Mac OS X Update 10.2.4 Resets

Oculus Habent writes "It may just be me, but 10.2.4 reset a number of settings on my computer, including icon sizes, window positions, and dock size and contents. Minor annoyances, but completely unnecessary. Is anyone else experiencing this?" As for me, Apple re-added some apps to my Dock and overwrote all my changes to httpd.conf (though it did back it up first) to add mod_rendezvous_apple. But those problems pale in comparison to some others: Anonymous Coward writes "If you upgraded your Mac desktop to 10.2.4 last weekend, check your date and time. Many users have suddenly found it to be 4:00 PM, December 31, 1969 again. Apparently, this happens whenever they are shut down or restarted, and resetting the motherboard and/or the PRAM doesn't fix it. Complaints have been piling up at Apple.com and prices for batteries have been skyrocketing - but relax. It's not your battery!"

Comments

Re:why does everyone jump all over upgrades?

[MalleusEBHC]

First, you must remember that a large majority of Mac users (usually those who were around before OS X) know little or nothing about BSD or *nix. And they shouldn't have to. The sysadmin "don't fix it unless it's broke" philosophy is not the consumer "I want the latest and greatest" philosophy. These people buy Macs so they won't have any hassles. When Software Update pops up, they just want to click install and be done with it. Most of the time, this is fine and there are no problems.

On the other hand, you do have geeks who will take a more "wait and see" approach, many of whom have the advantage testing it on one machine before putting it on their other boxes. This is fine, but I've found that with OS X it is usually not necessary. I've tried every update on my Powerbook before throwing it on my Cube, and never have I had to wait long because there haven't been any problems. Despite the inevitable horror stories that come with each update, the grand majority of OS X users don't have any problems.

Re:No such panic for me...sky is still up

[elmegil]

To elaborate: we're talking about the OS that prides itself on being "user friendly". People who don't like computers like macs (allegedly). Etc. etc.

So, if moving some part of the system folder somewhere else is going to fuck up the computer, or worse, NOT fuck up the computer but fuck up the next update, that folder ought to not be changeable by the user. Doing otherwise is not "friendly", it just allows people to blow their legs off.

After all, my car won't let me start the engine in drive, my microwave won't let me start it with the door open, why the hell should my computer let me do patently stupid things?

Re:No such panic for me...sky is still up

[Anonymous Coward]

Give up.

You don't make sense.

Yeah, your car won't start in drive, but you can run into a tree. You can throw it in reverse or shift gears at the wrong time. You can load your SUV wrong and it will flip over ("BUT why didn't sense the weight and warn me").

Your microwave won't start without the door open. However, nothing will stop you from microwaving steel wool, or a battery, or an unopened champagne bottle (don't do any of that btw).

Moving apps out of Applications folder doesn't break anything except updates and some hard-wired paths. It's not a big deal. You probably have a mental list of things you don't do with a computer, like not operating it underwater, or not flicking the power switch on and off 60 times a second. Well, add "don't move Apple's applications" to that list. Sheesh.

Updates always have hazards.

[NtroP]

I run an OS X box that hosts several commercial domains and is the authoritative DNS for each. I have SQL, PHP, and a dozen other "mods" made to the systems - particularly the httpd.conf file. For the record, I know that I have made changes to the system that are bound to be blown away by an update. That's why I have a backup of all my config files. I also leave stuff where Apple puts it. That's what hard and symbolic links are for.

This is not your mommy's OS 9 box any more kids. It's a "real" OS with serious power! You can't treat it like OS 9 or even like Windows 98. I noticed immediately that my httpd.conf file had been overwritten and simply copied it back, restarted apache and tested the rest of my system. Other than the downtime to reboot and make the .conf change I had no downtime.

There are bound to be problems with any update. Not all installations are identical, so there are bound to be unforseen changes. I can't speak to the time problems because I use NTP. It is important that my system has the correct time - not just what my mickey mouse watch tells me.

Overall, I'm very happy with the update - my system is as rock-solid as ever!