rsilves Posted June 25, 2009 Share Posted June 25, 2009 Hi. I have this Hackintosh since more than a year ago. I initially installed Kalyway 10.5.0, then used different methods to update when I knew they would work, until I reached 10.5.6. I want to know which update should I use now. But before that, I want to understand what do updates change. I already know that they fix bugs and improve the system in general, but I am talking about which files/folders they modify/change. If I run an update and my system doesn't boot, are there files I can put back from a backup that would make my install bootable again? Is this always the same or it depends on each update? (I know that some of them can be run directly with the Apple updater, while others require hacking). Does the "best update method" depend also on which install/update I currently have? (I mean, considering I have 10.5.6, does it depend on which of all 10.5.6 "versions" I have?) My hardware information is below, in my signature. If you need more info, like kernel version or things like that, please tell me how to get it and I will post it. Thanks, Rodrigo Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/172342-understanding-updates-1057/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerkex'd Posted June 25, 2009 Share Posted June 25, 2009 Open the update installer in Pacifist to view the contents. http://www.charlessoft.com/ Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/172342-understanding-updates-1057/#findComment-1186020 Share on other sites More sharing options...
rsilves Posted June 25, 2009 Author Share Posted June 25, 2009 Open the update installer in Pacifist to view the contents. http://www.charlessoft.com/ Thanks Beerkex. Doesn't the updater ever remove files? Or replace folders where we could have put kexts or similar? My last question is still open.. about the "compatibility" of updates. Why do some updates work on some computers and not in others? Thanks, Rodrigo Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/172342-understanding-updates-1057/#findComment-1186039 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerkex'd Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 It's very simple. If the modifications that are required for OS X to run on your hardware get overwritten by an update, then your install stops working. Files and folders that are not part of a retail OS X installation will be left untouched. Some possible scenarios User has a Pentium 4 or AMD system and is using the Voodoo kernel. The Voodoo Kernel might be at the root of the drive named mach_kernel, and com.apple.Boot.plist might be set up to load this kernel. If the user then installs 10.5.7 he will no longer be able to boot because the Voodoo kernel got overwritten with the vanilla 9.7.0 kernel, which isn't compatible with his CPU. (prevent this by renaming the kernel and configuring com.apple.boot.plist accordingly, as recommended in the Voodoo Kernel documentation) User has previously deleted AppleIntelCPUPowermanagement.kext, or is using an OSx86 distribution that doesn't install it at all. This kernel extension gets installed by a system update, and the system can no longer boot because of it. (prevent this by using disabler.kext) User has installed modified kernel extensions adding support for the Southbridge on his motherboard Update overwrites these, rendering the system unbootable because it can no longer see the attached hard drive(s). (prevent this by running all modifications from /extra and /extra/extensions) User is using older ACPI/APIC kexts because of issues with ACPI and powermanagement Update overwrites these, rendering the system unbootable. (prevent this the same way as above, or by configuring your BIOS correctly and/or use DSDT.aml so that you can use original Apple kernel extensions) The same goes for loss of functionality such as hardware accelerated graphics, sound and network. The biggest problem is that most people are running some pre-patched version of OS X like iDeneb, iATKOS, Kalyway, XxX, JaS, Leo4All and like yourself, they have no idea which files are modified and which ones aren't. Updating is like playing russian roulette. Depending on your hardware and the distribution used, any prepatched installation is more or less only guaranteed to work until the next system update. Even security updates may kill it. If you're running retail OSX you're totally in control of what modifications are in effect. If something breaks, you know the only place you need to look is the place where you keep your modications, /Volumes/EFI/extra or /extra. Then apply new fixes as they are invented or discovered by the community. Those folders, and the EFI partition, will never be touched by a system update because the are not part of a normal OSX installation. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/172342-understanding-updates-1057/#findComment-1186053 Share on other sites More sharing options...
rsilves Posted June 26, 2009 Author Share Posted June 26, 2009 Thanks Beerkex. I did successfully update to 10.5.7 This topic is "closed". I am having a problem to set my partition as primary, hope anyone can help: http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php...d=1161196 (and some background: http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=162683 ) Thanks guys. Rodrigo. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/172342-understanding-updates-1057/#findComment-1186231 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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