Avid Behaving Exceptionally Badly: Macs Running Avid Fail to Reboot After Shutdown
I don't usually post news in this blog, because it's supposed to be a place for bug fixes, error message decoding, and ranting and the useless fucking quality assurance team that Avid employs (if any such team exists). In this case, however, it seems like we can chalk up another very large hash mark on the side of "there is no QA." Why? Because Avid-installed Macs across hollywood are failing to boot up after being shutdown. This issue hasn't affected me (yet), but holy fucking shit this is a bad fucking bug. I mean, how goddamned hard is it to NOT BREAK THE COMPUTER, AVID??? Which, I mean, if you've used Avid for even thirty minutes ever in your life you know that breaking the computer is like their favorite pastime.
So now we're stuck with a software program that frequently requires a full reboot (and PRAM clear) to resolve issues in, coupled with a bug that prevents the system from properly fucking rebooting after you shut it down or restart. Yay. It's like the perfect remake of Catch-22, done Avid style.
So what can be done?
Well, first off, apparently re-installing the MacOS solves the issue. Maybe for good. Maybe temporarily. Who the fuck knows? So if you're stuck and need a fix, reinstall the OS. Doesn't need to be a clean install. Which is good, I guess, though fucking hell it sure seems like if Avid can corrupt the system files at a kernel level once, they sure as shit can do it again. I'm keeping my installers handy.
Second, here is Avid's official statement on the issue (as of 9/24/19 at 8 am PST, and I swear to god this is real and I'm not making this shit up):
"Avid is aware of the reboot issue affecting Apple Mac Pro devices running some Avid products, which arose late yesterday. This issue is top priority for our engineering and support teams, who have been working diligently to determine and resolve the root cause. As we learn more, we will immediately publish information—directly to our customers and via our community forums and social media platforms—in order to resolve this issue for all affected customers and prevent any further issues."
What the fuck? "We're aware of the issue," is their official stance? This is costing companies thousands of dollars every hour and Avid is like "Don't worry, we know about it." They didn't even publish the OS fix. They just said to call them if you're a licensed vendor. And you know what that means, right? It means they don't fucking care about the rest of us. "Get fucked, assholes," Avid meant to say, "Right in your stupid fucking faces. We'll fix this when we feel like it, and we won't test the fix, either, but we'll keep forcing monthly updates down your throats even though using years old and known to be stable builds of Avid has been the norm for at least a decade because our software is hot fucking garbage coated in an patina of biohazardous waste and then run through the human centipede of our engineering team to deliver what can only be described as the software equivalent of Kopi Luwak, only without the delicious flavor and at ten times the expense.
So now we're stuck with a software program that frequently requires a full reboot (and PRAM clear) to resolve issues in, coupled with a bug that prevents the system from properly fucking rebooting after you shut it down or restart. Yay. It's like the perfect remake of Catch-22, done Avid style.
So what can be done?
Well, first off, apparently re-installing the MacOS solves the issue. Maybe for good. Maybe temporarily. Who the fuck knows? So if you're stuck and need a fix, reinstall the OS. Doesn't need to be a clean install. Which is good, I guess, though fucking hell it sure seems like if Avid can corrupt the system files at a kernel level once, they sure as shit can do it again. I'm keeping my installers handy.
Second, here is Avid's official statement on the issue (as of 9/24/19 at 8 am PST, and I swear to god this is real and I'm not making this shit up):
"Avid is aware of the reboot issue affecting Apple Mac Pro devices running some Avid products, which arose late yesterday. This issue is top priority for our engineering and support teams, who have been working diligently to determine and resolve the root cause. As we learn more, we will immediately publish information—directly to our customers and via our community forums and social media platforms—in order to resolve this issue for all affected customers and prevent any further issues."
What the fuck? "We're aware of the issue," is their official stance? This is costing companies thousands of dollars every hour and Avid is like "Don't worry, we know about it." They didn't even publish the OS fix. They just said to call them if you're a licensed vendor. And you know what that means, right? It means they don't fucking care about the rest of us. "Get fucked, assholes," Avid meant to say, "Right in your stupid fucking faces. We'll fix this when we feel like it, and we won't test the fix, either, but we'll keep forcing monthly updates down your throats even though using years old and known to be stable builds of Avid has been the norm for at least a decade because our software is hot fucking garbage coated in an patina of biohazardous waste and then run through the human centipede of our engineering team to deliver what can only be described as the software equivalent of Kopi Luwak, only without the delicious flavor and at ten times the expense.
