Some Older Macs Reportedly Bricked After Installing macOS Monterey (macrumors.com) 145
macOS Monterey, released last week as the latest version of macOS, is bricking older Mac computers, rendering them unusable and unable to even turn on, according to a number of reports from users across social media and online forums. From a report: If this sounds oddly familiar, it may be because last year, with the launch of macOS Big Sur, similar reports surfaced about that update bricking older MacBook Pro models. Less than a year later, similar issues are now seemingly taking place once again. At least ten separate posts on Apple Support Communities contain users complaining that as they were attempting to update their Mac to macOS Monterey, the Mac went completely black and they're unable to turn it on. One post in specific includes several comments from users also reporting similar issues. Reports on Twitter are also plentiful.
Not surprising (Score:2)
Some Older Macs Reportedly Bricked After Installing macOS Monterey
I hear cheese [wikipedia.org] can bind you when you get older ...
Real deal or just a quirk? (Score:2)
Perhaps it is a real issue, but it's hard to tell without better numbers. Are the dead systems a spike above the usual number in that time period or does this only look like a problem because we're looking for a pattern that doesn't exist.
Re: (Score:2)
It might be firmware updates. Apple does them often and there is always a risk of them failing.
Since parts like the SSD are not removable or replaceable now the users really are SOL.
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"It just works" (Score:4, Funny)
Apple Park: (Score:4, Funny)
$6 billion+ dollar cost - bragged about via their event videos at every opportunity.
QA expenditure at Apple: $0, obviously.
On my Mac Mini (Score:4)
So after a week and going round and round. I create a Big Sur boot usb and went back to Big Sur, Tried to install XCode 12.5.1 and Bang not authorized on this version of macOS. I was running 11.6 and 12.5.1 ran fine. Now it install 11.6.1 and XCode 12.5.1 does not run anymore. Now I know what the 11.6.1 update was for.
All I do is run XCode for development. Apple is such a pita for anyone that does anything real.
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
Moral of the story is, Don't update Apple until you have plenty of time to kill.
I know this isn't what you are referring to, but: My personal laptop is a 2015 MacBook Pro (Intel, obviously), while my work-provided machine is an M1 MacBook Air. OS upgrades on the Air take bloody FOREVER - much, much longer than the same update on the older Intel laptop.
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Well, macOS has served me well as my laptop OS for the past 20 years, alongside Linux on desktops. Never had an issue with major upgrades, but I know better than to stay on the bleeding edge of macOS (something you can do in Linux more easily, it seems).
I always hang 1-2 major versions behind and only turn "current" whenever I get a new laptop because the old one becomes too slow. That seems to do the trick.
I'd *never* upgrade right away. That seems rather crazy, I cannot remember a time when people did not
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What was not clear for me was once 11.6.1 came out I could install Xcode 13 on Big S
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I always hang 1-2 major versions behind and only turn "current" whenever I get a new laptop because the old one becomes too slow. That seems to do the trick.
Same.
But since a year or so I use an external USB drive with a recent OS version. Just to confirm how super ugly the UI meanwhile is.
No idea why they copied Googles "material design" (does anyone know why it is called that way? As it has nothing to do with "material" as in paper, leather, stone etc.)
Wonder if it is a T2 chip update... (Score:3)
I wonder if this has to do with the T2 security chip on Intel based Macs. If the firmware upgrades gets fouled, it would require plugging into another Mac via a USB-C to USB-C cable and pushing a firmware update to the security chip.
incompetence (Score:5, Insightful)
With all the MAC fans here, time to burn some kama.
This is just plain incompetence. Apple fully controls the hardware and software on their product. They should have been able to test this on all supported models and configs.
At least Microsoft has an excuse due to the number of vendors they need to support.
Re: (Score:3)
The level of incompetence hasn't changed in 25 years.
I remember when MacOS 8 was released, and half the machines at my university could no longer access the CD-ROM drives. Turns out, Apple "forgot" what brand of CD-ROMs they shipped in many of their computers and didn't include the necessary drivers. In fact, this was a very common problem with lots of hardware configurations. Some of our machines also didn't have sound, and some machines couldn't even boot the OS 8 install disc since the hard drives cou
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They should have been able to test this on all supported models and configs.
