NVIDIA 9 Series Driver Installer v2

[Ian T]

There is an Nvidia update with 10.5.7, but I was hoping for GTX 260/280 support, but I am told it does not have this. Hopefully 10.5.8 will. Snow Leopard has support but still obviously has a number of bugs. Leo on the other hand is incredibly stable these days.

 

That's a slight bummer... you'd think they'd give options for the higher-end cards GTX 260/280/285/295...

 

Yes, I too am hopeful that 10.5.8 will have NVIDIA graphics updates.

 

Thanks again for all your hard work!!

 

 

Best regards,

IanT

[aqua-mac]

d23,

 

Are you using GFX strings. If so you need to change your NVCAP settings. Here is a good basic explanation of NVCAP values. You will need to cut and paste some values into the in.plist in GFX strings.

 

To find the NVCAP for your card, DOWNLOAD this, and save the rom from your graphics card using NVflash or if you can find the rom online at somewhere like MVKTech.

[Meow the Cheetah Goddess]

My GeForce 9800GT 512M couldn't work well. OSX doesn't know this card so the resolution cannot be changed from 1024 x 768. What happened? I've also installed Chameleon 2.0 RC1 for booting.

 

My list:

GA-EP43-DS3R

Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 2.8GHz

2GB x 2 DDR2-1066MHz RAM

GV-N98TOC-512I (Nvidia GeForce 9800GT 512MB)

Hitachi 320GB SATAII

 

Please help me! Q.Q

[Meow the Cheetah Goddess]

Note: On 10.5 & 10.5.6.

[whocaresdude]

How do I remove these drivers?

 

What extensions do I need to delete, and rebuild kext cache?

[aqua-mac]

What version are you trying to roll back to. They are the same drivers that shipped with the latest build of 10.5.5 with a few extra mods & information so there is no reason to remove them. If you updated to 10.5.6 and applied them then, just use the 10.5.6 delta update to take them back to 10.5.6, not forgetting to retain any other special kexts that you must use.

[aronswritingdesk]

Dear aqua mac,

 

A bit OT but can you help me with my problem of activating hardware acceleration on my Vaio's 8600M GT 256MB?

 

I have tried Leopard's native drivers (NVL50Hal loads but then I get "NGFX : family specific matching fails").

 

I've tried Leopard's native drivers with Vendor and Product IDs added to plists. This fixes the NGFX problem but the screen goes black when Leopard loads.

 

NVInject (No CI/QE, doesn't report card model)

 

NVKush (No CI/QE and reports 32MB)

 

EFIStudio and NVDarwin (Both correctly identify card but no CI/QE)

 

I have to delete the drivers that come with Leopard when I install any other driver otherwise I get a black screen.

 

So far no luck getting Core Image and Quartz Extreme support. In all cases I added the Vendor and Product IDs to the info.plist. These are the values:

 

Vendor: NVIDIA (0x10de)

Device ID: 0x0407

Revision ID: 0x00a1

 

Thanks for the help!

[d23]

d23,

 

Are you using GFX strings. If so you need to change your NVCAP settings. Here is a good basic explanation of NVCAP values. You will need to cut and paste some values into the in.plist in GFX strings.

 

To find the NVCAP for your card, DOWNLOAD this, and save the rom from your graphics card using NVflash or if you can find the rom online at somewhere like MVKTech.

 

 

I think I'm not using GFX strings. I used nvinstaller v.52 from http://scottdangel.com/blog/?page_id=20

 

 

I found this:

 

http://www.mvktech.net/components/com_joom...00m_GTS_1GB.bin

http://www.mvktech.net/components/com_joom...TS_0628_ORG.rom

 

I open the .rom in osx with NVcap and it shows this "04000000000005000a0000000000000700000000",.. what is next?

 

thanks

[aqua-mac]

aronswritingdesk,

 

This also sounds like an nvcap problem, you need to find the nvcap of your card, see my response to d23 above (Post 352) to find your nvcap values and post back here.

 

Meow,

 

You need to install either GFX Strings OR an injector such as NVDarwin, NVInject or NVKush.

 

d23,

 

Download the attachment below that I have modified with your NVCAP info, this is for memory of 1024 mb of ram on your card, is that correct?

 

You need to remove any injectors from your System/Extensions folder such as NVInject.kext, NVKush.kext, NVDarwin.kext etc or this will not work.

 

Follow my instructions to the letter here

9800m_GTS.zip

[Suslo]

aronswritingdesk,

This also sounds like an nvcap problem, you need to find the nvcap of your card, see my response to d23 above (Post 352) to find your nvcap values and post back here.

