IMac Firmware

Has anyone installed the new iMac Core Duo firmware? What effect has it had on your system? I like to keep up to date, but I also like to know how others are fairing.
If I update the firmware I am doing it for the sake of updating, not to run Boot Camp. I hope that is not the only reason to update. I am not interested in running Boot Camp, as I am perfectly happy waiting until Leopard before I decide if I want to dual boot. I like my iMac the way it is (the way it was meant to be), running OS X.
Thanks.

I have noticed some performance increases since I upgraded to 10.4.6. Firware updates always make me a lot more apprehensive than software updates. I noticed that there is a Firmware restore CD which you can download from Apple that allows you to restore your Intel iMac to the factory firmware. This is great but makes me feel less secure about the upgrade. I have updated firmware on dozens of machines before but I am leery because these Intels are so new. With a PowerPc machine I don't think I would hesitate so much.

Similar Messages

Intel iMac Firmware not loading

I tried to install the new Intel iMac firmware so I can try out bootcamp. The firmware installer powers down fine and then I hold the power button and it flashes but then it gives a long tone and does not update the firmware but boots OSX back up again. What does this long tone mean? Why doesn't the firmware load? Do I have to keep holding the power down until the firmware progress bar starts or just until the power button flashes? The instructions seem to say hold down the power button until the power light flashes then it should load from there. But unfortunately it doesn't. I've reset the pram but that didn't help. Anyone have any ideas?
Thanks.
Intel iMac Dualcore 2GHZ Mac OS X (10.4.6)

Firmware will not update if you installed the Windows hack. You will need to reformat and reinstall OSX 10.4.6 and then apply the firmware update. This fix was found by macfixit.com who had a macbook pro they had installed the windows hack on.
Once the drive is setup normally with OSX the firmware will install.

Imac firmware for installation of mac os 9.1 - Please Help

We cannot get Mac OS 9.1 installed on our imac powerpc g3 333. When we try to install, we get a firmware not appropriate message. My OS Boot ROM is 3.0.f10 but I don't know if that is the same as the firmware version. Anyway, we downloaded firmware 1.2 but we could not find the application named "imac firmware updater" so all we did was to stuffit expand the bin that we downloaded, and then double clicked the expanded file, and all that happened was a quick window popped up and said "verifying" and then nothing happened. We still cannot install 9.1 because of the same firmware error. Are we required to do that trick with the paperclip pushing the reset button by the usb port? Or is there some other action we need to take? The firmware error message says that the firmware I need is in the "CD extras" folder on the install CD, but there is no firmware there, nor is there any firmware updater program there. Pretty sad aint it? Happy holidays from Ron and Diane
imac g3 333 Mac OS 8.6 or Earlier

Hi, dheconsl -
...a quick window popped up and said "verifying" and then nothing happened.
What should have happened after the verifying screen disappeared was the appearance of a new icon along the right-hand side of the desktop, where drive icons are shown. This icon is of the mounted disk image. Open that disk image, and inside you'll find the installer for the firmware update.
It's a good idea to print out the instructions, contained in the readme file that accompanies the installer.

Just installed iMac firmware update - iphoto no longer works (beach ball)

I just installed the most recent iMac and keyboard firmware updates. Now when i try to use iphoto it opens quickly and then as soon as i try to do anything i get the spinning beach ball until i force quit. I have no idea how to fix this. I have rebooted and the same results.
Any ideas?

Well it somehow fixed itself ... now everything works fine ... hopefully it doesn't return.
Thank you.

24" iMac Firmware

After reading some troubleshooting posts on the forums regarding hums, etc. I decided to check to see if there were any available firmware updates.
My firmware doesn't seem to match the most recent intel firmware updates on apple.com. However, the most recent updates are for iMac (early 2006), which have the Core Duo processors.
I'm assuming they would ship a computer announced one month ago with the most recent firmware. If this is the case, the website should by updated.
Can anyone tell me the correct firmware to run on the new 24" iMac?
Mine says:
Boot ROM Version: IM61.0093.B00
SMC Version: 1.10f2

I wonder whether there will be another category added, as I'm not sure the C2D's will use the same firmware as the CD's (core duos). I'm surprised they do not have a section indicating the correct firmware for the new iMacs yet though...I mean, people have been using them for a month.
I also know that many 24" users have been having problems with bootcamp, and a lot of speculation has been going around about a possible firmware fix. They should at least indicate our firmware is up to date.

