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Install Guide - Inspiron 1520 and 10.6


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Guide to 10.6 Snow Leopard Install on a Dell Inspiron 1520

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Note 1: The laptop I am using to create this guide is a 2007 model Inspiron 1520, with a Western Digital 500GB SATA drive, 4GB Kingston 667Mhz memory, and a new Dell 1390 wireless card... If you happen to have the Intel 3945 wireless, you will NOT have wireless with OSX. You can find a dell 1390 for REALLY cheap on EBAY, usually around $20.

 

Note 2: This guide should also work with similar models, i.e. Inspiron 1521/1720/1721 and Vostro 1500/1700, as they all contain similar hardware.

 

Note 3: This guide ASSUMES that you are installing fresh, with no other operating systems. If you want to dual boot, please refer to one of the dual boot guides on this website, and then substitute my part in where the other guide installs OSX.

 

Note 4: Part of the actual OS installation guide will be taken from taranfx's "How to Install Snow OSX Universal" guide that can be found on taranfx.com. These sections start and end with an *.

 

Note 5: A List of recommended guides will be at the bottom of this one, for those who need more help... : )

 

Just a thought, If this laptop is your only machine, go to step 2, and get the files before wiping your hard drive. Put them on a flash drive with a FAT formatting.

 

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First of all, I would like to point out that this "guide", and I use that term loosely, is only that, a guide. It does not, and will not give you every detail of how to get your computer up and running. For that, you have this wonderful website (insanelymac) to search for specific problems.

 

To start out, we need to choose an OSX86 distro that works well with the hardware that is set up in the Inspiron / Vostro. I searched many different websites, looking for the best distro, with an easy install, and came up with the same answer at least 90% of the time, Snow OSX. With an easy install, and a lot of hardware support, It was my choice for distro.

 

What is REQUIRED:

Dell Inspiron 1520/1521/1720/1721 or Vostro 1500/1700

Copy of Snow OSX 3.5 (10.6)

Linux Distro Live CD (to fix a kernel panic later on)

Copy of files (link provided in step 2)

 

EDIT: Make sure to get the FEDORA 12 live disk.... It supports HFS+(non-journaled) with read and write!!

 

http://download.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedo...2-i686-Live.iso

 

Optional (if you want wireless internet)

 

A Dell 1390 Wireless card (search EBAY, $20)

So, with all that said... Lets get to it.

 

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Step 1: Download the distro

 

Ok, first off, you need a copy of the OS. This can be achieved through "the T word" or through some places like RS. I personally used Snow OSX 3.5 Universal, which is 10.6. There is a version out (3.6) that is SUPPOSEDLY 10.6.2, but I haven't messed with it. I figure, why tempt fate if everything is working. The file is a few gig, I recommend burning the file to DVD with either brasero or gnomebaker for Linux users, or poweriso for those who still use "win blows".

 

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Step 2: Beginning the install

 

I've read plenty of guides that describe how to install osx86. All kinds of people say "You have to change to AHCI" or "You need EFI emulation!". But no, Snow OSX takes care of the hard stuff.

 

Start out by inserting the DVD and booting from it. Usually, with an Inspiron, you can hit f12 at boot and then select internal CD / DVD. For some reason, my computer takes a long time to boot the disk... no idea why. I have suspicions that it THINKS the DVD is a floppy drive, due to mismatched drivers, but who knows, everything with the DVD drive works fine post-install.

 

First we want to open the disk utility and partition our drive. If dual booting, this is the part you may need to think on your own a little. I dual boot with fedora 12, and my partition scheme looks like this.

 

Disk0s1 - Boot partition (Grub Bootloader)

Disk0s2 - Fedora 12 x86-64 180GB LVM

Disk0s3 - Shared Partition 106GB HFS+ (F12 allows read and write)

Disk0s4 - Snow OSX 180GB HFS+ Journaled

 

Yours may look different. One thing you will need to decide is what bootloader to use. If you want grub, either get the grub master disk off of "the T word" or get a Linux distro to dual boot that provides grub (ubuntu, fedora, etc).

 

I advise leaving a 500MB partition as well as all others, especially if only booting OSX, simply because you can keep important files there, and you can use a live cd to put files there that you may need later. This is necessary for this guide, so make sure to make at least a 200MB if not a 500MB partition (should be formatted to FAT)

 

EDIT: Scratch that... Don't format to FAT. Format to HFS+ Non Journaled!!

 

Note: Chameleon 2 does support booting Win-blows XP, Vista, and 7. You'll need a guide for that though, because Snow OSX only comes with Chameleon 1.

 

*

Ok. After partitioning, thanks to Taranfx's guide, we know what is next. Open a terminal, and type EXACTLY these lines.

 

-------------------------------------------------------

cd /

sh MakeDSDT SnowOSXPartition

-------------------------------------------------------

 

-Where SnowOSXPartition is the name that you gave your partition in the previous section

 

Now, follow the instructions. When asked what OS to emulate, hit 0 (zero) for Darwin.

*

 

This creates the DSDT from scratch, and matches it to your hardware. Nifty!

 

Alright, now we have the DSDT and hard drive set up, lets install!

 

Click continue until you come to the screen that snows an OSX disk, a green arrow, and the hard drive icon.

 

STOP!!

 

Do not click install yet. Instead, click customize. Now, you should see two boxes that are unchecked, although I can't remember what the options are. Check both of these boxes so that ALL of the boxes are checked. NOW install!

 

This process can take anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes, depending on your hard drive speed. So go do something while it installs and check back every few minutes.

 

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Step 3: Getting the OS to ACTUALLY Boot!

 

Ok, well, if you've read the guide from TaranFX, then you know that the DSDT doesn't work. Bummer!

 

But, we can fix that.

 

*

Download the fixes from http://www.zshare.net/download/69227884288507da/ . These files are zipped, simply unzip them and install the kext file into the System/Library/Extensions folder and repair permissions.

*

 

What this means is, download the files, and put them on a FAT formatted flash drive. Get a live cd of SOME Linux distro, Ubuntu will work fine (No it wont. Use fedora 12 link provided above), so that we can fix the KP and get you started.

 

I have provided the kext file with the guide, just to make it easier.

With the live cd in, insert your flash drive containing these files. Mount the partition you created in the previous part (the 200 of 500 MB one) and copy JUST the kext from the zipped files to that partition. Reboot with the Snow OSX disk in.

 

Once booted, go to the terminal.

 

We need to pull the file off of that partition and put it in your Snow OSX partition.

 

Type this into the terminal, Partition is whatever your named your extra one. SnowOSXPartition is whatever you named your Snow OSX Partition (duh).

 

-------------------------------------------------------

Cd /Volumes/Partition

 

cp -R IOATAFamily.kext /Volumes/SnowOSXPartition/System/Library/Extensions

-------------------------------------------------------

 

 

After that is complete, close the terminal, open the disk utility, and run the Repair Permissions on the SnowOSXPartition.

 

Now, reboot, and hopefully your Snow Leopard install boots.

 

If not, please reformat and try Taranfx's install guide, then return to this guide for setup.

 

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Step 4: Installing necessary kext files (my kexts are attached at the bottom, USE AT YOUR OWN RISK)

 

Note: I recommend using the include KextUtility (in the ATools folder) to install any and all kext files. Just drag and drop a kext onto the KextUtility icon and let it do the rest. It does prompt you for your password however.

 

Well, if everything has gone well, then you are now staring at a snow leopard desktop. Although, when you watched that pretty video, there was something missing. Oh yeah that's right..... SOUND!

 

We can fix that though, but first, we need to make your video pretty.

 

-Video-

 

I used the wonderful NVInject (for NVIDIA graphics only), which can be downloaded from nvinject.free.fr .

 

Alternatively, you can also use the one provided by Snow OSX, which is located in the Applications folder under ATools/Drivers/ .

 

This wonderful little folder (ATools) includes all kinds of nice little toys to get your computer running smoothly.

