Mac OS X 10.5.2: Problems starting up; ACL messages in Disk Utility; more

More problems with the huge update.

CNET staff

Sept. 2, 2009 2:21 a.m. PT

11 min read

[Wednesday, February 13th]

[12:55 PM update]

New Disk Repair shutdown mechanism MacFixIt reader Jim Muha points out an interesting change in Mac OS X 10.5.2 with regard to Disk repair:

"The computer will now shut down if an automatic disk repair does not succeed during startup."

We haven't seen this mechanism in action yet, so we don't know if there is a warning regaring the impending shutdown. We also don't know of there is an override mechanism.

Mail.app issues Users are reporting a series of problems with Mail.app after updating to Mac OS X 10.5.2. Among them:

Problems rendering messages: Some users are reporting an issue in which Mail.app fails to render certain messages -- particularly HTML messages -- or quits immediatley when attempting to open certain messages. Per one reader: "Mail is hanging when trying to display a message after double clicking or after browsing through multiple messages and viewing through previewer window. Window displays empty and then does not draw. App goes not-responding. Am waiting to see if it is hanging due to updating such large mailbox stores."

Messages the trash are inaccessible Readers are also reporting a problem in which messages in the Trash cannot be opened. Kevin Vogelhut writes: "I can see the list of messages in the Trash, but nothing appears in the preview pane, I cannot open these messages in their own window by double clicking on them, and I cannot move the messages to another Mailbox by either drag-and-drop or by using the Move menu command. I need to see the contents of some messages before committing to deleting them forever, so I reported this bug to Apple feedback. Then thought I would try Quitting Mail and then opening it again to see if this helped. It didn't. Now the Trash is empty and the messages formerly in it appear gone."

Screen savers not asking for passwords Some users are reporting more frequent occurence of an issue we noted earlier this month (prior to the release of Mac OS X 10.5.2) in which the system does not ask for a password when exiting the screen saver, even if the option to do so is selected in the "Security" pane of System Preferences. The problem appears randomly, but some users have reported that they are not prompted for a password if the screen saver is invoked via a hot corner.

At the time we received word that this is a known issue, which will be fixed in an upcoming iteration of Mac OS X. Obviously, 10.5.2 is not that iteration.

Safari oddities One MacFixIt reader reports a strange Safari issue after the update: "With several tabs open in Safari, for no apparent reason it will switch to a different tab from the one I am currently working in."

Similar issue? Please let us know.

Internet not working in Parallels -- reinstall If the network connectivity is not working Parallels after the Mac OS X 10.5.2 update, try reinstalling Parallels.

AirPort problems, continued Users continue to report problems with AirPort connectivity after the 10.5.2 update. The latest reports indicate degraded speed and signal reception.

"We have both two g4 powerbooks and a macbook connected to an Airport Extreme base station. we also have a macpro on wired LAN. the macpro doesn't exhibit a reduction in upload speed.
"Since applying the 10.5.2 update on my Macbook 2 GHz intel it seems like my MacBook needs to be quite close to my airport express for good operation, if I take it 40 feet away (a distance that used to present no problem) Web pages usually take ages to load and if I click the airport icon it always says 'AirPort scanning' which I've never seen before. (Actually even when I am right next to the airport express it says "airport scanning" which after a few seconds changes to 'Airport On.' My wifes ibook, which does not have the 10.5.2 upgrade, using the same airport express, is working as normal. -- Mark Bau

Other readers are reporting that third-party wireless cards are not usable after the update. macFixIt reader Mike writes:

"When 10.5 shipped, I was happy to find that both 802.11n WiFi PC Cards worked perfectly and continued to work under 10.5.1. I was able to connect to my Netgear Rangemax NextN 802.11n router and Linksys 150n router (set as repeater using DD-WRT) at fast connection speeds. This helped with large file transfers and installs.

"Now I applied the 10.5.2 combo updater to my TiBook and both 802.11n WiFi P Cards are no longer recognized by the PowerBook. My trusty old Belkin 802.11g WiFi PCCard does work under 10.5.2."

If you are experiencing the aforementioned problems, navigate to /System/Library/Extensions and drag the following files (if they exist) to the Desktop or another location outside the System folder (you will need to hold down the Command key while dragging the file to move it if you are not an administrator):

AppleAirport2.kext
AppleAirportFW.kext

Also remove the file:

/System/Library/Extensions.kextcache

Do not remove AppleAirPort.kext. Restart and check for continuance of the problem.

Failing that, check our wireless troubleshooting tutorial and run through some of the suggested fixes. Performing the procedure listed under "Reverting to older AirPort kernel extensions" is assured to resolve some of the aforementioned problems -- particularly newly introduced incompatibility with third-party wireless cards -- but is also risky and could introduce other significant system issues immediately or in the future. If you attempt it, make sure to use the AirPort kernel extensions from Mac OS X 10.5.1.