24" iMac firmware issue

I have a 24" iMac (Early 2009) that has what I believe to be a firmware issue. The computer boots up to show the grey Apple logo, with a spinning gear and progress bar showing up pretty quickly. The progress bar fills maybe 5%, then goes away, leaving the Apple logo and spinning gear. The computer doesn't boot any further, with the gear continuing to spin. It won't boot from an external drive, an install disc, or netboot. I'm unable to clear the PRAM (holding the keys down does nothing). I've removed and re-installed the RAM, and I've removed the CMOS battery on the logic board and put it back in after a couple minutes. Nothing has changed. I'm guessing a firmware update was installed and power was shut-off mid-update, causing to be stuck in this loop. Am I missing something? Is there anything I can do to clear this EFI update or reset the firmware somehow?

Hello All
As a 'newbie-switcher' (think that's right!?!), I am already on my second iMac in three months, with the first being returned within a week due to it restarting on it's own a couple of times a day and reporting no error at all! My current iMac has worked flawlessly until around a week ago when the restarting behaviour returned but as often as before, maybe once every couple of days. I reset the PRAM & SMC and checked\repaired permissions and all seemed ok until I then updated the EFI firmware a couple of days ago. I am now having similar problems, if not identical to those described here with the iMac not waking from sleep, shuting down or restarting again on it's own. And once I found it would not start at all, the screen stayed black but the fans were running on full speed! I have again reset the PRAM and SMC and will now wait and see!
During my investigations to these problems I was able to cause the iMac to instantly shutdown and restart by simply touching the cables at the rear, Power or Keyboard, and last night I shut it down by simply putting my cup of coffee down next to the iMac!!! So you would think that a loose connection on the power cord could be to blame, but flexing and bending the cables and conectors will not re-create the problem!?!
Do you guys think that I should be looking to swap it for iMac number three (third time lucky?), do you think it sounds more like a hardware problem with the power supply or the firmware?

Why is the 2012 imac firmware update failing on 27" imacs?

Any oideas why the new firmware updfate fails on the 27" imacs (2012) The site says it is for ALL 2012 imacs???
http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1618

Copied from this link today:
http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1618
About iMac EFI Update 2.0
This update is recommended for the iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2012).
This update contains general performance fixes pertaining to sleep and Thunderbolt, and improves compatibility when using the 5GHz band in Wi-Fi.
Boot ROM or SMC Version Information: After Update is complete:
Build version: 010A.05
ROM version: IM131.88Z.010A.B05.1211151146

Can't install OS9 (so as to download iMac Firmware update). . .

this is crazy. i bought my dad Tiger, to instal on his G3 Mac. So I did the media exchange and got all the discs. but couldn't instal Tiger because I needed to update firmware. which i downloaded. but couldn't install firmware because i only had OSX on his iMac. I have the Mac OS 9 install disc, but it won't install. so i'm stuck. it would cost me 45 dollars to get the mac people to help (they would if we were just talking about Tiger). As the wicked witch said, "what a world, what a world..." can anyone tell me how to install the OS 9? I held down the C key, but there was no destination disc showing.
iMac G3 Mac OS X (10.1.x) need to install OS 9

Hi, Peter, and welcome to Apple Discussions. Most likely the reason there's no destination disk showing is that when you installed OS X previously, you didn't select the option to install OS 9 driver on it. Therefore, even if the disk is working perfectly, OS 9 can't "see" it, and the installer can't install anything on it.
I've never been an iMac user, but it's my understanding that many people who've installed OS X on G3 iMacs before updating their firmware have gotten into a world of trouble that way, some of them ending up with completely nonfunctioning iMacs. You (and Dad) may have been very lucky so far. That may apply only to higher versions of OS X, though; I'm not well enough informed to be certain.
To push your luck any farther, you may need to boot to your installer disk for the already-installed version of OS X (10.1.x, according to your system info below), and erase the drive again using the Disk Utility for that version — NOT the Tiger version of DU — and this time make sure the OS 9 driver option is selected before hitting the Erase button. I don't know of any other way you can get that driver installed. If you don't land in hot water just trying to do that much, you should then be able to install OS 9 and update the iMac's firmware. After that, you'll be free to install Tiger.

