Once I noticed that the booting process of my MacBook Pro 2,2 extended to 5-7 minutes (the longest phase of the startup process was the blue screen which usually appears right before the desktop) and additionally, sleep (hibernate) mode stopped working. Both problems appeared simultaneously, so right from the start it was clear that they’re related.
Update: for Yosemite instructions, see the comment by Douglas Santana.
To diagnose the problem, I booted in verbose mode (hold Cmd + V when it starts booting, later you may find the logs in Console.app) and noticed these lines:
Jun 21 03:02:15 Dae-MBP configd[36]: InterfaceNamer: Busy services :
Jun 21 03:02:15 Dae-MBP configd[36]: InterfaceNamer: MacBookPro2,2 [1]
Jun 21 03:02:15 Dae-MBP configd[36]: InterfaceNamer: MacBookPro2,2/AppleACPIPlatformExpert [1]
Jun 21 03:02:15 Dae-MBP configd[36]: InterfaceNamer: MacBookPro2,2/AppleACPIPlatformExpert/PCI0@0 [1]
Jun 21 03:02:15 Dae-MBP configd[36]: InterfaceNamer: MacBookPro2,2/AppleACPIPlatformExpert/PCI0@0/AppleACPIPCI [1]
Jun 21 03:02:15 Dae-MBP configd[36]: InterfaceNamer: MacBookPro2,2/AppleACPIPlatformExpert/PCI0@0/AppleACPIPCI/PCIB@1E [1]
Jun 21 03:02:15 Dae-MBP configd[36]: InterfaceNamer: MacBookPro2,2/AppleACPIPlatformExpert/PCI0@0/AppleACPIPCI/PCIB@1E/IOPCI2PCIBridge [1]
Jun 21 03:02:15 Dae-MBP configd[36]: InterfaceNamer: MacBookPro2,2/AppleACPIPlatformExpert/PCI0@0/AppleACPIPCI/PCIB@1E/IOPCI2PCIBridge/FRWR@3 [1]
Jun 21 03:02:15 Dae-MBP configd[36]: InterfaceNamer: MacBookPro2,2/AppleACPIPlatformExpert/PCI0@0/AppleACPIPCI/PCIB@1E/IOPCI2PCIBridge/FRWR@3/AppleFWOHCI [1]
Jun 21 03:02:15 Dae-MBP configd[36]: InterfaceNamer: MacBookPro2,2/AppleACPIPlatformExpert/PCI0@0/AppleACPIPCI/PCIB@1E/IOPCI2PCIBridge/FRWR@3/AppleFWOHCI/IOFireWireController [1]
Jun 21 03:02:15 Dae-MBP configd[36]: InterfaceNamer: MacBookPro2,2/AppleACPIPlatformExpert/PCI0@0/AppleACPIPCI/PCIB@1E/IOPCI2PCIBridge/FRWR@3/AppleFWOHCI/IOFireWireController/IOFireWireLocalNode [1]
Jun 21 03:06:20 Dae-MBP /usr/libexec/hidd[27]: Timeout waiting for IOKit to be quietObviously something was wrong with the firewire. I checked my firewire 400 port and it appeared to be broken. Quick search revealed that the problem of dieing firewire ports is not uncommon for this generation of MacBook Pros, and the only way to repair it is to replace a logic board. I confirmed all of these by contacting a technician of a local Apple reseller.
Since my MacBook was out of warranty and I didn’t want to spend 350€ on a new logic board for a quite old computer, I decided to minimize the consequences. The solution was easy: to move IOFireWireFamily.kext out of /System/Extensions. I as well have to repeat this operation after installing system updates. The sleep problem was gone as well.
Update: for Yosemite instructions, see the comment by Douglas Santana.
So I know I’m bringing up a older post, but I first wanted to say THANK YOU! This worked to fix my issue of my computer taking forever to boot and freezing up when the screen went to sleep.
HOWEVER, I now have a new issue. I need the firewire port to import video from my video camera. Obviously I can’t do that through the existing firewire on my macbook pro. I purchased an Express card that has firewire to use in the express card slot. The problem is when i remove the kext file it says driver is not installed for the express card in the information section of my mac. When I put the kext file back in the extensions folder, the problems come back but, then the driver shows up as installed for the express card.
So my question is there any way possible at all to disable to firewire port or remove the kext file, but keep the express card working in order to use firewire?
Any help would be FANTASTIC!
Hey Jamie,
I don’t think such thing has ever been done before, but I suspect that it is possible.
Perhaps there should be some sort of a codeless kext that would handle the built-in firewire port and do nothing other than distract it from being handled by the firewire driver.