 

If you have an NVIDIA Geforce 8600m GT like I do, then use my kext at the bottom; it includes the fix for Quartz. If not, find a NVInject guide for your card (or search around insanelymac for your specific card).

 

- Audio -

 

This is a pretty simple fix. After weeks and weeks of searching forums, botched installs, and many MANY bad words... I finally found a solution that works. But thankfully, we don't need to go into that. Nearly all of the Inspiron/Vostro laptops have an Intel 82xxx series HD audio controller which you might know as Sigmatel STAC92xx.

 

Just install the provided VoodooHDA.kext to your /System/Library/Extensions directory and be happy!

 

For those who want to know what fixed it, I used the VoodooHDA.kext provided with Snow OSX, and changed the info.plist a bit to fix a compatibility issue with certain settings. : )

 

Now that we have sound and video working, the time comes to tackle the problem of Ethernet and Wireless.

 

- Ethernet -

 

The Ethernet problem is easy compared to the others. Simply install the attached Broadcom 440x kext that I have provided, and you are GOOD TO GO. Unless of course you, for whatever reason, DON'T have a Broadcom chipset (nearly all Inspiron/Vostro models do), because, in that case, you need to search around for the appropriate fixes.

 

- Wireless (a.k.a. The Source of Many Nightmares) -

 

Well, many will tell you that there are beta drivers for your 3945, and you may say, Why would I spend the money to get a new wireless card if mine has drives?

 

The BETA drivers DO NOT WORK FOR YOUR COMPUTER. At all! But thankfully, the Inspiron laptop is REALLY easy to replace a wireless card it. Check out this guys guide to disassembling an Inspiron 17, and just stop at the wireless card. Reverse his instructions to replace the new one.

http://www.insidemylaptop.com/take-apart-d...ro-1700-laptop/

 

Very easy to follow, 2 screws, 2 antennas disconnected, pop the old card out, put the new card in, attach the antennas, and put the cover back on. Done deal!

 

OK, now start your machine again and, dumb apple, Snow OSX should recognize the 1390 as... dun dun dun dun... AIRPORT CARD!

 

- Battery -

 

This has frustrated me for weeks, almost months, trying to get a FRICKIN battery to work. Then... I stumbled upon this...

 

[Guide] Dell Vostro 1400 - Snow Leopard 10.6.2 - Vanilla Kernel 10.2.0, by M0000000000 (just put that in the insanelymac search bar)

 

I saw the line that says, If the battery doesn't work, install this.

 

So I did, and it works. The file is attached below, just install and reboot.

 

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Well, that's it for me! This guide should have helped you a little, and at least given you SOME idea of what to do with Snow OSX and the installer. Hope that it was some help!

 

IF you have any questions at all, feel free to post here or email me - xenocide100588@yahoo.com

 

And I will TRY my best to get back to you when I have free time from school

 

Thanks for reading! :)

 

EDIT: Files wouldn't upload correctly, so i put them all in a zip file called kexts.zip... just extract them prior to install and put them in that partition we made after install... Cheers

 

Guide List:

http://www.taranfx.com/how-to-install-snowosx-universal - Install Guide from TaranFX

http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=187652 - Vostro 1400 Guide with Battery Fix

 

THANKS :

I want to thank TaranFX for a great install guide, as well as M0000000000 for the battery fix. I also want to thank the great community at InsanelyMAC for the great forums that allowed me to write this guide. Thanks everyone...Kexts.zip

 

EDIT:

 

After posting this, I suddenly realized I had forgotten something... USB 2.0 . While USB mice and keyboards work, flash drives did not. It is a really easy fix however. Simply download the second attachment, and install the kext files using kextutility. Reboot and flash drives work! YAY!

 

Also, sleep doesn't work, so make sure to turn it off in the power saver settings... however, putting the display to sleep does, so that is a go. Remember, if you have any questions, just contact me. Thanks

 

Attachments

Kexts.zip

iousbIopc.zip

 

QUICK UPDATE:

 

As I have been looking around InsanelyMac a little more... I learned that a lot of people have been having trouble with the Intel GMA x3100. Although I have never worked with a laptop that includes the x3100, I have seen many posts on this webpage... so, here is the best post I have found...

