Mac OS X 10.5.3: FireWire drives not mounting; hang at sleep; Parallels problems; more

Rolling back to Mac OS X 10.5.2 and a host of other topics in today's coverage.

CNET staff

Sept. 2, 2009 2:38 a.m. PT

4 min read

Rolling back to Mac OS X 10.5.2 As a reminder, if you are experiencing dire issues with Mac OS X 10.5.3 and would like to revert to Mac OS X 10.5.2, see our tutorial on reinstalling the system, or, if you have a current, full Time Machine backup, our step-by-step process for downgrading Mac OS X with Time Machine.

FireWire drives not mounting -- fixes Several users have reported an inability to mount and use FireWire-connected drives after updating to Mac OS X 10.5.3. For drives with both USB 2.0 and FireWire connectivity, the temporary solution is often to switch to the USB 2.0 port.

MacFixIt reader Dennis writes:

"I have found the same drives will mount when connected via a USB 2.0 cable but not firewire or firewire 800. Not sure what that means, but hopefully its all part of the puzzle."

Another reader adds:

"My Western Digital firewire external drives are not mounting after 10.5.3 update."

In other cases, re-applying the Mac OS X 10.5.3 combo updater may help restore connectivity to FireWire devices that were made unrecognizable after the first attempt at updating.

Also, make sure your FireWire drive's firmware is up-to-date (check the manufacturer's Web site) if you are experiencing any issues under a newly released incremental Mac OS X update. Time and again, users have found that non-mounting, or constantly disappearing FireWire drives are problem-free after applying the latest firmware

Hang at sleep -- close iChat A large number of users continue to report an issue in which the system refuses to properly go to sleep under Mac OS X 10.5.3, instead going into a dark-screen mode where the fans last and the system cannot be awoken. As described by one reader:

"I have a G5 PowerPC and the same problem: Did the Mac OS X 10.5.3 upgrade and ever since my Mac goes to SLEEP, it freezes up with the fan going at full blast.

Users have now reported that closing iChat before attempting sleep can prevent the issue.

One MacFixIt reader writes:

"I've also had this issue since 10.5.3, but only if I happen to leave iChat open. Looking in the System logs I can see where iChat interrupts the sleep event and then the system hangs. Closing iChat before putting the system to sleep will allow sleep to work normally. I haven't found a work around yet. The system is a PowerMac G5, 2 x 2GHz with 8GB RAM."

Parallels incompatibility -- update Parallels Desktop build 5600 exhibits compatibility issues with mac OS X 10.5.3, as acknowledged by Parallels' technical support team:

"It is a known issue happening due to 10.5.3 Leopard update. Our Development team is constantly investigating this issue. We will provide a new build fixing this as soon as possible. We will highly appreciate it if you wait for several days more to let us complete the investigation. And now I just should recommend you to roll back to 10.5.2."

The specific issues:

Accidental video artifacts in virtual machines running in the Single Window mode on Macs updated to Mac OS X v10.5.3
Incorrect behavior of topmost windows in the Coherence mode on Macs updated to Mac OS X v10.5.3

A new version of Parallels released today, build 5608, resolves the issues.

Problems shutting down -- reset PRAM Users also continue to report an issue where Macs fail to shut down after the update to Mac OS X 10.5.3. It appears that a PRAM reset may fix the issue:

"I too had problems with this after updating to 10.5.3. When shutting down, the contents of the desktop and the menu bar would disappear and the spinning gear kept spinning incessantly, necessitating a forced shutdown by holding the power button. Resetting PRAM cured the problem."

To do this, 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.

Feedback? Late-breakers@macfixit.com.

Previous coverage: