Hackintosh 10.5.5 Retail Rig - Starting at $305

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: scootermaster

Originally posted by: ViRGE
Another Monday, another week without 10.5.7.

Or the latest 10.5.6 thread?


I'm just more annoyed that my Hack won't backup and reinstall itself.

I'm gonna bite the bullet and do a .6 thread after my G31 shows up, no more sense in waiting. I'll do separate threads per-board on Insanely after 10.5.7 so I don't have to update the main ones!

 

[mosslack]

Originally posted by: Kaido
Whoo, G31 shows up tomorrow

As I thought, got tracking info for mine today and it should be here tomorrow. I suppose you'll have the guide all written by then?

@ Zaap: I just got a new 320 Gb 2.5" HD for my Neutrino Hack and I want to put either XP or Vista on the same drive with Leo. The CD which comes with the Neutrino only has drivers for XP and Vista x64. I think the x64 might prove a bit too much for the little Atom so I would prefer XP. But I'm kind of at a loss for how best to do it. Any advice?

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: mosslack

Originally posted by: Kaido
Whoo, G31 shows up tomorrow

As I thought, got tracking info for mine today and it should be here tomorrow. I suppose you'll have the guide all written by then?

@ Zaap: I just got a new 320 Gb 2.5" HD for my Neutrino Hack and I want to put either XP or Vista on the same drive with Leo. The CD which comes with the Neutrino only has drivers for XP and Vista x64. I think the x64 might prove a bit too much for the little Atom so I would prefer XP. But I'm kind of at a loss for how best to do it. Any advice?

Workin on it, UPS just arrived

Zaap, throw up the G31's audio stuff on MediaFire when you get a chance!

 

[Zaap]

Originally posted by: mosslack
@ Zaap: I just got a new 320 Gb 2.5" HD for my Neutrino Hack and I want to put either XP or Vista on the same drive with Leo. The CD which comes with the Neutrino only has drivers for XP and Vista x64. I think the x64 might prove a bit too much for the little Atom so I would prefer XP. But I'm kind of at a loss for how best to do it. Any advice?

The OCZ netbook looks awesome! I'm gonna have to look into getting one of those.

Once again, I wish I had the knack of documenting my own install methods like Kaido does, because I'm never very good at recounting how I've done things.

I installed OSX and XP dual boot 1 drive on my wife's laptop; XP was already installed. Then I booted the machine with a Linux LiveCD (PCLinuxOS) and used the setup tool to carve off a block of the drive as blank space. (May be a better way of doing this, but Linux Live CDs are free and easy to use). Probably you could just start with two partitions.

I then booted OSX, used the disk tool to format the blank space to MOSJ, installed OSX- rebooted, and Darwin now launches either Windows (default) or OSX. I couldn't figure out how to ever get MacOSX as the default boot, other than to have it installed on the first partition, Windows on the second. That, or modify and use the GRUB bootloader. Now, if Chameleon RC1 runs on your netbook, that should be even better.

 

[volcs0]

I just picked up a dial-core Atom 330 Foxconn from Newegg.

Foxconn R10-S4 Intel

With the (expired) coupon and 2gb RAM, the whole thing was about $150, shipped.

For what it is worth, I'm going to give it a shot with 10.5. At least based on the hardware, it should work. I googled and could not find any references for this box and hackintosh. I'm considering this a $150 experiment - otherwise it is going to get gOS.

I see that there is a PCI slot, and I'd like to hook it to our LCD TV via DVI.

From this list of PCI video cards with DVI-out, which looks the most compatible with Leopard?

PCI video cards with DVI out

This and any other advice is appreciated.

 

[Zaap]

Originally posted by: Kaido
Zaap, throw up the G31's audio stuff on MediaFire when you get a chance!

All the files are used are here.
Basically: AppleHDA Apple SMBIOS, dmos and OpenHaltRestart

 

[mosslack]

Originally posted by: Zaap

Originally posted by: mosslack
@ Zaap: I just got a new 320 Gb 2.5" HD for my Neutrino Hack and I want to put either XP or Vista on the same drive with Leo. The CD which comes with the Neutrino only has drivers for XP and Vista x64. I think the x64 might prove a bit too much for the little Atom so I would prefer XP. But I'm kind of at a loss for how best to do it. Any advice?

