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

[t6590]

oooohhhhhhhhhh!!!!! thank you very much time walker i was drowning.

[t6590]

okay used them its an improvement but stops at this error

OsxAptipFixDrv: Error - Requested Memory Exceeds Our Relocation allocated block

 

then exits and blank screen is there something i can do about this like a flag of some sort.

[TimeWalker75a]

thehell .. try using a newer version of OsxAptioFixDrv then (from the installer package)

[Cisar Alexandru Marius]

Hey guys,

 

I have been trying for a few days to install ML but i get stuck at the "Still waiting for root device". I made the usb using pcwiz13's tutorial. I have tried all the suggestions in this topic but with no luck. These are all the boot args i tried: -v GraphicsEnabler=No busratio=20 PCIRootUID=1 UseKernelCache=No npci=0x2000.

 

Also tried creating usb stick with other methods but the same result. Also tried all usb ports. Any other suggestions?

[t6590]

@cisar throw in doix's dsdt at root or extra folder ....another unusual thing i noticed is that if i booted with the dsdt and no verbose it actually reaches the installer page and actually installs.....i dont know why this is so but it gives opportunity to see what happens on your end...you may also need to put pxhcd kext (for the usb3 ports) in extra folder with the other kexts.....alternatively you make your internal hard disk(you'll have to pull it out and also have a pre existing mac install you may also try pcwiz's install via windows method but i've never used it myself so i cant comment) into an installer then install back on to it to avoid what i believe to be a usb3 issue.

 

@timewalker can you tell me exatcly what settings you used to install clover.....coz now i get the apple screen but after a minute a stop sign. i stick with clover 2 v826 , coz 855 just does nothing for me and leads me back to system operations not found error.......talk to me like i'm 7 yrs old coz this boot thing is giving me nightmares everything else i got working but i cant really know how successful i am without a self booting HD. i know i'm being that guy but please help.

[TimeWalker75a]

if the stop sign appears then you are experiencing the "waiting for root device" error under covers

start clover without kernelcache .. (in GUI press space on your desired volume and select the last option)... it should boot up properly.

then use bcc9's BlockStorage patcher-script to patch your kext (it will introduce a delay wrapper to allow it to load properly when booting with caches).

[t6590]

hahahahaha !!!!!!! dreaded waiting for root strikes again. i thought i was done with that coz when i boot with the usb installer i dont get the error. any ways thanks gosh....when did osx installing get so hard...i miss my old hp.

[t6590]

sorry could you tell me if you used gpt option, or uefi option in clover i did a clean install with the intension to try out this fixes you've given me but now i'm back and stuck to the system operation system not found....i have no idea whats going on anymore and why so many inconsistencies in the install at one point am so close but now square 0 again.

[TimeWalker75a]

Either UEFI boot is not enabled or you are missing /EFI/BOOT/BOOTx64.efi (which is renamed CLOVER.efi) on your EFI partition

[Koikawa]

Could you please help me with my issue, which I cannot resolve for a pretty long time?

 

Still can't get my hd 3000 running properly.

What do i have:

 

 

Dell XPS 15 L502x / Intel Core™ i7-2630QM HD3000 IGP Optimus 2GB NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M / 12 GB DDR3 SDRAM 1.333 MHz [ 4 + 8] /Intel HM67 USB2 + USB3 //(15.6") FHD B+RGLED 1080p / Realtek ALC665

Modified/unlocked BIOS А12 > UEFI boot, all advanced options available, Intel vbios update 2137.

Mountain Lion 10.8.2 on Clover EFI (latest).

 

Vendor: Intel (0x8086)

Device ID: 0x0116

Revision ID: 0x0009

Pretend to be MacBook Pro 8.1

 

 

Already tried:

Removed all the kexts with ati*, nvd*, geforce*, AppleIntel*<everything_related_to_graphic>.

Result: booting in Full-HD, no QE/CI, "no kexts loaded".

 

Installed:

AppleIntelHD3000Graphics, AppleIntelHDGraphics, AppleIntelHDGraphicsFB, AppleIntelSNBGraphicsFB (from several disk/app images, they're totally fine).

Result: booting in 1640x????, display is corrupted, 16-bit color. see attachment mon.jpg.

 

Main boot settings:

 

<key>SystemParameters</key>

<dict>

<key>boot-args</key>

<string>-v npci=0x2000 slide=0 WithKexts</string>

<key>prev-lang:kbd</key>

<string>en:0</string>

<key>InjectSystemID</key>

<string>Yes</string>

<key>LegacyBoot</key>

<string>LegacyBootDefault</string>

<key>BacklightLevel</key>

<string>0x0101</string>

</dict>

 

<key>ACPI</key>

<dict>

<key>DropOemSSDT</key>

<string>Yes</string>

<key>GenerateCStates</key>

<string>Yes</string>

<key>GeneratePStates</key>

<string>Yes</string>

<key>FixDsdtMask</key>

<string>0xA092</string>

<key>UnderVoltStep</key>

<string>3</string>

<key>ResetAddress</key>

<string>0x64</string>

<key>ResetValue</key>

<string>0xFE</string>

</dict>

 

By default, Clover has GraphicsInjection true, tried both the options, didn't help.

