Apple releases firmware updates all three Intel Macs

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in macOS edited January 2014
Apple on Wednesday released individual firmware updates for its three existing Intel-based Macs and also issued a single Firmware Restoration CD software package covering all three models: iMac, MacBook Pro and Mac mini.



The firmware updates, which deliver EFI with BIOS support for the Intel Macs, do not appear automatically in the Mac OS X Software Update mechanism, so users must download them manually.



iMac (Intel) Firmware Update 1.0



iMac (Intel) Firmware Update 1.0 (2.8MB) updates iMac computers with Intel processors only.



MacBook Pro (Intel) Firmware Update 1.0



MacBook Pro (Intel) Firmware Update 1.0 (2.8MB) updates MacBook Pro computers with Intel processors only.



Mac mini (Intel) Firmware Update 1.0



Mac mini (Intel) Firmware Update 1.0 (2.8MB) updates Mac mini computers with Intel processors only.



Firmware Restoration CD v1.0



The Firmware Restoration CD v1.0 (8.7MB) can restore the firmware of an Intel-based iMac (early 2006), Mac mini (early 2006), or MacBook Pro (early 2006) to original factory condition. It can only be used to restore the Firmware after an interrupted or failed update.



Additional information on Apple's firmware updates for Intel Macs has been posted to a knowledge base article on the company's support site.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 41
    irelandireland Posts: 17,799member
    Any chance you can clarify on what this is about?
  • Reply 2 of 41
    gosoongosoon Posts: 4member
    Has anyone else noticed that the new Mac mini is being referred to as the "early 2006" model? Does that imply that there's another one on its way later this year?
  • Reply 3 of 41
    irelandireland Posts: 17,799member
    I just did the Firmware update! But i'm still confused as it's my first time doing such a thing! What exactly is it? Why wasn't it in software update? Why is it nessasary? We just update to 10.4.6 I'm clueless here, someone clarify please! Thanks!
  • Reply 4 of 41
    mr. memr. me Posts: 3,221member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Ireland

    I just did the Firmware update! But i'm still confused as it's my first time doing such a thing! What exactly is it? Why wasn't it in software update? Why is it nessasary? We just update to 10.4.6 I'm clueless here, someone clarify please! Thanks!



    The Intel-based Macs use Intel's EFI firmware instead of the Open Firmware used by PPC-based Macs. EFI and Open Firmware are literally millenia ahead of the BIOS used in Wintel computers. The reason for the firmware update are explained above.
  • Reply 5 of 41
    irelandireland Posts: 17,799member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Mr. Me

    The Intel-based Macs use Intel's EFI firmware instead of the Open Firmware used by PPC-based Macs. EFI and Open Firmware are literally millenia ahead of the BIOS used in Wintel computers. The reason for the firmware update are explained above.



    What exaclty is a frimware update? What does it do?
  • Reply 6 of 41
    paramount57paramount57 Posts: 3member
    like very low level device drivers
  • Reply 7 of 41
    irelandireland Posts: 17,799member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by paramount57

    like very low level device drivers



    The more replies I get the more confused I get! In laymans terms what is firmware? What's a Firmware update?
  • Reply 8 of 41
    cosmonutcosmonut Posts: 4,872member
    Let's look at firmware like breathing:



    Your body knows how to breathe on its own. You also can consciously control your breathing. Think of a firmware update as embedded software that would make your automatic breathing function better.



    The same concept applies to disk drives and other computer components. The software YOU use is the manual breathing while the software IT uses (firmware) is the automatic breathing.
  • Reply 9 of 41
    irelandireland Posts: 17,799member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by CosmoNut

    Let's look at firmware like breathing:



    Your body knows how to breathe on its own. You also can consciously control your breathing. Think of a firmware update as embedded software that would make your automatic breathing function better.



    I give up!
  • Reply 10 of 41
    cosmonutcosmonut Posts: 4,872member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Ireland

    I give up!



