New Airport Extreme Crashes Wireless Tiger Clients

I've spent most of Christmas Day trying to figure a way out of this mess. I even downgraded my old Powerbook G4 to Panther, only to discover that it--initially--had no support for WPA security (doing the normal upgrades to it now via Ethernet). Not sure why it seems that every time I buy a new piece of Apple gear, it doesn't cooperate very well with older Apple gear. I understand that time moves on (and Apple wants us to as well), but one expects things like basic wireless in a working Mac to continue working with newer Apple wireless routers. But no.

I initially thought the problem might be my new WDS setup, but that's not the case. The kernel panics persisted, whether I disengaged WDS or not.

The Airport Extreme Base Station in its current firmware incarnation (7.5) causes kernel panics on ALL wireless clients running Tiger 10.4.11. This is confirmed by multiple users on the Apple Support Boards:

My Apple Tech confirmed (early November) that there is a known problem with the new Airport Extreme Dual Band Base Station causing kernel panics on computers running Tiger (only when connecting wirelessly via an Airport card -- not when connected via Ethernet cable). Apple Engineering has been notified and has not -- as yet -- released a software update to Tiger. Based on some customers' reports, we tried disabling the Guest Network on the base station, but that didn't work for me. Has anyone figured out a work-around besides 1) the ethernet cable and 2) upgrading to Leopard?

[From Apple - Support - Discussions - Kernel Panic when Running Tiger ...]

One user managed to get Apple to send him a Leopard install to address the issue:

Here's my experience. Ran two iMacs with Tiger 10.4.11 and a new iMac Intel Core Duo with an Airport 801.g Extreme. Alls well. I upgraded to an Airport 801.n and all **** broke loose with Unresolved Kernel Traps (UKT) on both Tiger machines. I managed to obtain Leopard from Apple and will upgrade each Tiger machine a couple of days apart to be sure I don't have any more UKTs. Then I will reinstall the Airport 801.n and see what happens. If I can believe what Apple Support has told me my problems should be solved. I should know by end of this coming weekend.

[From Apple - Support - Discussions - Kernel Panic when Running Tiger ...]

So I put in a service call to Apple and spoke with a rep today; the rep didn't offer a Leopard install like they did for the other user, and they didn't even admit that there was a known problem:

No dice. Just got off the phone with Apple and their solution for me was to go into the Apple Store. He said it was a computer issue...not the AEBS. I even brought up this thread (i.e., Tiger incompatible with new AEBS) and that other users said that Apple had acknowledged this problem. He said he had not heard that and that it was my computer?

Keep in mind that I told him that both my G4 machines are running Tiger (Powerbook and Mac Mini) and both are kernel panicking with the new AEBS.

So, I obviously didn't get the good support that you received...

[From Apple - Support - Discussions - Kernel Panic when Running Tiger ...]

I've basically tried everything (including doing Leopard installs using Target Disk mode), and nothing is really working (the G4 versus Intel architecture creates problems--i.e., the GUID versus APM). I either must get a Leopard Retail disc from Apple or wait for them to officially acknowledge the problem and issue a firmware update. Arggggghhh! My Powerbook is now running 10.3.9 (Panther) after the updates and is doing fine on the new AEBS, so this PROVES it's Tiger that is not compatible with the new Airport Extreme Base Station (802.11n). The Mac Mini is dead in the water at the moment in terms of wireless connectivity (I have the Airport turned off...and no more panics). I have ordered some cheap Cat-5 cable, which should be here soon and keep the Mini running until the firmware update shows up. Apple, your users really shouldn't have to go through such nonsense.