You are just silly.
How do you test something on a few thousand hardware platforms?
Keep in mind: the people with bricked Macs most likely used an Hex editor to change the installer program and let it install on tested, and found unsupported hardware.
I did that sometimes myself, but not with OS versions but program Versions like XCode. No idea why Apple think XCode version X does not run - or most of all: can not be installed! - on Ma
QA (Score:2)
Everyone's QA is going downhill. They just don't care about QA. They're so cheap and use their users to test their stuff for free. :(
using it wrong... (Score:2)
There's no fault from Apple here, people are just ... using it wrong ;) /s
Yeah, I'm a Mac user, but there's no way in hell I'll install a new major release within a week of that release.
I don't know why people do it - FFS, if you look at what Monterey brings to the table, it's a release aimed at people with multiple Apple devices for the most part.
The vast bulk of the updates are all to do with integration across a "family" of devices.
Why people rush to install "the latest greatest", is beyond me - if you c
Having an... (Score:5, Interesting)
...old 27" iMac (2019) that came with the slowest, worst hard drive you can imagine for a modern computer, and which was "bricked" by a Big Sur update, but has been since upgraded to a 2TB SSD, I can nearly guarantee these old Macs are not in fact bricked, but are just taking many, many hours to complete the upgrade. They won't turn on, because they're still running. The confusing black screen can sit like that for several hours (maybe even 12+) while the clunky old drive chugs away quietly as the owner pulls their hair out and thinks their machine has died. I would advise them to just let do its thing for a few days, but that of course would be ridiculous. They will in all likelihood have to put in a support call, go through all the scripted troubleshooting procedures with the help desk tech, then have them book an appointment at certified repair shop and be prepared to pay 4 or $500 or to get the thing fixed (and the drive replaced with an SSD). On the bright side, their clunky old HD-bound Mac with feet of clay will then seem like a whole new machine.
5400 rpm hdd in the low end systems for an time! (Score:2)
5400 rpm hdd in the low end systems for an time!
Re: (Score:2)
The HDD in my highest end 27" iMac (i9, 32GB RAM, best video card then available) was a shockingly slow 4500rpm. It basically took a decently powerful machine and kneecapped it.
"Older macs" (Score:2)
If you read the fine print, some of the bricked Macs are 2019 models [apple.com] (2 [apple.com]). Yikes!
Mine is from 2020 and I'm not going to upgrade for a while.
Re:"Older macs" (Score:4, Funny)
Throw that junk away, man, it's an antique!
Your MacBook is a month old? Well, that's great
If you could use a nice, heavy paperweight.
A possible Fix (Score:5, Interesting)
This is a crosspost (sorry!) from a MacRumors Forum. It contains a possible fix:
"My 2019 MBP bricked during the Monterey upgrade. Had a good chat with my local Apple Genius And he got me back up and running without much fuss.
You need another Mac to do this. They both need a thunderbolt port (probably a TB3 port or better). On the working machine go to the App Store and get the Apple Configurator 2 app. Once you connect the two machines via TB, it should connect and it’s probably in DFU mode. Configurator will allow you to kickstart the other machine. As usual YMMV."
https://forums.macrumors.com/t... [macrumors.com]
If you live near an Apple Store, I am pretty sure they will do this for you, gratis. If you don't live near an Apple Store, hopefully you can find someone who has a Mac and a TB cable. Macs have had TB ports since 2011, and TB 3 ports since 2016.
Hope this helps!
seen it (Score:2)
Happened to my MIL. Her Mac seemed to fail a firmware/bios update and it never powered on again. Cost her $800 and she had to ship it to Apple for repair.
Re: (Score:3)
Probably hard with Linux on a PC. Maybe possible if Windows botches some EFI changes you can't undo. Also probably possible if you have EFI flash that becomes unwritable or similar? But that's not OS-specific.
All of this of course is mostly an issue with laptops, but probably less likely over time as hardware support improves, vs more likely with older Apple hardware that's not paid up on its protection money.
Re:Query (Score:4, Interesting)
A lot of Mac OS updates push new EFI firmware alongside them. No warning when this is happening, either. Just a slightly different bootloader screen with a wider progress bar.
