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

[allenbina]

I would DEFINITELY do it. I now totally rely on my osx computer and rarely boot into windows. It does take a long while to get all the bugs out, but my hackintosh does everything a mac does, literally. I'm not missing out on anything. Try to balance the amount of time you spend on it getting it totally perfect with what you want out of it and keep posting in this thread.

 

Read the instructions on page 1 a couple times so you understand what you're doing before you start. that will make it much easier to troubleshoot your own problems when they come around.

 

good luck

[verdant]

Hey

 

I want to install Snow Leopard on my desktop, specs are below. I'm not sure what installation discs I should use etc.. I haven't exactly followed the OSx86 scene in quite sometime now.

 

Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad 8300 @ 2.5 GHz

Graphics: nVidia 9800 GT

Motherboard: XFX nForce 630i with GeForce 7100 Chipset

Memory: OCZ Single Channel 4096 Bytes of DDR2

 

I did install 10.5.something a few years ago, and had massive problems with startup and shutdown etc. It took over 2 weeks I believe of continuous support from this forum and some dude (forgot his name) to help me out.

 

I also do want QE/CI working (I'm sure that won't be a problem with the 9800 GT); I would also love to have all 4 cores working without overheating issues in the actual PC itself (I remember you had to delete some kexts to get that to work). Would love to have hibernate/standby to work, and shutdown/restart (compulsory). I often connect over 5 USB's to my computer at once, so USB drivers must work.

 

If this sounds too much let me know... I am currently using Windows 7, and recently have been running into problems such as icon cache loading, useless windows popping up every now and then... not to mention the fact it takes over 2 minutes for Windows to complete boot (I dont understand what it has to find first). I own a 15" Macbook Pro Core i7, so if I need to use anything from that (be it not harming drivers/kext/cpu/the body itself in anyway).

 

Would EXTREMELY appreciate help for anyone here!

 

See Krishna21's guide here as your chipset is AHCI compliant.........

[herpaderpa]

See Krishna21's guide here as your chipset is AHCI compliant.........

 

Would everything function correctly as if I were on Windows or an actual Mac?

[verdant]

Would everything function correctly as if I were on Windows or an actual Mac?

 

No guarantees.........remember it is a "hack" not a Mac..........you will have to try it first to see how close you get to 100% functionality without kernel panics etc.

[herpaderpa]

No guarantees.........remember it is a "hack" not a Mac..........you will have to try it first to see how close you get to 100% functionality without kernel panics etc.

 

Okay, and what if I want to dual boot with Windows 7? What are the negative effects (if there are any) or problems that may occur? The reason I want to do that is because if there is some problem I could always boot in with Windows and fix the issue using MacDrive or some program like that.

 

What kind of installation should I do (I mean should I use Kalyway, iATKOS, iPC etc ?) Which one is better?

[verdant]

Okay, and what if I want to dual boot with Windows 7? What are the negative effects (if there are any) or problems that may occur? The reason I want to do that is because if there is some problem I could always boot in with Windows and fix the issue using MacDrive or some program like that.

 

What kind of installation should I do (I mean should I use Kalyway, iATKOS, iPC etc ?) Which one is better?

 

If you want to dual boot Windows then it is best to have OS X and Windows 7 on separate HDDs........you can dual boot using the OS X chameleon bootloader.......alternatively, you could have dual OS X systems installed.........one Main and the other as a Backup (one version behind Main always) that you can use to to fix Main and vice versa.....

 

Read and follow Krishna21's guide like I said..........Retail install is best........

 

Of the SL distros, the best is iATKOS S3 v2 in my view.......

[gwmarthe]

has anyone had luck getting a steady mac os on a p5n e sli board? if so can you please help me, thanks

[verdant]

has anyone had luck getting a steady mac os on a p5n e sli board? if so can you please help me, thanks

 

It depends what you mean by steady........are you getting KPs?..........if so, what KP messages and when..........

