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Thunderbolt Software Update 1.2 Causing Boot Failures for Some Users
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2011 iMac 3.4GHz 10.7.4, updated without issue
For all I love about the Mac, the OS, compared to Windows, really seems like amateur hour way too often. If you disagree, make sure you're not mentally stuck in 95 and XP land.
In my XP years I certainly had my fair share of blue screens. However, in the two years I've been using Windows 7, with the same workflow as before (programming and graphics production), I had one crash, and that was because I accidentally knocked a PCIE card out of its slot. In the year I've been using OS X I've had to restart the Finder countless times, had Time Machine corruption on several occasions, and have to deal with "lazy" updating of the filesystem's "visual" state.
There are certainly things I like more about OS X, and that's why I'm still using it, but it really is a technically less sophisticated and more chaotic environment than Windows. Being technically less advanced isn't a negative, rather I can't get over that updates screw things up so often, especially given that Apple has way more control over the environment than MS does. Updates in Windows 7, which were much more frequent than for OS X, *never* disrupted the OS, and never even my most obscure 3rd party software utilities and apps.
I continue to use OS X because overall I like the feel of it more, and of course for the Apple ecosystem, but I do so with a constant background tension of whether or not it will remain stable.
For all I love about the Mac, the OS, compared to Windows, really seems like amateur hour way too often. If you disagree, make sure you're not mentally stuck in 95 and XP land.
In my XP years I certainly had my fair share of blue screens. However, in the two years I've been using Windows 7, with the same workflow as before (programming and graphics production), I had one crash, and that was because I accidentally knocked a PCIE card out of its slot. In the year I've been using OS X I've had to restart the Finder countless times, had Time Machine corruption on several occasions, and have to deal with "lazy" updating of the filesystem's "visual" state.
There are certainly things I like more about OS X, and that's why I'm still using it, but it really is a technically less sophisticated and more chaotic environment than Windows. Being technically less advanced isn't a negative, rather I can't get over that updates screw things up so often, especially given that Apple has way more control over the environment than MS does. Updates in Windows 7, which were much more frequent than for OS X, *never* disrupted the OS, and never even my most obscure 3rd party software utilities and apps.
I continue to use OS X because overall I like the feel of it more, and of course for the Apple ecosystem, but I do so with a constant background tension of whether or not it will remain stable.
I am having this issue so I am having to reinstall Lion from the recovery tool. I wish I would have seen this before I decided to install the update. Luckily with the way Apple set up this recovery tool it should be pretty painless (minus the downtime) to reinstall Lion + the latest combo update. And I don't have to worry about my data with this route. I will be holding off on installing the Thunderbolt update this time 
Yikes, I just barely downloaded the update an hour or so before I read this. My computer (early 2011 MBP) seems ok after the update (knock on wood) so hopefully I'm in the clear. I'll try to avoid restarting, though, until a fix is issued.
I did it in the wee small hours of this morning without a hitch....MBP 17" (October 2011) Seems odd how identical machines are behaving differently.
!!!!!!! Possible fix !!!!!!!!!!!!
I had this happen to my Feb2011 13" MacBook Pro running the latest Lion OS.
After running several utilities on the partition I was still unable to get it to boot, without experiencing the Kernel Panic immediately after seeing the Apple logo screen.
I didn't want to reinstall Lion, because I didn't want to go through the process of having to reinstall all my apps etc.
Here's what I did to fix my problem. Fortunately this worked on the first try, and no ill affects have been seen since.
1 - from a different computer running the same OS as the one that is corrupt, go to Apple Support site, download latest Combined Update installer
3 - start corrupt Mac in Target Disk Mode
4 - attach corrupt Mac to secondary Mac with a firewire cable
5 - on secondary Mac run Combined Updater, be sure to change installation location when prompted to your externally attached corrupt Mac
6 - once installation is complete, eject hard drive of corrupt Mac.
7 - power down corrupt Mac and then attempt to power it up.
This method may or may not work depending on whether the file(s) which were corrupt/erased as part of the failed update are replaced as part of the OS Combined Update installation.
Good luck!!!!!!
I had this happen to my Feb2011 13" MacBook Pro running the latest Lion OS.
