Upcoming Intel X58 Mobos & Core i7 CPUs

[jplee4907]

I know it's too early to tell, but what are peoples guesses as fas as these mobos/CPUs working with OSX86?

 

Gigabyte has a couple of X58 mobos that have me salivating & the lowest-priced Core i7 will be about $350:

 

http://www.tcmagazine.com/comments.php?shownews=22358

 

 

Giga EX58 series, AHCI problem?

 

I know lots of you guys here using GA-EX58 series. Anybody had trouble setting AHCI enable? Then, the screen hangs at Verifying DMI Pool Data....

 

I tried several ones and I got into this trouble again. Actually, it came to me weeks ago. But I was able to fix the problem after using the mainboard CMOS Clr using jumber set. But when I upgrade to F4 bios, it came back. And now I'm stuck.

If you suggest any info., that will be appreciated.

 

Maybe I should give you how I set the BIOS for my hackin. I set AHCI SATA/RAID Mode as "enable." SATA 0-3 Native mode, "enable." And, I go into MIT, under the Advanced CPU feature, then disable C1E, CPU EIST etc.

 

I don't think my setting is wrong.

 

Please, any suggestion?

[digital_dreamer]

I haven't had any of those troubles with AHCI. The only time I run into the "Verifying DMI Pool Data...." message is when I don't have a valid Bootloader on the partition. If I repartition a drive, reinstall or restore, and forget to install a bootloader (i.e. EFI v8), then that's the message I'll get.

 

EDIT: Your settings look okay. What makes you think the AHCI enable is not sticking? Does the setting revert back to disable at the next post? I think you have a bootloader problem. What kind of install do you have? A distro, Boot-132 or Boot from EFI?

 

Now, with the older F3 BIOS I would run into a instability issue and it would just recycle at boot - never post. This is even with stock clock and timing. I'd have to clear the CMOS to post. I think that's what F4 was supposed to fix. I had to clear CMOS 4 times in the past few days because of this and it was all on factory setup (with the obvious exception of the settings required for booting into OS X, like AHCI).

 

Speaking of problems: I've been getting "Device Removal" warnings periodically, just out of the blue. No devices have been unplugged without unmounting or such.

 

We got to realize we're on the bleeding edge with very new technology: version 1.0 motherboard, with new Intel CPU and chipset. So, problems are to be expected, unfortunately. All in all, I'm very happy with the setup, as I didn't really believe we could get this far along with the Core i7 at this date and time.

 

regards,

MAJ

[jplee4907]

I haven't had any of those troubles with AHCI. The only time I run into the "Verifying DMI Pool Data...." message is when I don't have a valid Bootloader on the partition. If I repartition a drive, reinstall or restore, and forget to install a bootloader (i.e. EFI v8), then that's the message I'll get.

 

EDIT: Your settings look okay. What makes you think the AHCI enable is not sticking? Does the setting revert back to disable at the next post? I think you have a bootloader problem. What kind of install do you have? A distro, Boot-132 or Boot from EFI?

 

Now, with the older F3 BIOS I would run into a instability issue and it would just recycle at boot - never post. This is even with stock clock and timing. I'd have to clear the CMOS to post. I think that's what F4 was supposed to fix. I had to clear CMOS 4 times in the past few days because of this and it was all on factory setup (with the obvious exception of the settings required for booting into OS X, like AHCI).

 

Speaking of problems: I've been getting "Device Removal" warnings periodically, just out of the blue. No devices have been unplugged without unmounting or such.

 

We got to realize we're on the bleeding edge with very new technology: version 1.0 motherboard, with new Intel CPU and chipset. So, problems are to be expected, unfortunately. All in all, I'm very happy with the setup, as I didn't really believe we could get this far along with the Core i7 at this date and time.

 

regards,

MAJ

 

Hi

 

I have 4 SATA HHDs SATA ODD. One Hdd is for Vista, Second one is for HDDs created by your retail install version, and another is wolfienuke's EFI partions version. The moment the problem started was when I screwed up my Vista booting. But I was able to get into one of my hackin. Then, when I upgrade to F4 bios, I couldn't get next to Verifying DMI Pool...

