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Solution for broken Leopard Graphics Update (black displays after wake)

Hello everybody,

good news for those of you encountering some troubles with the latest Leopard Graphics Update 1.0 which followed the Mac OS X 10.5.2 update.

The following solution is for those of you who encounter the phenomenon that the (main) display wouldn't turn on after waking your computer from sleep. I read many posts in which the users described that just the display was kind of dead, but that they could log in to the computer remotely via SSH or even connect to the machine using screen sharing. I had the absolutely identical problems until recently with my PM G4 MDD with NVidia GeForce 4600 Ti graphics card.

*WARNING: The following solution worked for ME and MY computer setup, but it should be likely that it will also work for you if you experienced the same problems as described above.*

Before you start the surgery, have the following tools at your hand:
a) Mac OS X 10.5 DVD (hacked or unhacked, it doesn't matter)
b) Nr 6 Torc screw driver (no, just kidding ... ;-))
c) Post-it and pen
d) Cup of coffee or tee at your liking

Here are the steps that lead to success, and you can try it exactly this way when you're on some kind of NVidia graphics platform as I am:

1. Run the System Profiler (in the Utilities folder) and click on "Extensions" in the "Software" tree.
2. Check which versions of the kernel extensions are loaded for your particular graphics card
HINT: If you run a NVidia card you are likely to find some kind of NVDAV?0Hal kext and the NVDAResman kext alongside with the GeForce kext.
3. Write down or remember the version numbers of these kernel extensions.
4. Now reboot your computer with your Mac OS X 10.5 DVD.
5. After having the installer loaded and choosing your preferred language, open Terminal from the Utilities menu.
6. Now type in the following lines:

cd /Volumes/Macintosh\ HD/System/Library/Extensions
mkdir backup
mv NVDA* backup
mv GeForce* backup
cp -R /System/Library/Extensions/NVDA* .
cp -R /System/Library/Extensions/GeForce* .

7. Quit the Terminal program and the Installer and to a restart.

There you go, after rebooting your computer you should be able to put it to sleep and wake it again with a fully functional display grinning at you.

If you use some kind of ATI graphics card, you can do the same steps, you just have to watch out for the corresponding kexts to move and copy from the DVD.

I hope this post is going to help some of you people out there. I wished Apple had tested their Leopard Graphics Update somewhat more thoroughly. My understanding is, as my investigation brought to broad day light, that the Leopard Graphics Update somehow came along with a set of older versions of kernel extensions (at least for the NVidia part).

I wish everybody happy computing with the otherwise great products of Apple & Friends.

Kind regards,

Mati

iBook (stolen), PowerBook G4, PowerMac G4 MDD, Cube, eMac, iMac DV, Yosemithe, Mac OS X (10.5.2)

Posted on Feb 21, 2008 12:58 PM

97 replies

Apr 10, 2008 1:26 AM in response to maerteijn

sigh.
i am still stuck with the problems as my mbp is MBP31.0070.B05 and doesn't "need" the firmware update!!!... why are we left out by apples?
are they just going to forget us like this now?

Apr 10, 2008 1:55 AM in response to William Li

I'm MBP31.0070.B05 too.. and I have the *screen staying blank after wake-up problem* and I wish to have it solved. This isn't something you can easily live with.

I'm loosing my work done on my MBP because of unnecessary reboots! Apple this is NOT hilarious.

Apr 10, 2008 9:14 AM in response to William Li

Same here. The update won't load on my machine because it doesn't "need" it, but boy does it ever.

It's amazing how Apple's software bungling has turned an otherwise nice machine into a piece of junk.

Apr 14, 2008 10:48 AM in response to Link Dupont

Big thanks to Matthias M., Link Dupont, and hurrikenux for taking the time and effort to help us out here...! 🙂 🙂

Apr 14, 2008 11:27 AM in response to William Li

So what is the problem then...? I used hurrikenux' solution, download his package (rollback 1.1.2) and it works like a charm.

NOTE: I have MBP MBP31.0070.B05 too, and it worked for me!

🙂

Apr 18, 2008 6:05 PM in response to Matthias M. Schneider

i only had the non-waking display problem a couple times, but had more frequently run into a freezing display (yet with audio files/audio tracks continuing to play... requiring hard shut-down to escape), with console displaying

NVChannel(GL): Graphics channel timeout!

and

NVChannel(GL): Graphics channel exception!

installed the unofficial LGU rollback 1.2 this morning, and haven't had errors so far. i'll post back if i do. thanks thanks thanks!

next time an update comes out that affects these files, what are the odds that we'll need to roll back again, i wonder?

Apr 20, 2008 2:17 AM in response to maerteijn

There is no firmware update for the PowerPC G5 Quad, so the rollback version 1.2 remains the only fix for my desktop Mac.

Apr 23, 2008 2:19 PM in response to Sander_Amsterdam

I had the problems with this Graphics Update too. After a couple of tries to fix it, I just accepted the fact that I couldn't cold-boot my Mac without using the recommended method of 'closing the lid really fast'.

