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Security Update 2006-003 Special Report: Various third party application freezes
It appears that a certain code routine causes repeatable crashes on systems that have Security Update 2006-003 installed. As such, users are experiencing system freezes when running certain third-party applications after the update.
MacFixIt reader Aaron writes:
"I am using a MacBook Pro and have been running Matlab 7.2 using -nojvm mode. After applying the update, I find that my entire computer locks up when I attempt run Matlab (I can move the cursor, but that is about it). Each time I try this I must do a hard-reboot. I have tried using safe mode and find the same problem."
Another reader adds:
"I maintain an open-source installer system and a couple of packages for it around the TeX typesetting system. It seems that the installer program also triggers the freeze on intel systems running 10.4.6 with the latest security patch.
"When the system freezes, the mouse moves, but the windowing system is dead. The system still reacts to ping from the outside, but trying to connect to a service (e.g. ssh) does not work."
"I have had user reports that 10.4.6 with the latest security fix on PowerPC-based Macs is OK.
"It definitely seems Apple has a broken update on their hands.
"i-Installer is currently ppc-only and has been compiled against 10.3.9 and runs with the 10.3.9 compatible system that is available on 10.4.6. This has been done because 10.4.4 and 10.4.5 go completely haywire when running it. 10.4.3 was fine. My suspicion therefore is that it may have to do with Rosetta."
Another user reports a potentially related, repeatable crash in Microsoft's Entourage:
"Since applying the latest updates, I can no longer change font or background color in Entourage, without the program completely crashing. I reinstalled my OS and it did not fix the problem. I posted this in the Apple forums, and several other confirmed they are also unable to use these features without program crashing."
Index:
- Active Directory issues
- FireWire problems -- Devices won't mount, etc.
- LiveUpdate (Symantec) not working -- fix on the way
- Overall System slow-down
- PDF files: Problems printing
- Release notes/update recommendations
- Removing the update
- SCSI drives not recognized
- Startup stalls/freezes after updating -- fixes
- Unintended attempted network boots (flashing globe at startup)
- UnRarX causing freezes
- Various third party application freezes
Update includes: SuperDuper, Cocktail, OnyX, Tiger Cache Cleaner and
MacJanitor.
The Quicktime 7.1 Update works fine though, no problems.
Any ideas, someone out there.......
Surprisingly, my older Carbon applications still seem to be running fine, but a
number of PowerPC applications lock up the machine in exactly this manner!
<b>Very</b> annoying!
- by Dave Goldblatt May 28, 2006 8:16 PM PDT
- I've seen this with IPSecuritas as well. Running top from a terminal window prior to executing the application showed IPSecuritas (and/or its child process, vpntool) using most of the CPU, but more interestingly, the virtual memory size of vpntool - a PPC binary - went to >2G.
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(4 Comments)This would explain the extreme slowdown - if the application/Rosetta is allocating that much memory all other applications are going to be swapped out, which is why other apps do respond eventually (when they get swapped back in) and the BBOD appears.