[digital_dreamer]

I thought I'd post some graphics for the About This Mac panel.

Here are a couple samples:

 

The graphics file in question that you want to replace is located here:

System/Library/CoreServices/loginwindow/Contents/Resources/MacOSX.tif

 

It needs to be the same name and, of course, you need administrator privileges.

The easy route is to download from the link provided (not the posted picture), delete the original MacOSX.tif, rename your desired graphic to the same name, and drop it into that directory. Make sure you repair permissions. Log out and back in for the OS to load the graphic.

 

What I have so far:

Chrome w/Gigabyte logo

 

Blue w/Gigabyte logo

 

Chrome Apple & Intel logo

 

Blue Apple & Intel logo

 

Have fun.

MAJ

[Brit-In-Asia]

I thought I'd post some graphics for the About This Mac panel.

Here are a couple samples:

 

Thanks digital_dreamer,

 

They look pretty cool

[alxandrjw]

Giga EX58 series, AHCI problem?

 

I know lots of you guys here using GA-EX58 series. Anybody had trouble setting AHCI enable? Then, the screen hangs at Verifying DMI Pool Data....

 

I tried several ones and I got into this trouble again. Actually, it came to me weeks ago. But I was able to fix the problem after using the mainboard CMOS Clr using jumber set. But when I upgrade to F4 bios, it came back. And now I'm stuck.

If you suggest any info., that will be appreciated.

 

Maybe I should give you how I set the BIOS for my hackin. I set AHCI SATA/RAID Mode as "enable." SATA 0-3 Native mode, "enable." And, I go into MIT, under the Advanced CPU feature, then disable C1E, CPU EIST etc.

 

I don't think my setting is wrong.

 

Please, any suggestion?

 

I am having the same problem. When I connect only my DVD drive, I can boot up into the iDeneb 10.5.5 disc, but as soon as I connect a hard drive, I get stuck at the Verify DMI..... spot, even though I have the BIOS set to boot from the DVD. I updated to F4, but still the same trouble.

Please help!. I'm going crazy wanting to get on with installing OSX.

Thanks in advance guys.

ALEX

[digital_dreamer]

That message will show up any time there isn't something to boot from. If you selected the hard drive from the bootloader or Darwin prompt and it is showing that message, there isn't anything to boot from. That drive doesn't have a properly installed OS or bootable program.

 

I'm assuming you get a Darwin prompt that allows you to select drives/partitions. Is that so?

If you don't get that, then there appears to be no access to the drives. Is AHCI enabled? Can you access a drive with Disk Utility from within your installer? (I'm not familiar with the iDeneb installer.) That would tell you much about drive access.

 

regards,

MAJ

[tiggman]

Hey, working on joining the i7 osx86 ranks.

 

Just put together this setup:

 

EX58-UD5

i7 920

6GB DDR3 1600mhz

 

From the old rig:

XFX 7800GTX 256GB

WD 500GB SATA

Pioneer dvd-rw

 

*Ignore the issue I had, have got past that point and install is in progress*

 

Thanks,

Todd

[digital_dreamer]

Photoshop CS3 launches in 2 seconds

You have to delete the MultiProcessor Support.plugin from Adobe Photoshop CS3/Plug-Ins/Extensions for it to launch without crashing. Other than that it seems okay (and quick!).

 

Found the source to my "Device Removal" warnings: my other hard drives were going to sleep (30 minutes idle) and unmounting/ejecting. The hard drive icons would still be on the desktop, but when I double-clicked on them, they would disappear. It could cause iStat to beachball (it monitors the drives) and the launchd process would hang, making launching applications useless – they would just bounce in the Dock. Didn't have this problem with BIOS F3. I know the drives slept without a problem before, as I could double-click an idle drive and, after a few spin-up seconds, would display the contents window.

 

For now, I have drive sleep disabled in the Energy Saver preferences. Will have to investigate further or, perhaps, see what Gigabyte changed in the BIOS.

 

I'm liking the F4 version much better. Restarts are quicker, as it doesn't power down. Also, it seems more reliable on OC. The only problem I've encountered so far is loss of the LAN that required a CMOS clear. The LAN wouldn't show up in either OS.