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If you have a dual-boot Mac (such as my 2015 MBP, which dual boots macOS and Linux Mint), quite often you find it necessary to reinstall the boot manager (rEFInd, in my case) after system updates.
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One Apple update removed an important feature I needed. I was pissed to find out I couldn't do a factory reset on my Mac Mini to get that feature back, as a firmware update rendered it "incompatible" with the OS that shipped on the DVD that came in the box. And, yes, I certainly noticed when my computer took 15 minutes longer than normal to boot up, but there's no other indication that updates are being installed.
That Mini was the last Apple product I owned and ever intend to own.
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Ever brick a PC upgrading Windows or Linux?
Brick - no
Have to rebuild from scratch - yes on both Windows and Linux
Re: (Score:2)
Nope, but I have had Linux brick its boot loader just from light use and package updates. When it happened twice within just a couple of weeks, it marked the last time I bothered trying to run Linux as my primary OS. This was many years ago, I'm sure it's no longer a thing that would happen, but there is nothing remotely useful to me in Linux that WSL doesn't already give me access to, so any motivation to give it another go as a desktop OS has passed.
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Must be nice to have several hundred dollars per computer to waste every few years for Windows licenses.
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Several hundred, a few years - rough math comes out to ten dollars per month.
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By not drinking coffee too late in the evening.
Yes, my money could feed hungry children in Yemen, but I can't save the entire world even if I give up all my money. As such I use my money on myself and my perceived needs first.
Do you make sure to spend as little of your money as possible on yourself so you can give it all to others more in need than you are? Could you live in a cheaper apartment, eat cheaper meals, wear cheaper clothes? Unless you've cut your own consumption to the absolute limit you shouldn
Re: Query (Score:2)
Amen
Re: (Score:2)
Windows 8 released in 2012, that's almost 10 years of free updates by now.
Once old enough for time to be a valuable resource, and a Windows license is the equivalent of a couple of hours of work, it's dirt cheap even if it saves hardly any time at all.
UEFI vs BIOS (Score:3)
I have had Linux brick its boot loader just from {...} package updates. When it happened twice within just a couple of weeks, {...} This was many years ago,
There was a period of transition between UEFI and BIOS bootloader, where you could install both version of GRUB2, but due to packages being mutually exclusive for no real reasons, only one of them get correctly updated (including running all the special post-update scripts) which might be not the version you're booting from. (e.g.: your OS has kept grub-efi as the one officially installed and getting updates, but you happen to have reverted to booting from CSM/Bios legacy compatibility, which is handled by
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It's too long ago for me to have much recollection of what I found the issue to be caused by, if I ever did. I do remember I booted off of alternative boot media and googled how to fix it each time.
I'm not trying to convert anyone, people use whatever OS serves them the best. For me, Windows generally gives me zero hassle, whereas any time I've given Linux on the desktop a serious try there's always been basic features taking evenings worth of time to get working, and even then often not reliably so. Add t
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Please tell me how you run WSL on your Macbook Air. [slashdot.org]
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Please tell me how you run WSL on your Macbook Air. [slashdot.org]
With a Mac, who needs Linux when it is already running a Certified Unix?
Or are you guys scared of a little Homebrew? Of course, if you are, there's always SetApp:
https://setapp.com/how-to/inst... [setapp.com]
Seriously.
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Docker does not run on older Mac OS X versions.
So you need a Linux system to run Docker.
More questions?
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Docker does not run on older Mac OS X versions.
So you need a Linux system to run Docker.
More questions?
Hmmm. What are you calling "older"?
Most any Mac from 2012 or newer (and a lot back to 2009 with some simple finagling) can install and run Mojave (macOS 10.14), the earliest Docker-supported Mac OS. Heck, even 2010 (or firmware-flashed 2009) and 2012 Cheesegrater Mac Pros with Metal-Capable video cards are officially supported:
https://support.apple.com/kb/S... [apple.com]
https://docs.docker.com/deskto... [docker.com]
And yes, you'll notice they have an Apple Silicon-native version, too.
Next fake objection?
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Most any Mac from 2012 or newer (and a lot back to 2009 with some simple finagling) can install and run Mojave (macOS 10.14)
Yes they can.
