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[Guide] Dell XPS 15 L502X (Early 2011) Snow Leopard Install (possibly L702x too)

wen1

By wen1,
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markmac81
markmac81
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I now realize how stupid it is to skip the DTST.aml file.

 

Can someone help me out?

 

The file is called DSDT.aml, make sure this is how you spell it when comping it to your hard drive (case sensitive too). Also, I think you have the 1376x768 resolution screen right? This may make a difference too, but I'm not sure about that.

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FireJam
FireJam
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The file is called DSDT.aml, make sure this is how you spell it when comping it to your hard drive (case sensitive too). Also, I think you have the 1376x768 resolution screen right? This may make a difference too, but I'm not sure about that.

 

Yeah sorry, I spelled it wrong but on my XPS it's good.

And yes indeed, my resolution is 1366x768

Is that a problem?

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wen1
wen1
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FireJam,

 

The screen resolution should work fine. Do not skip the DSDT.

 

But seems like someone else ran in to the same issue as you did and here is the solution that worked for them.

 

"after you install 10.6.8 do not reboot.. first replace the Appleacpiplatform.kext and IOPCIfamily.kext from Snow Leopard and repair permissions. Then reboot. This should fix your issue and the "PCI configuration begin" lock up. You can find the kext here or google. "

 

 

 

posted by sybexs on Page 3 of this thread i think. Save the two kexts in question from 10.6.3

 

Hope this helps

 

 

 

Yeah sorry, I spelled it wrong but on my XPS it's good.

And yes indeed, my resolution is 1366x768

Is that a problem?

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markmac81
markmac81
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FireJam,

 

The screen resolution should work fine. Do not skip the DSDT.

 

But seems like someone else ran in to the same issue as you did and here is the solution that worked for them.

 

"after you install 10.6.8 do not reboot.. first replace the Appleacpiplatform.kext and IOPCIfamily.kext from Snow Leopard and repair permissions. Then reboot. This should fix your issue and the "PCI configuration begin" lock up. You can find the kext here or google. "

 

 

 

posted by sybexs on Page 3 of this thread i think. Save the two kexts in question from 10.6.3

 

Hope this helps

 

Or during the install process, run step 11 again after installing the 10.6.8 update. I forgot I had the same problem and that's how I solved it.

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wen1
wen1
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No, I have the same problem. I set a long wait time before sleep and a screen saver to minimize the occurance.

 

Does anyone else's screen get all messed up after the screen (just the screen of course) goes to sleep?

 

The colors go all funny and I have to restart to fix it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Apparently PCI Configuration Begins freeze issue can be addressed by changing something in the DSDT

 

Look for the PCI0 device in the DSDT and change _ADR to _UID

 

Device (PCI0)

{

Name (_HID, EisaId ("PNP0A08"))

Name (_CID, EisaId ("PNP0A03"))

Name (_ADR, Zero)

Method (^BN00, 0, NotSerialized)

...

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Silare
Silare
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Hi hi, I've been reading the guide so far for my new L502x, but I seem to have problems with installing 10.6.3 (Retail DVD) onto my laptop using my 8 GB USB drive. So far, I think my USB drive is bootable (I used to put Linux on it and boot into it), but when I install, about 1/3 to 1/2-way into the install, I get an error saying:

 

"Install failed. The Installer could not copy the necessary support files."

 

I got another .dmg, but even with that second one the problem still persists.

 

So far, my steps are as follows:

[01] Made dummy NTFS partition in GParted on Linux Mint to allocate the right size for Disk Utility ahead of time.

 

(Used an existing Hackintosh to do the following:)

[02] Repartitioned USB drive to be MBR with one Mac OS X Extended partition (called Snowy).

[03] Restored 10.6.3 image to 8 GB USB drive without erasing (it was newly formatted).

[04] Added files for MBR support from the guide (step 02 of the guide) and USB3 kext (step 03 of the guide).

 

EDIT: I plugged the USB drive into the (assuming the trackpad is near you facing down) left blue (USB3) port of my L502x.

[05] Booted the L502x into the [url="http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/279450-why-insanelymac-does-not-support-tonymacx86/"]#####[/url] Legacy CD, booted into USB drive with parameters: "-f -v GraphicsEnabler=No cpus=1 busratio=23" (The guide says 20, but my Intel Core i5-2410M's bus ratio is 23, as seen here.).

