[Guide] Vanilla Retail 10.6.x with Chameleon v2 for Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3L

[b4m m4st3r]

I recently bought a GA-EP45-DS3L, because I had a lot of problems with OSX and GA-P35C-DS3R.

 

@juano and others who have a solution: It seems that I have the same problem with making a working BootCD for GA-EP45-DS3L...

Gigabyte BootCD v.1.07 works for me, but if I replace the support files with the latest (v.1.3.3.) and burn them to disk , it doesn´t load. While unzipping the support files 1.3.3. Sometimes windows gives me the message, that it is too long to unzip. CD has been burnt with PowerISO.

 

Last but not least: I haven´t seen such a detailed and clearly understandable guide like that before. Thanks a lot.

 

Joy

[blackosx]

@juano / @b4m m4st3r

 

There's no need to modify v1.07 of the BootCD as after you boot from it your ethernet will be working. So you can download the latest support files from here and then work from those.

 

But thanks for the posts and I will make a note to update the bootCD.

[Switcher007]

Hi blackosx, thanks for your guide, it was very clear. And I've achieved a perfect install!

[xboxfox]

hey blackosx

 

i used the [url="http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/279450-why-insanelymac-does-not-support-tonymacx86/"]#####[/url] supported and [url="http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/279450-why-insanelymac-does-not-support-tonymacx86/"]#####[/url] to get my hackintosh going, but i cant get sound going

i have the same motherboard as you and 8500 nivida graphics.

and how do i use a DSDT? haha im new to this....

thanks man... maybe u can post ur kexts so i can get it going

cheers

xboxfox

 

hey blackosx

 

i used the [url="http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/279450-why-insanelymac-does-not-support-tonymacx86/"]#####[/url] supported and [url="http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/279450-why-insanelymac-does-not-support-tonymacx86/"]#####[/url] to get my hackintosh going, but i cant get sound going

i have the same motherboard as you and 8500 nivida graphics.

and how do i use a DSDT? haha im new to this....

thanks man... maybe u can post ur kexts so i can get it going

cheers

xboxfox

[blackosx]

@Switcher007 - Well done

 

i used the [url="http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/279450-why-insanelymac-does-not-support-tonymacx86/"]#####[/url] supported and [url="http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/279450-why-insanelymac-does-not-support-tonymacx86/"]#####[/url] to get my hackintosh going, but i cant get sound going....

....and how do i use a DSDT?

These automated installers are great until something doesn't work.. Then what?

As you have chosen to use [url="http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/279450-why-insanelymac-does-not-support-tonymacx86/"]#####[/url]/[url="http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/279450-why-insanelymac-does-not-support-tonymacx86/"]#####[/url] then maybe you should go there for support?

 

This thread may show a slower solution to get up an running as opposed to an automated installer, but at least here you will learn about what files are needed for what purpose, what should get installed and where. I have spent many hours writing all you need to know in the PDF's which you can find on the first page of this thread.

 

maybe u can post ur kexts so i can get it going

You will find all the files I talk about in the PDF guides on the first page of this thread.

[keypox]

seems like 10.6.4 will be coming out tomorrow. Anyone test any of the betas?

[foxnews]

I followed many threads to boot and install 10.6 and only the bootCD from this thread worked. My MB is not the same as described in this thread; mine is GA-P35-DS3R

 

following the guides, I successfully installed both Win 7 and SL 10.6 on two separate partitions. but there are a few issues:

 

1) sound and wifi (Linksys WMP300N) are not working.

 

2) I can boot straight into Win7 but the only way to boot into SL is to use the BootCD, which I used to installed SL. I follow the guide part 3 many times to install Chameleon on a separate partition but this Chameleon partition failed to boot into SL; it gave me "boot error". I repeated the install process (part 3) many many times but still did not work. I tried both part 2 1A and 1B (setting up Chameleon on a USB), both did not work.

 

3) on part 4 (configure motherboard), where do I get SMSerial to update SMBIOS.plist file?

 

but now at least I can use the bootCD to get into SL and use osx SL.

 

please help. I spent the last four days with many many hours. many times I want to give up but still keep trying since I am getting close.