Long startup times As with previous Mac OS X updates, the first startup after installing Mac OS X 10.5.2 can be abnormally long. If subsequent boots are also inordinately long, as in the case of Robert Smith, see our tutorial on resolving slow startup times.

Robert writes:

"Mac OS X 10.5.2 is booting very very slowly I have MBP 2.2 I tried booting 4 times now and the same thing is happening. I am installing the upgrade on first gen imac hope this is faster to boot up. No, the iMac is also taking its time booting I think it might be time machine. I am not showing external hard drives on any of the two desktops."

Freezes when using DVD Player MacFixIt reader Claus reports repeated freezes when attempting to use DVD Player under Mac OS X 10.5.2. He writes:

"I just upgraded to Mac OS X 10.5.2 and I am experiencing system lockup when starting up the 'DVD Player.' The system is unresponsive. I am not able to do anything but hard reset the computer by holding down the power button for 8 seconds."

If you're experiencing a similar problem, try these fixes:

Switch user accounts The tried-and-true workaround of switching to another user account appears to work in some cases for this issue.
Clean the drive In some cases, simply using an off-the-shelf lens DVD lens cleaner (available at most electronics outlets) works to resolve this issue.

AirDisk problems Some users are reporting a problem where files on AirDisk volumes cannot be accessed or are, disconcertingly, inadvertently deleted. One reader writes:

"When trying to rename a file on an AirDisk volume, the following error message appears. 'The operation could not be completed. An unexpected error occurred (error code -36)' On top of that, the file that is being renamed disappears. 100% data loss, all the time, very reproducible."

Similar issue? Please let us know.

Device problems

Adaptec 2906 still not working Users report that Mac OS X 10.5.2 fails to fix the problem with Leopard and the popular 2906 SCSI card from Adaptec. One reader writes: "Only a reversion to 10.4 allows the card to work on my G4."
Wacom tablets it appears that driver software for some Wacom tablets needs to be reinstalled after applying Mac OS X 10.5.2 for proper operation.

[9:00 AM update]

Problems starting up As with any incremental Mac OS X update, a number of users are experiencing an inability to properly startup after applying Mac OS X 10.5.2. Our tutorial on startup failure provides some insight. Fixes that are proving effective:

Startup in Safe mode: Hold the shift key while rebooting your Mac, then just restart normally.
Reset NVRAM/PRAM: Shut down your Mac, then start it back up while immediately holding the following keys: Command, Option, P and R. Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the third time.
Check for problematic login/startup items: Startup in safe mode (hold the "Shift" key while you startup). Next, go to the Accounts pane of System Preferences and click the "Login items" tab. Select all the login items and click Remove, then restart. Also, check the /Library/StartupItems and /System/Library/StartupItems folders and remove any third-party items.
Look for problematic kernel extensions: Boot in Safe mode, and look in the folder /System/Library/Extensions for any third-party kernel extensions (files that end in .kext). Remove the kernel extensions and check for persistence of the issue.
See the tutorial for more

One MacFixIt reader writes:

"No booting, but after resetting PRAM/NVRAM iMac booted all right."

Inability to launch applications Some users are reporting problems launching key applications (including Apple apps) after installing Mac OS X 10.5.2. Some typical reports:

"Since i have upgraded to 10.5.2 i can no longer open my iTunes application." -- Tom Kemp
"I first installed via Software Update, the 10.5.2 update, and following restart, many applications would not open. The splash screen came up and stayed with the spinning beachball. Examples of applications that would not work - Office 2008, Photoshop, iPhoto and others. I fortunately was able to open my browser and download 10.5.2 Combo (343 Meg). Installing the Combo updater did not change anything; my computer exhibits the same condition and I cannot open applications either from the dock or from double clicking an icon. Frustrated? - Yes." -- Darryl G. Adams
"I can't seem to open word 2004 or endnote x.1 on my powerbook. These are critical apps for me, if there is a fix please help. have updated to 10.5.2 and also updated leopard graphics. some other apps seem broken as well, plasq's comic life and doozla so far, there may be more." -- Tim Pasch

See our tutorial What to do when a Mac OS X application will not launch for a number of fixes.

In the case of iTunes, specifically, bad files in the iTunes library might be causing problems. Try browsing through your iTunes music library (~/Music/iTunes/iTunes Music) for items with long names, remove them. Failing that, navigate to the ~/Music/iTunes/iTunes Music folder and move all the folders therein to another location (a new folder on the Desktop) for example. Now launch iTunes and make sure that the crash does not occur. Next, move the individual music folders folders back into ~/Music/iTunes/iTunes Music in groups (i.e. a few folders at a time). You should eventually experience the freeze, unresponsiveness or crash again, and you can then pinpoint the problematic music/podcast files and remove them permanently.ems.

