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[GUIDE] Snow Leopard 10.6.1 Vanilla Retail Guide for Acer Aspire One ZG5 (AOA150-BGw)


mandrean
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I was in a similar position. I had to fix this by getting into windows and running EasyBCD. Delete your existing OSX entry and create a new one and then be sure to tell EasyBCD to 'Write New MBR' or whatever the equivalent is. There is a command in there somewhere that does that and as I said, it fixed the MBR for me.

 

Greg

 

Thanks Greg, probably wasn't clear but unfortunately EasyBCD won't run for me - it won't fix the error and only leaves me with the option to exit (or go through the same failed process)

 

"Thought it might be the MBR, so tried EasyBCD (used it before in Windows 7, which is how come I have the odd start-up options!) to see if I could change anything there, but that also complains that BCD boot data and MBR are either not from the latest version of Vista, or don't yet exist. Offers to correct, then wants a Boot Drive letter with only C as the option which it doesn't like. Fails and gets stuck in a loop only solved by exiting."

 

Any other ideas?

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Thanks Greg, probably wasn't clear but unfortunately EasyBCD won't run for me - it won't fix the error and only leaves me with the option to exit (or go through the same failed process)

 

"Thought it might be the MBR, so tried EasyBCD (used it before in Windows 7, which is how come I have the odd start-up options!) to see if I could change anything there, but that also complains that BCD boot data and MBR are either not from the latest version of Vista, or don't yet exist. Offers to correct, then wants a Boot Drive letter with only C as the option which it doesn't like. Fails and gets stuck in a loop only solved by exiting."

 

Any other ideas?

 

Did you specifically tell it to "Write MBR"? I had the same issue and that fixed it. Its under the 'Manage Bootloader' area. Or are you saying that EasyBCD won't even launch?

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Did you specifically tell it to "Write MBR"? I had the same issue and that fixed it. Its under the 'Manage Bootloader' area. Or are you saying that EasyBCD won't even launch?

 

Sadly, yes. The errors I described all come during EasyBCD start-up - it is trying to write a new BCD but reports errors with the 'Vista' install, and loops back to the original question. I can either repeat the process or exit, but at no stage do any menu's or other options appear. This was rather a blow as I have previously used it (on Windows 7) to dig me out of similar holes when running an OsXxXx 10.5.6 installer. Changes I made at that time reversed the start-up order so MacOS X was in the first set of options - so was happy with that, but less happy now the install is screwed and EasyBCD won't work for me....

 

I'll try from from (external USB) DVD in the morning - but fear whatever I try I may get a similar problem until I can sort out the MBR problem.

 

... but thanks for responding. I do appreciate all ideas (and hope that miomaka has more luck when they try their stick!)

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well thnx greg, but no luck. I tried repair disk on 10.5.7....and start over.....just no luck. HDD is totaly ok, no bad block, nothing..just stuck on boot screen....

 

I guess I should get me an USB flash 8 GB

 

Oddly enough, I had the exact opposite experience.I couldn't make an 8GB flash drive work to save my life. I ended up using an old 2.5" drive in an enclosure.

 

These are the types of things I've come to expect from Hackitoshing. Best of luck.

 

Greg

 

Sadly, yes. The errors I described all come during EasyBCD start-up - it is trying to write a new BCD but reports errors with the 'Vista' install, and loops back to the original question. I can either repeat the process or exit, but at no stage do any menu's or other options appear. This was rather a blow as I have previously used it (on Windows 7) to dig me out of similar holes when running an OsXxXx 10.5.6 installer. Changes I made at that time reversed the start-up order so MacOS X was in the first set of options - so was happy with that, but less happy now the install is screwed and EasyBCD won't work for me....

 

I'll try from from (external USB) DVD in the morning - but fear whatever I try I may get a similar problem until I can sort out the MBR problem.

 

... but thanks for responding. I do appreciate all ideas (and hope that miomaka has more luck when they try their stick!)

 

That is strange, though it seems familiar. I think I've seen that error at some point in my Hackinstoshing experience.

 

You might try a Gparted disk. It's also saved my bacon a few times. It's basically an Ubuntu boot disk that doesn't actually load the OS. Just disk utilities. Might work for you. Google it.

 

Good luck,

 

Greg

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Great guide!

 

It's really what I was looking for!

 

I was just wondering if anyone managed to update to 10.6.2.

