nForce OS X Snow Leopard (10.6) RETAIL INSTALL GUIDE on a Series 6 or 7 nForce chipset / Intel CPU MOBO

[ZeroKnight]

Yes it is but can I do external instead? To save all this confusion?

 

Edit: The reason for the way I configured my SATA is due to the fact that if both drives are on the same SATA channel then you get slower performance compared to one on each channel. At least from what I have heard.

[verdant]

Yes it is but can I do external instead? To save all this confusion?

 

Edit: The reason for the way I configured my SATA is due to the fact that if both drives are on the same SATA channel then you get slower performance compared to one on each channel. At least from what I have heard.

 

I have an external USB 2.0/eSATA HDD enclosure running OS X...........it is obviously and noticeably slower on USB 2.0 than on eSATA.......

 

How about setting:

 

SATA 0 Primary RAID [Enabled]

SATA 0 Secondary RAID [Disabled]

for Windows HDD RAID 1 on SATA 0

 

SATA 1 Primary RAID [Enabled]

SATA 1 Secondary RAID [Disabled]

for Windows HDD RAID 2 on SATA 1

 

SATA 2 Primary RAID [Disabled] for your OS X HDD

SATA 2 Secondary RAID [Disabled] for your other HDD

 

then seeing if you can see the partitioned/formatted OS X HDD in your BIOS Boot Menu via F8 at bootup.....

[ZeroKnight]

I have an external USB 2.0/eSATA HDD enclosure running OS X...........it is obviously and noticeably slower on USB 2.0 than on eSATA.......

 

How about setting:

 

SATA 0 Primary RAID [Enabled]

SATA 0 Secondary RAID [Disabled]

for Windows HDD RAID 1 on SATA 0

 

SATA 1 Primary RAID [Enabled]

SATA 1 Secondary RAID [Disabled]

for Windows HDD RAID 2 on SATA 1

 

SATA 2 Primary RAID [Disabled] for your OS X HDD

SATA 2 Secondary RAID [Disabled] for your other HDD

 

then seeing if you can see the partitioned/formatted OS X HDD in your BIOS Boot Menu via F8 at bootup.....

 

Well right now I'm trying my OS X as external. I'm not worried too much about speed from the OS X for now. I just want to do an install and see how everything goes. Once I get this version up and running, i'll move it to internal for speed if its stable.

[verdant]

Well right now I'm trying my OS X as external. I'm not worried too much about speed from the OS X for now. I just want to do an install and see how everything goes. Once I get this version up and running, i'll move it to internal for speed if its stable.

 

That is sensible.........I too did my first Snow Leopard install to an external USB 2.0 2.5" laptop HDD enclosure......it was so slow I could see the bootup line by line but it was very useful for debugging.....

[ZeroKnight]

That is sensible.........I too did my first Snow Leopard install to an external USB 2.0 2.5" laptop HDD enclosure......it was so slow I could see the bootup line by line but it was very useful for debugging.....

 

 

hahaha, that sounds ridiculously slow. So why doesn't my external show up in the bootloader?

[verdant]

hahaha, that sounds ridiculously slow. So why doesn't my external show up in the bootloader?

 

Does your external HDD show up in your BIOS Boot menu (usually accessed by F8 at bootup).....?

[ZeroKnight]

Does your external HDD show up in your BIOS Boot menu (usually accessed by F8 at bootup).....?

 

Yes it does.

[verdant]

Yes it does.

 

So it should be bootable using the BIOS Boot menu.......I suggest that you use Windows to partition/format the HDD as two FAT32 or NTFS simple volumes.....then see if nForceSL132BootDVD_for_SATA_DVDRW can pick it up in the Chameleon bootloader screen as an icon......

[ZeroKnight]

So it should be bootable using the BIOS Boot menu.......I suggest that you use Windows to partition/format the HDD as two FAT32 or NTFS simple volumes.....then see if nForceSL132BootDVD_for_SATA_DVDRW can pick it up in the Chameleon bootloader screen as an icon......

 

 

But partitioning it with Mac OS X installed already would erase it? And how can the mac os x boot from retail install dvd on that hdd? Does the boot dvd install some stuff?

[verdant]

But partitioning it with Mac OS X installed already would erase it? And how can the mac os x boot from retail install dvd on that hdd? Does the boot dvd install some stuff?

 

The nForceSL132BootDVD_for_SATA_DVDRW does not install anything on the HDD.....its purpose is to enable you to install OS X using the Retail OS X Install DVD......BUT before you even get to that stage (i.e. Part F steps 15. to 20. of my install guide in post #1) you need to have set up your target OS X SL HDD volume......

