Dell Inspiron 1545 SL 10.6.7 Install Guide

[wmarsh]

Dell Inspiron 1545 Install Guide

 

This is how I set my C2D 1545 with ATI Video to boot Snow Leopard with almost everything working.

 

If you don't have C2D, you will need a non-vanilla kernel.

 

If you have Intel Graphics, I have read about others getting that working, but I cannot verify how.

See this post: http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=188279

 

Stevo's blog also has kext for Intel Graphics

http://blog.thestevo.com/2009/09/x3000-and...ow-leopard.html

 

Prerequisites:

1) A Working installation of Snow Leopard 10.6.7 on another PC (earlier versions work, but the QE patch is for 10.6.7)

(I have already posted an install guide for 10.6.2 on E520. Combining the two could give a complete installation but I am too lazy to do that.)

http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php...p;#entry1301695

 

2) A USB disk.

 

3) The following kexts which are widely available:

From Chameleon: Disabler.kext, AHCIPortInjector.kext, IOAHCIBlockStorageInjector.kext

From dong's ATIFrameBuffer thread: RadeonHD.kext

http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php...00#entry1290038

fakesmc.kext from netkas

AppleACPIPS2Nub.kext, VoodooHDA.kext, VooDooPS2Controller.kext, VoodooBattery.kext

helpful but not mandatory: OpenHaltRestart.kext (reboots take twice as long without it)

PlatformUUID.kext (so you can clone to another disk)

 

4) Chameleon 2 current version

 

How to transfer the system:

 

1) Boot your working 10.6.7 installation. Use Disk Utility to "restore" the system to your USB drive.

 

2) delete any dsdt.aml file from the USB disk.

 

3) Copy com.apple.boot.plist from /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration

insert arch=i386 under Kernel Flags between <string> and </string. Copy it back.

 

4)Copy RadeonHD.kext to /System/Library/Extensions QE patch will be applied later

 

5) Locate IO8211Family.kext in /S/L/E

Locate AppleAirPortBrcm4311.kext inside its plugins

Open its info.plist. Under IONameMatch add:

<string>pci14e4,4315</string>

 

6) Copy AppleACPIPS2Nub.kext and VoodooBattery.kext from the attached zip to /Extra/Extensions

 

7) Copy boot from zip to the root of your USB drive (You need this rather than Chameleon trunk to boot Flicker for QE)

 

8) Copy VoodooPS2Controller.kext to /S/L/E

 

9) Repair Permissions in both /S/L/E and /E/E

 

10) Using Chameleon 2, install boot0 to the MBR of your USB disk and boot1h to the partition's bootsector

 

11) Unmount the USB Disk

 

12) Prepare your 1545 by shrinking your Vista/7 partition using compmgmt.msc

Create a new partition into which you will install OS X

Change the type of this partition to AF

(I use PTEdit32, which was bundled with Partition Magic. You could also boot a Linux live CD and use parted.)

 

13) Plug the USB disk into your 1545, push f12 to boot it. Use -f -v on 1st boot.

 

14) Use disk utility to "restore" the usb system to the partition you just made.

 

15) Use Chameleon 2 to install boot1h to the partitions bootsector.

 

16) Reboot into Vista/7. You can use EasyBCD to add OS X to the Vista/7 bootloader.

 

17) reboot into OS X. Use -f -v on 1st boot. You need to assign IP addresses manually.

 

18)[Edit] Guide for enabling QE/CI posted here:

http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=245308

Patched files for this exact model attached. If yours is exactly like mine copy the attached files to /S/L/E and repair permissions again. Reboot typing "GraphicsEnabler"="y"

 

19)Manual QE guide:

Copy ATI4600Controller.kext to your desktop. Insert your device ID (0x95521002) into its info.plist

Copy ATIFramebuffer.kext to your desktop. Open its binary with 0xED or another hex editor.