 

I heard of updating but replacing the kernel with the one patched from teateam http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php...197020&st=0 and of using thee new SleepEnabler from Netkas but I can't get how to remove the old SleepEnabler. Any idea?

 

Thx for your help!

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Great guide!

 

It's really what I was looking for!

 

I was just wondering if anyone managed to update to 10.6.2.

 

I heard of updating but replacing the kernel with the one patched from teateam http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php...197020&st=0 and of using thee new SleepEnabler from Netkas but I can't get how to remove the old SleepEnabler. Any idea?

 

Thx for your help!

 

I suspect that a patched kernel would work, but I see nothing in 10.6.2 compelling enough to make me want to try it. I'm sure the day will come, but I'm happy with 10.6.1 for now.

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If anyone is still having the problem of being stuck at the F2 F12 screen and it won't boot to your USB or even get past that screen, make sure you use NetbookInstaller 0.8.3 RC3, because RC4 doesn't work, and make sure you copy the files to the extra folder that are posted in the first post, or else you'll get a kernal panic. Here's a link to RC3:

 

http://netbook-installer.googlecode.com/fi...3%20RC3.app.zip

 

Good luck

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  • 3 weeks later...

does anybody know if this guide can be used on an acer aspire one a150?? i saw the guide for the a150 but it involved wayy to much terminal for me. This guide looks much easier and it seems to me that the a150 and ZG5 are basicially the same. Can somebody help me on this?

 

Thanks

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does anybody know if this guide can be used on an acer aspire one a150?? i saw the guide for the a150 but it involved wayy to much terminal for me. This guide looks much easier and it seems to me that the a150 and ZG5 are basicially the same. Can somebody help me on this?

 

Thanks

 

It works for me. Just finish installing on my A150. Took me about 4 hrs to do all the processes. Basically it just take long time to installing on usb thumbdrive. Need to swap the wifi card with my old dell laptop to see if it will work though.

 

Hope this help you decide.

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So I'm back, having given up for a while... But the "Back up Copy" of windows 7 is reporting me as being naughty, so I try again.

 

I'm going to create a DVD this time with all of the gear loaded onto it! That should solve my issues right? I can just create an image and then copy that image with all the goodies to a CD and do a boot from that?

 

Could use some advice though, will the Netbookloader still work or do I have to have a thumbdrive/external drive?

 

If this doesn't work I don't know what to do.

 

Ubuntu maybe...

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I just thought i'd mention that i used this method to great success on an aspire one a150. i obviously didn't follow it to the letter because of the different hardware. but if anyone else is wondering what sort of success can be had, now they know.

i followed this to the letter up to step 8, where i used aa1.zip from http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php...amp;mode=linear instead. all of the appropriate files in it for this step (dsdt, etc).

also, all the kexts you need for step 9 are in the same file.

after that i followed it all the way to step 15 again. and kinda made up my own method after that...

i added my kexts with kexthelper and started installing apps. i ran the 10.6.1 update manually after i downloaded it since 10.6.2 is what's available through the updater.

my only issue is that when copying from the external drive to my internal one, somehow the receipts file for package installations got lost, so i couldn't now repair permissions with disk utility. i just tried it like 4 times and then it worked... i can't find a good reason for why it ever happened.

i got a dell 1500 wireless card. right after i got the install working properly, i took the machine apart and added it. now i have wireless N in Airport :-)

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  • 2 weeks later...

Sensational.

Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard up and running on the Acer One AOA150.

Evaluation Windows 7 set to expire so off it came to be replaced with 10.6.

 

On an intel Mac, in Disk Utility, restore 10.6 to a usb stick/usb external drive. Run NetBookBootMaker on the drive http://osx.mechdrew.com/guides/nbi1.shtml

 

Boot the Acer and install 10.6

Run NetBookBootMaker on the installed drive too.

 

Using Kext Utility run a bunch of AAO related kexts from these forums. AA1 or similar.

Update to 10.6.1, install a bunch of apps, office, iLife, iWork, ...

Reboot a bunch.

Repair Permissions liberally.

 

http://img113.yfrog.com/img113/5547/u17.png

 

Only piece missing, wifi. Apart from this the whole deal was easier, IMHO, than setting up the previous Win7 beta trial install, wifi on that wasn't easy either.

 

Thanks to all that have posted previously.