IMac Firmware update - ERROR

Hello all,
I'm trying to update the firmware on my Core Duo 2Ghz iMac but it dosen't work. I follow the instructions, holding the power button until the power light starts flashing, I hear the long beep, and immediately after that the startup chime. After a few seconds it goes to the gray screen, apple logo and it boot's normally. No progress indicator, no firmware update. Any suggestions?
Thank you!
iMac 2Ghz, 2GB Ram Mac OS X (10.4.6)

Did either of you try to install the onmac XP dual
booting solution? If so, you have to completely
reformat your drive. If you plan on trying the
bootcamp solution, when you partition it, make only 1
partition, otherwise bootcamp will not work.
Glor
Fortunately that is simply not true Glor... I put the onmac.net XP dual boot solution on my iMac and I got around it by booting to a Firewire Hardrive that had 10.4.6 and applying the firmware update from there.
If you have partitioned your hard drive this firmware might fail .. while it does not say so from my experience with other Apple firmware updaters it usually writes a firmware file to the HD and then when the computer is booted holding down the "programmers" button as they used to call it - the open firmware would look on the first partition of the first hard drive ( the default place for the OS) and read the firmware file from there.
In the case of having re-partitioned your drive - such as installing the XP solution - or other reasons this firmware would fail...
Again there are other ways than erasing your computer to fix this though such as the firewire boot device I described above.
good luck.

Freezing Imacs: Firmware Update 1.0

Could this be the cure?

I found out about the update from the MacUser RSS feed. In fact, I was the anonymous user the author referred to in his piece:
Yesterday, in my "Apple bombs the Mac" post, an anonymous commenter opined:
+Wonderful. Now how about them putting some of their resources towards coming up with an improved iMac video driver to stop all of the **** freezing/blue screen/black screen issues we're having?+
Apple apparently reads MacUser's anonymous comments because--brace yourselves--they today made good on their promise to remedy that issue (which apparently still plagued some users even after a initial attempt at a fix), and released a firmware update for some 20" and 24" aluminum iMacs. Apple says the patch "updates the graphics firmware on the ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro to improve system stability."
Anyway, I ran Software Update and the ATI firmware update didn't show up. According to Apple, if your machine needs it, it will show up there. They also said that if you download it yourself and try to install it (and it doesn't need it), the install will come back with an error message.
Well, having nothing to lose (I've been dealing with this s--t since I bought the computer), I downloaded the firmware update anyway and installed it.
No error message. It installed fine.
I've been testing the computer, running every graphics-intensive program flat-out and it hasn't frozen yet. FrontRow. iTunes with visualizer at the same time as I made a movie in iPhoto. iTunes with visualizer at the same time as Medal of Honor on its highest settings. Basically I loaded up everything I could, including Activity Monitor, and so far it's going well.
The irony is that this morning the computer froze when I first turned it on, and that was the last straw. I spent all afternoon on the phone with AppleCare and finally got a Return Merchandise Authorization, and NOW they come out with a fix.
Even with this "fix", though, I'm probably going to return the machine. And those of you who are unsure about whether or not to do a return, let me tell you why I'm going to.
When I was on the phone with the Customer Service guy (the TOP of the AppleCare hierarchy; first, basic rep; then, Product Specialist; then, Sr. Product Specialist; THEN the Customer Service people who can actually authorize returns), he told me something interesting. I said that I wanted to make sure I didn't encounter the same problems with a new machine and asked him if people with new machines seemed to be satisfied.
He said, "Yeah, cause they're getting the ones with the new [graphics] cards in them."
"So there were a few bad cards," I said, playing dumb.
"Yeah," he said. "But you won't have any problems now. What I hear, they pulled them."
I'm not saying the above is gospel. All I'm telling you is what I heard from the Customer Service person setting up my return authorization.
The sense I'm getting from all of this is that they know there are a number of machines out there with bad cards, and the reason why the firmware update doesn't install on all machines is that it somehow tests the card first to see if it's faulty. If it is, it does the firmware update, maybe deactivating part of the card or creating a workaround. Otherwise, why wouldn't the update be mandatory for all computers with that graphics card? It's very fishy to me. I'm going to assume that the update merely put a patch on an otherwise bad card and press forward with the return.
Hope my rambling here helps somebody.

