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[Guide & Software] Complete Intel Bad Axe 2 Walkthrough with Software


weaksauce12
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Worked great thank you! All went well until the IONetworking move, but I did it in Leopard after install. All updates done and everything working well (after sound patch). Sleep works, but on wake only 1 or my 2 monitors wakes - going to get a single flat screen so no problem.

 

Thanks for your guide.

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Wow I'm so glad my guide is working for so many people! When I get back from vacation on the 27th, I will update the IONetworkingFamily.kext file so that everything is 100%. It's strange how the stock one works for 50% of the people and only works some or none of the time for the other half. Maybe there are different board revisions we're dealing with...

 

Chimp, can you post all of your overclocking settings? I'm a newb when it comes to OC'ing and I'd really like to see what you changed in your BIOS! I couldn't get it past 3.3ghz on air either...I'd really love to hit a full Ghz overclock but it seems I'll need watercooling to do it, and I don't care about the extra .1ghz enough to do that lol.

 

BeleiuR, it seems like you are having a difficult struggle getting things working. When I get home I'll give you some 1-on-1 time over IM or IRC. PM me your contact details and I'll hit you up when I get back.

 

lindmar, we're still on track to go over your project when I get home. Let me know when you parts show up!

 

SamuraiDry, I have not experienced any freezing problems after 15 minutes or any pixels from the mouse moving too fast around the screen. Like others have said, CS3 seems to be working fine; I will install CS3 & FCP on my own machine when I get back from vacation and do some testing on that for you. If you have any particular file you'd like me to render or do actions on, just shoot me a PM and I'd be happy to give it a go. I left my BA2 Hackintosh on at stock speeds (2.4ghz) when I left, so if it's still on when I get back then that will mean there is 2-1/2 weeks of solid uptime on this board, which means it's plenty stable to me.

 

The Baron, glad it worked out for you! Did you end up using the IONetworkingFamily.kext file that Patrick posted to get it working? You know, we should start a BA2 Flickr club, haha. I'd love to see what everyone is putting their beasts into!

 

Also just a quick note on future projects -

 

1. Building a Gigabyte 945GCMX-S2 box in December, will do another documentation post for that (cheap Hackintosh with 2gb ram cap)

2. Building a second Bad Axe 2 box in January (funds permitting), will verify findings here

3. Building a $500 1080p-capable HTPC (Hackintosh Theater Computer, haha) at some point in the future, will do documentation for that as well

 

I'm pretty excited about the HTPC project...the Mini has great potential to be an awesome HTPC system, but it's just not powerful enough without expensive upgrades. The 2.33ghz Intel T7600 Merom processor costs upwards of $700 all by itself...my HTPC design is only $500 and kicks the pants off the Mini even with upgrades. I'm still looking for a card that has a Component-output adapter, but for now the silent Asus 7300GT has DVI (plus HDMI with adapter), VGA, S-video, and Composite (with adapter), so you can hook up to nearly anything with it. It will be another $50 for a remote (Wiimote, KeySpan, Apple Remote with IR receiver, whatever), so really it will be ~$550 shipped for all the parts, which is still $50 cheaper than the base Mac Mini.

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Chimp, can you post all of your overclocking settings? I'm a newb when it comes to OC'ing and I'd really like to see what you changed in your BIOS! I couldn't get it past 3.3ghz on air either...I'd really love to hit a full Ghz overclock but it seems I'll need watercooling to do it, and I don't care about the extra .1ghz enough to do that lol.

 

To be honest, I've never overclocked in my life. I was always more concerned with stability than speed. Your hackintosh seemed to be running so well that I decided to try it. I used your exact settings from page 2 of this post ;).

 

I can try bumping it up and seeing what happens. I'll research overclocking and then make some changes.

 

Are you using the fan that came with the Scythe, or running it completely silent? I'm using the fan, myself...

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To be honest, I've never overclocked in my life. I was always more concerned with stability than speed. Your hackintosh seemed to be running so well that I decided to try it. I used your exact settings from page 2 of this post :).

 

I can try bumping it up and seeing what happens. I'll research overclocking and then make some changes.