Also tried other options like loadvbios, injectEDID and so on from menu, with the same result.

 

In device manager Nvidia is always being detected.

 

I'm out of ideas already(

 

Regular Lion (10.7.4) is used to work w/o a glitch, but those days that was chameleon with patched DSDL (not by me, this topic http://www.insanelym...7-l702x-optimus causes KP now). So it's not a hardware issue.

 

Currently, I'm using Clover which patches DSDL on fly.

[mackyreddy]

Try the OS X 10.8.2 Pre installed image, if ur confused on what to delete or not. Dump the image to a hard drive partition or usb drive and then install chameleon or clover boot loader and ur ready to go.The image includes Captain sarkar & Timewlker75a's custom unlocked bios A.19 DSDT.aml, i7 2630 QM SSDT's, MacBookPro 8.3 smbios. Make sure u replace ur system specific files and then boot into the OS X.

 

cheers

[t6590]

@timewalker

my results so far with clover

v826 acually see the boot screen but aptio error with files given

v855 operation system not found error

v887 blank screen

 

if aptio removed it starts in verbose with dots then halts

 

i cant extract driver files with pacifist they all error out .....so

where can i get these drivers individually or what do these errors mean

what can be the error in both

 

@jkbuha how did you solve sound for alc269 ..voodoo hda causes kp ....how did you solve screen glitches ..are there files i can get from you for this...i'm lazy

[TimeWalker75a]

Point is .. just use my provided drivers. Mine works perfectly fine ...

Don't remove the aptopfixdrv because you need it..

 

You can extract the drivers just from the installer (extract files option) ...

For ALC269 I have a patched kext put together .. using clover the modifications you have to do after OS update are minimal.. also so far I hadn't touched it since installing 10.8 from MAS.. it just works.

 

Your problem is that you are lazy and admitting it .. which is good in way lol.

[t6590]

for the clover issue i'll just figure thing out on my end but it is your aptio file that causes the error on my side ......i did get the point the first time you said it but i have to go with the result on the ground

 

clover seems increasingly inconsistent to the point that it even interferes with my usb boot via f12 and even gives an error ....thats crazy....i dont know whether clover is to blame or whether its a combination of clover and dell

 

as for sound can u provide me with the kext

[Koikawa]

DoiX

 

Could you please help me with my problem?

 

Everything's working except for not running QE/CI on my hd3000.

Dell L502x 540M i7 2630 / 0116 , 12gb RAM.

BIOS A06 modified (EFI boot)

 

Clean installation 10.8.2

Clover EFI,

your DSDT and SSDT from 1.4 package uploaded to EFI/ACPI/Patched.

Settings from *boot file for Chameleon were adapted for config file of Clover.

Kexts from the same package are installed to S/L/E.

 

I tried a lot of options, like deleting all the geforce* and NVDA*, graphicInjector+ or boot with this option disabled, modified HD3000 kexts (you attached them in this topic somewhere) and or original ones.

The best result was to leave only AppleIntelSNBGraphicsFB and AppleIntelHD3000Graphics kexts just like you suggested to someone numerous pages ago - everything becomes pretty soft and smooth (until i try to run launchpad of dashboard.

Currently, system detects my video card correctly, but still no acceleration.

 

To resolve it all I need is a little push, which I can't make for days.

 

In attachments my clover settings, clover options, boot log.

I hope you will find a minute or two to take a glance at it.

Thank you in advance.

[DoiX]

Try chameleon bootloader, keep your install on stock Intel kexts. Remove anything related to nvidia, use the DSDT/SSDT i made. Go to System Prefs > Desktop and Screensaver > Desktop tab > check the "Translucent menu bar" if it's not checked already. If your menu bar is translucent then QE/CI is active, launchpad or dashboard can be related to other problems.

 

If you notice that the menubar is not translucent then boot chameleon with maxmem=8192. It may be that the extra ram is messing with the kexts somehow.

 

Hm, did you check if you had QE/CI before using the efi string from the boot.config file of chameleon?

[Koikawa]

Thank you for quick reply.

 

//Try chameleon bootloader,

 

I'm not sure if cham is going to boot via Efi, but i'll try.

As far i remember, i failed on that whatever i did in the first place.

 

//keep your install on stock Intel kexts.

 

tried before, no effect.

 

//Remove anything related to nvidia, use the DSDT/SSDT i made.

 

No effect (except for working sleep, sound, speedstep, so the directory i've chosen for your files is correct).

 

//Go to System Prefs > Desktop and Screensaver > Desktop tab > check the "Translucent menu bar" if it's not checked already. If your menu bar is translucent then QE/CI is active, launchpad or dashboard can be related to other problems.

 

This option is invisible for me, like it always is when qe is not up.

 

//If you notice that the menubar is not translucent then boot chameleon with maxmem=8192. It may be that the extra ram is messing with the kexts somehow.

 

No, it was always solid for me.

