Hackintosh 10.5.5 Retail Rig - Starting at $305

[scootermaster]

For anyone who wants to try it, there is now a Snow Leopard install guide with links to install files for the GA-P35-DS3L V2 located here:

http://groups.google.com/group/hq-a/web/install-guide-gigabyte-ga-p35-ds3l-usb-10-6-x

As always I would appreciate any feedback concerning issues found as a result of using this guide. Thanks!

When I get my system backed up, I'm going to try this. I "only" have two drives right now -- my main 10.5.8 drive, and a drive with Win7 -- so I either need to buy a third drive for backup, somehow burn my data files to DVD, or repartition the Win7 drive so I can use some space on it to transfer my data files so I can wipe my 10.5.8 drive. Or, I guess, vice versa would work.

Would it work if I install 10.6.0 on the Win7 drive? If I format it from my 10.5.8 drive, that should work just fine, and the install I have won't touch the data I have on my 10.5.8 drive, right? (All dual boot installs should require three hard drives: a OSX, a Windows and a "transfer". Single installs should require two. ).

Last question: I know you don't use sleep, but what's the status of the install with regards to, well, everything?

- Onboard audio?
- Onboard networking?
- Auto-sleep (timeout)?
- Sleep button/select sleep?
- Wake from sleep?
- Password on screensaver wake? (this is a pretty big bug in Leopard)
- 8x00 Nvidia mouse lag? (I have a 8600gt so this is an issue for me)
- Do you have a Samsung DVD drive? There might be issues with the drive seeking for no reason (which might kill autosleep). I want to tinker with this one when I get my system in a tinker-able spot (i.e. it's not the one I'm using every day and my data is safely packed away someplace).

I'd actually love to really get my hands dirty with this...I have the technical know-how to help...I just don't have a spare system to use that isn't filled with gigabytes of data and that I don't rely on daily. If Apple would release new MBPs, I'd buy one, and then use that as my workhorse, and I'd be free to use my hack for the powers of good, not evil (i.e. fun, not work).

Anyway, thanks for all the hard work, and hopefully i'll be able to contribute myself soon!

 

[mosslack]

As for using the Win7 drive, this would work, but you would have to repartition as GPT for SL and I don't know how you would do that without having to reinstall Win7. Then you run into the whole dual boot on a single drive problem. Best to back up your 10.5.8 install to an external USB hard drive as that would be the ideal solution.

BTW, you can install SL on the current 10.5.8 install, I did the first time and it worked, but I didn't have the update to 10.6.2 worked out then so when I performed the update I lost it. I could have gotten it back as I had it backed up, but decided to try a clean install instead. DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK AS I CANNOT PROMISE IT WILL WORK!

Sound works, but it pops every now and then. Still working on a solution.
Networking works
Auto-sleep (Haven't tried)
Same with the next 2 sleep related items
Never use a password on the screensaver either
The DSDT for this install was from a system with an 8600gt IIRC. I can just tell you that it worked well for me, QE/CI etc. all working AFAIK.
No, mine is an LG

As you can see by now, I'm not Kaido, I kind of believe the fun is in hammering out any install issues on the forum. I like to get a basic installer up and running and then go from there. This has proven to be a good way to do it for the projects I have been a part of and I hope it works well here also. I will be most happy to correct any problems with the install procedure if/when they are found. So let the games begin!

 

[scootermaster]

As for using the Win7 drive, this would work, but you would have to repartition as GPT for SL and I don't know how you would do that without having to reinstall Win7. Then you run into the whole dual boot on a single drive problem. Best to back up your 10.5.8 install to an external USB hard drive as that would be the ideal solution.

BTW, you can install SL on the current 10.5.8 install, I did the first time and it worked, but I didn't have the update to 10.6.2 worked out then so when I performed the update I lost it. I could have gotten it back as I had it backed up, but decided to try a clean install instead. DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK AS I CANNOT PROMISE IT WILL WORK!

Sound works, but it pops every now and then. Still working on a solution.
Networking works
Auto-sleep (Haven't tried)
Same with the next 2 sleep related items
Never use a password on the screensaver either
The DSDT for this install was from a system with an 8600gt IIRC. I can just tell you that it worked well for me, QE/CI etc. all working AFAIK.
No, mine is an LG

As you can see by now, I'm not Kaido, I kind of believe the fun is in hammering out any install issues on the forum. I like to get a basic installer up and running and then go from there. This has proven to be a good way to do it for the projects I have been a part of and I hope it works well here also. I will be most happy to correct any problems with the install procedure if/when they are found. So let the games begin!

