kext

Review: Install and modify kernel extensions with Kext Drop for Mac

Advanced Mac users may want the ability to install programs, called kext files, to modify basic system information. Kext Drop for Mac, while simple and with limited features, works well for installing these files.

Kext Drop for Mac is free. The application downloaded quickly, but had no technical support or user tutorials available. The program's small and uncomplicated menu is well thought out, though. The entire program consists of a small window with no buttons. A dotted box indicates the place where the user can click and drag kext files. Users can also select them by file from the … Read more

Time Machine causes kernel panic

Users may find that kernel panics can occur when running system utilities like Time Machine when other programs are installed and causing issues. The problem can be narrowed to a third-party installation by booting in Safe Mode. If Time Machine runs properly in Safe Mode, an extension or program is causing your crashes.

Apple Support Discussions forum user BasementJack writes:

Time machine Crashes (Kernel panic) when Run normally. When I boot in Safe mode, it runs fine. Is there a list of programs known to cause issues with Time Machine? If not where should I look? I assume my ID'… Read more

Devices not loading properly at boot in OS X

There may be instances in OS X where devices that require a third-party driver (such as input devices and cameras) will not properly load at bootup. While a device may load when attached to the system after bootup, it may not be recognized properly when attached at during startup. When this happens, it is usually a problem either with the system's boot caches, or a problem with the developer's configuration of the driver being used for the device.

One way developers create drivers in OS X is to start with a generic driver class (i.e., a "… Read more

Fix slow start-ups in OS X

Sometimes after adding new system components or otherwise changing the hardware configuration of your system you may find that the OS will load rather slowly. Usually this will only happen after the first restart as the system configures the kernel extensions needed for the new hardware; however, there are times when it can persist. If the system always runs slowly then there may be problems with the hard drive, or the configured filesystems on it, and you should run diagnostics utilities to tackle the issue. If on the other hand the system runs fine except for slugishness or pauses during … Read more

"IOFireWireWDHID.kext" not loading after 10.6 or iTunes 9 update

If you have used a Western Digital Firewire hard drive with your Mac, and have upgraded to Snow Leopard, you may run across an error where the "IOFireWireWDHID.kext" extension will not load. This may happen immediately after updating, or may happen when you update other software such as iTunes, in the case of one user.… Read more