[Guide] 10.6 Snow Leopard on GA-EP45-DQ6

[genzai]

In this guide I will detail what I think is the most streamlined install process for the GA-EP45-DQ6 and similar boards. I will try to keep it updated with newer kexts or techniques as time goes on. I tried many methods to get 10.6 on the EP45-DQ6 and while several methods worked, many methods were arduous and clumsy.

 

I would also like to thank first so many of the other guide posters whose work this is based on and especially blackosx for his amazing guides, and all the people who develop the tools that make this possible for us, including Zef, Kabyl, Fassl and the whole Voodoo/Chameleon Team, Netkas, Trauma, ls8 and so many others. Amazing work on their parts.

 

I would also like to keep this thread on topic for 10.6 installs on EP45-Dx boards and similar boards only. For general discussion on the EP45-DQ6 that does not specifically relate to installing and running 10.6.x, please see the MAIN THREAD.

 

As mentioned, there are many ways to get a working 10.6(.1) install on to the EP45-DQ6, and i am even running an upgrade from 10.5.8 currently and it is stable as well. But this guide will focus on a Clean install using a boot 1-3-2 like method (actually Chameleon CDboot) and a very bare minimum of Kexts needed for a vanilla system.

 

Some information is precautionary. I did try many things in getting SL installed and I cant say for sure if every step is needed, but its what I did and ended up with a working result. Therefore if you feel a step can be skipped, please feel free to do so and let me know how it goes so i can further streamline the guide.

 

Some users will need to modify some files BEFORE proceeding with the installation. This is VERY IMPORTANT. I will go over the installation procedure first, but please read the ENTIRE post and especially the notes at the bottom to see if they pertain to you before trying to use this install guide.

 

Lets get to it.

 

You need:

Gigabyte GA-EP45-DQ6 or compatible Motherboard (obviously)

Retail OS X 10.6 Install DVD

Chameleon CDboot from bottom of this post.

Extensions package from bottom of this post.

DSDT.aml from bottom of this post.

com.apple.Boot.plist and SMBIOS.plist that you will need to customize somewhat.

 

 

You should have the BIOS set up correctly on your board. If you are running 10.5 then this should already be done, but the key things are AHCI must be enabled. HPET must be set to 64bit.

 

I have noticed that having Legacy USB Devices enabled will cause reboot loop with certain USB devices plugged in at boot time. So i suggest keeping this off in the BIOS.

 

Step 1)

After assuring your BIOS settings are correct ( i can post pictures if requested), I believe you must have the HDD you are installing to plugged into the first SATA port! This is labled SATA0. I was getting KPs during the install. After moving the drive to the first port (and admittedly fussing around with a few other things) i no longer had any KP during install. So i am pretty sure that it is needed to have the HDD on the first SATA port. Please inform me if you find otherwise.

 

Step 2)

Burn the BootCD.iso to a CD using a current OS X install or windows CD burning software.

 

Step 3)

A. Boot with the BootCD in your SATA DVD drive. You will either need to have this drive set as the first boot device in the BIOS or you will have to press f12 during POST and select the DVD drive from the boot menu

B. Once you get to the Chameleon Boot screen, eject the BootCD.

C. Place the retail install DVD in the DVD drive. Wait until the Drive is ready.

D. Press F5. The screen will refresh and show the Install DVD as a boot option.

E. Select the install DVD from the boot menu

 

Step 4)

The OS X installer should now start.

A. Go to DiskUtil and create your OS X partition. The partition must be GUID.

Preferably the first partition on the Disk. I prefer to have single partition disks with each OS on its own disk for multiple boot systems. However there are guides that explain how to share a single drive amongst several OS installs.

B. Click on the new partition on the Diskutil Sidebar. Press the Info button and note down the "Universal Unique Identifier". This needs to be exact. Save this for later use.

C. Finish the install and Reboot.

 

Step 5)

A. Replace the BootCD into the DVD drive and boot from it as in Step 3A.

B. This time when you get to the boot screen choose the HDD you just installed to to boot from.

You should now be greeted with the initial OS X install with video and registration and such. You know what to do.

