Cautions re Mac OS X 10.3 ("Panther")

   Transitions to major new versions of the Mac OS always seem to
surface some glitches. Mac OS X 10.3 ("Panther") is no exception:
there have been a fair number of problem reports in the first three
days following the release of this new version of the Macintosh
operating system.

   Before upgrading to this new release of Mac OS X, you might wish to
scan the major Panther-related issues reported on the websites listed
below.

   MacFixIt today summarized two of the key issues:

   - "Issues with FireWire-connected drives have been cropping up
     in increasing numbers as more users install Panther.

     "It appears that in some of the cases of FireWire failure,
     the problem is not with the drive itself, but rather with
     Mac OS X 10.3's ability to recognize the drives. We have
     documented several cases where FireWire drives are diagnosed
     with major errors by Disk Utility and DiskWarrior and are
     unmountable when attached to a Mac OS X 10.3 system, but
     function without problems, retain data and yield no error
     reports from disk tools when attached to a Mac OS X 10.2.x system."

     (Consider waiting to upgrade to Panther if you have a
     FireWire drive.)

   - "Several users are reporting loss of dock preferences,
     iApp settings, and other data after receiving a message
     from FileVault about "recovering" disk space."

     (Consider leaving FileVault, a feature which automatically
     encrypts and descripts files in your Home directory - turned off
     until this issue is resolved or workarounds posted.)

   In addition, early adopters have reported a variety of problems
that have prevented them from successfully installing Panther, as
well as glitches involving various applications and peripherals
following installation.

   Regarding the latter: before installing Panther, be sure to check
your vendors' websites (including the websites for key freeware and
shareware you use) to see if there are any Panther-related
software/firmware updates available. I found that a large fraction
of the key shareware utilities I use with Mac OS X have
Panther-specific upgrades, for instance.

   As always, if you are upgrading from an earlier version of Mac OS
X, it is also a good idea to perform routine housekeeping tasks in
your current OS prior to installing the Panther upgrade. A
straightforward overview of four tasks you might perform prior to
upgrading is covered in:

   Charles Roberts (no relation :-)
   "Care and Feeding of Jaguar: OS X Drive Maintenance"
   March 3, 2003
   http://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/care_feeding_jag.html

   - Repair permissions (restore default access permissions for the
     files belonging to Apple's system software)
   - Check and repair (if necessary) filesystem problems
   - Run scheduled housekeeping tasks
   - Back up your data
     (This article discusses using Carbon Copy Cloner to back up
     to an external FireWire drive; there are also a variety of
     other backup methods available.)

Aron Roberts
Workstation Software Support Group

--
Links for identifying potential problems with Panther in advance, or 
in finding fixes or workarounds if you should encounter any of these 
problems, include:
   Apple Discussion Forums
   http://discussions.info.apple.com/
   (Choose "Mac OS X v10.3 Panther" under "System Software Discussions")
   MacFixIt
   (current day's contents are public; archival contents are
   available only to subscribers)
   http://macfixit.com/
   MacInTouch
   http://www.macintouch.com/panreader.html
   http://www.macintouch.com/panreader02.html
   http://www.macintouch.com/panreader03.html
   http://www.macintouch.com/panreader04.html
   http://www.macintouch.com/panreader05.html
   ...
   macosxhints
   http://www.macosxhints.com/
   (most recent articles have focused on Panther tips and problems)
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