 

 

Sorry for asking but you think it really must help all Vaio owners to get internal screen working?

 

because we all got same problem, after installing any correctly kext/strings etc we have perfectly

 

work on external monitor with QE and black screen with internal LCD

[whocaresdude]

What version are you trying to roll back to. They are the same drivers that shipped with the latest build of 10.5.5 with a few extra mods & information so there is no reason to remove them. If you updated to 10.5.6 and applied them then, just use the 10.5.6 delta update to take them back to 10.5.6, not forgetting to retain any other special kexts that you must use.

 

Sorry but I am new; I would like to try CoreVidia driver instead of this & EFI String.

 

I am on 10.5.6 iPC; how do i 'uninstall' this?

[aqua-mac]

Re-install these standard 10.5.6 Drivers and run this permissions repair script before you reboot:

 

Permissions Repair

 

Leave it to run, it will look like it sticks at 20% but leave it, can take 5 mins. Do this after you install the drivers but before you reboot.

[aronswritingdesk]

aronswritingdesk,

 

This also sounds like an nvcap problem, you need to find the nvcap of your card, see my response to d23 above (Post 352) to find your nvcap values and post back here.

 

Meow,

 

Thanks aquamac,

 

Unfortunately I can't save the 8600m GT's ROM using NVFlash because the program can't find an Nvidia card in my system. The same happens when I try to apply drivers from Nvidia's site. The driver installer says it can't find my card. It seems Sony has blocked off some access. I get around this by using Mobility Modder on Nvidia's driver package to install the latest Vista drivers.

 

I am not aware of any Vaio owners who have gotten to activate their hardware acceleration on Leopard. There is a dedicated thread here:

 

http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=137685

 

It seems that as soon as we get a card to activate hardware accelerated Core Image and Quartz Extreme, the system boots up to a blanked out screen. At first I thought the system had not booted up because the screen went blank but my EyeTV was connected and I could hear television being played by EyeTV.

 

The problem therefore isn't the drivers (NvDarwin, NvInject, etc) but the ROMs that Sony is using with Vaios. What could the best solution be considering NVFlash can't even see the card?

[aqua-mac]

So when you enable CI & QE, you can output to an external monitor? If so then it is NVCAP that needs to be played with. Maybe we can find a rom online?

[aronswritingdesk]

So when you enable CI & QE, you can output to an external monitor? If so then it is NVCAP that needs to be played with. Maybe we can find a rom online?

 

I've read that some Vaio owners have been able to use an external with CI & QE enabled, but can't speak for myself as I don't have an external screen. I'm pretty certain Sony is using a proprietary ROM otherwise I would be able to install drivers in Vista without modding them. So replacing the ROM could be the answer. The new ROM would also have to be compatible for dual booting between Vista and Leopard.

 

Would a standard Geforce 8600 GT ROM work on an 8600M GT? Even if we could find a compatible non-Sony ROM online how would we be able to upload it if NVFlash can't talk to the card?

[aqua-mac]

Hi,

 

I was not talking about re-flashing your card, always pretty dodgy on a laptop anyway, unless you are just making adjustments, as we used to for 7 series 512 mb cards. They can be safely flashed back on to laptops. By the way, you cannot use a std 8600GT rom either. That would turn your laptop into a doorstop pretty fast. What we need is a rom to find the NVCAP values. The program that I suggested downloading on the previous page, only needs to access the rom on your desktop to find the NVCAP values. These can then be pasted into GFX strings which may sort out your black screen problem.

[aronswritingdesk]

The program that I suggested downloading on the previous page, only needs to access the rom on your desktop to find the NVCAP values. These can then be pasted into GFX strings which may sort out your black screen problem.

 

I did previously try an NVCap string that someone posted online. It was from a MacBook Pro's 8600M GT. I can't confirm if it was a genuine string because it didn't work for me.

 

NVFlash can't access the card's ROM so will need to download an 8600M GT 256MB ROM from somewhere to use NVCap on. The database of ROMs you linked to did not have the 8600M GT.

 

Any other places to find ROMs?

[aqua-mac]

http://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/

 

Taking a look here myself now, looks to be a fair bit of choice.

 

This is the NVCAP of the first Acer 8600m gt that I looked at,

 

0400000000000500020000000000000700000000

 

Asus:

 

0400000000000500120000000000000700000000

 

MSI:

 

0400000000000500020000000000000700000000

 

It looks to be that the NVCAP is fairly consistent, the Acer and MSI ones are the same. Of course we may still have a problem, as it seems Sony have done something really weird with their bios on laptops.