 

Step 6)

A. Install Chameleon RC2 with the installer package included below.

B. Now we need to update the file called "boot" to chameleon RC3 included below. Open Terminal.

C. type:

sudo -s

enter your password

cp /path/to/RC3/boot /

 

Step 7)

Now we need to set up our kexts.

A. DELETE the Extensions.mkext file in /Extra

B. DELETE all the .kexts in /Extra/Extensions

C. Copy the 5 kexts in the Extensions package below into your /Extra/Extensions folder

D. Copy the DSDT.aml file into your /Extra folder

E. Customize* then Copy the SMBIOS.plist file into your /Extra folder

F. Customize* then Copy the com.apple.Boot.plist file into your /Extra folder

G. Use kexthelper to install VoodooHDA.kext

H. Double click to install voodooHDA.prefpane to install it to your system preferences panel

I. Run the RTGmac 2.0.3 installer package.

 

Step 8)

A. You can now reboot and boot directly from the HDD.

B. On this first boot, use the -f boot flag to make sure all the kext caches are rebuilt properly.

 

Step 9)

Enjoy your tamed Snow Kitty.

 

 

NOTES:

 

1) The DSDT.aml is created from the f13a bios of the EP45-DQ6. It may not work if you are running other versions of the BIOS. It WILL NOT work if you are using a different motherboard. If you are using a different but similar motherboard, you will need to create a DSDT.aml file based on your board and BIOS. There are guides for doing this or contact me for help and i can time permitting supply you with a fixed DSDT.aml file.

 

2) The com.apple.Boot.plist in this post is designed for an Nvidia 8600GT 256MB graphics card. If you are using a similar card it might work fine long enough for you to get fully installed and add your own EFI strings to the com.apple.Boot.plist. If not, you will need to create your own properly stringed com.apple.Boot.plist before running this install guide, and create a new BootCD with your edited file.

2b) I have NOT been able to get the RC3 "GraphicsEnebler=Yes" feature working on a fresh install. Though this is another topic entirely, this is the reason that i am still using device-property EFI strings in the com.apple.Boot.plist. You may be able to get this feature working with your card.

 

3) I have no experience yet with ATI cards in SL.

 

4) The system will boot in both 32-bit mode (default with my supplied files) or 64-bit mode. Everything works in 32-bit mode. In 64-bit mode the built in network cards do not work very well. Specifically Bounjour does not work properly. There is a workaround for this that i will post in an update.

 

5) You must edit the SMBIOS.plist file to represent your system once you have completed the install (or before the install preferably if you are creating your own BootCD).

This includes inserting your own UUID into the SMBIOS.plist. This is the number you gathered in Step 4B.

 

You must edit the info.plist inside the PlatformUUID.kext to also include the number from step 4B.

 

---Because of limited time, i have intentionally left portions of this guide vague. I will be updating the guide with far more detailed instructions soon, but i did not want to withhold the post entirely since many users will understand the procedures involved without more details needed. If you feel confused by a step or if you need help in adjusting files to meet your system profile, please feel free to wait for the updates to this guide, or ask in the thread for clarification and I or other experienced users will assist you.---

 

Here are the files you will need to complete this guide:

BootCD: BootCD.iso.zip

UPDATE: BootCD.iso.zip - Now with f13d based DSDT and a more generic com.apple.Boot.plist (no efi strings, should boot any graphics but without acceleration)

 

Extensions Package: Extensions.zip

 

DSDT.aml: dsdt.aml.zip For EP45-DQ6 f13a only

UPDATE: DSDT.aml dsdt.aml.zip Now for EP45-DQ6 f13d only

 

SMBIOS.plist: SMBIOS.plist.zip Must be Modified by you to represent your system!

 

example com.apple.Boot.plsit: com.apple.Boot.plist.zip Must be edited by you to represent your video card, etc.

 

VoodooHDA files (for Snow Leopard): SL64_VoodooHDA_Pref.zip

Chameleon RC2 Installer: Chameleon_2.0_RC2_r640.pkg.zip

Chameleon RC3 boot file: boot.zip

Realtek RTGmac 2.0.3 network driver: RTGMac_v2.0.3.zip

BootCD Maker: BootCDMaker1.1.part1.rar BootCDMaker1.1.part2.rar For making your own BootCD with custom DSDT.aml, com.apple.Boot.plist, SMBIOS.plist, and PlatformUUID.kext info.plist.

