GUIDE 10.6.6 on ASUS P6X58D-E i7 950 & ATI 5870

[A320]

*****A lot of the credit to the following steps comes mostly from other people's information/guides and me spending hours upon hours going through it all to get my setup to work. I am running Leopard 10.6.6 (32bit) on it's own HD dual booting with Win7x64 on an ASUS P6X58D-E i7 950 with an ATI 5870 running 3 monitors at full res with QE/CI. Hopefully I can help those of you with similar hardware. Good Luck!

 

1. First and foremost, you must setup your bios properly to be able to install and run Leopard. I cannot guarantee that my following setup will work the best for you as I am at the same time overclocking my system to 3.8Ghz but thought I'd post my settings to share anyway, most importantly, make sure you are in AHCI mode, and that your DVD drive is connected to the very first SATA port to avoid 'still waiting on root device' errors:

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Now make sure you remove all other NON-ESSENTIAL peripherals (very important). I had left my logitech webcam plugged in while trying to get through the install process and was having difficulty when it came to using diskutility to format the drive for install, while scanning/reading drives it would simply hang and scan endlessly forever. Believe it or not, once I unplugged my webcam, my HD's were readable again and I was able to format properly within seconds! This is for the install only, once we've completed the installation, we will be able to plug in and use our extra peripherals once again.

 

3. Use [url="http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/279450-why-insanelymac-does-not-support-tonymacx86/"]#####[/url] 2.6 http://tonymacx86.blogspot.com/2011/01/[url="http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/279450-why-insanelymac-does-not-support-tonymacx86/"]#####[/url]-26-update.html to boot your system, once in the menu, swap out the disk for a leopard 10.6.3 disk (this is what I used), hit F5 to refresh, and then when the disk appears in the menu boot it with the following flags: -v PCIRootUID=1 arch=i386

4. Once you get to the startup screen, go to the top menu, start diskutility, select the partition or hard drive you intend to install Leopard onto (I used a completely separate 80GB HD), erase it and select GUID partition MAC OS Extended (Journaled). (If i remember correctly, you can only create a GUID table if formatting an entire drive vs a single partition)

 

5. Install Leopard onto the newly formatted partition/HD.

 

6. Reboot with [url="http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/279450-why-insanelymac-does-not-support-tonymacx86/"]#####[/url] 2.6 back in the drive, when you get to the menu select your newly installed Leopard (should appear) with the following flags: -v PCIRootUID=1

 

7. Once at the Desktop copy the 'Extra' folder from the 'P6X58D Files Package' to the root of your Leopard drive. (The included Kexts will get your network adapter working again for internet and provide you with a DSDT file) (I have included the EXTRA folder myself for download otherwise go here for the full package http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=222761 and credit 'Kup' for the files and also for a lot of the info I have in my guide)

8. Reboot with [url="http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/279450-why-insanelymac-does-not-support-tonymacx86/"]#####[/url] 2.6 again (flags: -v PCIRootUID=1) you should now be able to connect to the internet. Download [url="http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/279450-why-insanelymac-does-not-support-tonymacx86/"]#####[/url] http://tonymacx86.blogspot.com/2010/02/[url="http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/279450-why-insanelymac-does-not-support-tonymacx86/"]#####[/url]-ultimate-post-installation.html Then download and install 'combo update 10.6.4' http://support.apple.com/kb/dl1048 when completed DO NOT RESTART! Move (NOT COPY) your DSDT.aml file to the desktop. Now run [url="http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/279450-why-insanelymac-does-not-support-tonymacx86/"]#####[/url] and select the following:

 

- install Chameleon ATI Experimental.

- run USER DSDT install option

- run both options under system utilities (rebuild/repair kexts)

 

9. Remove the [url="http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/279450-why-insanelymac-does-not-support-tonymacx86/"]#####[/url] 2.6 disk from the drive (now we don't need it anymore the system should boot on it's own) and REBOOT. When you get to Chameleon menu (the new one we just installed now) boot with the following flags: -v PCIRootUID=1 If you make it back in to Leopard now without [url="http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/279450-why-insanelymac-does-not-support-tonymacx86/"]#####[/url] 2.6 you're doing good so far! You can also trash the DSDT file left over on your desktop or save it somewhere if you wish (it is your original one, [url="http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/279450-why-insanelymac-does-not-support-tonymacx86/"]#####[/url] used it to create a new one back in your extra folder).