 

Are you using the fan that came with the Scythe, or running it completely silent? I'm using the fan, myself...

 

I'm using the 120mm fan that came with the Scythe...I wouldn't dream of going fanless on an overclocking job! :)

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Weeksauce,

 

All the parts have arrived.

I will most likely put it together over the coing days and talk to you then.

 

 

Question...will a ps/2 keyboard be needed to do the bios stuff or will my usb keyboard do the trick?

 

 

Also, would you use the new kalyway at this point?

 

 

Peace!

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Weeksauce,

 

All the parts have arrived.

I will most likely put it together over the coing days and talk to you then.

 

 

Question...will a ps/2 keyboard be needed to do the bios stuff or will my usb keyboard do the trick?

 

 

Also, would you use the new kalyway at this point?

 

 

Peace!

 

My USB keyboard works just fine for both the BIOS and OS X.

 

Stick with the Kalyway disc recommended in my guide for now. I'm keeping up with PC EFI 8.0, iATKOS, the new Kalyway, etc...if things get as stable as my PC EFI 5.2 setup is, then I will write a new guide. Until then, I'm personally sticking with 5.2. Aside from a slightly simpler installation, the new single-disc systems seem to only offer GPT/GUID, which allows you to resize partitions at will. For me that's not enough to switch until there is a detailed, working guide for a 100% stable system. I have zero problems with the OS X installation in my guide.

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hi,

just wondering if the Ram i've ordered for my bad axe 2 are ok :

G.Skill DDR2 SDRAM PC2-6400

. Latence CAS : CL 6-6-6-18

. Taux de transfert de données : 6,4 Go/s

. Largeur du Bus système : 64bits

. Test de voltage : 1.8V à 1.9 V

. Brochage : 240 pins

. Type de module : DIMM

. Gestion de l'ECC : non

 

 

Some Overclocking infos i've found :

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=129677

http://www.peakin.com/xbx2/calculator.html

http://www.thetechrepository.com/showthread.php?t=195

 

best regards

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Has anyone in this thread gotten the second set of 4 sata ports working on the d975xbx2 motherboard? I could really use them. I run 4 HDs in my MacPro, and with the DVD drive taking up one of the 4 main sata ports I'm out of luck getting 4HDs internally in the hackintosh.

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Has anyone in this thread gotten the second set of 4 sata ports working on the d975xbx2 motherboard? I could really use them. I run 4 HDs in my MacPro, and with the DVD drive taking up one of the 4 main sata ports I'm out of luck getting 4HDs internally in the hackintosh.

 

I'm using the d975xbx2-kr (same as 2 but with CrossFire for vid) and haven't had any luck. I'm really bummed since I have a handful of older SATA drives I'd like to recycle as extra drives for VMs and such...if I can't get this working I'll see about finding a cheap SATA card.

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hi,

just wondering if the Ram i've ordered for my bad axe 2 are ok :

G.Skill DDR2 SDRAM PC2-6400

. Latence CAS : CL 6-6-6-18

. Taux de transfert de données : 6,4 Go/s

. Largeur du Bus système : 64bits

. Test de voltage : 1.8V à 1.9 V

. Brochage : 240 pins

. Type de module : DIMM

. Gestion de l'ECC : non

 

 

Some Overclocking infos i've found :

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=129677

http://www.peakin.com/xbx2/calculator.html

http://www.thetechrepository.com/showthread.php?t=195

 

best regards

 

Yup, PC2-6400 is the right stuff. It's also known as DDR2-800.

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So weaksauce, I started tonight...

 

Couldnt wait any longer, everything was good until Part 2...

The brazilmac DVD just doesnt want to boot..

 

Get the apple screen and spinning at the apple.. I let it go for almost 2 hours.. nothing...

 

trying again..

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I booted with -x and I got in very quickly.(I should note, I do not know this difference between a -x and -v boot, but I read in another thread -x helped them get in)Its installing now.Will report back shortly.

 

Update:

 

Install Complete now..Moving on to step three.. trying to get back into the installer, the system has rebooted itself a few times.. but is now at the grey screen and spinning.. we'll see if this gets in, if not will try another -x boot to get back into the installer...

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Hello Weaksauce & other active members here in this fine forum!!

