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

[ik_ben_Mark]

If you have an Optimus graphics model you are welcome to follow the link in my signature and use the files for XPS17 machine. 

Does your guide also work for the L502x? L702x is almost the same as the L702x right? (I have the optimus with FHD and i7-2630qm)

 

I have one question:

I do have the UEFI enabled bios, but I would like to turn this option off again because of the problems in Windows. Is it still possible to install OS X then? I want to boot both OS (Windows and OS X) from the main SSD (250GB)

Because you mention this:

 

 

In case you want to boot Legacy Windows from primary HDD (because let's face it, Dell made it pretty hard to use UEFI Windows with all the freezing issues caused by their proprietary software while having a UEFI installation) and you have a caddy in place of your DVD drive with a disk you want to dedicate to booting OSX simply put you can't do that by default BIOS means as caddy is not bootable. You can only make it bootable as a UEFI medium and there is why this guide was even put together. Also I should mention that booting Legacy Windows from UEFI Clover is a big no go with Tiano firmware, so don't expect that. The only way to access Legacy Windows is to either use F12 and choosing Hard Disk or exiting Clover.

So does this mean I can boot legacy with both OS on the same primary SSD drive? What steps should I edit then?

 

And post installation you show this screenshot:

Do we L502x users need to take the 17inch option?

 

And the same here:

 

 

N.B. Make sure to rename EFI/config-17 or config-14 (depending on the computer model) to just config.plist, EFI/ACPI/patched-17 and patched-14 to just patched respectively!

Aslo doesn't it need to be EFI/CLOVER/config-17/14 instead of EFI/config-17/14 and the same for EFI/CLOVER/ACPI/patched-17/14 instead of EFI/ACPI/patched-17/14

[TimeWalker75a]

Does your guide also work for the L502x? L702x is almost the same as the L702x right? (I have the optimus with FHD and i7-2630qm)

 

I have one question:

I do have the UEFI enabled bios, but I would like to turn this option off again because of the problems in Windows. Is it still possible to install OS X then? I want to boot both OS (Windows and OS X) from the main SSD (250GB)

Because you mention this:

 

 

So does this mean I can boot legacy with both OS on the same primary SSD drive? What steps should I edit then?

 

And post installation you show this screenshot:

 

Do we L502x users need to take the 17inch option?

502 is internally same as 702. My guide actually forces you on to UEFI, hence the title. So no, you wouldn't be able to turn off the UEFI boot option. In reality, the easiest way to have a setup like you want is have two drives in your system, where windows is installed in Legacy on one of the drives, while Clover and OSX are installed in UEFI on the other one. 

[ik_ben_Mark]

(I added something in my previous post the same time you replied, I think you made a typo in your guide with path location)

 

502 is internally same as 702. My guide actually forces you on to UEFI, hence the title. So no, you wouldn't be able to turn off the UEFI boot option. In reality, the easiest way to have a setup like you want is have two drives in your system, where windows is installed in Legacy on one of the drives, while Clover and OSX are installed in UEFI on the other one. 

 

Okay I thought I needed UEFI to be able to boot my second harddrive with OS X (so thats why I was planning to buy a larger SSD). I have a SSD in my primary drive and HDD in the caddy. What should I do if I want to install Legacy Windows on my SSD and UEFI OS X on my caddy HDD? Can I still use your guide but make some changes somewere?

[TimeWalker75a]

Aslo doesn't it need to be EFI/CLOVER/config-17/14 instead of EFI/config-17/14 and the same for EFI/CLOVER/ACPI/patched-17/14 instead of EFI/ACPI/patched-17/14

Yup, it should. Thanks for noticing. Yeah, you can try using the file for 17, as they will be compatible for the most part. I'm actually in the process of tweaking all the scripts and making them write a log .. maybe I will push a build later today for you to test while you are at it, provided you will have time. 

 

Okay I thought I needed UEFI to be able to boot my second harddrive with OS X (so thats why I was planning to buy a larger SSD). I have a SSD in my primary drive and HDD in the caddy. What should I do if I want to install Legacy Windows on my SSD and UEFI OS X on my caddy HDD? Can I still use your guide but make some changes somewere?