I tried the Rollback 1.2 package, but that didn't help either. Then I read on the forum that maybe a NVRAM reset and/or SMC(I think) reset could help. But that didn't either. So I tried to install the firmware update that should be available to me, but I had the same result as many MacBook Pro users: This update is not needed. So I just let it be...

Until today! In my amazement, the Software Updater actually displayed a Firmware Update (along with the Graphics Update, which I rolled back earlier 😉 ). I've had dreams of this moment for a long time now, but it actually happened: my problems are fixed! I can boot/wake up my laptop without any problems whatsoever!

Thank you Apple, for taking us this serious! I mean, Microsoft would have kept us waiting for at least 2 service packs before fixing such a 'minor issue' that almost no-one seemed to have.

I'm kinda disappointed about Apple here. I bought my very expensive Mac to ensure I would not have to deal with these kind of problems anymore. At first the OS looked very stable and solid, but since 'The Update' my opinion on Mac-products has changed drastically. I still like them, but it seems no company is resistant to the 'Microsoft Glitches', not even Apple...

Apr 23, 2008 3:05 PM in response to jorisscheppers

jorisscheppers wrote:
Thank you Apple, for taking us this serious! I mean, Microsoft would have kept us waiting for at least 2 service packs before fixing such a 'minor issue' that almost no-one seemed to have.

I'm kinda disappointed about Apple here. I bought my very expensive Mac to ensure I would not have to deal with these kind of problems anymore. At first the OS looked very stable and solid, but since 'The Update' my opinion on Mac-products has changed drastically. I still like them, but it seems no company is resistant to the 'Microsoft Glitches', not even Apple...

Hello,

I've got to that Black Screen issue too, very erratically, about once a month. Oddly, the last one occurred 3 days ago. And such as you, I've loaded that Firmware Update. Now lets wait for one month - at least - to shoot Victory.

BUT, I beg you to sit down and reconsider your (hasty) opinion. I'm in that part of the industry. Designing a firmware is the most critical activity as all the components "above" rely on that very dense code. An operating system is made of many, many, many components. An OS success/performance relies on the simple design options taken by those who conceived it. MacOSX/UNIX is designed around a Kernel and an multitasking logic (non-preemptive, in case of Unises). Then, the rest is history, as all evolutions and enhancements are made "upward". Never the core design principles are altered. Unix has been around for about 40 years. You can't say, because of this regrettable issue, that your OS of choice is "less stable", or you fear it may be "less stable".

The road of IT is paved with successes and bloopers. This is one: It has been addressed (believe me it's a tough one because of the very possibilities of Butterfly Effect damages once you touch the firmware) in reasonable time. I understand your frustration. I've got Macs since System 7. No such mishap would drive away from using a Mac (for many reasons too long to detail here).

I have another issue since 10.5.2: I can't login to a secured site while behind a firewall. Let's hope this one gets addressed too.

Apr 27, 2008 1:56 PM in response to hurrikenux

Thanks hurrikenux, your Graphics Update 1.2 really works, you are the man. My problem was not only the Dvd player app, because there are another solutions like VLC, my biggest preocupation was see my computer making many noise when I insert any dvd movie on my powerbook, now all is perfect. Thanks again and sorry for my english, I'm from Ecuador.

Apr 27, 2008 2:29 PM in response to thomas jerde

unfortunately, i just had the display freeze crash twice today, with the same old "NVChannel(GL): Graphics channel exception!" error in the console. this is with the LGU rollback and the MBP firmware 1.5.1 update. so apparently it's not an ultimate fix, though this is the first such crash i've had in more than a week, so i think the rollback definitely helps.

different circumstances this time: i was running ffmpegX in the background, and the immediate trigger for the freeze was using quicklook to preview an MPEG1 movie. the freeze then happened again when i tried to open the same movie in quicktime player (not while in column view in finder--i wanted to make sure it wasn't just the preview that was causing the freeze).

i also tried the DVI-svideo dongle solution, and that didn't accomplish anything for me, except that caps lock and number lock stopped responding as well.

Apr 28, 2008 3:51 AM in response to Thierry de Villeneuve

Hello Thierry.

I know of the many design considerations that have to be dealt with when designing an OS. And I also know that a firmware is the most basic program you can have, being 'hard'-coded in a type of ROM on the hardware. But it is also my opinion that any such important piece of software should be very thoroughly tested before it is released. And apparently, this Graphics Update was not!

I've been a Windows/PC-user all my life up until last November (when I bought my MacBook Pro), and never have I had problems with firmware updates before. Of course, I've had my fair share of problems with existing firmware, but never before had a newer piece of firmware caused so many problems for me. I know it is statistically incorrect to conclude anything from this fact, but to me it is very frustrating.

I get the feeling Apple just did not test this update in all the possible situations. I'm not sure if the only people who've been having problems belong to the 'clamshell-user-group', but it sure as **** looks like it. But hopefully, this is a thing of the past now. And I strongly urge Apple to test these important building-blocks of their architecture more thoroughly in the future.

