Dell Studio 540 Desktop Installation

[tmaxxtim]

I know a bunch of people just ordered these over at slickdeals since dell was offering 20% off their outlet selection with free shipping. Figured a few might lurk over here to try the same thing I am.

 

 

I got 2 of them, the only difference is one shipped with a single 750GB HDD, and the other shipped with 2 640GB in Raid0, and the 750GB only has 6GB vs the 640's 8GB of ram).

 

 

Rest of Specs:

Q8200 Intel Quad Core processor

ATI HD 3450 Video Card

 

 

I coulnd't get iAtkos 5i or 4i to even get to the installation screen, so I tried iDeneb v1.3

 

 

Tried the 750GB HDD computer and used "-s -v"

Loaded the firewire, defauled to Full-Secure, then I just kept getting this:

 

"Still waiting for root device"

 

 

Then I tried it on my 2x 640GB system, and this one zipped right past the firewire part above and loaded the installation screen. Saw the drives (even though they were in Raid 0, I formatted one and installed and then when it restarted it automatically took the drives out of Raid0, and just had normal non-raid disks).

 

So far that system is stalled with the Apple loading screen.

When using -s -v on bootup after installtion it freezes after:

 

Mac Framework Sucessfully initialized

 

 

 

I'll be troubleshooting the rest all day long so I'll post as I get more results, but I just wanted to start a thread as I'm sure at least a few people who ordered one of those will be attempting this.

[tmaxxtim]

Okay, got it to boot to osx. Here's what I did

 

1) Used iAtkos 5i DVD

Boot with options: cpus=1 -v

 

Choose which HDD, I recommend you go into partitions, choose 1, and choose GUID partition table. I spent a day trying to get it working with a still waiting for root device error, but turns out to be there was a hidden partition.

 

2) Chose these install options:

- netkas AppleSMBIOS

the ones that give you the ability to software update freeze on first bootup

3) Choose Apple ACIP Drivers (last option in that set of checkboxes)

4) Make sure BIOS is on ATA mode and choose the non-ACHI drivers for Intel

5)Choose appropriate video drivers.

 

Once installed you have to boot with cpus=1 or cpus=2, it works with 1 or 2 cores, but not all 4 on the Q8200.

 

This is all i've done so far, but as I get more stuff working I'll post back. Figured people would at least want to know what to do to get it booting.

[bkim84]

Here is what someone told me.. I'm quoting his words exactly.

 

 

not very simple, first you have to pass in raid mode via bios tweak, disable the lan board because it has dependencies with the attansic kext that you will remove later on, once the install has finished.

Then you need an external drive to install the system onto it first

(usb2 drive with no important data).

once you see the startup system you format the usb drive and install your system with a regular partition(9.2 sleep kernel

with all the fixes), then you reboot. if you can grab a 3com lan board(905c is ok) because the system will not let you pass the first screens until you have a valid lan connexion, you nic is ok but hangs the system if you dont remove the attansic kext, its a loop headache.

Once you get on the desktop, using the usb drive you'll need some kexts to recognize the ich10/p45 chipset and see all of the drives. You'll then have to restart on the dvd to do a clone of the

usb install partition to the regular drive within your tower. I have added a Hitachi 250 GB drive to use osx beside vista that I almost have forgotten now.

[wizzord]

Any updates about getting your Q8200 to work without restrictions?

[tmaxxtim]

I ended up switching processors with my windows desktop to a E7300. I know its not a "fix" but both processors are similar in speeds, so I didn't really notice a difference. I got the install to work correctly after using iAtkos 5i. I still have to boot the disc with cpus=1 nomatter if its the E7300 or Q8200, just the E7300 works fine after the install.

 

I coulnd't get the software update to work to 10.5.6 even though I installed using the same options as on my M1530 and the update worked on that computer.

 

I also had the problem with Time Machine and the 2 640GB drives I had where it said "The Volume Cannot Be Found". It worked several times, and I never had any real rhyme or reason as to why it worked and didn't work. So I kept trying to get the 10.5.6 update on there as it said it fixed many issues related to that. Still no go as it kernel panics upon install. Its sitting right here now and I think I'm just going to try to put Windows 7 on it.

