Well, that wasn’t fun.

My MacBook Pro is running normally again. I didn’t have to reinstall the OS or wipe the drive.

While in safe mode, I downloaded the 10.4.11 combo updater for Intel Macs and ran it successfully. When I restart the computer, it appeared to have the same issue. After 15 minutes of staring at the spinning wheel and grey Apple logo, I got frustrated and returned to my meeting downstairs (I’m in a hotel room) without force-shutting the computer down. Three hours later, I came back fully expecting to see the spinning wheel exactly as I had left it. Instead, I was looking at my normal desktop! I have no idea if it took 30 minutes to finally boot successfully, or two hours, all I know is that it’s working.

To be safe, I reboot from the OS X install CD and checked permissions and the disk. All is well, and this time the reboot finished in about 3 minutes. Despite this, I can’t help but think that 10.4.11 is slower than 10.4.10 was. The first launch of any application takes forever.

I guess I should consider myself lucky that I got my computer back up and running easily compared to other folks who have had trouble with this upgrade.

Next upgrade, I’m going to take the more careful route:

1. Download combo updater (do not upgrade from the “Software Update…” menu).
2. Boot from install CD and repair permissions/disk.
3. Reboot in safe mode (hold down shift key).
4. Install upgrade.

I know 99% of folks do a straight upgrade and everything is just fine and dandy. After being one of the poor 1% this round, I think being cautious will be worth it next time.