Kernel Panic After Thunderbolt Update

Thank you to everybody for your replies! I'm happy to report that I just got back home from the Apple Store and I'm all back up and running again. Everything appears to be safe and in working order. Whew! I'm kinda glad I just took it in, because after the reinstall, he checked for and installed several more updates that I needed. Regarding the reinstall, he said that's the fix that Apple has directed them to use. He had read the CNet article and said the combo update was probably just fine, but the reinstall was the way Apple wants them to go. And, he said that as soon as there's a fix to the Thunderbolt update (which Apple is working on as we speak) they'll probably send out a notification about the whole debacle. That's not much comfort to people that aren't even aware of what just happened, and are probably panicking like I did (because that's the first word on the grey screen!) but I've noticed that seems to be the way Apple operates. Anyway, my Genius guy was great, and was multi-tasking like crazy; helping 4 or 5 more people all at the same time, yet always checking back on the status of my reinstall and updates in a timely manner. And, there was no charge, and not even any question of a charge. So all in all I'm as happy as I can be after this scary situation. And the good thing is my external hard drive (that I ordered after the fact, which is the way I tend to operate too) is on it's way and I won't have to panic quite as much in the future if something like this happens..

You know this is good to hear, and to be fair I have seen great improvements to the Apple stores in the past year or so. So hopefully Apple triage methods will improve, and attempt to fully integrate their own resources. You think of all companies, Apple would be able to do it. Of course we will have to see how much rested on Steve Jobs' drive and determination, and vision too. I think Tim Cook is a good CEO from everything I have seen, and I believe that if he is made aware of the customer dissatisfaction to how feedback and word about this horrible update has been handled, he will correct it. I hope.

I spent an hour on the phone with Apple Care support, who couldn't help me. The nearest Apple Store is 2 hours away, and they told me I couldn't mail my 27" iMac 2011 for repair because it was "too big." So, I spent $60 in gas, the Genius Bar took 20 minutes on my machine and sent me back home. Upon reading this, I attempted to open iPhoto and great - another error! They didn't finish the job! ARGH. I will finish reading all these suggestions and then, assuming there are no further warnings, do the updates - all except for any Thunderbolt updates. I hope this will get me through.

I cannot believe they didn't test this before releasing and then didn't pull the update sooner. NOT cool.

I'm not sure of your iPhoto error. I know when I finally did the update, when you open up iPhoto it says it needs to be updated. Click to update and it's done, all good. It's the only app I saw that needed that second level of updating in the software.

Hi I thought it was just me who had this problem , I made about 3 attempts and gave up. Took mine to my nearest store and they installed Lion from one of their drives. I thought that was it and went home happy, happy until I tried using iphoto and imovie , they both refused to work. I called Apple care and was told to install them off of my Snow Leopard disc which I tried.

I lost hours with one their phone tech guys deleiting files , reinstalling etc. He then suggested I reinstall from time machine and I'd obviously have to the reinstall the updates minus the one that caused all the problems. I did that and got my MBP 13' back to normal. It turns out those of us who upgraded to Lion from SL cannot also download from the App store to reinstall iphoto or imovie for free unless your machine came with Lion pre installed. I was annoyed as I was given conflicting info from different Apple folk one of them supposedly a genius. I have learned one thing though I will never just install something straight away , I only installed LIon about 5 weeks ago so I'm never in rush unless is about security. I shouldn;t have the left the store until I'd cheked it was all working , the guy was also dropping hints that it was nealry time for them to close even though it was them who booked me in 15 mins before they were due to close.

Back to your post though don't why Lion wouldn't complete loading , thwat was annoying as well. Maybe Someone on here knows and can answer albeit not in a smug manner ( hopefully) .

i checked this morning. this update has been pulled. 5 days after it was released and however many macs were hosed:

http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1544

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Hi Berlin,

Like you, after this happening to me I learned some valuable lessons.

1 Check future updates via forums such as this to get a lay of the land so to speak.They helped me when I had an issue with my iphone 4 just after I brought it nearly 2 years ago.

2 How to restore OS in the future should I have any problems.

3 If I ever have to use a genius bar in the future, make sure everything is up and running before I leave the store , it's not exactly on my dooorstep either.

4 Like all companies the advice you are given can differ greatly from one apple employee to another.

5 Like all compaines they do make mistakes despite the glitzy marketing about everything just working.

Apple need to learn like all other companies that it's not just their products we purchase but also the customer service when things go wrong that includes inside the warranty period and apple care. No one has yet apologised and I'm sure word about this reached the right ears hence the dodgy update being pulled. I am well aware that no one forces us to buy their products but they do sell at a high premium and the service level should reflect this

according to http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/

6/15/2012 Friday's News Last Updated: 6:30PM ET

Apple Pulls ThunderBolt 1.2 Update due to Boot Problems w/some 2011 Macs:

A new Apple doc out today confirms a reader's warning on problems booting 2011 MBP after T'Bolt 1.2 update posted early this week. (He was not alone & repeatable after restore/reinstall.)

Here's a copy of Apple's doc with some recovery tips. (Original TBolt Update 1.2 was pulled.)

