OSX86 10.5.7 Update Guide by Max

Max posted a very nice guide to update from OSX86 10.5.6 to 10.5.7. I will try the update within the next few days and then write down how it went. Thanks again to Max for the great guide.

How to update OSX86 from 10.5.5 to 10.5.6

This guide assumes that you have an OSX86 version 10.5.5 running without any problems (sound, net, etc.) on your system (I had a Kalyway 10.5.2 installation and updated it step by step to 10.5.5 before I applied the 10.5.6 update). Since in this guide we are going to change the kernel anyway, it does not matter which kernel you use at the moment. I have an ASUS P5K-VM motherboard, but I guess it might also work with some other motherboards having a more or less identical components configuration (feedback about that is very welcome). It is always advisable to backup your complete system first (e.g. using Time Machine), so you can restore the previously working configuration in case something goes wrong.

1) Pre-Install requirements

• Install Bootloader including PC-EFI9 with Chameleon 1.0.12 integrated (download here)
  
• Install newest XNU 9.5.0 kernel (download here)
  
• Install Universal Installer "UInstaller" (download here)
  
• Install OSX86Tools (download here)
  
• Backup all your 10.5.5 extensions using OSXTools86 by clicking "Backup extensions" (e.g. back them up to ~/old-10.5.5-kexts)
  

2) Updating to 10.5.6 (info from here)

• Open Terminal.app and type
  
• ”sudo –s”
  
• *type password*
  
• ”while sleep 1;”
  
• ”do rm –rf /System/Library/Extensions/AppleIntelCPUPowerManagement.kext;done”
  
• Open 10.5.6 Update Installer (download  10.5.6 Update here)
  
• Run update BUT DO NOT RESTART!
  
• Go back to your terminal and press Control-C to end the script
  
• In Terminal.app type:
  
• ”nano /System/InstallAtStartup/scripts/1” and replace the line Dont Steal Mac OS X.kext with dsmos.kext if any exists (exit using "CTRL-X" and save by pressing the "Y" key)
• Open OSX86Tools and check "Repair permissions" & "Set Extensions permissions" & "Clear Extensions Cache"
  
• Restart
  

3) Apply various fixes

• Fix Time-Machine with UInstaller (select "Apply Ethernet EFI String (Time Machine Fix)")
  
• Fix startup resolution with UInstaller ("Set Native Boot Resolution to: " with your appropriate values)
  
• Install some fixing kexts using UInstaller ("Apply kext package")
  
• Fix unknown or wrong processor string in "About this Mac": edit the file /System/Library/CoreServices/Resources/English.lproj/AppleSystemInfo.string and replace '"UnknownCPUKind" = "Unknown";' with your choice (e.g. "UnknownCPUKind" = "Intel Core2Quad Q6700 2.66 GHz";), make sure not to use any special characters!
  
• Remove (if exists) ALCinject.kext from /System/Libarary/Extension
  
• Create a temporary kext install folder (e.g. a subdirectory in your home folder called install-extensions)
  
• Copy from the backup 10.5.5 extensions folder (e.g. ~/old-10.5.5-kexts/Extensions) the file seatbelt.kext to the temporary kext install folder (e.g. ~/install-extensions):
  
• Download and unpack patched AppleHDA.kext (download here) for ALC883 (might also work with others), then copy it to the temporary kext install folder (e.g. ~/install-extensions), more patched ALC88X drivers from Taruga are available here
  
• Download and unpack HDAEnabler.kext (download here), then copy it to the temporary kext install folder (e.g. ~/install-extensions)
  
• Download and unpack the AHCI fix for 10.5.6 (download here), then copy the two kext files (AppleAHCIPort.kext and IOAHCIFamily.kext) to the temporary kext install folder (e.g. ~/install-extensions)
  
• Download and unpack sleep fix for 10.5.6 (download here), then copy only the file EHCISleepEnabler.kext to the temporary kext install folder (e.g. ~/install-extensions)
  
• Download and unpack fixes for USB (download here), then copy both files (IOUSBFamily.kext and IOUSBMassStorageClass.kext) to the temporary kext install folder (e.g. ~/install-extensions)
  
• Install all the kernel extensions from the temporary kext install folder (e.g. ~/install-extensions) using OSX86Tools (button "Install Kexts")
  
• Restart
  
• Open OSX86Tools and check "Repair permissions" & "Set Extensions permissions" & "Clear Extensions Cache"
  
• Restart
  

Various sources I used to compile this guide, apologies if I left someone out, if so, please tell me and I will add the missing ones:

• PC-EFI9 installer
  
• Safely updating to 10.5.6
  
• AHCI fix for 10.5.6
  
• Fix for sleep on 10.5.6
• new ALC88X AppleHDA drivers by Taruga and link to the kexts from Taruga 
• How to use Universal Installer
  
• Fixed drivers for USB on 10.5.6
  
• Problem with new seatbelt.kext and the XNU kernel
  
• Fix unknown processor string in "About this Mac"

UPDATES:

• 2009-02-20: changed link to point to new AppleHDA.kext and added link to forum post about Taruga's ALC88X kexts with corresponding link to the kexts
  
• 2009-02-24: changed link to point to new AHCIFix.zip
  

Geforce 9600GT on OSX86

A few weeks ago, I installed Geforce 9600GT (ASUS silent version) in a friend's OSX86 machine.