[jamonda]

Hi, Blackosx.

I was a happy EP45-UD3L until last week, with which I was able to build an 99% functional Snow Leopard system thank to this thread and your files. But now family has grown: I've just bought an EP45-DS3L. Now I have an 100% functional hackintosh. The 1% difference means the idle sleep functionality that never worked with UD3L.

Thank you very much for sharing with us the fruits of your labour.

[blackosx]

But thanks for the posts and I will make a note to update the bootCD.

I have (finally) updated the BootCD to include the Support Files v1.3.3. You can find it on the front page under the 'Supplementary Files' section.

 

seems like 10.6.4 will be coming out tomorrow. Anyone test any of the betas?

I am sure the update will be straightforward, but I guess we will have to re-make an adapted AppleHDA.kext from the 10.6.4 file and replace it again. Also keep your eye on netkas' site for an info.

 

mine is GA-P35-DS3R

......

1) sound and wifi (Linksys WMP300N) are not working.

Hi foxnews

 

As you have noted, you have a different mobo which uses different chips so you will need to look for others who use your mobo. But your ALC889A is the most supported chipset and should be the easiest to get working and you can find a DSDT edit for your WMP300N here.

 

2) I can boot straight into Win7 but the only way to boot into SL is to use the BootCD, which I used to installed SL. I follow the guide part 3 many times to install Chameleon on a separate partition but this Chameleon partition failed to boot into SL; it gave me "boot error".

The process I describe in 'Part 3' PDF does work. If you definitely can't get it workng then try Dr. Hurt's Windows friendly Chameleon pre8 installer.

 

3) on part 4 (configure motherboard), where do I get SMSerial to update SMBIOS.plist file?

I too had this question when I first started out and in the end Google was my friend.

[sjpapa]

Blackosx,

No matter how perfect your guide is there is always a small thing missing...

 

For some obscure reason, I had on 2 occasions, a: 'Not bootable device' error from BIOS. The MBR active flag was gone. Only for these 2 [of many] set up occasions I had to go into fdisk, and type

> fdisk -e /dev/rdiskX [X: is the number of the boot disk]

>flag 1

> w

>exit

to fix the MBR flag.

 

If you can explain why this happened, it would be grateful for posterity..

[angkung]

Vanilla retail 10.6.3 install with Chameleon on a separate partition for the Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3L

 

 

News

 

6th June 2010

BootCD Updated

After a couple of requests I have finally got round to adding the Support Files v1.3.3 to it. I have added the download link in the Supplementary Files section below.

 

21st April 2010

Support Files Updated to v1.3.3

I have now replaced the patched AppleHDA.kext with the new one from tmongkol's thread (Thanks again tmongkol). And I have removed the LegacyHDA.kext from the 10.6.3 files as it's no longer required in /E/E.

 

20th April 2010

Alternate Patched AppleHDA.kext

Tmongkol has a patched AppleHDA.kext for ALC888 for use with 10.6.3 that removes the need for LegacyHDA.kext in /E/E. See this post for more details

 

 

Introduction

 

When Mac OS X 10.6, Snow Leopard, came out there wasn't much info on InsanelyMac about how to install it, so I created this guide at the end of August 2009 from tips I had learned from Lazlo at projectsnow.net. The guide was then tweaked and revised a few times to iron out bugs and make it fairly comprehensive. The guide had racked up over 20,000 downloads since it's inception which is incredible and the Support Files had also been updated continuously to try and keep up to date with all the changes in the world of OSX86. But by the start of 2010 the guide was showing it's age and couldn't easily be amended to keep it up to date with all the latest developments, so I decided to re-create it and in the mean time take the opportunity to split it in to sections to hopefully make it easier to maintain in the future.

 

Please note that this is not a bible to the only way of doing things and there are now Snow Leopard install guides everywhere so choose which ever one seems to suit your system best. The original purpose of this guide was to show users currently running 10.5.8 on their EP45-DS3L's how to put a vanilla Snow Leopard install on to a spare HDD.

