Hackintosh 10.5.5 Retail Rig - Starting at $305

[thepieces]

Make sure under peripherals in the bios you have Usb keyboard support and usb mouse support enabled. If those are off they wont work.

Originally posted by: frabjousdey
I just put together my rig. With a partitioned hard drive, it's running XP really well. Now for OS X!

So, I tried the new BootCD and kaido's short list of directions on the previous page. It booted off the BootCD, but when it asked me to press Enter, I was stuck - it wouldn't read from my USB keyboard. Any guesses? Am I missing something obvious? I'm borrowing a friend's PS/2 keyboard tonight to see if that will work any better.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: scootermaster

Originally posted by: Kaido
Need testers with a spare drive available. All you need is a blank CD and a copy of Leopard, along with a working DS3L system. Especially looking for EP35 testers. Testing the final system (different approach, now with integrated 10.5.6 support).

Should I have gotten an Ep35 board?

lol no. The only reason I'm asking is because I don't personally have an EP35 board and just need people to test it to make sure it works with my latest updates.

 

[swilso]

I would be willing to test with latest updates. Haven't got this method going yet I have to put the PC together tomorrow then I will give this a shot.
Did anyone try plugging in an IDE drive like kaido suggested? Just curious for their results also? I wouldn't mind having a couple spare IDE drives for storage purposes, I would boot osx + vista off the sata's

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: swilso
I would be willing to test with latest updates. Haven't got this method going yet I have to put the PC together tomorrow then I will give this a shot.
Did anyone try plugging in an IDE drive like kaido suggested? Just curious for their results also? I wouldn't mind having a couple spare IDE drives for storage purposes, I would boot osx + vista off the sata's

The IDE system had 2 known bugs in the past:

1. System instability, then
2. System instability only with 4GB RAM

Supposedly the latest iteration is perfect, but I need plenty of testers to make sure of it

 

[Kaido]

Final Draft - Upgrade Guide:

This will update your USB boot stick installation as well as your USB-to-HDD method posted earlier. If you're using the USB boot stick method, you won't have an Extensions.mkext file in step #7, but you may have an Extra/Extras/Extra Content folder in there, and you can delete that instead.

http://www.mediafire.com/?shar...a335cae1508bd5622028d6

1. Unzip to desktop
2. Inside the "DS3L-Kit" folder, open the "Software" folder
3. Open the "Audio" folder, drag the ALC888.codec.txt onto the frog icon and install
4. Open the "DSDT" folder, copy "dsdt.aml" to the root of your boot drive (with Library, System, Users, etc.) and install Chameleon to the boot drive
5. Open the "Kext" folder, open Kext Helper and install all of the kext files
6. Open the "Tools" folder, install EFIStudio (Video Card + Ethernet) and OSX86Tools (boot resolution + boot timeout) like usual
7. Inside the bot drive, open "Extras" and delete the Extensions.mkext file inside
8. Reboot

Added 10.5.6 compatibility (thanks to DSDT) and switched back to the Taruga audio method (no audio "pop" on analog output). Once this is tested on the Rev1 P35 as well as the EP35, and we get enough people testing IDE (including users with 4GB RAM to check for that bug), this will be named the final release. Then I'll wrap up the guide, record the tutorial video, and release it!

 

[swilso]

I have plenty of IDE drives so over the weekend once i get this install going I will pop a reply or PM with the results. I will be using IDE for storage though, won't be running the OS off it, if that matters?

 

[Zaap]

Hey Kaido, I just swapped out my EP35-DS4 for the new EP45-DQ6 and- wow! This board is freakin' perfect... amazingly fast and loaded! (Still trying to figure out what I need 4 gigabit LAN ports for- but hey, better to have 'em and not need 'em, than need 'em and not have 'em I guess.) I hope you'll consider eventually updating the whole process to the newer boards for a workstation build, as this is rock-stable for Hackintosh. I just installed 10.5.5 using iDeneb 1.3, but later I want to do a retail install on it.

Also, I ordered two P35-DS3L's from ebay to build two systems for some friends- I want to try your tutorial for setting them up, then see how it goes adapting the same process to the DQ6. I originally ordered two 4GB USB sticks from newegg for these builds, but I guess I won't be needing them afterall? Ahh well, at least they were cheap!

 

[Zaap]

Oh yeah, also going to make my 'old' EP35-DS4 into a kickass Home Theater Hack.

 

[leglez]

Hey did keypox or whoever ever contact you and tell you if that flashdrive worked for him or not?

 

[scootermaster]

Ugh. I had a bitch of a time getting that fan connected to the mobo, and now it sorta makes a rattling noise, but I'm pretty sure it's in there as best as it's going to get.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: leglez
Hey did keypox or whoever ever contact you and tell you if that flashdrive worked for him or not?

We're not using the flash drive method anymore. With DSDT and Chameleon, we don't need it. And it's 10.5.6 compatibile. And it boots faster

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: swilso
I have plenty of IDE drives so over the weekend once i get this install going I will pop a reply or PM with the results. I will be using IDE for storage though, won't be running the OS off it, if that matters?

No, previously if you had an IDE drive connected at all it would kernel panic. Since the rest of the system has been tested as rock-solid with multiple users for weeks and weeks, IDE will be the only thing causing kernel panics. Supposedly this new Jmicron driver gives us full compatiblity, so I want to have a variety of people test it to ensure that it really works for everyone

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: Zaap
Hey Kaido, I just swapped out my EP35-DS4 for the new EP45-DQ6 and- wow! This board is freakin' perfect... amazingly fast and loaded! (Still trying to figure out what I need 4 gigabit LAN ports for- but hey, better to have 'em and not need 'em, than need 'em and not have 'em I guess.) I hope you'll consider eventually updating the whole process to the newer boards for a workstation build, as this is rock-stable for Hackintosh. I just installed 10.5.5 using iDeneb 1.3, but later I want to do a retail install on it.