 

http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=198707

 

Special Thanks:

Ardaom Moadra - pointed out that disk util won't mount FAT partition. Fixed with EDIT about Fedora disk!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Great post! I set my Dell Inspiron 1520 onto 10.6.2

Everything is working, similar to how you have it working. Not sure if we are using same Drivers/Kexts.

 

But in any case, great contribution!

 

I was able to get sleep working (before I installed HPETDevice.kext). I needed that to get my USB2.0 devices working.

I think because of that, it no longer goes to sleep.

 

NOTE: when SLEEP was working, it worked only when AC adapter was unplugged. Which is fine, I just have to remember to pull the plug before I set it to sleep.

 

Unfortunately, now, not able to get it to sleep anymore. It's annoying because I leave my windows open all the time.

Now it's forcing me to shutdown "properly" every time.

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Great post! I set my Dell Inspiron 1520 onto 10.6.2

Everything is working, similar to how you have it working. Not sure if we are using same Drivers/Kexts.

 

But in any case, great contribution!

 

I was able to get sleep working (before I installed HPETDevice.kext). I needed that to get my USB2.0 devices working.

I think because of that, it no longer goes to sleep.

 

NOTE: when SLEEP was working, it worked only when AC adapter was unplugged. Which is fine, I just have to remember to pull the plug before I set it to sleep.

 

Unfortunately, now, not able to get it to sleep anymore. It's annoying because I leave my windows open all the time.

Now it's forcing me to shutdown "properly" every time.

 

Glad to see feedback and hear that everything is working. As i said in the guide, I'm not sure what hardware everyone else has, only what I have. And that is all I have to test on. The sleep is broken for me as well.... So I am currently using a program called Insomnia. Just get it. It prevents sleep, but does allow you to set a corner of your desktop to sleep the screen when the mouse is put there, and this does actually work... hope that helps... Cheers...

 

EDIT: forgot to mention. What kills the sleep is actually (for me anyways) the nvinject... don't know how to fix that... sorry..

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Maybe you are right that it is the NVInject. I'm using NVInject.

 

Before I was using NVResMan (I think). But that didn't support Quartz/CI (which meant VLC & DVD player video didn't work).

 

With NVInject, I get "high quality" graphics.

 

Still hoping for a way to get it to sleep (I hate having to shut all apps down everytime I go anywhere).

 

But I really appreciate that someone has a custom thread just for Dell Inspiron 1520. I was on 10.5.5 (iATKOS) before, but needed the SL to do "new" iPhone dev.

 

 

EDIT: forgot to mention. What kills the sleep is actually (for me anyways) the nvinject... don't know how to fix that... sorry..
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Maybe you are right that it is the NVInject. I'm using NVInject.

 

Before I was using NVResMan (I think). But that didn't support Quartz/CI (which meant VLC & DVD player video didn't work).

 

With NVInject, I get "high quality" graphics.

 

Still hoping for a way to get it to sleep (I hate having to shut all apps down everytime I go anywhere).

 

But I really appreciate that someone has a custom thread just for Dell Inspiron 1520. I was on 10.5.5 (iATKOS) before, but needed the SL to do "new" iPhone dev.

 

the best thing I know to tell you is to get Insomnia. I believe it allows you to sleep the system... although I havent tested it yet... Ill test it right now and add an edit to this post to let you know the results...

 

EDIT: Nope... it breaks it. Just goes like it does when it powers down. I believe this is an ACPI issue. If this is the case... we're stuck with the power issues. However... Insomnia (InsomniaX for 10.5 and 10.6) does allow for screen sleep... the best I can do is tell you to use it... and hope for an update that fixes the power problems.

 

I'll search around for an ACPI fix that will correct the issues...

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searched around. no acpi fixes as of yet. hopefully there will be one soon... I'm also getting tired of not having sleep. Although.. in a few weeks... my macbook pro will be here... and then maybe I'll take a break from hackintoshing for awhile.. or maybe ill keep my hackintosh loaded so that i can test stuff on it... who knows....