[iLeopod]

Hi all,

im currently trying some dsdt stuff. Already got native power-management. No i'm trying some cosmetic fixes to show the SATA controller in system-profiler. Has anyone also tried it?

[verdant]

Hi all,

im currently trying some dsdt stuff. Already got native power-management. No i'm trying some cosmetic fixes to show the SATA controller in system-profiler. Has anyone also tried it?

 

What you are trying on your 680i as regards DSDT modding is very interesting.........in particular, enabling sleep.......do you know if your mods enable sleep when the CPU and/or RAM is overclocked......?

 

If your DSDT mods get to the point when it can be shown which of the mods are generic mods to non-680i nForce + Intel CPU MOBO DSDT.aml files, then I will gladly put a pointer to your DSDT modding topic in post #2 if the mods also work on my 650i for example.......

[iLeopod]

The most mods are generic. the difference is most time the address and the device name. Another is that we tell the system nvidia instead of intel devices.

But i'm assuming when all intel (asus /gigabyte) mainboard have the same device addresses also all nForce will have the same.

 

I think also overlooking should not be a problem because we let chameleon RC5 deal with speedsteeping (when enabled).

 

In my opinion Native power management (enables also speed steeping with RC5) ready for public.

 

For sleep further development is needed.

[KSwoosh]

hey guys, maybe you can help me out, im trying to install iAtkos S3 v2, but it just wont boot after installation

 

the error message [taken when booting in single user mode: booting goes less fast, so i can take a picture]:

it gives the same error here

 

my specs:

MOBO: Asus P5N32-E SLI

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6850

GPU: nVidia GTX285

MEM: 4GB

 

seeing this thread makes me think ive missed a big thing in the installation, considering ive also got a nForce motherboard...

but i really dont know where to start... perhaps you could help me out?

[verdant]

hey guys, maybe you can help me out, im trying to install iAtkos S3 v2, but it just wont boot after installation

 

the error message [taken when booting in single user mode: booting goes less fast, so i can take a picture]:

it gives the same error here

 

my specs:

MOBO: Asus P5N32-E SLI

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6850

GPU: nVidia GTX285

MEM: 4GB

 

seeing this thread makes me think ive missed a big thing in the installation, considering ive also got a nForce motherboard...

but i really dont know where to start... perhaps you could help me out?

 

See my blog for my iATKOS S3 v2 Snow Leopard install guide......but first double check your BIOS settings in my Series 7 nForce + Intel CPU MOBO Guide for Leopard (includes link to BIOS settings for OS X in post #1) here and set your BIOS as shown in template for your nForce chipset (680i?)

 

If you have any "still waiting for root device" errors, then get a IDE (PATA) DVDRW and jumper-set and connect as Master to your MOBO......

[bbenson04]

@verdant

 

I just successfully installed iAtkos S3 v2, and was having issues installing the combo update, but replaced the AppleNForceATA.kext with AnV's. That allowed me to install the update (10.6.4) and hopefully that fixed the KP problem.

(I assume thats what its doing when the screen goes dark and says you need to restart the computer)

 

Is there a fix for sleep yet? When I choose Sleep, I can hear the hard drive click off, and the screen goes off, doesn't wake up either.

 

 

[verdant]

@verdant

 

I just successfully installed iAtkos S3 v2, and was having issues installing the combo update, but replaced the AppleNForceATA.kext with AnV's. That allowed me to install the update (10.6.4) and hopefully that fixed the KP problem.

(I assume thats what its doing when the screen goes dark and says you need to restart the computer)

 

Is there a fix for sleep yet? When I choose Sleep, I can hear the hard drive click off, and the screen goes off, doesn't wake up either.

 

 

 

Good news that you got iATKOS S3 v2 installed and running OK.......as for sleep, see post 1711 in this topic by iLeopod.........

[bbenson04]

Good news that you got iATKOS S3 v2 installed and running OK.......as for sleep, see post 1711 in this topic by iLeopod.........

 

Oh.... oops.

 

Well I haven't had any KP's and was able to use Software Update to update to 10.6.6 without a hitch.

