14 DAY TRIAL // Although the BSOD (Blue Screen of Death) is a dubbing reserved for Windows PC users, Mac owners have recently become acquainted with a similar problem, following the release of OS X 10.5.7, the latest incremental update to Apple's Leopard operating system.
Failed attempts of installing the new software brought about display settings disappearing, boot loops, and updates resulting in the notorious blue screen, MacFixIt reveals in one of its latest troubleshooting posts.
“The OS X 10.5.7 update has been out for enough time to be tested by a variety of users. On a good note, many have reported a notable speed increase, but others have reported a couple of outstanding problems,” the site reveals. Luckily, there are now resolutions for these issues. The most common complaint was the Blue Screen.
“This update may automatically restart your computer up to three times during the update process, and for some people this has not happened but instead has hung on the first restart at the blue screen. Several people have reported waiting for the hang to resolve itself, but that has so far not been successful,” MacFixIt notes.
A resolution is to manually reset the computer, listen to it and be sure the hard drive is not being accessed, and press and hold the power button until the computer shuts off. Then power on and hold the Shift key to boot into safe mode, according to the post. “Doing that procedure has helped a few people, and while some did not need to boot into safe mode, for others the computer would continually hang until they tried safe mode,” the site claims.
Another way to avoid getting the blue (hang) screen is to install the uber 10.5.7 combo update, but not before you've backed up your Mac, according to the troubleshooting notes. This means you don't use Software Update from the Apple Menu. Instead, you download the installer package and perform the update manually. According to MacFixIt, users must follow these steps:
– Download the standalone "Combo" updater. – Reboot into Safe Mode. – Run Disk Utility and perform a Permissions fix and hard drive repair. – Run the updater. – Immediately repair permissions again.
Another resolution to the Blue Screen issue comes from Macworld's Rob Griffiths, whose iMac would not wake up from clinical death after a failed attempt of installing Mac OS X 10.5.7. He used the FireWire Target Disk Mode (FWTDM), a special boot mode that turns any FireWire-equipped Mac into a FireWire hard disk, provided the Macs are interconnected via FireWire. The steps for this method should be followed as such:
– Boot into FWTDM by holding down the ‘T’ key at startup. – The affected Mac's hard drive shows up on the other Mac's desktop. – Download the 10.5.7 combo update (just to be sure). – Double-click to start the installation process. – Choose affected Mac as the destination point for the installation. – Reboot affected Mac.
Readers are encouraged to report their own issues and / or resolutions in the comments. Also, tell us if these troubleshooting steps have worked for you.