Could you please provide all information available about your firewire stuff from System Profiler? You will have to put the old kext back to do that.
Slow startup and sleep problems on MacBook Pro. Confirmed! This fix worked perfectly. My logic board is mucked as it has no FireWire 400 or 800. Don’t forget that the “IOFireWireFamily.kext” must be moved out of /System/Extensions after every System Update. Start up and sleep issue is no more. Thanks for this post.
appreciate a step by step guide on how to “to move IOFireWireFamily.kext out of /System/Extensions”.
the IOFireWireFamily.kext is located in /System/Library/Extensions hence it is not allowing me to move the file. I am running OS X 10.5.8
Please advise
Try this in Terminal,
sudo mv /System/Library/Extensions/IOFireWireFamily.kext ~/Desktop
I have an iMac Core Duo (early 2006) model. I just upgraded from Tiger 10.4.11 to Snow Leopard 10.6.6 yesterday and my boot time was about 10 minutes. I thought maybe it was a memory problem at first. Then I noticed my system log had some IO Kit problem and was timing out. I’ve looked at so many discussions and finally found the answer. I followed your advice. Problem solved! I can’t thank you enough!
Thanks for all the posts here, they are pointing me in the right direction. I have a 2007 mbp 10.6.6- and I’ve just fried the firewire port. However, rather than just a slow boot, my mouse button and keyboard freeze for a good five minutes after boot. They come back though, but with a VNC into the computer I can operate the machine with my phone. (Not a great work around) I’ve tried PRAMing it, and taking out the IOFireWireFamily.kext to no avail. I’ve also tried ONYXing and a bit of APPLEJACKing also no success.
Any other thoughts on the matter? I can live without firewire, but I hate this booting issue.
Hmm…
1. Did you analyze logs? If not, do that via Console.app right after the reboot.
2. Try removing all IOFirewire*.kext stuff (so not just IOFirewireFamily) from /System/Extensions.
I just discovered this post and your suggestion worked for me as well. Thanks!
Hi Dae,
Thanks for getting back. I will try that tomorrow and let you know if it works.
Cheers!
Hi Again,
Ripped out ALL firewire .kext files. Success! My MBP is working away again, without the lag time. (firewire dead and gone, but that’s ok) I am very grateful for your advice. I’d actually posted the symptoms on macforums and got no help.
Thanks!!
I’m very glad it helped. Thanks for reporting back!
Just wanted to leave a huge THANK YOU for this post! Totally fixed the problem!! My ‘Book is back to being a speed demon!
thank you, now mac book works as “normal”. …no firewire but i can live with it…thank you again….Powerbook g4
Wow, thanks! I have been having very similar symptoms to Mike Murphy’s. I just deleted all the IOFireWire kext files. Now, I don’t have to wait 7 full minutes after macbookpro boots up to get my mouse and keyboard to do stuff.
I still have a 2 minute boot up…but obviously there is other stuff I need to do….
Thanks for finding this fix. I never use firewire anyway.
Happy macbook camper. :)
Ok, I just have to add another comment. This ALSO allowed my macbook to actually SLEEP when I close the display. Now the little white sleep light pulses (rather than shining solidly) and when I open the lide, the desktop returns (rather than giving me a black screen, to which the only response was to power down, power up (taking about 15 minutes each cycle!).
Wow, after 5 days of almost solid troubleshooting, internet research, this has been a HUGE relief.
Wow! Thank you. Ive had this problem for 18 months.. i scoured soooo far and wide to find out what the heck was causing this and i could not find an answer.. this was about 8 months ago.. I was seeing in the console that mine was getting hung up on a protools related anti-piracy service. My old protools interface was firewire and my new one was usb.. i didnt realize until i tried to plug a camera into my computer that my firewire no longer worked either. So I guess by the sounds of it my logic board is toast.. common problem… is there a way to definitively tell if your logic board is fried?
I don’t know, but I can tell you that my MacBook is still working as well as USB on it.
Hi Dae, this fix worked with my macbook pro1,3 too (2,4 Intel Core 2 Duo 17″).
Thank you!!
Has anyone tried upgrading from Leopard to Snow Leopard after removing the ktex file? Will it cause any issues?
I’m about to upgrade so i can get lion next month.
I’ve been using Snow Leopard since the release and it works just fine.
You still have to remove the kexts tho.
I confirm this works also for a MacBook Pro 4,1 Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz, with Snow Leopard.
Same symptoms: very long time to boot and freeze on sleep. Firewire does not work
Removed all the iofirewire kext files from system\library\extensions (5 kext files in total).
Boot time is now normal and the Mac seems to awake happily after a nap.