The OCZ netbook looks awesome! I'm gonna have to look into getting one of those.

Once again, I wish I had the knack of documenting my own install methods like Kaido does, because I'm never very good at recounting how I've done things.

I installed OSX and XP dual boot 1 drive on my wife's laptop; XP was already installed. Then I booted the machine with a Linux LiveCD (PCLinuxOS) and used the setup tool to carve off a block of the drive as blank space. (May be a better way of doing this, but Linux Live CDs are free and easy to use). Probably you could just start with two partitions.

I then booted OSX, used the disk tool to format the blank space to MOSJ, installed OSX- rebooted, and Darwin now launches either Windows (default) or OSX. I couldn't figure out how to ever get MacOSX as the default boot, other than to modify and use the GRUB bootloader. Now, if Chameleon RC1 runs on your netbook, that should be even better.

I used my USB HD dock to pre-partition the HD into 2-120 Gb spaces for each OS and a 60 Gb data partition. Put it in the netbook and attempted to install XP Pro on it. Got an error message that a file was missing. Never got that error before using this install CD but I just got it again, the file is hal.dll. Guess I'm gonna have to find an x32 version of Vista as the x64 version won't install either, even though they provide drivers on the CD which came with the Neutrino. Thanks for your help. I'm sure I can get x32 and Leo to boot okay as that is what I did with the MSI Wind PC using EasyBCD. BTW, Chameleon RC1 runs fine on this system. I have it on the 120 Gb I initially used to install Leopard. OS X would be perfect on this little gem if we can get the power management problems straightened out. It currently won't run under battery power in OS X.

 

[Zaap]

Does that netbook have an SSD or a normal hard drive?

I've seen that missing hal.dll (hardware abstraction layer) on Windows XP machiens with AHCI or other 'exotic' types of hard drive controllers. It's generally not that the hal.dll file itself is actually missing, but that Windows doesn't have a driver to boot it's own hard drive. Basically, the Windows equivalent of OSX's "waiting for root device"- error that I'm sure many a Hackintosher has seen.

And as I'm sure you know, XP has huge problems with AHCI and you have to jump through hoops to get it to work with AHCI- it's probably choking on the drive controller's SATA mode that's too new for XP.

The only thing I can recommend to try is either check the settings in the BIOS for the drive controller, or see if there are drive controller drivers you can load at the F6 prompt.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: Zaap
Once again, I wish I had the knack of documenting my own install methods like Kaido does, because I'm never very good at recounting how I've done things.

Gimme a break, I've released so many updates and notes that I've given myself self-induced Alzheimers - I can't remember past a week ago when it comes to package releases! :laugh:

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: Zaap

Originally posted by: Kaido
Zaap, throw up the G31's audio stuff on MediaFire when you get a chance!

All the files are used are here.
Basically: AppleHDA Apple SMBIOS, dmos and OpenHaltRestart

Oh right, this used the HDA kext, thanks! Just finished hardware assembly, time for install!

 

[mosslack]

Originally posted by: Zaap
Does that netbook have an SSD or a normal hard drive?

I've seen that missing hal.dll (hardware abstraction layer) on Windows XP machiens with AHCI or other 'exotic' types of hard drive controllers. It's generally not that the hal.dll file itself is actually missing, but that Windows doesn't have a driver to boot it's own hard drive. Basically, the Windows equivalent of OSX's "waiting for root device"- error that I'm sure many a Hackintosher has seen.

And as I'm sure you know, XP has huge problems with AHCI and you have to jump through hoops to get it to work with AHCI- it's probably choking on the drive controller's SATA mode that's too new for XP.

The only thing I can recommend to try is either check the settings in the BIOS for the drive controller, or see if there are drive controller drivers you can load at the F6 prompt.

