arshmenarnar Posted May 25, 2007 Share Posted May 25, 2007 Hello; I have successfully installed OSx86 on a lot of computers now but im stumped at lack of information re: c500 compaqs wireless being able to work in OSX86. It's broadcom wireless; apparently what I've read says that the vendor ids and hardware ids are correct in the apple kext included with my 10.4.8 install; however there is no function to radio on - the only solution offered up was to do restart the computer after startinig widnows and then restarting into os x. does anyone know of another solution? I type this on my c500 - after the most successful osx86 installation to date including sound, lan and gma950 graphics. also - model # is c551nr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arshmenarnar Posted May 25, 2007 Author Share Posted May 25, 2007 oh and also i wanted to let c500 series users know what i did so far to get it to the point im at installed with the newest jas 10.4.8 did not install optional components, base components only plus gma 950 add on, sse2/3 intel, had a few failed installs with other components booted to osx - first problems - no sound, no wireless, no battery meter installed skippy retard azalia audio kext - sound fixxxed installed acpi driver for battery meter - battery meter fixed still no wireless though. built in lan works, and i have to say the speed is zippy.... i hope i dont have to get a dongle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
errandwolfe Posted May 25, 2007 Share Posted May 25, 2007 Sorry to say but right now there is no way to get the wireless working. It is not a problem with OS X recognizing the card, it is a problem with BIOS not sending any power to the WiFi card. Until someone can figure out how to make the wifi On/Off button work in OS X, you are going to be forced to use USB wifi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arshmenarnar Posted May 25, 2007 Author Share Posted May 25, 2007 thanks for writing back; should i return this compaq then and get another model? i still have 12 days on return left - but outside of no wifi which is a huge deal; everything else really is top notch in terms of speed and usability; or maybe we could pay someone to write a kext? lol someone out there's gotta be able to help us out also what about using microsoft intellitype software to somehow link into the button? just a thought Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
errandwolfe Posted May 25, 2007 Share Posted May 25, 2007 I would NOT suggest you return this. All in all this is a great affordable laptop that seems to work fantastically with OS X. There is a possibility you could replace the mini PCI Express Wifi card with a different one, but I don't know if the BIOS/Switch issue would still be a factor. What I did was simply was purchase a compatible USB wifi stick and it works without a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arshmenarnar Posted May 26, 2007 Author Share Posted May 26, 2007 i have to agree with you, in terms of peformance under os x this laptop really screams compared to my other boxes, i was thinking about the dongle and how ugly it would be BUT i am willing to deal. also errandwolfe what kind of dongle did you buy as i guess i need to buy the same one. thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arshmenarnar Posted May 26, 2007 Author Share Posted May 26, 2007 this is def a frustrating issue for me though. i bought a gma950 model specifically to use osx86 and spec for spec made sure that the components are compatible with OS X, never imagined this kind of issue... nonetheless part of running an unsupported OS... the thing thats funniest - it seems like EVERY SINGLE hackintosh ive made has required some sort of USB device - sound, lan, wifi, etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
errandwolfe Posted May 26, 2007 Share Posted May 26, 2007 I am using a Belkin FSD7050. I don't recommend it though. I am not all together happy with the Ralink drivers. Google Orange Micro. You will have to pay I think $20 for the software, but supports a wide range of USB wifi. Planning on doing that myself once I can spare the cash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arshmenarnar Posted May 27, 2007 Author Share Posted May 27, 2007 there has got to be a workaround for our computers. seriously.... the net card is 100% os x compatible, how much do you know about programming and kext writing? or maybe i could try to flash the bios with a phoenix bios non compaq version without effinig up my lappy somehow... maybe we can pool our knowledge, hack into drivers for the other platforms and figure out what to do about this. cant dealllll but dont wanna return this screamin osx lappy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
