Lessons, Guides and Tips

Partitioning:

• create/test a second FAT32 partition to test OSX upgrades
• partition the disk as MBR, not GPT
• use primary partitions to boot; logical partitions for all else
  
• burn DVD(s) slowly, with a working (non-dusty) drive

Layout:

• put apps/data on different disk for better performance
• share data (e.g. mail) across OS's with a common (FAT32) disk
  
• don't customize anything until OS and partitions are proven stable
  

Study release notes/strategy:

• 10.5.5 Combo Update 1.1.3a (never worked from 10.5.2)
• triple-booting
  

Supported hardware from HCL:

• osx86project.org HCL report for Dell Dimension 8400
  

Use helpful guides:

• Updated OSX 10.4.10 dual boot guide
  
• How-to Update Kalyway 10.5.1 to 10.5.4
  
• iATKOS v4i - 10.5.4 Mac OSx86 Leopard 10.5.4 for Intel Only
  
• General » OS X86 Hackintosh Mods » How to make a 10.5.5 Install DVD/USB Stick
  
• Boot from EFI partition, zero modification installs on Intel SSE2 or better..., Zero-modification Leopard installs. Share disks between macs
  
• Leopard retail instillation for Chameleon EFI & EFI v8
  

Tips:

• examine file: com.apple.Boot.plist
  
• when updating 10.5.2 to 10.5.3. if boot hangs. use ‘update -f’
• run the kernel package before the reboot
• fdisk -u /dev/rdisk0 –> to fix your HFS

Efforts with 10.5.2 iATKOS v2.0i DVD

During the weekend, I had some bootloader problems:

• POST ok
• F8 ok
• Darwin bootloader lists OSX ok
• OSX kept booting back into the POST (above)
  

Attempts to solve:

• GParted CD to (un)set Boot flags on XP and OSX partitions
• XP/diskpart to set OSX partition "active"
• XP/DiskMgt to view partition types
• booting with switchesg with switches '-v', '-s','-cpus=1'
• Firmware: HyperThreading OFF (show as one CPU) and Audio OFF
  

Finally solved:

• chose GPT (not MBR) when repartitioning in Disk Utility (OSX on 2nd partition, saving first for XP)
• divided 150G internal disk into partitions:

• WinXP 30G NTFS (for eventual dual-boot)
• OSX 60G HFS+ (OSX86 sys & apps)
• TM 60G FAT32 (for TimeMachine and packages/archive)

• selected only "iATKOS v2.0i Main Package", Darwin Bootloader, and drivers for NIC, Video, SATA
  

copy 10.5.3 DVD to TM for installing later
install packages (and archive to OSXarch):

• ATI_Radeon_HD_3650.zip graphics driver
  
• Firefox browser
  
• Thunderbird mail client
  
• Acrobat Reader
  
• Pacifist_2.5.2.dmg

reboot to verify:

apps visible
better graphics mode (1680x1050 / 75Hz)

TimeMachine (to TM partition)
make a small change
(************** Currently working here *************)
TimeMachine to restore to 10.5.2 cleanly
cannot restore yet

driver for LaserJet 1100

TimeMachine
upgrade to 10.5.3 Combo

OSX86 10.5.x: installation plan

Goals:

• Proof-of-Concept OSX86 to showcase environment for iPhone
• Enable viewing of data (e.g. music) across OS's by using FAT32 parition
• Dual-boot with XP and MacOS on different disks
• Create triple-booting environment (XP/MacOS/Linux)

Where to get:

• get LogicPro from Greg and Office from Quinton
• get anti-virus (e.g. Symantec) for MacOS
  

Sequence for installing triple booting environment:

update BIOS?