But as you have probably seen in other posts in this thread: we are very reluctant to upgrade an OS
My Mac Book Air 2014 runs with its original OS. No idea how it is called as I'm ATM running from my USB drive which runs Mojave 10.14.6.
And yes, you'll notice they have an Apple Silicon-native version, too.
Yes. My next Mac obviously will be Apple Silicon, nevertheless it wil
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Most any Mac from 2012 or newer (and a lot back to 2009 with some simple finagling) can install and run Mojave (macOS 10.14)
Yes they can.
But as you have probably seen in other posts in this thread: we are very reluctant to upgrade an OS
My Mac Book Air 2014 runs with its original OS. No idea how it is called as I'm ATM running from my USB drive which runs Mojave 10.14.6.
And yes, you'll notice they have an Apple Silicon-native version, too.
Yes. My next Mac obviously will be Apple Silicon, nevertheless it will have a VM with Linux.
No idea why you object about common sense :P
But my point about Docker stands.
And if you are developing software at this point, you probably aren't targeting systems older than Mojave, anyway.
I dunno. Running Linux on a Mac when it has Unix already there still seems, well, kinda stupid and lazy. Sorry.
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I don't. My Air is a YouTube/surfing machine, not used for productive means.
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Why would you think it needed/wanted to be?
Sorry, what? Where did I say that? I wouldn't. It's an operating system, it has neither needs nor wants.
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Oh, that wasn't actually a response to me. Never mind me, then.
Re:Query (Score:5, Insightful)
Ever brick a PC upgrading Windows or Linux?
No. To "brick" a computer means to render it permanently useless. PCs can be recovered by booting from a CDROM or SD-Card, or by swapping in a new SATA drive.
PCs come in thousands of configurations, so it is nearly impossible for Microsoft or Linux developers to test every possible combination.
The number of Mac configurations is far more limited and all of them are manufactured by Apple. So it is inexcusable for them to fail to test them.
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With about a zillion hardware configurations, dubiously supported motherboards, dodgy vendor-specific firmware update mechanisms, etc. there's excellent reason to be very, very conservative about bundling any sort of
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> So it is inexcusable for them to fail to test them.
From our perspective, maybe. But Apple doesn't need deadbeat customers who never upgrade. They're probably poor anyway.
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> So it is inexcusable for them to fail to test them.
From our perspective, maybe. But Apple doesn't need deadbeat customers who never upgrade. They're probably poor anyway.
Right.
That's why iOS will install and work (well!) on iPhones starting with the 6s (or 7). I just installed it on the iPhone 8 I'm typing this on.
Same thing for Macs. Monterey is officially supported back to 2015 for MacBooks and iMacs, 2014 for Mac mini and 2013 for the Mac Pro.
https://support.apple.com/en-u... [apple.com]
Of course, with a little finagling, I have read about someone installing it on a 2011(!!!) MacBook Pro.
Might or might not be bricked (Score:2)
Ever brick a PC upgrading Windows or Linux?
No. To "brick" a computer means to render it permanently useless.
Indeed. Given the tweets quoted on the MacRumors page from the summary, I suspect these folks' have not actually ended up with bricked computers.
It's somewhat common to need to reset the PRAM / NVRAM after one of Apple's major upgrades. Apple really hides this problem and its solution from users relative to the frequency with which it arises. (In Apple's favor, the fix it is pretty easy to execute once found: a two-handed keyboard chord).
Re: Might or might not be bricked (Score:2)
If a computer won't even power on, assuming the power supply works, that is a classic indication of a dead motherboard. Among other things that can cause a dead motherboard include a bad firmware flash.
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I looked at the procedure. Apparently you need a second non-bricked Mac to do it.
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I looked at the procedure. Apparently you need a second non-bricked Mac to do it.
But still doesn't qualify as "bricked"; which connotes a permanent condition.
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So if A device loses it's firmware, but can be recovered by applying 3.3 volts to an internal connection and attaching a J-Link debugger to re-flash it, would you call that bricked or not?
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So if A device loses it's firmware, but can be recovered by applying 3.3 volts to an internal connection and attaching a J-Link debugger to re-flash it, would you call that bricked or not?