 

I am currently running a Mac OS X 10.6.2 system with the kernel booting in both 32-bit & 64-bit mode (more info) with sleep, automatic sleep, shutdown, restart, time machine, bonjour networking, video and audio. Native 5.1 surround from digital coaxial posted as working with DSDT (See this post by philippebezoteaux). It's slick, rock solid and operates perfectly for my needs. I am also using a vanilla speedstep solution for my CPU to reduce power and naturally heat, but don't worry about that until you have your machine up and running and feel confident you want to progress to the next level.

 

 

Notes

 

This guide was made for my system using the following hardware. GA-EP45-DS3L Rev 1 BIOS F10. Intel Core2Duo 7300 2.66Ghz, 4GB DDR 800Mhz, nVidia 8800GT 512MB, 2 x 500GB SATA II Hard Drive, SATA II DVD-RW, USB Keyboard & Mouse. If you have different hardware then you will probably experience some differences and if you want to use additional devices, for example Wi-Fi or Firewire PCI cards, then that will be for you to work out how to get them functioning. But I recommend doing that after this install is complete.

 

If you are coming from using a 10.5 system without ever using a DSDT then get used to hearing about it. But all you need to know for now is you need a patched DSDT to stop Snow Leopard resetting your CMOS when you reboot. I have supplied a generic DSDT for the GA-EP45-DS3L (based on mm67's work) in the Support Files for you to use. If you are using a different motherboard then you will have to build your own DSDT.

 

Although I have tried to make this guide as simple as possible, it still requires some knowledge of OSX86 and the willingness to research, read and learn. Before posting problems on this thread, please ensure you have read and completed the install guide PDF and have searched this thread for possible solutions.

 

 

Requirements (Please don't ignore this!)

 

• GA-EP45-DS3L

• CPU that supports SSE3 (Core2Duo/Quad/Extreme).

• SATA HDD & SATA DVD drives.

• A purchased Retail Mac OS X install DVD (not a restore DVD).

• A USB keyboard & Mouse (not PS/2).

• nVidia video card (8 series or newer) (For ATI cards please read this & this before attempting this install).

• My Support Files (Download link below).

• GA-EP45-DS3L BootCD (Download link below).

• An existing 10.5 installation (if the BootCD option doesn’t work for you).

• 8GB USB memory stick (if the BootCD option doesn’t work for you).

• A spare HDD.

• Some patience.

 

 

Install Guide PDF's

 

Introduction v1.2 Last updated 4th April 2010

Part 1 - Preparation v1.2 Last updated 4th April 2010

Part 2 - Install Snow Leopard v1.4 Last updated 4th April 2010

Part 3 - Install Chameleon Bootloader v1.2.1 Last updated 4th April 2010

Part 4 - Configure for GA-EP45-DS3L v1.3.1 Last updated 22nd April 2010

Part 5 - Booting with Chameleon v1.2 Last updated 8th April 2010

Part 6 - TroubleShooting v1.2 Last updated 15th April 2010

Part 7 - What's New v1.3 Last updated 22nd February 2010

Part 8 - Apple Updates v1.2 Last updated 29th April 2010

Part 9 - Dual Boot Windows7 v1.1 Last updated 22nd February 2010

 

Previous Install Guide PDF for reference v2.4 (7.13MB) Last updated 12th September 2009

 

 

Supplementary Files

 

Support Files v1.3.3 Last updated 21st April 2010

GA-EP45-DS3L BootCD v1.09 Last updated 6th June 2010

Note: The theme for this BootCD has been changed and will look different from the screen shots in the PDF guide.

Previous BootCD's were forged by Trauma's BootCDMaker and edited by hand to suit my needs, though this one was made by hand. It uses three kexts which were originally supplied in Superhai's Dell BootCD which I originally posted about here.

 

Optional Bootloaders as discussed in 'Part 7 -What's New'

Install Asere's v1.1.9 Modifed Bootloader

Netkas' PC EFI v10.6

 

 

Issues

 

Here's a link to the front page of this thread from 17th December 2009 before I cleaned it up, just incase there is any information I have forgotten to include in the revised PDF guides.

 

 

Useful links in this thread

This is a new section here that I will slowly populate with links to posts in this thread

 

What to know about updating to 10.6.3

 

Install Variations:

Using a single HD and a distro (iPC).

