Firmware Update for All Intel Macs – Part 1

Apple recently released a firmware update for all Intel Macs. This update fixes problems with Boot Camp, and resolves start up and wake-from-sleep issues. This firmware update is sometimes referred to as an EFI firmware update, as it updates the Extensible Firmware Interface used by Intel on their current generation of processors. EFI provides the interface between Mac OS X and the Mac’s physical hardware. Apple says “Firmware is a combination of software and hardware. Computer chips that have data or programs recorded on them are firmware.”

It’s important to note that firmware updates are not always
automatically displayed with Software Update. If they don’t appear in Software Update, they must be manually downloaded from the Apple Support Downloads site, which you can see here:

http://www.apple.com/support/downloads

Note that each Intel-based Mac model has it’s own firmware version to update.

Read more about firmware updates for Intel-based Macs here:

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303880

And even more details here:

“http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303364”: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303364

From Apple:

Important: Do not unplug, shutdown, or restart your computer while the update is taking place. Interrupting a firmware update can render your computer unusable. If this happens, take your machine to an Apple store or authorized service provider or perform the recovery yourself using another Macintosh computer to download the Firmware Restoration CD disk image from

http://www.apple.com/support/downloads

This software allows you to create a CD which you can use
to restore your machine to working order.

Also, your computer’s power cord must be connected and plugged into a working power source – don’t try and install the firmware update on a laptop unless it’s plugged in!