Yes; because the average user (of any platform!) is not likely to have a JTAG Debugger/Programmer; nor a suitable jumper for this hypothetical 3.3 VDC Signal.
But, if an Apple Store can do even that in a few minutes, with no loss of data, I would have to say “Not Bricked”.
OTOH, the procedure that Apple seems to recommend doesn't even require cracking the case, let alone a J-Date nor Double-secret enable-signals. It just requires another Mac running the same version or above of macOS, runn
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SWD actually. the 3.3v wouldn't be a secret signal, it would be supplying power to a subset of the system in the case that the power button does nothing (as has been reported for the current brick fest). Not scary to me, I have a J-Link. Just an example of a failure that is definitely not a typical end user recovery procedure but is trivial if you have a little knowledge and the right tool.
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SWD actually. the 3.3v wouldn't be a secret signal, it would be supplying power to a subset of the system in the case that the power button does nothing (as has been reported for the current brick fest). Not scary to me, I have a J-Link. Just an example of a failure that is definitely not a typical end user recovery procedure but is trivial if you have a little knowledge and the right tool.
Not scary to me, either; I have used a J-Link at at least two employers; but you know what I was talking about. Definitely outside of most people's comfort zone. . .
Re:Query (Score:5, Interesting)
No. To "brick" a computer means to render it permanently useless. PCs can be recovered ...
Based on your definition: the Macs are not bricked either then. Booting from a CDROM and re-installing Windows, by the way... I'd say that is a considerable amount of effort; It also has negative consequences regarding the recovery in that you lose Windows settings..
Anyways.. The Macs can be recovered too [apple.com]. You just have to have either a second Mac running the same or newer version of the OS you were updating to in order to recover it yourself, Or bring it in to an Apple store and have the T2 chip reprogrammed.
They are not rendered permanently useless -- the only issue might be a few years down the road if you brick it after such time that Apple is no longer willing to touch it, and you don't have the Knowledge time and materials available to perform the recovery process.
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Bricking is relative. Won't even power on without a special procedure is credibly within the scope of "bricked" as is requiring another machine to recover. This as opposed to the PC where you move a jumper, count to 5 and move it back.
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Bricking is relative. Won't even power on without a special procedure is credibly within the scope of "bricked" as is requiring another machine to recover. This as opposed to the PC where you move a jumper, count to 5 and move it back.
You mean before the advent of Flash for BIOS/EFI storage, right?
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Some boards have a second FLASH with an emergency recovery stub on it (or even a full backup firmware). But yes, if there's no backup firmware or you manage to scribble on both copies, it's a brick.
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Some boards have a second FLASH with an emergency recovery stub on it (or even a full backup firmware). But yes, if there's no backup firmware or you manage to scribble on both copies, it's a brick.
Having a backup stub/firmware is a good idea. Macs have long had a Recovery Partition on SSD/HDD for the OS; but I'm not sure if it can do an actual EFI Restore if it gets borked.
Turns out it can, and can even recover from scratch from the intertubes:
https://osxdaily.com/2016/07/2... [osxdaily.com]
But from what I have read, this is not a Firmware corruption per se; but rather a simple stall in the install "under certain conditions".
Plus, it reportedly won't turn on. That kind of precludes the whole "Recovery" game!
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That will recover if you scrag your EFI partition, but if the flash firmware itself gets messed up, you may be stuck.
Yeah, won't turn on is a pretty big roadblock.
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That will recover if you scrag your EFI partition, but if the flash firmware itself gets messed up, you may be stuck.
Yeah, won't turn on is a pretty big roadblock.
Hmmm. Not sure. Need to do some more research. Never been in that situation, fortunately!
I wonder if resetting the System Management Controller would get it to turn on?
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You mean before the advent of Flash for BIOS/EFI storage, right?
No, no, no, No! You are doing it all wrong! You have to move the jumper back and forth during the BIOS update!!
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You mean before the advent of Flash for BIOS/EFI storage, right?
No, no, no, No! You are doing it all wrong! You have to move the jumper back and forth during the BIOS update!!
Of course! You have to plug in the Fe-male!!!
Silly me! Thanks! ;-)
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Bricking is just misused by nerds who think mere hyperbole is humour.
