Apple's software updates rarely cause problems. This one may be an exception, but forewarned is forearmed...

Today I installed several software updates from Apple, including SuperDrive Firmware Update 2.1. Normally installing these software updates is a simple uneventful process. But I encountered some weirdness with this update, which others also apparently experienced as well. For my MacBook, all is well, no damage was done to the operating system, to the machine, or to the SuperDrive, but others were not as fortunate. To avoid problems, Mac owners should be aware of what happens when this update is installed.

This is a hardware firmware upgrade, so that alone indicates that special care is required. Restart is required after the install, which generally means more work is done after the Mac is rebooted. It's important to note that unlike system security updates (which do their post-restart work before the login window appears, followed by yet another restart), the post-restart work for this update happens after you login. Which leads to a number of issues:

  1. The installation requires that AC power should be available. A warning message will pop up if your power adapter is not connected. So make sure that your Mac is plugged in.
  2. If you are tempted to restart your Mac again at this point, that's a temptation worth resisting. Another dialog box states that you should not attempt to restart your Mac while the update is going through the final phases of installation, but it's hidden from view unless you bring the installer to the front. You are warned that restarting or shutting down while the install process is ongoing could damage the SuperDrive. So... don't do that.
  3. Finally, it seems even after you've successfully gone through the installation, you will see a message appear every time you start up saying that there "no updateable devices were found". Annoying, but easy to remedy: go to User Preferences and select the "Accounts" pane. Check to see if "SuperDrive Update 2.1" is listed in your Login Items. If so, remove it.

I've since tested the SuperDrive by inserting a DVD, and DVD Player started automatically to play the DVD, so it looks like it's working. Check out the links below for more information about this update and experiences that others have had with it. (For me, the MacFixIt article proved especially helpful.)