 

regards,

MAJ

[wolfienuke]

The F4 BIOS upgrade has officially been released.

Features:

1. File size: 644 KB
   
2. Fix S3 resume turbo mode issue
   
3. Fix DualBIOS recovery issue
   
4. Improve System Stability
   

Off to try it out.

Wish they would just release a zipped BIOS binary, instead of one that requires Windows to decompress.

 

regards,

MAJ

Hey Digital Dreamer,

Can you post the decompressed F4 BIOS file for us without windows? I'm assuming it's an self extracting exe from your comments.

 

Also, for some reason I am having an issue with my EFI installer. I think I worked out the issues with the missing boot files and I just want to make sure it's good enough for release. Can you let me know what the minimum kexts are required for a EFI boot to actually get past the bootloader.

 

I have:

• AppleAHCIPort.kext
  
• Disabler.kext
  
• dsmos.kext
  
• IOAHCIFamily.kext
  
• HDAEnabler.kext
  
• IOATAFamily.kext
  
• Natit.kext
  
• LegacyHDAController.kext
  
• LegacyHDAPlatformDriver.kext
  
• SMBIOSEnabler.kext
  
• IONetworkingFamily.kext
  

I also want to add support for custom About Logo's and the Unknown CPU fix. But that can wait.

[M J]

Hi guys, just a quick update.

 

I finally got a DVD drive, so I started the installation. I'm trying a motherboard RAID 1 installation on a double 500GB HDD. I bought a retail DVD, but I have issues with the boot-132 disk that I'm still trying to solve.

 

If it becomes a hard task, I may think to install an iDeneb, even though I'd prefer a vanilla install for obvious reasons! Or I may give up with the RAID and install Vista on the first HDD, just to be able to work on my pc, and experiment with osx86 on the second until i get it to clean-install.

[digital_dreamer]

Hey Digital Dreamer,

Can you post the decompressed F4 BIOS file for us without windows? I'm assuming it's an self extracting exe from your comments.

 

Also, for some reason I am having an issue with my EFI installer. I think I worked out the issues with the missing boot files and I just want to make sure it's good enough for release. Can you let me know what the minimum kexts are required for a EFI boot to actually get past the bootloader.

 

I have:

• AppleAHCIPort.kext
  
• Disabler.kext
  
• dsmos.kext
  
• IOAHCIFamily.kext
  
• HDAEnabler.kext
  
• IOATAFamily.kext
  
• Natit.kext
  
• LegacyHDAController.kext
  
• LegacyHDAPlatformDriver.kext
  
• SMBIOSEnabler.kext
  
• IONetworkingFamily.kext
  

I also want to add support for custom About Logo's and the Unknown CPU fix. But that can wait.

 

Welcome back, wolfienuke!

 

F4 BIOS binary for the GA-X58-UD5 board here.

You'll like this update. Fast restarts. No stupid "we're unstable and need to revert to default BIOS settings" just because you restarted or hit the reset button. Everyone with this board is encouraged to update to it.

 

As for the kexts, I've done a bunch of tests - restart, restart, restart, and this is what I've ended up with:

 

bash-3.2# cd /Volumes/EFI/Extensions
bash-3.2# ls
AppleSMBIOS.kext
HDAEnabler.kext
IONetworkingFamily.kext
LegacyAppleAHCIPort.kext
LegacyAppleIntelPIIXATA.kext
LegacyHDAController.kext
LegacyHDAPlatformDriver.kext
LegacyIOAHCIBlockStorage.kext
LegacyJMicronATA.kext
Natit.kext
SMBIOSEnabler.kext
System.kext
dsmos.kext
seatbelt.kext

 

The EFI Boot kexts are here.

CONCLUSIONS:

• AppleSMBIOS.kext - DON'T need this, but this fixes the System Profiler/Hardware Overview CPU clock reporting. If overclocked, it's reported correctly. Too bad it's not used for About This Mac panel.
  