 

I have made an input file for you below based on the Acer/MSI:

gfxutil_512_MB_8600m_GT.zip

[aronswritingdesk]

http://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/

 

It looks to be that the NVCAP is fairly consistent, the Acer and MSI ones are the same. Of course we may still have a problem, as it seems Sony have done something really weird with their bios on laptops.

 

Indeed there are no Sony Nvidias listed. The site says GPU-Z can extract a BIOS so I'm going to give that a try too.

 

All the 8600M GTs listed are 512MB DDR2 versions. I have a 256MB DDR3 version. Would that pose a problem?

[aqua-mac]

Here you go, I remade it to 256 mb:

gfxutil_256_MB_8600m_GT.zip

[aronswritingdesk]

Here you go, I remade it to 256 mb:

 

Thanks aquamac. This is my progress so far.

 

First, I can't save the Vaio 8600M GTs ROM in Vista using GPU-Z. The app tells me "BIOS reading not supported on this device". That confirms we cannot save or read Vaio GPU ROMs.

 

Second, with the zip you just gave me I have created an out.hex with gfxutil using your instructions on your forum. With that I created the following com.apple.Boot.plist

 

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

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

<plist version="1.0">

<dict>

<key>Kernel</key>

<string>mach_kernel</string>

<key>Timeout</key>

<string>5</string>

<key>Kernel Flags</key>

<string>Yes</string>

<key>device-properties</key>

<string>ce0300000100000001000000c20300001500000002010c00d041030a000000000101060000010

01060000007fff040014000000400032002c006e0061006d00650000001100000073656e736f722d

06172656e74220000005600520041004d002c0074006f00740061006c00730069007a00650000000

0000000000001036000000400032002c00680077006300740072006c002d0070006100720061006d

073002d00760065007200730069006f006e00000008000000000000021c000000640065007600690

630065005f0074007900700065000000100000004e5644412c4765466f7263650e0000006e006100

d00650000000f0000004e5644412c506172656e7422000000400030002c006400650076006900630

65005f00740079007000650000000b000000646973706c6179100000006d006f00640065006c0000

01b0000004e5649444941204765466f72636520383630306d20475422000000400031002c0064006

0076006900630065005f00740079007000650000000b000000646973706c61791200000040003200

c007200650067000000080000000000000222000000400032002c006400650076006900630065005

0074007900700065000000120000004e5644412c6770752d64696f646520000000400032002c0063

06f006d00700061007400690062006c0065000000160000004e5644412c73656e736f722d7061726

6e7422000000400032002c002300730069007a0065002d00630065006c006c007300000008000000

000000020000000400031002c0063006f006d00700061007400690062006c00650000000e0000004

5644412c4e564d616314000000400030002c006e0061006d0065000000120000004e5644412c4469

3706c61792d413a000000400032002c0068007700730065006e0073006f0072002d0070006100720

61006d0073002d00760065007200730069006f006e00000008000000000000022600000040003200

c0023006100640072006500730073002d00630065006c006c0073000000080000000000000114000

00400031002c006e0061006d0065000000120000004e5644412c446973706c61792d422000000040

030002c0063006f006d00700061007400690062006c00650000000e0000004e5644412c4e564d616

1e00000072006f006d002d007200650076006900730069006f006e00000009000000333137326110

000004e00560043004100500000001800000004000000000005000200000000000007000000000e0

00004e00560050004d00000020000000010000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

0000000</string>

<key>Graphics Mode</key>

<string>1440x900x32</string>

</dict>

</plist>

 

I deleted all graphics drivers, repaired permissions and rebooted with just the Boot.plist above. System Profiler gives the correct info but no hardware acceleration:

 

NVIDIA GeForce 8600m GT:

 

Chipset Model: NVIDIA GeForce 8600m GT

Type:Display

Bus:PCIe

PCIe Lane Width:x16

VRAM (Total):256 MB

Vendor:NVIDIA (0x10de)

Device ID:0x0407

Revision ID:0x00a1

ROM Revision: 3172a

Displays:

Display:

Resolution: 1440 x 900

Depth: 32-bit Color

Core Image:Software

Main Display:Yes

Mirror:Off

Online:Yes

Quartz Extreme:Not Supported

QuartzGL:Supported

Display Connector:

 

With that Boot.plist still in place I then reinstalled the graphics drivers that Leopard ships with and rebooted with -v -f

 

I indeed saw NVDANV50.kext load correctly without the "NGFX : family specific matching fails" error but then the screen went blank when Leopard booted.

 

My next step was to modify Geforce.kext, NVDANV50.kext and NVDAResman.kext with my Vendor and Product ID.