Thanks for the response. I didn't mean to imply I was going to try and dual-boot on the Win7 drive. I don't need to do that. I meant, I could move whatever data I had from the Win7 drive to my 10.5.8 drive, and then use the Win7 drive as my SL install drive. That should work, and the install[er] won't touch my 10.5.8 drive (which has all my data, right?) When I installed Win7, I actually unplugged my 10.5.8 drive, just to make sure it it didn't install something weird on the drive or otherwise bork my install (or more catastrophically, my data).

But your right, if I am going to dual-boot, I really do need to get another drive.

Interesting. I have a Miglia FW audio, so perhaps I wouldn't get the popping issue. Do you know if the audio issue is specific to the DS3L board/chipset, or is a SL issue or...?

And you probably save yourself a lot of hassle just by ignoring sleep. I would too, except I feel bad leaving my computer on all the time if it doesn't need to be (both for my utility bills and for the environment. Just seems like a waste).

 

[mosslack]

Okay, yeah that should work just fine. You will need to setup the SL drive as your boot drive in BIOS so that the proper bootloader is used unless your 10.5.8 drive boots using PC EFI 10.5.

The fw audio should work fine. I'm not sure what the issue is yet as I have not investigated, but KeypoX said there is a fix, but it causes more problems than it is worth.

As for sleep, I did do a simple test of selecting Sleep from the Apple menu and the system went dark, I thought it had shut down completely. So I hit the space bar and it came back to life. Next I tried setting the sleep for 3 minutes and display for 1 minute. The display went dark, but it never did go to sleep that I could tell. I also tried another test again selecting Sleep from the Apple menu. This time I left it like that for a much longer time and moving the mouse brought it back to life instantly, with a long tone from the computer's internal speaker.

EDIT: A couple of things I just discovered, bonjour was not working as no R1000 kext was loaded. I have now included this with the install files and changed the guide to reflect this. Also the system comes up in 64 bit mode by default and if you would rather use the 32 bit mode you will need to edit your com.boot.Apple.plist file located in the /Extra folder yourself. Just add these lines to the file:

<key>Kernel Flags</key>
<string>arch=i386</string>

If you already installed your system and need to add the R1000.kext, you can find it here, along with a nice installer.

http://pcwizcomputer.com/weaksauce12/2009/11/03/finally-64-bit-r1000-kext-for-snow-released/

 

[KeypoX]

For anyone who wants to try it, there is now a Snow Leopard install guide with links to install files for the GA-P35-DS3L V2 located here:

http://groups.google.com/group/hq-a/web/install-guide-gigabyte-ga-p35-ds3l-usb-10-6-x

As always I would appreciate any feedback concerning issues found as a result of using this guide. Thanks!

Nice simple installer. Did you make it?

 

[scootermaster]

Posting this from my 10.6.2 install.

Some things:

1). I have no drives. Or, rather, I'm sure I do, seeing as I'm, y'know, posting from my 10.6.2 install. But they don't show up on the desktop. That's mildly disconcerting. Any ideas?

2). Auto-sleep doesn't seem to work. I'm going to experiment more.

3). The password-on-screensave DOES work. Thankfully.

4). So far, no mouse lag, but that comes and goes, so we'll see.

5). I'm guessing this is a DSDT thing, but it thinks I have a 512meg 8600 GT, which I don't have (I have 256meg). Also, it thinks I have a 2.67 iMac. I have a 2.53 e7200. Any idea how to fix these?

6). The sleep button on my keyboard doesn't seem to work under SL. Not sure what's up with that (if it's a settings thing or not). Actually, I just checked, and the "sleep" button, actually just activates the shutdown/restart/sleep/cancel dialog. So perhaps that's a setting/configuration someplace.

7). Sleep seems to be a lighter level than 10.5.8. Under leopard, it'd go to sleep where the main power light was off, and it'd take a second to boot up. Under SL, it sleeps with the power light on, and comes right awake. Not sure that's a good thing.

So far, so good. I'll letcha know how it goes.

 

[KeypoX]

for auto sleep http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=182535&st=0

 

[scootermaster]

Random question: I just updated to F9 bios on my DS3L, and I feel like the fan is louder. I was using F7 before, which, best as I can tell, worked fine. Not sure what F9 adds (just that Mosslack mentioned the installer was for F9 Bios). I checked the settings and Fan speed is still on auto, so I don't think it's a settings thing.

