Why does Mathematica 5.2 for Mac OS X now generate a MathLink error when I try evaluating any computation?

At approximately 8 p.m. PDT on Monday, August 15, 2005, Apple began automatic distribution of Apple Security Update 2005-007 for Mac OS X 10.4.2 (Tiger).

Due to an error on the part of Apple, this update prevents any 64-bit-native application from running. In particular, this means that Mathematica 5.2 will not run on any G5 system if it has installed this Security Update.

This problem was discovered by our testing procedures a few hours ago, and Apple has now assured us that they have stopped automatic distribution of Security Update 2005-007 at this time.

If you did not install Security Update 2005-007, then you will not be affected. If your Mathematica 5.2 successfully launches and performs any computation (such as 2+2), then this also means that you have not been affected.

If you have been affected, then Mathematica 5.2 will generate a MathLink error when you try to do any computation with it. (If you run MathKernel directly from the command line, it will crash at startup.)

Apple has informed us that there is no workaround for this problem.

Apple is investigating the problem at high priority, and intends to distribute a new Security Update in the very near future. This update will correct the problem and allow Mathematica to run successfully.

To run Mathematica 5.2 today, you must temporarily disable its 64-bit capabilities. You can do this by running the following commands in the Terminal:

cd /Applications/Mathematica\ 5.2.app/Contents/MacOS cp MathKernel MathKernel.bak lipo MathKernel.bak -remove ppc64 -output MathKernel

If you are unable to run the script above, an alternative is to use an earlier version of Mathematica. The problem with Apple Security Update 2005-007 affects only 64-bit applications; Mathematica 5.2 is the first 64-bit-native version of Mathematica.

Note that when Apple has made the corrected Security Update available, and you have installed it, you must reverse the procedure above by running the following commands:

cd /Applications/Mathematica\ 5.2.app/Contents/MacOS mv MathKernel.bak MathKernel

If you do not do run these commands, Mathematica will not operate in optimized native 64-bit mode.

We regret the inconvenience caused by this problem, and hope that as soon as Apple has corrected the problem you will continue to enjoy the outstanding performance of Mathematica on 64-bit Macintosh systems.

Should you require further technical support for this problem, Apple has informed us that you should contact them through http://www.apple.com/contact/phone_contacts.html.

Download this FAQ as a Mathematica 5.2 Notebook

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