• IONetworkingFamily.kext - I've updated this version with the Psystar LAN driver (in PlugIns), which offers dual-gigabit support and enhanced interrupt handling for improved throughput and link detection. This driver fixes the connection loss after wake issue when using DHCP. Turn "Green LAN" on in BIOS so ports can activate automatically when cable is plugged in. With "Green LAN" off an inactive port will not wake up, in my experience.
  
• LegacyAppleAHCIPort.kext - This is a "fake plist" that I've updated for the Intel ICH10R we have onboard. I prefer using this "kext", as it will load the latest binary from your /System/Library/Extensions folder and always be up-to-date with Apple's driver updates.
  
• LegacyIOAHCIBlockStorage.kext - Rather than using the whole IOAHCIFamily.kext, we can use just the part needed in the PlugIns for internal drive icons.
  
• LegacyAppleIntelPIIXATA.kext - Don't really know if we NEED this. I've worked without it, but it's usually included as part of the LegacyIOAHCIBlockStorage.kext
  
• LegacyJMicronATA.kext - Another fake plist, but not really needed for most of us.
  
• Disabler.kext - Don't need this anymore. The Voodoo kernel automatically blacklists the AppleEFIRuntime.kext (I think), AppleIntelCPUPowerManagement.kext, AppleHWSensor.kext, and Dont_Steal_Mac_OS_X.kext
  
• seatbelt.kext - Don't forget this older kext from 10.5.5 for mounting dmgs without KP.
  

Hope that helps.

 

EFI Mounter applescript for mounting/unmounting the EFI partition in the Finder. Very handy.

 

About This Mac install package displays the processor name and clock in the About This Mac panel. Doesn't work for overclocking. It does a sysctl -n machdep.cpu.brand_string command and pastes that info in place of "Unknown" for the "UnknownCPUKind" string in System/Library/CoreServices/Resources/English.lproj/AppleSystemInfo.strings. You can do that manually, of course, which I had to do for the OC.

 

For some reason the EFI Boot script does not recognize the CFBundleShortVersionString in the System.kext. I've added it manually and it still displays this error:

The domain/default pair of (/Users/Michael/Desktop/EFI Boot Installer/Extensions/System.kext/Contents/Info, CFBundleShortVersionString) does not exist
System.kext

Odd. I've looked and looked and can't see any misspellings. You probably already know what the issue is. I can't use the script to update the versions, as it keeps dumping the files into the script directory.

Additionally, I always use "Install", as update doesn't appear to work. With install, it works like a dream.

 

Glad you're back.

 

kind regards,

MAJ

[wolfienuke]

As for the kexts, I've done a bunch of tests - restart, restart, restart, and this is what I've ended up with:

Yeah, that's what most of my time has been done with this motherboard. I think the total reboot time is actually more than how long my system has been running. Well, that's what happens when you're not satisfied with "it works okay, but...".

For some reason the EFI Boot script does not recognize the CFBundleShortVersionString in the System.kext. I've added it manually and it still displays this error:

The domain/default pair of (/Users/Michael/Desktop/EFI Boot Installer/Extensions/System.kext/Contents/Info, CFBundleShortVersionString) does not exist
System.kext

Odd. I've looked and looked and can't see any misspellings. You probably already know what the issue is. I can't use the script to update the versions, as it keeps dumping the files into the script directory.

Additionally, I always use "Install", as update doesn't appear to work. With install, it works like a dream.

I fixed the script to look for CFBundleVersion and then CFBundleShortVersionString (if CFBundleVersion doesn't exist). These are only warnings and will not affect the script in any way. There was an issue with the boot files not being copied over properly, but I think I didn't release that one. The mistake caused both my OS X Partitions to fail to boot and left me very confused

Glad you're back.

 

kind regards,

MAJ

Thanks!

I really never meant to disappear, but my Father is having some health issues and most of my time is now spent helping him get back on his feet.

I'll have a brand new script for you guys once the kexts you provided can be verified as working for a clean 10.5 install.

[digital_dreamer]

Yeah, that's what most of my time has been done with this motherboard. I think the total reboot time is actually more than how long my system has been running. Well, that's what happens when you're not satisfied with "it works okay, but...".

Ha! I hear you.