FOLLOW-UP on 26 DEC 2009:

As a follow-up, my issues were solved by installing Leopard on my G4 machines, which was not easy. See my post below on the Apple Discussions thread:

I can confirm now--as have others here--that it is definitely the Airport Extreme Base Station (802.11n) that is causing the kernel panic problem with Tiger. It will also not cooperate with Panther 10.3.9, IF you install the AirPort Extreme Driver Update 2005-001 update:

http://support.apple.com/kb/DL426

I downgraded my Powerbook G4 Aluminum 15" to Panther and had it working well at 10.3.9 until I installed the above driver update, so this driver (or some code within it) is the culprit; obviously, it hung around in Tiger but changed in Leopard and Snow Leopard (hint, hint, Apple).

I have now managed to update my old G4s (through much effort) to Leopard and both are cooperating nicely now with the Airport Extreme Base Station. I suspect Apple will update the driver eventually, but if you're having issues...go back to Panther (w/o the aforementioned driver update) or upgrade to Leopard if your system will install/run it.

FWIW, I installed Leopard on my old G4 Mac Mini (with 512 MB RAM) using Target Disc mode from the Powerbook running the install DVD. Leopard would not install any other way on that machine. Good luck all!

[From Apple - Support - Discussions - Re: Kernel Panic when Running Tiger ...]

Shane's Top Mac Troubleshooting Tips

(This was posted originally in January 2006 when running OS X 10.4.3, Tiger; it has been updated to address changes since Snow Leopard in 2009).

I’m no expert on this stuff, but due to the years of diagnosing and fixing Mac issues (since 1993 to be exact with my old Classic II) I’ve developed a few troubleshooting routines that I automatically run through when stuff starts acting weird. Of course, most of the tricks of the old classic pre-X days are useless now (unless troubleshooting for Classic, of course), but here are some helpful ideas for X (currently 10.6.2).

⌘ = Command key (might have an Apple on the key as well)
⌥ = Option key
↑ = Shift key

[Complete List of Macintosh Keyboard Shortcuts - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1343]

First, get to know these helpful “snags” (startup key sequences):

* Start up in Open Firmware: ⌘-⌥-O-F (more below)
* Reset parameter RAM: ⌘-⌥-P-R (zaps the PRAM - see also Open Firmware reset)
* Bypass startup volume: ⌘-⌥-↑ -Delete (gets to a new volume if your current one is busted)
* Open the Startup Manager: ⌥ (pick the volume you want to start up from)
* Force Mac OS X startup: X or ⌘-X (start in OS X)
* Start up from an optical disc: C (force start from your CD or DVD drive)
* Eject optical disc: mouse, trackpad button, or hold down the eject button (at startup)
* Start up from a network server: N (if you have a network startup volume)
* Reset PowerBook screen: R (no clue)
* Start up in Target Disk mode: T (firewire two computers together and boot from the other)
* Start up in Safe mode: ↑ (more below)
* Start up in Verbose mode: ⌘-V (great for seeing what the startup problem is)
* Start up in Single-User mode: ⌘-S (more below)

Most of these key sequences are still valid for Classic OS boots also (pre-X), and most of these don’t work if an Open Firmware password has been set using either Terminal or Apple’s OFPW application. Using an OF password is a good idea, especially for notebooks that could get stolen (protect your data from thieves at least).

Backup, Backup, Backup

Before doing anything, learn to regularly backup your system. I backup every hour to another drive (using Time Machine). It’s always best to keep two backups if possible, but one is better than none. There are other good backup solutions available too, such as Carbon Copy Cloner and SuperDuper. Do a backup immediately before making any major changes to your system too!

Programs are a-crashin’

If you have apps that are crashing, not responding, or you’re getting kernel panics, this is a sign that something is amiss. Here are the beginning steps to take:

• Repair permissions using Disk Utility if you can (this should always be your first step). Always try to repair permissions from the startup volume itself. If that doesn’t work, startup from your Install Disc and repair permissions from the Install’s Disk Utility (see below).

• Try logging out and back in.

• Try creating a new account and see if the problem persists. If it goes away then the problem is likely with your Home folder.

• Try restarting (rebooting).

