OS X 10.5.5, AirPort Network Dropouts and Parallels

K

kevinvh@mac.com

Member
Apple Discussions is alive with AirPort network dropout issues going back to 10.5.3 thru to 10.5.5. There have been many suggested fixes but nothing has proved to be a 'permanent' fix.

I am beginning to look at Parallels as one of the culprits - Parallels loads certain network things at startup and I wonder if this is causing the AirPort network dropouts.

I run Build 5608 and XP Pro SP3, and also Vista SP1. The VMs work fine.

I don't have Parallels installed on my firewire drive which I use for maintenance. It has 10.5.5 and TechTool Pro 4 only installed. There are no AirPort network issues when booted from this drive.

Can Parallels Tech Support please investigate. Some links to look at are:

http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=8136014

http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=8126501

http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=8098498

http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=8098048
 
It is possible John, but I am reluctant - lot of work if it messes my drive up. Let me get back to you.

Bye the way, I noticed in the System Log that I had MacFuse 1.3.1 and the latest is 1.7.1. I have updated now and will see if this makes any difference.
 
Not sure, Mac Fuse is related here, Mac OS installation on external drive will not mess current installation, only thing to remember, do not restart Mac to your current installation when USB drive is in, you can connect it later,
on Test installation you can restart without problems.
 
Sorry John, a little unclear on what you want. Is it:
1. Boot from firewire drive and install Parallels build 5608
2. Test for AirPort network dropouts
3. Shutdown and disconnect firewire drive and go back to computer HD

I can do that but I am concerned that Parallels might mess-up my firewire drive installation which could then cause me to reformat the firewire drive and reinstall. I could backup with Time Machine first but I don't have another drive to backup to.

Let me mull awhile and I will get back to you.
 
Hi John - have spent the day testing out my computer and no AirPort dropouts since doing the MacFuse 1.7.1. I know it is a little puzzling because MacFuse is only loaded when the VM is started, and my problems were occurring before starting Parallels. It has been going on for months.

Is it possible that the MacFuse update may have sorted out corrupt preference files.

Anyway, for now everything is working fine after many shutdown/restarts and wake from sleep today. I hope it is still the same in the morning as I have had many disappointments after finding what I thought was the 'permanent fix'.

Regards - Kevin
 
Hi John - good news is that this morning I woke my MBP from sleep and it immediately reestablished the AirPort network connection - full strength, no dropouts or stalls. This is the 1st time in months that this has happened.

Seems there is some connection with the MacFuse update that resolved my issue.

The MacFuse 1.7.1 update is at: http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/23729/macfuse

Regards - Kevin
 
Hi John,

My jubilation did not last long - same issue is back tonight after booting my MBP.

This time I have compared the system.log from this morning (when everything working OK) to the system.log tonight. While the startup sequence is slightly different in each case, the system.log with the faulty AirPort connection has two error lines after the parallels network loading - see below:
Sep 24 00:27:26 kevin-hiscoxs-macbook-pro Parallels[107]: Loading Network module...
Sep 24 00:27:26 kevin-hiscoxs-macbook-pro com.apple.SystemStarter[16]: kextload: extension /System/Library/Extensions/Pvsnet.kext is already loaded
Sep 24 00:27:26 kevin-hiscoxs-macbook-pro Parallels[109]: Loading Virtual Ethernet module...
Sep 24 00:27:26 kevin-hiscoxs-macbook-pro com.apple.SystemStarter[16]: kextload: /Library/StartupItems/Parallels/Pvsvnic.kext loaded successfully
Sep 24 00:27:26 kevin-hiscoxs-macbook-pro kernel[0]: com_parallels_kext_Pvsvnic0: Ethernet address 00:1c:42:00:00:00
Sep 24 00:27:26 kevin-hiscoxs-macbook-pro kernel[0]: com_parallels_kext_Pvsvnic1: Ethernet address 00:1c:42:00:00:01
Sep 24 00:27:26 kevin-hiscoxs-macbook-pro ntpd[14]: bind() fd 27, family 30, port 123, scope 7, addr fe80::21c:42ff:fe00:0, in6_is_addr_multicast=0 flags=17 fails: Can't assign requested address
Sep 24 00:27:26 kevin-hiscoxs-macbook-pro ntpd[14]: bind() fd 27, family 30, port 123, scope 8, addr fe80::21c:42ff:fe00:1, in6_is_addr_multicast=0 flags=17 fails: Can't assign requested address
Sep 24 00:27:27 kevin-hiscoxs-macbook-pro Parallels[113]: Staring DHCP/NAT daemon...
Sep 24 00:27:27 kevin-hiscoxs-macbook-pro pvsnatd[115]: en3: DHCP for 10.37.129.2-10.37.129.254 netmask 255.255.255.0
Sep 24 00:27:27 kevin-hiscoxs-macbook-pro pvsnatd[115]: en2: DHCP/NAT for 10.211.55.2-10.211.55.254 netmask 255.255.255.0
Sep 24 00:27:28 kevin-hiscoxs-macbook-pro Parallels[122]: Initialization complete.

