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[Guide] Dell Inspiron 6400/9400/1520/1720/E1405/E1505/E1705 Intel Core Duo


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devilhood, just wondering, are you able to close the lid of your laptop? how about sleep? also, whats the deal with command key, is there a hack for that?

 

i hope you don't mind me asking in this thread, I have an E1405, it's pretty similar, except i have core 2 duo and gma 950.

It's cool, the guide pretty much applies to nearly all Dell laptops really because I wrote it covering most of basics as well as the specific hardware involved.

I can close the lid, but the screen stays on and the laptop doesn't sleep. When I was using 10.4.8 the laptop would sleep after closing the lid with NvidiaEFI.

I think if you install the JaS 10.4.8 v1p defiant disk util ISO then update using JaS' 10.4.9 Combo package, it will keep sleep working but you might need to press the power button to bring it out of sleep after lid close.

The command key thing, never tried to change it so I have no idea.

It's cool, the guide pretty much applies to nearly all Dell laptops really because I wrote it covering most of basics as well as the specific hardware involved.

I can close the lid, but the screen stays on and the laptop doesn't sleep. When I was using 10.4.8 the laptop would sleep after closing the lid with NvidiaEFI.

I think if you install the JaS 10.4.8 v1p defiant disk util ISO then update using JaS' 10.4.9 Combo package, it will keep sleep working but you might need to press the power button to bring it out of sleep after lid close.

 

I'm on an Inspiron E1505/6400, used JaS 10.4.8 v1p first and then upgraded to 10.4.9 using various kernel versions. In all cases my laptop would sleep when closing the lid. When I try to wake up by opening the lid and pressing the power button, everything wakes up except for the screen, which stays dark. Only a manual patch/hack that reactivates the screen after a wake-event could help.

 

The command key thing, never tried to change it so I have no idea.

 

Several keys are mixed up and the "Alt Gr" key only works if you reconfigure the keys. Some special characters are still in the wrong order afterwards. Still need to manually configure keys, but still haven't had the time to do that.

Ok guys, I just changed the thread title and tweaked the guide to support a wider variety of Dell laptops.

If there is any information missing then please tell me ASAP ;)

in regards to the Command (Apple) key, I found out that it was mapped to Alt key by default. Also, the Option key was mapped to the Windows key.

 

I used a program called DoubleCommand, search the forum. It allows for the remapping of certain keys. Right now I have my Ctrl key as the Command key which helps a lot since I'm used to using keyboard shortcuts on PC, i.e. Ctrl+X for cut, now, when I need to cut, I just press Ctrl+X on my keyboard and it's equivalent to a Command+X combo. I don't know how Ctrl key is used in Mac OS X, but I mapped the Windows key as the Ctrl key, so all is good.

devilhood, just wondering, are you able to close the lid of your laptop? how about sleep? also, whats the deal with command key, is there a hack for that?

 

i hope you don't mind me asking in this thread, I have an E1405, it's pretty similar, except i have core 2 duo and gma 950.

 

I think this will help about the lid closing and sleep.

 

http://forum.insanelymac.com/index.php?showtopic=13830

I tried to install it but kept getting error about permission or something like that.

 

I followed the directions but I could have made a mistake, in fact, i probably did...this past few days being my first in dealing with Mac OS X...I've dabble with *nix before but only a little...

 

I'll also give PowerManagement bundle fix a try

 

Starting from scratch, gotta restore Vista, reinstall OS X, and hopefully get a clean XP on a third FAT32 partition. Right now i'm trying to resize Vista partition so i'd have enough room for the other two partitions. Kinda lame that you can't add a second HDD on a Dell E1405. What happened to the good old days of modular bays, i rarely need to use the DVD burner...anyone know of a way to stick a HDD in that slot?

There's a new BIOS update for Dell Inspiron 6400 notebooks. It supposely updates Intel processor microcode. Maybe it help with the cores problem. It still stutters for me, but it is much more bearable. See for yourself ^^

There's a new BIOS update for Dell Inspiron 6400 notebooks. It supposely updates Intel processor microcode. Maybe it help with the cores problem. It still stutters for me, but it is much more bearable. See for yourself ^^

 

 

I have this bios(a14), but the problem is not a bug in the bios, so the bios change do not fix this! :censored2:

Pyro, the dual-core stutter exists because of the Power Management configuration in the BIOS that Dell has implemented, but because we aren't supposed to be running Mac OS X on Dell's, it's not something they will end up fixing.

We can always hope though, I suppose.

 

I think this will help about the lid closing and sleep.

 

http://forum.insanelymac.com/index.php?showtopic=13830

 

Insomnia just prevents the laptop from sleep completely.

Fixing BIOS is all up to Dell.

I don't think we are going to get that fixed anytime soon.

What we have to figure out is to get 'sleep and wake ' to work on every Dell notebook.

Then all need to is to write a script/hack to make Dell to sleep and wake right after boot up.

But I am noob on OSX.... :thumbsup_anim:

It is just my opinion.

Yeah, the Sleep/Wake state would need to be activated as early as possible to avoid any unstable boot-ups.

 

As soon as my RMA'd mobo comes for my desktop computer, I'll re-install the Mac on my laptop from JaS' 10.4.8 disc, then I'll do the usual and test if Sleep works on a clean install.

If it works, I'll try updating via JaS' 10.4.9 Combo, but if it doesn't work, I'll try Paulicat's SpeedStep S3 Sleep package.

At least this way we will have a definite answer that I can put in the guide.

Installed Insomnia and PowerManagement, I can say that closing the lid doesnt put the laptop to sleep anymore. However, screen goes off when lid is close and doesnt come back on when lid is opened again. It's gonna be kinda hard not to close the lid when you're out and about. I can live with not being able to put the laptop to sleep since boot time is relatively fast compared to windows, booting up OS X is like booting up from hibernation. Oh well, at least everything (most other things) work and that's worth some cookies.

I haven't had much experience with Insomnia, but whether or not it is supposed to prevent the display from turning off, I have no idea.

Can anyone else confirm this apart from fumanju?

I have the same problem as fumanjo on a E1505 core Duo.

 

It's really pissin me off, I closed my lid constantly on XP with the computer on. I could care less if it went into sleep when I closed it, I just want my screen to turn back on!!!

is there any way to write a script that tell OS X to shut down if the lid is closed? or if the power button is pressed "once". I don't like the idea of a hard shutdown. It's not good for the harddrive, especially if there's HDD activity.

 

I mean, the point to it is that OS X will shut down itself if the lid is closed instead of the user pressing and holding down the power button since there's no way to get the screen to turn back on and that the computer has to reboot anyway.

Just a little update... I tested a kernel recently that managed to fix almost all of the dual-core stuttering, but the boot process was a bit messed up.

Perhaps it 'can' be solved via the kernel after-all!

 

I'll keep you posted.

Just a little update... I tested a kernel recently that managed to fix almost all of the dual-core stuttering, but the boot process was a bit messed up.

Perhaps it 'can' be solved via the kernel after-all!

 

I'll keep you posted.

 

Well, now you left us all curious what "a kernel" stands for... :hysterical:

It was something that Kiko, DaemonES and Paulicat put together I believe.

 

But since the boot process was fuc£$% I wouldn't get too excited just yet :P

Just a little update... I tested a kernel recently that managed to fix almost all of the dual-core stuttering, but the boot process was a bit messed up.

Perhaps it 'can' be solved via the kernel after-all!

 

I'll keep you posted.

 

Is sleep/wake work properly in new kernel that you are testing?

It is good news that dual core problem can be fixed via kernel. ;)

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