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Lion Internet Recovery Comes to Current-Generation iMacs

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MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
63,481
30,716



Apple today released a series of firmware updates for its 2011 Mac lineup, addressing several issues to increase the stability of the systems. But the iMac EFI Update 1.7 goes a bit further, bringing the Lion Internet Recovery feature to the current generation of iMac models. The iMac update also specifically addresses several Thunderbolt performance issues.
About iMac EFI Update 1.7

This update enables Lion Recovery from an Internet connection and includes fixes that resolve issues with Apple Thunderbolt Display compatibility and Thunderbolt Target Disk Mode performance on iMac (early 2011) models.
Click to expand...
Internet Recovery launched as part of OS X Lion in July, allowing users to easily install the operating system on a blank hard drive, a feature that is handy for users who are replacing their hard drives or for whom the recovery partition included on their Lion system becomes inaccessible. Internet Recovery functions by adding a minimal bootable install onto a machine's firmware to allow it to connect the Internet and download the full Lion operating system for installation.

lion_internet_recovery.png



Internet Recovery initially debuted on the MacBook Air and Mac mini models that were released alongside OS X Lion, but was extended to the Early 2011 MacBook Pro line last month. With the addition of the iMac, all of Apple's current Mac models with the exception of the Mac Pro are now capable of accessing Lion Internet Recovery. The Mac Pro has not been updated since mid-2010, and delays in Intel's chip production appear to have pushed any refresh into next year.

In addition to the iMac EFI firmware update released today, Apple also pushed out MacBook Pro EFI Firmware Update 2.3 for Early 2011 models, MacBook Air EFI Firmware Update 2.2 for Mid 2011 models, and Mac mini EFI Firmware Update 1.4 for Mid 2011 models.

Article Link: Lion Internet Recovery Comes to Current-Generation iMacs
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2011/10/26/lion-internet-recovery-comes-to-current-generation-imacs/
mobi

mobi

macrumors 6502
Jul 26, 2004
407
15
Penn's Woods
I'm convinced a Lion upgrade trashed my MacBook Pro (2010) hard drive, could have used this feature...glad they are working out the kinks.
 
SmileyDude

SmileyDude

macrumors regular
Jul 24, 2002
194
61
MA
What's up with the picture of the bondi blue iMac on that support page for the EFI update?
 
justinfreid

justinfreid

macrumors 6502a
Nov 24, 2009
501
23
NEW Jersey / USA
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A334 Safari/7534.48.3)

I wonder if this is technically possible on earlier models and whether Apple will ever add it, or if it's partly a licensing issue: they know these later models shipped with Lion or the free upgrade.
 
S

SanibelMan

macrumors member
Jul 1, 2004
34
0
Is there a document somewhere showing details of the other fixes? My 2011 iMac has a problem where switching accounts will sometimes cause the speakers to stop working, and plugging in and unplugging headphones will fix it. I figured it had to either be an OS or firmware issue.
 
Q

Qwaf

macrumors regular
Sep 11, 2010
128
54
Just updated my iMac, now, I hope they release it for my 2010 MacBook Pro, but I dont expect it.
 
7

78-bit

macrumors newbie
Sep 29, 2011
29
0
After updating my 2011 15" MBP I now experience no Internet connection when waking from sleep.
 
johnmacward

johnmacward

macrumors 6502
Jul 12, 2011
341
247
aberrero said:
Why no support for the 2010 MBA?
Click to expand...

There's a chance the firmware chip from 2010 days can't handle the instruction set or it has to do with older MacBook's not necessarily being entitled to Lion as it downloads a recovery environment without the need for an Apple ID.
 
Porco

Porco

macrumors 68040
Mar 28, 2005
3,315
6,909
It's a good option to have, but I can't help thinking it'd be more useful if the iMac's internal hard drive was more easily replaceable by ordinary users.
 
D

divinox

macrumors 68000
Jul 17, 2011
1,979
0
hoping for this to fix the kernel issues with my mba 2011.

edit: it didn't, rather it created one. sigh.
 
Last edited:
F

Farthen

macrumors member
Feb 3, 2009
74
5
Germany
Awesome! This introduced a display backlight flicker to my 27" iMac though :/

It seems to disappear after a few minutes of uptime though so its not very huge. Even though i think it is really weird and i hope it won't harm the display.

Anyone else with this problem? PRAM and SMC reset don't change anything.
 
MiltonThales

MiltonThales

macrumors member
Jan 12, 2008
46
22
Suwanee, GA
MacBook Air Update Confusion

Last night, I updated my MacBook Air Mid2011 13" to the EFI Firmware Update 2.1. Today, Apple Support shows a page for Update 2.1, but it redirects to EFI Firmware Update 2.2. I can download the 2.2 update .dmg and mount it, but when I try to install it says it does not apply !!!

So I am confused and curious. Do I have a bad update installed ? Why can't I install the newer update ? :confused:
 
F

Fresh Tendrils

macrumors regular
May 14, 2011
124
0
the8thark said:
Well it is internet recovery on an internet Mac.
The i in iMac did stand for internet.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but I'm pretty sure that model didn't have thunderbolt, and I don't think it supports lion :D Seeing that computer reminds me of my iMac DVSE. I remember installing OSX 10.0 and being amazed at how different it looked to OS 9. It was buggy though! :eek:
 
LimeiBook86

LimeiBook86

macrumors G3
May 4, 2002
8,001
45
Go Vegan
I'm happy to get the Internet Recovery option on my 2011 iMac. I was starting to feel left out. ;)

Jerome Morrow said:
Made me smile. :)
Click to expand...

Me too (attached below in case Apple fixes it) :p


Farthen said:
Awesome! This introduced a display backlight flicker to my 27" iMac though :/

It seems to disappear after a few minutes of uptime though so its not very huge. Even though i think it is really weird and i hope it won't harm the display.

Anyone else with this problem? PRAM and SMC reset don't change anything.
Click to expand...

When I perform the update with my iMac I'll let you know if it does the same. Although I'm a bit hesitant now...
 

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