Using a Single HD, 2 x partitions, Boot from USB to launch a restored 10.6 DVD image on HD..

Using a single HD with 10.5 already installed and a USB.

 

Making a bootable USB memory stick.

Adding a Windows7 dual boot option

 

 

Credits

 

Running OS X on non-Apple hardware had been a target of a few for a long time and after years of hard work and research by many talented individuals, the dream was realised. And from all the reading I have done, it is apparent that creating a system using the latest version of OS X on hardware such as the GA-EP45-DS3L is whole lot easier than it was five years ago. So my experience with OSX86 which resulted to the information in this guide is all thanks to various contributions by many, many people across many different places. and some of the info came from way before I came along..... For example, the work outlined in this post was majorly important.

 

But if I started to list names it would become long and I would only miss somebody out so can I just give out a big thank you to the community as a whole and the individuals from this thread who have contributed in many ways to fine tune, bug test and further develop this guide. Thank you all

 

 

And finally...

 

I only know what I have learnt so far, and if you have any tips, suggestions, better ways of doing things then please share it. If anybody follows this guide then please report your successes, failures etc.

 

Don't forget to have fun and enjoy this hobby, even if it gets frustrating to start with, you will find a way. Take your time to learn to understand how it all works, learn about your hardware and get used to searching and reading as there is a lot of information already in this thread and on this forum.

 

Many Thanks

 

This post was last edited by blackosx on 15th April 2010

Emm very interactive guide you had made; FYI I'm new to Mac especially x86 Mac, Currently using PC with 10.5.8 and want to have SL..

 

My CPU is as below:

Board : Intel DG31PR

Processor : C2D 7400

Graphic : NVIDIA 8400GS

 

My question;

I don't have retail 10.6 Mac DVD but keeping Hazard 10.6.1/2. I just think of to do the following

1. Install the SL with that hazard CD without any option (Mean Clean install like Retail DVD)

2. Install Chameleon Bootloader

3. Patch any EXTRA to suit with my CPU

Can I do the above?

 

Now as show from your guide I saw that on your Disk1 there were many partition and you have Cham and SL partition how to you do this and can you explain I think I can install bootloader but dont know how to get "Cham" partition like yours.....

 

Appreciate your help

[blackosx]

Safari 5 is out.. You can update with Software Update... It's running sweet here.

EDIT: But it's up to you whether or not you install it. Keep an eye on iRipper's thread for posts of either problems or positive feedback to help you decide.

 

@Sjpapa - This shouldn't happen by itself and I have not experienced it. All I can suggest it you must be doing something that changes the MBR, which is normally only done by playing with fdisk (on purpose, or incorrectly), installing Windows and maybe even using something like GParted.

 

@angkung - There's no need to quote a copy of the whole front page....!

I don't know about Hazard and have not used it so I can't really comment on how it works or what's changed on it. But if you can get to the Apple OS X Installer from the disc then you can load Disk Utility and partition your HDD as I show on page 5 of 'Part 2 - Install Snow Leopard' PDF.

[angkung]

Wanna know, what it was? Switching the SATA ports. When all those KPs occured, the system hdd was plugged into port 3. Now, in Port 0 (in other words: the first port) everything just runs fine. I also used Kext Utility, just to make sure.

 

I guess that this was also what caused the errors during install.

 

So where to put the DVD drive? My DVD also SATA........

[blackosx]

So where to put the DVD drive? My DVD also SATA........

fragreaver's post tells you what you need to know.

 

Note: this thread is dedicated to the GA-EP45-DS3L using the retail OS X DVD.

You will be better served by finding somewhere dedicated to supporting your motherboard and using the Hazard disc.

[sjpapa]

Safari 5 is out.. You can update with Software Update... It's running sweet here.

EDIT: But it's up to you whether or not you install it. Keep an eye on iRipper's thread for posts of either problems or positive feedback to help you decide.

 

@Sjpapa - This shouldn't happen by itself and I have not experienced it. All I can suggest it you must be doing something that changes the MBR, which is normally only done by playing with fdisk (on purpose, or incorrectly), installing Windows and maybe even using something like GParted.

