways.
Disk utilities
- Restores the functionality of the progress bar during permission repairs in Disk Utility.
- Addresses an issue that could produce an alert when creating disk images using Disk Utility or Terminal.
- Improves disk partitioning when multiple RAID sets are created on the same disk.
iCal
- iCal alarms are now more reliably delivered via email.
- Resolves an issue when inviting attendees via a CalDAV account.
- Improves stability when resizing columns in the message viewer or switching between Stationery templates in email messages.
- Addresses an issue in which attachments enclosed inside an HTML link may not be clickable in email messages.
- Fixes an issue with email accounts added using the "Simple Setup" feature in which messages cannot be sent due to an SMTP connection failure.
- Improves Smart Mailboxes compatibility with .Mac Sync, and addresses an issue with To Do's disappearing when using Smart Mailboxes.
- Resolves an issue with syncing Mail accounts with .Mac in which multiple On My Mac folders appear in the Mailbox pane.
Networking
- Addresses an issue in which Microsoft Windows shared folders may be read-only when connected via SMB.
Printing
- Resolves an issue in which user-selected values on Paper Feed PDE are reset to default while saving a custom preset.
Security, Firewall
- Addresses a code signing issue; third-party applications can now run when included in the Application Firewall or when whitelisted in Parental Controls.
- In Security preferences' Firewall tab, the "Block All" option is now called "Allow Only essential services"
- Includes recent Apple security updates.
System and Finder
- Addresses a potential data loss issue when moving files across partitions in the Finder.
- Resolves an issue with login after turning off FileVault for a specific user account.
- Improves compatibility with Adobe Flash-based uploaders used by .Mac Web Gallery and certain other websites and applications.
- Resolves a potential text drawing issue with certain Adobe Flash-based websites and applications.
Time Machine
- Addresses formatting issues with certain drives used with Time Machine (specifically, single-partition MBR drives greater than 512 GB in size as well as NTFS drives of any size and partition scheme).
- Resolves an issue in which files restored in Time Machine may be restored to the backup hierarchy rather than the folders to which they belong.
Undocumented fixes and lingering problems
The bug with rich text and indentation in the Mail application that we reported yesterday is not fixed.
For most users, Repair Permissions in Disk Utility no longer shows an indefinite barber pole. Instead, the real thermometer appears immediately, as soon as the repair begins, along with an estimate of how long the repair is going to take. However, the estimate appears somewhat fanciful; on my machine, it said "1 minute", but the repair takes more like 2 minutes. I don't regard this as a problem; 2 minutes is not a long time, especially considering how much more complicated permissions are in Leopard than in Tiger. The outcome of repairing permissions is a big annoyance: instead of just one message about an SUID file having changed, there are now a whole bunch:
Warning: SUID file "usr/libexec/load_hdi" has been modified and will not be repaired.
Warning: SUID file "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/DiskManagement.framework/Versions/A/Resources/DiskManagementTool" has been modified and will not be repaired.
Warning: SUID file "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/DesktopServicesPriv.framework/Versions/A/Resources/Locum" has been modified and will not be repaired.
Warning: SUID file "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/Install.framework/Versions/A/Resources/runner" has been modified and will not be repaired.
Warning: SUID file "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/Admin.framework/Versions/A/Resources/readconfig" has been modified and will not be repaired.
Warning: SUID file "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/Admin.framework/Versions/A/Resources/writeconfig" has been modified and will not be repaired.
Warning: SUID file "usr/libexec/authopen" has been modified and will not be repaired.
Warning: SUID file "System/Library/CoreServices/Finder.app/Contents/Resources/OwnerGroupTool" has been modified and will not be repaired.
Warning: SUID file "System/Library/CoreServices/RemoteManagement/ARDAgent.app/Contents/MacOS/ARDAgent" has been modified and will not be repaired.These warnings can be safely ignored, but it would be nice if Apple would just suppress them, as they serve no purpose except to worry unwary users.
On my machine, following the update installation, my AirPort completely stopped working: it wouldn't connect to the network, for love or money. I shut down the computer, counted to ten, started it up again, and it worked fine. However, I rather unscientifically changed two things at the same time; while the computer was off, I recycled the router (pulled the plug on it to cut off the power, waited for a while, put the plug back in). So it's hard to know which of those things fixed the problem. The annoying problem where AirPort fails to reconnect properly after sleep, so that I have to turn the AirPort card off and on in order to see the network, is not fixed for me.
A reader reports that his Bluetooth problem, where he can't pair to Apple's own wireless keyboard, is not fixed.
Problems with AirPort disks are not fixed for at least some users. A reader writes:
I still do not see my USB drive visible anywhere in Apple's finder when it's connected through the Airport Extreme (I rebooted the Airport and drive after installing 10.5.1). When I access Airport Utilities, the option "Disks" is still grayed out in the Settings Menu item.
The problem with Secure Empty Trash, which hangs for some users, is not fixed. A reader writes:
My Secure Empty Trash freezes every time I try to use it. I have to Force Quit the Finder every time.
Some users are apparently seeing a repeated crash log report due to bookmark syncing with .Mac:
After upgrading to 10.5.1, I started getting this error over and over: "PubSubAgent unexpectedly quit". I found a note [at Apple Discussions] saying that the temporary fix is to turn off bookmark syncing in .Mac prefs (in System Preferences.) Yes, the error stopped, but of course I'd like my bookmarks to sync.
We come now to some highly individual reports. Please bear in mind that these may be very exceptional issues. Still, they are certainly not uninteresting.
One user couldn't boot after the update. This may be a conflict with his third-party hardware:
After installing the 10.5.1 update, my computer would not boot, and I got some weird error message about the CPU. I'm wondering if it's related to the Sonnett dual 1.8 GHz processor upgrade in my G4 (AGP graphics.) I tried to repair using the original Leopard disk - didn't work. I then had to do a complete restore (erasing my hard drive) from Time Machine (which took 2 hours.) I was also unable to get into single-user mode. I then unplugged all USB and Firewire connections and tried installing the 10.5.1 update again. This time there was no kernel panic after reboot, but it hung at the grey Apple screen. I am again restoring to 10.5.0, and have no plans to have to try this update again.
And here's a really weird one - the computer is acting as if the PRAM (or nvram) had been magically wiped:
Just updated a clean install of 10.5.0 to 10.5.1 and it was a disaster. The machine rebooted after the update process then shut off. I restarted the G5 2.7 Ghz 3.0Gb ram Ati x800 Mac. Then it had forgotten the airport network, the date and time was wrong (1969), set time automatically no longer works, internet access was on and off, subsequent restarts resulted in date and time wrong after re-setting to correct and saving previously, and airport network forgotten again. Repair permissions not functioning. 2nd internal disk has 10.4.10 with no problems as usual.
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