 

10. Download and install 'Combo Update 10.6.5' (this is the Leopard update that includes the Graphics Update including ATI http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1324 Reboot with the flag: -v ONLY (should no longer need PCIRootUID=1 because of the graphics update).

 

11. Download and install 'Combo Update 10.6.6' http://support.apple.com/kb/dl1349 REBOOT, (no flags necessary from here forward)

 

12. Run [url="http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/279450-why-insanelymac-does-not-support-tonymacx86/"]#####[/url] and select the Audio Rollback option + the 2 system utilities options to rebuild/repair (this is to restore audio to your Leopard. REBOOT, your sound should now be working again.

13. Download Kabyl's boot file for HD5XXX http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=231768 and replace the boot file on the root of your OSX drive with his. If your boot files are hidden (most likely are) you may need to enable 'show system/hidden files. :

:

:

V

 

........once you've replaced the boot file with Kabyl's go into your Leopard's Kext's folder (S/L/E) and delete all the ATI kexts (they have the word ATI in their names) EXCEPT for the X3000, ATIFrameBuffer, Support, and 5000 Controller ones. (leave those ones alone).

 

14. Now make sure your com.apple.boot.plist in your EXTRA folder has the following:

 

Graphics Enabler = yes

Arch = i386

ATI Config = Uakari (Uakari for me gets 3 monitors working independently with QE/CI working!)

 

Run [url="http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/279450-why-insanelymac-does-not-support-tonymacx86/"]#####[/url]'s system utilities rebuild/repair options one last time, REBOOT and that's it!

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now although there could be variations or changes to some of my steps, the above steps are EXACTLY what I did to get Leopard 10.6.6 running perfectly with the following hardware:

 

ASUS P6X58D-E

Intel i7 950 overclocked to 3.8Ghz

6 GB Patriot Viper II Sector 7 DDR3 Ram @ 1600 mhz

ATI MSI 5870 Graphics powering 3 x 24" BenQ Monitors @ 1920x1080 using one DVI, one HDMI, and one Displayport adapter to connect them to the video card

Microsoft Sidewinder Mouse (no extra driver req'd but there is an apple one available online)

Razer Lycosa Keyboard (no extra driver req'd)

Logitech 9000 Webcam PRO (apple driver found online)

LG DVD Burner

Tascam US122 Midi to USB Interface (apple driver online)

Akai MPD18 Pad Controller (apple driver online)

Edirol PCR-M50 Midi Keyboard (apple driver online)

 

 

 

 

 

I highly suggest that once you get your setup up and running, go get a 16GB (or larger) USB key like I did, download 'Carbon Copy Cloner' http://www.bombich.com/ and copy your entire OSX drive over. Now anytime you want to tinker or try new kexts or make changes without the fear of ruining/corrupting your existing Leopard install (HOW MANY TIMES DID I DO THIS!), you can boot into your USB Flash key's Leopard install via Chameleon and and mess around with that one instead so there is no fear of losing all your hard work..

 

The only other thing left to note is that for me 64 bit does not work, and not only that, when I attempt it, it corrupts my whole install and I can never boot back in, even with arch=i386. Maybe others can add their experience or wisdom regarding getting it all to run in 64 bit mode. But I haven't been able to do it.

 

Good Luck and hope this helps others!

P6X58D_Premium_Extra.zip

[this.impetus]

100 million thank-yous! I am up and running, smooth and flawless. Not to mention over-clocked (an added bonus since I'd not had any idea how to do it). You're a life saver!

[A320]

100 million thank-yous! I am up and running, smooth and flawless. Not to mention over-clocked (an added bonus since I'd not had any idea how to do it). You're a life saver!

 

 

Glad it all worked out for you.

