Wednesday, August 05 2009 @ 01:30 PM PDT

Apple releases OS X Leopard 10.5.8 Update

Written by Topher Kessler

Apple has released OS X 10.5.8. The update is recommended for all OS X Leopard users, and according to the update documentation includes "general operating system fixes that enhance stability, compatibility, and security."

Some specific issues that were addressed are:

• Compatibility and reliability issues when joining AirPort networks.
• an issue that could cause some monitor resolutions to no longer appear in Displays System Preferences.
• issues that may affect Bluetooth reliability.

Apple has details on this update in the following knowledgebase articles:

• Update Details
• Security Details

The update weighs in at 165MB in Software Update, and is on the Apple downloads page as well at 274MB. As with all system updates, be sure to back up your system before applying this one, especially with a bootable or full system restore solution such as Time Machine or a cloning option. When applying this update, the computer will restart to the grey Apple screen with the spinning wheel, and will then reboot again. While the update may take some time to apply, allow it to complete on its own and do not interrupt the process by restarting the system.

As an extra precaution against errors that may arise when updating, we recommend you take the following steps when applying the update. Performing these steps after updating can also help fix update problems if they arise:

1. Download the "combo" updater for this update (available here)
2. Reboot into Safe Mode
3. Run a permissions fix and drive check on the boot drive with Disk Utility
4. Apply the update and reboot
5. Run a permissions fix again with Disk Utility

UPDATE: Direct downloads are now available:

• 10.5.8 Combo Update Download -- 759MB
• 10.5.8 Standard Update Download -- 274MB