The only sticking problem I have is device recognition and getting the OS to act. My Firewire and USB devices (like bluetooth dongle) can be recognized when plugged in after boot by Profiler, but no mounting/loading occurs. If plugged in during boot, no problem. I'm looking into it, but afraid that my kexts (or combination) may be the problem. If you or others aren't having this issue, then I don't want my kexts spreading around. Virus! LOL.

 

The mistake caused both my OS X Partitions to fail to boot and left me very confused

I did the exact same thing on both of my partitions and was left confused for a couple days, as well. I reinstalled Kalyway, which is a breeze to get going - click, click and go. (Other than video, can't imagine why people have trouble getting that distro running on this motherboard.) I tried the same EFI boot script and still couldn't get going. It would stall at one place or another. Confusing is the word. Ended up re-partitioning the drive and starting fresh.

What I'm beginning to realize in all the restarts, that we need to delete the Extensions.mkext after each kext change. I don't think it gets rebuilt properly. There were several times after a restart, that the results didn't match what I was expecting, so I started deleting that mkext and things started making more sense. What do you think?

 

Thanks!

I really never meant to disappear, but my Father is having some health issues and most of my time is now spent helping him get back on his feet.

I'll have a brand new script for you guys once the kexts you provided can be verified as working for a clean 10.5 install.

Hope your dad is getting better. How old is he?

 

best of wishes,

MAJ

[mattrb]

Digital_Dreamer,

 

Good work on the investigation but I am having trouble with your idisk.

 

It asks for a username and password but you never told us what that was???

 

Please tell the i7 cherishing public what your username and password is so we can look at your kext collection.

 

Thanks!

[digital_dreamer]

Digital_Dreamer,

 

Good work on the investigation but I am having trouble with your idisk.

 

It asks for a username and password but you never told us what that was???

 

Please tell the i7 cherishing public what your username and password is so we can look at your kext collection.

 

Thanks!

 

Hi, mattrb,

Which download link are you talking about? I just double-checked and I don't have password protection enabled on my read-only Public folder. Let me know as I would like to get this resolved.

 

kind regards,

MAJ

 

Edit: Having just installed OS X on a new machine, I may not have had my .mac/mobileme account setup properly at first. So, give the links a try again. They should be fine.

[wolfienuke]

Here's the new Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD5 EFI Boot Installer Script.

 

I have verified the script/kexts are working (No sound in 10.5 like before, update fixes this. I will investigate).

I have not fully tested the update part of the script, but selecting install multiple times will not hurt as long as the correct disk is selected. I have fixed the issue with Disk names and paths having (space) characters and should no longer be a problem.

 

If you are having issues with the getting an initial install to work, post your problems. I think you should be able to easily put these files on a usb drive, boot a retail disk with boot-132 method, partition your drives as required, run the scripts in terminal, and then start the install. That should give you a working unmodified 10.5 system with minimal fuss.

 

Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD5 EFI Boot Installer Script v3 [download]

 

P.S.: Just double click "Install.command" to start the script. Enter you password if prompted.

[wolfienuke]

Ha! I hear you.

The only sticking problem I have is device recognition and getting the OS to act. My Firewire and USB devices (like bluetooth dongle) can be recognized when plugged in after boot by Profiler, but no mounting/loading occurs. If plugged in during boot, no problem. I'm looking into it, but afraid that my kexts (or combination) may be the problem. If you or others aren't having this issue, then I don't want my kexts spreading around. Virus! LOL.

I did the exact same thing on both of my partitions and was left confused for a couple days, as well. I reinstalled Kalyway, which is a breeze to get going - click, click and go. (Other than video, can't imagine why people have trouble getting that distro running on this motherboard.) I tried the same EFI boot script and still couldn't get going. It would stall at one place or another. Confusing is the word. Ended up re-partitioning the drive and starting fresh.

What I'm beginning to realize in all the restarts, that we need to delete the Extensions.mkext after each kext change. I don't think it gets rebuilt properly. There were several times after a restart, that the results didn't match what I was expecting, so I started deleting that mkext and things started making more sense. What do you think?

Hope your dad is getting better. How old is he?

 

best of wishes,

MAJ

I have no trouble with usb drives... I have not tried a flash drive yet, but my portable 120GB works like a charm.

