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

[verdant]

Where can I find kernel.log?

 

Applications >>>> Utilities >>>> Console >>>> FILES >>>> /private/var/log

[DJAngelicon]

Anyone know which are the best drivers for BFG GeForce GTX 260?

[verdant]

Anyone know which are the best drivers for BFG GeForce GTX 260?

 

Have you tried installing these drivers in the order: NVIDIA_Retail_Mac_Driver_Installer_18.5.2f16 and then Enabler_for_Nvidia_and_multiple_ATI_cards..........

 

 

Or, EFIStudio v1.1 GTX........

 

Or, using Chameleon 2.0 GraphicsEnabler in com.apple.Boot.plist file in /Extra/.........

 

<key>GraphicsEnabler</key>

<string>Yes</string>

 

If that alone does not work, then try:

 

<key>GraphicsEnabler</key>

<string>yes</string>

<key>PciRoot</key>

<string>1</string>

[DJAngelicon]

Have you tried installing the following drivers in this order:

http://rapidshare.com/files/365666385/GT20...EVGA_Folder.zip

http://rapidshare.com/files/365666477/NVEnabler.kext.zip

 

Or, EFIStudio v1.1 GTX........

 

Or, using Chameleon 2.0 GraphicsEnabler in com.apple.Boot.plist file in /Extra/.........

 

<key>GraphicsEnabler</key>

<string>Yes</string>

 

If that alone does not work, then try:

 

<key>GraphicsEnabler</key>

<string>yes</string>

<key>PciRoot</key>

<string>1</string>

 

Thanks I will check those out the two links are not working but the EFIStudio one did so I try and search for the other two. Thanks.

[verdant]

Thanks I will check those out the two links are not working but the EFIStudio one did so I try and search for the other two. Thanks.

 

Provided new link in my post above........

[DJAngelicon]

Provided new link in my post above........

 

Hey forgot to say Thank You! for posting those links. I got it to boot so far using -f -x -v to work on it but it hate to but normal or with -f -v. This board is way so unstable compare to the Gigabyte board on my wife system which I tried it a long time ago with the 10.5.6 version. Anyways I am almost deciding to just get rid of the board and get a Gigabyte instead because I read that even after you have it running is still unstable, random freeze, no DVDRW SATA working etc...

[verdant]

Hey forgot to say Thank You! for posting those links. I got it to boot so far using -f -x -v to work on it but it hate to but normal or with -f -v. This board is way so unstable compare to the Gigabyte board on my wife system which I tried it a long time ago with the 10.5.6 version. Anyways I am almost deciding to just get rid of the board and get a Gigabyte instead because I read that even after you have it running is still unstable, random freeze, no DVDRW SATA working etc...

 

Have you checked on its stability with the SATA DVDRW not connected, or with a PATA DVDRW connected?

 

My guess is that the instabilities are Southbridge and/or Northbridge chipset-temperature related.........see here........which may be responsible for the nForce 680i MOBO storage issues reported (Southbridge controls SATA/PATA/USB etc.) reported here......

 

This temperature issue has also been reported for the 780i as well.........EVGA and XFX MOBOs seem to be mentioned more than Asus.........see here and here........

 

So, if you like DIY, rather than simply ditching the board, try a simple cooling mod first......

 

Even on my 650i MOBO, I have put cooling fans over the Northbridge and Southbridge chipset heatsinks.....the Northbridge chipset has a Scythe Mini-Kase Ultra 40mm Quiet Cooling fan mounted on its finned heatsink to blow air down on it (running full speed).......the Southbridge chipset has a Rasurbo 40mm Quiet Cooling fan (running in Q-Fan mode, with its 4 mounting screws partially screwed into the fan frame to lift if off the flat Southbridge heatsink) mounted on it, to blow air down on the heatsink face .......these two fans are mounted using "blobs" of Butyl rubber adhesive, which exhibits both very good holding power against gravity [but is still removable] and vibration damping behaviour, with a maximum service temperature of 93°C........for more details on my system see here.......

[DJAngelicon]

Have you checked on its stability with the SATA DVDRW not connected, or with a PATA DVDRW connected?

 

My guess is that the instabilities are Southbridge and/or Northbridge chipset-temperature related.........see here........which may be responsible for the nForce 680i MOBO storage issues reported (Southbridge controls SATA/PATA/USB etc.) reported here......

 

This temperature issue has also been reported for the 780i as well.........EVGA and XFX MOBOs seem to be mentioned more than Asus.........see here and here........

 

So, if you like DIY, rather than simply ditching the board, try a simple cooling mod first......