 

//Hm, did you check if you had QE/CI before using the efi string from the boot.config file of chameleon?

 

w/o string i can't even boot normally into my system.

My screen was split a half, awful colors, and other cool stuff when optimus shows its true nature.

 

 

_________

i used to work with your system files before on 10.7.4 and chameleon, it worked flawlessly on the same laptop and bios version (that topic when a fix for heavy bass by editing .plist was suggested).

[DoiX]

"

w/o string i can't even boot normally into my system.

My screen was split a half, awful colors, and other cool stuff when optimus shows its true nature."

 

That's not optimus related, it's because you have a Full HD Screen. Boot without the string and see if you can enter Dashboard/LaunchPad smoothly, also see if the menu bar option is available then. It's possible the string i made is not compatible with your system.

[Koikawa]

"

w/o string i can't even boot normally into my system.

 

My screen was split a half, awful colors, and other cool stuff when optimus shows its true nature."

 

 

That's not optimus related, it's because you have a Full HD Screen. Boot without the string and see if you can enter Dashboard/LaunchPad smoothly, also see if the menu bar option is available then. It's possible the string i made is not compatible with your system.

 

 

 

It is possible to boot w/o string and get normal colors and uncut full-hd screen only when all the video drivers are removed.

Otherwise my screen is corrupted, and yes, dashboard is still glitchy in both cases.

So your string was a cure to make OS loaded properly with appropriate kexts.

Maybe i should run some hardware reporting tool to see specific issues related only to that particular dell xps l502x revision (and make my own string afterwards)?

[jkbuha]

@jkbuha how did you solve sound for alc269 ..voodoo hda causes kp ....how did you solve screen glitches ..are there files i can get from you for this...i'm lazy

 

I'm using voodoohda 274 natively - though you need to use a modified IOAudioFamily (I think). I'll try and get the files over to you later.

 

That said, I'd rather use the native AppleHDA with patched kext & dsdt - I use the laptop for djaying quite a lot, and sometimes there are sound distortions on high cpu load which i didn't get with applehda. Also the output connectors dont always work so I need to sleep/wake the device which doesnt look great in the middle of a set...

 

@tw - any patched applehda's for alc269 (with the right semaphores in place for 15z) would be greatly welcomed

[dy57]

jkbuha

I'm using voodoohda 274 natively - though you need to use a modified IOAudioFamily (I think). I'll try and get the files over to you later.

 

That said, I'd rather use the native AppleHDA with patched kext & dsdt - I use the laptop for djaying quite a lot, and sometimes there are sound distortions on high cpu load which i didn't get with applehda. Also the output connectors dont always work so I need to sleep/wake the device which doesnt look great in the middle of a set...

 

@tw - any patched applehda's for alc269 (with the right semaphores in place for 15z) would be greatly welcomed

 

jkbuha ,

 

I have same model of Dell ( 15z L511Z ) and have not been able to get ML OSX to install let along boot from the harddrive.

 

I tried, ######, ######, rboot-le, ###### 3.3 , ###### legacy , etc to no success

 

Can you help with a short tutorial ? or at least a list of the components ?

 

I have a purchased copy of ML and the following resources - Lion on Virtual Box and S on a Dell M1530 running. ML on a 15z seems to be elusive.

 

Thanks in advance!

[TimeWalker75a]

Fancy trying something more traditional of a bootloader? so far you've tried only the TM shaits it seems, hence the censoring...

The're countless tutorials posted.. why bother posting another one.

[t6590]

sorry been away awhile but i will wait for your kexts and thanks in advance coz the voodoo i use kp's 3/5 times per boot and sound reduced in fidelity and if i adjust it up with software it crackles .

could i also have your edid file ?

also what kext r u using for usb ..i'm currently using renesas from lion days but it also causes panic might you

have anything more stable for the 15z ?

[FireJam]

Hello DoiX,

 

 

First of all, your work is amazing! I really enjoyed mountain lion on my l502x.

I like doing things with my laptop that others don't, so i found your guide and followed every step of it (with some adjustments)

 

I also found this modded bios'es for our laptops (l502x): http://forum.notebookreview.com/dell-xps-studio-xps/635536-l502x-modded-bioses-download-gpu-voltages-more.html

 

It's not my work, but i thought maybe you can expend your guide with it. For example: i see bios'es with this fix

 

'voltage modded A12 BIOS for gt540m with a nice set of extra options,plus native speedstep and updated CPU microcode,intel vbios update to v2137 and sleep FIX for OSX, handle the new options carefully!'

 

The sleep fix for OSX is very usefull.

 

Maybe you did know about this, maybe you didn't. I just wanted you to know.

 

 

Maik Verheijen

[rgbastro]

Doesn't anyone have problem with touchpad -- option 'ignore accidental trackpad input' doesn't work for me -- mouse pointer keeps on jumping around when the base of my thumb is even slightly touching the pad.

 

The only option for me is to run this command when I want to switch off touchpad (till next reboot).

 

kextunload /System/Library/Extensions/ApplePS2Controller.kext/Contents/Plugins/ApplePS2Trackpad.kext