[Macpartners] Apple releases Mac OS X 10.4.9 update

[Albert Willis]

Apple released Mac OS X 10.4.9 on last night.

As with any operating system update, you should be careful. There  
will be reports about problems; so far, nothing major has been  
reported. However, sometimes is takes a few days before a repeatable  
problem reveals itself.

Keep in mind that because someone reports having a problem doesn't  
mean you're going to experience the same problem, which is why you  
should test your configuration before deploying to your users.

If you wish to monitor for possible issue, check these websites:

MacInTouch: http://www.macintouch.com/readerreports/macosx10_4_9/
MacFixIt: http://macfixit.com/

For the new folks on the list, here's what I recommend regarding  
installing updates:

- you should have a current backup of your data

- don't install on production machines without testing it first on  
non-production machines

- the #1 reason for the installation of updates to fail is due to a  
damaged hard drive directory structure. Use the Verify Drive option  
in Disk Utility to ensure your drive is okay _before you install_; if  
something funny comes back, boot from a Mac OS X install DVD/CD and  
run Disk Utility to fix it.

- after installing, use the Repair Permissions option in Disk Utility  
to fix the permissions of files that may have been changed by the  
installer

The easiest thing to do is to use Software Update to get the updates.

You can also download standalone updaters from Apple:

Mac OS X 10.4.9 Update (PPC): http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/ 
macosx1049updateppc.html
Mac OS X 10.4.9 Combo Update (PPC): http://www.apple.com/support/ 
downloads/macosx1049comboupdateppc.html

Mac OS X 10.4.9 Update (Intel): http://www.apple.com/support/ 
downloads/macosx1049updateintel.html
Mac OS X 10.4.9 Combo Update (Intel): http://www.apple.com/support/ 
downloads/macosx1049comboupdateintel.html

Mac OS X 10.4.9 has 30 security updates: http://docs.info.apple.com/ 
article.html?artnum=305214

   -- Al


______________________________
Albert Willis
Macintosh Platform Coordinator - Software Release Team
Client Support Services
Information Services and Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
awillis at mit.edu