Apple Toolbox

Apple has released MacBook Pro EFI Firmware Update 1.9, which addresses an issue we have covered extensively in which users experience frequent stalls/hangs, accompanied by the spinning beach ball progress indicator, under varying conditions (previously noted here). The problem appears to be hard drive-related, and occurs most frequently with the standard 320 GB 5400 RPM drive, [...]

Apple has released “Snow Leopard Graphics Update” for Mac OS X 10.6.x, which the company says “contains stability and performance fixes for graphics applications and games, including fixes that: address frame rate issues occurring in Portal and Team Fortress 2 on certain Macs resolve an issue that could cause Aperture 3 or StarCraft II to [...]

Apple has released iMac (Mid 2010) Display Brightness Update 1.0, which the company says “addresses an issue with 21.5-inch iMac (Mid 2010) display brightness.” Specifically, the update appears to resolve a problem wherein iMacs’ screens would be at full brightness for several seconds or minutes after waking from sleep, then suddenly switch to a lower [...]

We previously reported on various OpenGL-related graphics issues, including lags, stalls or slowdowns in video playback, artifacts or corruption (particularly when moving windows or scrolling) and more after updating to Mac OS X 10.6.4. This issue can affect various graphics-intensive applications, including a number of games (Steam, StarCraft 2, etc.), Photoshop, web browsers (Firefox, Safari) [...]

Some users have reported an issue in which, after the update to Mac OS X 10.6.3, MacBook screens fail to power on the LCD backlight. This results in a faint, dim, barely visible image on the screen. Fixes Sleep corner. James Wang notes a workaround that allows recovery from the backlight failure, as follows: Set [...]

Several users have reported an issue in which displays, particularly external displays, are dim after the update to Mac OS X 10.6.3. Apple Discussions poster KAdamsInCo writes: “My Mac Mini was running just fine until I installed 10.6.3. After the reboot the display came up very dim. The icons and overall display are noticeably darker [...]

In our Mac OS X 10.6.3 troubleshooting guide, we noted a number of dual-monitor display issues that occur for some users after the update. In the most common case, external monitors no longer function at the desired (usually highest) resolution. The external display remains blank until the resolution is switched to a lower setting from [...]

For some users, external displays are exhibiting a series of all-too-familiar issues under Mac OS X 10.6.3. In the most common case, external monitors no longer function at the desired (usually highest) resolution. The external display remains blank until the resolution is switched to a lower setting from the Display panel of System Preferences. In [...]