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It is. Fried firmware CAN be recovered if you have the right hardware debugger to re-flash the bricked board, for example. But from the typical end user's perspective it's a brick.
One better definition of bricked would be that recovery is not an end user procedure. Another is that it will take extraordinary effort to recover.
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Don't change the meaning of the word just because you want to continue
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You're referring to fried. Bricked has always been a problem where the device becomes insufficiently responsive to do the usual recovery procedure. I'm not re-defining anything.
For example, a BIOS upgrade goes bad and in the process renders the device insufficiently functional to retry the update.
Re: Query (Score:2)
You guessed it, I used the motherboard manufacturer's supplied program and my board was dead. I ultimately coached the specialist at the shop on how to do a hot swap, and he fixed my board and a handful of others. The guy at the front desk wanted me to pay for the repair, so I had to get him t
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It's certainly happened, just like any major operation puts a stress greater than typical usage and will cause higher incidence of typical failure causes.
From the small set of machines which were failing here, it's unlikely that this is the cause though. Apple's chance for excuses is even more narrow than you'd imply since it's likely an issue with the interface between the OS and the platform/security controller, both of which are made by apple.
Re: Query (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
With care, interrupting power won't brick it. Note that sometimes interrupting power is not a (bad) choice that the user makes.
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or if the dumb dumbs did something to interrupt things when their upgrade was flashing firmware upgrades
Maybe but doubtful.. Last I check Apple think of that stuff: upgrade process on a Macbook provides no interrupt option in the UI once you have committed to start the install. The software even makes sure power is plugged and not running on battery power - the only way to interrupt should be to press and keep power Held for 30 seconds.
The press and hold maneuver is too complicated for most, and thos
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or if the dumb dumbs did something to interrupt things when their upgrade was flashing firmware upgrades
Maybe but doubtful.. Last I check Apple think of that stuff: upgrade process on a Macbook provides no interrupt option in the UI once you have committed to start the install. The software even makes sure power is plugged and not running on battery power - the only way to interrupt should be to press and keep power Held for 30 seconds.
The press and hold maneuver is too complicated for most, and those who manage it will most certainly remember that they spent 30 seconds waiting to kill their machine, and at just the right moment; they would have had to do it at a very specific point in time after the machine rebooted to start programming the firmware.
It's just more likely mistakes were made in the updater itself and it crashes sometimes.
Only takes about 5 seconds holding on the power button to suicide a Mac. Been that way since at least the early 1990s.
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The "press and hold" is about 10 seconds.
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Mac OS users are some of the most untechnical people I've had to deal with.
In my experience that are MANY technical Mac users. Software Devs specifically. Most of the Software devs I know use Macs. I know a lot of Devs, worked in the industry for 20 years.
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Mac OS users are some of the most untechnical people I've had to deal with.
In my experience that are MANY technical Mac users. Software Devs specifically. Most of the Software devs I know use Macs. I know a lot of Devs, worked in the industry for 20 years.
Exactly. Me, too.
Re: (Score:2)
You do realize that's the whole reason people buy Apple products, right?
They paid a lot of money for a device that's supposed to "just work", and just work flawlessly, every single time.
They paid a lot of money to ensure they never have to think about updates, driver conflicts, antivirus and everything else.
They paid a lot of money to be able to set the device in front of their 3-year old child, or their 97-year old grandparent, and have both of them enjoy the same, flawless experience.
So yeah. For the mon
Re: (Score:2)
Every point correct.
EXCEPT: a Mac does not cost a lot of money.
Hint: I grew up when a Computer, regardless of brand, costed something like a 2 or 3 year old used car.
Now I earn roughly - as software developer - what a Mac laptop costs in 1 to 2 days.
The idea that a Mac is overpriced - especially if you are a software developer - is: completely idiotic
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Mac OS users are some of the most untechnical people I've had to deal with.
This is true, and is the basis for my IT service business.
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Mac OS users are some of the most untechnical people I've had to deal with. Most of the time they try to get free technical support for their OS issues or inability to install software. So I'm wondering if their laptops are bricked or if the dumb dumbs did something to interrupt things when their upgrade was flashing firmware upgrades or something.
People have left them overnight.
Sorry; spew your elitist computer priesthood snark somewhere else.
