31 replies to this topic

[Plucka]

Hey all sorry if my topic isnt very different from all the others here, but I am having a very tough time getting my Palit Geforce GT 240 512mb card recognized in about this mac, I have read a lot of posts here and havent been able to find the right answers. Is there anybody that would be able to share their experiences with this or a similar card? I have it sort of working now, but, I cant tell if its installed properly? I have the cuda drivers installed in preference pane and have tried efi studio using the 9800 GT 1024mb string in the drop down table. Also have tried NVenabler 64 by placing it in my extras folder, after all this I still cannot get the card to be correctly recognized?

Is there anybody that is willing to help with this, I am sure a lot of people are in the same boat as I am.

Cheers and thanks for any and all replies, Plucka

[WallyFTW]

I have to say the best way to install a graphics card is through EFI strings. Now here you mention you tried the 9800's EFI string and it didn't work properly. I personally do not have a GT240 but I used this method with my GeForce 210 on 10.6.2 and Its fully accelerated.

First off you're going to need a Window's computer & a USB drive. Windows doesn't have to be the computer that OS X is installed on though.

1) On Windows, download HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool from here. Install it and run it.

2) Go to the HP Tool and select your USB drive from the "Devices" drop-down menu. Set the "File System" to FAT. Check the boxes which say "Quick Format" & "Create a DOS Startup Drive".

3) Download & extract this file to your desktop. Under "Create a DOS Startup Drive" you will see the bullet that says "using DOS system files located at" and then browse to the folder you just extracted onto your desktop. Click Start.

4) Download and extract the NVFlash.zip to your desktop. Copy over the nvflash.exe to the root of the USB drive. Restart and boot from the USB.

5) Upon restart, you will be prompted the DOS environment. Type:

nvflash.exe --save GT240.ROM
exit

6) The GT240.ROM will be saved onto the root of the USB drive. Boot into OS X.

7) Download this app and run it. Load the GT240.ROM file you just created. Click Ok and you will be rewarded with the NVCAP value of your card.

8) Download and run OSx86 Tools and click "EFI Strings" at the bottom. At the top of the new window click "GFX Strings". From the drop-down list go all the way down to "Custom GeForce...". You will be prompted to type in your card's name & hit next. Then It will ask for the amount of RAM, click 512MB, then it will ask you for the input type (such VGA-DVI or DVI-VGA), that when you click "Custom..." and enter in your NVCAP from the NVCAP Maker app. Finally you will have an EFI string. Click the button which adds it to your com.apple.boot.plist.

9) Cross your finger and reboot. If all goes well, the system should change resolution at the end of the boot process, before your desktop appears.  

You can also add the EFI string to the com.apple.boot.plist in the /Extra folder by copying it to your desktop, opening it in the text edit and using these keys/strings.

<key>device-properties</key>
<string>ALPHANUMERIC EFI STRING GOES HERE</string>

I don't know if this will work but you can give it a shot.

[Plucka]

WallyFTW, on Jul 21 2010, 07:40 PM, said:

I have to say the best way to install a graphics card is through EFI strings. Now here you mention you tried the 9800's EFI string and it didn't work properly. I personally do not have a GT240 but I used this method with my GeForce 210 on 10.6.2 and Its fully accelerated.

First off you're going to need a Window's computer & a USB drive. Windows doesn't have to be the computer that OS X is installed on though.

1) On Windows, download HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool from here. Install it and run it.

2) Go to the HP Tool and select your USB drive from the "Devices" drop-down menu. Set the "File System" to FAT. Check the boxes which say "Quick Format" & "Create a DOS Startup Drive".

3) Download & extract this file to your desktop. Under "Create a DOS Startup Drive" you will see the bullet that says "using DOS system files located at" and then browse to the folder you just extracted onto your desktop. Click Start.

4) Download and extract the NVFlash.zip to your desktop. Copy over the nvflash.exe to the root of the USB drive. Restart and boot from the USB.

5) Upon restart, you will be prompted the DOS environment. Type:

nvflash.exe --save GT240.ROM
exit

6) The GT240.ROM will be saved onto the root of the USB drive. Boot into OS X.

7) Download this app and run it. Load the GT240.ROM file you just created. Click Ok and you will be rewarded with the NVCAP value of your card.

8) Download and run OSx86 Tools and click "EFI Strings" at the bottom. At the top of the new window click "GFX Strings". From the drop-down list go all the way down to "Custom GeForce...". You will be prompted to type in your card's name & hit next. Then It will ask for the amount of RAM, click 512MB, then it will ask you for the input type (such VGA-DVI or DVI-VGA), that when you click "Custom..." and enter in your NVCAP from the NVCAP Maker app. Finally you will have an EFI string. Click the button which adds it to your com.apple.boot.plist.

