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USB Ethernet Adapter not working after 10.5.6 update

I ran Software Update to upgrade from 10.5.5 to 10.5.6.

After the first reboot, the computer was stuck on the grey screen with the little spinny icon in the middle of the screen. I waited for 15 minutes, then powered down the computer. To my relief, it seemed to be working just fine when I powered it up. However, the USB Ethernet adapter does not show a connection. System profiler confirms that the device is connected. Pulling up "network" in System Preferences takes a VERY long time -- lots of spinny beachball action -- but when it finally comes up, it insists that the USB Ethernet adapter is not connected to any network. This is the adapter I used to download the update, so I'm puzzled.

I've tried resetting my PRAM, and rebooted multiple times, but this problem seems to persist. Also, the fan is running almost constantly.

Oddly, I note now that "installdb" is consuming up to 43% of my CPU. Perhaps the update is somehow stuck? What would happen if I downloaded the update file and tried "re-updating" my computer, this time (hopefully) without the stuck grey screen?

BTW: I know that this device is technically "supposed to be" for the Macbook Air. However, it's been working well with my Powerbook (which has a broken Ethernet port) for the past several months. I'd be surprised if Apple specifically targeted this feature to eliminate.

Thanks for any illumination you can provide.

12" G4 PB 1.5GHz, Mac OS X (10.5.6), iPhone 8GB (original), 2.2

Posted on Dec 15, 2008 2:58 PM

Reply
18 replies

Dec 15, 2008 11:33 PM in response to JRob_MN

JRob_MN wrote:
BTW: I know that this device is technically "supposed to be" for the Macbook Air. However, it's been working well with my Powerbook (which has a broken Ethernet port) for the past several months. I'd be surprised if Apple specifically targeted this feature to eliminate.


I doubt they specifically targeted it, but since it's designed for the Air that's the only machine Apple's tested it with.

Thus Apple didn't specifically work to eliminate it, but they didn't do anything to make sure it works with PowerBooks either.

Dec 16, 2008 8:37 AM in response to Tim Haigh

I tried that. When it got to the "reboot" part, I pressed the button to restart. I was told that it first needed to "update the boot caches -- system shutdown will proceed once the caches are up to date". I pressed the "OK" button. After 1 hour of a grey screen with a little spinny circle on it, I powered down and powered back up. Trying to pull up the "network" section in system prefs gave me a spinny beachball that never cleared. Today I have repaired permissions, and I'm reinstalling the update that I downloaded yesterday. We'll see whether the install works better, now that the permissions have been repaired.

Dec 16, 2008 8:39 AM in response to Dogcow-Moof

William Kucharski wrote:

I doubt they specifically targeted it, but since it's designed for the Air that's the only machine Apple's tested it with.

Thus Apple didn't specifically work to eliminate it, but they didn't do anything to make sure it works with PowerBooks either.


Fair enough; I'm still hoping to make it work, since I can't justify (nor can I afford) a logic-board replacement for this computer. So far it's not looking good, however.

Dec 16, 2008 11:44 AM in response to JRob_MN

I ran the update the other day on my Mac Mini which also has a blown ethernet port, hence the usb ethernet adapter. After installation I had the same experience. I installed the combo update and reinstalled followed by fixed permissions. The computer hangs until I disconnect the adapter. Selecting network in settings opens very slowly with the adapter attached and will not show as connected. Attempts to change any setting results in a beach ball which can be dismissed by pulling the adapter. I also tried the adapter in a usb hub with the same results. The adapter worked flawlessly since getting it which was right after it came out. I also relize that this adapter was intended for the macbook air but resent functionality being limited or removed arbitrarily. (or not) Should this be a permanent failure is there a wirless N (usb) solution for my PPC Mac Mini which currently does not have an airport card installed. Assuming Apple hasn't decided to restrict this usb solution as well. In other reading I heard that Apple has disable dfu mode for Iphone on built in usb ports with this .5.6 update.