 

Even on my 650i MOBO, I have put cooling fans over the Northbridge and Southbridge chipset heatsinks.....the Northbridge chipset has a Scythe Mini-Kase Ultra 40mm Quiet Cooling fan mounted on its finned heatsink to blow air down on it (running full speed).......the Southbridge chipset has a Rasurbo 40mm Quiet Cooling fan (running in Q-Fan mode, with its 4 mounting screws partially screwed into the fan frame to lift if off the flat Southbridge heatsink) mounted on it, to blow air down on the heatsink face .......these two fans are mounted using "blobs" of Butyl rubber adhesive, which exhibits both very good holding power against gravity [but is still removable] and vibration damping behaviour, with a maximum service temperature of 93°C........for more details on my system see here.......

 

Well I and what I would like to mention since I was not clear about the error that was happening. See first of all my case is an Antec Nine which has 4x 120mm fans and 1x 200mm exhaust fan which are currently on high.

 

Ok so when I boot without the nForce special DVDRW SATA boot CD it will get a KP, Even if I use any of the commands I will still get the same KP. So, when I use the nForce special Boot DVD I can get it to boot only under -f -x -v which I see some tiny lines around the logon screen which I take it is from my GTX260 card. It takes a while for me to type the logon password and once I do I am inside the desktop which I can do just about anything as long as I don't get the spinning globe on my cursor and try to do other things like click on a folder etc...

 

I been playing with the Support files from v2.2 and now with v2.3 to see what I can do to fix that boot issue. It detect my Wifi card that is from D-Link right away which is nice being that the system is wireless at the moment and not wired. I will try to take some pictures of the errors and show them to see if is something simple or not.

 

My question is if the system gets updated, have all the correct kext would it funtion in a stable condition or will it be shaky at times? meaning the occasional freeze, no use of the DVDRW SATA drive, or USB issues etc...

 

By the way thanks for the links I will be checking them out.

[verdant]

Well I and what I would like to mention since I was not clear about the error that was happening. See first of all my case is an Antec Nine which has 4x 120mm fans and 1x 200mm exhaust fan which are currently on high.

 

Ok so when I boot without the nForce special DVDRW SATA boot CD it will get a KP, Even if I use any of the commands I will still get the same KP. So, when I use the nForce special Boot DVD I can get it to boot only under -f -x -v which I see some tiny lines around the logon screen which I take it is from my GTX260 card. It takes a while for me to type the logon password and once I do I am inside the desktop which I can do just about anything as long as I don't get the spinning globe on my cursor and try to do other things like click on a folder etc...

 

I been playing with the Support files from v2.2 and now with v2.3 to see what I can do to fix that boot issue. It detect my Wifi card that is from D-Link right away which is nice being that the system is wireless at the moment and not wired. I will try to take some pictures of the errors and show them to see if is something simple or not.

 

My question is if the system gets updated, have all the correct kext would it funtion in a stable condition or will it be shaky at times? meaning the occasional freeze, no use of the DVDRW SATA drive, or USB issues etc...

 

By the way thanks for the links I will be checking them out.

 

No problem............if you get any errors just post the screenshots here.........

 

Re the temperature issue, note the following extract from the Bjorn3D.com 2007 review of your MOBO:

 

The northbridge and southbridge chipsets are both cooled passively.

The heat goes from the southbridge and dissipates at the northbridge through the fins. If you plan on overclocking or use a fanless cooling on the CPU you might have to add some active cooling on the northbridge to help dissipate the heat. EVGA includes a fan that can be clipped onto the fins on the northbridge for this purpose. EVGA does not include a fan for the Southbridge but you can buy one from their website. This is only needed if you intend on liquid cooling of the Northbridge.

[DJAngelicon]

Ic, Well the mobo I have does have a fan on the north-bridge that came like that from the factory. Only area I was thinking of adding maybe a fan is to the south-bridge but I am not sure yet. If I do end up keeping the board then I will if not then I will leave it alone.

[verdant]

Ic, Well the mobo I have does have a fan on the north-bridge that came like that from the factory. Only area I was thinking of adding maybe a fan is to the south-bridge but I am not sure yet. If I do end up keeping the board then I will if not then I will leave it alone.

 

I would use a PATA DVDRW jumper-set and connected as Master using an 80-wire IDE cable......also with only 2GB RAM fitted you should not have any RAM issues with any AppleNForceATA.kext.........and after installing OS X you should be able to boot both cores.............note that my nForceSLBoot132DVD.iso should be burnt to a DVD not to a CD and burned slowly at < X4........and the Retail Mac OS X Install DVD booted using -v -f.......

[DJAngelicon]

I would use a PATA DVDRW jumper-set and connected as Master using an 80-wire IDE cable......also with only 2GB RAM fitted you should not have any RAM issues with any AppleNForceATA.kext.........and after installing OS X you should be able to boot both cores.............note that my nForceSLBoot132DVD.iso should be burnt to a DVD not to a CD and burned slowly at < X4........and the Retail Mac OS X Install DVD booted using -v -f.......