    It's really not that difficult to understand. Just remember, even when a hard drive, for example, isn't connected to any computer, there's software in it that lets it know that it's a hard drive and tells it how to function as such. THAT'S firmware.
  • Reply 11 of 41
    auxioauxio Posts: 2,763member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Ireland

    What exaclty is a frimware update? What does it do?



    I don't know what a frimware update is, but I can tell you that a firmware update essentially replaces the software which is built into your hardware to initialize and control low-level data input/output for a particular device. In this particular case, the software which controls the motherboard in your Intel Mac.



    If you're from the PC world, you can get firmware updates for a lot of components in your computer (motherboard, video card, network adapters, etc). Just like any other software component, the software which controls your hardware (ie. firmware) has bugfixes made to it and so it should be updated every now and then (though usually not as often as regular software).
  • Reply 12 of 41
    placeboplacebo Posts: 5,767member
    It's software that's even more basic than the operating system that allows the hardware itself to function. This includes, for example, the software installed in the motherboard that interprets temperature readings from the CPU temp sensors and then tells the fans how fast to spin.
  • Reply 13 of 41
    irelandireland Posts: 17,799member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Placebo

    It's software that's even more basic than the operating system that allows the hardware itself to function. This includes, for example, the software installed in the motherboard that interprets temperature readings from the CPU temp sensors and then tells the fans how fast to spin.



    Thank you! That makes a lot more sense. So basically it's got nothing to do with the OS!

    Does this mean we could see a new hardware device very soon?
  • Reply 14 of 41
    auxioauxio Posts: 2,763member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Ireland

    Thank you! That makes a lot more sense. So basically it's got nothing to do with the OS!

    Does this mean we could see a new hardware device very soon?



    Just a wild guess, but I think this firmware update has a lot to do with Apple's new Boot Camp application.
  • Reply 15 of 41
    kmhtkmhtkmhtkmhtkmhtkmht Posts: 193member
    Just updated my firmware and I notice ZERO difference...
  • Reply 16 of 41
    robin hoodrobin hood Posts: 513member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by kmhtkmhtkmht

    Just updated my firmware and I notice ZERO difference...



    That's the general idea. Wouldn't it suck if your computer stopped working after you upgraded its firmware? Incidentally, this happened to a friends PC.



    At any rate, I also went out and installed the firmware straight away (because I am a risk taker!)



    Everything went smoothly, and the whole process took a couple of minutes.
  • Reply 17 of 41
    placeboplacebo Posts: 5,767member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Ireland

    Thank you! That makes a lot more sense. So basically it's got nothing to do with the OS!

    Does this mean we could see a new hardware device very soon?



    Firmware can affect how well the OS runs, or whether the computer hard-freezes every two minutes, but if Apple got it right the first time for the most part, then there won't be a huge difference.



    The firmware most likely added the legacy BIOS support required for booting XP in Boot Camp.
  • Reply 18 of 41
    xoolxool Posts: 2,460member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by auxio

    Just a wild guess, but I think this firmware update has a lot to do with Apple's new Boot Camp application.



    I'd agree. Hooks for or a full legacy BIOS implementation perhaps?
  • Reply 19 of 41
    lustlust Posts: 83member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Placebo

    It's software that's even more basic than the operating system that allows the hardware itself to function. This includes, for example, the software installed in the motherboard that interprets temperature readings from the CPU temp sensors and then tells the fans how fast to spin.



    So could this help with the heat issues on the MacBook Pro?
  • Reply 20 of 41
    cubertcubert Posts: 728member
    Ireland,



    I'm glad you're not confused anymore. Firmware is what boots your computer until the OS takes over. It also does more than that, too, but my above explanation should suffice.



    I think this Firmware update is related to BootCamp, as well.



    Appleinsider's link to the restore CD is bad. Here is the correct one:



    http://www.apple.com/support/downloa...tioncdv10.html
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