10.4.9???

Question

All right. So, there have been some posts about problems with the latest update. Is it safe to go ahead and get it? Or should I wait?

Answer 1

Every time Apple releases an update, these forums are flooded with people who encounter problems. But really they are a tiny minority; for nearly all, the update goes ahead with no problem. Apple does issue these for a reason; they contain bug fixes and security enhancements. So it is a good idea to install them.
Before you do, follow this regimen to ensure you minimize any potential problems:
1) Launch Disk Utility and verify your hard disk
2) If DU reports no problems, go to step 6
3) If DU reports problems, boot from your install disc, launch Disk Utility, and repair the disk.
4) If DU reports errors that it cannot fix, you need to either try a more robust repair program like Disk Warrior, or reformat your hard drive and reinstall from scratch. NEVER install any system update on a disk with known directory errors on it!
5) After your disk is repaired, reboot from it
6) Use Disk Utility to repair permissions (probably voodoo, but it can't hurt)
7) Log out of all of your user accounts except for the admin account
8) Make a full, complete backup of all of your important files. I make two complete bootable clones of my boot disk on two different firewire drives before I update.
9) Quit all of your applications.
10) Launch Software Update. Or, if you prefer, download the combo update from Apple and use that. I have always used SU but others have reported more reliability with the combo updater.
11) As soon as the update installer is running, DO NOT TOUCH your Mac until it prompts you to reboot. Especially do not launch any applications.
12) Keep your backups around for a few more days to see if any problems surface. If there is any serious problem that you notice right away, it's a simple task to just restore your backups. If you have no backups, a downgrade is a very difficult task!
Hope this helps.