Build a Perfect Mac for less than $250

[frank754]

No, N7, I tried that before when I didn't know better, and it hosed my system. But I made a lot of progress in the past day or so, so I can post what I did:

 

Don't install any updates from Apple, perhaps Java or anything relating to *only* 3rd party stuff may be OK, but no components written by Apple or system upgrades online from the toolbar. I'm waiting on someone to confirm that Java, etc. is ok.

In fact Java is the only thing I see that may not be from Apple on the list, but I don't think even that is worth the gamble.

 

If you got Kalyway 10.5.2 working fine, that's step one. Next step is to get 2 more updates on CD. Go to the "Inlet of Pillagers" site (synonym of that) and get the 10.5.3 combo update, burn it to CD as a data disk and run the two pkg files. First the update, then "do not reboot" but start the kernel pkg one with the other one still open and asking for reboot (but not doing it). You do not need to select a kernel, just leave the 2 checkboxes blank, this will go quick but it does do something like remove a conflicting package that will hinder you if you skip this part.

Then reboot, and it will do it twice in succession, stopping it right away both times so you get to the options prompt, and type in:

update -v

both times.

 

Then you will have 10.5.3 (but with the original kernel and that doesn't matter, and I used the Vanilla one originally). When I installed it originally I also was sure to add the "third party apps" like kexthelper and Pacifist. As mentioned, after getting to 10.5.3 I did have a hotplug USB problem. I figured out what worked, heres what I posted on that thread in a different part of this forum:

 

I had the same (USB) problem when I upgraded my Intel Atom mobo box from Kalyway 10.5.2 using the Kalyway combo upgrade 10.5.3

Previously (on 10.5.2) the USB 2.0 devices were working fine, for example a USB flash drive and a USB card reader were detected as hotplug devices and icons would appear on the screen under the hard drive icons after several seconds.

Then after the combo upgrade they stopped working and I got this error during a verbose boot in yellow:

Failed to load extension com.or.Byte.driver.PCGenUSBEHCI

 

I read this thread carefully, and also determined that this PCGenUSBEHCI.kext was still in place. So I decided to try one thing first as mentioned earlier: remove the AppleUSBEHCI.kext

And this worked ! (so far). I still get that error on a -v boot, but once the desktop is up, the devices are detected fine on plugging them in.

 

To do this: Open "Finder", navigate to /System/Library/Extensions and scroll down to IOUSBFamily.kext, right-click and click on "Show Package Contents", then open the plugins folder and look for AppleUSBEHCI.kext (be sure you select the correct one). Right-click and more to trash, then reboot, and it worked for me.

As mentioned, I made sure that the PCGenUSBEHCI.kext was already present in the same folder.

-----------------------

OK, end of quote. Then I also found there is a 10.5.4 upgrader also available the same way, called 10.5.4 Delta Update. You may have to try a few sites to get one that lets you start downloading it, but I got it ok, and am seeding as well. This one is only about 55 Megs, and will only upgrade you from 10.5.3 to 10.5.4 with no version gap. Burn it to CD the same way, and put it in your drive. I used Pacifist in the Applications-->Koolsofts folder that came with Kalyway 10.5.2 and extracted the dmg to my home folder and then ran the pkg file it created. Went quickly, and I rebooted a few times, the first time used update -v like before (not sure if that's needed) but it's now upgraded to 10.5.4 and everything still seems to work. Rebooting hangs, as mentioned and I don't thing there's a fix, but just let it go as far as it will go and hold the power button until it powers off.

Don't get software from Apple, just trust the gents here to come up with more solutions, as of 10.5.4 I think we are within 3 months of being completely current anyway.

Also, I'm not getting that EHCI error anymore on boot, so everything seems to work perfect so far.

[lelem]

Is there any hope for me?

 

I did a software update check today, did the update 10.5.5 I think it was and now it will not boot up. is there anyway to save it and go back?

 

I did the update following this guide (the guide refers to 10.5.3 but it's the same) and I had only a little problem: I had to reactivate the hd partition with diskutils/fdisk , otherwise I must use everytime kalyway dvd to boot.

My hd is GUID formatted.

If your problem is different than my, I think you must try to do the boot in single user mode (-s) and you must try to delete the file mentioned in the above guide.

Good luck!

 

Ciao

[n7myr]

Frank

Thank you very much for the reply. I will sit here a while and get the crown royal out and start all over. dang

this may he straw that broke my back. I may just put the box on flea bay and be done with it. twice I have screwed ip up because I did not know what I was doing and now I have done it again, so I think it is time to give up and get over it. I seem to spend more time rebuilding than I do enjoying

 

thanks again for the great info

[limdoug]

Frank...thanks for the product rundown...I'm also leaning towards that case. Good to know that I won't need any more hardware outside of the case you mentioned. Also with all the other issues that come with going beyond 10.5.2, do you think it's really worth it to upgrade?

[frank754]

limdoug, I don't think there is really much difference, nothing much I notice. The top taskbar is purplish, and I'm sure there are the routine security fixes, but I don't think much has changed otherwise.

[frank754]

OK, a few updates to my experience, after much trial and error I got more things sorted out, what to do and what not to do.

I would suggest not using that 10.5.4 delta upgrade that can be found, at one point it created a login screen at boot which hung the system after that, I tried about a dozen things after that, none of which worked.If you don't install the GMA kexts mentioned on the first post, X11 won't run, but that solved it. The kexts made my top panel a garish magenta and everything a bit darker and kludgy looking, but then I installed the Kalyway combo 10.5.3 upgrade, and the panel became transparent. I once again only had 1024x768, so I had to install the kexts again, but X11 still ran with just the one resolution available. In Preferences-->Appearance the colors were off again in the highlight selectors, but after a few reboots and especially switching to an LCD monitor, that was fixed, and it looks good even on a CRT monitor now. I still had to remove the AppleUSBEHCI.kext as mentioned above to get USB hotplug to work again, after going to 10.5.4

Also, after one complete reinstall I was not present at reboot time and it failed to pick up my wireless card, nothing I tried remedied that, but reinstalling 10.5.2 and being careful with the options it worked the next time and has ever since. I was sure to have the ethernet cable unplugged so it would pick the wireless up by default.

[lh99]

Anyone else having issues entering Time Machine?

 

My Time Machine backups work fine (I have the IONetworkingFamily.kext fix), but my screen sort of freezes when I try to enter Time Machine. It opens a Time Machine window that I can browse, but the star field, bottom button bar, and right-hand date selection bar never appear. I could live without the star field, but his is of very limited use since I can't browse back in time or restore anything without those bars. This seems graphics-related, but I have the latest graphics kexts as far as I know. The only other graphics issue I have is Coverflow (it doesn't work).

 

My machine is running 10.5.4 (vanilla, retail DVD install) and is a headless server, so I'm using it through Screen Sharing. Might try hooking a monitor up to it to see if it's a VNC issue.

[H8TR]

So I received may parts and after 10.5.2 install, I tried rebooting and it didn't work. I turned off the computer I can't even boot my board anymore. Thats it. I hate having to RMA, it always takes forever. Everything is plugged it correctly but the board wont boot up. Power supply is working, chipset fan is spinning. HDD and DVD drive aren't working anymore. Nothing displays on the screen. The board won't turn off. If I turn off the power supply, then it will. But if I turn on the PSU then the board turns on (or at least the chipset fan keeps spinning). I don't even have to press the button to turn on the comp.

[Danneman]

Has anybody tried the mobo without the annoying little fan running? Does it overcook? It does have a pretty big heatdisperser-thingy...

[[idkfa]]

Has anybody tried the mobo without the annoying little fan running? Does it overcook? It does have a pretty big heatdisperser-thingy...

 

Read a few posts before, one board has already died because of the northbridge overheating.

 

 

Yesterday I reinstalled my Atom box, now using vanilla retail Leopard with boot loader located on disk0s1 (aka the hidden EFI partition).

Works like a charm: Installed from my retail 10.5.0 DVD using a boot-132 cd, installed the boot loader, added a few kexts to make it run, and updated to 10.5.5 via vanilla 10.5.5 combo update.

[mega]

looks like this shuttle uses the same chipsets too

 

Shuttle X27 Intel 945GC 1 x 240Pin Intel GMA 950 Black & Silver Barebone

 

although the use a different board so no way to tell for sure until someone tries, the shuttle does have a really slick little case

[evilduck]

Just chiming in with my experiences, I bought the same board from the tutorial, and ordered http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820134192 along with it. When it arrived, it turns out my RAM was low-profile or something. Still Kingston with the same specs, but it was much better for an MicroATX system (right now the Northbridge heatsink+fan is the tallest item on the board).

 

Right now I'm cannibalizing my old computer for it's IDE optical drive and the overkill power supply (I'll buy a smaller one later).

 

I followed the guide except I used the working GMA950 drivers on the Kalyway disc instead of patching. Native resolution of my monitor is 1680x1050, which it detected and ran just fine (the 950 was choking on dock magnification and other GPU intensive things, but I expected that). When I did the Kalyway 10.5.3 Combo Update, that broke it and I finally had to manually install kexts.

 

Additionally, I had a USB wireless device, the Belkin F5D7050 which uses Ralink drivers ( I once got it working with Ubuntu but it was unreliable), so I searched around here and tried a few options, most of which failed and the one that did activate the device and saw local APs would cause kernel panics when it tried to connect and it wasn't detected as a native Airport card, so it just didn't "feel right" anyways (I'm a Macbook owner, I want the real experience, not something hacky like having to hotplug every reboot and use a 3rd party app to connect to APs). So I went and bought Dynex DX-BGDTC PCI wireless card from BestBuy which I preemptively installed drivers for from beginning for. Installed and rebooted and it was detected as a native Airport card, so all went well.

 

Right now, my only issue is that Time Machine is broken (I did install the Time Machine patch already). I can back up to a Time Machine drive, but I can't enter Time Machine to restore anything. This is low priority though and I haven't even searched for a solution yet. I'm very satisfied overall, this went smoothly and the Atom CPU has impressed me.

 

So, my real issue at hand, are there any replacements for the Northbridge cooling system? I would love to have a passively cooled system, or at least a system where I can use a passive heat sink and a lower speed 90mm case fan to pass air over it. Right now it's so tall and in a difficult placement for my needs, I would love to reduce it's height before putting it in a permanent case.

 

edit: I also grabbed a cheapy IOGear USB to Bluetooth adapter from wal-mart some time ago. I plugged that in and it was also correctly detected and lets me use my mighty mouse with ease.

[S0L]

This might be useful for some - it's a replacement low-profile heatsink for the North Bridge.

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Low-Profile-Heatsink...1742.m153.l1262

 

I've got one on the way to pop on mine, I had to take off the one that came with it orginally and hack in a old Asus heatsink - as otherwise I couldn't get the optical drive to fit in my Morex 2699 case. Note it doesn't come with a fan, you'll have to use the existing one and swap it over, or get a quieter one

 

Sol

[lh99]

So, my real issue at hand, are there any replacements for the Northbridge cooling system? I would love to have a passively cooled system, or at least a system where I can use a passive heat sink and a lower speed 90mm case fan to pass air over it. Right now it's so tall and in a difficult placement for my needs, I would love to reduce it's height before putting it in a permanent case.

 

I disconnected my Northbridge fan and have a silent 80mm fan positioned to blow across the existing heat sink. This works great. With no fan and the current heat sink, it gets very hot, very fast. You might be able to passively cool it, but you'd need a huge heatsink.

[evilduck]

Sorry for writing novels for post, but I appreciate informative posts and figured I'd offer that back to the thread.

 

Right now, my only issue is that Time Machine is broken (I did install the Time Machine patch already). I can back up to a Time Machine drive, but I can't enter Time Machine to restore anything. This is low priority though and I haven't even searched for a solution yet.

 

I solved this problem. After my 10.5.3 update, I reinstalled the kext's that are in the GMA950 bundle, but forget to replace the the rest of the files (.plugins and .bundle files) that are part of the package. The kexts alone let me use the full screen space, but the rest of the files turn on Quartz Extreme and Core Image. Without those, most of the screensavers won't work, and you can't enter the restore area of Time Machine. After that was done, I noticed a few screen glitches, but nothing to cry about. In the last 8 hours of use, I've seen maybe 1 or 2, and I've been running Flash, Photoshop, VMware, various videos via QT and VLC, Firefox, Adium, Mail and a few screen savers.

 

I also upgraded to 10.5.4 via direct download from Apple.com without a problem, although the restart bug listed in the tutorial is now present. I'm holding off on 10.5.5 for now since I haven't seen a reliable install method that doesn't break QE/CI.

 

Additionally, I played a 960x540 WMV via Flip4Mac in QT and it's not dropping frames, but is pegging the system at about 82% CPU usage for a single core (hyperthreading makes it a little funky, with total CPU usage of both "cores" in my single CPU setup about 60% total). A SD video in WMV format (640x480) was causing the QT process to use about 60% of a core. I tried to play a high bitrate 720p x264 MKV video via VLC and it was dropping about 1/3rd of the frames and maxing out the CPU. SD stuff will be fine, you might get away some low bitrate HD, but thats about it. I'm not complaining though, for a passively cooled 4 watt CPU, that's still pretty impressive

 

I installed VMware Fusion 2.0 and installed Ubuntu 8.04.1. Fusion ran fine, and the virtual machines started fine, but it's extremely laggy at startup, just due to being so underpowered (the OSX host system remained quick and responsive while it ran in the background...thank you hyperthreading). It had an issue with sound not being connected to the VM, which I'm sure stems from the sound card working, but not really being detected correctly by OSX. For reference, I allocated 1 "CPU" and 512Mb of RAM to the VM. Once Ubuntu was installed, it ran fine. Startup of things were a little slow and any CPU intensive task was slow, but its responsive.

 

Attached is a picture of me trying to kill system responsiveness. I'm not an Mac developer, but XCode worked for all I knew how to do (I don't have the iPhone dev kit install, but I'm guessing it would work too). Flash compiles slower on this machine than my actual dev machine, but it works good. Photoshop works well too, but generates the most artifacts for me.

 

One final note, I have a cheap $13 Dynex USB keyboard with media buttons attached, most of the media buttons don't work, but the volume controls do work with the sound and bring up the normal transparent icons on the screen when used.

[lh99]

I solved this problem. After my 10.5.3 update, I reinstalled the kext's that are in the GMA950 bundle, but forget to replace the the rest of the files (.plugins and .bundle files) that are part of the package.

 

Thanks, this fixed my Time Machine problem too. Coverflow also works! I must have forgotten to load the .bundle files.

[3l1k]

Hi all. I have this motherboard and install Kalyway 10.5.2 on it. From first start i can't get my graphics work. My system is halt with any GMA950 loaded. Without it statring without any problem but no hardware acceleration. I have tried all GMA950 kext's from 10.5.0 to 10.5.5 but no luck. Have any idea?

[zakman45]

Has anyone found a mic fix.. or some sort of mic fix workaround?

[jjumper]

Has anyone found a mic fix.. or some sort of mic fix workaround?

 

I've found the easiest fix is just to buy a usb sound card... very inexpensive and worked for me out of the box --- no need to wait for driver fixes...

[the_WB]

So, my real issue at hand, are there any replacements for the Northbridge cooling system? I would love to have a passively cooled system, or at least a system where I can use a passive heat sink and a lower speed 90mm case fan to pass air over it. Right now it's so tall and in a difficult placement for my needs, I would love to reduce it's height before putting it in a permanent case.

 

Logic Supply sells a low profile heatsink replacement to allow installing the D945GCLF in small cases. It's not passive though, you have to take the fan off the old heatsink and put it on the new one.

http://www.logicsupply.com/products/lf_heatsink

[evilduck]

I installed 10.5.5 and things are still going smooth (see attached pic). I used the guide at http://forum.insanelymac.com/index.php?showtopic=126595 to do the actual update, and then had to reinstall the GMA950 kexts again. QE/CI seem to be working and everything else seems to be fine (booting with -v shows an iphone related item taking long than expected to load, but oh well).

 

I don't think there's much reason to update other than maybe a couple security fixes and to get rid of the Apple Update notifier having items listed, but I had to weekend free and could reinstall from scratch if things really went south. Anyways, reporting success with the update. So far, my method has been 10.5.2 Kalyway Install Disc, Kalyway 10.5.3 Combo Updater, Apple's 10.5.4 Update, Apple's 10.5.5 update linked from the above guide, reinstalling GMA kexts every time.

[3l1k]

evilduck, please make screenshot of Extensions tab with versions of GMA950 and IntegratedFramebuffer kexts

[evilduck]

3l1k: See attached. The zip files contains the kexts and plugin/bundle files I have been using.

GMA950_Extensions.zip

[z00100]

I just ordered a D945GCLF2 board and it should arrive in a couple of days.

 

I've been reading through this thread and I think it would be good if we compiled a separate thread for D945GCLF2 to cater for the nuances of that board.

[i_Geek]

sorry, but isn`t it better to buy a Gigabyte 945GCM-S2L and dual-core (E2160) for almost the same money and you`ll get a more powerfull platform?