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Alienware M17xR4 - Hackintosh Install/Attempt/Problems Help!

jonathanslam

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jonathanslam
jonathanslam
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Hi everyone! I'm new to the forums here, but I've been thinking about installing iAtkos ML2 onto my Alienware M17x R4 for a while. So I've finally began the process.

 

But before I begin with what I've done and have encountered, here's almost every detail about my system pulled from all corners of the laptop:

 

Specifications:

Brand: Alienware (Dell)

Product Name: M17xR4

BIOS Version: A11

CPU: Intel Core i7-3610QM (Ivy Bridge)

Integrated Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 4000

Dedicated/Discrete Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX660M (Some have had success with 6xx.)

Memory: 16GB (4GB x 4)

NIC: Atheros AR8151 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller

Wi-Fi Card: Intel Centrino N-2230 w/ BT (I'm aware it's incompatible with OS X.)

Audio: Sound Blaster Recon3Di (Found no info about it online for OS X.)

SATA1: Samsung SSD 830 128GB

SATA2: Seagate ST9750420AS 750GB Hard Drive

mSATA: Samsung SSD PM830 32GB

SATA 0DD: HL-DT-ST DVD-RW/BD-ROM CA40N

 

BIOS Configuration:

Intel SpeedStep: Enabled

Virtualization: Enabled

Integrated NIC: Enabled

USB Emulation: Enabled

USB Powershare: Enabled

USB Wake Support: Enabled

SATA Operation: AHCI

USB Debug: Enabled

External USB Ports: Enabled

eSATA Ports: Enabled

 

Ports:

(4) USB 3.0 Ports (They have some problems with Hackintosh, but will work with some tweaking.)

(1) eSATA PowerShare Port with USB 2.0

(1) HDMI - IN

(1) HDMI - OUT

(1) MiniDisplayPort

(1) RJ-45 Gigabit Jack

(1) VGA Display Port

 

 

Now, here's what I've done/tried.

 

1. I used Disk Utility on a Mac and was able to create a bootable USB drive along with installing the bootloader from iAtkos onto the USB drive.

 

2. I set BIOS/Boot Configuration/Boot Order on the M17x so that the "USB Storage Device" would boot the drive that I made on the Mac.

 

3. When the bootloader screen appears for me to pick which hard drive/disk to boot, i pick iATKOS ML2, and as always, I'll use the -v boot flag. Here's what comes up:

 

][/size]

USBF: 0474 AppleUSBEHCI[0xffffff801f90e000]: unable to get filterInterruptEventSource

USBF: 0.481 AppleUSBEHCI[0xffffff801f90e000]::UIMInitialize - Error occurred (0xe00002be)

ApplePS2Controller: Timed out on keyboard input stream.

No interval found for . Using 8000000

Still waiting for root device

 

I do want to address that I was able to install OS X on the M17x before I'm trying again now. However, it never booted up after the install completed. I used a combination of boot flags to get it up and working earlier including -v PCIRootUID=1 and arch=i386, and -f, and -x.

 

Let me post the results for several other boot flags that I'm going to try. It's probably beneficial that I'm starting out fresh, and putting up all the information here so if anyone has the same problems on the M17xR4, they can refer to this thread! :)

 

So results will come in the next post here.. Stay tuned!

 

Okay, so now we'll try -v -x

 

Result: Surprisingly, this resulted in a successful boot into OS X Installation. Hm, I've tried this multiple times and suddenly I can boot with only these two parameters.

 

Okay, so now, I created the partition on my 32GB SSD that I'll install OS X on and formatting it as "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)", and no other configurations named "MacOS".

 

When I boot it with just -v, it results in the problem:

USBF: 0.455 AppleUSBEHCI[0xffffff801f4d8000]: unable to get filterInterruptEventSource

USBF: 0.462 AppleUSBEHCI[0xffffff801f4d8000]: UIMInitialize - Error occurred (0xe00002be)

Still waiting for root device

 

After a manual shutdown, we boot again with -v -x, which results in a frozen screen. Here's a shot of my screen taken from my iPhone:

 

2ilbtj8.jpg

 

When I try other boot flags like KernelCache=No or USBBusFix=Yes, I get the same problem with the "unable to get filterInterruptEventSource" error and "UIMInitialize - Error occurred".

 

I did however, find this article addressing this problem, but I'm not too sure how to test it, or implement it. The link is below:

 

http://www.insanelym...tsource-errors/

 

I tried messing with all the USB fixes including Legacy Fix, and the EHCI fixes, and this is what I get:

 

11ay992.jpg

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jonathanslam
jonathanslam
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Okay! Turns out the problem with the USB EHCI is because the eSATA port has problems! Once I disabled eSATA, it ignored it and proceeded with booting, but here's the new problem (and you can see the AppleUSBEHCI):

 

ra2h38.jpg

 

Successfully booted into Mac OS X. However, the built in keyboard and trackpad does not work. Will update!

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jonathanslam
jonathanslam
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I'm a happy camper right now. System is stable. Here's what's going on:

 

WORKING:

-Atheros Gigabit LAN 100/1000 (Hardwired connection, drivers weren't needed)

-Graphics

-Touchpad/Built in keyboard (PS/2 Kext Files)

 

NOT WORKING:

-Intel Centrino N 2230 (Will be replacing this)

-Audio (Don't think there's any way to get it to work, is there?)

-Flash Drives (Not sure what's wrong. Help?)

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jonathanslam
jonathanslam
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Worked on it for a few hours tonight..