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cardreader works fine? and, im used soundcard echo indigo iox(expresscard slot) and im worried about this...

 

to be honest.. I'm not 100% sure about the sound card.. all I can tell you to do is test it... and if it doesn't work... we can work together to find a solution. The card reader should work. I don't have the kext installed.. but try the one on this page...

 

http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=132679

 

.

 

The one guy claims to have it working with the same sd reader as I have (Ricoh Co Ltd R5C822 SD/SDIO/MMC/MS/MSPro Host Adapter). I would imagine that if you have an Inspiron, then it should work...

 

If it does.. I will add it as a new section of my guide!!!

 

Let me know if I can help any more...

 

EDIT: Please check if your card reader is the 0822 (1180:0822 in lspci through osx86 tools) I've heard that it doesnt work with rev 21.. only 22... I'm trying the driver now. the user who said about rev 21 said his mouse doesnt work with a card inserted... may be a conflict with usb hubs....

 

I'm going to try the driver now, since I have Rev 22.... not 21. I will post results... providing my SL doesnt die... :)

 

EDIT 2 : Nope... no can do. It doesnt work for mine... but it doesnt break anything.. so give it a try... and let me know... if it does.. give me the lspci for your card reader and we can add it to the guide... Thanks!!

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didn't expect your answer so soon!!!

 

Ya, you are write, i thought you talk about distro made by hazard!!

 

i'll try to find snow osx 3.5 that you're saying. i'll put our discutions on your topic. thx a lot!!!

 

i will let you know about my snow leo on pc.01.gif

 

 

 

 

Date: Monday, February 15, 2010, 6:36 PM

 

the problem is the distro you are using. only snowosx universal has the dsdt patcher that is used by invoking the sh makeDSDT command. please use snowosx... Its the best SLx86 I have found so far.
;)
. Please post this question on insanelymac under my topic as well so that others can see your problem and how we can fix it...
:)
What I'm seeing in the kernel panic is that the issue is with the harddrive. are you sure that you installed the ATA kext to the system/library/extensions directory and did a repair permissions from the utility on the disk? try using cpus=1 on boot and see if that fixes it. if so... its an issue with the dual core... don't really know how to fix that... check insanelymac. SnowOSX requires GUID... and I would recommend avoiding distros that are "trying" to use MBR... please let me know if this helps and post any and all results on insanelymac.... thanks

 

~Josh~

 

p.s. I cannot guarantee that my guide will work with any other versions of snow leopard except snowosx because that is the only one I have used... sorry
:)

 

 

Hi there!!! Sorry to disturb you, sorry for my english too, i'm from Romania and i'm trying to install SnowLeopard by Hazard fallowing your guide. I have a Dell Inspiron1520, 2.0Ghz, 160Gb Hdd, 8600M gt Nvidia video card, 1390 dell wirelles, sigmatel 9205 audio. since now i had installed, on a usb external drive, IPC 10.5.6 and everithing works great, including combo updates, excepting restart, sleep, shut down. Ok, I want to install snowleo by hazard and i need some help, please: i'm telling you where are my problems:in bios i've deactivated speedstep and dinamic acceleration , dual core is still active. There is another option that need to be changed? then, because it is a external usb drive, or Snow need that the partition to be GUID, instead of MBR??? You're saying in your guide, after formatting the partition, open terminal and write cd /, then sh MakeDSDT snowpartition, here i get these message in terminal :" No Such a File or Directory", what is wrong?OK, instalation works ok, until first restart, i've tried with all known flags, the same kernel panic. I've replaced the needed kext with Knoppixx 8 live cd, i've tried also with macdrive 8, like TaranFx did. the same kernel panic. i'm sending you in attachements one photo with my kernel panic, maybe you can help me!!!! Thank you very much for your time!!!! Take care, we need u!!!<IMG>

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You're saying in your guide, after formatting the partition, open terminal and write cd /, then sh MakeDSDT snowpartition, here i get these message in terminal :" No Such a File or Directory", what is wrong?