[allenbina]

hey community,

 

I recently noticed that my usb drives no longer mount. bluetooth usb adapters work and so do controllers, but no drives mounting. I tried small usb sticks and hard drive controllers. I googled to no avail. does anyone know what is wrong?

 

thanks

[verdant]

hey community,

 

I recently noticed that my usb drives no longer mount. bluetooth usb adapters work and so do controllers, but no drives mounting. I tried small usb sticks and hard drive controllers. I googled to no avail. does anyone know what is wrong?

 

thanks

 

What version of OS X are you on.....?

 

1] Check that the kernel version and system.kext versions match.....

 

2] If on 10.6.5 or 10.6.6, then rollback to the 10.6.4 IOUSBFamily and IOUSBMassStorageClass kexts........

 

3] What does System Profiler report for USB....?

[ZeroKnight]

It's been a while since I installed this. I just wanted to say thanks a lot again for the guide.

 

I was able to install Snow Leopard and even update to the latest update without any trouble at all. I have only issue that still occurs and that is random freezes. I did a search through the post and found some issues related to browsing a win7 hdd but I get random freezes even while not browsing a win7 hdd. Simply just staying at a desktop can sometimes cause a freeze. The freeze occurs with the spinning color wheel of doom. It is very sporadic. It doesn't happen too often though.

 

Anyways, thanks again for the guide! It worked amazingly!

[allenbina]

What version of OS X are you on.....?

 

1] Check that the kernel version and system.kext versions match.....

 

2] If on 10.6.5 or 10.6.6, then rollback to the 10.6.4 IOUSBFamily and IOUSBMassStorageClass kexts........

 

3] What does System Profiler report for USB....?

 

worked like a charm. I had to roll back to the 10.6.4 kexts. thank you VERY MUCH!!!

[verdant]

worked like a charm. I had to roll back to the 10.6.4 kexts. thank you VERY MUCH!!!

 

Glad to help.......

[verdant]

It's been a while since I installed this. I just wanted to say thanks a lot again for the guide.

 

I was able to install Snow Leopard and even update to the latest update without any trouble at all. I have only issue that still occurs and that is random freezes. I did a search through the post and found some issues related to browsing a win7 hdd but I get random freezes even while not browsing a win7 hdd. Simply just staying at a desktop can sometimes cause a freeze. The freeze occurs with the spinning color wheel of doom. It is very sporadic. It doesn't happen too often though.

 

Anyways, thanks again for the guide! It worked amazingly!

 

Hi ZeroKnight,

 

Glad my Retail SL install guide worked for you so well......

 

Try disabling Spotlight Indexing of NTFS volumes and/or not mounting NTFS volumes on the OS X Desktop.......but it may help to completely disable Spotlight Indexing and use EasyFind instead.....

 

To stop NTFS volumes automounting on the OS X Desktop, try the evaluation version of TinkerToolSystem Release 2...........

 

Cheers

verdant

[KSwoosh]

See my blog for my iATKOS S3 v2 Snow Leopard install guide......but first double check your BIOS settings in my Series 7 nForce + Intel CPU MOBO Guide for Leopard (includes link to BIOS settings for OS X in post #1) here and set your BIOS as shown in template for your nForce chipset (680i?)

 

If you have any "still waiting for root device" errors, then get a IDE (PATA) DVDRW and jumper-set and connect as Master to your MOBO......

ehm... I don't want to sound stupid or anything, but I really don't know what to do when reading your "blog".

 

There is like no clear structure or overview... [especially with the thousands of different font sizes and colors]

 

I am using the Asus P5N32-E SLI motherboard, with the 680i chipset, like you said.

 

As for the guide to install OSX, where do I start? [ http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php...=0#entry1252071 ]

I see you made parts, but I don't know which one to choose...

 

I use the windows bootloader to choose between Windows and OSX, and then i see the chameleon bootloader to boot osx.

I'd like to keep it that way, but I don't know which part to follow in your guide.