Partition using one of:

• PartitionMagic
• GParted
• Windows\diskpart

...to divide (non-USB!) disk into partitions:

• XP 25G FAT32 (for dual-boot; read/write from OSX)
• OSX1 50G FAT32 (OSX86 sys & apps; stable)
• OSX2 50G FAT32 (OSX86 sys & apps; stable)
• TM 25G FAT32 (TimeMachine/backups/archiving)

install/boot WinXP from CD

diskpart to make OSX1 parition "active"
copy chain0 from DVD to c:\
append c:\chain0="OSX 10.5.x" to c:\boot.ini
verify dual-boot menu (MacOS won't work yet)

Install OSX using one of:

• iATKOS DVD
• Kalyway DVD (use -F to test vanilla kernel)
  
• Leo4All DVD from Greg (never worked for me)
  

(obsolete?) customize/include MBR so MacOS partition bootable
boot into OSX

TimeMachine (to TM partition)
make a small change
TimeMachine to verify restore (data, not sys)

install packages (and archive to external disk):

• Pacifist_2.5.2.dmg
• ATI_Radeon_HD_3650.zip

verify better graphics mode (1280x1024/60)
copy 10.5.3 DVD to to external disk for (re)installing
TimeMachine (to OSXaux)

(skip) install Firefox,
(skip) install Thunderbird
(skip) reboot and verify apps visible

driver for LaserJet 1100
other hardware/system stuff
exchanges at Fry's?

TimeMachine
Clone to OSX2
(test) Restore to OSX1
upgrade to 10.5.5 Combo

OSX86 10.5.x: early installation attempts

Tried these DVD's:

• Kalyway 10.5.2 EFI v8

boot -v fails at NIC driver, hanging for 10+ min at "expecting Broadcom 5751, got Broadcom 5721"

• iATKOS 10.5.2

"failed to validate" (probably caused by either hardware support or dust-ridden old DVD burner causing i/o inconsistencies)

Partition Magic to create a FAT32 partition "MacOSTM" on NTFS disk

Starting with 5-year-old Dell Diimension 8400, I changed hardware:

• NIC: from onboard to Intel Pro PCI 10/100 board
• Graphics: from ? to Radeon HD 3650
• Sony DVD burner to replace dusty one (which caused i/o inconsistencies?)
• upgraded Intel Matrix Storage Manager (to reduce blue screens at startup)

booted iATKOS 10.5.2 DVD, resulting in:

• validates (with new dust-free DVD drive!).
• only graphics mode using new 3650 board: 1024x768.
• no sound
• but otherwise, success!

Problem: downloaded apps (e.g. Firefox, Thunderbird) not found

installed 3650.pkg using Pacifist and reboot
Success: better graphics!

After 10.5.3 Combo DVD we have these...

Problems:

• mouse unresponsive
• TimeMachine failed to see backup partition (FAT32)

Complained to GregA

Graphics flailings

ATIRadeonX2000_Leopard.pkg installs ok but:

1. Doesn't offer other modes besides 1024x768

2. Logs this message during boot: 10/8/08 12:30:57 PM kernel Debug display: family specific matching fails

3. Logs these messages to Console:

10/8/08 2:55:06 AM Installer[214] Notice @(#)PROGRAM:Install PROJECT:Install-378

10/8/08 2:55:06 AM Installer[214] Notice @(#)PROGRAM:Installer PROJECT:Installer-278