 

I am a Mac-User since 1984 and thanks to you all and especially to your detailed guide here, weaksauce, i'm now finally free (feeling like a Jinny coming out of a bottle :-))! Free from the need to buy closed apple-hardware to use OS X. Feels really, really good on this holidays...

 

Here is what i have done so far:

I spend several nights reading threads here in the forums and elsewhere on the internet to check out if the time is right to sell my apple-branded hardware to finally get a powerful computer that doesen*t cost me an arm and a leg and let me customize to my liking.

 

So, after alot reading i coudn*t hold back any longer and get out and bought the following (recommended) hardware:

 

Intel Bad Axe 2 Mobo with 4x1 GB of fast DDR2-800 RAM, Q6600 Quad-Core CPU, 500 GB Samsung-SATA-Drive, Pionier SATA DV-R 212, Thermaltake 600 W PSU, Zalman 9500 CPU-Fan, and a fine Lian LI PC-V1000A Case which makes for a good Design, nearly comparable to APPLEs own Mac Pro. I even added a Blutooth 2.0 EDR-Stick and could instantly working with my APPLE-Alu Bluetooth Keybord.

 

At first i thought i go experimental and cheapo, but after reading i got more and more confidence in the project and decided to replace my MacBook Pro and Mac Mini with a serious and good looking computer...

 

Bought the Hardware, build it, installed a windows just to see if everithing was working. Replaced the Mobo-firmware with the update from intel and tried to load the new iATKOS and Kalyway 10.5.1-Compilations from the internet. This took days to download, so i thought i give your detailed walkthrough a chance and i'm really glad i did...

 

Your walkthrough worked well for me, i got several problems in making the BrazilMac-Disc (forgot path and such smalish-things).

In Installing Brazilmac, i SELECT instead of DE-SELECT the possible items, so i have to do this again (make "DESELECT" bold and ALLCAPS). Installatio from the DVD went fine, now to the usb-stick-part: i got serious problems with the step "copy some files over to the hard-drive" (cp -R dsmos, AppleSMBIOS, NVinject, IONetworkingFamily, the installer gave me an error (no permission or such...), so i went to the next steps and finally installed efi_bbot v5. I don*t know if i have to redo the failed cp -R?

 

Afterwards the fresh and new hacintosh started fine, i installed the soundpatch and everything seemed clean (i too had to install languages from my leo-dvd), tried several apps, burn dvds, sleep, restart, apple-update to 10.5.1, all seems to work well and there was not a single problem or anomaly, if there was no bios-screen on start i wouldn*t even think im sitting in front of a normal pc.

 

Network may be an issue for me, especially large transfers seem to be slow, www etc. works fine. Network-Utility identifys my networkchip as 82573L, 1GB/s and shows me about 10% errors in receiving (dunno if this is in the normal range, im on a GB-switch...). Trying to set other ethernet-parameters refuses the ethernet-connection, so all have to stay on default to work.

 

This maschine (in its standard 2,4GHz Quad-core Konfig, OC later...) runs pretty fast and is indeed rock-solid! Today i transfered 700 GB from an external HD via FW400 without any problems.

 

So to the iATKOS and Kalyway-Discs: I finished dlding them today. iATKOS seems to be a fake to me, maybe i got the wrong Torrent or my download gets hosed, the image couldn't unzip, so i trashed it. Kalyway, dld'd from usenet was fine, i burned the DVD, installed on a second SATA-drive and couldn't start from the installed hd (apple.com.plist...not there or whatever the error was). I tried several install-combinations and gave up after 4 trials..., maybe ther is a need to mark the disk as bootable or "bless" them in some way..., i don*t know. After more reading i decided to stay withe the Brazilmac-install and method you explained here. Maybe this could get so fare as to boot from a dvd-partition or external drive and install the original-10.5-DVD from there, post patching this install with dsmos etc. and finally appying the efi-patch. My conclusion is that it is better to do the needed patches manual, one can only learn from that and in the end you know what is on your system and how you get it working again if there is something happening.

 

So, what's missing?