Find Flicker ConnectInfo at offset 37038 (i386) and 10d40 (x86_64). Change:

00 04 00 00 00 01 00 00 00 01 00 00 02 01 03 05

00 04 00 00 00 01 00 00 00 01 00 00 01 00 02 02

00 02 00 00 14 02 00 00 00 01 00 00 00 10 01 04

to:

02 00 00 00 40 00 00 00 09 01 00 00 02 01 01 01

10 00 00 00 10 00 00 00 00 01 00 00 00 10 01 02

00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00

 

The values in green will vary with different hardware, and can be easily figured with bcc9's radeon_bios_decode tool

The ones in red are more problematic -- I had to try multiple possibilities to get a match

http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=249642

 

Copy the two files back and repair permissions. reboot.

You will see a green apple in upper left when QE works.

 

QE is still a work in progress. If you have the 1400x900 screen it has some interference and appears blurry. The Lion kext are clearer but the colors are wrong. I will update when fixed. Updated Chameleon for injection posted in Mobility Radeon thread.

http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=245308

 

I usually do not use QE and move ATI4600Controller out of /S/L/E. When I want to work on it, I move it back and use "GraphicsEnabler"="y"

Dell_1545_QE_10.6.7.zip

[WillZeTriCksTa]

Hello wmarsh, i've been trying to install SL on my inspiron 1545 witch has the exact same specs than yours, but with so sucess at all.. despite trying a lot and a lot of tutorials anywhere on the net.. I found your topic by reading this post http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php...t=#entry1331261 but i can't manage to do it because i don't own any working SL installation.. so i was wondering if you could clone your working USB disk of the working SL inspiron 1545 installation using

carbon copy cloner and share it... i know it's a very huge asking but i'm desperate :angry2:

 

waiting for your reply, many thanks..

[wmarsh]

so i was wondering if you could clone your working USB disk of the working SL inspiron 1545 installation using

carbon copy cloner and share it...

Well, I have not used CCC; I used to use dd to image my installs. But I now have a bunch of USB drives made by putting disks from dead laptops into drive enclosures, so I just use disk utility to make backups.

 

I think an image of my install would be at least 8Gb; I don't have the bandwidth to share that.

 

On the other hand, knowing its been done, I really think you could install by boot-132 method from retail disk. There are three issues you will have to deal with.

 

The first is that the keyboard and trackpad did not work at first. The trackpad is still a little funny, but this is the only way I could make it work. However, the keyboard (but not the trackpad -- it fails due to unfulfilled dependencies in /E/E even with a soft link) works with VoodooPS2Controller.kext in /E/E, so you could use that in a Boot132 disk. Also, a USB mouse works out of the box, so you can control your system that way. Probably a USB keyboard would work too, but I did not try that.

 

The other issue is that graphics won't work except in VESA mode until you upgrade to 10.6.2 and make the patches I outlined. Don't patch ATI kext prior to 10.6.2; they don't work. But VESA mode if adequate for installation.

 

I don't have output from the VGA port, so using a second monitor is not an option.

 

The third issue is the disk controller. But the injectors bundled with Chameleon 2 RC 3 worked out of the box on this system, so you can use them on /E/E on a boot-132 disk.

 

Anyway, I am quite sure you could do a retail install with these tips. Its a much easier install than my E520, because you don't have dsdt to fix. Post your results, ask me questions if you get stuck, and the whole community will learn from your experience.

[WillZeTriCksTa]

Anyway, I am quite sure you could do a retail install with these tips. Its a much easier install than my E520, because you don't have dsdt to fix. Post your results, ask me questions if you get stuck, and the whole community will learn from your experience.

 

Ok, i'll give it few more tries then... i believe that a boot-132 disk is a live-cd that alows me to setup an installation of mac on my pc computer am i right??

 

An other thing, whats VESA? i believe its a graphic mode, but how do i enable it??

[wmarsh]

Ok, i'll give it few more tries then... i believe that a boot-132 disk is a live-cd that alows me to setup an installation of mac on my pc computer am i right??

 

An other thing, whats VESA? i believe its a graphic mode, but how do i enable it??