Yeah I figured it was a SATA thing with XP. I'm using a normal SATA HD, but the SSD is an option. I checked the bios extensively prior to booting either OS and there isn't really much control there. Boot order and that type of thing, but not a lot else. There have not been any updates for the BIOS on this computer since it was introduced and we are hoping someone will either mod this one or introduce one which allows battery operation under OS X. I've got Vista x32 installed now, might have to break down and buy a license for it, heaven forbid! :shocked:

 

[Kerrick]

So, if I want to use the Boot 132 package you've provided, I should make sure to buy an older version of Leopard, rather than 10.5.6? Or will this all work fine with .6?

BTW, thanks for this great guide!

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: Kerrick
So, if I want to use the Boot 132 package you've provided, I should make sure to buy an older version of Leopard, rather than 10.5.6? Or will this all work fine with .6?

BTW, thanks for this great guide!

Any Retail Leopard DVD will work - 10.5.0, 10.5.1, 10.5.4, and 10.5.6 I believe are what's been released so far. If you have any older version, all you have to do is install the combo update, easy.

Will be posting guides/kits for 10.5.6 on Saturday

 

[mosslack]

Originally posted by: volcs0
I just picked up a dial-core Atom 330 Foxconn from Newegg.

Foxconn R10-S4 Intel

With the (expired) coupon and 2gb RAM, the whole thing was about $150, shipped.

For what it is worth, I'm going to give it a shot with 10.5. At least based on the hardware, it should work. I googled and could not find any references for this box and hackintosh. I'm considering this a $150 experiment - otherwise it is going to get gOS.

I see that there is a PCI slot, and I'd like to hook it to our LCD TV via DVI.

From this list of PCI video cards with DVI-out, which looks the most compatible with Leopard?

PCI video cards with DVI out

This and any other advice is appreciated.

The most compatible one I saw was the SPARKLE SFPC84GS256U2LP GeForce 8400 GS 256MB 64-bit GDDR2 PCI HDCP Ready Video Card. I have a Gigabyte 8400 GS 256 Mb in UD3P and it works great. As for the Foxconn computer itself, this looks very similar to the MSI Wind barebone PC with the exception of the Atom only being the single core 1.6 in the Wind. IIRC the install is pretty straight forward, boot 132, retail Leo, etc. I believe I used Kaido's Atom kit for this one. Let us know how it turns out. HTH

 

[Kaido]

Okay so, bit of a dilemma with future upgrades as far as audio goes. First, apparently AppleHDA.kext doesn't work in an Mkext, which I didn't know before since I use USB audio. Second, bundling AppleHDA in an Mkext in 10.5.7 causes Kernel Panics due to a tweaked audio structure. Third, to really get it to work, you need to edit the entries in the info.plist.

Bleh.

I dunno - the G31M-ES2L only has analog audio, so really you should just be getting that $7.99 USB audio stick. I don't want to rule onboard audio out, but it's getting a bit complicated to keep updating with each new release - the HDA stuff has worked well up to .6, but .7 seems to make things funky. Then again, the devs have said that in the past, so I guess we'll wait and see. In the ES2L package for 10.5.6 I'm working on, I'm putting the AppleHDA kext in SLE so that it loads properly. We'll see how it goes when .7 comes!

 

[Zaap]

Originally posted by: volcs0
I see that there is a PCI slot, and I'd like to hook it to our LCD TV via DVI.

From this list of PCI video cards with DVI-out, which looks the most compatible with Leopard?

PCI video cards with DVI out

This and any other advice is appreciated.

Beware: that looks a low-profile case. So you also need to limit your search for a PCI card that's low-profile ready as well as OSX-compatible.

Some of those cards that might* work (IE: 8400 or 9400) look low-profile ready (IE: they have the VGA connector on a ribbon attachment, and you can remove the full-sized PCI slot bracket), but they don't come with the LP bracket(s). You can buy a LP bracket kit though.

A card like this 9400GT is half-height ready, and comes with the extra brackets for the DVI and VGA connectors. Obviously you'd need to drop the VGA connector since there's only one slot.