 

I have downloaded all the Mac OS X 10.5.x updates and will log information, backup each extensions folder, and see when/where/if any issues arise. I would suggest the same to you if you are trying to find a suspect kext.

 

Actually, I just tried my bluetooth dongle, any I see your point. It is not seen unless I reboot. Hrmm... Thanks for the info. This will {censored} me off for a while.

[JaE-V]

@ JaE-V

That's a long wait. And, you have been on this thread from the very beginning.

It'll be worth the wait, however. Hope all goes well.

 

Lol i know, i've ordered an MSI x58 platinum, 3gigs of ddr3, antec 900 case, lg blu-ray/hddvd drive. Gonna shift over most of my components to the new system. Have to wait til Jan to purchase the processor to complete the build

[mattrb]

Thanks wolfienuke,

 

I found that when I entered the efi string of my 8800gt which was

6c0200000100000001000000600200000d00000002010c00d041030a010000000101060000030101

60000007fff04000e0000004e00560050004d0000002000000001000000000000000000000000000

00000000000000000000000000220000005600520041004d002c0074006f00740061006c00730069

07a006500000008000000000000201c0000006400650076006900630065005f00740079007000650

00000f0000004e5644412c506172656e740e0000006e0061006d00650000000b000000646973706c

17922000000400030002c006400650076006900630065005f00740079007000650000000b0000006

6973706c617922000000400031002c006400650076006900630065005f0074007900700065000000

b000000646973706c6179100000006d006f00640065006c0000001a0000006e56696469612047654

6f726365203838303020475420000000400031002c0063006f006d00700061007400690062006c00

50000000e0000004e5644412c4e564d616314000000400030002c006e0061006d006500000012000

004e5644412c446973706c61792d4114000000400031002c006e0061006d0065000000120000004e

644412c446973706c61792d4220000000400030002c0063006f006d00700061007400690062006c0

650000000e0000004e5644412c4e564d6163100000004e0056004300410050000000180000000400

000000003000c00000000000007000000001e00000072006f006d002d00720065007600690073006

006f006e0000002e0000006e5669646961204765466f7263652038383030204754204f70656e474c

0456e67696e65205b4546495d

 

I then pressed enter and then the thing just stayed there.

 

 

Please check that out.

Also I hope that your father gets well, best wishes to him.

 

 

 

Edit:

I saw in the code that you look for efistring.txt, I put that in the main directory of the script right?

[wolfienuke]

I saw in the code that you look for efistring.txt, I put that in the main directory of the script right?

Yes... I'll check out why it hangs though.

 

Issue Fixed... I also left the diskid.txt and efistring.txt files in the folder. They are blank, and the script will ignore them if they are blank or missing. Just either fill in the questions in the script or add the required info into the text files if you know what you are doing.

 

PS: Do not have any returns, spaces, or line breaks in the efistring.txt

 

Links have been updated or you can download here

[fiat]

I've logged a issue with the Voodoo programmers about the virtualization Kernel Panic...

 

Seems it must be a kext issue that us i7 people are running as others running the voodoo kernel can get parallels and VMware working fine....

[wolfienuke]

I've logged a issue with the Voodoo programmers about the virtualization Kernel Panic...

 

Seems it must be a kext issue that us i7 people are running as others running the voodoo kernel can get parallels and VMware working fine....

I installed VMWare Fusion and it seems that the vmnet.kext causes issues during boot. I removed the launch daemon, and it seemed to boot fine. Of course VMWare Fusion didn't like the changes though. So, are you telling me Parallels has a similar issue?

[fiat]

yep, parallels 3 & 4 and VMware all kernel panic.

[Seggybop]

I think MSI Platinum X58 may have the same ACPI problem as MSI P35 motherboards that made them require a modified BIOS in order to work without cpus=1. However, I don't completely understand that problem/why removing Alias entries with DSDT patcher doesn't fix it. In any case, for anyone considering ordering a Nehalem motherboard for OSX, I think it may be better to avoid MSI for now. If I can't get the cores to work before my return period is up, I might send this back and try another manufacturer.