• Check the volume for file system errors. There are a few ways to do this. I usually boot into Single-User mode first (see above snag list); to run a file system check, at the prompt type:

# /sbin/fsck -fy

If errors were found, continue running the above command until they’re gone; then type:

# reboot

If no errors were found, continue booting normally by typing:

# exit

Of course, you can also boot from your OS X install disc (hold C while booting), Repair Permissions, and run Repair Disk in Disk Utility. If Disk Utility or fsck won’t do the trick, consider an emergency boot disc or another bootable volume (separate hard drive or partition) with TechTool Pro or Disk Warrior to repair the volume.

• If none of these steps solved your problem try what’s listed below.

Safe Mode (↑ while starting up)

Here’s what it does for you:

* Performs a directory check of the hard drive identical to clicking Repair Disk in the First Aid pane of Disk Utility.
* Ignores kernel extensions cache (/System/Library/Extensions.kextcache).
* Loads only required kernel extensions (/System/Library/Extensions).
* Runs only Apple-installed startup items (/Library/StartupItems and /System/Library/StartupItems).
* Loads only those fonts in /System/Library/Fonts (Mac OS X 10.4 or higher).
* Trashes all font caches stored in /Library/Caches/com.apple.ATS/user ID number (Mac OS X 10.4 or higher).
* Disables Login Items (Mac OS X 10.4 or higher).

Safe Mode is a limited mode which also allows one to install and uninstall software and kernel extensions, and Disk Utility will easily repair permissions while in Safe Mode. Also, a good troubleshooting step while in Safe Mode is to use the Finder to delete the following:

/Library/Caches/* (delete entire directory contents)
/System/Library/Caches/* (delete entire directory contents)
/System/Extensions.kextcache (delete only this file)

NOTE: This can also be done in Single-User mode (see below).

More Single-User Tricks (⌘-S while starting up)

Much can be done in Single-User mode (not just running fsck). It’s basically the BSD command line, so you can mount volumes and do a variety of maintenance tasks if you’re Terminal savvy (er…you’re a UNIX geek). To learn more about these commands and what they do, Google it and find out!

Mount the volume:

# mount -uw /

Run the cron routine maintenance scripts:

# sudo periodic daily
# sudo periodic weekly
# sudo periodic monthly

Update the prebindiing:

# sudo update_prebinding -root / -force

Repair permissions:

# sudo diskutil repairPermissions /

Eliminate some startup, cache, and kernel extension problems:

# /sbin/mount -uw /
# cd /Library/Preferences
# rm com.apple.loginwindow.plist
# rm com.apple.windowserver.plist
# cd /Library/Caches
# rm -r *
# cd /System/Library
# rm Extensions.kextcache
# cd /System/Library/Caches
# rm -r *
# reboot

You could also install Applejack, which is a wonderful utility to automate many Single-User maintenance and troubleshooting tasks for you.

Open Firmware (⌘-⌥-O-F while starting up)

One could do quite a bit of damage when booting into Open Firmware (basically the Mac version of BIOS), so stick strictly to these commands unless you really know what you’re doing.

You can check the current OF environment by typing:

> printenv

To reset the OF and reboot, at the prompt type:

> reset-nvram
> set-defaults
> reset-all

Sometimes, you’ll need to eject a disc when the usual methods (holding down the mouse, E, or Eject buttons) don’t work. In OF, do this:

> eject cd
> mac-boot

Another neat fact. OF is based on the old programming language called Forth, which was originally written by an astronomer named Charles Moore to control telescopes. Forth is unique in the way it handles math; one must think in RPN (Reverse Polish Notation). So to add 2 and 5 to get 7, at the prompt type:

> 25+
> 7

Hopefully by now, your problem is solved. If not, you’re going to have to jump in some place like Apple Support (especially Discussions) or MacFixit forums.

Other Resources

Lots are available online, but here are some great links:

http://delicious.com/sonicdeviant/macintosh+Troubleshooting%20