*I say might because I have no experience with OSX and PCI graphic cards, even when the same type of card definitely works with PCIe.

 

[Kaido]

Whoo baby, streaming high-bitrate 1080p from my NAS to my new tiny Media Center!

 

[Kaido]

Update: G31M-ES2L can wake from sleep via USB keyboard/mouse :thumbsup:

 

[Kaido]

Here's your chance to get a cheap Hackintosh - Open Box G31M-ES2L mATX for $35.99:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...?Item=N82E16813128357R

 

[cgates]

what case and video card (on board or a card) are you using? What about the audio, are you using the onboard audio or usb? How about networking, lan card or onboard? I'm ready to pull the trigger... exciting stuff!

 

[Kerrick]

Originally posted by: Kaido
Here's your chance to get a cheap Hackintosh - Open Box G31M-ES2L mATX for $35.99:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...?Item=N82E16813128357R

I can't decide to get an open box and try to find an IO faceplate and buy some cables, or get a new one on eBay... $35.99 Open Box vs fluctuations between $50-$100 on eBay.

EDIT: That's not the P35... I haven't read all 100+ pages of this thread, does this one work 100% like the P35 would?

 

[Zaap]

Originally posted by: Kerrick
I can't decide to get an open box and try to find an IO faceplate and buy some cables, or get a new one on eBay... $35.99 Open Box vs fluctuations between $50-$100 on eBay.

EDIT: That's not the P35... I haven't read all 100+ pages of this thread, does this one work 100% like the P35 would?

I hate open box critical components. I recently built 8 mini-PCs for a small business. Of 8 brand new Asus P5K boards, two had bad BIOSes and weren't stable with the Q8300 processors- flashing didn't do squat. So back they went, newegg sent me two more- those worked fine. The two I sent back: a couple of chumps will get a nasty surprise when they 'reopen' the box. So I tend to think of open-box as "take a chance on getting someone else's headache." Newegg doesn't test open-box returns- they let the customers do that. It's like tech-Russian roulette. Just give that chamber a good spin before pulling the trigger!

Anyway, the G31M-ES2L is a great board for Hackintosh- but remember, it's a microATX board. It's great for low price, and small form factor to fit mATX cases, like for an HTPC. But if you want full-sized ATX benefits: better performance, more RAM, more slots, more ports- then the P35 is a better choice, and the P45 is better still.


(By the way, I'm posting from Windows 7 Ultimate x64 RC running on an EP35-DS3L based machine- not too bad! It's like XP speed, with Vista-esqe 'eye-candy'. )

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: Zaap

Originally posted by: Kaido
Zaap, throw up the G31's audio stuff on MediaFire when you get a chance!

All the files are used are here.
Basically: AppleHDA Apple SMBIOS, dmos and OpenHaltRestart

Couldn't get audio working with AppleHDA, not in SLE or in the Mkext in /Extras. Does it need any additional patch or something?

 

[imported_jonnyc]

Have any of you installed windows (un-virtualized) ?

I was thinking i should use bootcamp, and then I realized installing a os x on a system that isn't made to accept it and then using it to install windows which the system is made for must be the most convoluted way to install on OS.

Is there a simple way that'll ensure i don't lose my beloved os x install ?

I would guess i could put the windows 7 disc in, and just boot and install from it ?

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: jonnyc
Have any of you installed windows (un-virtualized) ?

I was thinking i should use bootcamp, and then I realized installing a os x on a system that isn't made to accept it and then using it to install windows which the system is made for must be the most convoluted way to install on OS.

Is there a simple way that'll ensure i don't lose my beloved os x install ?

I would guess i could put the windows 7 disc in, and just boot and install from it ?

Sure, easiest way is to use 2 drives. Honestly unless you enjoy tinkering, I don't recommend dual-booting from a single drive with 2 partitions - just use two separate hard drives. Gigabyte's BIOS has a simple boot selector, just hit F12 at Post, select Hard Disk, then choose which drive you want to boot from - it will activate that drive's bootloader and boot into your OS from there.