errandwolfe Posted May 27, 2007 Share Posted May 27, 2007 The problem with this card does not seem to be OS X. It seems our systems have a very peculiar implementation of ACPI. It wasn't until Uphuck's release that I was even able to get the battery meter working. What happens is when the machine powers on it basically puts the wifi into a standby mode. OS X can see the card, but the card does not fully power on the bring up any wifi connectivity. I am just hoping a new BIOS release whenever that comes out will help correct the problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arshmenarnar Posted May 28, 2007 Author Share Posted May 28, 2007 well here is something else that i plan to try - 1) im going to first disable wifi in the bios and see what that does. 2) i happen to have another compaq, a v2312us and the wifi card works in that model under osx86 so i am going to try swapping the minipci out wit the other lappy and see if that solves anything. post the results in a couple hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wid14 Posted June 3, 2007 Share Posted June 3, 2007 well here is something else that i plan to try - 1) im going to first disable wifi in the bios and see what that does. 2) i happen to have another compaq, a v2312us and the wifi card works in that model under osx86 so i am going to try swapping the minipci out wit the other lappy and see if that solves anything. post the results in a couple hours. I'm still waiting for the results..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jubjubrsx Posted June 3, 2007 Share Posted June 3, 2007 I'm still waiting for the results..... i treid that...welll....didnt replace the minipci card not quite bold enough to try that..errr to lazy better way of putting it... anywho best bet is i went to bestbuy got a 29.99wifi usb card it had mac drivers the works....and blaamo works like a charm kinda sucks not being able to use the wifi in the laptop but...hey im just happy im not stuck to windows cause i love linux to be honest to and i can use this usb card in linux/osx....i got a belkin F5D9050 btw.....i guess the great thing is it even has the mac logo on the box...hehe so u know that one works Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wid14 Posted June 8, 2007 Share Posted June 8, 2007 I think this is not the switch problem, cause someone post that Presario V2000 works fine (which this laptop have the same wireless switch method ). Any other idea? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
errandwolfe Posted June 8, 2007 Share Posted June 8, 2007 People, this has nothing to do with the switch. The switch is irrelevant. What is happening is when you boot your laptop, for some reason it starts the WiFi card in a low power mode. Think of it like standby on your monitor. It is on, but using less power. Your computer knows it's there, but you can not use it because it is not fully powering up. This is not an OS X only issue, this seems to be the case with many Linux distributions as well. Where on most switch based laptops, the wifi card is powered on to full level at boot and you can use the switch to turn it on and off, this simply is not the case with the C500 series and possibly other Compaq laptops. Until Compaq deems it worth their wild to get off their a** and realize people don't only want to run Vista on this box (you'll notice they haven't even put out XP drivers) we are unlikely to see this situation change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
errandwolfe Posted June 8, 2007 Share Posted June 8, 2007 Well right after I typed the above post I checked and low and behold their was a BIOS update for my C552US. Bios version F.24....Unfortunately after going through hours of hell trying to figure out how to use Winflash without actually having Windows, I was able to flash it and.....NADA. Still the exact same situation where if the card is installed I get a kernel panic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wid14 Posted June 9, 2007 Share Posted June 9, 2007 If that the case, All we can do is just wait Compaq to release the bios update to fully powering up the wireless card at start up (I think) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
errandwolfe Posted June 9, 2007 Share Posted June 9, 2007 I am starting to doubt my earlier theory. I can't figure out why in the world the card only being partially powered up would cause a kernel panic. In theory the Airport kext should just not load if the card is not being detected. If the card is being detected why in the world would such an unmodified kext cause a kernel crash? I mean we have 4311 cards so we dont even have to edit the kext file....So I have to think, Why would this card being installed cause a kernel crash? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wid14 Posted June 9, 2007 Share Posted June 9, 2007 I found this site : http://rfswitch.sourceforge.net/?page=laptop_matrix . I wish that's a clue of our problem. Can anyone modified the code for C500 series? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