Anyone else notice this? Or is "noise" one of those things like "power consumption" that only I care about?

 

[KeypoX]

I still use F7. F9 boots much faster though, I didnt notice fan noise.

 

[scootermaster]

I still use F7. F9 boots much faster though, I didnt notice fan noise.

I saw something that for the EP35 (EP45?) that the newer (this was F11, I think) Bios had a better AHCI or something, so it'd boot faster. I don't think F9 for this particular board (P35) is faster. But I guess I can check that. It's possible the noise is my imagination, but I don't think so.

Oh, and if F9 boots faster, any reason you didn't switch?

 

[mosslack]

Nice simple installer. Did you make it?

I just adapted Stella's UD3P installer with the necessary kext and such. So far I've used it for my own UD3P version, the HP Mini 311, the Asus 1201N and now the DS3L. Very easy to mod one of these, if I can do it anyone can!

 

[mosslack]

Posting this from my 10.6.2 install.

Some things:

1). I have no drives. Or, rather, I'm sure I do, seeing as I'm, y'know, posting from my 10.6.2 install. But they don't show up on the desktop. That's mildly disconcerting. Any ideas?

2). Auto-sleep doesn't seem to work. I'm going to experiment more.

3). The password-on-screensave DOES work. Thankfully.

4). So far, no mouse lag, but that comes and goes, so we'll see.

5). I'm guessing this is a DSDT thing, but it thinks I have a 512meg 8600 GT, which I don't have (I have 256meg). Also, it thinks I have a 2.67 iMac. I have a 2.53 e7200. Any idea how to fix these?

6). The sleep button on my keyboard doesn't seem to work under SL. Not sure what's up with that (if it's a settings thing or not). Actually, I just checked, and the "sleep" button, actually just activates the shutdown/restart/sleep/cancel dialog. So perhaps that's a setting/configuration someplace.

7). Sleep seems to be a lighter level than 10.5.8. Under leopard, it'd go to sleep where the main power light was off, and it'd take a second to boot up. Under SL, it sleeps with the power light on, and comes right awake. Not sure that's a good thing.

So far, so good. I'll letcha know how it goes.

1. Go to Finder pref (right click Finder on menu bar), tick the check box for hard drives

5. Right, DSDT thing on both counts. I didn't take time to do my own and this one works so...

6. ???

7, As I mentioned, mine went completely off, just as though it had been shut off. I honestly don't understand why you guys chase the elusive perfect sleep. It's a myth. Just accept it and move on with your life!

 

[mosslack]

Random question: I just updated to F9 bios on my DS3L, and I feel like the fan is louder. I was using F7 before, which, best as I can tell, worked fine. Not sure what F9 adds (just that Mosslack mentioned the installer was for F9 Bios). I checked the settings and Fan speed is still on auto, so I don't think it's a settings thing.

Anyone else notice this? Or is "noise" one of those things like "power consumption" that only I care about?

I have a total of 6 fans on my DS3L, which one are you talking about? Seriously, I didn't notice any difference, but I've been on F9 since it came out. I have mine set to stay on in BIOS b/c if it shuts off it causes my system speaker to beep.

 

[scootermaster]

1. Go to Finder pref (right click Finder on menu bar), tick the check box for hard drives

5. Right, DSDT thing on both counts. I didn't take time to do my own and this one works so...

6. ???

7, As I mentioned, mine went completely off, just as though it had been shut off. I honestly don't understand why you guys chase the elusive perfect sleep. It's a myth. Just accept it and move on with your life!

1. Derrrr. This is what I get for being a Mac user.

5. Fair enough. I know Kaido did some "auto-detect" work here. I'm not so worried about cosmetics (I'm not really all that anal) I'm just worried that the graphics card mismatch will cause KPs in the future (or now, for that matter).

6. My logitech Dinovo keyboard (unfortunately, not Mac style, so I can't get it to pair via BT) has a "sleep" button that on 10.5.8 activates the shutdown/sleep dialog. It's a little nicer than having to use the mouse when I quickly want to sleep the computer if I'm leaving, for example. Doesn't seem to do anything in SL.

7. I don't need "perfect" sleep. Best case scenario is that auto-sleep works and it'll just timeout after awhile, and go to a suspend to ram (i.e. "off") state. Next best -- what I have now with 10.5.8 -- is that I can put it in that state automatically. But like I said, it's not really a computing issue; it's a money and environmental issue. I feel bad wasting the money on my energy bill -- and wasting resources -- on a computer I know I'm not going to use for hours on end.