Yes, boot132 is a method to install retail on PCs. Google "boot 132 snow leopard"

 

I would install to a USB disk, then transfer the install (as per my guide) to your internal disk, rather than wiping your Windows install.

 

VESA is a standard for video cards, and what OS X defaults to if it does not find a usable video adapter. You don't have to do anything.

[WillZeTriCksTa]

Yes, boot132 is a method to install retail on PCs. Google "boot 132 snow leopard"

 

I would install to a USB disk, then transfer the install (as per my guide) to your internal disk, rather than wiping your Windows install.

 

VESA is a standard for video cards, and what OS X defaults to if it does not find a usable video adapter. You don't have to do anything.

 

First, thank you for you fast reply. I'll see tomorow if one of my friend hasn't the SL retail disk, would be easier.

For information, i can virtualise Leopard 10.5.6, i believe this is gonna be usefull.

 

I have found this guide ->

 

http://www.infinitemac.com/f57/guide-boot-...d-usb-pc-t3859/

 

can i use this boot-132 method??

[dr.vox]

This is weird.

Looking for a laptop to use for schoolwork and trying to get one which is OSx86 compatible.

Been looking around and found some good deals but they all use Intel integrated graphics 4500MHD. :\

Went to Dell's site to see what they have, built myself up a 1545 with a Radeon HD4330 (but only Celeron T3000, which it seems is still far better than my Pentium 4 in my E520 ) which came out at around £410.

Search the OSx86 sites to see how compatible it is, and this pops up and I see your name, wmarsh!

 

Would you say the 1545 is a good machine to get? Or would I be better paying less for a better machine which only has 4500MHD? How important is QE/CI, really? Keep in mind I shan't be doing any gaming or any fancy graphics. I'll probably still use my E520 as my main machine.

Also what's the build quality of the 1545 like? I've heard mid-range Inspirons can be pretty poor quality.

[wmarsh]

This is weird.

Looking for a laptop to use for schoolwork and trying to get one which is OSx86 compatible.

Been looking around and found some good deals but they all use Intel integrated graphics 4500MHD. :\

Went to Dell's site to see what they have, built myself up a 1545 with a Radeon HD4330 (but only Celeron T3000, which it seems is still far better than my Pentium 4 in my E520 ) which came out at around £410.

Search the OSx86 sites to see how compatible it is, and this pops up and I see your name, wmarsh!

 

Would you say the 1545 is a good machine to get? Or would I be better paying less for a better machine which only has 4500MHD? How important is QE/CI, really? Keep in mind I shan't be doing any gaming or any fancy graphics. I'll probably still use my E520 as my main machine.

Also what's the build quality of the 1545 like? I've heard mid-range Inspirons can be pretty poor quality.

Yeah this is weird dr. vox.

 

I like my 1545, it runs faster than my E520.

But if you want OS X, get a Core 2 Duo, its not that much more money and much more compatible.

 

I was so surprised by the difference in performance that I upgraded my graphics in E520 from 7300LE to 9400GT. Got an open box card from Newegg for cheap. Now the two are comparable in performance.

 

QE/CI is important is you want to watch DVDs, play chess, etc. Not so important if you just want to web browse. People are working on the intel graphics too in OS X, but I like the Radeon.

 

I don't have full resolution on OS X, yet. Win 7 runs 1600x900x32 but OS X is only at 1152x864x32.

 

I almost got the studio 15 instead but it has a problem overheating. And this one was cheaper. And also supported XP.

I have it set up tri boot using Win 7 bootloader. Don't have Linux on my laptop.

[dr.vox]

Yeah this is weird dr. vox.

 

I like my 1545, it runs faster than my E520.

But if you want OS X, get a Core 2 Duo, its not that much more money and much more compatible.

 

I was show surprised by the difference in performance that I upgraded my graphics in E520 from 7300LE to 9400GT. Got an open box card from Newegg for cheap. Now the two are comparable in performance.

 

QE/CI is important is you want to watch DVDs, play chess, etc. Not so important if you just want to web browse. People are working on the intel graphics too in OS X, but I like the Radeon.