[blackwalker]

thx A320 for this guide,

i'll try it for my friend, so not my configuration,

but he have almost all same components but he have a gts 450

[A320]

thx A320 for this guide,

i'll try it for my friend, so not my configuration,

but he have almost all same components but he have a gts 450

 

Ya unfortunately you'll probably have to follow some of the other guides available here considering you're using an NVIDIA based graphics card.

[nuttolo]

I'll try to follow this guide, because I have similar hardware (same mobo, a Gigabyte 5870 VGA, 6GB RAM, and an Intel core i7 920 CPU) but I have some questions before giving it a try:

 

1) It is possible to set my bios without overclocking? I mean, in the AI Tweaker settings I set my RAM (which are 1600MHz capable) to run at 1066MHz (I mean at default for an Intel core i7 920 which is my CPU) with 8-8-8-24-2N. Do you think that I can keep my settings or I have to copy yours?

 

2) Can I install with all my 3x2GB RAM plugged in or is it required to boot and install with only 4GB RAM?

 

3) Can I use latest [url="http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/279450-why-insanelymac-does-not-support-tonymacx86/"]#####[/url] or is it required the 2.6 version?

 

4) Is it required 10.6.3 version to install or can I use 10.6.0?

 

5) Do I have to install all Combo updates or can I directly install 10.6.7 Combo update?

 

6) Is there absolutely no chance for 64bit mode?

 

 

 

Thank you in advance!!

[A320]

1) It is possible to set my bios without overclocking? I mean, in the AI Tweaker settings I set my RAM (which are 1600MHz capable) to run at 1066MHz (I mean at default for an Intel core i7 920 which is my CPU) with 8-8-8-24-2N. Do you think that I can keep my settings or I have to copy yours?

 

any overclocking is up to you. The rest of the settings are important though, but NO you don't have to overclock.

 

2) Can I install with all my 3x2GB RAM plugged in or is it required to boot and install with only 4GB RAM?

I was able to install with ALL 6GB of RAM, never removed them.

 

3) Can I use latest [url="http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/279450-why-insanelymac-does-not-support-tonymacx86/"]#####[/url] or is it required the 2.6 version?

 

[url="http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/279450-why-insanelymac-does-not-support-tonymacx86/"]#####[/url] 2.6 or later should work the same I would think but wasn't aware there was a new release.

 

4) Is it required 10.6.3 version to install or can I use 10.6.0?

 

Can't be certain on this, 10.6.3 is what I used but you could try it.

 

5) Do I have to install all Combo updates or can I directly install 10.6.7 Combo update?

I highly recommend you do them one by one. I had troubles trying to skip ahead.

 

6) Is there absolutely no chance for 64bit mode?

 

as stated I had no luck, but search this forum because some time has passed and there could very well be a solution.

 

 

 

Thank you in advance!!

 

Good Luck.

[nuttolo]

Thank you A320!!

 

So: 64bit has no chance, no matter with that. Ok 6GB RAM, ok no overclock, updates one by one. I'll try to figure out something with 10.6.0, and I'll let you know if it'll be ok, otherwise I'll try to get a 10.6.3 retail Maybe I'll do everything tomorrow

[raultsu]

i am having issues with the install. i can get into [url="http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/279450-why-insanelymac-does-not-support-tonymacx86/"]#####[/url] and boot using the command but i never get past that i get stuck at a window that gives me the system up time. any ideas?

[A320]

i am having issues with the install. i can get into [url="http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/279450-why-insanelymac-does-not-support-tonymacx86/"]#####[/url] and boot using the command but i never get past that i get stuck at a window that gives me the system up time. any ideas?

 

What do you mean by 'system up time'?

[raultsu]

this is what i mean. also should the dvd drive be on the first sata 6 or sata 3

[A320]

this is what i mean. also should the dvd drive be on the first sata 6 or sata 3

 

Actually it looks like you may be having a cpu kernel panic. Try adding the flag 'cpus=1'

[nuttolo]

Hi A320, I'm trying to follow your guide, I got stuck at point 4, because when I try to erase my disk (which is a SATA Samsung HD502HJ) diskutility freezes after trying to unmount the disk:

 

 

What can I do? My hard disk is brand new, never used.