errandwolfe Posted June 12, 2007 Share Posted June 12, 2007 OK, I tried deleting the AirPort2.kext and still the same results, kernel crash. I have posted the text of the crash (well as much as I had patience for retyping) below: panic(cpu 0 caller 0x001A496B): Unresolved kernel trap (CPU 0, Type 14=page fault), registers: CR0: 0X8001003b, CR2: Ox00000000, CR3: 0x01c43000, CR4: 0x000006e0 EAX: 0x00000000, EBX: 0x00000000, ECX: 0x1ba02000, EDX: 0x00000000 CR2: 0x00000000, EBP: 0x1d3fbd28, ESI: 0x000014e4, EDI: 0x1ba02000 EFL: 0x00010201, EIP: 0x37d78019, CS: 0x00000008, DS: 0x02170010 Debugger called: <panic> Backtrace, Format - Frame : Return Address (4 potential arguments on stack) Insert several lines of hex addresses, please don't ask me to retype all this. Kernel loadable modules in backtrace (with dependencies): com.apple.driver.AirPortBrcm43xx(223.79)@0x37d46000 dependency: com.apple.iokit.IONetworkingFamily(1.5.1)@0x3342c000 dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOPCIFamily(2.1)@ox2d550000 dependency: com.apple.iokit.IO80211Family(154.1)@ox37d29000 Kernel version: Darwin Kernel Version 8.9.1: Thu May 3 02:38:46 UZT 2007; made by ToH:xnu-792.18.15/BUILD/obj/RELEASE_I386 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
errandwolfe Posted June 13, 2007 Share Posted June 13, 2007 I have been able to leave my 4311 card in now without causing a kernel crash. I am still unable to get the card to power on though. Here is how I got around the kernel panic: 1. Just got a new HD so performed a fresh install with Uphuck 1.3 10.4.9 release. (Leave the card out of the laptop for now) 2. DO NOT Install the 10.4.5 80211 kext at installation. 3. Completed install as normal. 4. Applied all updates (i.e. Security Update 2007-005, Airport update, etc.) 5. Using the Uphuck 1.3 DVD install the 10.4.5 80211 kext 6. Shut down 7. Install wifi (Ubuntu recognizes the card as a "Dell Wireless 1390", Hardware ID ox14e4,4311 You will now be able to boot with the card installed and NOT get a kernel panic. Unfortunately this still does not do any good as it seems like the only way to bring the radio online is through Windows. Even Ubuntu sees the card, but can make zero use of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nirvanaguy19 Posted June 17, 2007 Share Posted June 17, 2007 I have been able to leave my 4311 card in now without causing a kernel crash. I am still unable to get the card to power on though. Here is how I got around the kernel panic: 1. Just got a new HD so performed a fresh install with Uphuck 1.3 10.4.9 release. (Leave the card out of the laptop for now) 2. DO NOT Install the 10.4.5 80211 kext at installation. 3. Completed install as normal. 4. Applied all updates (i.e. Security Update 2007-005, Airport update, etc.) 5. Using the Uphuck 1.3 DVD install the 10.4.5 80211 kext 6. Shut down 7. Install wifi (Ubuntu recognizes the card as a "Dell Wireless 1390", Hardware ID ox14e4,4311 You will now be able to boot with the card installed and NOT get a kernel panic. Unfortunately this still does not do any good as it seems like the only way to bring the radio online is through Windows. Even Ubuntu sees the card, but can make zero use of it. so is this a problem with the card or laptop , if i get another mini pci card that is fully supported in osx, will that work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
errandwolfe Posted June 17, 2007 Share Posted June 17, 2007 I am beginning to think this is NOT a problem with the card itself. I am thinking more along the lines of the mini PCI express bus is not being properly recognized. Unfortunately that is beyond my skill level to address. It would be great if one of the guru's looked into this problem. It may be something as simply adding the proper device and vendor ID to the appropriate kext file. That is totally just a guess at this point though. I suppose the clencher would be finding another mini PCI-E wifi card and testing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asap18 Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 This is very intriguing. It may be that the .5 kext is too old and is causing conflicts and the panic. Have you tried using the .9 kext and entering your Device ID? http://forum.insanelymac.com/index.php?showtopic=23684 Is the card even detected on the pci bus in System Profiler? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nucci Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 I got the Addlogix USB adapter off of macmall and it works great. I installed it on my desktop, but I image you won't have a problem with a laptop. Below is a link to the product: http://www.macmall.com/macmall/shop/detail...ss%20Networking Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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