 

Do i need efi 8? I would like to install a second disc with a generic ms-vista and would like to have a startup-manager for that, I'm also unshure if i could use normal mac-programs like SuperDuper to clone my startup-hd to another drive (BTW: Setting the startup-disc didn'd work, but this seems to be normal in this scenario). And then there is the Overclocking-thing. 3 GHz or 3,4 seems possible with my Hardware.

 

Anyway...., thanks for that brilliant work to all those helpful people in the osx86 community and for this really helpful detailed guide here, weaksauce!

 

Happy holidays to all of you out there! ;)

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Another update...

 

stuck on this part.

 

cd /Volumes/PATCHER/

 

./startupfiletool /dev/rdisk1s1 ./boot_v5

 

Gives me a

"permission denied"

UPDATE

 

This was solved. Something was missing in the guide. Figured it out.

 

Mac OSX has just booted!!!

no sound yet... (next part of the guide deals with sound...)

but the welcome installation is rocking through!

This is good!!

 

 

Update 2

Sound patch applied, rebooting.

 

Update 3

Rebooted with no issues. Sound is functioning. Internet is working. This thing is a ROCKET...

 

Now to try and update to 10.5.1 - I'll report back shortly.

 

Update 4

Updated to 10.5.1. without a hitch.

Everything seems to be working fine..

itunes/dvd/music/video all playback is great

can change resolutions...

 

The about this mac... reads funny..

 

Processor 2.4 GHZ Unknown

Memory is correct...

 

So I dont know if Im utilizing the full speed or other tweaks that need to happen, will discuss with weaksauce.

 

Time to do more testing.

 

Update 5

Seems to be a little bug with sleep and resolution changes.

The display is pristine, never seen my lcd this clear but a resolution change causes some issues.. the screen comes back choppy.

 

Same with awake from sleep, which works, screen comes back kinda choppy...

weird..

 

Update 6

 

itunes can import music, but seems to have trouble burning...

trying toast...

 

CD's burn fine in toast titanium 8

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Perhaps we can create a BadAxe 2 specific flat file install that comes pre-patached with the required kexts? It's certainly a popular build on the forums, and if this thread is any indication people may continue to build with this board despite newer technology coming out due to the compatibility offered. I'm sure it would be a quite popular installation, but I'm not entirely sure how to create one. My hardware won't arrive until Monday, as I ordered last week but sadly new egg's packages don't get delivered on Saturdays. I guess they probably receive a discounted rate from UPS in exchange.

 

Once I get it pieced together, I will try to see what I can do. I don't know if there would be a way to include the EFI in this, perhaps a darwin script that could create the GUID partition scheme before launching the installer? Or such a script include in the Utilities menu of the installer? Hmm...

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@daxv: you're right! I have seen this too and i have downloaded the right one instead.

 

@mesasone: This wood be it! Maybe we could tweak the install for two or three different scenarios. I would like a install with a clean full Leopard-DVD (there is a thread here going with this), i would definitely build 2 more computers for my sons with the bad axe 2 and eventually one more with a cheap board and other cheap parts just because i like the thrill...;-)

 

@lindmar: sleep and wake works brilliantly for me, even after hours of sleep, resolution-change, no problem with my 7600 PCIe here on a 24" APPLE Cinema-Display.

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If you check page 2, he noticed he used the wrong BIOS.

 

I myself didnt even do a bios update, just hooked it up and sway we went. Maybe the BIOS would fix my graphics issue. But I'm not sure it can be done after the fact...

 

Computer ran all night, its working AMAZING.

 

Super fast, super stable with everything I throw at it.

Will be trying some FCP work today.

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@lindmar: Today i used the APPLE-Migration Assistent and copyed over TONs of Software, i just have to find something that isn't compatible.

 

EyeTV with SAT-Hardware over FireWire: Works great, ADOBE CS3, works great, USB-Cardreader for Banking: Works great, Canon 4400 Scanner over USB: works great, and so i can go on and on...

 

On small thing: Muting the sound doesen't work for me (it shows correctly on screen but sound plays in the smallest volume, setting Volume works, only muting doesen't (Green Port on the Motherboard connected to an old Harman-Kardon PM655).

 

If i find something i will tell it here...

