Troubleshooting Mac OS X 10.2.6 (#1): Combo updater differences; iPod recognition; more

Mac OS X 10.2.6 represents not only one of the quickest release turnovers from Apple, but also one of the fastest responses by virtually any OS developer to a major flaw - in this case repeated kernel panics caused by a bug in the USB architecture. Still, some users are having problems with the new iteration.

Why the combo updater is so different As we have explained in numerous past Mac OS X troubleshooting reports, applying the combo updater rather than the incremental updater for Mac OS X 10.2.6 and other releases can alleviate a broad range of problems. MacFixIt reader Philip Tejada set up a study of sorts to see exactly what differences there are between identical systems: one updated with the incremental updater, and the other with the combo updater. The results are astonishing:

"I set up two identical partitions with an identical copy of 10.2.5 on each. One I updated with the incremental updater, and the other with the Combo updater. What I found is that over 2800 files were different on the two systems after the updates. Many of these files are the actual binaries of applications and frameworks.

"I would have assumed that running either updater should yield the same system, but that assumption proved to be woefully wrong. I've included a text file with the different output comparing the two systems. With the exception of just a few files that I would expect to be different after booting both systems, there are many files that obviously shouldn't be different."

Obviously, the lack of presence, or "staleness" of these files can be the root of a host of issues. Tracking down the individual culprits can be difficult, so applying the usually large (80 MB ) combo updater is your best bet.

iPod recognition We have received corroborating reports indicating loss of iPod recognition after upgrading to Mac OS X 10.2.6. This quirk springs up with every refresh to Mac OS X, and is usually solved by applying the combo updater. If you are still having problems after trying the combo updater, drop us a line at late-breakers@macfixit.com.

Now Contact and Now Up-to-Date Some users are reporting that with Now Contact and Now Up-to-Date version 4.2.6 installed, menubars fail to be accessible after updating to Mac OS X 10.2.6.

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