Mac OS X Tiger Upgrade is Hosing Heaps of Macs
Hundreds of users updating their Macs over the last few days have been experiencing crippling problems ranging from flaky Wi-fi and reduced functionality to serious system hangs and hard disk failure.
Unlike other stories of Mac "upgrade hell" from recent weeks, this one doesn’t involve Leopard. Rather, it’s the most recent Tiger upgrade, Mac OS X 10.4.11. The package was released on Wednesday, November 14. Since then, the Apple support forums have been awash in panic as users plead for help with scores of problems. The most serious ones involve machines not rebooting after the update. Some MacBook users are reporting that their computers are hanging on a gray bootup screen with the Mac’s spinner throbbing incessantly. The more critical problems can only be solved by accessing the command line or hooking up a second Mac to the frozen machine and starting it in target mode.
If you’re having specific problems, try searching for the issue in the help forums on discussions.apple.com.
Every OS upgrade results in serious hiccups, though they usually aren’t this widespread. However, as poster Eric Westby points out, the support forum "has been likened to an emergency room" where users turn when the worst happens. The millions of users experiencing no problems at all aren’t as well-represented as the ones tearing their hair out.