A big thank to Dae!
Daniel (from Barcelona, Spain)
does this work for the 2010 Macbook pro? As of yesterday, my computer decided to stop reading my external hard drive and now gets stuck loading up. I have to shut the computer down repeatedly. Then after booting it gets hung up for about 4 minutes before i can use the mouse, etc. help?
You may try to do the same thing as I did — boot in verbose mode and check the logs to see what’s wrong. It must be there.
check if the System Profiler shows a red error message for you FW ports
i managed to fix my MBP 15 (early 2008) with this tip – so first of all thank you.
Problem I was having is best described as the computer getting “confused” suding start up while searching for the broken FW ports. With them disabled it skips the step.
So now: installing Lion on a computer with this…
Launch from installer, then it RESTARTS (presumably with a new FW kernel looking for the broken firewire port) so it never boots properly in Lion.
You’d have to get it to work to remove the kext again surely?
Anyone got the Lion update to work ?
You may try to boot from a Snow Leopard DVD (of course you’d have to wait 10 minutes or so) and use it’s Terminal to remove the kexts from Lion partition. Not sure if it works though, but its worth trying.
This problem has pestered me for month – thanx a million for your solution!
My 2006 MBP 15″ is still going strong minus the FireWire ports. I’m still leery of installing Lion though. Has anyone had a LogicBoard repair/replacement? I found a place that claims they can repair it for around $500.00 U.S. I’m am seriously considering having this done and getting the fans cleaned of dust at the same time. Will keep you posted.
If I were you I wouldn’t bother — I’d sell MBP 15″, add those $500 and buy a used (or even new) MBP 13-15″ from 2009 or later, which would be way faster than your 2006 machine, plus LED backlit display, plus unibody.
is that the complete hardware fix this would require? (rather than the software patch) ~ an entire logic board replacement?
I realise it may well be cost prohibitive but just interested to know
thanks guys
Thanks a million.
This issue has been plaguing me for months. My Firewire 400 only works when I wedge the cord at an angle. I can live without it and only activate it if and when I need it.
Hi Dae,
Thanks a million this resolved the booting problem I was having since past a month and I was being very lazy to find a solution for it.
After reading several forums it here where I finished my search. However there is still the same problem if I install a fresh OS X snow leopard on this machine…
Any one has gone through the same problem? Is there only a solution to install the OS X on this hard drive on different machine and then fit it back to this one?
Thanks
Hi John,
I have reinstalled SL several times since the problem occured on my MBP. The procedure takes longer than normally, but eventually it succeeds.
Could you describe the problem in detail?
Ok I will try with patience then. I dont mind if it takes an hour to install.. And I know what to do later just delete the firewire files.
But I read somewhere everytime when the updates are installed these files are restored?
Because my friend (not technical)wants to use this machine for a few months and I dont want the problem to occur in future after updates are installed?
Thanks
Normally only major updates (ones that change the system version number, i.e. 10.6.7 to 10.6.8) bring back the kexts.
Seeing Lion is now the priority for Apple, I don’t think there will be any major updates for Snow Leopard.
You may want to create a simple script for your friend, so in case the problem returns they would be able to fix it themselves.
The script such as this:
Save it as “fix.sh” to your Desktop, then open Terminal.app and type “chmod +x ~/Desktop/fix.sh” — that will make it executable.
The drawback: your friend has to have a user account password set, otherwise it won’t work.
Excellent thats a perfect solution then.
Thanks for your help all the way. Much appreciated.
You’re welcome :)
its amazing to me that you’re the only one on all of google that knows what my problem is. and it fixes the infamous sleep problem. my comp is back to normal thanks again.
Hi Dae,
Its John again. I managed to solve this issue a few months back but now having the same problem in one of my other machine. Could you tell me all 5 kext filenames individually please (I will move/delete all of them)? Sorry about that but I cant find that folder from where I deleted those file previously..Or else if you can send me the command that I need to type in terminal in order to direct me to these files would be great. I am using snow leopard 10.6.8 at the moment and would like to upgrade to OS X Lion soon after this problem is resolved.
Thank You.
Thanks very much for your help again.
Hi John,
navigate to the folder with the kexts: open Finder, press Cmd + Shift + G, type /System/Library/Extensions, press Go. Once you’re there, in the search bar type “firewire”, then make sure Finder is searching “Extensions” and not “This Mac”. You’ll see all those five kexts.
Alternatively you can use the script from my message above. Just paste it to the Terminal.app.