 

So, unless you are using a Snow Leopard distro, the simplest method of installing Snow Leopard (if you do not already have Leopard installed on the PC) is to do a distro install of Leopard on one volume and then use the Leopard OS X system to:

 

1. Generate a RTC patched DSDT.aml file for Snow Leopard [Part B]

 

2. Format a HFS+ volume as your target Snow Leopard OS X volume (OSX_MAIN) and any other volumes your require on the GPT partitioned HDD using Disk Utility

 

3. Use Disk Utility to get the UUID for your target SL OS X volume

 

4. Establish OS X target HDD ownership

 

5. Run EFIStudio or OSx86Tools to generate the graphics string for your graphics card

 

6. Install Chameleon 2.0 RC3 (or RC4) onto your target Snow Leopard OS X volume (OSX_MAIN) and in the process generate a /Extra directory.....

 

7. Put all the necessary kexts in /Extra/Extensions/, sort out the com.apple.Boot.plist and SMBIOS.plist files to put in /Extra, as well as putting DSDT.aml in / or in /Extra......

 

8. Then follow Part F steps 15. to 20. and after you have a working Snow Leopard system you can clone it to the Leopard volume as a backup system......or, keep both the Leopard and Snow Leopard systems.......

 

Are there any of the above steps that you have not already done before following step 8......?

[ZeroKnight]

The nForceSL132BootDVD_for_SATA_DVDRW does not install anything on the HDD.....its purpose is to enable you to install OS X using the Retail OS X Install DVD......BUT before you even get to that stage (i.e. Part F steps 15. to 20. of my install guide in post #1) you need to have set up your target OS X SL HDD volume......

 

So, unless you are using a Snow Leopard distro, the simplest method of installing Snow Leopard (if you do not already have Leopard installed on the PC) is to do a distro install of Leopard on one volume and then use the Leopard OS X system to:

 

1. Generate a RTC patched DSDT.aml file for Snow Leopard [Part B]

 

2. Format a HFS+ volume as your target Snow Leopard OS X volume (OSX_MAIN) and any other volumes your require on the GPT partitioned HDD using Disk Utility

 

3. Use Disk Utility to get the UUID for your target SL OS X volume

 

4. Establish OS X target HDD ownership

 

5. Run EFIStudio or OSx86Tools to generate the graphics string for your graphics card

 

6. Install Chameleon 2.0 RC3 (or RC4) onto your target Snow Leopard OS X volume (OSX_MAIN) and in the process generate a /Extra directory.....

 

7. Put all the necessary kexts in /Extra/Extensions/, sort out the com.apple.Boot.plist and SMBIOS.plist files to put in /Extra, as well as putting DSDT.aml in / or in /Extra......

 

8. Then follow Part F steps 15. to 20. and after you have a working Snow Leopard system you can clone it to the Leopard volume as a backup system......or, keep both the Leopard and Snow Leopard systems.......

 

Are there any of the above steps that you have not already done before following step 8......?

 

The only problem is I don't have the option of installing a Leopard Distro. I finally managed to get the bootloader to see the Snow Leopard but I forgot to put -v -f for boot so I think it froze somewhere. Going to try again and see what happens. I might have to look around for a way to get Leopard Distro option open to me.

[verdant]

The only problem is I don't have the option of installing a Leopard Distro. I finally managed to get the bootloader to see the Snow Leopard but I forgot to put -v -f for boot so I think it froze somewhere. Going to try again and see what happens. I might have to look around for a way to get Leopard Distro option open to me.

 

Do you not have any Leopard distros then?

[ZeroKnight]

Do you not have any Leopard distros then?

 

No I do not .

 

But all is not lost! I was able to boot into SL just fine !! Now I just need to get all the files set-up and then get everything working. Once I get that, I will save all the required items to another place and install it on an internal HDD. Surprisingly it was not slow at all to boot considering it is from external HDD o.O. Thanks A LOT for your help! Couldn't have gotten this far without it.

 

So I restarted and it didn't wipe my CMOS or anything. In fact, it didn't do anything to my BIOS in changes. Is that due to it being an external hdd install?

[verdant]

No I do not .

 

But all is not lost! I was able to boot into SL just fine !! Now I just need to get all the files set-up and then get everything working. Once I get that, I will save all the required items to another place and install it on an internal HDD. Surprisingly it was not slow at all to boot considering it is from external HDD o.O. Thanks A LOT for your help! Couldn't have gotten this far without it.

 

So I restarted and it didn't wipe my CMOS or anything. In fact, it didn't do anything to my BIOS in changes. Is that due to it being an external hdd install?

 

Glad to help......

 

That is good news............so what was stopping you from booting into SL before?

 

Pehaps your BIOS does not need the patched DSDT.aml file because it is OK to begin with.....

[ZeroKnight]

Glad to help......

 

That is good news............so what was stopping you from booting into SL before?