I also dont want to install from an usb stil, but from the iAtkos S3 V2 disk... which isnt listed?

 

I also looked it up, and my 680i chipset is NOT AHCI compliant, though I have my DVDRW connected using an IDE cable, not SATA

 

 

Also, I had a look at the "slashhack's v0.1 AppleNForceATA.kext", but I dont know which one to get :S

there are different versions, do you know which one i need to get?

1 - AppleNForceATA.kext(10_4).zip (AppleNForceATA.kext v0.1 compiled for 10.4.8 Nov 2008 140KB)

2 - AppleNForceATA.kext(UNTESTED).zip (AppleNForceATA 0.1 binary with support for more devices. NEVER TESTED Apr 2009 26.9KB)

3 - AppleNForceATA.kext.zip (AppleNForceATA.kext v0.1 Oct 2008 29.0KB)

4 - AnV's AppleNForceATA 1.0.4 optimized for SL 32/64bit

 

 

Yet something else: I read about the NForceATA driver not working properly in the 64bit mode, but i dont need that, do I?

I read in some articles that the 32bit kernel is also able to adress more than 3GB RAM, and run 64bit programs [thanks to its universal kernel structure?]

[verdant]

ehm... I don't want to sound stupid or anything, but I really don't know what to do when reading your "blog".

 

There is like no clear structure or overview... [especially with the thousands of different font sizes and colors]

 

I am using the Asus P5N32-E SLI motherboard, with the 680i chipset, like you said.

 

As for the guide to install OSX, where do I start? [ http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php...=0#entry1252071 ]

I see you made parts, but I don't know which one to choose...

 

I use the windows bootloader to choose between Windows and OSX, and then i see the chameleon bootloader to boot osx.

I'd like to keep it that way, but I don't know which part to follow in your guide.

I also dont want to install from an usb stil, but from the iAtkos S3 V2 disk... which isnt listed?

 

I also looked it up, and my 680i chipset is NOT AHCI compliant, though I have my DVDRW connected using an IDE cable, not SATA

 

 

Also, I had a look at the "slashhack's v0.1 AppleNForceATA.kext", but I dont know which one to get :S

there are different versions, do you know which one i need to get?

1 - AppleNForceATA.kext(10_4).zip (AppleNForceATA.kext v0.1 compiled for 10.4.8 Nov 2008 140KB)

2 - AppleNForceATA.kext(UNTESTED).zip (AppleNForceATA 0.1 binary with support for more devices. NEVER TESTED Apr 2009 26.9KB)

3 - AppleNForceATA.kext.zip (AppleNForceATA.kext v0.1 Oct 2008 29.0KB)

4 - AnV's AppleNForceATA 1.0.4 optimized for SL 32/64bit

 

 

Yet something else: I read about the NForceATA driver not working properly in the 64bit mode, but i dont need that, do I?

I read in some articles that the 32bit kernel is also able to adress more than 3GB RAM, and run 64bit programs [thanks to its universal kernel structure?]

 

A. The guide of mine that have you linked to in post #1 is for a full Retail OS X Snow Leopard install using the Apple Retail Mac OS X Install DVD or its .dmg image.......that is why you do not see iATKOS S3 v2 listed......

 

B. iATKOS S3 v2, like ALL single-layer DVD distros, is a "stripped-down" version of the Retail OS X Install DVD containing NO Printer Drivers etc........if you want to install iATKOS S3 v2 then use my blog install guide.....this install guide like the Retail Install Guide, is written to be followed step-by-step, from step 1 to step 9 in sequence........so, do not be overwhelmed......go slowly step by step down the page.....

 

C. For a 64bit AppleNForceATA kext, see my nForce RETAIL INSTALL GUIDE for SL PART K. Developers/Contributors Corner, Item 6.

 

But you do not have to run in 64bit mode.......my nForce RETAIL INSTALL GUIDE for SL is written for running in 32bit mode.....