You do need UEFI to boot the second drive, as by default it's no addressable in Legacy BIOS. I have in my Vostro the main drive with legacy Win7 Professional dedicated to .. well, windows... whilst the second drive (SSD) holds the OSX installation, which runs absolutely snappy. Is there something that forces you to install OSX on your main drive (in the main slot) and Windows on the secondary one?

I've pushed a commit to Clover at some point back in time, if it sees you have Secure Core Tiano 2.0 firmware (meaning you run in UEFI) and you are trying to start a legacy installation of windows it will do EFI_SUCCESS and exit UEFI completely, going back to legacy BIOS. The only culprit here is that legacy BIOS will then proceed to boot the next available entry in the boot order, so ideally you would set your primary HDD as the next boot option after Clover.

[ik_ben_Mark]

Yup, it should. Thanks for noticing. Yeah, you can try using the file for 17, as they will be compatible for the most part. I'm actually in the process of tweaking all the scripts and making them write a log .. maybe I will push a build later today for you to test while you are at it, provided you will have time. 

I don't have much time until next week due to exams. I would be happy to test it after my exams

 

 

You do need UEFI to boot the second drive, as by default it's no addressable in Legacy BIOS. I have in my Vostro the main drive with legacy Win7 Professional dedicated to .. well, windows... whilst the second drive (SSD) holds the OSX installation, which runs absolutely snappy. Is there something that forces you to install OSX on your main drive (in the main slot) and Windows on the secondary one?

I've pushed a commit to Clover at some point back in time, if it sees you have Secure Core Tiano 2.0 firmware (meaning you run in UEFI) and you are trying to start a legacy installation of windows it will do EFI_SUCCESS and exit UEFI completely, going back to legacy BIOS. The only culprit here is that legacy BIOS will then proceed to boot the next available entry in the boot order, so ideally you would set your primary HDD as the next boot option after Clover.

No I have the following setup.

 

SSD in my main original place

HDD in caddy where the optical drive was

 

I want to install Windows on my SSD and OSX on my HDD in the caddy.

 

But I don't want to install Windows in UEFI mode but legacy mode. Can I set my Bios to UEFI and still install Windows legacy? Or how did you manage to install Windows in legacy mode and OSX in (U)EFI?

[TimeWalker75a]

I don't have much time until next week due to exams. I would be happy to test it after my exams

 

But I don't want to install Windows in UEFI mode but legacy mode. Can I set my Bios to UEFI and still install Windows legacy? Or how did you manage to install Windows in legacy mode and OSX in (U)EFI?

Cool, then I won't rush with the script revision. 

You can set it to Legacy only and install Windows, then switch it back to UEFI and it would still boot in Legacy.

[YuLeven]

Well, Mark, I don't really have enough time to explain detailedly but I do have OS X and Windows working toghether without UEFI (legacy mode) on my XPS 15.

As long as the bootloader sits on the internal drive, it will be able to boot the system installed on the caddy just fine.

 

On my particular setup I do have OS X Yosemite installed on the SSD placed inside the caddy (couldn't bring myself to open the whole thing yet - I quite hate dealing with hardware) and Windows 8.1 installed on the HDD placed inside the laptop. My bootloader (Chameleon, btw) loads from the HDD and then points either to OS X on the SSD or to Windows within the HDD itself.

 

The system is running just fine and the only thing that broke compared to Mavericks are the brightness keys (you can still use a small C program called screenbrightness - Google it - or OS X's ordinary control panel to control it, though).

 

The necessary kexts and other files used to disable nVidia's GPU and get other parts of the system working can be found whithin this topic. The only kext that I needed to modify in order to get it working was the one responsible for the ALC665 audio controller (you can find how to do it here, on Insanely Mac. There's a topic somewhere).

[ik_ben_Mark]

Cool, then I won't rush with the script revision. 

You can set it to Legacy only and install Windows, then switch it back to UEFI and it would still boot in Legacy.

Okay nice, I thought Windows would be unbootable when you switch from bios type.

But you have this written in your guide:

 

Also I should mention that booting Legacy Windows from UEFI Clover is a big no go with Tiano firmware, so don't expect that. The only way to access Legacy Windows is to either use F12 and choosing Hard Disk or exiting Clover.

 

How would it look like when I install Windows in legacy on my main SSD and EFI OSX on my caddy HDD? (bios switched back to UEFI mode)

Then I won't get a menu where I can choose between Windows and OSX? But instead I need to close the Clover bootloader in order to start Windows?

