Troubleshooting Mac OS X 10.2.5: Keychain problems; Multiple displays; black screen at startup; ATI issues resolved; more

Keychain problems We are beginning to hear scattered reports of keychain corruption, generally simply resulting in an inability to access stored passwords. Kent Durvin writes:

"I installed the Mac OS X 10.2.5 Combo update, and my keychain became corrupted. This happened as soon as I restarted. Entourage could not retrieve or save passwords. When opened Keychain Access, I could see the keychain, but if I tried to unlock it, nothing happened. I used Keychain First Aid, and it said the keychain file appeared to be invalid. I created a new keychain, set it as default in Keychain Access, and it works."

Multiple displays; black screen at startup There are a wide array of issues with multiple monitors after applying the Mac OS X 10.2.5 update - as well as a few select cases of single display failure.

Some users report that with a two monitor set-up, the images swapped left/right positions in the display configuration. Others note that in three display configurations where two monitors are connected to the same card, only one monitor is operational.

On our in-house Power Macintosh G4/733, the display sometimes remains black when the system wakes from sleep - pinging the display out of standby mode, but delivering no visual content.

ATI issues resolved According to several corroborated reader reports, the Mac OS X 10.2.5 update resolves a previously reported issue with image ghosting and flickering on PowerBook G4 Titanium models that use ATI graphics chip sets.

The workaround we noted several weeks ago involved reverting to an older version of the ATI kernel extension files, but is no longer necessary after installing Mac OS X 10.2.5.

More iBook battery problems? We previously reported a serious iBook battery drain issue with Mac OS X 10.2.4, which many readers say has been resolved with their new installation of Mac OS X 10.2.5. However, a handful readers report the opposite. Joe Edgell writes:

"Previously you guys reported many users having much shorter battery lives after installing Mac OS X version 10.2.4. I was one of those users, although my battery life was not nearly as shortened as some people. I installed 10.2.5 hoping that those problems have been fixed. Imagine my surprise when I know have less than one hour of battery life in a Dual USB 500 mhz iBook. This is impossible. I can put my computer to sleep, and in 24 hours or less the battery is dead and will not awaken from sleep without the charger plugged in. Also, the computer will go to sleep when the battery life indicator tells me I have 25-30 percent of my charge left. I used to be able to get 4 hours of batter life with power conservation features active. Now, I am lucky to get an hour."

A small group of portable users seem to be hampered by some sort of battery drainage problems with nearly every incremental Mac OS X update. We are continuing to investigate the root cause, but remember to check your battery in another portable or have it tested at an authorized Apple repair center to make sure it is not simply degrading due to old age.

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