10.4.10 Snap, Crackle, Pop - a workaround

Replacing AppleHDA.kext from 10.4.9 fixes it, period.
End of discussion.

It is not the end of the discussion according to MacFixIt readers. Some report the popping noise continues unless they also replace the IOAudioFamily.kext. Some report that replacing one or the other stops it, some that replacing both has not helped. This is easily verified with a Google search if you are not a subscriber with archival access.

Please do not infer from a limited sample that all users will get the same results -- it is rarely that simple.

Actually it is that simple. Those with audio issues who have PPC Macs, or hear pops during audio playback, or heard pops prior to 10.4.10 are describing another issue entirely. For them, a different patch may be necessary. But for this particular audio popping noise that you hear before and after audio is played through external speakers on Intel Macs, replacing AppleHDA.kext is the fix.

Replacing IOAudioFamily.kext may fix some other audio issue you have, but won't fix this particular one.

Seeing as it was a patch for the Nvidia graphics subsystem, I don't see how it could've fixed the audio popping issue from 10.4.10.

1. The MacFixIt reports specifically refer to the popping issue related to "a component of the internal audio hardware switching on and off."

2. PPC Macs don't have an AppleHDA.kext to replace, so it is impossible that those saying it is necessary to replace both to fix the popping issue (or that replacing both has no effect) are reporting about anything other than Intel Macs.

If you don't have an Intel Mac, this thread does not apply to you.

Neither do I, but I'm not arguing with the results.

Kext file worked perfectly for me. Copied from my external HD running 10.4.9 to my "live" runtime.
Just copied the 10.4.10 kext file for safe keeping. Copied the old one in place. Repaired the permissions and rebooted.

Perfect.

If you have a backup of AppleHDA.kext from 10.4.9,
you can just copy that over.

If not, then you will need to use a program like
Pacifist to extract it from the 10.4.9 combo update.


There is nothing special you need to do to "bless"
it. Just copy it over, repair permissions and
restart.

Using the 10.4.9 version of AppleHDA.kext if your
system has already been updated with 10.4.10 has no
negative side effects.

Yes, files inside the AppleHDA.kext package were
modified by 10.4.10 even though the modify date for
AppleHDA.kext will be the same as 10.4.9.

This will fix the popping issue for Intel Macs.

Other workarounds like running programs in the
background to prevent the audio from going idle is
really not acceptable. You'll just be wasting cpu
resources.

Replacing AppleHDA.kext from 10.4.9 fixes it, period.
End of discussion.

youngman

If you don't mind can you give a brief how-to on the extract part. Does that Pacifist just "open up" and show all the individual file and then you can drag and drop the AppleHDA.kext file from the update package?

This popping is really ticking me off (and even more upset with Apple that they created this issue and has no easy way to fix).

So any dummied down how-to help would be...well...helpful.

Short answer, yes. Pacifist will show the directory structure and files. Just drag the file from Pacifist to where you want it to copy to.

Cool. I'll try it when I get home tonight. And just to confirm. The package I need to download from Apple is the 10.4.9 Intel combo update? It looks like it's a 310mb file.


And thanks again for the all help.

Thank you! I needed a laugh & this is among the the funniest replies I've ever seen.

Not having an Intel Mac in no way impairs anyone's ability to see that according to MacFixIt, the one-extension fix isn't working for everyone with a popping Intel Mac.

To all readers with the Intel pop problem: If it works for you, OK. If not, you may want to consider replacing both extensions or one of the other work-arounds. (It wouldn't hurt to run Disk Utility's "Verify Disk" check as well.)

Replacing AppleHDA.kext from 10.4.9 fixes it, period.
End of discussion.

Ummm... nope...

Intel Mini 1.5. Just replaced and rebooted and was greeted with a pop almost immediately. Have about a 30 second delay before the audio 'goes to sleep'. Pops when it goes off, pop and delay when something makes a beep.

Am I right in believing that the AppleHDA.kext is the USB extension?

Gonna try the AudioIO thing next...

Ed

Mac MIni Mac OS X (10.4.10)

Gonna try the AudioIO thing next...

No-go with that also...

Guess I'll wait till Apple decides this is worthy of a fix...

Thanks to all who posted suggestions and tips and general help! Macs may fail sometimes but Mac users never do!

Ed

Am I right in believing that the AppleHDA.kext is the
USB extension?

No. HDA stands for "High Definition Audio," which supports the Intel high definition audio standard. Basically (meaning it is really a lot more complicated than this), it is a set of drivers for the audio circuitry you can see abstracted here, attached to the "South Bridge" controller.

Just as basically (same caveat), the AudioIOFamily.kext is a higher level extension more removed from the details of the hardware implementation. Both could be considered to contain "drivers," although for different parts of the abstraction.

Also, it is not well substantiated that the AppleHDA.kext extension -- as delivered by Apple -- has been altered in the 10.4.10 release. (There appears to be only one report of one item in the package having a newer modification date, which could be due to local causes.) I'm trying to research this, but given the vehement opposition by some in Apple Discussions to exploring these things, I'm doing so via other, less provocative channels.

If I discover anything useful, I'll post it in an appropriately named new topic.

Meanwhile, I strongly suggest you should make sure your Mac is in good health before fiddling with any extension swaps.

Slight correction to my previous post: the Mac Mini simplified architecture block diagram can be found in the Mac mini Developer Note, not the iMac one I showed in the previous link.