[Solved] QE / CI / VRAM reporting problem (Dell Vostro 400 / GF 8800 GT 512)

[Cortex_dk]

Hi everybody

 

 

My system looks fine but when i try to install Logic, i get an error message saying Logic requires a Quartz Extreme capable GFX card and a minimum of 64mb VRAM. My system has 0mb and then the installer closes...

 

I hope someone can help me with this problem as Logic is my main reason for installing OSX.

 

 

My Xbench scores without disk is 115-120, which seems really low for my hardware.

 

 

My system :

Intel Quad Core Q6600 @ 2400 (identied as 2.39GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon)

RAM 3GB 665mhz DDR2

Mac OS X 10.6.3 (build 10D573)

GeForce 8800 GT 512MB :

 

Chipset-model: GeForce 8800 GT

Type: GPU

Bus: PCIe

Bredde på PCIe-kanal: x16

VRAM (i alt): 512 MB

Producent: NVIDIA (0x10de)

Enheds-id: 0x0611

Revision-id: 0x00a2

ROM-revision: Silent Natit x86_64 v1.0.2

 

Ps. I dont know if it means anything but when booting i get an "error parsing plist files" message, but i haven't focussed on it as the systems seems to otherwise boot fine.

 

Thanks in advance.

[XLR]

Use Graphics Enabler in Chameleon instead of Natit.

[Cortex_dk]

Use Graphics Enabler in Chameleon instead of Natit.

 

Thanks for the help.

Can you tell me how i do that ?

[Gringo Vermelho]

Set GraphicsEnabler=y in /Extra/com.apple.Boot.plist.

 

Chameleon bootloader documentation:

http://forum.voodooprojects.org/index.php/board,1.0.html

 

Installer for the latest version of Chameleon:

http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=231075

Make sure you read this thread after reading the docs, there's a lot of new stuff in RC5 that hasn't made it into the documentation yet.

 

Your CPU getting identified as a Xeon is perfectly normal, and desirable. Apple has never shipped a system with a Core 2 Quad CPU in it. Some apps will not work at all if the CPU isn't identified (or as in your case, faked) correctly.

 

Held & Lykke med det

[Cortex_dk]

Set GraphicsEnabler=y in /Extra/com.apple.Boot.plist.

 

Chameleon bootloader documentation:

http://forum.voodooprojects.org/index.php/board,1.0.html

 

Installer for the latest version of Chameleon:

http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=231075

Make sure you read this thread after reading the docs, there's a lot of new stuff in RC5 that hasn't made it into the documentation yet.

 

Your CPU getting identified as a Xeon is perfectly normal, and desirable. Apple has never shipped a system with a Core 2 Quad CPU in it. Some apps will not work at all if the CPU isn't identified (or as in your case, faked) correctly.

 

Held & Lykke med det

 

 

Thanks for the info... Plenty of new reading to do :-D

 

A quick followup question :

My com.apple.boot.plist file is located in /library/preferences/systemConfiguration not in the /extra folder, and when i open it using Property List editor i can allready see a line that says GraphicsEnabler string Yes.

[Cortex_dk]

I have dowmloaded and installed the Chameleon_2.0_RC5_r568_Standard.zip and also installed the configuration panel for it, made the changes and rebooted, but the system is no different.

 

Can there be some old files i need to delete or something like that ?

 

Also i needed to manually copy the file com.apple.boot.com to /extra is that normal ?

When i open it with anything else than property list editor the contents looks really wierd.

 

Thanks for the help.

[Gringo Vermelho]

The com.apple.Boot.plist in /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/ should be left unmodified, like this:

com.apple.Boot.plist.zip

Avoid opening it with anything else but the property list editor, other text editors can destroy the formatting in the file and corrupt it, causing boot issues and god knows what else. A sure sign of broken formatting is when the entries are sorted alphabetically. Yes I know that may sound strange, but it's true.

 

The Chameleon boot loader reads the one in /extra first, so copy your present c.a.B.p there and add all your 'exotic' flags and stuff to that instead of modifying Apple system files!

 

If Graphics Enabler is =y then you shouldn't have to use Natit (re: Silent Natit x86_64 v1.0.2). Having several video injection methods active at the same time can result in conflicts and hardware accelerated graphics not working. This might actually be what's causing your problem with Logic.