Also, it seems my cheering may have been preliminary. After the update, the screen-not-turning-on-problems have gone, but are replaces with mouse-and-keyboard-not-reacting-half-of-the-time-problems and mouse-moving-at-insanely-high-speed-problems. And just now, after waking up my Mac after 2 hours of sleep, I'm not able to play any music from iTunes. The song I select won't start playing, and the position-indicator of the song is stuck at 0:00. I guess an old Microsoft fix, "Ye Re-booty", will have to come in play this time.

Apr 28, 2008 4:19 AM in response to jorisscheppers

jorisscheppers wrote:

Also, it seems my cheering may have been preliminary. After the update, the screen-not-turning-on-problems have gone, but are replaces with mouse-and-keyboard-not-reacting-half-of-the-time-problems and mouse-moving-at-insanely-high-speed-problems. And just now, after waking up my Mac after 2 hours of sleep, I'm not able to play any music from iTunes. The song I select won't start playing, and the position-indicator of the song is stuck at 0:00. I guess an old Microsoft fix, "Ye Re-booty", will have to come in play this time.

Hello jorisscheppers,

Thanks for taking the time putting together this nice follow-up.

I experience this "crazy" mouse problem from time to time. For instance, after an unexpected pop-out of the card in the ExpressCard slot, or the Bluetooth connection with my cellphone. I've identified that "something wrong" with USB IO. When I detect this "strange" mouse behavior, it's an immediate reboot before things go out of end.

There has been an issue with the keyboard where the mouse seems frozen for a second after a cut or paste action. I experience it also, but not with all apps.

Apple did release a keyboard firmware update that solved a very nasty issue where the first key stroke after some period of inactivity was "consumed". That was very bad when typing a password to unlock a session.

Yes, not all is fine with this MBP. I didn't have that much issue with my G4 PowerBook. But it took quite a number of monthes to get that PB so stable.

Let's see what 10.5.3 will bring us for "good" news.

Rgds,
Thierry

Apr 28, 2008 7:47 AM in response to Thierry de Villeneuve

Hi Thierry,

I haven't experienced the keyboard-issues that you talked about before. And yesterday was the first time I've had this weird thing with the keyboard. It seems that the keyboard was only given I/O-access at selected times.

It seems all the issues I've been having with my Mac only surface when I've put my laptop to sleep and woken it up a few times. At first I blamed badly-written applications that couldn't handle the sleep/wake-thing, but with the latest issues with the Graphics Driver it looks more and more like there's something wrong with the OS/firmware.

Right after my previous post, I had to give my mac a hard shutdown because it didn't react to my reboot command. And to my astonishment, after the reboot my external screen was again recognized as being an internal screen running at 1440*900. Before this whole 10.5.2/Graphics Update-thing began, I didn't have ANY problems with this whatsoever.

I'm still a bit disappointed by Apple, because after paying much more money for their product, I'm still experiencing the same problems as I had with my Windows PC. But I'm not gonna sell my Mac, that would be blasphemy 😉 I am beginning to think a reinstall of Leopard would maybe solve some issues...do you (or does anyone else) have experience with this? Does it solve anything?

Apr 28, 2008 8:23 AM in response to jorisscheppers

jorisscheppers wrote:
I am beginning to think a reinstall of Leopard would maybe solve some issues...do you (or does anyone else) have experience with this? Does it solve anything?

Hello (again),

As a Unix sysadmin ... I never resort to reinstalling the whole OS when I run into an issue, any issue. This doesn't work this way with Unix. MacOSX included.

If after a reboot you don't get your saved preferences to be taken into account, perhaps you may simply experience a problem with file access permissions.

Have you tried to "Repair (the) Permissions" of your startup drive ? Just a question. If not, try opening the Utilities folder (shortcut: Command-Shift-U). Open Disk Utilities; Select your startup drive partition; Get to the First Aid tab, Hit Repair Disk Permissions (don't waste time with Verify). Let it run with Show Details checked.

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If your Mac doesn't "react" to a reboot command, it may happen that you had mounted some remote/external filesystem that stalled and refused to "unmount".

I don't know what you've done to "reboot". Perhaps via the Apple Menu -> Restart, or by pressing the power key. This is "not" a "reboot", it's not even a shutdown ad restart, it's a verrrryyy gentle and kind request for applications to gently quit, before the Unix part of the shutdown/restart happens.

In this case, one single application refusing to obey the shutdown command can mess up with the operation.

If your system looks "unstable", open Terminal or X11 xterm (I always have X11 loaded in Spaces #1). Type the following command - this is an OS level command that no Finder loaded application can suspend:

#> sudo shutdown -r +0

After you've typed your password, all applications are terminated. If the shutdown process halts, it's because there is an IO problem with an external device. Plug the plug of your USB or FW devices. Or, hold the Power button for a power stop, then unplug all devices, then hit it again to power the Mac up again. Don't reconnect your external devices yet. Let it boot, then log in (I hope you've activated Fast User switching and not let your user log in by default - basic security)

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Instead of reinstalling the OS of your Mac, I would suggest that you create another User on your machine and start using this user to see what's going on.

If it happens that you don't have problem with this user, then you may think that something got very bad with your primary user account. At that point, a step-by-step investigation of that user setup should be carried out.

Hoping this helps.
Thierry

Solution for broken Leopard Graphics Update (black displays after wake)