 

[mosslack]

On #6 I would say the key just needs to be redefined perhaps. I use a Kensington KB with both Mac and Windows keys and I love it. It also has programmable keys which I have not even had the slightest desire to program.

As for the sleep issue, I suppose use determines how one would think/feel about it. For me, I work a traditional day job and when I come home in the evening I turn on the computer and remain there until bedtime. I then shut down the system and it stays off until I get home the next evening, etc. On the weekends, if I'm home, I'm on the computer, if not then it's off. Pretty simple actually. For those rare times I need the system on overnight for some reason, I turn off the monitors and speakers from my power center and leave it going to do it's dirty work on it's own.

 

[KeypoX]

I saw something that for the EP35 (EP45?) that the newer (this was F11, I think) Bios had a better AHCI or something, so it'd boot faster. I don't think F9 for this particular board (P35) is faster. But I guess I can check that. It's possible the noise is my imagination, but I don't think so.

Oh, and if F9 boots faster, any reason you didn't switch?

I was having some issues and trying to narrow it down. Dont think F9 was any problem, but just never put it back. I think it wasnt as good as overclocking though.

I always want to tinker, even know im pretty stable now. I do get the occasional KP gray screen crash. But its not very often. But there is so much happening now, we are closer and closer to pure vanilla install. Only 4 kexts required right now for our board with all the dsdt edits. Though im using 6 still. And some stuff being taken out of the DSDT and done with chameleon. RC5 comes out soon and I will try some changes then.

 

[KeypoX]

1. Derrrr. This is what I get for being a Mac user.

5. Fair enough. I know Kaido did some "auto-detect" work here. I'm not so worried about cosmetics (I'm not really all that anal) I'm just worried that the graphics card mismatch will cause KPs in the future (or now, for that matter).

Yeah the autodetect is through chameleon, set graphics enabler to yes in com.apple.boot.plist. Gotta take out the video in the dsdt first. You really need two ways to boot, IE your cham parition for stable main booting. And a usb drive with chameleon for changes to stuff, dsdt, com.apple.boot.plist, kexts etc.

Once RC5 comes out i will take video out of my dsdt. So much has happen from RC4 ---> RC5 that i just wanna wait till its out to make all the changes.

 

[scootermaster]

So, I run off to the gym (mosslack, here's an example where I'm going to be gone for 2+ hours, and I figure there's no need for it to be on, but it'd be nice if the system was ready quicker than a full shutdown) and when I come back, I'm excited. Why? Because my power light is off. The thing idled itself to sleep.

Except, when I woke it up -- via the mouse, which tells me it wasn't a particularly deep sleep, and it sprang right back to life -- and tried to log in, every keystroke typed double.

Um, wha?!

So that made me sad. I'm going to try and debug it more. I'm really tired of either BT on Hacks or Logitech on hacks. It's totally random. My MX1000 (the mouse that came with the desktop) works fine with my D-link DBT-120 (rev 4, the king of Hack BT dongles). It'll pair as bluetooth with that. It'll pair as bluetooth with the Logitech dongle in BT mode. It'll work with the LT dongle in RF mode. The keyboard will work in RF mode. But it'll only connect, not pair with either in BT mode. It shows up in the BT devices list for a split second, then nothing.

So, it works in RF mode -- which is nice, since it's possible that BT mode wouldn't work for Bios setup and Chameleon, etc -- but no go in BT mode. I'm not sure if that's what was causing the issues with the wake from sleep, but that's certainly not going to fly. I just spent the last hour getting the keyboard to work with ANYTHING. (Don't even get me started on those nutty LT dongles).

Anyway, I feel like I'm getting closer. Right now, I'm back to my 10.5.8 install, but hopefully I'll get the kinks out of my 10.6.2 install.

As a general rule, I thought DSDT was preferable to kexts, no? Does it matter?

Edit: Well, spoke too soon. I went back into SL and it booted right up. To a password screen. But not, like, a user login screen. Like, a "you just came back from a screen saver" login screen. Which is cute, since a). I have it set to auto-login, and b). I just booted up. And lo and behold, that whole "every key does double" thing happened again. Which makes it hard to do things like, you know, login.

So this install is borked and I'm going to try again. The weird thing is, I did log in to this install a couple of times. The only thing [I think] I changed was unplugging my Samsung (TSST) drive to see if it was causing autosleep to fail. So I'll try tinkering a little bit more and then I'll start over.

