nForce OS X Snow Leopard (10.6) RETAIL INSTALL GUIDE on a Series 6 or 7 nForce chipset / Intel CPU MOBO

[ctuprde]

I was using VLC.

 

Booted with debug=0x100, and got to desktop.

 

Came up with apple (big red stop sign) error 'this disk is not readable etc', then locked up again. Time was still changing though!

 

Any ideas?

[verdant]

I was using VLC.

 

Booted with debug=0x100, and got to desktop.

 

Came up with apple (big red stop sign) error 'this disk is not readable etc', then locked up again. Time was still changing though!

 

Any ideas?

 

This sounds as if the rate at which VLC is expecting data is faster than the rate at which the DVDRW is transferring it across the IDE bus or SATA bus........have you tried changing VLC's Default Caching Level to see what happens....?

 

If you are using AppleNForceATA.imk64bit.kext then I presume you are using a PATA (IDE) DVDRW........

 

You could also see what happens when you boot with cpus=1 maxmem=2048 or 3072........

[ctuprde]

Really sorry i wasnt very clear, im trying to watch the movie from one of the SATA drives (its an avi file).

 

Havent got into 64bit mode yet, so using the NForceATA kext in the support files in #1

[verdant]

Really sorry i wasnt very clear, im trying to watch the movie from one of the SATA drives (its an avi file).

 

Havent got into 64bit mode yet, so using the NForceATA kext in the support files in #1

 

OK is your DVDRW PATA (IDE) or SATA?

 

In v2.3 of my support files, you have:

 

AppleNForceATA.64AnV.kext

AppleNForceATA.AnV.kext

AppleNForceATA.slash.kext

 

which one are you using?

[ctuprde]

DVD drive is PATA, and is connected as SLAVE on the wire.

 

in using AppleNForceATA.AnV.kext

[verdant]

DVD drive is PATA, and is connected as SLAVE on the wire.

 

in using AppleNForceATA.AnV.kext

 

AppleNForceATA.AnV.kext should be fine but your PATA DVDRW should be connected as Master and your PATA HDD as Slave, using 80-wire IDE connector cable......

 

When this done.........try watching the video file again..........

 

If it freezes, then reboot with cpus=1 maxmem=2048 and try again........

 

I have to go offline now for a period but will check back later..........

[ctuprde]

OK, switched the wires over - now HDD is slave and DVD is master, 80 pin wire.

 

Booting normally gets this error 'the disk you inserted was not readable by this computer' and PC locks up, however...

 

Booting with cpus=1 & maxmem=2048 gives same error, but hasnt locked up yet... (im typing in OS X as we speak!)

 

Will try video....

[verdant]

OK, switched the wires over - now HDD is slave and DVD is master, 80 pin wire.

 

Booting normally gets this error 'the disk you inserted was not readable by this computer' and PC locks up, however...

 

Booting with cpus=1 & maxmem=2048 gives same error, but hasnt locked up yet... (im typing in OS X as we speak!)

 

Will try video....

 

Do you have any HDDs or other storage devices attached with a partition/format scheme other than HFS+, FAT32 or NTFS?

[ctuprde]

Yes i did! An old HDD was plugged in and i didnt realise - took it out and now error has gone - phew!

 

Is there a fix for the cpus=1 and maxmem=2048 ?

 

I seem to be running smoothly, just watched an avi no problems.

[verdant]

Yes i did! An old HDD was plugged in and i didnt realise - took it out and now error has gone - phew!

 

Is there a fix for the cpus=1 and maxmem=2048 ?

 

I seem to be running smoothly, just watched an avi no problems.

 

I suggest you open Disk utility and repair system permissions........then try watching an avi without using cpus=1 and maxmem=2048........I cannot guarrantee that you won't need to use cpus=1 and maxmem=2048.....

 

But you could try each of these of these in turn, to see which of these four AppleNForceATA 32bit kexts works best for you......i.e. allows you to not use cpus=1 and maxmem=2048.....

 

AppleNForceATA.64AnV.kext

AppleNForceATA.AnV.kext

AppleNForceATA.slash.kext

Part K. Item 4. MeDevil / aryajuanda http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?2mnxd0j44mf : Alternative AppleNForceATA.kext compiled for Snow Leopard

[ctuprde]

So is the cpus=1 and maxmem=2048 related to the ATA kext im using?

[verdant]

So is the cpus=1 and maxmem=2048 related to the ATA kext im using?

 

Sort of......

 

It all relates to the nForce Southbridge chipset.......the Northbridge chipset handles the CPU and RAM and in some cases the PCI-E interfacing and tends to get very hot on some nVidia nForce chipset MOBOs......see here......while the Southbridge MCP chipset controls all the device I/O such as USB, SATA, PATA and Firewire.............the Southbridge is probably also getting hot too.......so cooling the Southbridge would also be a good idea......it is not just PATA/SATA.........Firewire can be problematic.......even USB for some........