[JoRdaN FiRsT]

thx

i will flash my mobo from bios 11 to 13 now and following your guide ..

[Peter Craft]

I'm having a problem booting to the HDD in step 5. Everything else went smoothly except the first time I tried to install I had to go back and repartition because the computer froze. But the second time I installed it went through.

 

When I put the BootCd back in everything goes fine, I get to the Darwin screen, my HDD drive shows up there. But when I load it the Chameleon screen pops up and then rather quickly it goes to a slightly blue screen, and then a black screen with only my mouse on it. I can move the mouse around but the screen has not moved on after about an hour.

 

I have a Gigabyte EP45-DQ6, an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, and a GF 9600 graphics card.

 

Could the problem come from the fact that I am installing the server version of Snow Leopard?

[genzai]

I'm having a problem booting to the HDD in step 5. Everything else went smoothly except the first time I tried to install I had to go back and repartition because the computer froze. But the second time I installed it went through.

 

When I put the BootCd back in everything goes fine, I get to the Darwin screen, my HDD drive shows up there. But when I load it the Chameleon screen pops up and then rather quickly it goes to a slightly blue screen, and then a black screen with only my mouse on it. I can move the mouse around but the screen has not moved on after about an hour.

 

I have a Gigabyte EP45-DQ6, an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, and a GF 9600 graphics card.

 

Could the problem come from the fact that I am installing the server version of Snow Leopard?

 

Hi P,

Did you use the DSDT.aml and com.apple.Boot.plist i provided or did you customize your own?

Its possible that since your running a 2 core cpu and the DSDT.aml was made for 4 cores, or that the gfx efi string in my com.apple.Boot.plist is causing you issues.

 

It should not matter that your using the server version.

 

Can you boot with -x?

/g

[JoRdaN FiRsT]

i dont use DSDT.aml never on my system >> iAtkos 10.5.8 & Ipc 10.5.7 & ideneb .. and evrything work fine !!!!!!!

but when install DSDT >> i get kernel panic everytime .

[genzai]

You are going to need to use DSDT.aml for DQ6 in SL because of RTC bios reset issues.

 

i dont use DSDT.aml never on my system >> iAtkos 10.5.8 & Ipc 10.5.7 & ideneb .. and evrything work fine !!!!!!!

but when install DSDT >> i get kernel panic everytime .

[JoRdaN FiRsT]

You are going to need to use DSDT.aml for DQ6 in SL because of RTC bios reset issues.

 

thx sir

 

i make DSDT.aml for my mobo now use (Patcher02Beta5) and evrything ok .

but after restart get this problem use (-x32 -v ) (-v)

 

( jmicronATA- tffeatureRog fFirewire runtime power consern )

[Peter Craft]

Hi I'm gonna have to ask for your help one more time. I'm am very new at this and even though I was able to edit the com.apple.boot.plist, I have absolutely no idea how to edit the DSDT.aml. If you could point me in the direction of an appropriate guide that would be very helpful.

 

Sorry about this I'd just rather not brick my computer before I even get it running properly.

[genzai]

thx sir

 

i make DSDT.aml for my mobo now use (Patcher02Beta5) and evrything ok .

but after restart get this problem use (-x32 -v ) (-v)

 

( jmicronATA- tffeatureRog fFirewire runtime power consern )

 

well, if you are using Chameleon RC3 boot file, it wont recognize the -x32 command, you must use arch=i386 (as is in the com.apple.Boot.plist example i provide)

 

Please try disabling the jmicron controller in bios and see if you can boot.

/g

[MIII007]

I have been getting the following error when I boot the computer from the BootCD.iso

EBIOS read error: Error 0x01

 

Motherboard: EP45-DQ6

Bios : F12

 

And when I insert the SL CD to start the installation the the system crashes telling me to turn off the system.

 

Can you please post your BIOS setting so I can get my DQ6 working?

 

Thanks!