 

<key>IOPCIMatch</key>

<string>0x040710de&0x0000ffff</string>

 

I know the IDs are correct but I don't know what those zeros and Fs mean. Should I delete that part and just keep the IDs?

 

I wasn't able to find where to put the NVCap values you gave me from the MSI and Acer machines because there were no NVCap values in any of the three kexts above.

 

I rebooted and got the same result. NVDANV50.kext loaded but I got a blank screen.

 

Now I have deleted Leopard's Nvidia graphics drivers and tried NVDarwin. NVDarwin's default NVCap reads like this

 

<key>NVCAP</key>

<data>BAAAAAAAAwAMAAAAAAAABwAAAAA=</data>

 

I changed the whole value to the ACER/MSI string you gave.

 

<data>0400000000000500020000000000000700000000</data>

 

But that won't make much difference to me yet because NVDarwin doesn't load if I have the EFI string in the Boot.plist and without the EFI string NVDarwin or NVInject has never given me hardware acceleration.

 

Should I be putting the NVCAP in Geforce.kext, NVDANV50.kext and NVDAResman.kext instead?

[aqua-mac]

I had already put the NVCAP values in the in.plist for the 256 mb download so they do not need to go anywhere else. To read .bin roms, open them in Hexedit (Mac) then save them as .rom to your desktop, then NVCAP Maker can read them.

 

If you want to change NVCAP in NVDarwin don't try to do it with textedit, download PlistEdit Pro and open the info.plist inside NVDarwin with this. You will then see the NVCAP represented as a number (copy and paste) instead of a load of nonsensical letters. You can then enter the number of NVCAP into the info.plist of NVDarwin.

 

I take it that when you replace the apple NV kexts that you are repairing permissions OK. My kexts at the beginning of this thread are for 10.5.5 only. 10.5.6 already has drivers for your card.

 

Wish you had a spare monitor to check the output on an external display.

[aronswritingdesk]

I had already put the NVCAP values in the in.plist for the 256 mb download so they do not need to go anywhere else. To read .bin roms, open them in Hexedit (Mac) then save them as .rom to your desktop, then NVCAP Maker can read them.

 

If you want to change NVCAP in NVDarwin don't try to do it with textedit, download PlistEdit Pro and open the info.plist inside NVDarwin with this. You will then see the NVCAP represented as a number (copy and paste) instead of a load of nonsensical letters. You can then enter the number of NVCAP into the info.plist of NVDarwin.

 

I take it that when you replace the apple NV kexts that you are repairing permissions OK. My kexts at the beginning of this thread are for 10.5.5 only. 10.5.6 already has drivers for your card.

 

Wish you had a spare monitor to check the output on an external display.

 

Will putting NVCap values in NVDarwin or NVInject make any difference though? I don't get the blank screen problem with either the Boot.plist, NVDarwin or NVInject (unless the Apple provided Nvidia drivers are installed too) because these options never activate hardware acceleration for me.

 

The only driver that seems to activate hardware acceleration is NVDANV50.kext. How would I add NVCap values to it though to force the screen to awake?

 

Also, when I edit info.plists in NVDANV50.kext, Geforce.kext and NVDAResman.kext where it reads

 

<key>IOPCIMatch</key>

<string>0x040710de&0x0000ffff</string>

 

Should I remove the last part so that it just reads

 

<key>IOPCIMatch</key>

<string>0x040710de</string>

 

I don't understand what the zeros and Fs are so they could be wrong.

[fsabreu]

HI, i'm new here , but congratulations for the project.

 

Okay i have a Nvidia 9800 gt , it's work very well, but is not support quartz extreme. and i don't know how to chance it.

 

please help me.

image.tiff

[Ian T]

That's a slight bummer... you'd think they'd give options for the higher-end cards GTX 260/280/285/295...

 

Yes, I too am hopeful that 10.5.8 will have NVIDIA graphics updates.

 

Thanks again for all your hard work!!

Best regards,

IanT

 

aqua-mac,

 

I came across a problem that I hadn't anticipated. My settings were set to have the display turn off after 25 minutes. The monitor indeed turned off, but when I went to move the mouse or type a key on the keyboard to wake the monitor back up, the image came back in color snowed (as opposed to black and white snow), and showed parts of the arabesque (sp?) screen saver. I could move the mouse around and could see the cursor, but not the desktop or anything else. The desktop appeared to look like a diminished version of the screen saver, where everything else was black. I was forced to reset the machine -- My temporary work-around is to disable display sleeping; set to never sleep.

 

Do you have an idea (or any) as to why this might happen?

 

 

Thanks!

 

Best regards,

 

IanT