Mac OS X 10.0.4: initial reader reports

We have been flooded with reader comments since shortly after the update was released. Most of the comments have been positive, even though we have listed more problems than successes. The information below is mostly unconfirmed, we believe it be accurate, but keep in mind these are initial reports. YMMV.

One possible problem stands out already: several users report that their keyboards stopped working after the update. The problem may be related to using an external hub, as some users report success after attaching the keyboard and mouse directly to the CPU. Also, a few users encountered serious problems such as the machine failing to reboot once 10.0.4 was installed.

Update: After installing the update I was unable to boot my iBook. Also, I could not boot from the original OSX disk nor Symantec Systemsworks disk. It was necessary to boot from the 9.1 CD-ROM from the original OSX package, choose Startup Disk control panel, and choose the newly updated OS and restart. (Roger Westfield)

Update: The sound problem that was introduced in 10.0.2 appears to be back in 10.0.4 for the unsupported and beige machines. And the fix that James Denton came up with works again, perfectly. (Ryan Gould)

Here are some of the experiences readers have reported:

Fixes and successes:

First impression (15 minutes): Page loading in OmniWeb is MUCH faster, easily twice as fast. (Will Santillo)

This update has made Finder operations faster, and my Outlook (for Exchange server) connections within Classic seem much more stable. (Scott Boettcher)

I do a fair amount of FileMaker Pro development (4.0 and 5.0) and layout mode did not work correctly in Classic. Fields and other layout elements would "float" around the screen whenever an attempt was made to move them, making layout work impossible. It looks like this has been fixed with the 10.0.4 update. (Kurt Huffman)

It fixes a problem with Classic where subsequent files of any application would not open without quitting the application and relaunching every time. Also see this MacFixIt Forums thread. (Guy Thompson)

My iBook (Dual USB) no longer locks up only to never wakeup if I put it to sleep while Classic is running (the dread "coma" bug); also the screen brightness keys now work. (Richard Hardy)

It appears that the bug that kept sound from playing though the external speakers right after startup has been fixed. I no longer have to unplug and plug in the speakers every time I restart. (Geoff Franks)

Problem reports:

After installing the update and restarting the OS, I have lost all USB functionality including keyboard and mouse. I restarted several more times in case that was an isolated error but it seems that with this new update, more trouble has been made. (Caley Martin)

There does not appear to be any improvement in the battery consumption problem under sleep on my Wallstreet PowerBook. The internal fan will still start up whenever the power adapter is disconnected. And the corresponding battery power consumption under sleep remain unchanged as for 10.0.0-10.0.3. (Weiyun Yu)

After installing the 10.0.4 update, I am no longer able to connect via SSH to my RedHat 7.1 boxes. It fails to connect and displays an error message. (Robert Toups)

Update: Daniel Côté writes: "I believe the problem for SSH is that it now defaults to SSH2. I had the same problem as Robert and now ssh to my RedHat machines by forcing SSH1 with a dash-one option: ssh -1 machine.domain.com"

Update: I am having the same problem -- I can't connect to my RedHat 6.2 boxes. The -1 option didn't help either. (Darryl Yoshi)

Update: In addition to the command line option, you can also tell ssh to default to ssh1 for specific hosts. You can set this either per user by editing the ~/.ssh/config file, or for the whole machine by editing /etc/ssh_config. (I think this is where the config file lives.) To tell it to use ssh1, add the following lines for each host:

Host mymachine.mydomain.com
Protocol 1
Host 192.168.1.1
Protocol 1

To set it to use ssh1 for _any_ host, just use a wildcard:

Host *
Protocol 1

For more information, see the section on configuration files for ssh here.
(Snibor Eoj)

Update: I'm experiencing a new SSH error after installing OS 10.0.4. I can no longer ssh into a Sun Box that worked fine before the update. Instead I get this error:Disconnecting: Bad packet length -1993379553. I can ssh into my Linux box though. (Clay Jones)

My Roland UA-30 (USB audio device) no longer works. Under 10.0.3 I just plugged it in at any time, and it automatically started acting as the audio in/out for my iMac. Now under 10.0.4, it is not recognized at all. (Mark Boszko)

Still no sound through my external speakers on a Bondi iMac. (Mike Travers)

I am unable to use OS X after installing it on a B&W G3. After 10.0.4 boots, the mouse and keyboard is not functional. (Rocky Pope)

I still get a kernel panic when I turn on or off my Sony Spressa USB 100E/X2. It happens when plugged into either a hug or directly into the CPU USB ports. Otherwise, all is well. (George Papanicolaou)

After installing 10.0.4, the keyboard and mouse on my G4-733 didn't function. I reinstalled OS X and applied 10.0.01 with no problems. Again, the keyboard and mouse were unrecognized when 10.0.4 was installed. After disconnecting my Belkin hub and connecting the keyboard directly to the computer's USB port, the keyboard and mouse functioned. (no name given)

After installing I could not use the keyboard and mouse, which makes it difficult to log in. I have a 15'' Apple LCD attached to a Dual 533 G4 256MB RAM and tried the monitor's and the computer's USB ports, but switching did not fix the problem. They still work in 9.1. I'm using standard Apple keyboard and mouse. (Robert Barr)

The 10.0.4 update seems to have disabled my built in FTP server. (no name given)

A big thank you to everyone who wrote, especially to those who remain anonymous because we did not publish their message. We appreciate each and every note.