Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) #2: Retail Build number; Apple Remote Desktop problems; Radeon X800XT compatibility; more
Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) #2: Retail Build number; Apple Remote Desktop problems; Radeon X800XT compatibility; more
Retail Build Number The build number of Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) on currently shipping retail DVDs is 8A428.
Apple Remote Access broken Several readers have reported functional problems with the current version of Apple Remote Desktop under Mac OS X 10.4. One reader writes:
"After installing Tiger, my previously working copy of Apple Remote Access Admin v2.1 has stopped working. Deleting the App and plist, and reinstalling haven't helped. (Good thing I had also installed Timbuktu on my headless server (my ARD client) as a backup!)"
Eric Bullock adds "I have the new OS running on two machines. A Pismo and a single 1.8 G5. So far only minor issues. The most annoying is how Remote Desktop 2.1 Admin no longer launches. 2.2 coming soon I hope!"
ATI Radeon X800XT compatibility problems While we continue to cover some serious issues with the just-released ROM update for the newly shipping, high-end ATI Radeon X800XT, it now appears that Mac OS X 10.4 also issues with the graphics card.
MacFixIt reader Justin writes:
"Everything - except the video card - is Apple OEM (RAM included). Performed an erase and install, and the G5 rebooted. The machine froze (blue screen, no mouse cursor) before getting to the Tiger welcome video. Holding down the power button powered the machine off. Removed all peripherals, pressed the power button to switch it on - again no luck - same issue.
"Swapping the X800 with the OEM 9800 XT resulted in a smooth boot sequence - no problems. I set everything up and set Activity Monitor as a login item (CPU history shown in the dock icon). Swapping the X800 back in sure had interesting results: During the boot sequence, the G5 would kernel panic (multi-lingual panic message) while still showing the gray Apple logo, but then it would then continue booting to the blue "Welcome to Mac OS X" screen and sometimes even to the desktop. If it did make it to the desktop and the dock would launch, I could see that one of the two CPUs in Activity Monitor's dock icon was not generating a reading - it appeared inactive. This is as far as it would ever boot with the X800 installed - the Finder never launched.
"I removed the X800 and put in a GeForce 6800 Ultra - again, no problems booting after dozens of attempts. The bottom line: An X800 installed in my G5 seems to crash one of the CPUs during the boot sequence. I have no idea why."
The sequence of events described by Justin is strikingly similar to reports from readers who had issues with the Radeon X800XT ROM update.
Bluetooth keyboard issues MacFixIt reader SL reports some minor issues with his Bluetooth keyboard since installing Mac OS X 10.4.
SL writes:
"This is my problem. Whenever I start my computer I receive the following error: 'You have pressed a key on your built-in keyboard. Please press the keys on your external keyboard.' The problem is I don't have a built in keyboard. I am using a bluetooth keyboard. It does recognize my bluetooth keyboard with no problem (purchased from Apple)."
Wait for Spotlight indexing to occur before general use Several readers have noted some minor quirks that seem to dissipate about 30 minutes to one hour after installing Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger). Some of these issues may be caused by the Spotlight hard drive indexing process that happens after the first Mac OS X 10.4 startup.
Spotlight indexing speed depends on the size of your storage volumes and the number of files contained therein. If you are experiencing some minor deficiencies after your first Mac OS X 10.4 boot, re-attempt the processes after the system has been active for an hour or so (or several hours in extreme cases) and check for persistence of the problems.
Third-party application/device problems Many of these issues will be resolved in the coming days and weeks as more developers release Tiger-compliant versions of their applications.
Dave 5.1 A number of readers have reported issues with Thursby's Dave 5.1 under Mac OS X 10.4. One reader writes:
"So far, I have had to uninstall Dave 5.1 and will have to get with my IT person to connect to the Windows network here at the office ? there?s something I don?t know keeping me from it in Finder. The error message I got in the System preferences panel is that the Dave kernel couldn't load. They have nothing about Tiger on their web site."
Now Contact and Up-to-Date Both of these applications will not function properly under Mac OS X 10.4, freezing on launch.
Now has posted the following details regarding Mac OS X 10.4 compatibility on their site:
"Now Up-to-Date and Contact version 5 is in the final rounds of beta testing. Version 5 supports Mac OS X 10.2 through 10.4 ("Tiger") and will be available by June 2005.
"The current shipping version, 4.5.3, is not Tiger compatible. We recommend that customers who rely on Now Up-to-Date and Contact wait until version 5 has been released before installing Tiger. [...]
"We are working on subsequent versions which adds many Tiger-specific features, such as Dashboard Widgets for QuickDay and QuickContact, Spotlight support, and full support for Sync Services. These features will be provided free of charge to those that purchase or upgrade to version 5 and will be available later this year."
Other applications reported as problematic
- Roxio Popcorn
- Carbon Copy Cloner
- M-Audio Sonica speaker system drivers
- The Norton s Auto Protect component of Norton AntiVirus 9.0.x
Lofty iChat AV requirements MacFixIt reader Scott Rose notes that Apple's posted system requirements for initiating 4-person video conferences using the new version of iChat AV (version 3.0) included with Tiger effectively exclude all currently available Apple portables.
Initiating a 4-person video conference function requires a Dual 1GHz G4, or any G5. Participating in a 4-person video chat requires a 1GHz G4, dual 800 MHz G4 or any G5.
Obtaining Mac OS X 10.4 on CD As previously noted, Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) ships on DVD media. For users with drives capable only of reading CDs, Apple offers a Media Exchange program for US$9.95 that will ship Tiger on a set of CDs.
Developers still not receiving final release Although Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) is shipping to consumers through a number of resellers, members of the Apple Developer Connection have still not been given access to a final release build.
One reader writes: "It is interesting to see that Tiger is being shipped already to the general public and will be available to them on April 29th, but ADC Select and Premium Members have to wait several days (a week or more if you are overseas as I am) even after the release on April 29th before we will get our Tiger GM (golden master) copy."
Feedback on Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger)? Late-breakers@macfixit.com.
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