Apple's iMac MXM Updater to cure iMac's Boot Camp woes

***AppleInsider*** · 10-12-2007, 09:06 AM

Exclusive: Apple is secretly testing an update for its white 24-inch iMacs that should solve a year-long problem which has prevented many users from running Boot Camp on their systems, AppleInsider has learned.

The company's external and internal testers are validating a small but crucial patch that would improve the computer's handling of graphics cards that use NVIDIA's MXM slot format, which Apple used only for the GeForce 7300 GT and GeForce 7600 GT cards in the now discontinued 24-inch system.

New aluminum iMacs, which use AMD's ATI Radeon HD series graphics hardware and thus a different physical interface, are not affected by the issue.

Almost since the iMac's launch in September of last year, users in Apple's support discussions (1, 2) have reported intermittent success in booting into the Windows-oriented partition after installing Boot Camp. While some systems have worked properly from the outset, many others would boot into a blank screen, always forcing the user to restart back into Mac OS X.

Logic board replacements have often resolved the problem for affected machines but have never been surefire remedies, according to people familiar with the matter. Users themselves have often reported difficulties persuading Apple that the flaw was inherent and covered under warranty, rather than a glitch within Boot Camp itself. And since the multi-OS Boot Camp utility was (and still is) considered a beta when run under Mac OS X Tiger, it receives no official technical support from Apple. This compounded the matter for users.

Though the root cause of the Boot Camp issue has not been revealed, the existence of the patch confirms that the system failures can be controlled through software alone and will avoid costly repairs for the white iMacs, some of which are now beyond their free AppleCare warranty periods.

When Apple would complete its testing of the software update was uncertain. Labeled as "iMac MXM Updater 1.0," the fix is in the later stages of development and will depend largely on the success of testers in isolating remaining bugs. With Mac OS X Leopard expected to launch in late October, the Cupertino-based firm will have comparatively strained resources and a second operating system to test with the updated code.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[ Digg this story ]

ascii · 10-12-2007, 10:39 AM

You don't know what you've got till it's gone. Those white iMacs were actually quite a bit better than the current ones which have a glare-plagued screen and weak graphics. Come back, come back!

hugodrax · 10-12-2007, 01:54 PM

Well Wait for the xMac announcement in November.

mrtotes · 10-13-2007, 09:47 AM

Anyone know if the current iMacs have MXM slots either.

The name of the update strikes me as odd simply because Apple has never admitted to using the MXM card slot AFAIK.

Joe_the_dragon · 10-13-2007, 12:04 PM

It may be a MXM slot but you need a EFI rom on the video card for it to work.

KennyWRX · 10-13-2007, 12:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrtotes

Anyone know if the current iMacs have MXM slots either.

The name of the update strikes me as odd simply because Apple has never admitted to using the MXM card slot AFAIK.

I was wondering the same thing. Anyone know if an upgrade is possible? Maybe 8600GT 512MB DDR2 from MXM based notebooks.

**Marvin** · 10-13-2007, 01:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

Exclusive: Apple is secretly testing an update for its white 24-inch iMacs that should solve a year-long problem which has prevented many users from running Boot Camp on their systems, AppleInsider has learned.

The company's external and internal testers are validating a small but crucial patch that would improve the computer's handling of graphics cards that use NVIDIA's MXM slot format, which Apple used only for the GeForce 7300 GT and GeForce 7600 GT cards in the now discontinued 24-inch system.

New aluminum iMacs, which use AMD's ATI Radeon HD series graphics hardware and thus a different physical interface, are not affected by the issue.

That's really poor that it's taken over a year to resolve that kind of issue and yet again graphics card related. They seriously need to think about hiring people who know what the hell they're doing when it comes to graphics. Carmack from id said they had to inform Apple's team about graphics-related problems in their software and there's been quite a few driver problems lately.

Joe_the_dragon · 10-13-2007, 01:37 PM

ati and nvidia used to code there own mac drivers maybe they should restart that and come out with video cards with efi roms for mac systems.

Dave Fazio · 10-13-2007, 03:55 PM

I upgraded to the new iMac 24" aluminum just to run Boot Camp beta, and to my surprise I'm still having issues. While I can run Vista with good performance scores, I can't get the drivers to go up to full 1900x1200 resolution (max in Vista is something like 1900x1080!). I've tried everything, including installing ATI's Catalyst drivers; I'm assuming this will be fixed with Leopard. Rather, I'm hoping.

mrtotes · 10-13-2007, 03:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe_the_dragon

ati and nvidia used to code there own mac drivers maybe they should restart that and come out with video cards with efi roms for mac systems.