Hi Dae,
Thanks but tried all that already. It gives error below as “The folder can’t be found.” Just to let you know I installed fresh os x snow leopard on this machine just today. I was able to move (and then delete) 1 kext file by the command you specified above
sudo mv /System/Library/Extensions/IOFireWireFamily.kext ~/Desktop.
But now cant install OS X lion on it and hence want to delete the rest 4 files and then try installing Lion on it.
I hope the lion would again have the same procedure.
Thanks
Why can’t you install Lion?
I’m not sure what might cause that error…
Hi Dae,
It goes till the end say 99% install but then says 5 hours left for installation to finish. From 1 to 99% it takes 20 mins. Its definitely not the logic board fault as snow leopard now works a charm and with good speed after deleting the IOFireWireFamily.kext file.
Thanks
Did you try to wait those 5 hours? (Sorry if that sounds stupid).
Hi Dae,
No. But after like half hour of waiting from that 99% it gives error saying cant update.
If you have the rest 4 file names then it would be helpful. I can try deleting them and I am sure the problem will be resolved. I deleted all those 5 files previously and everything worked fine after that. I cant find the folder for now but with the sudo command I will move the files to desktop first and then delete them.
Thanks
Well, that’s the commands (from my own message above):
If all you want is to open the folder in Finder, you could do
Hi Dae,
I found all the 5 files in the extensions folder and they are
IOFireWireFamily.kext
IOFireWireAVC.kext
IOFireWireIP.kext
IOFireWireSBP2.kext
IOFireWireSerialBusProtocolTransport.kext
In case someone comes across the same problem in future then they dont have to again waste so much time that I have already spent.
Thank you Dae, the information you provided again worked. This was the command I used to find the folder- sudo open /System/Library/Extensions
Much appreciated.
Help! I solved the slow boot up in Snow Leopard using Dae’s brilliant suggestion, but now I am stuck trying to upgrade to Lion. I don’t understand John’s process about deleting all of the Firewire extensions. My Macbook Pro is hung up trying to start up in Lion and I don’t know how to get to the extension folder when I’m mid-boot up?
If I do get this figured out, will Lion re-hang up on every update?
Thanks for helping out a non-techie.
Always,
Aaron
Two options came to my mind:
fsck -fy).From Terminal in Recovery mode or single user mode, type the following commands exactly as seen here:
Dae,
Thanks for the command script. I cloned a copy of Lion from another computer of mine and then copied onto my MBP. So I’m up and running, even with the broken Firewire ports. When the next big Lion update comes along, I will try running your script to see if Lion will load.
I will report back, hopefully with positive news.
Thanks,
Aaron
Just to let everyone know. I just updated Lion to 10.7.4 from 10.7.3. The laptop booted up without me having to boot up using a disc and then delete the Firewire.kext files. Maybe it wasn’t an exhaustive update, but the firewire.kext files were not reinstalled on this update.
I will let you know if any particular update hangs the login in the future.
Always,
Aaron
Dae,
Fantastic post. I’m a Mac IT guy and I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why I was having these issues. The “Waiting for IOKit to be quiet” log message tipped me off and I found this page from there. Such an easy fix after so much hair-tearing. Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge.
I’ve been dealing with this for a month and finally couldn’t take it anymore… almost bought a new MacBook Pro, glad I found your solution (and glad I married a guy who knew how to interpret your solution). Thanks!
I have been reading through the previous issues and I am experiencing the same issues as everyone else. I am currently on a Macbook with Mac OS X version 10.6.8 and it takes on average about 8 minutes for the computer to be operational. Desktop will auto load and mouse will move but unable to actually click anything for that time period. I have moved / deleted all five of the IOSFireWire files and still at a 8 minute boot time. In the ‘Concole’ I receive about a hundred ‘IOHIDSystem: postEvent LLEventQueue overflow:’ messages and then the final two lines show: ‘Timeout waiting for IOKit to be quiet’ and ‘no valid tickets, timing out’ I have been working on this for weeks now and feel that I am getting really close now but any help would be appreciated.
What MacBook is it? Can you post the complete boot log from Console?
Thanks for getting back with me. It is a MacBook with the model number: A1342. Hope that this is what you are looking for:
http://pastie.org/5172124
Hmm, I don’t know. It seems to be a different problem than the one I had with firewire. I googled the error and found a thread on a Russian website where they fixed a seemingly similar problem by installing the 10.6.8 combo update. Perhaps it doesn’t hurt to try that.
Do you hear a startup chime when you power on your MacBook?
Yes i hear the generic chime at bootup, goes to the grayish screen with the apple logo, after a while pulls up my desktop and then its a waiting game. I will try the combo update and go from there.
Thanks!
Any news?