Am I the first to say that Hackintoshing is a bit like messing with Windows 3.1?

Further Edit: Los Angeles (AP). A Los Angeles man, known online as "Scootermaster" was found dead in his apartment early Tuesday morning, from an apparent suicide. Police investigators say Scootermaster was so frustrated with his hackintosh, he took an overdose of kexts and had a kernel panic.

No really....idle sleep works now, apparently, on my 10.5.8 install. Of course it does.

I think I'm going to go back to a Dos 6.22/Windows for Workgroups setup. It's simpler.

 

[mohkahn]

contest seems more and more enticing to register for. and enjoyed the video and the song on youtube.

""I just adapted Stella's UD3P installer with the necessary kext and such. So far I've used it for my own UD3P version, the HP Mini 311, the Asus 1201N and now the DS3L. Very easy to mod one of these, if I can do it anyone can!""

can't wait to read more detailed guide about putting SL on DS3L from you.I know it''s just a matter of putting few kexts, but noobs are noobs or noobs are lazy?

thanks for giving me mediafire link to kaido's ds3l kits, there are quite a 3 kits with the same name so I just got the latest one. hope it is the correct one..

I also downloaded your kit from HQ and will give SL a try first and let u know how it goes. count me for beta testing.

 

[jalaram]

GIGABYTE GA-G31M-ES2L - $48

Is this one of the easily hackintoshable boards?

Edit: Found it

Only boards covered here are GA-P35-DS3L, GA-EP45-UD3P and GA-G31M-ES2L

 

[mosslack]

So, I run off to the gym (mosslack, here's an example where I'm going to be gone for 2+ hours, and I figure there's no need for it to be on, but it'd be nice if the system was ready quicker than a full shutdown) and when I come back, I'm excited. Why? Because my power light is off. The thing idled itself to sleep.

<CUT, CUT, CUT>

First off, what's a gym? Oh wait, seems I do vaguely remember those from high school. Do they still have those? I was in high school over 40 years ago, so you will pardon me if I can't remember much about them.

Okay so you have your reasons and I have mine and you are complaining to me that it doesn't work, right? The 40 years ago reference should give you an indication of my age (I'm 58 if you are using new math and can't figure it out), but anyhoo, suffice to say that I've seen my share of sleep problems. And they all have the same thing it common, it doesn't work right. You guys are most welcome to debug this until the cows come home, but you can count me out. If you discover a magic potion that will solve all the problems I will be happy to include it in the next version of my installer.

As for BT, I have 3 of the IOGear mini dongles which work very well for me. I have a Rocketfish mouse and KB which have performed adequately. I have not tried either yet with the DS3L, but will do so and report back.

DSDT is preferred, but it's not a replacement for everything, kext are still required to get job done for certain items. Basically if the DSDT will do the job it would be better than using a EFI string for the same thing.

By all means, do try again and let us know how it goes. If you locate a problem with the installer or perceived problem, let me know so I can attempt to fix it. The double keystroke thing is a new one on me, but I have seen many problem arise as a result of sleep and/or lack of it.

Oh come now, comparing all this fun to Windoze, I don't believe that for a minute. You'll get a kick out of this, my local friend just bought this on Ebay:

http://tinyurl.com/yzz2p9c

You saw that right, he is paying $83 total to have this thing delivered to him. We had a discussion last night about whether or not it will run Windows 3.1.

Keep on hackin' and keep us posted!

 

[scootermaster]

First off, what's a gym? Oh wait, seems I do vaguely remember those from high school. Do they still have those? I was in high school over 40 years ago, so you will pardon me if I can't remember much about them.

Okay so you have your reasons and I have mine and you are complaining to me that it doesn't work, right? The 40 years ago reference should give you an indication of my age (I'm 58 if you are using new math and can't figure it out), but anyhoo, suffice to say that I've seen my share of sleep problems. And they all have the same thing it common, it doesn't work right. You guys are most welcome to debug this until the cows come home, but you can count me out. If you discover a magic potion that will solve all the problems I will be happy to include it in the next version of my installer.

As for BT, I have 3 of the IOGear mini dongles which work very well for me. I have a Rocketfish mouse and KB which have performed adequately. I have not tried either yet with the DS3L, but will do so and report back.

DSDT is preferred, but it's not a replacement for everything, kext are still required to get job done for certain items. Basically if the DSDT will do the job it would be better than using a EFI string for the same thing.