 

Ok I will try that then to see, I do have the nForceSLBoot132DVD.iso burned at 1x. I will then also remove 2 give of ram in the meantime. Plus I will install it with maybe my old GeForce card prior to my GTX260 so that I can then install the drivers in order to run that card.

[verdant]

Ok I will try that then to see, I do have the nForceSLBoot132DVD.iso burned at 1x. I will then also remove 2 give of ram in the meantime. Plus I will install it with maybe my old GeForce card prior to my GTX260 so that I can then install the drivers in order to run that card.

 

You can boot with -v cpus=1 maxmem=2048 when booting the nForceSLBoot132DVD and so do not need to physically remove the RAM...........but it would be a good idea to get OS X SL going with your older GeForce GFX card..........

[Lonewolf1991]

Hi, I tried to use the nForceSLBoot132DVD-RW and I get the chameleon loading screen, but after it loads my monitor turns off but the computer is still running...any ideas?

MOBO: Evga nForce 780i

GFX Card: Evga GTX280

4GB Ram

2 SATA DVD Drives and 4 Sata HDDs (2 in RAID)

[verdant]

Hi, I tried to use the nForceSLBoot132DVD-RW and I get the chameleon loading screen, but after it loads my monitor turns off but the computer is still running...any ideas?

MOBO: Evga nForce 780i

GFX Card: Evga GTX280

4GB Ram

2 SATA DVD Drives and 4 Sata HDDs (2 in RAID)

 

Try swapping your display connector to the other port on your graphics card...........

[Lonewolf1991]

Same thing happens, the monitor just turns off but everything else keeps running :\

[verdant]

Same thing happens, the monitor just turns off but everything else keeps running :\

 

A. First recommendation..........always have 2 fully working OS X installs that are clones of each other..........so if you brick one system, you just install a clone of the other system in its place......no fresh installs required........

 

B. Use a PATA (IDE) DVDRW jumper-set and connected as Master if my nForceSLBoot132DVD_for_SATA_DVDRW.iso burned slowly to DVD or DVD-RW does not boot for you, and/or you want to use > 3GB RAM and/or you cannot read/write CD/DVDs in OS X using your SATA DVDRW.......

 

C. Still looking into sleep.......but with OC'd CPU and/or RAM, it seems that sleep is not possible in Leopard or Snow Leopard......

 

D. 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 (which you have now done) 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, you have to follow all the steps in post #1 Part F. Section 2., that is step (1) to step (13) before even booting from the nForceSLBoot132DVD you made in step (14), and then following steps (15) to (20)...........

Boot the nForceSLBoot132DVD_for_SATA_DVDRW with -v cpus=1 maxmem=2048 and boot the Retail Mac OS X Install DVD with -v -f

[Lonewolf1991]

I attempted to install iAtkos S3, and it worked with -v arch=i386 cpus=1 maxmem=2048 using the boot cd. It successfully installed but now when I use the boot CD to boot the SL volume I get this -> http://dl.dropbox.com/u/7780845/IMG_0521.JPG

[verdant]

I attempted to install iAtkos S3, and it worked with -v arch=i386 cpus=1 maxmem=2048 using the boot cd. It successfully installed but now when I use the boot CD to boot the SL volume I get this -> http://dl.dropbox.com/u/7780845/IMG_0521.JPG

 

You should not have to boot from the iATKOS S3 v2 DVD to boot the HDD SL volume.........it is not finding the kernel to boot into......see my iATKOS S3 v2 nForce install guide in my blog..........

[Lonewolf1991]

Is it okay though that I have to use your Boot CD in order to get to the installation screen of iAtkos S3?

[verdant]

Is it okay though that I have to use your Boot CD in order to get to the installation screen of iAtkos S3?

 

No, if you have the iATKOS S3 v2, you should be able to boot it using

-v arch=i386 cpus=1 maxmem=2048

Note maxmem=2048 is only needed if you have > 3 GB but you might as well use even if you have 3GB RAM........

[Lonewolf1991]

I tried that and got a bunch of "Firewire GUID ffffffffffffffffffffffffff is invalid", "Still waiting for root device" and "IOATAController device blocking bus." Maybe I have to rewire my sata cables? Since the DVD drives are connected to SATA 1 and SATA 2...

[verdant]

I tried that and got a bunch of "Firewire GUID ffffffffffffffffffffffffff is invalid", "Still waiting for root device" and "IOATAController device blocking bus." Maybe I have to rewire my sata cables? Since the DVD drives are connected to SATA 1 and SATA 2...

 

Borrow or get a PATA (IDE) DVDRW and jumper-set and connect it to your MOBO using an 80-wire IDE cable.......

[Lonewolf1991]

Alrighty, installed using a IDE DVD Drive and used the guide on the blog, got the same screen as before -> http://dl.dropbox.com/u/7780845/IMG_0521.JPG

[RaMDaY]

I could never boot with elliotforcelegaccyRTC.kext installed. Once I removed that it booted fine.