 

 

EDIT I also tried to Partitioning my hard disk, selecting 1 partition as Volume Scheme, naming it "Snow Leopard", selecting Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and GUID Partition Table. Diskutility was able to unmount hard drive, but now it's stuck at 50% while "formatting disk0s2 as Mac OS Extended (Journaled) with name Snow Leopard" help me please!!

[raultsu]

I keep getting the same thing if I add CPUs=1

[nuttolo]

Hi A320, I'm trying to follow your guide, I got stuck at point 4, because when I try to erase my disk (which is a SATA Samsung HD502HJ) diskutility freezes after trying to unmount the disk:

 

 

What can I do? My hard disk is brand new, never used.

 

 

EDIT I also tried to Partitioning my hard disk, selecting 1 partition as Volume Scheme, naming it "Snow Leopard", selecting Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and GUID Partition Table. Diskutility was able to unmount hard drive, but now it's stuck at 50% while "formatting disk0s2 as Mac OS Extended (Journaled) with name Snow Leopard" help me please!!

 

UP

 

[Achromatic]

Anyone have any thoughts on this? I'm in the same boat - "unmounting disk"... never finishes.

[rlf]

Anyone have any thoughts on this? I'm in the same boat - "unmounting disk"... never finishes.

Go to the Partition tab and create one partition on the drive. It will erase it at the same time (you will select Mac OS X Extended Journaled). In reality, for a GUID partition scheme, two partitions will be created, a small EFI partition which is hidden but Disk Utility will show it.

[Achromatic]

Go to the Partition tab and create one partition on the drive. It will erase it at the same time (you will select Mac OS X Extended Journaled). In reality, for a GUID partition scheme, two partitions will be created, a small EFI partition which is hidden but Disk Utility will show it.

 

Actually, this wasn't the case, but I figured it out...

 

Even this guide said "remove every extra peripheral"...

 

But if you have a Logitech Unifying receiver based USB wireless device (such as most of their new, non-Bluetooth ones are), OS X doesn't like it (for the install).

 

I used a cheap wired USB keyboard and mouse, worked great.

 

The hint for me is when I had the receiver plugged in, the BIOS reported 2 keyboards, 1 mouse, even though I only had one of each. Hope this is a help to anyone.

[Interloper]

Could you share any thoughts substituing ati 6870 and this Motherboard?

 

Edit: If these are steps for getting 6870 going what would be different for me?:

 

[url="http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/279450-why-insanelymac-does-not-support-tonymacx86/"]#####[/url], install: ATI 1.6.32.12 Drivers

http://www.tonymacx86.com/viewforum.php?f=69/

 

Andy's ATI fix

http://www.mediafire.com/?r52bv1otbovc9ci

 

 

 

 

Can't wait to get SL installed on my machine.

[Interloper]

What are the chances of getting 64bit running? 2gb process access is 32bit limitation isn't it?

 

Also would [url="http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/279450-why-insanelymac-does-not-support-tonymacx86/"]#####[/url] 3.0.4 help or does it need to be 2.6 specifically?

[Interloper]

I used [url="http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/279450-why-insanelymac-does-not-support-tonymacx86/"]#####[/url] 3.0.4 and used the flags but I'm stopped at System uptime in nanoseconds. Sorry if I'm suppose to use the other [url="http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/279450-why-insanelymac-does-not-support-tonymacx86/"]#####[/url] (which i will try next) and iatkos 3.2. Also my bios version is newer than yours.

 

Edit: Used a 10.6.3 like you and now in. cool. hope the rest works

[Interloper]

I could not get my drive formatted under this machine. Ended up using a usb > sata on an ibook. I'm back to installing and get stuck at

 

Installing Mac OS X on the disk "OSX86"...

Time remaining: About 31 minutes..

 

Edit: Tried brand new WD hard drive with same procedure and still get same results. Stuck installing.

 

I'll stay tuned if someone wants to chime in. Thanks for the guide though