For this issue, the following three forum posts at InsanelyMac were very helpful:

• NVIDIA 9 Series Driver Installer v2
  
• G94(9600gt) is fully supported by new mbp drivers!, ci/qe, fan control 
• Reply to second forum post about ASUS Geforce 9600 GT 

I downloaded the driver (NVIDIA 9 Series Driver Installer v2) from the first mentioned forum post. Then I modified the info.plist of in the NVDANV50Hal.kext (after I installed the driver from the first forum post!) as described in the second mentioned forum post, but I'm not sure this would be really necessary. I also had to use the OSX86Studio to modify the GFX string as shown in the third mentioned forum post (see also the picture with the settings here). 

Core Image benchmark comparison (Geforce 7600GT, Geforce 9600GT and Radeon 3850)

I use my Macs and OSX86 machines also for photo editing with Aperture. The Apple Pro-Apps (Aperture, Finalcut, etc.) rely on Core Image and therefore profit heavily from a fast graphics card in the system.

To compare different models of systems and graphics cards, I made some comparison benchmarking tests using iMaginator 4 (trial version).

The test consists of exporting a morphing movie of 1000 frames, which contains all transition effects in the order they are listed in the selection pane (see below) using the two default images (leopard and rose) as source and destination for the morphing.

These were the "Transisions" used (top to down):

And I changed the following preferences (only changed # Frames to 1000):

Then I saved the movie using "Save to Movie" from the "File" menu, started the stop watch when I clicked the "Save" button, moved the mouse, so the cursor went to the "Beachball". Then I waited until the cursor turned back to the normal pointer and stopped the stop watch.

These were the results on Mac OS 10.5.5 (faster = better):

iMac G5 2.0 GHz ATI X800: 6m50s
iMac C2D 2.33 GHz Geforce 7600 GT: 2m14s
OSX86 C2Q 2.66 GHz ATI Radeon 3850: 1m22s
OSX86 C2Q 2.83 GHz Geforce 9600GT: 1m21s

I was surpised to see the Geforce 9600GT perform that fast, although that configuration is slightly faster and has more cache for the CPU than the one with the Radeon 3850. But I guess it is safe to say that the Geforce 9600GT is not such a bad choice for Core Image intensive apps. I think a Radeon 3870 would probably out-perform the Geforce 9600GT. Maybe a Geforce 9800GT could be faster than a Radeon 3870, but unfortunately I can't test that since I do not have these graphics cards at hand.

In a later post I might add more details about the system configurations and maybe will also put some tests done regarding OpenGL performance of the same systems (where the Geforce 9600GT also scored  better than the ATI Radeon 3850).

Fix TimeMachine on OSX86

If your TimeMachine stops working on an OSX86 machine, this is most probably due to IONetworkingFamily.kext, located in /System/Library/Extensions/.

Just replace your current one with an older backup (from TimeMachine backup folder) using OSX86Tools. Using the same application you also can make occasionally (especially before making major updates to 10.5.x) a backup of your Kernel-Extensions.

Fix ALC889A sound for OSX86 after 10.5.5 update

Use OSX86Tools or Kext Helper to install only AppleHDA.kext from 889a.Audio.ICH10.zip, which can be downloaded from this forum post.

ATI Radeon HD 3850 on OSX86 10.5.5 (with sleep)

I finally managed to get my Asus ATI Radeon HD 3850 (EAH3850 Smart OC 1024 MB) to work with OSX86 10.5.5 using the following driver from lastExcile / Netkas (see also forum entry on InsanelyMac). Even sleep and wake-up works perfectly, which didn't work at all with my previous Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 3650 graphics card. The card is very silent and Aperture finally rocks (compared to Geforce 7300 GT 256 MB). Trying now another Asus ATI Radeon HD 3650 on another machine if sleep might work with a different motherboard.

Path to com.apple.Boot.plist

The file responsible for startup configuration
     com.apple.Boot.plist
can be found at
     /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/.

It is always good to make a backup of that file if "something" goes wrong.

Shutdown / reboot problems on OSX86

When your OSX86 based machine does not want to shutdown properly (fans still running although all LEDs are off), try to install the OpenHaltRestart kext extension. You might want to use the Kext Helper to easily install the kext module.

via InsanelyMac

Soundcard (ALC883) broken after 10.5.5 Update on OSX86

It can happen that after the 10.5.5 Update on OSX86, ALC883 based soundcards do not work anymore (not detected by OS X). To fix this, download the ALC883.dump.txt file and the AppleHDAPatcherv1.20. Unpack the latter, start the patcher and drag the dump file on it to patch the faulty kernel extension. Should also work with other ALC88X soundcards by using the appropriate dump file (Google is your friend for finding those).

OSX86 10.5.5 Update

To successfully perform a 10.5.5 update on OSX86 machines, you need to download the 10.5.5 update manually from the Apple webpage, open a Terminal and enter the following lines before running the update (and leave it running during the update):

1. sudo -s
   
2. while sleep 1; do rm -rf \
/System/Library/Extensions/\
AppleIntelCPUPowerManagement.kext; done
   

via InsanelyMac