 

I only use superDuper to clone the disks. This needs Chameleon reinstallation. Other than that I dont do anything else.

Safari 5 is great. I checked its new features [for developers its great!] on the apple site.

[bigpoppa206]

Good news, looks like 10.6.4 doesn't break anything! I 'found' a copy (no I will not help you find it too, got to do that yourself) and tried it on a backup machine. With a USB copy of my full installation disk (10.6.3) and the combo updater of 10.6.4, I was blown away by how quickly I got things up and running. Perfectly stable in less than 1/2 an hour. Sure a long way from my first install on an ASUS P5W DH Deluxe MB.

[foxnews]

Hi foxnews

 

As you have noted, you have a different mobo which uses different chips so you will need to look for others who use your mobo. But your ALC889A is the most supported chipset and should be the easiest to get working and you can find a DSDT edit for your WMP300N here.

 

The process I describe in 'Part 3' PDF does work. If you definitely can't get it workng then try Dr. Hurt's Windows friendly Chameleon pre8 installer.

 

I too had this question when I first started out and in the end Google was my friend.

 

Finally I got dual boot (SL and window 7) working, as well as Audio and linksys wifi card.

 

Here are summary:

1) for linksys WMP-300N wifi, I had to build/patch dsdt.aml with my wifi card and updated IO80211Family.kext and rebuild caches (missing this cache rebuild costed me couple days trial and error). I got codes from another forum.

 

2) for sound alc889a, I had to build/patch dsdt.aml with codes for this alc889a and updated AppleHDA.hext with codes from another forum.

 

 

a few comments:

1) The com.apple.Boot.plist got below setting which caused my screen to black out when booting into SL. It costed me couple days to figure out and turn if off. Can you put this in your guide as a warning to others.

<key>GraphicsEnabler</key>

<string>Yes</string>

 

 

I just want to say thanks Blackosx for your guides. Great idea with building boot from separate partitions for ease of update and future maintenance. I ended up using my usb for chameleon and boot from it, instead of HHD partition. Your guides helped me get started. I know nothing about Mac before reading your thread.

 

Things not yet working:

1) sleepmode

2) screenCapture does not work. I can hear the click when I hit command+shift+3 but no files are saved on desktop

2) Logitech software does not recognize my MX-518 mouse. basic functions work but not advance features (such as back/forward buttons, customizing buttons). fortunately, Logitech illuminate keyboard works great. media buttons also works.

 

edit: just got sleepmode and screencapture to work. I don't exactly remember what I did. I think permision and cache build on usb/extra and/or system/library/extensions.

[Rillipiru]

seems like 10.6.4 will be coming out tomorrow. Anyone test any of the betas?

 

I have it already, only problem is SleepEnabler like was 10.6.2 to 10.6.3. When you update from 10.6.3 to 10.6.4 with SleepEnabler, it will panic.

[bigpoppa206]

Anyone else having problems with Safari 5? Mine is crashing all the time and I'm not sure how to troubleshoot it. Rats!

[blackosx]

I only use superDuper to clone the disks. This needs Chameleon reinstallation. Other than that I dont do anything else.

So do you think it's when you install Chameleon that your issue happens. As that's most likely to involve editing the MBR?

 

Good news, looks like 10.6.4 doesn't break anything! I 'found' a copy (no I will not help you find it too, got to do that yourself) and tried it on a backup machine. With a USB copy of my full installation disk (10.6.3) and the combo updater of 10.6.4, I was blown away by how quickly I got things up and running. Perfectly stable in less than 1/2 an hour. Sure a long way from my first install on an ASUS P5W DH Deluxe MB.

Isn't it great how simple things are now compared to the older days? ..

Though I only remember building my hacks when 10.5.4 was the current release (which was fun). So I missed the much harder work and discoveries of the pioneers before that.

 

But if you choose to run a 10.6.4 pre-release then I hope you applied it to a different install to your main one as it will most likely change when the final release is out.

 

Finally I got dual boot (SL and window 7) working, as well as Audio and linksys wifi card.