 

I don't have full resolution on OS X, yet. Win 7 runs 1600x900x32 but OS X is only at 1152x864x32.

 

I almost got the studio 15 instead but it has a problem overheating. And this one was cheaper. And also supported XP.

I have it set up tri boot using Win 7 bootloader. Don't have Linux on my laptop.

 

hmm. Not heard much good about Dell's mid-range home laptops, nor the 1545, so I'm going for the Vostro 1520. Looks nicer to me and seems a bit better value for money.

C2D T6670@2.2Ghz

15.4" WXGA+ (1440x900) matte display

2GB 800MHz DDR2 RAM

320GB 7,200RPM HDD

~2.4kg

and either

Intel GMA X4500 MHD              

256MB Nvidia GeForce 9300M GS

 

decided QE/CI isn't too important, especially with your post. Don't watch DVDs and really rarely use Chess.app. Still gonna have my E520 as my main machine.

 

Yeah just recently swapped my 9600GT for the 7300LE again and there's mild noticable lag sometimes. Bareable though, even with my {censored} P4.

Cheers again, wmarsh.

[wmarsh]

hmm. Not heard much good about Dell's mid-range home laptops, nor the 1545, so I'm going for the Vostro 1520. Looks nicer to me and seems a bit better value for money.

C2D T6670@2.2Ghz

15.4" WXGA+ (1440x900) matte display

2GB 800MHz DDR2 RAM

320GB 7,200RPM HDD

~2.4kg

and either

Intel GMA X4500 MHD              

256MB Nvidia GeForce 9300M GS

 

decided QE/CI isn't too important, especially with your post. Don't watch DVDs and really rarely use Chess.app. Still gonna have my E520 as my main machine.

 

Yeah just recently swapped my 9600GT for the 7300LE again and there's mild noticable lag sometimes. Bareable though, even with my {censored} P4.

Cheers again, wmarsh.

Sounds like a nice machine.

I would get the Nvidia. You'll see better performance both in OS X and Win 7.

I have a friend with Intel GMA who gets 1/2 the performance rating in Win 7 as I get with my Nvidia 9400GT.

[dr.vox]

Obviously having the 9300M GS is preferable, but it's £70 more.

Quite a large difference though, crikey.

Left it up to my Dad (who's paying for this as a birthday/christmas present).

Not too bothered about its speed considering it'll mainly be used for note-taking.

[sikabayan]

Hi, wmarsh. I've Dell Vostro 1088 (C2D T6670, 320GB SATAII, ATI Mobility HD4330 512Mb)

 

Coz i've a working SL 10.6.2 (64-bit mode, Chameleon 2 RC3, EFI 10.5) in USB external hard drive (display & LANcard RTL8169 still not detected), i skipped the USB Boot Disk.

 

I've tried your tips but the display still 1024x768 (in my internal hard drive I've got win7 with 1366x768 display).

 

I added the device ID to ATIRadeonX2000.kext and ATI4500Controller.kext with Plistedit Pro (GUI), moved both kext to /Extra/Extension, etc.

 

Any sugestion how to fix it? I'm not a unix or terminal geek , but I'll try every possible way if there is step by step tutorial.

 

Thanks..

[sri1225]

Hi All,

 

Can anyone help me to guide how to install MAC OS X on Dell Inspiron 1545.

 

System Configuration

 

Intel Core 2 Duo T6400, 4 GB RAM, 320GB HDD

 

System Specifications

 

ICH9M LPC INTERFACE CONTROLLER

82801 MOBILE PCI BRIDGE

82801!(ICH9 FAMILY)USB UHCI CONTROLLER

ICH9M/M-E 2 PORT SATA IDE CONTROLLER

82801!(ICH9 FAMILY)HD AUDIO CONTROLLER

MOBILE 4 SERIES CHIPSET INTEGRETED GRAPHICS CONTROLLLER

82801!(ICH9 FAMILY)PCI EXPRESS PORT1

BCM4312 802.11B/G

88E8040 PCI FAST ETHERNET CONTROLLER

82801!(ICH9 FAMILY)SMBUS CONTROLLER

MOBILE 4 SERIES CHIPSET MEMORY CONTROLLER HUB

 