[Giorgio_multi]

Avoid opening it with anything else but the property list editor, other text editors can destroy the formatting in the file and corrupt it, causing boot issues and god knows what else.

 

I have modified thousand times com.apple.Boot.plist with text editor but I never had any problem.

[Gringo Vermelho]

Right, good for you! Look, I don't know where this problem comes from or what editor people are using but the fact is that it happens and I have helped several people with inexplicable com.apple.Boot.plist issues (with its entries alphabetically sorted) by having them start with a clean com.apple.Boot.plist.

Search my previous posts (and Beerkex'ds posts) if you think I'm insane. I couldn't make up something like this if I tried. And why would I.

 

That's why I recommend only using the plist editor that comes with Apple Developer Tools, or the stand-alone one you can find with google.

[Cortex_dk]

The com.apple.Boot.plist in /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/ should be left unmodified, like this:

com.apple.Boot.plist.zip

Avoid opening it with anything else but the property list editor, other text editors can destroy the formatting in the file and corrupt it, causing boot issues and god knows what else. A sure sign of broken formatting is when the entries are sorted alphabetically. Yes I know that may sound strange, but it's true.

 

The Chameleon boot loader reads the one in /extra first, so copy your present c.a.B.p there and add all your 'exotic' flags and stuff to that instead of modifying Apple system files!

 

If Graphics Enabler is =y then you shouldn't have to use Natit (re: Silent Natit x86_64 v1.0.2). Having several video injection methods active at the same time can result in conflicts and hardware accelerated graphics not working. This might actually be what's causing your problem with Logic.

 

Ok, now it's starting to make more sense...

How do i go about disabling the silent_natit driver injection ?

[Gringo Vermelho]

Delete natit.kext (or whatever .kext you have in there that has natit in its name) from /System/Library/Extensions.

 

Make sure to flush the extensions cache as well before you reboot.

 

Run terminal.app and type

 

sudo -s (then enter your password - don't worry it's supposed to be invisible)

chown -R root:wheel /System/Library/Extensions

chmod -R go=u-w /System/Library/Extensions

 

Reboot og kryds fingre!

 

You must do this every time you change something in /System/Library/Extensions.

Read: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filesystem_permissions

 

When you delete something from System/Library/Extensions (AKA S/L/E) you can also use Apple Disk Utility to fix permissions. But you can't do that when manually adding a kernel extension to that folder because Disk Utility will not fix permissions on extensions that it doesn't know about already.

 

There are also point and click apps especially developed for Hackintosh use that can do this for you but IMHO it's better to learn how to do this manually because you won't always have access to those apps - for example when working from Terminal.app on your install DVD in an emergency situation. Besides, when you type the commands yourself, you are in control of what goes on.

 

When using /Extra/Extensions instead of S/L/E, you don't have to do anything. Chameleon is responsible for loading the kernel extensions you place there, and it doesn't care about permissions.

[Giorgio_multi]

Right, good for you! Look, I don't know where this problem comes from or what editor people are using but the fact is that it happens and I have helped several people with inexplicable com.apple.Boot.plist issues (with its entries alphabetically sorted) by having them start with a clean com.apple.Boot.plist.

Search my previous posts (and Beerkex'ds posts) if you think I'm insane. I couldn't make up something like this if I tried. And why would I.

 

That's why I recommend only using the plist editor that comes with Apple Developer Tools, or the stand-alone one you can find with google.

 

I don't think you are insane. It was just an observation not a criticism. I did not want to offend

[Gringo Vermelho]

No offense taken. Maybe I overreacted a little

[Cortex_dk]

Delete natit.kext (or whatever .kext you have in there that has natit in its name) from /System/Library/Extensions.

 

Make sure to flush the extensions cache as well before you reboot.

 

Run terminal.app and type

 

sudo -s (then enter your password - don't worry it's supposed to be invisible)

chown -R root:wheel /System/Library/Extensions

chmod -R go=u-w /System/Library/Extensions

 

Reboot og kryds fingre!

 

You must do this every time you change something in /System/Library/Extensions.

Read: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filesystem_permissions

 

When you delete something from System/Library/Extensions (AKA S/L/E) you can also use Apple Disk Utility to fix permissions. But you can't do that when manually adding a kernel extension to that folder because Disk Utility will not fix permissions on extensions that it doesn't know about already.