9) Cross your finger and reboot. If all goes well, the system should change resolution at the end of the boot process, before your desktop appears.  

You can also add the EFI string to the com.apple.boot.plist in the /Extra folder by copying it to your desktop, opening it in the text edit and using these keys/strings.

<key>device-properties</key>
<string>ALPHANUMERIC EFI STRING GOES HERE</string>

I don't know if this will work but you can give it a shot.

Hey WallyFTW

Thank you ever so much for your comprehensive answer, I will try this on my test install. I appreciate your help and advice very much. Question, do I need to remove anything like the cuda drivers or adjust any plists before attempting this?

Thank you once again and I will let you know ASAP how I get on, cheers mate, Plucka

[WallyFTW]

Okay. I would assume that anything you did to try to get the graphics card to work properly would conflict with EFI string; try uninstalling anything you added in support of the card.

[Plucka]

Hey WallyFTW

Have been trying your method but I get stuck at step 5 I get an error stating that this command cannot be carried out in DOS?

I get C:\> then I enter nvflash.exe --save GT240.ROM

See pic for error?

Any ideas mate?

Cheers, Plucka

Attached Files

•  IMG_6306.JPG   654.05K   62 downloads

[WallyFTW]

Whoops I think that's my bad. Try the nvflash.exe located in this download.

[Plucka]

Hey WallyFTW,


Succes, thank you very very much for your help and patience your new link worked a treat, and here are the pics to show it.

It all worked properly and my only mistake was thinking I had a 512 mb card, as it showed up in windows as a 1024 mb card. So I installed it in windows using the official nVidia drivers for this card and in adapter info it showed 1024 mb.

Anyway I hope this helps some other people as well, if anyone has this card and needs the efi string info give WallyFTW's method a go.

Once again thank you ever so much and have a great day, afternoon, night, cheers mate, Plucka

Attached Files

•  photo.jpg   164.9K   165 downloads
•  screen_capture.png   77.65K   299 downloads

[xiozio]

the first did say that it can not be opened in dos
the second link you put downloads a corrupted nvflash.zip

please put the working thanks, i really need this

[Plucka]

xiozio, on Aug 19 2010, 10:43 PM, said:

the first did say that it can not be opened in dos
the second link you put downloads a corrupted nvflash.zip

please put the working thanks, i really need this

The last link Wally sent me worked for me so I can only say try that one or if it helps I can post the file here for you, I dont know if it will work for you but you can try it.


See how it goes, cheers mate, Plucka





This is the flash file of my GT240 card.

Attached Files

•  nvflash.exe   292.02K   51 downloads
•  GT240.rar   39.49K   122 downloads

[xiozio]

i will give it a try now , thx m8 ,
i have been trying for sso long with no luck , hope it works,thanks

[Plucka]

xiozio, on Aug 20 2010, 02:36 AM, said:

i will give it a try now , thx m8 ,
i have been trying for sso long with no luck , hope it works,thanks

Good luck then, it might be handy to post your specs as well, some other people may see this thread and have more help for you. Just try and follow the steps above as it does work. Otherwise let me know maybe we can figure something else out.

Cheers mate, Plucka

PS here is my NVCAP value, my own EFI string and a Hex. file cross fingers maybe they will work for you :-)

Attached Files

•  GT240_Efi_String.zip   562bytes   161 downloads
•  GT240.hex.zip   482bytes   97 downloads
•  NVCAP_value_Nvidia_GT240.txt.zip   417bytes   121 downloads

[p.c.27618349]

Hey, it comes up with an error in DOS:

No DPMI - get csdpmi*b.zip


Might it have something to do with the fact that the HP USB formatting tool formatted the flash drive in FAT32? It didn't have plain FAT...

[Plucka]

p.c.27618349, on Aug 28 2010, 09:51 PM, said:

Hey, it comes up with an error in DOS:

No DPMI - get csdpmi*b.zip


Might it have something to do with the fact that the HP USB formatting tool formatted the flash drive in FAT32? It didn't have plain FAT...

Hi there, you do have to format the drive as plain fat and put both files on it in order for it to run the DOS program.
If you are running Vista or Windows 7 you may not have the option to format in Fat. I formatted mine in XP.

Hope this helps, cheers mate, Plucka

[p.c.27618349]

Same problem, even when formatted with FAT.

[Plucka]

p.c.27618349, on Aug 29 2010, 05:02 AM, said:

Same problem, even when formatted with FAT.