Dec 16, 2008 3:18 PM in response to Doug Metcalfe

Hi all, same here on a G4-500 (with LeopardAssist so completely unsupported) which worked flawlessly on 10.5.5. I ran the full combo update after having done permissions and disk checks. I tried connecting, reconnecting, a different port port, 'remaking' the USB Ethernet preference etc. all to no avail. The symptoms were that on reboot(s) the machine seemed to have come up OK there was no network connectivity, but as its a server I hadn't attached monitor or keyboard to see the issue. I attached those then restarted and found no network from the inbuilt eth or the USB, I tried opening the Network panel and it just beachballed, I pulled out the connector and the beachball stopped and the inbuilt eth came up, plugged it back in and tried to alter network again and it beachballed again until I unplugged again. and so on and so forth. Bugger !

Dec 18, 2008 6:12 AM in response to JRob_MN

I was offered this solution to the problem from someone who has a lot more technical expertise than I do (quite possibly someone within Apple). I haven't had the time to try it yet, but I'm offering it up to others whose needs might be more urgent than mine. Here's what I was told:

1. Download the Mac OS X 10.5.5 Combo Update.
2. Using Pacifist, so as to easily maintain correct permissions, open the installer package and navigate to
/System/Library/Extensions/IONetworkingFamily.kext/Contents/Plugins/AppleUSBEthe rnet.kext
3. Select this kernel extension and click the Install button at the top left of the Pacifist window. Replace the existing files when prompted.
4. In Terminal, issue the following command so that the Kernel Extension cache is updated upon restart:
sudo touch /System/Library/Extensions
5. Restart

All should be well!

I'd be interested to hear back from anyone as to whether this helps.

Here's a link to download Pacifist: http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/12743

Dec 19, 2008 6:37 AM in response to JRob_MN

Howdy!

I have a dual-G5 and my ethernet port is blown. I've used the Apple USB Ethernet Adapter for about a year as a solution--works great. HOWEVER...Mac OS X 10.5.6 seems to have disabled the adapater--I've experienced and tried everything above--exact same problems (lock ups, network prefs beach ball, etc.)

But, thanks to the post about Pacifist! Reinstalling the 10.5.5 kernel extension fixed things! Whew!

This is a wonderful little adapter...I wish Apple would officially support it on their products, not just the Macbook Air. Anyway, success!

Thanks!

Dec 24, 2008 7:34 PM in response to JRob_MN

Thanks JRob_MN.

JRob_MN's fix worked fine for me. All is back to "normal". Strangely, the USB Ethernet interface/service (in Network Preferences) was relabeled "Bluetooth PAN" on my iMac G5, but it worked fine (and I relabeled it USB Ethernet) and the "fix" on an iMac G4 (with a dead ethernet port) was flawless.

Let's hope Apple doesn't have it in for us; I'm guessing they don't want to "support" the adapter on anything but the Air, but I hope they recognize that many of us are using it to replace burnt Ethernet ports. I almost returned (traded) mine thinking it was fried during the recent NE ice storms.

Jan 13, 2009 1:30 PM in response to JRob_MN

I am having the same problem with my MacBook Air. The ethernet adapter stopped working after upgrading to 10.5.6.

I tried the solution above with Pacifist, but it did not work for me. After talking with Apple Support, I got it to work by resetting the PRAM and then deleting the USB ethernet entry (Under System Pref->Network). I unplugged the adapter, deleted the entry, then plugged it in again and added a new entry with the + in the lower left corner. After I hit "Apply" it finally worked.

I think resetting the PRAM helped, and maybe reverting to the 10.5.5 extension with Pacifist, but it did not come together until I redid the Network entry. Hope that helps someone!

Jan 22, 2009 8:06 PM in response to JRob_MN

This fix worked fantastically for me, as soon as I read this thread I went and bought the adapter from the apple store, where I was told profusely by the store clerk it would not work, but turns out he was wrong!

I have a Mac Mini running Leopard Server 10.5.6, and all I did was install the kext as per the post above, set a static IP for my Cable account, run the NAT assistant, reboot and I have two interfaces on my Mac Mini working great!

USB Ethernet Adapter not working after 10.5.6 update

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