 

There are also point and click apps especially developed for Hackintosh use that can do this for you but IMHO it's better to learn how to do this manually because you won't always have access to those apps - for example when working from Terminal.app on your install DVD in an emergency situation. Besides, when you type the commands yourself, you are in control of what goes on.

 

When using /Extra/Extensions instead of S/L/E, you don't have to do anything. Chameleon is responsible for loading the kernel extensions you place there, and it doesn't care about permissions.

 

Thanks for the help so far Gringo :-D

 

Here is what i did... The file natit.kext was not in the /S/L/E folder, but in /extra/extensions. I made a backupcopy and deleted it. I did the same with the folder 8800GT_KEXT_PACK which was located in /S/L/E, and then ran Apple Disk Utility and repaired disk permissions.

 

Reboot... Noticed a very short flash saying someting about nvivia just before the possibility of boot options appear, but i am not able to read it, as it goes away really fast.

EDIT : After several restarts i have managed to read that is says : Unable to load Nvidia ROM (something like that).

 

Now About This Mac, and More Info shows this :

 

Skærm:

 

Type: GPU

Bus: PCIe

Bredde på PCIe-kanal: x16

VRAM (i alt): 32 MB

Producent: NVIDIA (0x10de)

Enheds-id: 0x0611

Revision-id: 0x00a2

Skærm:

Skærm:

Opløsning: 1680 x 1050

Pixeldybde: 32 bit farve (ARGB8888)

Hovedskærm: Ja

Dublering: Fra

Online: Ja

 

I have tried to run the chameleon preferences panel and checked the following :

Peripherals -

Graphics mode 1680 x 1050 x 32

Use Nvidia ROM

Graphics Enabler

Boot Banner

 

Efi Inject - Device properties in NOT checked, and the text field is empty.

 

 

Any ideas on how to proceed ?

 

Dump of "com.apple.boot.plist" located /extra

 

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">

<plist version="1.0">

<dict>

<key>Boot Graphics</key>

<string>Yes</string>

<key>EHCIacquire</key>

<string>Yes</string>

<key>EthernetBuiltIn</key>

<string>Yes</string>

<key>Graphics Mode</key>

<string>1680x1050x32</string>

<key>GraphicsEnabler</key>

<string>Yes</string>

<key>Kernel</key>

<string>mach_kernel</string>

<key>Kernel Flags</key>

<string>arch=x86_64</string>

<key>PciRoot</key>

<string>1</string>

<key>Quiet Boot</key>

<string>No</string>

<key>Timeout</key>

<string>5</string>

<key>UHCIreset</key>

<string>Yes</string>

<key>USBBusFix</key>

<string>Yes</string>

<key>UseNvidiaROM</key>

<string>Yes</string>

<key>arch</key>

<string>i386</string>

</dict>

</plist>

[Gringo Vermelho]

Boot Graphics

Yes

 

EHCIacquire

Yes

 

PciRoot

1

 

Quiet Boot

No

 

UHCIreset

Yes

 

USBBusFix

Yes

 

UseNvidiaROM

Yes

 

Kernel Flags

arch=x86_64

 

arch

i386

 

If you want to force 32-bit mode you add arch=i386 to the kernel flags string.

 

It looks like you've been setting a lot of these randomly without understanding what they're for.

Please go read the Chameleon documentation at the voodooproject forums.

[Cortex_dk]

<key>Boot Graphics</key> <--- not needed because,

<string>Yes</string> <--- yes is the default

 

<key>EHCIacquire</key>

<string>Yes</string> <--- this is only needed on some motherboards with USB issues, are you sure you need it?

 

<key>PciRoot</key> <--- try deleting this, 0 is the default, if this setting is wrong GraphicsEnabler won't work

<string>1</string> <--- unless of course you are 100% sure that your PCIRoot is 1.

 

<key>Quiet Boot</key> <--- not needed because,

<string>No</string> <--- no is the default

 

<key>UHCIreset</key>

<string>Yes</string> <--- this is only needed on some motherboards with USB issues, are you sure you need it?

 

<key>USBBusFix</key> <--- setting this to yes is = UHCIreset and EHCIacquire enabled together!

<string>Yes</string> <--- either use this or one if the others.

 

<key>UseNvidiaROM</key> <--- this is for loading a patched video BIOS from a file.

<string>Yes</string> <--- But you don't have one (hence the error message you're getting at boot) so delete this.

 

<key>Kernel Flags</key>

<string>arch=x86_64</string> <--- here you're setting 64-bit mode...