Also, I ordered two P35-DS3L's from ebay to build two systems for some friends- I want to try your tutorial for setting them up, then see how it goes adapting the same process to the DQ6. I originally ordered two 4GB USB sticks from newegg for these builds, but I guess I won't be needing them afterall? Ahh well, at least they were cheap!

The EP45-DQ6 is my next board, and yes, I will be making a BOOT-132 guide for it I'm switching to the DQ6 in my primary video workstation because I need a 4x PCI-e card for Blackmagic video editing card and the DS3L doesn't have it (only 1x available). Plus the DQ6 supports 16 gigs of RAM and has more ports of all flavors - SATA, USB, etc. - and it has Firewire onboard! (via a backplate).

Unfortunately, I can't make a generic BOOT-132 release and have it be 100% because there are just too many inconsistencies between boards. Even between the DS3L and DS3R, despite the fact that it's just one letter off. Also now, DSDT is required for 10.5.6 and has to be custom-made per board model, so it's getting even stricter. So that's why I release board-specific guides - I can guarantee 100% success if you (1) purchase compatible hardware and (2) follow my guide step-by-step.

You can still use the 4GB USB sticks if you want to do the speedy Hard Drive partition installation method. Next time I'll try to release my updates in a slower fashion so we all don't feel bad about buying special hardware lol I bought a 5-pack of 1gb PNY sticks that are now completely useless lol.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: Zaap
Oh yeah, also going to make my 'old' EP35-DS4 into a Home Theater Hack.

I'm using a DS3L with Plex and Mantra right now...it's the bomb man I'll release a Media Center guide as soon as Plex comes out of beta. There's still a few quirks like DVD disc playback, not-optimized remote control commands and operation, etc., but it's VERY good so far. Definitely, by far, the best Media Center system I've ever used (tried Tvix, WD TV HD, Popcorn Hour, XBMC, 360, PS3, Vista Media Center, etc.). This plus an HD Tivo is the killer combination imo (plus you can use your Mac to transfer SD and HD recordings to your Plexbox!).

btw I'm actually using the $305 system for Plex (plus a Mantra + Apple Remote) and it plays 1080p flawlessly. It's an ugly box, but it works fine

 

[Sophie424]

I have VMWare running fine on OSX on my DS3L board with E7200 CPU.

I just discovered it will not run 64-bit guest OS. I think this is because E7200 does not support "VT". Any recommendations on a CPU that does, and that will work smoothly with my OSX setup?

Also, I have F7 BIOS. Does that matter for VT to be supported? Does this mobo support VT?

Thanks!

 

[Kaido]

This board looks promising:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813128358

Half the cost of the EP45-DQ6...

 

[leglez]

Ah ok, so we can go straight through to the hdd method now that you posted? From reading it it looked like we had to do the usb method first and then switch to the hdd method.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: leglez
Ah ok, so we can go straight through to the hdd method now that you posted? From reading it it looked like we had to do the usb method first and then switch to the hdd method.

You can do either. The final draft package has everything you need to do it from scratch. Basically:

1. Setup your BIOS properly
2. Burn the BootCD
3. Boot up the comptuer with the BootCD and swap out with the Leopard DVD
4. Install Leopard, run the initial setup, and get to the desktop
5. Install 10.5.5, but don't restart
6. Install the stuff in the Software folder (DSDT, Chameleon, Kexts, Taruga, EFI Studio, OSx86Tools)
7. Reboot, disable Automatic Updates, and grab any remaining updates

Pretty dang simple...

 

[leglez]

Ok awesome. Can I still use my hdd that I restored the leopard image to to install it? Or does it have to be the dvd?

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: leglez
Ok awesome. Can I still use my hdd that I restored the leopard image to to install it? Or does it have to be the dvd?

DVD or USB-HDD Partition method works. The final version will have both methods as options. I prefer the USB-HDD method still because it's faster. So when you get to the desktop, just install 10.5.5 + the stuff in the Software folder and reboot. That's it

 

[leglez]

Ok awesome I will try it later today, and if it works successfully I will throw in a couple IDE drives and see if they work.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: leglez
Ok awesome I will try it later today, and if it works successfully I will throw in a couple IDE drives and see if they work.

Thanks man, appreciate it! I'm doing an install from an IDE DVD to an IDE HDD later today as well, that should be the ultimate acid test haha. I'm hoping this new driver works as advertised, it will make a lot of users very happy

 

[leglez]

Including myself since I have almost a TB of IDE HDDs and only 250GBs of SATA drives. It sure is hard to edit videos on that little of space haha

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: leglez
Including myself since I have almost a TB of IDE HDDs and only 250GBs of SATA drives. It sure is hard to edit videos on that little of space haha

You can always use OS X's Software RAID. It has RAID 0 and RAID 1, as well as JBOD. Although I don't recommend it without a backup, you might want to try JBOD to pool all your IDE drives together for a nice big editing drive!

 

[Zaap]

Originally posted by: Kaido
Next time I'll try to release my updates in a slower fashion so we all don't feel bad about buying special hardware lol I bought a 5-pack of 1gb PNY sticks that are now completely useless lol.

Haha! Actually, I'm glad I got 'em- 8GB total for around $15- can't beat it. I paid $60 for an 8GB flash drive a year ago, now the things practically fall out of trees.

Plex- I'll be using that on the HTPC-Hack. I like how it works- it might even make me give up using Xlobby for the PC- which best front-end software I've used so far. No remote- but my trusty Belkin Media Pilot HTPC keyboard even has Apple keys in the right place.

From what I gather, the GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P does work- someone on insanely did a retail install on it and only needed to patch audio.