10/8/08 2:55:06 AM Installer[214] Notice Hardware: MacPro3,1 @ 3.39 GHz (x 2), 4096 MB RAM
10/8/08 2:55:06 AM Installer[214] Notice Running OS Build: Mac OS X 10.5.2 (iATKOS 2.0i) (9C7010)
10/8/08 2:55:06 AM Installer[214] Notice ATIRadeonX2000_Leopard Installation Log
10/8/08 2:55:06 AM Installer[214] Notice Opened from: /Volumes/256M THUMB/mac/ATIRadeonX2000_Leopard.pkg
10/8/08 2:55:06 AM Installer[214] Error The function `CGColorSpaceGetColorSpaceModel' is obsolete and will be removed in an upcoming update. Unfortunately, this application, or a library it uses, is using this obsolete function, and is thereby contributing to an overall degradation of system performance. Please use `CGColorSpaceGetModel' instead.
10/8/08 2:55:06 AM [0x0-0x16016].com.apple.installer[214] Notice Wed Oct 8 02:55:06 matthew-reisers-macintosh.local Installer[214] : The function `CGColorSpaceGetColorSpaceModel' is obsolete and will be removed in an upcoming update. Unfortunately, this application, or a library it uses, is using this obsolete function, and is thereby contributing to an overall degradation of system performance. Please use `CGColorSpaceGetModel' instead.
10/8/08 2:55:07 AM installdb[216] Notice Opened receipt database on '/' with schema 17.
10/8/08 2:55:24 AM SecurityAgent[219] Error The function `CGColorSpaceGetColorSpaceModel' is obsolete and will be removed in an upcoming update. Unfortunately, this application, or a library it uses, is using this obsolete function, and is thereby contributing to an overall degradation of system performance. Please use `CGColorSpaceGetModel' instead.
10/8/08 2:55:27 AM Installer[214] Notice ================================================================================
10/8/08 2:55:27 AM Installer[214] Notice User picked Custom Install
10/8/08 2:55:27 AM Installer[214] Notice Choices selected for installation:
10/8/08 2:55:27 AM Installer[214] Notice Upgrade: "ATIRadeonX2000_Leopard"
10/8/08 2:55:27 AM Installer[214] Notice Upgrade: "Requires"
10/8/08 2:55:27 AM Installer[214] Notice Upgrade: "The kexts for 10.5.2"
10/8/08 2:55:27 AM Installer[214] Notice ================================================================================
10/8/08 2:55:27 AM installdb[220] Notice Opened receipt database on '/' with schema 17.
10/8/08 2:55:27 AM Installer[214] Notice Preparing volume "iATKOS" for installation
10/8/08 2:55:27 AM Installer[214] Notice Configuring volume "iATKOS"
10/8/08 2:55:28 AM Installer[214] Notice Free space on "iATKOS": 141 GB (152240254976 bytes).
10/8/08 2:55:28 AM Installer[214] Notice Create temporary directory "/private/tmp/ATIRadeonX2000_Leopard.pkg.214IXHY5I"
10/8/08 2:55:28 AM Installer[214] Notice Running install actions
10/8/08 2:55:28 AM Installer[214] Notice Processing requires:
10/8/08 2:55:28 AM Installer[214] Notice Determining files to install
10/8/08 2:55:28 AM Installer[214] Notice Configuring deferred files
10/8/08 2:55:28 AM Installer[214] Notice Determining obsolete files
10/8/08 2:55:28 AM Installer[214] Notice Assembling temporary receipt
10/8/08 2:55:28 AM Installer[214] Notice Performing pre-extraction actions
10/8/08 2:55:28 AM Installer[214] Notice Removing obsoleted files
10/8/08 2:55:28 AM Installer[214] Notice Creating destination path
10/8/08 2:55:28 AM Installer[214] Notice Validating package payload
10/8/08 2:55:28 AM Installer[214] Notice Starting file extraction
10/8/08 2:55:28 AM Installer[214] Notice Performing post-extraction actions
10/8/08 2:55:28 AM Installer[214] Notice Finishing receipt
10/8/08 2:55:28 AM runner[217] Notice Extracting BOM from "/Volumes/256M THUMB/mac/ATIRadeonX2000_Leopard.pkg" to "/Library/Receipts/boms/relaxbsd@gmail.com.atiradeonx2000leopard.requires.pkg.bom"
10/8/08 2:55:28 AM Installer[214] Notice Processing 1052:
10/8/08 2:55:28 AM Installer[214] Notice Determining files to install
10/8/08 2:55:28 AM Installer[214] Notice Configuring deferred files
10/8/08 2:55:28 AM Installer[214] Notice Determining obsolete files
10/8/08 2:55:29 AM Installer[214] Notice Assembling temporary receipt
10/8/08 2:55:29 AM Installer[214] Notice Performing pre-extraction actions
10/8/08 2:55:29 AM Installer[214] Notice Removing obsoleted files
10/8/08 2:55:29 AM Installer[214] Notice Creating destination path
10/8/08 2:55:29 AM Installer[214] Notice Validating package payload
10/8/08 2:55:29 AM Installer[214] Notice Starting file extraction
10/8/08 2:55:29 AM Installer[214] Notice Performing post-extraction actions
10/8/08 2:55:29 AM Installer[214] Notice Finishing receipt
10/8/08 2:55:29 AM runner[217] Notice Extracting BOM from "/Volumes/256M THUMB/mac/ATIRadeonX2000_Leopard.pkg" to "/Library/Receipts/boms/relaxbsd@gmail.com.atiradeonx2000leopard.1052.pkg.bom"
10/8/08 2:55:29 AM Installer[214] Notice Removing temporary directory "/private/tmp/ATIRadeonX2000_Leopard.pkg.214IXHY5I"
10/8/08 2:55:29 AM Installer[214] Notice Finalize disk "iATKOS"
10/8/08 2:55:29 AM Installer[214] Notice Notifying system of updated components
10/8/08 2:55:29 AM Installer[214] Notice **** Summary Information ****
10/8/08 2:55:29 AM Installer[214] Notice Operation Elapsed time
10/8/08 2:55:29 AM Installer[214] Notice -----------------------------
10/8/08 2:55:29 AM Installer[214] Notice script 0.01 seconds
10/8/08 2:55:29 AM Installer[214] Notice zero 0.02 seconds
10/8/08 2:55:29 AM Installer[214] Notice install 0.92 seconds
10/8/08 2:55:29 AM Installer[214] Notice validate 0.19 seconds
10/8/08 2:55:29 AM Installer[214] Notice os 0.00 seconds
10/8/08 2:55:29 AM Installer[214] Notice extract 0.50 seconds
10/8/08 2:55:29 AM Installer[214] Notice receipt 0.03 seconds
10/8/08 2:55:29 AM Installer[214] Notice disk 1.01 seconds
10/8/08 2:55:29 AM Installer[214] Notice config 0.19 seconds
10/8/08 2:55:29 AM Installer[214] Notice Finalizing installation.
10/8/08 2:55:29 AM Installer[214] Notice IFDInstallController 285C740 state = 5
10/8/08 2:55:29 AM Installer[214] Notice Displaying 'Install Succeeded' UI.