 

wrong. "snowpartition" is a name partiton. for example, partition name is macos, and right is - makedsdt macos

 

 

I have provided the kext file with the guide, just to make it easier.

With the live cd in, insert your flash drive containing these files. Mount the partition you created in the previous part (the 200 of 500 MB one) and copy JUST the kext from the zipped files to that partition. Reboot with the Snow OSX disk in.

 

Well.... I tried with Fedora 12 live cd, but... epic fail. i just put files from FAT flash drive to HFS+ Non Jurnalise part HDD under Fedora, but Fedora says - You dont have permission this operation. F**k. im troubled

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wrong. "snowpartition" is a name partiton. for example, partition name is macos, and right is - makedsdt macos

 

They were trying a different distro... which doesn't include the dsdt patcher.... :)

 

Well.... I tried with Fedora 12 live cd, but... epic fail. i just put files from FAT flash drive to HFS+ Non Jurnalise part HDD under Fedora, but Fedora says - You dont have permission this operation. F**k. im troubled

 

I'm not sure what the issue is... I would assume that fedora 12 live cd works the same as fedora 12 installed... but perhaps not. Try this.. create a small partition on your hd that you can use to keep files and things of that nature... install fedora 12 to that partition and then use fedora 12 to copy the files.... this is the best solution I can give. I only assumed that the live cd functioned the same as the installed distro... but perhaps my assumption was incorrect.

 

If you install fedora to a partition about 10GB in size.. (maybe even a flashdrive would work if you have the ability to boot from USB!!). Then use it to fix SL... and THEN use the working SL to format the 10GB partition to HFS... that will give you the 10GB for "File Backup" or whatever you want to call it... and you don't have to keep fedora...

 

Did any of that make sense?? :(

 

Thanks, by the way, to everyone for posting... It is the only way I can test my guide to make sure it is fully working and correct...

 

P.S. I have fedora 12 installed... so I had a little easier time of fixing SL :)

 

an after thought: You could probably also format a flashdrive to hfs+ using the diskutility from the SL install dvd... and then use a machine with fedora 12 to add the files and then fix it on the SL machine using the dvd... but I can't be sure...

 

EDIT: FADUGH!!! I figured you problem out as soon as I hit post. Go to the terminal in fedora and type the following commands...

 

su -

 

(when it asks for password... I believe you just hit enter)

 

then type

 

nautilus

 

this will launch the file browser as root!!!

 

Just navigate to /media/snowosxpartition

 

and copy the files from your flashdrive to it...

 

after they copy... type exit... and then exit again to close the terminal... only use this if you need it tho... because it can really break fedora... and/or most other linux distros... :)

 

CHEERS!!!

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i've finished to install SL 3.5 on my inspiron 1520, it boots ok, but after the welcome screen, i choose my language, my wirelles network, a black screen that back again to welcome screen. I think is my graphic card. What can i do? thx

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i've finished to install SL 3.5 on my inspiron 1520, it boots ok, but after the welcome screen, i choose my language, my wirelles network, a black screen that back again to welcome screen. I think is my graphic card. What can i do? thx

 

hmm... not sure. I've never seen that problem before.... did you try booting with -v to see if there are errors that cause the problem... you can even try booting in safe mode... or try using cpus=1 or busratio=7... It may be a problem with video or even a problem with other hardware... can you give me a list of the hardware so I know what we're working with?

 

Also, does it play the intro video? (obviously it won't have sound)

 

EDIT: Hey... found the issue. It has to do with the wireless... turn off your wireless(use the switch, or remove your wifi card).

 

http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=89464 - post # 8

 

tells you why it does it.

 

So yea.. just disable your wireless... reboot... finish the welcome screen... then reboot again and turn your wifi back on... ;)

 

Cheers!

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I just installed snow leopard on my 1520 using this guide thanks. My trackpad does not have tap click or scrolling. Can you please tell me what kext I need to install to get it to work.