Please advice me which version to use and steps. Have tried " iPC_OSx86_Leopard_10_5_6_Intel_AMD_SSE2_SSE3" and "iATKOS_v7 for Intel " but in vain.I have a dual OS already installed. "Windows XP and Windows 7" in different partition and one more partition I have it for MAC OS X(30GB).Please help me to install OS X in my Laptop, I am very much interested in OS X.

 

email ID: ecesriram@gmail.com

 

Thank you in advance

 

Sri

[doriean]

http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=203728

 

Go Here For Everything You Need To Install Snow Leopard On The Dell 1545

[wmarsh]

Several people have pm me asking if QE really works with Mobility Radeon HD 4330.

 

Yes it does.

 

You do need these 10.6.2 kext with modified info.plist

 

You do have to set the resolution manually, and the best I get is 1152x864. 1024x768 also works.

 

I have tested it with OpenGL Extensions Viewer, and it works.

I can play DVDs and Play Chess -- both require QE

 

You do need to use Netkas' bootloader to enable the graphics. You need the modified kext in /Extra/Extensions, not /S/L/E

 

What is most curious is these extensions DO NOT WORK if added to an Extensions.mkext

The simplest work around is to cache the kexts in /S/L/E in the normal way and not have an Extensions.mkext in /Extra

Then the modified kext load properly every time.

 

If you have it working, this is what you should see under Graphics in About this Mac:

 

ATI Radeon 4300 Mobility Series:

 

Chipset Model: ATI Radeon 4300 Mobility Series

Type: GPU

Bus: PCIe

Slot: Slot-1

PCIe Lane Width: x16

VRAM (Total): 256 MB

Vendor: ATI (0x1002)

Device ID: 0x9552

Revision ID: 0x0000

ROM Revision: 113-B7710C-176

EFI Driver Version: 01.00.318

Displays:

Display:

Resolution: 1152 x 864

Pixel Depth: 32-Bit Color (ARGB8888)

Main Display: Yes

Mirror: Off

Online: Yes

Display Connector:

[pwlj]

Several people have pm me asking if QE really works with Mobility Radeon HD 4330.

 

Yes it does.

 

You do need these 10.6.2 kext with modified info.plist

 

You do have to set the resolution manually, and the best I get is 1152x864. 1024x768 also works.

 

I have tested it with OpenGL Extensions Viewer, and it works.

I can play DVDs and Play Chess -- both require QE

 

You do need to use Netkas' bootloader to enable the graphics. You need the modified kext in /Extra/Extensions, not /S/L/E

 

What is most curious is these extensions DO NOT WORK if added to an Extensions.mkext

The simplest work around is to cache the kexts in /S/L/E in the normal way and not have an Extensions.mkext in /Extra

Then the modified kext load properly every time.

 

If you have it working, this is what you should see under Graphics in About this Mac:

 

ATI Radeon 4300 Mobility Series:

 

Chipset Model: ATI Radeon 4300 Mobility Series

Type: GPU

Bus: PCIe

Slot: Slot-1

PCIe Lane Width: x16

VRAM (Total): 256 MB

Vendor: ATI (0x1002)

Device ID: 0x9552

Revision ID: 0x0000

ROM Revision: 113-B7710C-176

EFI Driver Version: 01.00.318

Displays:

Display:

Resolution: 1152 x 864

Pixel Depth: 32-Bit Color (ARGB8888)

Main Display: Yes

Mirror: Off

Online: Yes

Display Connector:

 

But still no support for native resolution?

[wmarsh]

But still no support for native resolution?

Not yet

 

I have been playing with SwitchResX. It appears that OS X is not reading the timing from the attached monitor.

With this tool, I can enter 1600x900 resolution, but it won't enable because of this issue.