"ACL found but not expected" Several users are receiving the message "ACL found but not expected" when repairing permissions in Disk Utility after updating to Mac OS X 10.5.2. According to Apple, these messages can be safely ignored. However, a number of users have been able to eliminate the messages by downloading and re-applying the Mac OS X 10.5.2 combo updater.

More on disappearing iCal calendars Users continue to report disappearance of iCal calendars after the update. Some of the fixes we noted yesterday -- particularly clearing iCal caches by deleting ~/Library/Calendars/Calendars Cache (~ stands for the current user library) are proving effective.

Two new workarounds have also surfaced

One reader was able to get iCal's calendars back by simply adding a calendar and then deleting the new calendar.

Another reader, Alessandro Giolitti, writes: "To get your calendars back you just need to double click one of the corestorage.ics files in one of the ~/Library/Application Support/iCal/Sources/xxxx.calendar folders. I did it with iCal open: no idea how it works with the application closed. Maybe it just finds its way home."

Disappearing Widgets One MacFixIt reader reports the disappearance of Dashboard widgets after the update:

"Post 10.5.2 installation on my MacBook Pro 2.33/2GB the Dashboard weather widget disappeared. Attempting to add a new weather widget instance gives the appearance of the widget being added, showing the expected shimmering/splash effect but no resulting widget. All that appears is the x-in-the-circle close box associated with all widgets."

Active Directory issues persist, workaround Release notes for Mac OS X 10.5.2 Update indicate resolution of an issue that would prevent binding to an Active Directory domain. Most users are finding that while binding is more reliable overall, there still exist a bug where Mac OS X cannot automatically find the Kerberos Key Distribution Center server (KDC, usually the same as the domain controller).

MacFixIt reader Gerrit DeWitt believes that this is due to the fact thatkerberosautoconfig fails to generate a complete edu.mit.Kerberos file.

When the issue manifests, attempts to bind may fail with an invalid user name and password error, even though the user name and password are known to be correct. If binding is successful, users defined in the Active Directory domain may not be able to log in from the login window, especially after a restart. (The login window will shake and reject the user's password as if it was incorrectly typed.)

DeWitt offers the following workaround, which needs to be performed via the Terminal (located in /Applications/Utilities by a local administrator:

Close Directory Utility if it's open. If desired, back-up your current /Library/Preferences/DirectoryService folder and /Library/Preferences/edu.mit.Kerberos file.
Stop the launch daemon that is responsible for running kerberosautoconfig and periodically updating the edu.mit.Kerberos file:

sudo launchctl unload -w /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.KerberosAutoConfig.plist

(By using -w, the item will remain unloaded even after restarting the computer.)

In some instances, it is also necessary to unload the launch daemons that are responsible for starting mDNS (Bonjour):

sudo launchctl unload -w /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.mDNSResponder.plist

and

sudo launchctl unload -w /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.mDNSResponderHelper.plist
Stop the DirectoryService process and delete its configuration files.

a. Issue the following command a few times until you get a "no matching process" error:

sudo killall DirectoryService

b. At this point DirectoryService will be dead for about 10 seconds until launchd reloads it. Before it reloads, delete these configuration files, which house Directory Service and Kerberos settings:

sudo rm -rf /Library/Preferences/DirectoryService sudo rm /Library/Preferences/edu.mit.Kerberos*

I've added the wildcard to edu.mit.Kerberos to include any Kerberos files that were moved and renamed by previous binding attempts.
Tell kerberosautoconfig to generate a valid edu.mit.Kerberos file:

kerberosautoconfig -r REALMNAME -m kdc.server

Replace REALMNAME with your Kerberos Realm, which is usually your DNS zone and suffix in upper-case like this: SOMESCHOOL.EDU

Replace kdc.server with the host name or IP address of your Kerberos Key Distribution Center (KDC), which is usually the same as a domain controller's host name; an example is: win03.someschool.edu

Now you can inspect /Library/Preferences/edu.mit.Kerberos to see that both of the kdc and admin_server directives are available in the [realms] section.
Reload DirectoryService again. Issue this command a few times until you get a "no process" error:

sudo killall DirectoryService
Wait about 10 seconds so that launchd can reload DirectoryService. Now try binding to Active Directory using dsconfigad or the Directory Utility. If adding via advanced options in Directory Utility or via dsconfigad, check to be sure that the Active Directory plugin is active and that the domain is in the authentication search path.

Binding should now be successful. If you still receive an error, try again, but this time unload the mDNS launch daemons as well (optional in step 1).