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Others should note that step one requires a working Intel Mac with 10.5+. Trying to install Snow Leopard to the bootable USB drive from my PPC Mac didn't work (the installer says it can't install OS X on this Mac). Luckily I had an Intel Mac available to me as well, but this might be a deal-breaker for others.

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Got a problem

CPU runs only at 800MHz without external power supply

and it is SLOW

can't even watch youtube smoothly

any solutions on how to run the CPU at 1.6GHz with only the battery on?

 

 

same problem here... any solution please?

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I tweaked these instructions a little bit to dual-boot Ubuntu Netbook Remix and Snow Leopard. Here's what I did:

 

At step 13, while formatting the netbook's HDD, instead of one partition, make two partitions. I made one of about 90 GB for OS X and then one of about 30GB for Ubuntu. BUT make the partition for Ubuntu formatted (or rather unformatted) as "free space". This should be an option next to "Format" in the drop-down menu along with Mac OS Extended (Journaled) etc.

 

Complete all other steps as described.

 

Then, obtain Ubuntu Netbook Remix (I've linked to the latest .img file available because you need this .img file to create a live USB from a Mac and it was difficult to track down).

 

Once you've got the live USB, boot the netbook from that drive (the same way you did to boot from the OS X USB drive).

 

Select install Ubuntu.

 

After selecting the correct language, you'll get to a step where you select where on the HDD to install Ubuntu. Select the second option, which is install on largest free space. This is why it's important to have made a second partition but leave it as free space. But don't worry - if you accidentally formatted the partition meant for Ubuntu, you can use the partition editor at this point to delete that partition (this is what I had to do since I didn't know I needed "free space" when I made the partitions.)

 

Proceed with the rest of the Ubuntu install as normal.

 

Now you should be able to boot into Ubuntu when you restart, but you can't boot into OS X again right away. You need to follow these instructions here. Basically what you need to do is move the GRUB boot loader (used by Ubuntu) into the Ubuntu section of the HDD (by default it's put in the MBR). Then you need to reinstall Chameleon. Here are the details (almost verbatim from that link):

 

1. Boot into Ubuntu like you normally would.

2. Launch Terminal.

3. Type df and press RETURN or ENTER.

4. Note the first entry on the list – the one mounted as /. This is the one we want. In my case it was /dev/sda3.

5. Type sudo grub-install /dev/sda3 – replace /dev/sda3 with the correct entry for your system.

6. Enter your Password and press RETURN or ENTER.

7. Close the terminal window and restart your system.

8. Now, reinsert the USB drive you have OS X installed on and boot from this drive

9. Repeat step 15 of mandrean's instructions - use NetbookInstaller to reinstall Chameleon on the netbook HDD (select the Mac partition)

 

The end result is that on startup, I can hold down apple-option (or equivalent) to display partitions to boot from. In this list I can see my OS X partition, my Ubuntu partition, and any bootable USB drives I have inserted. If I choose OS X I can start up Snow Leopard. If I choose Ubuntu the GRUB boot loader starts and that boots Ubuntu (whichever version you choose from the list). I hope someone finds this helpful and doesn't have to go through all the trouble I did (I recommend against trying to use GRUB to boot into Mac OS X - in theory it should work, but in reality it's nearly impossible to figure out).

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  • 2 weeks later...

Got this working straight off with my Acer Aspire One 150. Great guide thanks!

 

I went ahead installing on the USB drive, but at step 10 (i think) I took the harddrive in the USB and installed it directly in the computer, I was about to replace harddrive anyway so I resumed the guide at step 16 I think saving the time for the SuperDuper copy.

 

Also replaced my Atheros WIFI with a card from a Dell Mini 10v.

 

Everything works except sleepmode and card reader. Even the shortcut keys worked OOB, im impressed!

 

Thanks again

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Having done MULTIPLE Installs and still can't get the intermic to work. I've tried other KEXTs to get the MIC to work, no joy. In fact I've broken the install a couple of times trying to get it to work.

 

Suggestions?

 

Also, the OS86 app doesn't work for me. I still don't have my CPU info added... This is killing me!

 

Suggestions?

 

Lastly, yea I know, probably not: I am getting a metric ton of permissions errors. I repair to my hearts delight, but it doesn't take.

 

Wheew, I feel like having a drink.

 

Cheers,

Brian

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...
Hello, I have tried everything posted in the forum but im still not able to boot from my Toshiba 16gb pen drive.