I'll update this story as more news becomes available. Jesus Christ, Avid. Get your shit together.
Update: 9/24/19 at 10:17 am
I'm seeing reports that this is possibly related to ilok dongles. Apparently people are getting a message to update their iloks and after they do, the kernel of the MacOS becomes corrupted. So... don't do that. Until we know for certain what the issue is, anyway.
Update: 9/24/19 at 1:37 pm
This is now being called /var-sectomy. Puns. They're just the best, right folks? Anyway computer nerds like me fucking love them so back the fuck off right the hell now! Apparently a browser update caused the /var folder to change its permissions, preventing the system from booting. The affected system versions are 10.11.x and 10.12.x. Possibly those are the only affected systems. Possibly not. Who the fuck knows, amirite? So maybe Apple is to blame and not Avid. That would be weird. But hey, what can you expect from a phone company that also makes computers? I mean, we all saw what they did to Final Cut. In the words of the Godfather, "Look what they did to my boy..." I'm just kidding. Final Cut was trash, too. iMovie 6 was the best fucking NLE I've ever used, and probably will be forever. RIP iMovie 6. Thank God you weren't here to witness the varsectomy. It's gross.
Update: 9/24/19 at 3:50 pm
So there's a lot of technical information on this website:
https://mrmacintosh.com/google-chrome-keystone-is-modifying-var-symlink-on-non-sip-macs-causing-boot-issues/
And it also includes some Terminal.app command line commands that you can run to resolve the issue. Avid and Apple (and Google now, apparently) are still mum on the cause and actual fix to prevent this from happening again, but at least the community of techies never lets us down. Except in the personal hygiene department. I'm not saying it's anyone in particular, but Mikey knows who he is.
Update: 9/24/19 at 10:17 am
I'm seeing reports that this is possibly related to ilok dongles. Apparently people are getting a message to update their iloks and after they do, the kernel of the MacOS becomes corrupted. So... don't do that. Until we know for certain what the issue is, anyway.
Update: 9/24/19 at 1:37 pm
This is now being called /var-sectomy. Puns. They're just the best, right folks? Anyway computer nerds like me fucking love them so back the fuck off right the hell now! Apparently a browser update caused the /var folder to change its permissions, preventing the system from booting. The affected system versions are 10.11.x and 10.12.x. Possibly those are the only affected systems. Possibly not. Who the fuck knows, amirite? So maybe Apple is to blame and not Avid. That would be weird. But hey, what can you expect from a phone company that also makes computers? I mean, we all saw what they did to Final Cut. In the words of the Godfather, "Look what they did to my boy..." I'm just kidding. Final Cut was trash, too. iMovie 6 was the best fucking NLE I've ever used, and probably will be forever. RIP iMovie 6. Thank God you weren't here to witness the varsectomy. It's gross.
Update: 9/24/19 at 3:50 pm
So there's a lot of technical information on this website:
https://mrmacintosh.com/google-chrome-keystone-is-modifying-var-symlink-on-non-sip-macs-causing-boot-issues/
And it also includes some Terminal.app command line commands that you can run to resolve the issue. Avid and Apple (and Google now, apparently) are still mum on the cause and actual fix to prevent this from happening again, but at least the community of techies never lets us down. Except in the personal hygiene department. I'm not saying it's anyone in particular, but Mikey knows who he is.
Wow. Really committing to the bit.
ReplyDeleteIt's Google's fault (their code broke Macs), with a side of Apple (SIP can apparently be broken without your knowing about it)
So far, no Avid connection at all. Variety needs to publish a retraction.
That seems to be the case, as reported in my 1:37 pm update. It would seem that Avids were the harbingers of this issue because many Avid systems have their SIP disabled in order to allow third party hardware needed for editorial purposes to be installed, and those installers never turned SIP back on after running. Then Google released a Chrome update (we *think* this is the culprit - there has still been no official word that I've heard) that changed the /var folder IF and ONLY IF your system had SIP turned off (as many Avids did). So the Avid connection is circumstantial, yet this is an important issue that Avid users still need to be aware of.
ReplyDeleteThere is a small amount of culpability in Avid's court, which is that they need to ensure their (and their vendors') installers and hardware don't disable SIP.