I’m having the same long start-up times and awaking from sleep issues. However, I occasionally need the FireWire input. Can manually I put those .kext files back in the Extensions folder and restart (and wait the additional 8 minutes for the keyboard and mouse to respond) the MB Pro to resume FireWire capability when I need it? Currently, I can still print with my FireWire printer. More importantly, I often need to use my DV video camera.
Perhaps you could do this without reboot by running the following commands in Terminal.
Disable Firewire ports (e.g. before shutting down):
The first command unloads the kext and the second command moves it to your desktop.
To enable Firewire (when you need your printer):
The first command moves the kext back from the desktop to the appropriate system directory. The second command should load the kext dynamically.
The issue seems to be a bit more complicated with Mountain Lion (10.8). It’s no longer sufficient to move the 5 IOFireWire*.kext extensions out of the System/Library/Extensions folder.
There are also bad drivers that seem to depend on FireWire inside the AppleStorageExtensions.kext.
Deleting this kext is not an option, as it includes useful things related to USB and SATA. So what I did in order to be able to boot with my MacBook Pro 4,1 Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz with a dead FireWire port was the following:
Do a “show package contents” on the AppleStorageExtensions.kext. Inside the Contents/Plugin folder, delete every kext file with FireWire or Fire or FW in their name.
Also delete the following kext:
PioneerSuperDrive
CanonEOS1D
OxfordSemiConductor
PlasmonUDO
SanyoIDShot
StorageLinx
You can identify which are the problematic ones if you are able to boot with another drive. You can then try the following inside a Terminal session:
sudo kextcache -u /Volumes/Volume_name
where Volume_name is the name of your boot disk.
The .kext that stops the system when it tries to rebuild the kextcache file should be deleted (that includes all in the above list and that was the way I was able to identify these “bad” drivers).
I hope this help somebody with this issue. FWIW I installed Mountain Lion on this problematic Mac in order to create a Fusion drive with a small SSD inside the Express card slot and the main HD.
This worked great for me in Mavericks (10.9), but it seems more is needed in Yosemite (10.10.) I’ve spent a week trying to get it to work with no luck – has anyone been able to work around the issue in the new OS?
I found a solution for Yosemite on my Macbook Early 2008 4,1
First of all, as Daniel said you need to remove all IOFireWire*.kext extensions out of the System/Library/Extensions folder.
Then, do a “show package contents” on the AppleStorageDrivers.kext.
Inside the Contents/Plugin folder, delete every kext file with FireWire or Fire or FW in their name.
Also delete the following kexts:
PioneerSuperDrive
CanonEOS1D
OxfordSemiConductor
PlasmonUDO
SanyoIDShot
StorageLinx
SonyXDCAMDriver (This one has depencies on FW as well)
Second of all, remove the following kexts inside the /System/Library/Extensions:
AppleFWAudio
Apple_iSight
iPodDriver
Regards,
Douglas
Thanks Daniel and Dae. I have an iMac with the same issue. It worked fantastic. The interesting thing is that I never used the FireWire port and it was killing my startup (10 minutes). I was calling my iMac a bear ! when it hibernates, you can’t wake it up ! hahaha
Dae,
Thank you! For the last 5 or 6 years my 2006 Mac Book pro has taken about 10 minutes to boot up and could never be allowed to sleep because it would not wake up again. I have been researching the problem and had concluded it was the graphics chip and that I needed a new motherboard (meaning I would likely unhappily buy a new computer). But, your post saved me! My MBP works like a champ now. I am once again happy to use my computer instead of dreading it and putting it off. The best part is I have never even used the FireWire ports! Nearly 6 years of frustration caused by ports I never used…
Thanks again! ~Erick
Thanks for feedback! I’m very glad my post could help you.
Thank youuuuu very muchhh :D, i have no firewire, but this macbook works fine now !!!! i made everything i found on internet to make it work, but nothing helped but this, the system.log was always showing the problem, the firewire was my last choice haha such a shame, but it was the main problem. Thank you again :).
Dea Thank Thanks!!!!!!
Holy Shit!!!!!!!!! This Freeking Worked I Deleted all IOFirewire stuff from the extensions folder and it works WOW WOW !!! Thanks A million
I just Bought a Used MBPRO 2011, took 10 minutes to boot and i looked all over to find a solution Nothing??? Had many Problems- 3 Beep RAM trouble?, bad logicboard, Bad ram, Bad Hard drive, Nothing worked, I Accidentally came across this and Im Amazed, I had nothing to loose I removes the kext files and BAM! Startup only 10 seconds. Let me buy u lunch or Something LOL
Thanks Dar
Thanks for this Hack. I will confirm, this works for El Capitan also.