News, info, and opinion by Mac users, for Mac users.

April 18, 2006

software

The double restart mystery solved and more

Posted Apr. 18, ’06, 7:04 PM PT by Derik DeLong
Category | Software

Software Update From MacJournals, Macworld has a comprehensive breakdown of Mac OS X 10.4.6. Included in the article is a description of why using the Combo Updater can sometimes fix an issue and why it won’t, such as is the case when Adobe Creative Suite 2 applications will crash when saving to certain kinds of AFP servers.

However, the best gem in the article as I see it is its explanation of why PowerPC computers restarted twice after the update.

Yet there are some routines in this library that are so central to the system’s own operation that it simply can’t be swapped while programs are running. The Mac OS X 10.4.6 update installer puts the new version of lib- System.B.dylib in a special folder, and installs a startup item for it. Upon restart, the special startup item moves the new version of the library to its rightful place, replacing the old one in the process, deletes its own files, and restarts the system yet again.

That’s only the punch-line, so read the rest for the full explanation.


Leave a comment

 



Visit other IDG sites: