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[Guide] Boot from EFI partition, zero modification installs on Intel SSE2 or better...

munky

By munky,
in Tutorials (The Genius Bar)

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B612
B612
Posted
Posted
B612: this is high on the list of priorities. Stay tuned!

 

I'll contact u for testing when I have something.

 

To clarify about Boot.plist: the guide is accurate.

 

Thanks. I'll surely stay tuned. Also, I'll be waiting for you to contact me. I will consider it as a personal favour! ;)

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Nick14
Nick14
Posted
Posted
hi folk ;-)

 

1. and formost....

 

had to report a supersmooth install and setup on my hp7100

all things working...updated to 10.5.5 without a hassle

booting from plist and mkext on efi partition with newest beta kernel...

 

simply amazing thanx again munky and all the others involved...

 

any news about ac97 in mkext and whut about including wireless drivers such as rt2500 in mkext?

tried both but no success ;-(

 

2.

 

got some problems here on a friends sse2 box

shuttle av40 board/via chipset/p4 1,7 with an older acpiplatform.kext (1.0.3)

 

instant reboot after loading mkext from efi partition!!!

no chance to boot up system properly

 

any ideas...???

 

thanx in advance

 

3.

 

btw...is there any workaround do deinstall the complete bootloader...

cant get rid of it...even after deleting the whole efi partition again...

bootloader is still present an is tryin to loadup the mkext ;-(

can you make copy your efi partiton and upload it on media fire or something becouse i cant get mine to work on my dc7100 i get still waiting for root device??

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nashw
nashw
Posted
Posted

hi guys

thanks again for your help so far..

 

tried with v4 and managed to get all installed without any far wayward errors... actually starting to get some traction.

 

munky et al, to your knowledge what is loaded after boot0, as this is where my boot process halts:

 

boot0: GPT

boot0: HFS+

boot0: booting

boot0: done<blinking cursor lives here happily ever after>

 

also of note, i could only seem to get the "./fdisk..." commands to run with expected results after using "fdisk" which looks like assumed terminal knowledge? perhaps these can be noted in the guide as it wasn't clear? if not, your justification would be appreciated...

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GingerPrince
GingerPrince
Posted
Posted
Hi Munky,

 

thanks for all this. I'm having a few problems still.

 

I'm trying to use AppleSMBIOSEFI and AppleHDA (patched by taruga) but neither of them seems to be getting loaded correctly. any pointers on where to look for debugging?

 

Also, I put the boot-uuid flag in the Kernel Flags in a Boot.plist in the EFI partition but it never seems to work.

 

It's like half of it is working but not the other half.

 

cheers,

Matt

 

Hi Munky,

 

Sorry to quote my own post but your thread is getting updated so often, it's clean out of sight within a day!

 

I forgot to mention that when I shutdown, I get a kp. restart is fine.

 

I did have chameleon installed previously, could bits of that be causing issues?

 

cheers,

Matt

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sonotone
sonotone
Posted
Posted

Hi munky,

 

Just one question (a bit out of topic):

 

I would like to call an alternative com.apple.boot.plist throught chameleon bootloader and dfe boot 132 (as you done from EFI partition) but with the bootloader and /extra folder installed both on the system partition.

 

I think your modified bootloader will gives error if i try.

 

i've take a look on chameleon sources, and 2 files seems to be in relations with apple.com.boot.plist:

sys.c and stringTable.c

 

Should i modify path onto these files to force the bootloader to read an alternative com.apple.boot.plist? or it's strictly connected to the dfe boot file?

 

thanks for advices.

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Snooker216
Snooker216
Posted
Posted
v3 supports a com.apple.Boot.plist on the EFI partition (in root or in /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration), boots faster, and integrates the update.sh script :)

v4 supports JMicron and other 'troublesome' ATA

 

Does that mean com.apple.Boot.plist is supported only in v3 or since v3. In other words: can I use com.apple.Boot.plist in v4 too?

 

And if I use com.apple.Boot.plist in EFI-partition I have to delete com.apple.Boot.plist in system partion, right?

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munky
munky
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supported since v3. no you dont have to remove anything. it will try in the following order:

 

/com.apple.Boot.plist

/Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.Boot.plist

/Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.Boot.plist

 

 

sonotone - that would probably work, yes. give it a shot :(

 

gingerprince - no need to repost, i read everything on this thread. if i dont respond it generally means i dont know, and im hoping someone else with similar experience will be able to help you. having old bootloaders hanging around can definitely cause problems.

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HannibalX
HannibalX
Posted
Posted

munky -

 

Thanks for the excellent guide!

 

A quick rundown of where I'm at;

 

Hardware:

System Board: ECS G31T-M

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 (2.53 GHz)

Memory: 4 GB DDR2-800 (2GB sticks x2)

Video Card: eVGA e-GeForce 8400 GS 512MB PCI-E

 

I booted up using the generic.iso found here (the one that reads "Download .ISO with modified kexts"); I found that I was unable to install Leopard, it would continually tell me that I needed to restart my computer. I was able to trace that issue down to the video card, after removing the 8400GS, I was able to complete my install using the onboard Intel GMA3100 video card. After the install was complete, I continued to use the Boot-132 iso to boot my system, and patch up to 10.5.5. Once the patching completed, I followed your guide and installed the boot-132 loader into my EFI partition. I was able to get my system booting with the following kexts:

 

Kexts:

dsmos.kext

IntelCPUPMDisabler.kext

 

I took both of those from the Boot-132 generic.iso that I've been using. I have just a few issues remaining now.

 

Issues:

ALC662 Audio Card

Processor shows as Unknown & "More Info" displays - "There was an error while gathering this information."

 

I'm guessing the ALC662 card will be covered by this thread: [bOOT-132] Legacy AppleHDA, Getting AppleHDA working with BOOT-132

 

I'm not certain about the "More Info" and Unknown processor type; even using the full boot-132 CD with the AppleSMBIOS.kext, it still has this issue. And, I'm a little stuck on the video card bit. I've used EFIStudio to generate what I believe is the correct EFI String, but I can't get the system to even boot with that string in the com.apple.Boot.plist of my EFI partition. I'm looking for some suggestions, it appears that the 512MB cards are a bit more difficult to use; will I need to do the ROM mod to this card to get it going?

 

UPDATE:

Well, the graphics card was fairly simple - no ROM mod required. I had to boot the machine into single user mode with the NVidia card installed, type "exit" until it loaded the GUI, then I used EFIStudio to generate the correct EFI String for my video card; added into /Volume/EFI/Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.Boot.plist, run update.sh (I also booted with the -f switch) and the video is good to go.

 

As for sound, I didn't read the AppleHDA thread close enough, my card isn't an 88x card - so I will have to search elsewhere. Still looking into the "More Info" and UNKNOWN Processor issue as well.

 

Regards,

Hannibal

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mac_cute
mac_cute
Posted
Posted
Hi munky,

 

Just one question (a bit out of topic):

 

I would like to call an alternative com.apple.boot.plist throught chameleon bootloader and dfe boot 132 (as you done from EFI partition) but with the bootloader and /extra folder installed both on the system partition.

 

I think your modified bootloader will gives error if i try.

 

i've take a look on chameleon sources, and 2 files seems to be in relations with apple.com.boot.plist:

sys.c and stringTable.c

 

Should i modify path onto these files to force the bootloader to read an alternative com.apple.boot.plist? or it's strictly connected to the dfe boot file?

 

thanks for advices.

This is exactly what I was going to ask.Please try it and I will be back later :)

@munky

Do you think that there is a way to do this with some kind of "config=My_apple.com.Boot.plist" at boot?.

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Ducko
Ducko
Posted
Posted

Hi munky! Is it true that Leopard will always load the higher version kext ? My comp always load the original AppleACPIPlatform.kext (version 1.2.1) from the S/L/E despite the fixed one I put in the EFI partition. My system cannot reboot until now. :) U know any way to fix it ?

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fredouille
fredouille
Posted
Posted
Hi munky! Is it true that Leopard will always load the higher version kext ? My comp always load the original AppleACPIPlatform.kext (version 1.2.1) from the S/L/E despite the fixed one I put in the EFI partition. My system cannot reboot until now. :wacko: U know any way to fix it ?

 

I had the same problem as you ( because the kext was "local-root" instead of " root" and to be able to boot again, I had to use -x

and then edit the plist of the kext

 

Hope this help

fred

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nashw
nashw
Posted
Posted
As I said in the guide, if there's any part you don't understand then the best advice is not to do this.

munky with all due respect i was only asking on the justification for leaving this out of the guide you have created here... only as a suggestion as others may be coming across the same difficulty with this guide. i would like to support you and everyone else here with the development of this method but what is the point of developing a community of like-minded individuals if the level of support back to those trialling this method is coming across like this? sorry if I am misunderstanding your intent here....

 

can anyone else be of more assistance in pointing me in the right direction? either pm me or point me to another thread related to the issue I am having here please, which I feel is directly related to the files munky is sharing for his method:

 

on boot:

boot0: GPT

boot0: HFS+

boot0: booting

boot0: done_

<halts>

 

i'm not expecting anyone to solve my specific issues for me, but perhaps I need to modify them myself for my specific hardware? if anyone feels this is the case, again please point me in the right direction so I can provide the valuable feedback for those travelling the same path as me in the future.

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gyveri
gyveri
Posted
Posted
v3 of the bootloader supports a com.apple.Boot.plist file located on the EFI partition. You can place this in either of these two locations:

 

/Volumes/EFI/com.apple.Boot.plist

-or-

/Volumes/EFI/Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.Boot.plist

 

Munky,

 

Thanks for this guide.

 

Naive noob questions, but I'm asking them anyway.

 

In a previous installation on my computer, I generated a working com.apple.Boot.plist with EFI strings. Can I simply mount the EFI partition and copy my working com.apple.Boot.plist to one of the above-mentioned locations on the EFI partition with a reasonable expectation that it will work?

 

Anything special about the copying process?

 

Is there a better way to get com.apple.Boot.plist with EFI strings into the EFI partition?

 

TIA

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jokinawa
jokinawa
Posted
Posted

nashw,

 

I can see you being a little bit upset that it is not working for you. But, as munky has stated before he is really busy with life and with working with team Chameleon to get an semi/automated version for every one.

How many times have you tried this method? Did you try an alternate kernel besides the vanilla kernel? Did you use fdisk to make your EFI partition active?

 

I'll admit my knowledge is limited but I will try to help you.

 

J

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nashw
nashw
Posted
Posted
how many times have you tried this method? Did you try an alternate kernel besides the vanilla kernel? Did you use fdisk to make your EFI partition active?

thanks jokinawa... i appreciate it.

tried this method 3-4 times.. reformatted the partition etc.... i've only tried vanilla (retail) but on a core duo i shouldn't need to try anything else, right? used fdisk to mark active as instructed to a tee. just seems to stop at the end of boot0 and wont kick in to the next step... as i'm not even getting to any darwin prompts i'd imagine its nothing really to do with the kernel...

 

this machine has been booting fine with Boot132 CD so far with 10.5.0 and 10.5.5. the OS install is unchanged on disk0s2.

 

since i'm building this machine to help out a friend who can't afford a new mac for now, but wants to keep this machine anyway. if there is a semi/auto installer on its way i might just stick to a usual build like kalyway til then... obviously this GPT method is far better for the long run and I would prefer to persevere with it if it's only a minor hurdle to get over.

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jokinawa
jokinawa
Posted
Posted

nashw,

 

is AHCI turned on in your bios? if not try it.

 

also, try each version of the files for installation if possible.

did you do the com.apple.Boot.plist method?

finally just try using a custom kernel if all else fails.

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DocShadow
DocShadow
Posted
Posted

FINALLY ...... :D

 

It was starting to drive me crazy. I have a USB Boot 132 multi-system running 10.5.5 live update with everything working as it should.

 

I used my kexts from my USB in my EFI partition build.

 

BUT ... no audio. Everything looked OK ... replaced the AppleAzaliaAudio.kext on the EFI partition numerous times and no go. System profiler said the kext was not loaded.

 

Finally started rereading from post 1 :o and found a post from Munky .... copied my Extensions folder to System/Booter and (as the French say) Voila ... sound. :)

 

Many thanks to folks for all their hard work to make this happen. :o

 

Doc

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fulg
fulg
Posted
Posted
Perhaps just modify your plist file to add the -f argument on boot? Seems like it might be worth it. Just add these two lines to your com.apple.boot.plist:

 

	Kernel Flags
		-f

 

If you want to further customize it (set timeout for auto booting, etc, just go to plister found here: http://diabolik1605.com/plister/

Terc, thanks for the tip, but I know how to customize my com.apple.Boot.plist :D

 

The issue with always using -f is that the boot time is significantly longer. My point was, since I'm not rebooting often, it's not a big deal, but it'd be nice to fix properly. My old Kalyway install would boot to desktop in like 8 seconds, the retail one is more like 30+ secs.

 

Then again, I now run a 100% virgin install on unsupported hardware, so I feel I've already gained a lot with this method :D

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Ducko
Ducko
Posted
Posted

@fredouille

Which AppleACPIPlatform.kext version are you using ? I tried to use the fixed kext I grabed from the IRC channel and it didn't work (Inside the kext, it was already "Root" in the plist file) :D. I want my restart back! Sob! Sob! :wacko:

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fredouille
fredouille
Posted
Posted
@fredouille

Which AppleACPIPlatform.kext version are you using ? I tried to use the fixed kext I grabed from the IRC channel and it didn't work (Inside the kext, it was already "Root" in the plist file) :D. I want my restart back! Sob! Sob! :wacko:

I use vanillia ACPIPlateform.kext ( extract with pacifist from official 10.5.5 update ) and I got my boot back with editing the EFI partition. Boot with your 132 CD using -x for going back to your OS

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