Airport update problems — Jason Preston

My laptop has been offline since I tried to install the newest AirPort update last night. After installing the update and rebooting, I couldn’t connect to the wireless network (wired worked fine).

I called Apple support, and it turns out that in a case like mine, where you get the infinitely uninformative “There was an error joining network XXXXXX,” there are really only two options:

Change the channel on the router - might work (it didn’t)
Archive and Install, which basically archives your data and swipes the OS, replacing it with a clean copy

Since option 1 didn’t work, I’m doing option 2 right now. However, I started about 15 minutes ago and I’m still “checking the installation DVD,” so this may take some time.

My friend DL Byron told me about Carbon Copy Cloner, which I will have to pick up as soon as I get this machine working again.

The funny thing is it seems like it’s impossible to roll back a faulty update - reinstalling the whole OS seems a bit extreme. I’m sure it’s not impossible to do, but the instructions can’t be found via Google, or even Ask. I hate to say it, but that’s a standard Windows feature. Has been for years.