 

Also, not sure what this would be related to but I could never get my iTunes to authorize my account so I could sync with my iPod. I cleared all authorizations and my windows desktop worked fine, but the studio 540 with osx never worked, always gave me a (-50) error. Basically I counld't do anything I ended up wanting a mac for in the first place so I'm not sure what my next step is. Maybe some future releases will address some issues.

[juggleling]

I have tried several options to install OSX on my Dell Studio 540 , but without succes. Installation , no prob ... startup hangs !

 

Can anybody describe in detail how to install ? What to click on installation , what to de-activate . Closest I got was a boot that tried to initaliaze the Voodoo kernel.

 

Greetings,

[crenninger]

Any update? I am considering getting one of these

 

Thx

[randallsbrooks]

I am too looking to see if there is an update on this.

Were the dual 640 drive option better than the single 750 HDD?

 

I was looking at:

* Intel Core 2 Quad processor Q8200 (4MB L2, 2.33GHz, 1333FSB)

* Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit Edition

* 6 GB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz (4 DIMMs)

* 750 GB SATA Hard Drive (7200RPM)

* 256MB ATI Radeon HD 3450 supporting HDMI

* 56Kbps Data/Fax Modem

* 16X DVD +/- RW w/dbl layer write capability

* Microsoft Works 9.0

* USB Optical two button mouse

* USB Multimedia Keyboard

 

But if I can't get all 4 cores, then I will try another route.

 

What about the boot132?

 

Sorry for all the questions.

[pghjezebel]

Any updates on this? I have the same machine, and I'm stuck at the "Using 16384 buffer headers and 4096 cluster IO buffer headers" error. Since I'm a noob to all of this, I'm unsure of what to do next. Trying to read up on it, but I thought it might be helpful to see if anyone solved it on this specific computer.

 

Thanks!

[sosilv]

Here is what someone told me.. I'm quoting his words exactly.

 

why the "someone" doesn't tell us about a complete install proces ?

Thank you.

[netgodsrdn2]

I managed to get my q8200 running all 4 cores with a 10.5.0 retail install, but then I installed the 10.5.6 combo update and now I can only run 2 cores max. Still trying to figure out WTF.

[netgodsrdn2]

Ok here is what I did that now has my Core 2 Quad q8200 working in 10.5.6 - I replaced the AppleACPIPlatform.kext and IOPCIFamily.kext that were in my 10.5.6 retail install with the ones from 10.5.0...

 

Not sure if this will work for anyone else, but in my searches I didn't find very many threads about the q8200...

 

Good luck!

[skreemer7]

I managed to get my q8200 running all 4 cores with a 10.5.0 retail install, but then I installed the 10.5.6 combo update and now I can only run 2 cores max. Still trying to figure out WTF.

 

What steps did you follow to get it working?

 

 

EDIT: Tried Kalyway and couldn't even get it past the inital install screen. Just hangs at driver version. Found something about multiple sata drives being plugged in, so maybe I'll try playing around with that, but seems like this is not for the faint of heart.

 

It would be awesome if anyone that has this up and running could post a semi detailed informative guide. Thanks!

[skreemer7]

What steps did you follow to get it working?

 

 

EDIT: Tried Kalyway and couldn't even get it past the inital install screen. Just hangs at driver version. Found something about multiple sata drives being plugged in, so maybe I'll try playing around with that, but seems like this is not for the faint of heart.

 

It would be awesome if anyone that has this up and running could post a semi detailed informative guide. Thanks!

 

Well, a small update.

I got iATKOS 5i to install with cpus=1. But I have not been able to boot into OSX yet. It just hangs at the apple logo screen. I have tried -x, cpus=1, -v, -f, and a few others during boot. Still nothing. I selected kernel ToH 9.2 during the install. I also selected ATI HD 3XXX drivers, intel SATA, and realtek ethernet drivers.

 

Any further tips to try here?

[skreemer7]

Okay, got it to boot to osx. Here's what I did

 

1) Used iAtkos 5i DVD

Boot with options: cpus=1 -v

 

Choose which HDD, I recommend you go into partitions, choose 1, and choose GUID partition table. I spent a day trying to get it working with a still waiting for root device error, but turns out to be there was a hidden partition.