 

Pehaps your BIOS does not need the patched DSDT.aml file because it is OK to begin with.....

 

 

The thing stopping me was that the bootdvd would not show the OSX partition for some reason. Now it does... I'm not going to speculate or blame the magical computer gods XD. They work in mysterious ways.

 

Would the BIOS settings reset even if it was an external HDD booting? I even did a reboot from it. The only thing is I lose CD/DVD drive control.

 

Edit: Oh and it only shows 3GB of RAM when I have 6GB. I'll have to look at that later too. But gotta sleep soon. Work

[verdant]

The thing stopping me was that the bootdvd would not show the OSX partition for some reason. Now it does... I'm not going to speculate or blame the magical computer gods XD. They work in mysterious ways.

 

Would the BIOS settings reset even if it was an external HDD booting? I even did a reboot from it. The only thing is I lose CD/DVD drive control.

 

Edit: Oh and it only shows 3GB of RAM when I have 6GB. I'll have to look at that later too. But gotta sleep soon. Work

 

The CMOS reset issue usually occurs when SL is re-booted.........? However, I cannot remember back to when I first installed to an external HDD what happened when I rebooted SL......

 

Since you have a SATA DVDRW, you will need to consider using maxmem=3072 in com.apple.Boot.plist together with MeDevil's AppleNForceATA_TEST.kext, or get a PATA DVDRW......

 

3GB vs. 6GB probably relates to your com.apple.Boot.plis and/or SMBIOS.plist

 

Likewise......I will catch up on your progress later............

[ZeroKnight]

The CMOS reset issue usually occurs when SL is re-booted.........? However, I cannot remember back to when I first installed to an external HDD what happened when I rebooted SL......

 

Since you have a SATA DVDRW, you will need to consider using maxmem=3072 in com.apple.Boot.plist together with MeDevil's AppleNForceATA_TEST.kext, or get a PATA DVDRW......

 

3GB vs. 6GB probably relates to your com.apple.Boot.plis and/or SMBIOS.plist

 

Likewise......I will catch up on your progress later............

 

I did hit Restart from the Mac menu instead of hard power off. And it still didn't reset CMOS. So I suppose its fixed? Now to get network working then install Chameleon on it.

[verdant]

I did hit Restart from the Mac menu instead of hard power off. And it still didn't reset CMOS. So I suppose its fixed? Now to get network working then install Chameleon on it.

 

You will be able to check if your BIOS Device (RTC) section is OK by extracting your DSDT.aml file and finding Device (RTC) to see if the (IO Decode 16 Length is already 0x02........see post #1 Part B........

 

But if the Length is not 0x02 then you will need to change it to 0x02 (typically from 0x04 and sometimes 0x08)........

[ZoMA_12]

Extra.ziphey verdant

 

i had a working snow leopard os on my computer not so long ago ( thanks to your guide ! ), i used to boot it by the easybcd way "adding an entry for mac osx in windows bcd", but suddenly it stopped to work ,fortunatley i had an emergrncy boot cd i made using BootCDmaker, but unfortunatley this cd is corrupted now and i can't boot the os , i tried using your boot cd "and others aswell" but the only which booted the system was yours but it crashed few minutes later

 

the only solution i can found "WITHOUT installing leopard" is someone make a bootcd for me with the same kexts and dsdt

 

the extra folder with kexts and dsdt in attachments

 

PS:windows say that DSDT.aml is 0 bytes does this mean it's corrupted ?

[verdant]

Extra.ziphey verdant

 

i had a working snow leopard os on my computer not so long ago ( thanks to your guide ! ), i used to boot it by the easybcd way "adding an entry for mac osx in windows bcd", but suddenly it stopped to work ,fortunatley i had an emergrncy boot cd i made using BootCDmaker, but unfortunatley this cd is corrupted now and i can't boot the os , i tried using your boot cd "and others aswell" but the only which booted the system was yours but it crashed few minutes later

 

the only solution i can found "WITHOUT installing leopard" is someone make a bootcd for me with the same kexts and dsdt

 

the extra folder with kexts and dsdt in attachments

 

PS:windows say that DSDT.aml is 0 bytes does this mean it's corrupted ?

 

What do you see when booting the system with -v?

 

1. Have you tried using TransMac to delete the DSDT.aml file from / or /Extra?

 

2. Is your OS X on its own HDD? If so, try booting it from the BIOS Boot Menu (usually accessed via F8 at bootup)

[ZoMA_12]

What do you see when booting the system with -v?

 

1. Have you tried using TransMac to delete the DSDT.aml file from / or /Extra?

 

2. Is your OS X on its own HDD? If so, try booting it from the BIOS Boot Menu (usually accessed via F8 at bootup)

 

 

i can't even see the bootloader, it's like there is no bootloader at all.