 

Reading the comments on netkas.org, alot of ati users can't change resolutions. They are not detected.

 

Hopefully netkas will update his graphics enabler. I think thats where the fix will come from.

[pwlj]

geez ;/

but at least acceleration works

hope that graphics enabler will be updated!

 

still long way to go with my samsung r522 - gotta change wifi card from intel 5100 to sth with no issues

and wait for kext for ethernet, damn...

So many obstacles, wrr

[andrek]

Do you guys think that mobility 4570 would work the same way as the 4330 does after such modifications? I've got Dell Studio 1555.

[wmarsh]

Do you guys think that mobility 4570 would work the same way as the 4330 does after such modifications? I've got Dell Studio 1555.

It might, I would try it.

 

Netkas' comment on his site regarding mobility 4570 was "mobility wasnt tested, u r welcome to try."

 

In theory the 45xx driver (which we use for HD4330 -- same chip at lower clock speed) ought to be more compatible with your hardware. So it would be the same 2 kexts you would modify but with different device id.

[andrek]

Thanks, I'm gonna try that soon.

[c0ke]

Hi, I'm new to the forum

 

I've got a 1545 inspiron with the same wmarsh specs... intel c2d, ati hd4330 and so on..

 

excuse me if this is a stupid question, but I'm trying to follow the wmarsh guide, the question is: is it possible to do it restoring an iMac original SL system or it is strictly needed a transfer from 10.6.2 Hackintosh??

 

Thank you for your support

[bee12345]

How did you get quartz enabled ..also i cannot change to 1152x864 on the ATI 4330 ..take a look at my info ATI Radeon 4300 Mobility Series:

 

Chipset Model: ATI Radeon 4300 Mobility Series

Type: GPU

Bus: PCIe

Slot: Slot-1

PCIe Lane Width: x16

VRAM (Total): 256 MB

Vendor: ATI (0x1002)

Device ID: 0x9552

Revision ID: 0x0000

ROM Revision: 113-B7710C-176

EFI Driver Version: 01.00.318

Displays:

Display:

Resolution: 1024 x 768

Pixel Depth: 32-Bit Color (ARGB8888)

Main Display: Yes

Mirror: Off

Online: Yes

[c0ke]

How did you get quartz enabled ..also i cannot change to 1152x864 on the ATI 4330 ..take a look at my info ATI Radeon 4300 Mobility Series:

 

Chipset Model: ATI Radeon 4300 Mobility Series

Type: GPU

Bus: PCIe

Slot: Slot-1

PCIe Lane Width: x16

VRAM (Total): 256 MB

Vendor: ATI (0x1002)

Device ID: 0x9552

Revision ID: 0x0000

ROM Revision: 113-B7710C-176

EFI Driver Version: 01.00.318

Displays:

Display:

Resolution: 1024 x 768

Pixel Depth: 32-Bit Color (ARGB8888)

Main Display: Yes

Mirror: Off

Online: Yes

 

Me too!

I can see the exact same info on system profiler (note also "VRAM (Total): 256 MB" instead of 512?), I cannot play DVD (dvdplayer says that cannot find any valid video device...) and cannot see images with preview..

Maybe something wrong in my com.apple.Boot.plist?

i added:

 

<key>GraphicsEnabler</key>

<string>Yes</string>

<key>Graphics Mode</key>

<string>1152x864x32</string>

 

but the effective resolution is strictly 1024x768

only 800x600x32 change works for me..

[bee12345]

Me too!

I can see the exact same info on system profiler (note also "VRAM (Total): 256 MB" instead of 512?), I cannot play DVD (dvdplayer says that cannot find any valid video device...) and cannot see images with preview..

Maybe something wrong in my com.apple.Boot.plist?

i added:

 

<key>GraphicsEnabler</key>

<string>Yes</string>

<key>Graphics Mode</key>

<string>1152x864x32</string>

 

but the effective resolution is strictly 1024x768

only 800x600x32 change works for me..

 

 

I have the same issues .. with preview & DVD .. I will keep trying and post results ..