 

So what I am saying is that the problem could be a combination of having a non-Apple PATA/SATA kext, AppleNForceATA.kext, for the nForce Southbridge MCP chipset and it getting very hot when during heavy data transfers........

 

Even on my 650i MOBO, I have put cooling fans over the Northbridge and Southbridge chipset heatsinks.....the Northbridge chipset has a Scythe Mini-Kase Ultra 40mm Quiet Cooling fan mounted on its finned heatsink to blow air down on it (running full speed).......the Southbridge chipset has a Rasurbo 40mm Quiet Cooling fan (running in Q-Fan mode, with its 4 mounting screws partially screwed into the fan frame to lift if off the flat Southbridge heatsink) mounted on it, to blow air down on the heatsink face .......these two fans are mounted using "blobs" of Butyl rubber adhesive, which exhibits both very good holding power against gravity [but is still removable] and vibration damping behaviour, with a maximum service temperature of 93°C.....

[ctuprde]

Right okay, so using maxmem=2048 and cpus=1 reduces the load on these components thus reducing the temperature?

 

Nothing to do with compatibility of them with OSX / wrong kexts used etc?

 

I have water cooling on my CPU!!!

[verdant]

Right okay, so using maxmem=2048 and cpus=1 reduces the load on these components thus reducing the temperature?

 

Nothing to do with compatibility of them with OSX / wrong kexts used etc?

 

I have water cooling on my CPU!!!

 

As I said it is probably a combination of both..........

 

[1] heavy data transfer >>>> higher Northbridge/Southbridge chipset temperatures and

 

[2] heavy data transfer >>>> kext coding is not optimised for continuous RAM/CPU interaction as heavy data transfer occurs across the Northbridge/Southbridge chipsets..........?

[raze599]

Hi everyone

 

I am very much a noob when it comes to this so please bear with me.

 

I have ordered a retail Snow Leopard disc which should arrive on Monday and I just wanted to ask if I attempt Part B (DSDT editing) after the installation of Snow Leopard? Or do I have to use some sort of virtual machine beforehand?

 

Thanks guys.

[verdant]

Hi everyone

 

I am very much a noob when it comes to this so please bear with me.

 

I have ordered a retail Snow Leopard disc which should arrive on Monday and I just wanted to ask if I attempt Part B (DSDT editing) after the installation of Snow Leopard? Or do I have to use some sort of virtual machine beforehand?

 

Thanks guys.

 

Start by putting your system details in your signature.......

 

Normally for convenience, you need access to OS X Leopard on your PC to:

 

1. Generate a RTC patched DSDT.aml file for SL [Part B]

 

2. Establish OS X target HDD ownership

 

3. Run EFIStudio or OSx86Tools to generate the graphics string for your graphics card

 

4. Install Chameleon 2.0 RC4 or RC5 onto your target SL OS X volume and in the process generate a /Extra directory.....

 

5. Follow PART F if you want to install from a Retail Snow Leopard Mac OS X Install DVD disc to a GPT HDD volume using my nForceSLBoot132DVD......

[ctuprde]

Ok, im running SL in 64 bit now, everything seems to work ok, however still using cpus=1 maxmem=2048

 

Is there any way around this?

 

Will i be able to upgrade to Lion?

[verdant]

Ok, im running SL in 64 bit now, everything seems to work ok, however still using cpus=1 maxmem=2048

 

Is there any way around this?

 

Will i be able to upgrade to Lion?

 

If you are running in 64bit mode, remind what happens if you do not boot with cpus=1 maxmem=2048.....

 

It would be useful to:

 

[1] know the Chameleon version/revision bootloader you are using

 

[2] see all kexts in /E/E

 

[3] know of non-vanilla/Apple kexts (if any) in /S/L/E/

 

[4] know of any rolled-back Apple kexts in /E/E/ or /S/L/E/

 

[5] see your Boot.plist file contents in /Extra and in /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/

 

[6] see your DSDT.aml file

 

[7] for you to put your nforce system details in your signature

[ctuprde]

If you are running in 64bit mode, remind what happens if you do not boot with cpus=1 maxmem=2048.....

 

It would be useful to:

 

[3] know of non-vanilla/Apple kexts (if any) in /S/L/E/

 

[4] know of any rolled-back Apple kexts in /E/E/ or /S/L/E/

How would i got about doing steps 3 & 4?

[verdant]

How would i got about doing steps 3 & 4?

 

Use Kext Wizard 'Loaded' function.....for non-Apple kexts, look for kexts without com.apple. in the listing and for the rolled-back Apple kexts just look at the version number in ( )......

[ctuprde]

Loaded_Kexts.txt

 

This shows /Extra contents, and all the kexts loaded using KextWizard loaded function....

 

[5] see your Boot.plist file contents in /Extra

 

GraphicsEnabler Yes

 

Kernel mach_kernel

 

Kernel Flags -v arch=x86_64 cpus=1 maxmem=2048 npci=0x2000

 

PciRoot 1

 

Timeout 5

 

and in /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/

 

Kernel Flags

 

 

 

 

How do i show you my DSDT?