To solve, I'll use this guide and might get one of:

• Radeon HD 2400
• Radeon HD 2600 Pro, Radeon HD 2600 XT
• Radeon HD 2900 Pro, Radeon HD 2900 XT
• Radeon HD 3850
• Radeon HD 3870
• Radeon HD 3870x2
• Other Radeon HD 2x00/38x0 cards might work as well

Or trying these:


Visiontek Radeon HD3650 512MB DDR2 PCIE 2.0 video card. Using the software "Pacifist" to extract the files from the installer.
Kalyway 10.5.2, updated to 10.5.3 with the Kalyway 10.5.3 Combo Update with Kalyway kernels pkg.
CI & QE working excellently with all resolutions.
------------

QUOTE(filemonstertest @ May 28 2008, 05:30 AM)

It's working ! ...but not 100%

I made a clean install + 3650.pkg file found on #radeonhd.

When i plug my projector in the main DVI port, everything works fine with QE/CI, all resolutions working (up to 1920x1080)

...

Well I'm using the "ATI Radeon HD 3650.pkg" package with the Leo4All 10.5.2 ditrb. and yes if does work but only to 1080i resolution. System Preferences->Display maximum resolution is 1920 x 1080 (interlaced). See attached pic.

Is there an updated package or some hack to get the ATI 3650 to work at 1080P in Leopard? My JVC LT-37x688 LCD TV can display 1080P so that would be the preferred resolution.
------------

I just bought a Visiontek Radeon HD3650 512MB DDR2 PCIE 2.0 video card from Best Buy on sale for about $97 (normally $129) and it works very well with the installer. The only problem at first was the "white menus" issue after using installer, I solved the problem by using the software "Pacifist" to extract the files from the installer. That worked like a charm - NO MORE WHITE MENUS!

My install is Kalyway 10.5.2, updated to 10.5.3 with the Kalyway 10.5.3 Combo Update with Kalyway kernels pkg.

CI & QE working excellently with all resolutions.
----------
3650.pkg using Pacifist:
http://forum.insanelymac.com/index.php?showtopic=107526&st=200&p=822460&#entry822460
Reboot gives:

----------

Other issues:

Sharing iTunes folder across OS

HP LaserJet 1100 drivers

keyboard speed/shortcuts

multi-boot (XP, Vista, Linux, MacOS stable/new)