I tried repairs, multiple installs... But still cant boot from it on my A150.

 

Any ideas??

 

Thanks in advance.

Have you changed the device boot order in BIOS? The USB drive should boot first, then the other stuff (HDD, Network etc.). You enter BIOS by pressing F2. You should also be able to directly change the boot order without entering BIOS by pressing F12, which brings you to some kind of boot menu where you choose which device to boot from.

 

 

Absolutely!
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A friend of mine accidentally updated her Aspire One ZG5 to Mac OS X 10.6.2 which isn't compatible with Intel Atom CPUs anymore.

 

This is how you can revive your broken/dead netbook.

 

METHOD 1

(easier, but takes a lot more time)

 

What you'll need:

  • A working Intel or AMD computer with Mac OS X 10.5+
  • A USB drive or external hard drive. Minimum 8 GB.
  • A retail copy of Snow Leopard Install DVD that you've bought (Not the Macbook "restore DVD")

Note: In this guide, I presume that the USB drive is named "OSX" and the internal HDD "Hackintosh" (without quotes). If you're using anything else you should replace "OSX" and "Hackintosh" with the names you've chosen.

 

Step 1)

Follow Step 1 to 12 in the original Acer Aspire One ZG5 Snow Leopard guide.

 

Step 2)

When you've booted into OS X from the USB drive, open a Terminal window (Finder -> Applications -> Utilities).

 

Type the following commands; when it says [ENTER] in bold, you should type in the specific command and then hit the [ENTER] key on your keyboard:

 

cd /Volumes/OSX/ [ENTER]

cp mach_kernel /Volumes/Hackintosh/ [ENTER]

chown 0:0 /Volumes/Hackintosh/mach_kernel [ENTER]

 

You should now have your old Intel Atom-compatible kernel back.

 

Step 3)

Exit Terminal & reboot without the USB drive. If you've done everything correctly, you netbook should now be able to boot.

 

Step 4)

When booted into OS X, download this kernel and put put the mach_kernel file on the desktop: http://www.mediafire.com/?o2w0yunezzy

 

Step 5)

Open a Terminal window (Finder -> Applications -> Utilities).

 

Type the following commands; when it says [ENTER] in bold, you should type in the specific command and then hit the [ENTER] key on your keyboard:

 

cd ~/Desktop/ [ENTER]

cp mach_kernel /Volumes/Hackintosh/ [ENTER]

chown 0:0 /Volumes/Hackintosh/mach_kernel [ENTER]

 

Step 6)

When done, you should have a Intel Atom-patched Mac OS X 10.6.2 kernel. But do not reboot or you will get kernel panic!

 

Step 7)

Download this kext to your desktop: http://www.kexts.com/view/146-sleepenabler...sx_10.6.2).html

 

Step 8)

Open a Finder window. In the top menu bar, click Go -> Go to folder and type "/Extra" in the window. Click "Go".

 

Step 9)

When in the /Extra folder, go to the folder GeneralExtensions. Replace the SleepEnabler.kext with the new one by dragging it from the desktop and dropping it into the GeneralExtensions folder. Authenticate and replace it.

 

Step 10)

Go back to the /Extra folder. Run UpdateExtra.app to update the Extensions.mkext with the new SleepEnabler.kext

 

Step 11)

You should now have a fully working Acer Aspire One ZG5 (AOA161-BGw) with 10.6.2. You can now safely reboot your netbook and run Software Update to install all the updates and patches! (Until 10.6.3 is released, that is. Then you'll need a new patched kernel.)

 

 

METHOD 2

(a bit more complicated, but much much faster)

 

What you'll need:

  • A working Intel or AMD computer with Mac OS X 10.5+
  • A USB drive or external hard drive. Minimum 8 GB.
  • A .DMG image of the retail Snow Leopard Install DVD that you've bought (Not the MacBook "restore DVD")

Note: In this guide, I presume that the USB drive is named "OSX" and the internal HDD "Hackintosh" (without quotes). If you're using anything else you should replace "OSX" and "Hackintosh" with the names you've chosen.

 

Step 1)

Connect the USB drive (or external hard drive) to your working computer. Open Disk Utility (Finder -> Utilities -> Disk Utility). Right click the drive you just attached and chose "Partition". Choose "1 partition" from the drop down list. Press "Options" and make sure it says "GUID Partition Scheme". Enter "OSX" as the name of the partition. Proceed.