[fno]

I have been getting the following error when I boot the computer from the BootCD.iso

EBIOS read error: Error 0x01

 

Motherboard: EP45-DQ6

Bios : F12

 

And when I insert the SL CD to start the installation the the system crashes telling me to turn off the system.

I had the same EBIOS error, but the installation works just fine anyway. Make sure you have the target disk for the installation connected to SATA port 0, and preferably disconnect all other disks during the installation process.

[lutin]

Thanx for a nice how-to. Any experience with the newer BIOS F13d?

[genzai]

Thanx for a nice how-to. Any experience with the newer BIOS F13d?

 

Hi, yes

i have since made an updated dsdt.aml based on f13d and i will upload it. It is also working fine for me though i have no idea what this bios is supposed to improve.

/g

[fno]

This guide works great (have been fighting KPs for weeks until I found this guide and the SATA tips) - thanks!

 

But, I still have problems with audio. The attached kext seems to be a bit confused regarding to what specific features the DQ6 has. Have any of you got digital out (audio) working?

[genzai]

This guide works great (have been fighting KPs for weeks until I found this guide and the SATA tips) - thanks!

 

But, I still have problems with audio. The attached kext seems to be a bit confused regarding to what specific features the DQ6 has. Have any of you got digital out (audio) working?

 

Hi f,

To be honest i have not tried the digital out because i only use the analog outs (labled as unknown but that's ok with me) for onbaord audio. I have an mbox that i use with protools, so the onboard audio is very peripheral to my needs.

 

with the VoodooHDA driver i get an output device called SPDIF-out. Again i have not tried this output. Are you saying it does not work?

/g

[lutin]

Hi, yes

i have since made an updated dsdt.aml based on f13d and i will upload it. It is also working fine for me though i have no idea what this bios is supposed to improve.

/g

 

Hurry hurry hurry - Waiting for your upload - too lazy do not want to downgrade my BIOS!

[fno]

with the VoodooHDA driver i get an output device called SPDIF-out. Again i have not tried this output. Are you saying it does not work?

/g

Yeah, I got that device as well, but my receiver receives nothing when selecting it. It behaves like a regular sound card with its volume control, and if I remember it correctly (from my old iMac), the digital out is passthrough only and shouldn't have a volume slider at all.

 

I have verified that the setup works in Windows 7 and Linux, and I use an USB sound card as well for "general audio", but want digital for home theater use.

[genzai]

ok DQ6rs,

 

I still have not had enough time to do major updates to the guide, but i have just uploaded the DSDT for the 13d BIOS and also updated the BootCD image to include this DSDT and changed the com.apple.Boot.plist in the BootCD to be more generic. Now it should boot any video card (some, especially ati cards, may require -x to boot) since i have removed all device-properties strings. You can still make your own custom com.apple.Boot.plist and generate your custom BootCD if you want full-rez and accelerated graphics from the start.

 

Also there is some big news last night.

Netkas released 10.3 of PCEFI. This release rocks. It fixes the problem of GraphicsEnabler not working on our board (i am using it now and works great), and also adds ATI card support. Turns out our board is one of the many that needs root-pci=1.

 

I do not know if this boot file can be integrated into the BootCD yet, but once it can we can all use the same bootCD regardless of our graphics cards, i will simply put graphicsenabler into the com.apple.Boot.plist of the bootCD and it will autodetect and work out of box with 90% of video cards. So hopefully i'll figure this out soon.

/g

 

 

Yeah, I got that device as well, but my receiver receives nothing when selecting it. It behaves like a regular sound card with its volume control, and if I remember it correctly (from my old iMac), the digital out is passthrough only and shouldn't have a volume slider at all.

 

I have verified that the setup works in Windows 7 and Linux, and I use an USB sound card as well for "general audio", but want digital for home theater use.

 

Well,

This may be a good reason to hack DSDT for HDEF and start using legacy kexts instead of VoodooHDA. I will probably need your help to test such a method.

By the way, did you ever have working digital out in 10.5.x with any of the old sound methods?

/g

[lutin]

Working!