 

<key>arch</key> <--- ...but here the intention was to set 32-bit mode - except, this key doesn't exist, it's invalid.

<string>i386</string> <--- Why would you want to set 32-bit mode and 64-bit mode at the same time? Make up your mind.

 

If you want to force 32-bit mode you add arch=i386 to the kernel flags string.

 

It looks like you've been setting a lot of these randomly without understanding what they're for.

Please go read the Chameleon documentation at the voodooproject forums.

 

Hello again Gringo.

 

Your absolutely correct, i have been playing around with the settings for a while, and had to doo several reinstalls due to kernel panics aso. I will go read up on the documentation, so i know what the settings are-

 

I have made the changes and here is what the com.apple.boot.plist looks like now :

 

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">'>http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">

<plist version="1.0">

<dict>

<key>EthernetBuiltIn</key>

<string>Yes</string>

<key>Graphics Mode</key>

<string>1680x1050x32</string>

<key>GraphicsEnabler</key>

<string>Yes</string>

<key>Kernel</key>

<string>mach_kernel</string>

<key>Kernel Flags</key>

<string>arch=x86_64</string>

<key>Timeout</key>

<string>5</string>

</dict>

</plist>

 

Rebooting.... having fingers crossed... will report back in a few minutes.

 

Hello again Gringo.

 

Your absolutely correct, i have been playing around with the settings for a while, and had to doo several reinstalls due to kernel panics aso. I will go read up on the documentation, so i know what the settings are-

 

I have made the changes and here is what the com.apple.boot.plist looks like now :

 

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">

<plist version="1.0">

<dict>

<key>EthernetBuiltIn</key>

<string>Yes</string>

<key>Graphics Mode</key>

<string>1680x1050x32</string>

<key>GraphicsEnabler</key>

<string>Yes</string>

<key>Kernel</key>

<string>mach_kernel</string>

<key>Kernel Flags</key>

<string>arch=x86_64</string>

<key>Timeout</key>

<string>5</string>

</dict>

</plist>

 

Rebooting.... having fingers crossed... will report back in a few minutes.

 

After reboot :

 

Skærm:

 

Type: GPU

Bus: PCIe

Bredde på PCIe-kanal: x16

VRAM (i alt): 32 MB

Producent: NVIDIA (0x10de)

Enheds-id: 0x0611

Revision-id: 0x00a2

Skærm:

Skærm:

Opløsning: 1680 x 1050

Pixeldybde: 32 bit farve (ARGB8888)

Hovedskærm: Ja

Dublering: Fra

Online: Ja

 

The error message flashing at startup in now gone, but i dont seem to be closer to a working solution yet.

Any other idea's would be greatly appreciated.

[Teeno]

I have dowmloaded and installed the Chameleon_2.0_RC5_r568_Standard.zip and also installed the configuration panel for it,

 

Hi guys,

 

I am very new to this all. I've got Hackintosh installed, and I have the same problem installing Logic Pro.

Using asus nvidia 8400gs. I'm trying to do the steps provided here.

What is the configuration panel and how do I get it ? (I do have chameleon 2.0 RC5 installed now) (started with RC4.

I have plist editor, and will post back after copying my c.a.B.p to extras and modifying it. I still need to take a closer look at the threads here. Will let you guys know how it goes.

cheers!

[Teeno]

ok, my graphics Enabler was already set to 'yes'.

i have copied that c.a.B.p file to /extras, and rebooted, I still get the same error.

Is there something I can check to see if the graphics is okay or not (other than attempting to install Logic ?)

 

Also do I have to overwrite the caBp file with the one Gringo posted, the empty one with hardly any strings in it for this to work ?

 

I have looked for natit, but I don't remember installing it at any time.

I installed using iAtkos S3v2 (a distribution for hackintosh) which is working fine it seems. another thing to note is .avi and .mkv files do not display although i hear the sound as the video is played (black video is shown).

 

any clues and where do I go from here ? could it be some other video card related problem ? Asus EN8400GS Silent is my card with 512MB.

 

Any help will be greatly appreciated!

[XLR]

Configuration panel comes with the latest versions of Chameleon, you can find it in System Preferences.

[Teeno]

btw. here is my plist file.