Thanks

 

Actually, no, can't sorry. I don't have that working either. :( I've tried just about everything but I cannot get tap click working. I have an external usb wireless mouse... so it really doesn't affect me... I'll look around and see what I can find.

 

Edit: I've tried most of what they are saying on this website and can't find anything that works... If you find something that does work... please share it here... and I will continue to look for something that actually works... My MacBook Pro 15 will be here either tuesday or wednesday though... So after that... who knows what I'll do on here :P

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Any idea if this will work just as easily on a Dell 9400/e1705?

 

Well... the only problem i see from looking at some stats on the internet is the wireless card. You would need to buy the 1390 wireless card to replace the 3945 that is in it. The hardware appears to be fairly close to mine... So, yea... It should work.

 

The processor type is the same, the chipset is close, the graphics is nVidia, and all the other stuff is kinda unimportant. I would, however, check to see if the sound is Sigmatel... that is important.

 

But... with any luck, this should run nearly as flawless on your pc as it does on mine....

 

Let me know how it works and I'll help if I can...

 

EDIT: Just checked some other stats... audio seems to be Intel 82801 ... which is Sigmatel... so it should work perfectly with my guide. Only problem is wifi... buy the card and hackintosh away!!

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Just an update for everyone...

 

the sleep still isn't working.. can't find a fix for it either. As far as I know, no one has found a way to make the Inspiron 1520's card reader work the way it is supposed to. And don't give me that "its hardware issue" bull... the card reader works just fine on my laptop when I boot into Fedora 12 instead of SL. That being said... it appears that almost everything else that is necessary works... It makes me happy! :D

 

Also, my macbook pro will be here tomorrow... can't wait. Might continue hackintoshing a little... but with a laptop that is MADE to run OS X... I might move my Inspiron to my desk at home... and make it back into a gaming machine... :)

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I finally got sleep to work on OSX 10.6.2 on my Dell Inspiron 1520.

My configuration is at bottom of this mesage.

 

The main problem is not NVIDIA graphics drivers. It's the USB controllers that keep waking up the laptop from sleep. It is either the embedded camera or the BlueTooth hardware that does not "sleep properly".

 

Follow the instructions here to fix USB UHCI/EHCI controller settings. This requires you to set/modify your DSDT.AML file properly.

 

http://apocolipse.com/?p=14

 

My BIOS setting was also adjusted for (not sure if these make a difference)

1) USB Wake from Sleep = enabled

2) USB always managed by BIOS at all times = enabled

 

My guess is this will also work on Dell Inspiron 1720 machines.

 

Model Identifier: Inspiron 1520 eyW1234567890

Processor Name: Intel® Core2 Duo CPU T7250 @

Processor Speed: 2 GHz

Memory: 4 GB Bus Speed: 800 MHz

 

NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT: 512 MB

Display: Resolution: 1680 x 1050

 

Quartz/CI is working using NVResman & NVInject64.

Quartz/CI is needed to make sure DVD Player and/or VLC will play video properly.

 

NVInject64 is modified strings are as follows:

<key>NVCAP</key>

<data>

BAAAAAAAAwAMAAAAAAAABwAAAAA=

</data>

<key>NVPM</key>

<data>

AQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA==

</data>

 

 

The following KEXTS in S/L/E (in addition to other kexts)

VoodooPowerMini

VoodooHDA

VoodooBattery

 

The following KEXTS in Extra/Ext (see attached picture)

 

I've attached SOME of the kexts here that are in my configuration. Maybe they'll help others.

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hey i installed snow osx using snow osx universal on my dell e1505 . It installed perfectly and starts but the mouse is so slow.. it just jumps and stays at a position for some time ..it is very slow

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I finally got sleep to work on OSX 10.6.2 on my Dell Inspiron 1520.

My configuration is at bottom of this mesage.

 

The main problem is not NVIDIA graphics drivers. It's the USB controllers that keep waking up the laptop from sleep. It is either the embedded camera or the BlueTooth hardware that does not "sleep properly".