[06] I selected the language for the Installer as English, and used Disk Utility to erase the partition (Snowy) and format it as a Mac OS X Extended (Journaled).

[07] I chose to install to Snowy, making no customizations to the installation.

[08] Erroring ensued. :/

 

Hopefully that wasn't too long a read, but would anyone know how to get around this? Thankies. :T

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Kirky
Kirky
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Excellent tutorial by wen1, very concise and detailed. I followed it to the letter and got my Dell L502 installed with my purchased 10.6.3 (converted to USB Stick as in steps 0-4), then updated to 10.6.8 without a problem.

 

All four cores (8 threads) detect and work. Upgraded the ram to 8GB which sorted out the strange intel graphics anomaly I had when running at 1920x1080 resolution, although I do get graphics problems in games like Telltale Games Monkey Island?.

 

Purchased a DW 1510 Wireless card and plugged in - Airport works perfectly. I plugged the original Wireless/Bluetooth card in the second spare slot without antennas connected and it works, although only at VERY short range.

 

Sound works well, although a lot of bass. I had to install the Boom program to sort out the vocals.

 

Slight problem with USB ports, memory sticks work fine, but my powered USB Harddrive won't detect? not sure if its the USB kext or if the laptop ports are actually powered or not? To be honest, I'm not really sure what the difference is between the USB3 PXCHD.kext (as shown in step 3) and the USB3 Reneseus kext (from step 15)?

 

I purchased Final Cut Pro X from the app store which runs perfectly on this laptop - very happy indeed. And I do actually like FCPX, its very fast with DSLR HD footage, just miss multi-cam and project export)

 

It would be nice if we could ever get the Nvidia m540 graphics card working, but I suppose you can't expect everything.

 

Here's a list of problems I have remaining...

2GB Nvidia m540 Graphics Card not working

USB ports work fine for memory sticks, but won't work with my USB powered harddrive?

SD Card slot not working (surely theres a kext for this somewhere?)

HDMI port not working (presumably as its connected internally to the Nvidia card)

ESATA port not working (is their a kext for this???)

 

Hi hi, I've been reading the guide so far for my new L502x, but I seem to have problems with installing 10.6.3 (Retail DVD) onto my laptop using my 8 GB USB drive. So far, I think my USB drive is bootable (I used to put Linux on it and boot into it), but when I install, about 1/3 to 1/2-way into the install, I get an error saying:

 

"Install failed. The Installer could not copy the necessary support files."

 

I got another .dmg, but even with that second one the problem still persists.

 

So far, my steps are as follows:

[01] Made dummy NTFS partition in GParted on Linux Mint to allocate the right size for Disk Utility ahead of time.

 

(Used an existing Hackintosh to do the following:)

[02] Repartitioned USB drive to be MBR with one Mac OS X Extended partition (called Snowy).

[03] Restored 10.6.3 image to 8 GB USB drive without erasing (it was newly formatted).

[04] Added files for MBR support from the guide (step 02 of the guide) and USB3 kext (step 03 of the guide).

 

EDIT: I plugged the USB drive into the (assuming the trackpad is near you facing down) left blue (USB3) port of my L502x.

[05] Booted the L502x into the [url="http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/279450-why-insanelymac-does-not-support-tonymacx86/"]#####[/url] Legacy CD, booted into USB drive with parameters: "-f -v GraphicsEnabler=No cpus=1 busratio=23" (The guide says 20, but my Intel Core i5-2410M's bus ratio is 23, as seen here.).

[06] I selected the language for the Installer as English, and used Disk Utility to erase the partition (Snowy) and format it as a Mac OS X Extended (Journaled).

[07] I chose to install to Snowy, making no customizations to the installation.

[08] Erroring ensued. :/

 

Hopefully that wasn't too long a read, but would anyone know how to get around this? Thankies. :T

 

Looks like your error is step two? you format the USB drive to Mac OSX Extended (journaled), then restore the 10.6.3 image to it. Only the laptop harddrive needs to be formatted to an MBR partition.