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Mac OS^H^H^H^H^H Windows users are some of the most untechnical people I've had to deal with.
FTFY
Re: (Score:2)
I've seen an HP computer brick itself via Windows Update. Microsoft pushes out BIOS updates over Windows Update now, and it's reckless and stupid.
Re:Query (Score:5, Funny)
Ever brick a PC upgrading Windows or Linux?
Windows?
Ever upgrade the graphics card drivers and have to PULL the card to get the OS to boot?
Linux?
Has all sorts of malware bundled with it . . . emacs, systemd . . . GNOME
Re: (Score:2)
Only when I was trying to use two mismatched video cards at the same time, and only on the first boot after an update. I don't think this would be a problem with Windows 10, it is much smarter about dealing with both displays and display adapters coming and going and making the necessary adjustments.
Re: (Score:2)
No, but BIOS/Firmware updates are not rolled into OS updates as they are with MacOS. It's quite possible something interrupted the firmware flash during the upgrade which would brick lots of devices.
I have seen botched BIOS updates brick PC motherboards/laptops beyond recovery. It's not out of the realm of possibility. Sometimes even when you do by the book.
These folks are also looking in the wrong place for support if their first inclination is to post to Twitter about it. As with any computing device, if
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The last (in both senses of the word) Dell laptop I got had a BIOS update available, when I checked the Dell website when I first ran it. Back then I always did those on new equipment, and periodically thereafter. Downloaded it from Dell and ran it, totally normal procedure. Bricked. Went online and found other people had the same problem with that version and hardware. The two possible suggested fixes from the keyboard did not work. Luckily it was just barely still under warranty and I sent it to Texas. Wh
firmware flash fuck-up (Score:2)
No, but BIOS/Firmware updates are not rolled into OS updates as they are with MacOS.
UEFI update capsule is a thing, though.
It's quite possible something interrupted the firmware flash during the upgrade which would brick lots of devices.
I have seen botched BIOS updates brick PC motherboards/laptops beyond recovery.
Any decent motherboard should have a completely alternate firmware recovery that doesn't rely on the main firmware. You should be able to enter an emergency firmware recovery by simply inserting a specially formatted media and pushing some key combo (or using a special jumper settings).
e.g.: eons ago, you could save a firmware as RECOVERY.BIN on a FAT formatted floppy, insert it, hold "Ins" while turning the power on, and instead of trying to boot the corrupt BIOS, the
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Thanks for the info!
I love the name, by the way! I used a variation on your name during my early multiplayer gaming years. It brought me back to a happy place (of directly connecting with a friend for some Warcraft 2!)
My "recent" experience with PC repair is from 2003, so, I will defer to the more recently experienced with current recovery practices on PC motherboards! I have updated PC motherboard bios since then, and they generally all go Okay. I assume this is because of the finger crossing and breath-ho
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No. I have seen one wedged enough that I needed to perform the simple and well documented clear CMOS procedure, but that's the worst it ever got and hasn't happened often. Mostly in the last century.
Bricked as in it won't even turn on? Never.
I bricked a WRT (AP) once or twice, but used a hacked together parallel port based JTAG to recover (procedure was documented).
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So far 2/3 of the discussion keying off of the FP. Yes, it seems to be a sincere question (with a vacuous Subject), but I actually have an old MacBook Pro and was hoping to find a bit more insight into the original story here.
Having said that, I'll note that I fried a CRT once. Any relation to WRT? The search mostly returns "with respect to", but I don't see how to fit that into the context. Nor does AP help. The JTAG part might be a testing thing, but still unclear. Something needs to be hyphenated there?
A
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The WRT was the old Linksys Access Point that was popular for a while because you could re-flash it with Linux (very much not an action endorsed by Linksys). JTAG is a standard hardware interface for testing, but is also commonly used to flash firmware in situations where the system cannot boot. Often it is used for the initial firmware programming at the factory as well. In modern times, it is being replaced by SWD (single wire debugger). One advantage (for home use) is that a SWD debugger that plugs into
some CRT let you overdrive them newer ones just (Score:2)
some CRT's let you overdrive them newer ones just error out with an out of range error.
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It's sitting in a closet and still says see Firmware Man.