 

Your guide has a few "errors", mainly it forgot to tell I had to wait 3 minutes wile the BootCD wrote strange error reports before starting. I was convinced I did something wrong... -and where to put what is not totally clear.

 

Chameleon RC2 would not install at all, RC3 did. Installing the boot part was simpel when I did it manually from the tar.bal Easy instructions included in the tar.bal

[genzai]

Working!

 

Your guide has a few "errors", mainly it forgot to tell I had to wait 3 minutes wile the BootCD wrote strange error reports before starting. I was convinced I did something wrong... -and where to put what is not totally clear.

 

Chameleon RC2 would not install at all, RC3 did. Installing the boot part was simpel when I did it manually from the tar.bal Easy instructions included in the tar.bal

 

Glad you are up and running. I dont have the problem with the BootCD stalling. Do you have other drives besides the OS X system drive plugged in?

 

Chameleon RC2 installer is not SL compatible, so if you follow the guide in that order it will give an error BUT it will actually install the boot files anyways. Then you just replace it with RC3 boot and make your own /Extra/Extensions folder, themes, and whatever else. That part should go in the guide along with a lot of other detailed info, just don't have time until this weekend.

[lutin]

//problem with the BootCD stalling. Do you have other drives besides the OS X system drive plugged in?//

I don't think the BootCD did stall, it just took a loooong time to find "something"?

 

 

I burned several BootCD's, they all failed, and gave up - until I accidentally left the CD in the player - and it all worked well

I noticed other had same trouble, complaining about read error.

 

No other drives connected, no USB apart from mouse en Kboard. All Network cards turned of to obtain a minimal start up - to be on the safe side.

 

BTW: my GPU shows totally wrong (low) ram settings, how/where to edit this settings?

[genzai]

I don't think the BootCD did stall, it just took a loooong time to find "something"?

 

 

 

I burned several BootCD's, they all failed, and gave up - until I accidentally left the CD in the player - and it all worked well

I noticed other had same trouble, complaining about read error.

 

No other drives connected, no USB apart from mouse en Kboard. All Network cards turned of to obtain a minimal start up - to be on the safe side.

 

BTW: my GPU shows totally wrong (low) ram settings, how/where to edit this settings?

 

That is odd, since i dont get any of these ebios read errors when i use the bootCD. But in any case glad it works in the end.

 

What video card do you have? if it is one that is normally supported by EFI strings, i suggest moving to PC-EFI 10.3 and just using graphicsenabler in com.apple.boot.plist

/g

[LS8]

Is it really safe to upgrade BIOS to f13? It is a beta verion BIOS, latest stable is version f12. Do you have dsdt.aml for BIOS f12, please? Thank you!

[bassulf]

I also have the Gigabyte GA-EP45-DQ6 on my "Hacintosh" but I am stucked with the EFI-X V 1.1 usb dongle. and OSX 10.5.8. I have SL on my MBP.

I am not very handy with the prosess like this guide, but is there a way I can remove my EFI-X dongle and in the the same way keep my installation of my osx just by adding some scripts?

 

I know this must sound very stupid for those of you who are experts.

It would also be nice if someone did make a SL version modified for this mainboard rig ;.)

 

Thanks for bearing over with me

 

OSX 10.5.8, EFI-X V1.1 , Parallels ver.4 with XP

Intel Core™ 2 Duo E8400 3.0GHz, SocketL GA775, 6MB, 1333Mhz BOXED w/fan, Antec Nine Hundred Cabinet, Gigabyte GA-EP45-DQ6 P45 (last bios) D-link N650 wireless

Corsair Dominator TWIN4X4 8500C5DF 8GB (1066mhz), Samsung SpinPoint F1 750GB SATA232MB 7200RPM, XFX GeForce 9800GT 650M 512MB, Sony NEC Optiarc DVD±RW burner AD-7200S

[lutin]

@Bassulf: Certainly not the answer you hoped for, but I would certainly not advice you to mess with a good working system considering your knowledge. Make a working copy to a spare drive with the excellent freeware CarbonCopyCloner and do your testing on the that drive. Remove the Efi-X USBthing. Install SL as described. When you finally get it all to work (good hope for success) you can transfer/install your users settings & files with the Mac's built-in util.