Imac firmware bug

I've installed Win 7 Ultimate on my Imac 27"
I'm using Italian language and Italian Keyboard
I need to connect to my remote server that has Win2003 Server configured as Italian language and Italian Keyboard.
When i connect to my remote server using Win 7 Remote Desktop, on remote session my keyboard is switched to English !!
If i try to connect to my remote server using other PC, there's no keyboard problem !
On my Imac i've installed VMWare Workstation , i launch one VM with Win2003 Server configured as Italian language and Italian Keyboard and i connect to my remote server with no no keyboard problem !
I've done many similar tests with some Imac 27 other than mine !
So i think that Win 7 Remote Desktop read some wrong informations from Imac Hardware (or firmware) !
Someone have found same problem ?
Is there here some Apple tech reading this forum ?
Blondie

I did not say it had nothing to do with Apple; you asked if an Apple tech reads these forums and I told you that they do not. You would only get replies from other users who volunteer their time to help.
A lot of Mac users do use Windows, so hopefully someone will be able to answer a question.

Downgrading my iMacs firmware? Possible?

Is it possible to downgrade firmware?
The only reason I ask is because I installed the latest firmware update for my aluminum and glass iMac, but it never restarted itself successfully. My iMac is now stuck in a perpetual start up loop that reaches the gray Apple logo and spiny thing, but doesn't go beyond that point.
I reset my PRAM, and I got to the login screen, but when I clicked my user icon to log in, my system stalled, got the spiny beach ball and eventually had to force restart...
Start up loop continues...
Booting from my install discs doesn't tell me anything, it freezes in Disk Utility, and Hardware Test says All Systems Go....
I mean, Geez... a firmware install going bad??? ***??

Booting from my install discs doesn't tell me anything
Actually, yes it will if instead of opening Disk Utility you open System Profiler from that same "Utilities" menu and check which Boot ROM Version you now have. If the new one installed, you will not be able to restore the old.
I mean, Geez... a firmware install going bad?
If one does not follow the instructions exactly, yes, that will be the result. It's not that unusual, thus the existence of a restoration procedure.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303364
Since you don't see the black screen, it seems that you aren't a candidate for the restoration, that your update never got very far into the installation, if at all. The fact that you hear the long tone is good, but what's the problem that's stopping it from continuing after that point? External devices connected? RAID?

IM27-inch imac Firmware update for OS X Lion won't install

Apple just released "iMac Graphic FW Update 3.0," and lists OS X 10.7 as a system requirement.
I downloaded it and attempted to install on my one-month-old 27-inch iMac (2.7 gHz Core i5). I'm running 10.7.1
Unfortunately, I get a message that "This software is not supported on your system."
Any clues as to what the issue may be? Am I missing something simple?
(All other programs were closed.)
Thanks for any tips/advice!
"My first Mac was a IIci 8/80"

Dave,
You are correct. If Software update says it's not needed then it's not needed on the OP's configuration. I was able to find this article however it's not conclusive about which GPU's are affected, it only says Radeon but doesn't nail down specifics.
Graphic firmware updates for iMac

Imac firmware, failed to boot

hello, i have a tray-loading imac and i installed 10.2 and forgot to install the firmware, now it failed to boot, what do i do? i tried to press the option button during start up and nothing happened, i also tried to safe boot, and zap the pram- now what do i do? i need to get this done quickly! Please help!

The Mac Guy 12,
Have you tried rebooting with everything disconnected (ethernet, printer, etc.)?
Any third party add-ons such as newly added RAM?
Try this next if you have not already.
littleshoulders [:-)

Can I update my mid 2011 iMac firmware if I am running Windows only?

I am only running Windows 7 on my iMac - I do not have MacOS installed anymore. I want to update the firmware on my iMac - is that still possible?

For the 2009 and 2010 27" iMacs there is the Kanex XD http://www.kanexlive.com/xd but it is not compatible with ThunderBolt iMacs as Kanex states in their Product FAQs.
2011 ThunderBolt iMac only accept other ThunderBolt Macs as source.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Thunderbolt/10.6/en/30822.html
The Intensity Extreme http://www.blackmagic-design.com/uk/products/intensity/ might be what you need once it is released.
Stefan

IMac Firmware

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