These are the two files I used for NVFlash and they worked for me give em a whirl hope they work for you, cheers mate, Plucka

Attached Files

•  nvflash.exe.zip   287.96K   47 downloads
•  cwsdpmi.exe.zip   12.71K   43 downloads

[p.c.27618349]

yup, the addition of those two files works a charm.

new question: once i have the EFI string, how do i put it in com.apple.Boot.plist? i copied a boot.plist from /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/ to /Extra with the new EFI string editted in but there was no change upon reboot. In System Profiler, the graphics is still listed as "GPU". I then changed the one in /L/P/SC/ to no avail.

One can't use OSx86Tools since development for that stopped at the Leopard level. If you try to click "Add EFI String" in SL it results in an error involving assigning a 0 value to a boolean.

[Plucka]

p.c.27618349, on Aug 29 2010, 09:05 PM, said:

yup, the addition of those two files works a charm.

new question: once i have the EFI string, how do i put it in com.apple.Boot.plist? i copied a boot.plist from /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/ to /Extra with the new EFI string editted in but it did no change. In System Profiler, the graphics is still listed as "GPU". I then changed the one in /L/P/SC/ to no avail.

Hey there, check the first couple of posts on this thread, there is a step by step guide on how to apply your efi string. If all went well you should have installed OSX 86 tools and used that to create and insert your efi string.

Hope this helps, and you're welcome,

Cheers mate Plucka

[p.c.27618349]

Sorry for the confusion but i editted the original post around 10-20 min after i posted it to tell you the OSx86Tools does NOT work in Snow Leopard...

Guess i editted it a bit too late... sorry

But that aside, even when editting the one in /L/P/SC/ and the one in /Extra, the EFI edits do nothing, as mentioned above.

Here's my boot plist for your reference:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple Computer//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
	<key>Kernel</key>
	<string>mach_kernel</string>
	<key>Kernel Flags</key>
	<string></string>
	<key>Boot Graphics</key>
	<string>Yes</string>
		<key>Quiet Boot</key>
		<string>No</string>
		<key>Timeout</key>
		<string>5</string>
	<key>arch</key>
	<string>i386</string>
	<key>Legacy Logo</key>
	<string>Yes</string>
	<key>device-properties</key>
	<string>6c0200000100000001000000600200000d00000002010c00d041030a000000000101060000027fff04000e
0000004e00560050004d0000002000000001000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000220000
005600520041004d002c0074006f00740061006c00730069007a006500000008000000000000401c00000064006500760
06900630065005f00740079007000650000000f0000004e5644412c506172656e740e0000006e0061006d00650000000b
000000646973706c617922000000400030002c006400650076006900630065005f00740079007000650000000b0000006
46973706c617922000000400031002c006400650076006900630065005f00740079007000650000000b00000064697370
6c6179100000006d006f00640065006c000000180000006e5669646961204765466f72636520475432343020000000400
031002c0063006f006d00700061007400690062006c00650000000e0000004e5644412c4e564d61631400000040003000
2c006e0061006d0065000000120000004e5644412c446973706c61792d4114000000400031002c006e0061006d0065000
000120000004e5644412c446973706c61792d4220000000400030002c0063006f006d00700061007400690062006c0065
0000000e0000004e5644412c4e564d6163100000004e005600430041005000000022000000d38d34d34d34d34d34d37d
34d38d34d34d34d34d34d34d3bd34d34d34d341e00000072006f006d002d007200650076006900730069006f006e00000
02c0000006e5669646961204765466f726365204754323430204f70656e474c20456e67696e65205b4546495d</string>
</dict>
</plist>

[Plucka]

p.c.27618349, on Aug 30 2010, 02:15 PM, said:

Sorry for the confusion but i editted the original post around 10-20 min after i posted it to tell you the OSx86Tools does NOT work in Snow Leopard...

Guess i editted it a bit too late... sorry

But that aside, even when editting the one in /L/P/SC/ and the one in /Extra, the EFI edits do nothing, as mentioned above.

The version of osx 86 tools that I used is working in SL, that is the the one downloaded from the link above. see pic for proof.

Give that one a go it does work, cheers, Plucka

Attached Files

•  screen_capture_1.png   476.76K   130 downloads

[p.c.27618349]

Plucka, on Aug 30 2010, 12:19 PM, said:

The version of osx 86 tools that I used is working in SL, that is the the one downloaded from the link above. see pic for proof.

Give that one a go it does work, cheers, Plucka

I did give it a go. Only the "Add EFI String" gives that assigning a zero to a boolean error that was mentioned above, b/c OSx86Tools was orphaned and the final version wasn't built for Snow Leopard. It's great that it works with yours, but it doesn't with mine. That's why I was asking how to edit the com.apple.Boot.plist file manually.