 

 

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">

<plist version="1.0">

<dict>

<key>Boot Graphics</key>

<string>Yes</string>

<key>EHCIacquire</key>

<string>Yes</string>

<key>GraphicsEnabler</key>

<string>Yes</string>

<key>Kernel</key>

<string>mach_kernel</string>

<key>Kernel Flags</key>

<string></string>

<key>Legacy Logo</key>

<string>Yes</string>

<key>Quiet Boot</key>

<string>No</string>

<key>Timeout</key>

<string>5</string>

<key>UHCIreset</key>

<string>Yes</string>

<key>USBBusFix</key>

<string>Yes</string>

</dict>

</plist>

 

anything to help with ?

cheers!

[Teeno]

Configuration panel comes with the latest versions of Chameleon, you can find it in System Preferences.

 

that's strange. Ive installed Chameleon 2 RC5, and I've checked system preferences,

I cant see an icon related to it. ?

[XLR]

Chameleon.prefPane.zip

[Cortex_dk]

Really...Nobody has any thoughts on how to get this thing to work ?

 

 

I am pulling my hair out here... I have tried to fiddle around with EFIStudio and made a specific string (GF 8800 GT 512mb) for the com.apple.boot.plist, but that had no effect either.. I am seriously stuck here, and hope someone can get me over this hump.

 

If there is anyone who can recommend another videocard, that works out of the box, i am very interested in knowing about the model.

[XLR]

This card suppose to work out of the box, and you don't need EFIStudio. Maybe you have two boot.plist files, one in Extra one in System and Chameleon is using the wrong one? Maybe you have some other video drivers installed that conflicting with Graphics Enabler?

[Cortex_dk]

This card suppose to work out of the box, and you don't need EFIStudio. Maybe you have two boot.plist files, one in Extra one in System and Chameleon is using the wrong one? Maybe you have some other video drivers installed that conflicting with Graphics Enabler?

 

I dont think there are any other vid drivers loaded any longer, but i am a complete noob so there may be without me knowing where to look.

 

 

Ok, thats really wierd.. I checked the /S/L/E folder and there was no com.apple.boot.plist file in there anymore, so i took the generic one from Gringo (page1 post) and copied to the folder and repaired permissions.

 

Searching this Mac shows only now 2 com.apple.boot.plist files, in /S/L/E and /Extra

The one in SLE is plain, and the one in /extra modified.

 

Here is the modified one :

 

 

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs$

<plist version="1.0">

<dict>

<key>EthernetBuiltIn</key>

<string>Yes</string>

<key>Graphics Mode</key>

<string>1680x1050x32</string>

<key>GraphicsEnabler</key>

<string>Yes</string>

<key>Kernel</key>

<string>mach_kernel</string>

<key>Kernel Flags</key>

<string>arch=x86_64</string>

<key>Timeout</key>

<string>5</string>

<string>6c0200000100000001000000600200000d00000002010c00d041030a010000000101060$

</dict>

</plist>

 

and the string i am injecting comes from this :

 

<key>PciRoot(0x1)/Pci(0x1,0x0)/Pci(0x0,0x0)</key> <dict> <key>@0,compatible</key> <string>NVDA,NVMac</string> <key>@0,device_type</key> <string>display</string> <key>@0,name</key> <string>NVDA,Display-A</string> <key>@1,compatible</key> <string>NVDA,NVMac</string> <key>@1,device_type</key> <string>display</string> <key>@1,name</key> <string>NVDA,Display-B</string> <key>NVCAP</key> <data> BAAAAAAAAwAMAAAAAAAABwAAAAA= </data> <key>NVPM</key> <data> AQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA== </data> <key>VRAM,totalsize</key> <string>0x20000000</string> <key>device_type</key> <string>NVDA,Parent</string> <key>model</key> <string>nVidia GeForce 8800 GT</string> <key>name</key> <string>display</string> <key>rom-revision</key> <string>nVidia GeForce 8800 GT OpenGL Engine [EFI]</string>

 

 

Another wierd thing is that i can no longer open com.apple.boot.plist from /extra using Property List Editor. It says the file cannot be opened...

I can however still open it using nano in terminal.

 

Any ideas on how i {censored}ed this up ?

 

I am thinking maybe i should try a totally clean new install on a fresh disk, and maybe avoid some of the mistakes i have made in this old installation.

I was just hoping to avoid this as i already have a lot of user files on this installation, and i would hate to have to reinstall a lot of the soundbanks i have installed. It's like my old shoes...