This was why I asked about MXM in Alu iMacs. If Apple is using MXM in all iMacs (and they could use them in MBP / Mac Minis in the future) then pretty soon there would be enough people with the slot and EFI to justify a third party card.

Joe_the_dragon · 10-13-2007, 07:14 PM

They use custem heat pipes and Heat sinks.

mrtotes · 10-21-2007, 09:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe_the_dragon

They use custem heat pipes and Heat sinks.

Hmm well that sucks. Still even if all 24" iMac's cards are the same there's a fair chance of someone offering an upgrade.

10-12-2007, 09:06 AM	#1
*AppleInsider* Kasper's Automated Slave Join Date: Nov 1997 Posts: 6,171	Apple's iMac MXM Updater to cure iMac's Boot Camp woes Exclusive: Apple is secretly testing an update for its white 24-inch iMacs that should solve a year-long problem which has prevented many users from running Boot Camp on their systems, AppleInsider has learned. The company's external and internal testers are validating a small but crucial patch that would improve the computer's handling of graphics cards that use NVIDIA's MXM slot format, which Apple used only for the GeForce 7300 GT and GeForce 7600 GT cards in the now discontinued 24-inch system. New aluminum iMacs, which use AMD's ATI Radeon HD series graphics hardware and thus a different physical interface, are not affected by the issue. Almost since the iMac's launch in September of last year, users in Apple's support discussions (1, 2) have reported intermittent success in booting into the Windows-oriented partition after installing Boot Camp. While some systems have worked properly from the outset, many others would boot into a blank screen, always forcing the user to restart back into Mac OS X. Logic board replacements have often resolved the problem for affected machines but have never been surefire remedies, according to people familiar with the matter. Users themselves have often reported difficulties persuading Apple that the flaw was inherent and covered under warranty, rather than a glitch within Boot Camp itself. And since the multi-OS Boot Camp utility was (and still is) considered a beta when run under Mac OS X Tiger, it receives no official technical support from Apple. This compounded the matter for users. Though the root cause of the Boot Camp issue has not been revealed, the existence of the patch confirms that the system failures can be controlled through software alone and will avoid costly repairs for the white iMacs, some of which are now beyond their free AppleCare warranty periods. When Apple would complete its testing of the software update was uncertain. Labeled as "iMac MXM Updater 1.0," the fix is in the later stages of development and will depend largely on the success of testers in isolating remaining bugs. With Mac OS X Leopard expected to launch in late October, the Cupertino-based firm will have comparatively strained resources and a second operating system to test with the updated code. [ View this article at AppleInsider.com ] [ Digg this story ]

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

10-12-2007, 10:39 AM	#2
ascii Registered User Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 800	You don't know what you've got till it's gone. Those white iMacs were actually quite a bit better than the current ones which have a glare-plagued screen and weak graphics. Come back, come back!

10-12-2007, 01:54 PM	#3
hugodrax Registered User Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 116	Well Wait for the xMac announcement in November.

10-13-2007, 09:47 AM	#4
mrtotes Registered User Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Gloucestershire, England Posts: 614	Anyone know if the current iMacs have MXM slots either. The name of the update strikes me as odd simply because Apple has never admitted to using the MXM card slot AFAIK.

10-13-2007, 12:04 PM	#5
Joe_the_dragon Banned Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 931	It may be a MXM slot but you need a EFI rom on the video card for it to work.

10-13-2007, 01:37 PM	#8
Joe_the_dragon Banned Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 931	ati and nvidia used to code there own mac drivers maybe they should restart that and come out with video cards with efi roms for mac systems.

10-13-2007, 03:55 PM	#9
Dave Fazio Registered User Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 1	I upgraded to the new iMac 24" aluminum just to run Boot Camp beta, and to my surprise I'm still having issues. While I can run Vista with good performance scores, I can't get the drivers to go up to full 1900x1200 resolution (max in Vista is something like 1900x1080!). I've tried everything, including installing ATI's Catalyst drivers; I'm assuming this will be fixed with Leopard. Rather, I'm hoping.

10-13-2007, 07:14 PM	#11
Joe_the_dragon Banned Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 931	They use custem heat pipes and Heat sinks.

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)