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Hardware 2.0

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes
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Apple releases iMac graphics update for Lion

By | August 24, 2011, 1:49pm PDT

Summary: Got an iMac? Got Mac OS X 10.7 Lion? Apple has an update for you.

Apple has released updated firmware for iMac computers running Mac OS X 10.7 Lion.

Here are the details:

This firmware update fixes a graphics issue that may cause an iMac to hang under certain conditions.

Do not shut off the power on your iMac during this update. Loss of power could result in your iMac failing to start up.

My guess is that this update addresses the system hangs that some I ac users running Lion have been reporting.

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Topics

Apple iMac, Apple Inc., Lion, Firmware, Graphics, Desktops, Hardware, Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes is an internationally published technology author who has devoted over a decade to helping users get the most from technology.

Disclosure

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

All opinions expressed on Hardware 2.0 are those of Adrian Kingsley-Hughes. Every effort is made to ensure that the information posted is accurate. If you have any comments, queries or corrections, please contact Adrian via the email link here. Any possible conflicts of interest will be posted below. [Updated: February 23, 2010] - Adrian Kingsley-Hughes has no business relationships, affiliations, investments, or other actual/potential conflicts of interest relating to the content posted so far on this blog.

Biography

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes is an internationally published technology author who has devoted over a decade to helping users get the most from technology -- whether that be by learning to program, building a PC from a pile of parts, or helping them get the most from their new MP3 player or digital camera.

Adrian has authored/co-authored technical books on a variety of topics, ranging from programming to building and maintaining PCs. His most recent books include "Build the Ultimate Custom PC", "Beginning Programming" and "The PC Doctor's Fix It Yourself Guide". He has also written training manuals that have been used by a number of Fortune 500 companies.

Adrian also runs a popular blog under the name The PC Doctor, where he covers a range of computer-related topics -- from security to repairing and upgrading.

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RE: Apple releases iMac graphics update for Lion
Rick_Kl 25th Aug
@toddybottom is it at all possible that they missed something? After all they are only human. You?ll also notice that Apple doesn?t point the finger, like other companies do. I think this says it best
[This firmware update fixes a graphics issue that may cause an iMac to hang under certain conditions.] Note: it says Under certain conditions.
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But there were dozens of responses to your blog
toddybottom 24th Aug
All of them swore that there were no problems with Lion.

I'm confused what exactly Apple fixed since all those posters were absolutely adamant that Lion never hangs and had no issues.
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RE: Apple releases iMac graphics update for Lion
doh123 24th Aug
@toddybottom
its a firmware update, not a software update...

In other words, its not an update to Lion to fix the problems, it was a problem in the hardware, but since it was in the firmware, it could just be fixed that way.
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Not at all what I said
toddybottom Updated - 24th Aug
@doh123
I never said the bug was in Lion. I only said that all these people swore there were no problems with Lion. Clearly a machine that worked without hanging under Snow Leopard but suddenly starts hanging when it is upgraded to Lion suggests that there is a problem with Lion. "With" is not the same as "In" although now you are really splitting hairs.

Regardless, the #1 response to Adrian's blog was that Lion never hangs. Clearly, Lion does hang when it is installed on buggy Apple Macs. If it didn't, Apple just wasted their time and the time of millions of iMac owners. Or, more likely, dozens of the people who responded to Adrian's blog before have just been proven to have absolutely no clue.
  • Flagged
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@toddybottom
baggins_z 24th Aug
the problem wasn't with Lion, so what was your point exactly? Oh. Wait. You're a troll. Nevermind.
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RE: Apple releases iMac graphics update for Lion
Michael Alan Goff 24th Aug
And yet I heard from people that Vista's lack of drivers was Microsoft's fault.
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RE: Apple releases iMac graphics update for Lion
Rick_Kl 24th Aug
@toddybottom Apparently there is a particular setup that is experiencing the problem. It only affects a particular model with a particular graphics card. It does not affect the Mac Pro, the MacBook Pro, the Mac Mini, or the MacBook Air.
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Obviously this is true
toddybottom 24th Aug
@Rick_Kl
What amazes me is that the biggest, richest company in the world simply didn't even bother to test their OS with one of their own biggest selling machines. It isn't like this is some 3rd party hardware that Lion hangs on. Apple controls everything from top to bottom so the only explanation for this is that Apple didn't find it terribly important to test Lion on the iMac.
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RE: Apple releases iMac graphics update for Lion
Rick_Kl 25th Aug
@toddybottom is it at all possible that they missed something? After all they are only human. You?ll also notice that Apple doesn?t point the finger, like other companies do. I think this says it best
[This firmware update fixes a graphics issue that may cause an iMac to hang under certain conditions.] Note: it says Under certain conditions.
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RE: Apple releases iMac graphics update for Lion
whatagenda 24th Aug
Even I could have made this guess since the communique from Apple specifically says it adresses hangs happy
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RE: Apple releases iMac graphics update for Lion
mep01378 24th Aug
From Apple:
This firmware update fixes a graphics issue that may cause an iMac to hang under certain conditions.

From AKH:
My guess is that this update addresses the system hangs that some I ac users running Lion have been reporting.

Penetrating and thought provoking analysis ... as always. Great job on the proof reading too. Do you get paid for this work?
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RE: Apple releases iMac graphics update for Lion
richvball44 24th Aug
ok people...reading comprehension 101.

This firmware update fixes a graphics issue that may cause an iMac to hang under certain conditions.

under certain conditions. That does not mean ALL conditions, hence the reason people had not reported the problem here.

They do not mention the conditions either so who knows what type variables were causing it to have problems. It could be heat
power problems at the ac socket
memory issues
image size of video
bit depth
who knows. I don't, you don't, more than likely anyway unless you work in a lab setup

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