Compare this with this morning's log:
Sep 23 09:08:29 kevin-hiscoxs-macbook-pro Parallels[77]: Loading Network module...
Sep 23 09:08:30 kevin-hiscoxs-macbook-pro com.apple.SystemStarter[16]: kextload: extension /System/Library/Extensions/Pvsnet.kext is already loaded
Sep 23 09:08:30 kevin-hiscoxs-macbook-pro Parallels[79]: Loading Virtual Ethernet module...
Sep 23 09:08:30 kevin-hiscoxs-macbook-pro com.apple.SystemStarter[16]: kextload: /Library/StartupItems/Parallels/Pvsvnic.kext loaded successfully
Sep 23 09:08:30 kevin-hiscoxs-macbook-pro kernel[0]: com_parallels_kext_Pvsvnic1: Ethernet address 00:1c:42:00:00:01
Sep 23 09:08:31 kevin-hiscoxs-macbook-pro kernel[0]: com_parallels_kext_Pvsvnic0: Ethernet address 00:1c:42:00:00:00
Sep 23 09:08:31 kevin-hiscoxs-macbook-pro Parallels[83]: Staring DHCP/NAT daemon...
Sep 23 09:08:31 kevin-hiscoxs-macbook-pro pvsnatd[85]: en2: DHCP/NAT for 10.211.55.2-10.211.55.254 netmask 255.255.255.0
Sep 23 09:08:31 kevin-hiscoxs-macbook-pro pvsnatd[85]: en3: DHCP for 10.37.129.2-10.37.129.254 netmask 255.255.255.0
Sep 23 09:08:32 kevin-hiscoxs-macbook-pro Parallels[90]: Initialization complete.

Now, I did a Safe Reboot and it got rid of the errors after I had reselected the AirPort network in System Preferences followed by a restart - the log looks the same as this mornings.

To my untrained eye, this appears to be a Parallels induced problem. Can you please advise. Note, there are other Parallels users on Apple Discussions that have the same problem which they solved by uninstalling Parallels, only for it to return after Parallels was installed again.

Regards - Kevin Hiscox
 
We need clean Mac OS installation in order to make sure that no other software interacted with AirPort, probably you can ask someone on Apple's list
 
Might be difficult to find someone else - surprised Parallels does not have test machines for this purpose.

I might take it on myself over the W/E if my external firewire drive is acceptable. I already have an external firewire drive with OS X 10.5.5 installed, and the only 3rd party apps on it are TechTool Pro 4 and Onyx 1.9.8. As I said earlier, the AirPort network works fine with this drive, and it will be simple for me to reformat after the test if I need to.

Precisely, what do you require? Is it a clean installation of 10.5.5 and a clean installation of Parallels build 5608. Will I need to install the VM and if so, can I copy across my existing ~/Documents/Parallels/Windows XP Pro folder instead of installing XP from scratch?

If Parallels is associated with the AirPort network problem, then I believe it goes back to the OS X 10.5.3 update as there is a consensus on Discussions that OS X 10.5.2 works OK with AirPort networks and the common apps (incl. Parallels).

Regards - Kevin
 
This software may affect TechTool Pro 4 and Onyx 1.9.8
In order to make things clear we need to have clean install with no software installed, in this case developers are sure ,that no lowlevel as (TechTools) is affecting Mac OS
 
OK - I have setup a new 40GB partition on my firewire drive and installed OS X 10.5.2 (from my original installation dvd) and done all updates to arrive at an up-to-date OS X 10.5.5. Only stock standard OS X 10.5.5 installed now.

Some interesting observations along the way:
1. After installing 10.5.2 the AirPort network kept dropping out or stalling.
2. Installed following updates:
- AirPort Utility (5.3.2)
- QuickTime (7.5.5)
- iLife Support (8.3)
- iTunes (8.0)
- Remote Desktop Client Update (3.2.2)
- Java For Mac OS X 10.5 Update 1 (1.0)
I did not update to OS X 10.5.5 at this time.
3. Restarted and AirPort network stable and fast.
4. Ran Software Update again - installed:
- Front Row Update (2.1.6)
- Mac OS X Update Combined (10.5.5)
5. Restarted and AirPort network stable and fast.
6. Ran Software Update again - all software up to date.

John - what now regarding the installation of Parallels? Is it as per my previous post; can I copy my existing VM to the new partition? Any other instructions for testing - logs etc?
 
Hi John,

I am calling a halt to this before even installing Parallels on my clean firewire drive.

My 'clean' OS X 10.5.5 installation is now suffering from the same AirPort network dropouts - no 3rd party applications installed. Ran OK for a day, but after being shutdown for 5 or 6 hours, the problem arose following startup this morning.

Conclusion:
1. AirPort problem with OS X 10.5.x; or
2. AirPort problem with new 17" MBP; or
3. Problem with AEB 802.11n (gagabit ethernet); or
4. Problem with DSL modem or ISP connection.

Comments on item 1 - think I have conclusively eliminated 3rd party software.
Comment on item 2 - no problems indicated by TechTool Delux or TechTool Pro 4; works OK via ethernet connection.
Comment on item 3 - previously did factory reset and textbook setup on AEB. Connection via AEB 802.11g relay and remote work fine.
Comment on item 4 - fact that other computers connect OK and this computer can connect OK via ethernet rules out problems with DSL modem and ISP.

Draw your own conclusions, but I am now certain the problem is clearly with Apple.

Thanks for your help - Kevin
 
John - I think this is an Apple problem and not one created by Parallels, or for that matter any connection to Parallels. The problem exists with a clean installation of 10.5.5 before installing Parallels.
 
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