By all means, do try again and let us know how it goes. If you locate a problem with the installer or perceived problem, let me know so I can attempt to fix it. The double keystroke thing is a new one on me, but I have seen many problem arise as a result of sleep and/or lack of it.

Oh come now, comparing all this fun to Windoze, I don't believe that for a minute. You'll get a kick out of this, my local friend just bought this on Ebay:

http://tinyurl.com/yzz2p9c

You saw that right, he is paying $83 total to have this thing delivered to him. We had a discussion last night about whether or not it will run Windows 3.1.

Keep on hackin' and keep us posted!

So the double-keyboard thing might have more to do with my actual keyboard. When I'm done playing this poker tourney, I'll reboot with a different keyboard (Ps2, although it inexplicably works in my 10.5.8 setup). See if that works. It might be a sleep thing, but I doubt it.

What I'm more concerned about is the mismatches in graphics cards and processor and whatnot. Do I need to learn the ins and outs of DSDT hacking to remedy that? Is there a "depot" where I might find the appropriate info for an e7200 and an 256 meg EVGA 8600 GT? Or even my memory, for that matter (Corsair XMS2, although there's no manufacturer currently listed in my 10.5.8 install).

I'm not sure if I should try some of the other "guides" out there (that look a little more complex) or tinker with this one or what. I'd really like to learn the ins and outs of this stuff, but I'm not exactly sure how or where to start. And, of course, I'd like a working system. =]

 

[mosslack]

No idea about the KB as mine works just fine. Maybe someone else?

The mismatch you speak of is really not all that important and in fact that part of the DSDT can be completely eliminated what with PC EFI detecting the proper values. Does it not work correctly? QE/CI?

As for other guides, the one which KeypoX spoke of sounds like a good one and perhaps you should give that one a whirl. Just google DS3L Snow Leopard and you should come up with several. HTH

 

[scootermaster]

No idea about the KB as mine works just fine. Maybe someone else?

The mismatch you speak of is really not all that important and in fact that part of the DSDT can be completely eliminated what with PC EFI detecting the proper values. Does it not work correctly? QE/CI?

As for other guides, the one which KeypoX spoke of sounds like a good one and perhaps you should give that one a whirl. Just google DS3L Snow Leopard and you should come up with several. HTH

Yeah, that install is totally kaput. I'm not sure what exactly happened, but I'm going to start from scratch and tinker.

As for the guides, I didn't mean to imply yours wasn't good. It's actually quite fabulous! I'd have the same/similar problems with any of them. I've seen a couple on insanelymac (I've been googling "ds3l hackintosh snow leopard" since SL came out) and they'd likely have the same issues: different graphics cards, different processors, various sleep issues, etc.

So installing SL is completely a breeze with your guide. If a moron like me can do it, anyone can. It's just a matter of tinkering, perfecting and getting a working and stable system for my hardware (which I think really only has two peccadillos: 1). the wireless/BT keyboard set and 2). my TSST DVD drive that may or may not mess up autosleep). The rest I think is pretty standard.

I'm just wondering if it's better to try and get a "perfect" install first, or if you can make changes from a working install. But I'm going to start from scratch and see where that takes me. =]

Thanks for all your help!

 

[scootermaster]

I have a total of 6 fans on my DS3L, which one are you talking about? Seriously, I didn't notice any difference, but I've been on F9 since it came out. I have mine set to stay on in BIOS b/c if it shuts off it causes my system speaker to beep.

I didn't notice this the first time, but if you're like me, you had a bad -- and stupid, on gigabyte's end -- combination of "auto fan control" and "sound on fan failure". What that did for me is that when the computer was coming up cold (both figuratively and literally) then there would be no need for the fan. So it wouldn't spin. But the BIOS, ever the vigilant one, would say "THERE IS NO CPU FAN GOING YOUR SYSTEM IS GOING TO DIE ARRRRGGGFJGKFJGKFJGKFDJGDF" and beep the hell out of the speaker.

Before I just said eff it and turned it off, sometimes (depending on how cold it was in my room) I'd have to fire up VMware or try and do some other stuff to get the system to start chugging along. But like I said, I just turned off the speaker alarm, figuring I can turn it back on in summer or something if that really makes a difference, and figuring I still have all the temperature threshold alarms set, so if it does get too hot the system will let me know. (Not to mention after awhile I'd probably notice no CPU fan, since the rest of my system is very, very quiet).

Anyway, I don't know if that's your situation, but I thought I'd mention it.