 

---

 

Well, Mark, I don't really have enough time to explain detailedly but I do have OS X and Windows working toghether without UEFI (legacy mode) on my XPS 15.

As long as the bootloader sits on the internal drive, it will be able to boot the system installed on the caddy just fine.

 

On my particular setup I do have OS X Yosemite installed on the SSD placed inside the caddy (couldn't bring myself to open the whole thing yet - I quite hate dealing with hardware) and Windows 8.1 installed on the HDD placed inside the laptop. My bootloader (Chameleon, btw) loads from the HDD and then points either to OS X on the SSD or to Windows within the HDD itself.

 

The system is running just fine and the only thing that broke compared to Mavericks are the brightness keys (you can still use a small C program called screenbrightness - Google it - or OS X's ordinary control panel to control it, though).

 

The necessary kexts and other files used to disable nVidia's GPU and get other parts of the system working can be found whithin this topic. The only kext that I needed to modify in order to get it working was the one responsible for the ALC665 audio controller (you can find how to do it here, on Insanely Mac. There's a topic somewhere).

Oke good to hear. Do you have the modded bios and UEFI enable? (So installed Windows with UEFI disabled and after installation enabled UEFI again) Or does Chameleon not require UEFI?

 

 

Sorry for all the questions, I really appreciate your help

[one9092002]

If you have an Optimus graphics model you are welcome to follow the link in my signature and use the files for XPS17 machine. 

@timewalker75a  i have l502x i have maverick working and using clover , i created  usb with clover on it and have yostime on it and i getting a lot of error during the the boot up process i don't know what wrong i can boot up the maverick installer and just can;t get yositme to install i can even get to the install page I'm getting a lot of errors

[TimeWalker75a]

But you have this written in your guide:

 

 

How would it look like when I install Windows in legacy on my main SSD and EFI OSX on my caddy HDD?

That is what I have mentioned in my last comment. With the commit I've pushed it does EFI_SUCCESS which is exit Clover to boot a legacy instal. So this would look exactly as you picture it - Clover menu with multiple boot entries, allowing you to multiboot.

 

I should probably change the wording there too, as things have changed but not description ...

[YuLeven]

Okay nice, I thought Windows would be unbootable when you switch from bios type.

But you have this written in your guide:

 

 

How would it look like when I install Windows in legacy on my main SSD and EFI OSX on my caddy HDD? (bios switched back to UEFI mode)

Then I won't get a menu where I can choose between Windows and OSX? But instead I need to close the Clover bootloader in order to start Windows?

 

---

 

Oke good to hear. Do you have the modded bios and UEFI enable? (So installed Windows with UEFI disabled and after installation enabled UEFI again) Or does Chameleon not require UEFI?

 

 

Sorry for all the questions, I really appreciate your help

 

Chameleon doesn't require UEFI, so my whole setup is in legacy mode.

[TimeWalker75a]

Therefore your disks are MBR and you have no recovery partition.

[YuLeven]

Therefore your disks are MBR and you have no recovery partition.

 

Are they?

 

[ik_ben_Mark]

@TimeWalker75a
I now have some time to try things out. I have an Optiplex 760 running Yosemite 10.10.3 so I can make a bootable stick. I have a few questions:

1. Can I just use the same method as I used with my Optiplex 760?http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/302877-guide-mavericks-1010x-dell-optiplex-780-760/
But instead of his Clover files, I'll use your Clover files from your guide. That way I don't need to have two USB-drives
2. What custom clover options should I use for the L502x to install to the USB-installer?


And a third question what's more a general question. I first made an USB-disk with a Mac Mini following the Optiplex guide. Partitioning the USB-disk with GUID and one partition and in the end install Clover to the disk. When I did there was a EFI partition in the end to copy the Clover files to. I tried to repeat these steps on my Optiplex running Yosemite 10.10.3 and an other USB-disk, but every time I tried this, no EFI partition was made. Is this the fault of my hackintosh? My usb-drive? Or something else?
edit: Okay the EFI partition is made, but Yosemite won't show it. I can see the EFI partition when I plug it into a Windows computer. How can I make this EFI partition visable in OS X?

