Apple releases Boot Camp 3.2, MacBook EFI firmware updates
Apple has released Boot Camp 3.2, which adds support for some Apple peripheral devices and fixes critical bugs. An EFI firmware update is also available for mid-2010 MacBook and MacBook Pro systems that use the Geforce 320M GPU.
Apple has released a couple of updates today pertaining to Boot Camp as well as MacBook and MacBook Pro systems. The update for Boot Camp addresses some critical bugs, and adds support for the Radeon 5870 GPU, Apple USB Ethernet adapter, and the MacBook Air external superdrive.
Apple recommends that all Boot Camp 3.1 users apply the update to address the bug fixes (currently undocumented).
There are two versions of the update, one for 32-bit Windows operating systems, and the other for 64-bit operating systems. Apple's software update utility in Windows should detect the proper version for your Windows installation, but you can also download them from the Apple Support Web pages for these updates:
Boot Camp Software Update 3.2 for Windows 32-bit (280.28MB)
Boot Camp Software Update 3.2 for Windows 64-bit (121.25MB)
The EFI firmware updates released today are for the 13-inch mid-2010 MacBook Pro and and MacBook systems, which use the Geforce 320M Graphics processor. The update addresses an issue in these systems where connecting an external display would occasionally result in purple coloration.
The updates are a small 1.98MB download and will require OS X 10.6.5 to install, so be sure you have upgraded from OS X 10.6.4 before applying the update. They should be available via Software Update, but can also be downloaded from the following Web pages:
MacBook Pro EFI Firmware Update 2.0 (1.98MB)
MacBook EFI Firmware Update 2.0 (1.98MB)
After applying the updates, the Boot ROM version for the MacBook Pro will be MBP71.0039.B0B; for the MacBook it will be MB71.0039.B0B. These numbers can be checked by opening the "System Profiler" utility (available by clicking "More Info" in the "About This Mac" option in the Apple menu), and then clicking the "Hardware" section, which should be selected by default.
As always, before applying either the Boot Camp or EFI firmware updates, be sure to fully back up your system (that includes Windows). Time Machine will not back up the Boot Camp partition, so be sure you either clone it or use a Windows-based backup system to secure your data. The firmware update will require you have the MacBook system plugged into a wall outlet, and it is important the update does not get interrupted.
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