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GSixZero · Dec 31, 2007, 09:51 PM

So I've installed Leopard on three computers, and all have ended up being a major pain in the ass. Is it just bad karma?

First, 1.8ghz iMac G5. Installed Leopard and it changed all my admin accounts to standard accounts. Had to login in single user mode and delete the first run pref file to create another admin account.

Second, 1.6ghz core duo mac mini. Leopards Active Directory plug in isn't compatable with my company's AD realm and it wouldn't let me log in. Had to migrate my network account to a local account to log in. Lost half a day trying to figure out what was wrong.

Third, 1.2 ghz iBook G4. Installed Leopard, now machine boots to a blue screen with a mouse. Haven't taken the time to fix it yet, hopefully a archive/install remedies things, but I'm already pissed at the luck I've had.

Never had any problems installing Tiger. Has Leopard gone downhill or what?

Cold Warrior · Dec 31, 2007, 09:59 PM

What sort of installs are you doing — upgrade, archive, or erase?

GSixZero · Dec 31, 2007, 10:03 PM

On the first two I did upgrade, and then an archive/install when they didn't install correctly. I did a upgrade on the iBook and haven't had a chance to try installing again. I forget to mention that Apple doesn't seem to be too concerned with our company's AD issue, and 2+ months after launch there's no fix. My company is Apple's third largest corporate customer. GAH!

Cold Warrior · Dec 31, 2007, 10:09 PM

Did the archive-install fix your issues on the first two? (Not counting your active directory issue.)

Generally, just from reading the board, people have had much better Leopard experiences by going the archive-install route. Upgrade-installs seem to trend towards the root of many problems.

GSixZero · Dec 31, 2007, 10:25 PM

On the first issue, archive and install didn't fix the problem. Whatever went wrong changed my accounts to non-admin and I'm guessing there's no way for the installer to know that that happened or how to remedy it. I had to manually fix this by deleting the file that OS X writes to the disk after you've turned your computer on the first time. The computer thinks it's the first time out of the box and will let you create a new admin account. Once I was able to login as an admin, I could change my existing accounts back to admin accounts.

I'm hoping the iBook is fixed with an archive/install but my leopard disk is at work so I won't be able to try until Wednesday.

All in all these have been headaches, but just that. Luckily I deal with this stuff every day (I do all the mac stuff at my work and keep 70+ machines running) so I had the knowledge/tools to work around these problems. I don't think most people would be so lucky and would end up having to sit at the genius bar or pay someone else to fix the problem.

analogika · Jan 1, 2008, 07:35 AM

Do you have Logitech drivers or APE installed on the iBook?

Those **** up Leopard.

MacNslash · Jan 1, 2008, 02:11 PM

My younger brother ran into the blue screen with a mouse problem as well. Any ideas on how to fix it?

Cold Warrior · Jan 1, 2008, 02:19 PM

Uninstall all the 3rd-party mouse drivers & software, if you've traced it to that.

Laurence · Jan 3, 2008, 02:50 AM

I've always believed that it's better to do a complete format and install on my home machines, however I've upgraded most of the machines at work with no issues. I say most because there has been one iMac that exhibited the same symptoms as you describe. (Admins becoming standard) The strange thing is that the one computer that had this problem was a brand new iMac 2.0 GHz with 2GB RAM direct from Apple. For some reason it shipped with 10.4 installed and a "drop-in" 10.5 upgrade disk. I created an account on the machine just to test it and then immediately put the 10.5 upgrade disk in and told it to do a normal upgrade and everything seemed to work just fine, but as soon as I logged in I realized I was no longer an admin. I used the same fix from single user mode and it's been working fine since then, but since this was a stock machine from the factory I find it very odd that someone else has had the exact same issue. I think around the 10.5.3 timeframe this type of minor issue will probably go away. I remember having some odd behavior on 10.4.x early on as well.

I think many the people who say everything always works fine for them don't deal with the number of machines that most businesses do on a daily basis. I upgraded/installed 10.5 on over 100 machines in the last month and really only had this one issue so I'd say that's a pretty good average for the new OS overall.

GSixZero · Jan 10, 2008, 08:44 PM

Just an update... Archive and installed on the iBook, but the installer wasn't able to rebless the drive, and hence it couldn't start on the install. Now I'm backing everything up so I can really hack on it and/or do a clean install.

Bummer. Thanks Apple.

analogika · Jan 10, 2008, 09:43 PM

It really sounds like your install disk is ****ed.

AKcrab · Jan 10, 2008, 10:01 PM

Originally Posted by analogika

It really sounds like your install disk is ****ed.

I don't mean to interrupt, but could you check your PM's?