March 18, 2007 12:46 AM PDT

Mac OS X 10.4.9 Special Report: Disk images not mounting

by CNET staff

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Several users report an inability mount disk images after applying the Mac OS X 10.4.9 update.

MacFixIt reader Steve Taffee writes:

"Disk images will not mount. After a couple of minutes, the error message: '[disk image name] Device not configured' is displayed. Following the update, I repaired disk permissions before launching a disk image."

If you are having a problem where disk images won't mount, try booting in Safe Mode (by holding down the Shift key while starting up), then re-attempting mounting of the disk image.

This solution is particularly useful for the following scenario: You want to try re-application of the Mac OS X combo updater (a common workaround for issues that occur after an incremental Mac OS X update), but are unable to mount the combo updater disk image.

Prior to booting in safe mode, however, you can delete the following files:

/System/Library/Extensions.kextcache
/System/Library/com.apple.kernelcaches

and re-attempting the mount. These, and other cache files, are automatically deleted when you boot in safe mode, but you can potentially save some time by trying deletion of these files (then logging out and back in) first.

Another option is to use an alternative tool that can mount disk images, like Mount.app, FlashMount, or Toast Titanium.

MacFixIt reader Joy Denton is one user who had success with our posted workaround:

"Just wanted to let you know that I had the issue of Disk Images not mounting. This occurred after installing Mac OS X 10.4.9 from Software Update. Fortunately, I read your post regarding a possible fix by using the Combo Update and used Toast to mount the disk image. Ran the Combo Update and ran AppleJack once again. I am now able to mount disk images. This was an annoying problem to be sure."

Meanwhile, Apple has posted a Knowledge Base article (#305111) detailing an issue where users may receive the error message "Disk image you are opening may be damaged..." when attempting to mount disk images under Mac OS X 10.4.9. According to Apple, Mac OS X 10.4.9 is more robust in its ability to detect damaged or corrupted disk images. However, you may encounter this error when working with ostensibly functional disk images. The Knowledge base articles offers a process for dealing with the disk images identified as damaged, which involves first duplicating the disk image then forcing a mount by clicking the "Open" button when the error message appears; see the Knowledge Base article for further details.

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