 

D. Do not be overwhelmed by my Snow Leopard guide........honestly, it is all in the guide, step-by-step......

 

[1] Disconnect your Windows HDD

 

[2] Disconnect any external devices except mouse and keyboard that you have connected to your MOBO

 

[3] Use a Leopard distro Install DVD, e.g. iPC10.5.6 Final Version (see my blog iPC10.5.6 Install Guide) or XxX 10.5.6 v2 to run Disk Utiliy to partition the HDD as GPT and format as mac OS X Extended (Journaled) into a 12GB OS X target volume as the first physical volume on your 500GB HDD for OS X Leopard, followed by 2 equal size volumes for a main Snow Leopard system and for a backup Snow Leopard system............

 

[4] Install Leopard OS X but do not select any graphics/video options initially in the Customise menu......just get Leopard OS X running in VESA mode so that you can see the OS X Desktop.......

 

Unless you are using a Snow Leopard distro such as iATKOS S3 v2 Install DVD, 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 (which you have now done I hope......) 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......

 

That is, do all the above before you decide to use either the USB flash drive installer method or my nForceSLBoot132DVD installer method for installing from the Mac OS X Snow Leopard Retail Install DVD.........

 

See the section right near the top of post #1

 

HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE

 

it tells you what parts to follow for each of the options available to you.......

 

8. As for booting in 32bit mode vs 64bit mode..........I would recommend that you initially get the system working 100% in 32bit mode........

 

This is because the 64-bit kernel is only used by default in the 2008 and later Xserve rack mounted servers capable of using up to 48 GiB of memory, but also 2008 and later Mac Pros and the mid 2010 Mac Mini when running 10.6.x Server. All other Macs (apart from the mid 2010 Mac Pros) use the 32/64-bit hybrid kernel by default because their hardware doesn’t support more than 32 GiB of memory, and since Snow Leopard is completely backwards-compatible with 32-bit applications and runs 64-bit applications regardless of whether it boots into a 64-bit or a 32-bit kernel, running the purely 64-bit kernel has little significant advantage........

 

I am not saying that there are no advantages, just that they are not as yet critically significant to the majority of OS X users...........the advantages being that the 64bit OS X kernel has the ability to [1] set up a memory address space for itself greater than 32-bits (4GB) and [2] access the full x64 register set of 64-bit CPUs..........hence, Apple is gradually increasing the number of Mac models that boot by default into the 64bit kernel.........

 

Furthermore, regarding Windows 7:

 

Pros and Cons of a 64 bit system:

• You can address much more than 4GB of memory, which is ideal for avid gamers, CAD, video editors and heavy multi-taskers. However, any 32 bit software you use will still be restricted to 4GB memory – you need a 64 bit CPU, OS and applications to take full advantage of the extra RAM.
  
• 16 bit applications will no longer run. Although this is unlikely to be a problem, if you use very old software (from the Windows 3.1 days!) then it will not work under a 64 bit OS.
  
• Existing 32 bit drivers no longer work.If you have older or poorly supported hardware you may find that it can no longer be used. Got a 7 year old scanner that just about works in Vista? You may not be able to get it working in 64 bit Windows 7.
  
• Unsigned kernel-mode drivers no longer work. Along with the issue above, the inability to run unsigned kernel mode drivers will cause problems for old hardware. (There is reportedly a way to bypass this check).
  
• Running some 32 bit applications on a 64 bit OS could actually be slower. The additional overheads in running 32 bit software in 64 bit mode could cause a slight degradation in performance. It will take some time for 64 bit software to become the norm.
  

The Windows system needs a full 64bit kernel to work at its best because the 32bit kernel Windows system is very limited, whereas Mac OS X is different because the 32bit kernel is capable of launching and running 64bit processes, i.e. applications..........

[bbenson04]

@verdant

 

I notice that my CPU temps at a little higher than normal when in SL, compared to Win7. Do you think this could be fixed by installing the AppleIntelCPUPowerManagement.kext? Its not a big difference, but it runs at 27C in Win7, and 36C in OSX.

 

It doesn't cause issues, I just like to know that its running really cool.