10.6.3 update issues

[DP]

I recently updated and followed the usual routine: unplugged all peripherals and RP'd before and after. Was online later in Firefox and my fonts are all different. No big deal but then everything froze up. Did a hard restart and later it suddenly went to a grey screen with lighter color vertical lines. OK, hard restart again and went to Safari which was also noticeably faster. Cool!
I repair permissions again, tho, and there is a long list but it all has to do with Airport Base Station.
All seems well then except this AM I'm online again-in fact on the forum-and I get the grey screen (without vertical lines this time).
So, another hard restart and I repair permissions and get this:

What does this mean and is anyone else noticing some weirdnesses with 10.6.3?
iMac 2.66 C2D 4GB

[Doc]

WILL YOU PEOPLE STOP REPAIRING PERMISSIONS!

It does almost nothing.

Boot from your install disc, repair the DISK with the Disk Utility and then report back.

[mrlynn]

Doc wrote:
WILL YOU PEOPLE STOP REPAIRING PERMISSIONS!

It does almost nothing.

Boot from your install disc, repair the DISK with the Disk Utility and then report back.

Really? My son just bought a new (refurb) MacBook, and I was about to remind him to regularly repair permissions. I thought it was SOP for Mac maintenance, just as rebuilding the Desktop was in the old days. Does Apple no longer recommend it?

/Mr Lynn

[DP]

Well, as I finished posting this, I minimized the window so I could work on other things and the computer froze when I clicked on the minimize button. Another hard restart.
Will try the disk repair but what's with all this silliness anyway? I, too, have always RP'd before and after. In fact, when other posters have had issues, they hadn't RP'd. And I've always thought it was SOP.

[Doc]

mrlynn wrote: I thought it was SOP for Mac maintenance, just as rebuilding the Desktop was in the old days. Does Apple no longer recommend it?

It is generally harmless to repair permissions, but it also accomplishes almost nothing of any value... Much like rebuilding the Desktop was under OS 9.

If your Mac is freezing and you've got weird video errors, you've got bigger problems than permissions.

[DP]

>If your Mac is freezing and you've got weird video errors, you've got bigger problems than permissions.
Well, like what? This stuff just started happening after I updated.
So I should do what you suggested first then see what happens?

[Doc]

DP wrote:
Well, like what?

Like a serious hardware problem that was exposed due to something in the update.

Maybe bad RAM, video, motherboard...

A gray screen with vertical lines is what we in the biz call a "really bad sign."

'First thing to do is to check your drive for directory damage from the crashes. Then run hardware tests.

If everything passes then it may be worth reinstalling the update or downgrading the OS to see if the symptom really is software/OS related.

But first thing's first: Repair the drive.

[JEBB]

I recall there is something about that particular warning at the Apple site. It said, in effect, don't worry about that one.

I've made it a habit of always repairing permissions before and after installing new software and doing system updates. Often there are a number of permissions that were repaired. I don't believe doing that has caused any harm and, given some of the problems people have reported who didn't do the repairs, I'd say it was worthwhile.

I have found, that in cloning my hard drive with Disk Utility/Restore, if I don't repair permissions before the operation and after on the clone, the cloned drive won't always startup the computer properly.

[Tommie Milwaukee]

I'd run DiskWarrior if I was you. Saved my bacon many times.

[silvarios]

I very rarely manually repair permissions and I don't have problems from system updates (well, no problems besides the actual bugs that are sometimes introduced and no, repair permissions doesn't fix them).

I agree with Doc, repair permissions is usually a waste of time. Check out http://www.unsanity.org/archives/000410.php, http://daringfireball.net/2006/04/repair...ons_voodoo, and http://www.macworld.com/article/52220/20...sions.html for more info on this topic.


Nathan