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@lindmar: Today i used the APPLE-Migration Assistent and copyed over TONs of Software, i just have to find something that isn't compatible.

 

EyeTV with SAT-Hardware over FireWire: Works great, ADOBE CS3, works great, USB-Cardreader for Banking: Works great, Canon 4400 Scanner over USB: works great, and so i can go on and on...

 

On small thing: Muting the sound doesen't work for me (it shows correctly on screen but sound plays in the smallest volume, setting Volume works, only muting doesen't (Green Port on the Motherboard connected to an old Harman-Kardon PM655).

 

If i find something i will tell it here...

 

theotherone, I reinstalled right before I left and I noticed that too - the volume will go down but a tiny amount of sound still comes out of my speakers (it worked fine in previous installations). Very strange! It might be worth just picking up that $6 USB sound card off eBay to get around this annoying problem, that would solve our audio problem completely lol.

 

daxv, yes as lindmar said I realized that on page 2. However, that BIOS is providing me with stable networking via my original ZIP package, which is pretty funny. I will update the kext with the one Patrick posts if it works with my existing BIOS, just so that everyone can have it working 100%.

 

mesasone, that would be great! I'm more of a hardware guy than a software guy, but I've been dinking around with scripts and haven't gotten them to work under BrazilMac. It seems that BrazilMac does not have a full terminal command set for some reason. I know it can be done since iATKOS and the new Kalyway seem to be working just fine. Even if we could mod BrazilMac to install the kexts and whatnot while patching Leopard, that'd be awesome. Here are the issues that we need to resolve first:

 

1. Audio - muting issue

2. Audio - no mic/line input

3. SATA - second Marvell controller port not recognized

4. Board - revisions and models comparison research (rev 303, 304, 400, etc. & 2 vs. 2-KR)

5. BIOS - best BIOS for optimum compatibility

6. Processor - says "2.4ghz Unknown" for Q6600 chips

7. Processor - does not update processor speed when overclocking (recognized in GeekBench, however)

 

These are all minor issues - the sound can be fixed for $6 and we still get 4 SATA ports and can always add more via a PCI card. However I'm something of a perfectionist when it comes to my projects so I'd really like to see them get resolved! Here are some other things I'll be working on:

 

1. Do PC RAID cards work? Can I boot from one? (I have a PCI IDE RAID card that I will test)

2. Do IDE drives work? For booting? (IDE DVD & IDE HDD)

3. Is there any possible way to run dual cards? SLI or CrossFire perhaps?

 

To everyone - I get back from vacation this Thursday and I will update my guide on the weekend. Please post any problems you had in detail so that I can correct my guide and update the appropriate files. Thanks! Here is my to-do list currently:

 

1. Update IONetworkingFamily.kext from 10.4.9 using the file that Patrick posted

2. Update guide with various editing changes as listed in my original post

3. Test Bluetooth (with keyboard & headset)

4. Test Wifi (with eBay USB adapter)

5. Test Audio (with eBay USB adapter)

6. Test RAID card (PCI IDE)

7. Test IDE DVD drive

8. Test IDE HDD

9. Test dual 7000-series cards

10. Write detailed instructions on how to make the BrazilMac disc

11. Post detailed dump of feedback from console while installing Leopard parts using terminal

12. Post detailed overclocking guide

 

Thanks for your feedback everybody! It's greatly appreciated! We're getting closer and closer to making this a flawless board :D

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Thanks for your guide, but after "shut your computer off and remove the disk" my computer stops.

 

I get a grey screen with some weird text and the "Mac restart screen". It says: You need to restart your computer. Hold down the Power button for several seconds or press the Restart button.

 

When I restart I get the same screen over and over again.

 

Thanks for your help..

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Thanks for your guide, but after "shut your computer off and remove the disk" my computer stops.

 

I get a grey screen with some weird text and the "Mac restart screen". It says: You need to restart your computer. Hold down the Power button for several seconds or press the Restart button.

 

When I restart I get the same screen over and over again.

 

Thanks for your help..

 

 

Are you on step 2?

Has it installed?

 

I had to do both my initial boots with the disk by hitting f8 at the screen where it asks and dooing my boots with

 

-x

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