"Mac is unresponsive on startup after installing Thunderbolt Software Update 1.2"

Products Affected:

Mac mini (Mid 2011), Mac mini Server (Mid 2011), MacBook Air (11-inch, Mid 2011), MacBook Air (13-inch, Mid 2011), MacBook Pro (13-inch, Late 2011), iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2011), iMac (27-inch, Mid 2011)

Symptoms:

You may notice your Mac becomes unresponsive on startup after installing Thunderbolt Software Update 1.2.

Resolution:

Apple has identified an issue with Thunderbolt Update 1.2 (released Monday, June 11th, 2012) which caused some Macs to become unresponsive on startup after the update was installed. Apple promptly withdrew the update and investigated, discovering an installation compatibility issue with a previous Thunderbolt update applied by some customers. Apple apologizes for the disruption this caused for customers with affected Macs.

Thunderbolt Software Update 1.2 enables Mac computers to support the Thunderbolt to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter. If you do not plan to use this adapter, you do not need to install the update.

To recover a Mac computer that will not start up after installing Thunderbolt Software Update 1.2, start up in Lion Recovery by pressing and holding the Command and R keys after hearing the start up chime. Reinstall Mac OS X. Reinstalling Mac OS X using Lion Recovery does not remove any personal data or files from your Mac.

Alternatively, you may perform either of these options:

1. Restore from a Time Machine backup that was created before Thunderbolt Software Update 1.2 was installed.
2. If you have access to another Mac, you can start up the affected Mac in Target Disk Mode and then install the OS X Lion v10.7.4 Combo Update to resolve this issue "quickly".

Additional Information:

Apple is investigating this issue and plans to release a new version of Thunderbolt Software Update 1.2 soon."

Although ThunderBolt Update 1.2 was said to only add support for the new ThunderBolt to GigaBit Ethernet Adapter (for 2012 Macs w/o an Ethernet port), some may have installed it in case it had any other improvements. (On that subject, Tuesday's news has Apple's notes on the ThunderBolt to Ethernet Adapter not supporting sleep w/2011 Mac Minis. I wondered if that also applied to other 2011 Macs.)

So the Thunderbolt release was a dud and we may notice that "our Macs becomes unresponsive on startup after installing Thunderbolt Software Update 1.2"

The only thing that's unresponsive is Apple!

How precisely is this supposed to help the thousands of Mac users who were brought to their knees by a corrupt 10.7.4 software update and who never installed the Thunderbolt update?

We are still waiting on Apple acknowledging the debacle and releasing a fix.

Come on Apple. No more Mr. Nice Guy at this end. Fix the **** problems!

That is weird. I got my iMac with Snow Leopard installed and upgraded to Lion. The iPhoto and iMovie apps have been updating from the app store no problem for me. I don't know why the MBP would be different. Interesting all of the different stories. Just imagine how much more confusing it would be with a Windows update gone bad, I've had one of those. There is no support available, but from what you said it looks like you might have been better off without some of those that gave you assistance. Do you keep the names of those that helped you, or rather the one's that gave you bad information. I have complained about bad service at Apple stores before. The only unexpected procedural moment I experienced was iPhoto saying it needed to be updated. So what it looked like to me is that even though I had downloaded the update, I had to update the program from inside iPhoto. It worked fine. After some fine tuning, actually making my system better running I am pretty happy with the results. I would be sunk if it weren't for the community forums here on site. Apple should implement active moderation and feedback on these, because the community is the best.

This is totally unacceptable!! I've had this problem since Tuesday morning and still pulling my hair out from it. I have run out of options in fixing this. Ive been using SL for over a year and only upgraded to Lion last week before this update screwed up my Mac. I can't reinstall Lion from disc recovery because some else installed it and I don't have the apple id to re download it. My other problem is I don't have another mac to do the target disk mode. I have 700gb of unbacked up data and I can't lose everything. I have the client combo update 10.7.4 on disk and I downloaded it ad have it in my downloads folder. My trouble is I've tried mounting it from the disk and updating but it's not working. I've also tried from the downloads section but im having a lot of trouble with terminal. Can someone kindly helpe mount and update it through terminal in startup because the directions I've followed hasn't helped me. Shame on you apple for infecting us with such a small screw up but causing massive problems. Release a fix to go back to previous settings!!

"Mac is unresponsive on startup after installing Thunderbolt Software Update 1.2"

...

Resolution:

Apple has identified an issue with Thunderbolt Update 1.2 (released Monday, June 11th, 2012) which caused some Macs to become unresponsive on startup after the update was installed. Apple promptly withdrew the update and investigated, discovering an installation compatibility issue with a previous Thunderbolt update applied by some customers. Apple apologizes for the disruption this caused for customers with affected Macs.

...

So Apple apologizes. Thanks. Errors happen. Now what's left for them to do is that obviously some customers still need help and shouldn't have to pay Apple for getting it. All in all I was mostly saved by my frequent TimeMachine backups and consider myself lucky. I hope it won't happen again.

"Apple apologizes for the disruption this caused for customers with affected Macs."

Bravo! Now stop apologizing. Start fixing and stop sounding like MicroSloth and fix the problems."

We are no longer looking for apologies. How about some action!

apple's official response is here:

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS4303

That's great however, how about the thousands of Mac users who did not install the Thunderbolt update 1.2 and watched their Macs brought to their knees after installing the 10.7.4 update a month ago?

Apple has neither acknowledged the problem nor fixed it.

Simply pathetic.