 

Here's what I accomplished:

-The Creative audio is working now! Built in sound card is the Recon 3Di. The driver to pick is the Voodoo 0.2.7.3. I had no luck with the orders. Although audio does work, sound quality isn't great. There are no volume controls (unless its on Youtube or something).

-USB 3.0 is fully supported! OS X is able to read flash drives, and not only mice/keyboards. You'll need to download the "GenericUSBXHCI USB 3.0" kext file and install it using the Kext Utility in Applications>Utilities>Tools>Kext Utility. The download link for this kext is - http://www.osx86.net...ci_usb_3.0.html

 

For those out there attempting to Hackintosh your M17x R4's on BIOS A10, my current stable/working BIOS settings are:

 

BIOS Configuration:

Intel SpeedStep: Enabled

Virtualization: Enabled

Integrated NIC: Enabled

USB Emulation: Enabled

USB Powershare: Enabled

USB Wake Support: Disabled (You will have problems if this isn't disabled!)

SATA Operation: AHCI (It must be set to AHCI, as the way you installed it.)

USB Debug: Disabled

External USB Ports: Enabled

eSATA Ports: Disabled (Must be disabled or you'll have problems like I did above!)

 

Now that leaves us still with a few problems to resolve:

-What should I do about graphics? I have Intel HD 4000 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX660M. How do I know if either of them is working? The "About My Mac" page shows no information on the graphics card other than 64MB of VRAM.

-Last thing is the Wi-Fi card. Which should I order? I have read that the Atheros AR5B195 is a good pick. It's $12 on Amazon. Is this fully compatible, and the best with B/G/N & Bluetooth? Should I be looking at any other alternatives? By the way, this will be replacing the Centrino N 2230.

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mattrowe
mattrowe
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I have just replaced my mini wireless card to a BCM94322HM8L, i found it lying on my shelf and found that its compatible. Doesn't have Bluetooth but i don't really use that anyway! i found a guide on dells website on how to replace: ftp://ftp.dell.com/Manuals/all-products/esuprt_laptop/esuprt_alienware_laptops/alienware-m17x-r4_Owner%27s%20Manual_en-us.pdf

Pages within the PDF you will need to look at:

12, 14, 41, 45, 49.

The replacement procedure took around 15mins.

 

What I did:

 

I removed the already installed Intel 2230 wireless card and replaced it with my BCM94322HM8L that is compatible. After removing the 2230 I reinstalled it into the second slot of the m17x R4. I put the wireless antennas back onto the 2230. There is an additional grey antenna which I connected to the BCM94322HM8L.

 

By having this set-up it allows the compatible card in slot one to be recognised by OS X. And by having the original (non compatible) card in the second slot it allows me to use its Bluetooth compatibilities (which can also be used in OS X). I have already tested the Bluetooth of the 2230 in os x and it seemed to be working.

 

To get Bluetooth working:

 

To be honest I just installed iatkos ML2 and it worked! I understand others are having problems but for me it was that easy. I didn't select anything specific in the setup.

 

Additionally

Just thought i would share it with everyone that I extracted the DSDT from the system and couldn't seem to compile it as there were many errors, but I got some help from someone else and they fixed it for me so it now compiles.

I not sure what I should do with it next as I'm not the best at DSDT'ing. I would be grateful if anyone could give some direction on what to do with it next. I'm willing to send the file to you if you don't want to go through the whole processes of extraction and fixing error.

 

What I selected in iAtkos ML2:

 

Unticked graphics enabler

Unticked kernel cache

Graphics mode: 1920x1080

Quiet boot ticked

Original apple logo ticked

Disabler ticked

Fake SMC ticked

Evoreboot ticked

RTC ticked

Macbook pro 9,1 ( when booted changed it to 10,1 I think it was as they were similar processors)

Ah I data ticked

Sound ticked ( this worked for me although JONATHANSLAM said that Voodoo 0.2.7.3 works okay - would recommend that)

Hardware monitor ticked

CPU ticked

Motherboard ticked

PS/2 ticked

Laptop battery ticked.

 

I have also realised there there is an Intel 4000 option to choose in iaktos ML2 but I'm not sure what options within that subheading to choose. Maybe someone could help out with that.

 

Last thing... If anyone can help out with getting the 7970m work I would be really greatfull! I understand there is 7970 dsdt edit but as already mentioned, I'm not the best with DSDT's

 

Cheers!

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  • 6 months later...
Thornic666
Thornic666
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Alienware M17x R4 with nvidia geforce 675M WORKING:

 

Here is what I did:

 

flashed A11 unlocked bios V2 found over TechInferno forums

 

Same BIOS config as Jonathanslam in post #4

 

Boot iAtkos ML2 with -v -x flags

 

What I selected in iAtkos ML2: Thanks to mattrowe

Unticked graphics enabler
Unticked kernel cache
Graphics mode: 1920x1080
Quiet boot ticked
Original apple logo ticked
Disabler ticked
Fake SMC ticked
Evoreboot ticked
RTC ticked
Macbook pro 9,1 (changed it to Macbook Pro 8,1)
***Sound ticked Voodoo 0.2.7.3 (looking for a better solution since you can't change the master volume)
Hardware monitor ticked
CPU ticked
Motherboard ticked
PS/2 ticked
Laptop battery ticked

***nVidia Driver's ticked

 

Booted it with -v flags and booted OK but only 64MB of shared memory so....

 

I then Installed Chimera v2.2.1 r2248

 

Changed smbios.plist to Mac Book Pro 8,1

 

Rebooted and I disabled the Intel HD4000 GPU in the BIOS (unlocked option)

 

Booted OSX with -v and it worked.

 

Will test later with Both GPU enabled to see if its still OK and I'll reply back

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