I found how I can mount the EFI partition. I made a stick to try it out but have the lack of time to test it now. I'll report back later when I have tried it.

[TimeWalker75a]

@TimeWalker75a

I now have some time to try things out. I have an Optiplex 760 running Yosemite 10.10.3 so I can make a bootable stick. I have a few questions:

 

1. Can I just use the same method as I used with my Optiplex 760?http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/302877-guide-mavericks-1010x-dell-optiplex-780-760/

But instead of his Clover files, I'll use your Clover files from your guide. That way I don't need to have two USB-drives

2. What custom clover options should I use for the L502x to install to the USB-installer?

 

I found how I can mount the EFI partition. I made a stick to try it out but have the lack of time to test it now. I'll report back later when I have tried it.

Sorry for taking so long in getting back to you.

1. I mean you could, but you could just temporarily swap the contents of the drive?

2. You don't need to install to USB because you don't need CloverEFI, you need UEFI clover that doesn't require boot sectors on the flash drive. 

 

Try the test package with logging when you have time: https://www.dropbox.com/s/piqxay0u7psaqsx/DELL%20SCT%20Test.pkg?dl=0

The log will be in your Console under /Library/Logs/SCT/sct_install_*date*.log

[one9092002]

can someone post a guide for l502x i7 on yosemite.

 

thanks to all 

i have created a clover usb installer and it loads up and i get beach ball before getting to the setup page.

Sorry ， I don't have any tips......never seen kind of errors like  that. How about reinstalling 10.9.X on your hard drive ?

Well  I  just followed the link you posted here http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/257950-guide-dell-xps-15-l502x-early-2011-snow-leopard-install-possibly-l702x-too/?p=2051639

I installed 10.9 and updated to 10.10 using the installer in Mac App Store

Some problems met during the process, finally got the OS running on L502X

Sorry for replying so late........

can you tell me what you did to fix your issues? thanks

[one9092002]

i unable to install yosemite on l502x and im trying to do install with clover with no success , i get the beach ball at the top left corner and black screen with the apple screen 

[Nicolag]

Hello, 

I have read many tutos, but i can't install OsX on my DELL L502X.

 

One time i'm stuck on "Still waiting for root device" with many different boot arg,

 

and another with "Operation system not found".

 

http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/257950-guide-dell-xps-15-l502x-early-2011-snow-leopard-install-possibly-l702x-too/page-149

 

http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/301138-new-usb-installer-os-x-yosemite-chameleon-r2510-v5/i can boot with a recent laptop not with the L502X, 

 

Anything to do with the BIOS ? I have the latest A12 version

 

Any help pls ?

 

Thanks

[Mark125]

Hello, 

I have read many tutos, but i can't install OsX on my DELL L502X.

 

One time i'm stuck on "Still waiting for root device" with many different boot arg,

 

and another with "Operation system not found".

 

http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/257950-guide-dell-xps-15-l502x-early-2011-snow-leopard-install-possibly-l702x-too/page-149

 

http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/301138-new-usb-installer-os-x-yosemite-chameleon-r2510-v5/i can boot with a recent laptop not with the L502X, 

 

Anything to do with the BIOS ? I have the latest A12 version

 

Any help pls ?

 

Thanks

 

I bought a internal hard drive, eSATA to SATA Cable, format hard drive with GPT format. Instal With Yosemite Zone. 

[ITRaider]

Anyone tried 10.11 on L502X?

Pls help me with my USB 3.0 issue

[killer567]

Hello Everyone,

 

I am not even able to boot into the Installer, as soon as it tries to initialize the Installer -- The process halts with a slashed circle image.

Is it the Renesas USB controller? Did anyone find a way to configure working USB using Clover for El Cap?

 

Can anyone point me in the right direction using Clover?

 

Thanks

[one9092002]

i've had some success on yosemite on clover but not el capitan 

[deltafox]

Anybody working on sierra?

[whitegerry]

My XPS 15 L501X works on EI Capitan and Sierra.

[DS-1]

My XPS 15 L501X works on EI Capitan and Sierra.

 

@whitegerry, have you got any post or guide for it? I have a L701x and I was able to install and make Yosemite works fine, while with El Capitan I had some problems with USB 3.0 and graphics (Nvidia 455).

 

Thanks in advance for the reply!