 

Follow the instructions here to fix USB UHCI/EHCI controller settings. This requires you to set/modify your DSDT.AML file properly.

 

http://apocolipse.com/?p=14

 

My BIOS setting was also adjusted for (not sure if these make a difference)

1) USB Wake from Sleep = enabled

2) USB always managed by BIOS at all times = enabled

 

My guess is this will also work on Dell Inspiron 1720 machines.

 

 

 

Quartz/CI is working using NVResman & NVInject64.

Quartz/CI is needed to make sure DVD Player and/or VLC will play video properly.

 

NVInject64 is modified strings are as follows:

 

 

 

The following KEXTS in S/L/E (in addition to other kexts)

VoodooPowerMini

VoodooHDA

VoodooBattery

 

The following KEXTS in Extra/Ext (see attached picture)

 

I've attached SOME of the kexts here that are in my configuration. Maybe they'll help others.

 

thanks for the post. Its good that someone has finally figured out the problem with the sleep. I had kind of given up on the sleep issue.... mainly because I got my MBP finally, but partly because I became frustrated.. and didn't really need it. Good job dragon! cheers

 

hey i installed snow osx using snow osx universal on my dell e1505 . It installed perfectly and starts but the mouse is so slow.. it just jumps and stays at a position for some time ..it is very slow

 

you can try one of two things. Go into system preferences and try adjusting the mouse settings... or... you can install fscroll, a pref pane that allows you to edit a lot of settings that deal with the mouse.... let me know if this helps...

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hey I have inspiron 1520, and have everything working from a vanilla retail install and mac software upgrade to 10.6.2

 

This includes: Geforce 8600GT m graphics

battery

track-pad, mouse

sleep, wake, restart, power (Although the bluetooth does not power down, so RESTART and Powerdown will require to hold down the power button until someone finds a fix).

WIFI (Used a replacement card, but now works flawlessly)

Network Adapter

 

In laymen's terms everything is running great, and my OS is still 100% vanilla (NO MODIFICATIONS TO SYSTEM/LIBRARY/EXTENSIONS) so for future upgrades I can continue to use the mac built in software updater.

 

Here is my issue though. I have enabled AHCI in my bios, which in theory should eliminate the need for my patched IOATAFamily.KEXT, but I still get kernel panics if I do not use it. This is fine for now, but the BETA release for 10.6.3 is supposed to have issues with the modified IOATAFAMILY.kext I am using.

 

Does anyone know why my inspiron 1520 still needs this kext to boot??

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Hey I have inspiron 1520, and have everything working from a vanilla retail install and mac software upgrade to 10.6.2

 

This includes: Geforce 8600GT m graphics

battery

track-pad, mouse

sleep, wake, restart, power (Although the bluetooth does not power down, so RESTART and Powerdown will require to hold down the power button until someone finds a fix).

WIFI (Used a replacement card, but now works flawlessly)

Network Adapter

 

In laymen's terms everything is running great, and my OS is still 100% vanilla (NO MODIFICATIONS TO SYSTEM/LIBRARY/EXTENSIONS) so for future upgrades I can continue to use the mac built in software updater.

 

Here is my issue though. I have enabled AHCI in my bios, which in theory should eliminate the need for my patched IOATAFamily.KEXT, but I still get kernel panics if I do not use it. This is fine for now, but the BETA release for 10.6.3 is supposed to have issues with the modified IOATAFAMILY.kext I am using.

 

Does anyone know why my inspiron 1520 still needs this kext to boot??

 

I would avoid the beta. If you wait until a few weeks after the full version is released... I can almost guarantee that someone (probably TaranFX or someone like him) will come up with a fix... most likely a replacement for it...

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sorry vinnie. when i read your post, i didn't see the question at the bottom. The IOATAFamily.kext fixes an issue with OS X recognizing the hard drive controller properly, I don't really think there is a permanent fix for this. Although, the kext you are using is actually one from tiger if you used the one in my guide and on taranfx's website.. (same one). I don't see why it would just "NOT Work"... but I would wait to see if anyone else comes up with a solution...

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