 

Step 2)

In Disk Utility, click "OSX" in the list on the left. Then click the "Restore" tab. Click "Image" and browse to the Snow Leopard .DMG image. Then click & drag "OSX" in the list on the left and drop it onto the white "Destination" field. Hit restore and wait for 30-40 minutes (compare to METHOD 1, which can take many hours!).

 

Step 3)

Download & run NetbookBootMaker: http://netbook-installer.googlecode.com/fi...200.8.3.app.zip

 

Select "Mac OS X Install DVD" from the drop down list, then click "Prepare Boot Device".

 

Note: Tripple check that you've chosen "Mac OS X Install DVD". Anything else could break the computer you're working from!

 

Step 4)

When finished, eject the USB drive and attach it to the Netbook. Start the Netbook and press [F12] to select boot device. Choose to boot from the USB. When the boot loader shows "Mac OS X Install DVD" press [ENTER] two times to boot the Setup.

 

Step 5)

When booted into the setup, choose your language of choice and proceed. When the "Install Mac OS X" screen pops up, go to the top menu bar and click Utilities -> Terminal.

 

Step 6)

Type the following commands; when it says [ENTER] in bold, you should type in the specific command and then hit the [ENTER] key on your keyboard:

 

cd / [ENTER]

cp mach_kernel /Volumes/Hackintosh/ [ENTER]

chown 0:0 /Volumes/Hackintosh/mach_kernel [ENTER]

 

You should now have your old Intel Atom-compatible kernel back.

 

Step 7)

Exit Terminal, power down the netbook and reboot without the USB drive. If you've done everything correctly, your netbook should now be able to boot.

 

Step 8)

When booted into OS X, download this kernel and put put the mach_kernel file on the desktop: http://www.mediafire.com/?o2w0yunezzy

 

Step 9)

Open a Terminal window (Finder -> Applications -> Utilities).

 

Type the following commands; when it says [ENTER] in bold, you should type in the specific command and then hit the [ENTER] key on your keyboard:

 

cd ~/Desktop/ [ENTER]

cp mach_kernel /Volumes/Hackintosh/ [ENTER]

chown 0:0 /Volumes/Hackintosh/mach_kernel [ENTER]

 

Step 10)

When done, you should have a Intel Atom-patched Mac OS X 10.6.2 kernel. But do not reboot or you will get kernel panic!

 

Step 11)

Download this kext to your desktop: http://www.kexts.com/view/146-sleepenabler...sx_10.6.2).html

 

Step 12)

Open a Finder window. In the top menu bar, click Go -> Go to folder and type "/Extra" in the window. Click "Go".

 

Step 13)

When in the /Extra folder, go to the folder GeneralExtensions. Replace the SleepEnabler.kext with the new one by dragging it from the desktop and dropping it into the GeneralExtensions folder. Authenticate and replace it.

 

Step 14)

Go back to the /Extra folder. Run UpdateExtra.app to update the Extensions.mkext with the new SleepEnabler.kext

 

Step 15)

You should now have a fully working Acer Aspire One ZG5 (AOA161-BGw) with 10.6.2. You can now safely reboot your netbook and run Software Update to install all the updates and patches! (Until 10.6.3 is released, that is. Then you'll need a new patched kernel.)

 

 

Good luck! :)

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  • 3 weeks later...

I've spent my spare time over the last few weeks converting my ZG5 to a Netbook Air. Firstly, I'd like to say thanks to everyone who has contributed to this thread. I have a house full of real Macs and no Windows machines, so it was rather fun as I explain.

 

I have everything working except the wifi. The Ethernet started working after I did the 10.6.2 upgrade and then doing the fix as described in the previous post.

 

Firstly, my Netbook had the problem of where the battery had gone flat and refused to charge. It had an Australian 3314 version BIOS, so before blowing Windows away, I acquired the European version 3309 and flashed the BIOS to get the battery to charge.

 

I followed the steps in this thread, and I even got an external Vodafone K3520 3G USB dongle running so it can surf the net anywhere. I had no ethernet until yesterday when I did the 10.6.2 upgrade. It magically started working.

 

I had to reinstall the battery meter and sound kexts after the upgrade, but so far so good. I'll sort the wifi out later on.

 

Thanks to everyone.

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