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Silare
Silare
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Looks like your error is step two? you format the USB drive to Mac OSX Extended (journaled), then restore the 10.6.3 image to it. Only the laptop harddrive needs to be formatted to an MBR partition.

 

Ahh... So my flash drive should be formatted to Mac OS X Extended (Journaled)? I thought it was just Mac OS X Extended for some reason... Do I partition the flash drive to be GUID then, or MBR?

 

Thanks for the quick response.

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Silare
Silare
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Sorry for the double-post... I did every combo of GUID/MBR and Mac OS X Extended/Mac OS X Extended (Journaled) I could, but the same problem exists -- this is with two different images too.

 

Do I need to use Disk Utility to partition my entire HDD (it's MBR right now, but do I have to do it again anyway)? It's still having the same problem as earlier. =/

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sybexs
sybexs
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Sorry for the double-post... I did every combo of GUID/MBR and Mac OS X Extended/Mac OS X Extended (Journaled) I could, but the same problem exists -- this is with two different images too.

 

Do I need to use Disk Utility to partition my entire HDD (it's MBR right now, but do I have to do it again anyway)? It's still having the same problem as earlier. =/

 

is there a huge pause before this error

"Install failed. The Installer could not copy the necessary support files."?

try unplugging the usb and plug it back in.

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jakehewitt526
jakehewitt526
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I'm having issues at step 6. After ntering the options -v -f GraphicsEnabler=No cpus=1 busratio=22 the process stops at this screen, after about 30 seconds a message pops up saying "still waiting for root device" I assume the root device is my hard drive? Why is this happening?

 

L702x

Intel 2720QM

8gb ram

1600x900 display with multitouch

500gb Intel SATA hd

post-811181-1311385982_thumb.jpg

post-811181-1311386161_thumb.jpg

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mark_in_2k
mark_in_2k
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I'm having issues at step 6. After ntering the options -v -f GraphicsEnabler=No cpus=1 busratio=22 the process stops at this screen, after about 30 seconds a message pops up saying "still waiting for root device" I assume the root device is my hard drive? Why is this happening?

 

L702x

Intel 2720QM

8gb ram

1600x900 display with multitouch

500gb Intel SATA hd

I had the same problem and used a different USB port. I actually unplugged while stuck on "waiting for root device", used another port, and it continued to boot up.
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jakehewitt526
jakehewitt526
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I had the same problem and used a different USB port. I actually unplugged while stuck on "waiting for root device", used another port, and it continued to boot up.

 

Oh okay so it was the usb that wasn't responding? Thank you very much for the reply, I'll test it out now!

 

Uuum, what the heck am I supposed to do with OSinstall and OSinstall.mpkg? I have no folders on my usb drive other than Instructions and Valgrfi software. No /system folder...

 

Hey you are using finder aren't you? I found that you have to either use windows or linux to explore the usb, however I recommend using windows, download MacDrive, theres a 5 day free trial on their website, it will allow you to explore the usb on windows.

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xdanisx
xdanisx
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Oh okay so it was the usb that wasn't responding? Thank you very much for the reply, I'll test it out now!

 

 

 

Hey you are using finder aren't you? I found that you have to either use windows or linux to explore the usb, however I recommend using windows, download MacDrive, theres a 5 day free trial on their website, it will allow you to explore the usb on windows.

 

Thanks.

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jakehewitt526
jakehewitt526
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I had the same problem and used a different USB port. I actually unplugged while stuck on "waiting for root device", used another port, and it continued to boot up.

 

Yeah it didn't work for me just keeps repeating the same message. I think it might be because I am using an external hd rather than a flash drive.

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jakehewitt526
jakehewitt526
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Okay I have spent all day really working with my system, I nearly have it done, I installed 10.6.8 and [url="http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/279450-why-insanelymac-does-not-support-tonymacx86/"]#####[/url] however on boot, it hangs at [PCI configuration begin]. I have already found the fix for this too, however, I need to get back into [url="http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/279450-why-insanelymac-does-not-support-tonymacx86/"]#####[/url] to do so. Is there anyway I can get past this at startup? I don't want to have to reinstall for the 3rd time... I have tried -x and GraphicsEnabler=No. but to no avail.

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