[verdant]

Loaded_Kexts.txt

 

This shows /Extra contents, and all the kexts loaded using KextWizard loaded function....

 

 

 

GraphicsEnabler Yes

 

Kernel mach_kernel

 

Kernel Flags -v arch=x86_64 cpus=1 maxmem=2048 npci=0x2000

 

PciRoot 1

 

Timeout 5

 

 

 

Kernel Flags

 

 

 

 

How do i show you my DSDT?

 

 

Run this great little app by MaLd0n and PM me the output file: run_me.zip

 

To confirm that you are booting in 64bit mode you should type in Terminal:

 

uname -a

and get as the output:

xnu-1504.15.3~1/RELEASE_X86_64 x86_64

There should be no reason to use cpus=1 maxmem=2048 if you are using the AppleNForceATA.imk64bit.kext.....and you should have the following 64bit kexts in /Extra/Extensions/

 

AppleNForceATA.imk64bit.kext

EvOreboot.kext

FakeSMC.kext

NullCPUPowerManagement.kext (unless you are SpeedStepping)

[ctuprde]

Run this great little app by MaLd0n and PM me the output file: run_me.zip

 

To confirm that you are booting in 64bit mode you should type in Terminal:

 

uname -a

and get as the output:

xnu-1504.15.3~1/RELEASE_X86_64 x86_64

There should be no reason to use cpus=1 maxmem=2048 if you are using the AppleNForceATA.imk64bit.kext.....and you should have the following 64bit kexts in /Extra/Extensions/

 

AppleNForceATA.imk64bit.kext

EvOreboot.kext

FakeSMC.kext

NullCPUPowerManagement.kext (unless you are SpeedStepping)

 

 

 

 

I am definately in the 64bit kernel, and those four 64bit enabled kexts are in the Extra folder.

 

 

When i boot without using maxmem=2048 & cpus=1 the pc locks up.

[raze599]

Hi Verdant, recieved my retail Snow Leopard DVD today. Your NForceSL132 DVD doesnt seem to be working for me. Specs are in my sig. I have made all the BIOS options that I can match the ones from your template.

 

What happens is after my BIOS boots into the DVD (after the bit with the names and copyright and all the dots), it starts putting out error messages:

 

EBIOS read error : Error 0x32

Block 0xbb4c Sectors 0

 

EBIOS read error : Error 0x32

Block 0xbb54 Sectors 0

 

EBIOS read error : Error 0x32

Block 0xbb50 Sectors 0

 

Each of these messages come up a good 10 times each before moving onto the next error message. After a while it boots up into Darwin so I can swap the discs. However the background picture is offset to the right of the screen so I can only see a few words of what is written there. Everything else is in the correct position. When I swap the discs I wait a good 30 seconds before selecting Legacy Boot CD. It however doesnt boot and it stops at "system uptime". I have tried both PATA and SATA versions. I burnt both at 4x speed (The lowest my drive does). The same errors occur on both.

[verdant]

Hi Verdant, recieved my retail Snow Leopard DVD today. Your NForceSL132 DVD doesnt seem to be working for me. Specs are in my sig. I have made all the BIOS options that I can match the ones from your template.

 

What happens is after my BIOS boots into the DVD (after the bit with the names and copyright and all the dots), it starts putting out error messages:

 

EBIOS read error : Error 0x32

Block 0xbb4c Sectors 0

 

EBIOS read error : Error 0x32

Block 0xbb54 Sectors 0

 

EBIOS read error : Error 0x32

Block 0xbb50 Sectors 0

 

Each of these messages come up a good 10 times each before moving onto the next error message. After a while it boots up into Darwin so I can swap the discs. However the background picture is offset to the right of the screen so I can only see a few words of what is written there. Everything else is in the correct position. When I swap the discs I wait a good 30 seconds before selecting Legacy Boot CD. It however doesnt boot and it stops at "system uptime". I have tried both PATA and SATA versions. I burnt both at 4x speed (The lowest my drive does). The same errors occur on both.

 

Did you by any chance burn the two .iso files to CD rather than to a DVD......? EBIOS read errors and an offset background picture to the right with these .iso files are usually the result of not burning to a DVD......

 

Also remember to follow:

 

(16) When the custom boot volume theme appears follow the onscreen instructions........namely when the Legacy Boot CD icon appears framed to the left of the display.........remove the nForceSLBoot132DVD from the DVDRW tray.......insert your Retail Snow Leopard Mac OS X Install DVD in the DVDRW tray and close...........wait for the initial DVDRW activity to occur (flashing DVDRW light) for a while to allow the DVD to be recognised......then press F5..........the Mac OS X Install DVD icon should then appear "framed" to the right of the display...

 

 

(17) Now type -v (space) -f at the boot: prompt that will appear (as usual with the Chameleon bootloader) in the bottom lefthand corner of the display.......I have asked to you use -v so that you can see what is happening (even though it messes up the friendly green Chameleon desktop) AND YOU MUST PRESS -f too.......

 

boot: -v -f