 

1-why should i delete it ? as i said before there is no bootloader, and all boot cds from interenet don't load it even yours "that's why when i restarted after booting mac with your cd it gave CMOS CHECKSUM ERROR"

 

2- no,same answer

 

i was using the boot cd to boot flawlessly but the boot cd is corrupted and i need another boot cd

[verdant]

i can't even see the bootloader, it's like there is no bootloader at all.

 

1-why should i delete it ? as i said before there is no bootloader, and all boot cds from interenet don't load it even yours "that's why when i restarted after booting mac with your cd it gave CMOS CHECKSUM ERROR"

 

Not according to your post:

i can't boot the os , i tried using your boot cd "and others aswell" but the only which booted the system was yours but it crashed few minutes later

 

2- no,same answer

 

i was using the boot cd to boot flawlessly but the boot cd is corrupted and i need another boot cd

 

I am talking about the DSDT.aml file in / or in /Extra on your HDD OS X volume!........again based on what you said:

i had a working snow leopard os on my computer not so long ago ( thanks to your guide ! ), i used to boot it by the easybcd way "adding an entry for mac osx in windows bcd", but suddenly it stopped to work

 

 

In your Extra folder, why is your com.apple.Boot.plist file present as a text file, i.e. as com.apple.Boot.plist.txt?

 

If you have com.apple.Boot.plist.txt in /Extra on your HDD OS X volume........then I am not surprised that you cannot boot into your HDD OS X system volume........

[ZoMA_12]

1-Ok, i can boot it with your boot cd and there is nothing new in the verbose mode "no errors the same log as always" but after booting it crashed "BLUESCREEN and it hangs "no kernel panics"" and when i force restart it gave me a CMOS checksum error,so it doesn't load DSDT.aml in both / and /Extra

2-when i said "it stopped working suddenly" i meant the bootloader suddenly stopped working when the windows partition is active and i choose Mac os x from boot menu it shows me a blinking cursor that's all and when the mac partition is active it don't boot anything just hang "doesn't even show a blinking cursor,stops at (Verifying DMI pool data)" so i used to boot it with the boot cd i made it a long time ago for emegency cases but now this cd doesn't boot anymore due to the many scratches on it

about the com.apple.boot.plist i took these file from the boot cd maker directory "PREBOOT" and i don't actually realise why it's .txt , but in my Extra folder it .plist as usual.

i hope you understand my problem now

[verdant]

1-Ok, i can boot it with your boot cd and there is nothing new in the verbose mode "no errors the same log as always" but after booting it crashed "BLUESCREEN and it hangs "no kernel panics"" and when i force restart it gave me a CMOS checksum error,so it doesn't load DSDT.aml in both / and /Extra

2-when i said "it stopped working suddenly" i meant the bootloader suddenly stopped working when the windows partition is active and i choose Mac os x from boot menu it shows me a blinking cursor that's all and when the mac partition is active it don't boot anything just hang "doesn't even show a blinking cursor,stops at (Verifying DMI pool data)" so i used to boot it with the boot cd i made it a long time ago for emegency cases but now this cd doesn't boot anymore due to the many scratches on it

about the com.apple.boot.plist i took these file from the boot cd maker directory "PREBOOT" and i don't actually realise why it's .txt , but in my Extra folder it .plist as usual.

i hope you understand my problem now

 

I have a clearer idea now........except I am surprised that you do not have the original BootCD .iso file from which you can burn a fresh CD using Windows.........also your DSDT.aml file in the Extra folder is empty......it is 0 KB and there is nothing to open.......

 

What are your system details........? I may have a DSDT.aml file that will work for you......

 

The blinking cursor means that the Chameleon 2.0 bootloader on the HDD OS X volume as been corrupted or erased........

 

It could also be your CMOS battery, as the most common cause of checksum errors in CMOS is a battery that is losing power.........which would explain why 'it stopped working suddenly'......

[ZoMA_12]

I have a clearer idea now........except I am surprised that you do not have the original BootCD .iso file from which you can burn a fresh CD using Windows.........also your DSDT.aml file in the Extra folder is empty......it is 0 KB and there is nothing to open.......

 

What are your system details........? I may have a DSDT.aml file that will work for you......

 

The blinking cursor means that the Chameleon 2.0 bootloader on the HDD OS X volume as been corrupted or erased........

 

It could also be your CMOS battery, as the most common cause of checksum errors in CMOS is a battery that is losing power.........which would explain why 'it stopped working suddenly'......

 

I found the image file of the boot CD right after your post LOL i feel so noobish now

can you help me now installing chameleon again ?

i already have two working windows 7 versions on my hard disk

i want to boot from chameleon to windows and mac

sorry if i made you tired with my requests