Mac OS X 10.3: Firewall Unavailable After Upgrade Installation

The Mac OS X firewall may no longer be available if you perform an upgrade installation of Mac OS X Panther. An "upgrade" installation is when you install version 10.3 over an earlier version, such as 10.2.8, without first erasing the disk.
Symptom

Firewall is no longer available in Sharing preferences. When you look there, you may see this message:


The status may say "Firewall Unavailable," and the Start button may be dimmed.


Solution

This happens if both printer sharing and the firewall were turned on in Mac OS X 10.2. Download and install Mac OS X 10.3.2 or later.

If you're not ready to update, follow these steps to resolve the issue:

  1. Click the Finder icon in the Dock.
  2. From the Go menu, choose Go to Folder.
  3. Type: /Library/Preferences/
  4. Click Go.
  5. Locate this file: com.apple.sharing.firewall.plist
  6. Drag this file to the Trash (see Note).
  7. From the Apple menu, choose Restart.


Note: This step removes any custom port settings you have made to the firewall. If you previously opened any ports, you will need to do so again. If you do not want to lose your custom settings, use the Advanced solution below.

Advanced solution

You can use this solution to avoid losing your custom settings, but you must be comfortable with editing a text file in Terminal. Follow these steps:
  1. Open Terminal (/Applications/Utilities/).
  2. Type: sudo pico /Library/Preferences/com.apple.sharing.firewall.plist
  3. Press Return.
  4. Enter your administrator password when prompted, and press Return.
  5. Using the arrow keys, scroll down to these two lines: 

    <key>allports</key> 
<array>

  6. Directly under "<array>", add a new line containing this text: 

        <string>515</string>

  7. Press Control-O to save the file, and Return to confirm.
  8. Press Control-X to exit pico.
  9. Restart the computer.

Published Date: Oct 7, 2016