Products Affected- iMac (Slot Loading) computers manufactured since early November 1999
- Power Mac G4 (AGP Graphics) computers manufactured since late November 1999
- PowerBook (FireWire)
- iBook (pre-FireWire)
Solution
It is not necessary to install this update unless you are experiencing reliability issues with your Ethernet networking configuration.
Nor is it necessary to install the Ethernet Update 1.0 if your Macintosh has Mac OS ROM 3.8 or later, as these versions of the Mac OS ROM already contain the Ethernet Update. The Mac OS ROM is stored in the System Folder and the version is listed by Apple System Profiler in the System Tab under Product Info.
Ethernet Update 1.0 improves the reliability of Ethernet in certain rare network configurations. These configurations are typically 10 Mbit networks which include coax (10Base5 or 10Base2) network segments in large single collision domains (not separated by switches, for example) that use much smaller than standard interpacket gaps or have carrier collision dropout. This update replaces the Mac OS ROM file with a new version, 3.8.
The Ethernet Update 1.0 requires Mac OS 9.0.4. Both the Ethernet Update and Mac OS 9.0.4 are available from Apple Software Updates at
http://www.apple.com/swupdates/ .
For more information on this issue, please see article 25147: "
Ethernet Update 1.0: Determining Whether to Install It."