After running several utilities on the partition I was still unable to get it to boot, without experiencing the Kernel Panic immediately after seeing the Apple logo screen.
I didn't want to reinstall Lion, because I didn't want to go through the process of having to reinstall all my apps etc.
Here's what I did to fix my problem. Fortunately this worked on the first try, and no ill affects have been seen since.
1 - from a different computer running the same OS as the one that is corrupt, go to Apple Support site, download latest Combined Update installer
3 - start corrupt Mac in Target Disk Mode
4 - attach corrupt Mac to secondary Mac with a firewire cable
5 - on secondary Mac run Combined Updater, be sure to change installation location when prompted to your externally attached corrupt Mac
6 - once installation is complete, eject hard drive of corrupt Mac.
7 - power down corrupt Mac and then attempt to power it up.
This method may or may not work depending on whether the file(s) which were corrupt/erased as part of the failed update are replaced as part of the OS Combined Update installation.
Good luck!!!!!!
I had several "xxx.pkg" could not be found on acdn.xxx.com errors yesterday while trying to install updates, plus updates that would pop up on one computer but not other even though the update was compatible with both (iTunes 10.6.3 for example). It looks like the Apple SU CDN got out of sync for some time.
I wonder if your issue is related to a partial download of the update followed by SU going ahead and trying to apply what it downloaded, leaving you with a half-installed update. It would explain why the poster below was able to fix the problem with a re-application of the 10.7.4 combo update.
I installed this update before I saw this article... Luckily, everything seems to be fine so far...
I have Mid 2011 Mac Mini, and had an external monitor plugged
into the thunderbolt port while doing the update, no issues so far.
I have Mid 2011 Mac Mini, and had an external monitor plugged
into the thunderbolt port while doing the update, no issues so far.
One thing about last night, and on all keynote days as well is you KNOW the servers are going to be red-lining. I normally leave it until the next day to do the updates, but since I was still reading the WWDC stuff, decided to do my MBP and iMac whilst reading on my MBA...Both machines updated perfectly, but the downloads were of course painfully slow.
I did my MBA this morning, super quick, also no issues. Non of this had been posted then anyway, and I have a Pegasus R4 attached to my iMac....I shut it down before updating, but boy would I feel super angry if the T/Bolt update had trashed data on that array. Hope those with issues get things sorted out without too much hassle....Re-installaing Lion sucks.
I did my MBA this morning, super quick, also no issues. Non of this had been posted then anyway, and I have a Pegasus R4 attached to my iMac....I shut it down before updating, but boy would I feel super angry if the T/Bolt update had trashed data on that array. Hope those with issues get things sorted out without too much hassle....Re-installaing Lion sucks.
Isn't it true the TB to EN dongle doesn't even exist yet, making this update both hazardous and useless?
Interesting cost benefit for a widely distributed update.
Love TidBits. I am not sure I was there for year one but shortly thereafter and for the first 10 years solid.
Rocketman
Interesting cost benefit for a widely distributed update.
Love TidBits. I am not sure I was there for year one but shortly thereafter and for the first 10 years solid.
Rocketman
Many people do now...I have an R4 attached to my iMac....I would have been really mad if that had been effected....Phew..
I'm not ruling anything out. It could have been a partially downloaded package. It could have been the fact that I was using the Thunderbolt port at the time. It could have been... well, anything. I don't know. I wasn't sitting there watching as closely as I'd like (knowing what I know now). I've never had a failure like this in all my years with Macs, so I certainly didn't expect it now.
So glad to see this article! I have an early 2011 at home that I use for my business, and hubby has an early 2011 that's his work machine. Called him at the office and told him not to do the update (he usually does them pretty quickly after they show up). He's passing the info on to the people at his office, so hopefully they'll continue to have a productive day.
You're thinking of TB to FW800, which won't be available until next month. TB to EN are in stock now.
I'm still using my 2006 White MacBook. Doesn't even support OS X Lion, which I think is actually a feature.
That computer runs lion perfectly fine buddy...
Seems Fine....
I just updated my early 2011 15" MacBook Pro and it seems to be running just fine. Knock on wood.
I just updated my early 2011 15" MacBook Pro and it seems to be running just fine. Knock on wood.