Well done. Like I said, you would need to speak to others with your board and it looks like you have found your answers

 

a few comments:

1) The com.apple.Boot.plist got below setting which caused my screen to black out when booting into SL. It costed me couple days to figure out and turn if off. Can you put this in your guide as a warning to others.

<key>GraphicsEnabler</key>

<string>Yes</string>

Interesting.. What video card are you using? is it and ATI card?

 

I just want to say thanks Blackosx for your guides. Great idea with building boot from separate partitions for ease of update and future maintenance. I ended up using my usb for chameleon and boot from it, instead of HHD partition. Your guides helped me get started. I know nothing about Mac before reading your thread.

Thanks and that's why I put together the PDF's to help show what's what. They're not comprehensive but hopefully show enough to get the board I use (EP45-DS3L) working and give and insight in to how it all works. As for the idea to put Chameleon on a separate partition, that came from a post by zhell which I found a while back.

 

Things not yet working:

1) sleepmode

2) screenCapture does not work. I can hear the click when I hit command+shift+3 but no files are saved on desktop

2) Logitech software does not recognize my MX-518 mouse. basic functions work but not advance features (such as back/forward buttons, customizing buttons). fortunately, Logitech illuminate keyboard works great. media buttons also works.

 

edit: just got sleepmode and screencapture to work. I don't exactly remember what I did. I think permision and cache build on usb/extra and/or system/library/extensions.

Sleep & screen capture not working can be down to your video card not being correctly recognised. As for your logitech mouse, I guess you are going to have to go searching again (but you probably have by now)

 

I have it already, only problem is SleepEnabler like was 10.6.2 to 10.6.3. When you update from 10.6.3 to 10.6.4 with SleepEnabler, it will panic.

The easy way around that issue is to not use SleepEnabler.

Most regular users have now ditched using NullCPUPowerManagement.kext and therefore no longer require SleepEnabler.kext.

 

Anyone else having problems with Safari 5? Mine is crashing all the time and I'm not sure how to troubleshoot it. Rats!

Safari 5 is running without issue for me. Are you running it on 10.6.3?

But if you feel you want to downgrade to Safari 4 then I am sure there are instructions in Apple's forums somewhere. That's all I can suggest really.

[bigpoppa206]

Safari 5 is running without issue for me. Are you running it on 10.6.3?

But if you feel you want to downgrade to Safari 4 then I am sure there are instructions in Apple's forums somewhere. That's all I can suggest really.

 

That or run Chrome. Yes I am using it on my 10.6.3 build which has been very stable for a while. That 10.6.4 test I did was on another machine on a hard drive I didn't mind erasing. I never test betas on a stable system, learned my lesson once on that.

[Typh]

I now freeze at the login screen since installing the Safari update. I can get in with safe boot, but otherwise once the login screen shows up, I can go no further.

 

edit: reverting to 4 didn't help.

If I skip login screen, it freezes once the desktop finishes loading. It could be usb, but it seems to freeze often before the login screen fade in animation finishes.

 

edit2: unplugging my second monitor seems to fix it (wtf)

[blackosx]

Hi bigpoppa206

or run Chrome.

Or that yeah

 

Yes I am using it on my 10.6.3 build which has been very stable for a while. That 10.6.4 test I did was on another machine on a hard drive I didn't mind erasing. I never test betas on a stable system, learned my lesson once on that.

Sorry, but I had to ask.. Lol.. (you've been around longer than me so I knew you'd know better)

 

 

@bigpoppa206 & @Typh

Just a simple one, but you could try trashing your ~/Library/Safari folder (but keeping a copy of your bookmarks.plist first!)

[Nghia Developer]

I have Gigabyte GA-EP43T-UD3L and this guide work great for me.

The only thing is that I cannot make FRONT mic+headphone work ( ALC888 ) even I selected different output options. Only output audio at the end of the mobo works

[Typh]

Ditching existing Safari settings did nothing. The problem seems unrelated to Safari, that's just when it started. To login at all, I need to unplug the video cable of my second monitor. Still, the mouse/keyboard take a good 10 minutes to start working, and once I'm logged in, some things just don't work. iTunes, for example, also takes a good 10 minutes to start being responsive.