 

2) Chose these install options:

- netkas AppleSMBIOS

the ones that give you the ability to software update freeze on first bootup

3) Choose Apple ACIP Drivers (last option in that set of checkboxes)

4) Make sure BIOS is on ATA mode and choose the non-ACHI drivers for Intel

5)Choose appropriate video drivers.

 

Once installed you have to boot with cpus=1 or cpus=2, it works with 1 or 2 cores, but not all 4 on the Q8200.

 

This is all i've done so far, but as I get more stuff working I'll post back. Figured people would at least want to know what to do to get it booting.

 

Woohoo. Thanks for this. Finally followed this to the letter and was able to boot into it. Looks like the basic things are working. Thanks!!

 

Few things:

Sound isnt working, and I dont have the slightest clue how to get it to work

Display resolution is stuck at 1024x768. It sees the video card as ati radeon HD 3450, but I dont have any other resolution options.

[skreemer7]

Woohoo. Thanks for this. Finally followed this to the letter and was able to boot into it. Looks like the basic things are working. Thanks!!

 

Few things:

Sound isnt working, and I dont have the slightest clue how to get it to work

Display resolution is stuck at 1024x768. It sees the video card as ati radeon HD 3450, but I dont have any other resolution options.

 

Just wanted to bump if a fellow Studio540er was around...

[crimsonredmk]

Bump, how did you get the Radeon 3450 working?

[lcyardball]

Let me redirect this forum to another where there has been a lot of success getting the Dell Studio 540 up and running on iAtkos 7: http://www.infinitemac.com/f5/quad-core-an...2968/page7.html

[cellfanatic]

Well after quite a bit of reading, testing and research I was finally able to get my Dell Studio 540 up and going with the iPC OSx86 10.5.6 Universal

 

How I did it --

 

First I downloaded the latest BIOS from Dell. In the BIOS the only setting I changed was disable SpeedStep.

 

I loaded the iPC OSx86 disk, pressed F12 to choose my boot order and selected my DVD drive. When the bootloader appears press F8 and use the following command "cpus = 1 -v -f"

 

This allowed me to enter the setup (takes a while before you actually get to a visual OS X installer), agree to the documentation and then move on to the location of your install

 

For the installation I used a physical drive, not a partition on another drive. I used GUID with 1 parition. Then I selected the partition and clicked Erase and chose Mac OS Extended (Journaled). When the space is ready close that window and return to the previous screen - you will now see the untitled partition (assuming you didn't name it) available for OS X installation.

 

Select the partition and on the next screen click Customize - this is the key. I did 6 different installs after encountering problems trying to boot OS X for the first time after setup so these are the settings that I used which worked perfectly.

 

Kernel: 9.5.0 Voodoo

Chipset: LegacyAppleIntelPIIATA

Audio: (some people say Azalia Audio but this didn't give me sound) ALC888. If you do not get sound working once you are in OS X after the setup completes you'll need the Voodoo HDA.kext which is available to download on Google Code

Video: I use a GeForce 8600 GTS so this might be different for you -- for me I had success *1920 x 1080 resolution working on dual monitor* with the NVDarwin 256MB

Fixes:

CPUS = 1 boot flag fix

ACPI Fix Patch

 

You are now ready to continue the installation -- go watch a TV show (this takes about 30 minutes). When the installation completes your computer will restart automatically. When you see the Dell Logo make sure you press F12 and select the correct drive to boot off. You no longer need the installation DVD so you can also take this out of the drive.

 

If you've correctly selected your drive with OS X installed you will once again see the boot loader, press any key to bring up the prompt to issue the following commands "-v -f" press ENTER.

 

You'll see a bunch of words and numbers flying across the screen and then it will settle down and show you smaller text as the files load.

 

If everything went as planned (which I hope it does) you will see the OS X welcome video and be ready to complete the setup. Hopefully you have an AppleID so you can login right away. My video card, network card and sound card are working great, I have two 24 inch monitors running at 1920 x 1080 off the GeForce 8600GTS no problem. The only issue I still have is that I cannot get the FireWire video camera I have to work. Other than that all is well.

 

*Note: I tried running the software updates that popped up once I was using OS X for a while and after restarting it wrecked the installation, I'd advise you just to stick with the working 10.5.6 and enjoy OS X for a while before you go experimenting*

[Saphiresurf]

try my tut: http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=215753