Driver compatibility for Dell Studio 14z (Successful OSX install!)

[glitchbit]

Most routers do support turning off SSID, which mine is, but this in itself, isn't any sort of security. My wireless network is set up to be secure as possible, thus the WPA2 Enterprise encryption.

 

If it was not for the fact that I constantly get new wifi devices every 6-8 months it seems then I'd lock down my router via MAC address filtering, but I have stopped doing that because I am lazy =) and for a while I was switching routers out every few months.. being unhappy with their overall performance.. and these were $100+ routers.. now I only buy a cheap $30 WNR834b router made by netgear, they are not the fastest but they are rock hard stable. Also in general I am very cautious of netgear products, but when I saw it on woot I figured well my last two $100+ routers did not do me any good and these work with dd-wrt so I gave it a chance and it is the best money I have ever spent.

 

Also if I lived in an apartment or closer to my neighbors than what I do then I might consider encryption, but in my situation it only causes more headaches than what it is worth.

[lancorp]

Just finished updating my 14z with a nice P8600 CPU. Complete disassembly required, btw.

 

Arctic Silver 5 paste on CPU and GPU.

 

So far, so good. Noticeable increase is speed/performance. My CPU-i shows idle temps around 40-41C.

Monitoring CPU-i, I see my idle CPU speed is 1500Mhz, 1.068V. Moderate CPU activity bumps the speed to

2.20 or 2.43Ghz, like it should.

 

Fan is running, but very slow most of the time, with an occasional bump in speed.

 

What are others who use CPU-i or other temp monitoring software see for their idle CPU speed (keep in mind,

ambient room temp is about 65F, so those of you on the east coast living in an ice box, your temps will naturally be lower!)

 

Also, I sure would like the "About This Mac" to show the correct info. Right now, it shows for Processor "2.43 Ghz Unknown" and Memory: "3 GB 800Mhz DDR2 SDRAM". Obviously, the system is NOT detecting things right, but is there some way to modify some file so the right stuff shows up?

[glitchbit]

Just finished updating my 14z with a nice P8600 CPU. Complete disassembly required, btw.

 

Arctic Silver 5 paste on CPU and GPU.

 

So far, so good. Noticeable increase is speed/performance. My CPU-i shows idle temps around 40-41C.

Monitoring CPU-i, I see my idle CPU speed is 1500Mhz, 1.068V. Moderate CPU activity bumps the speed to

2.20 or 2.43Ghz, like it should.

 

Fan is running, but very slow most of the time, with an occasional bump in speed.

 

What are others who use CPU-i or other temp monitoring software see for their idle CPU speed (keep in mind,

ambient room temp is about 65F, so those of you on the east coast living in an ice box, your temps will naturally be lower!)

 

Also, I sure would like the "About This Mac" to show the correct info. Right now, it shows for Processor "2.43 Ghz Unknown" and Memory: "3 GB 800Mhz DDR2 SDRAM". Obviously, the system is NOT detecting things right, but is there some way to modify some file so the right stuff shows up?

 

cool stuff, not sure what to tell you on getting things detected properly.. maybe a modified smbios file? I am just using whatever my snowosx install came with.. the ram shows up as 1066mhz and the cpu shows up as a core 2 duo @ 3ghz.. which is obviously wrong.

 

On another note I have noticed that now when I try my audio fix dsdt file on A04.. my system does not sleep properly so I am now going to post the most recent version I have.. the audio fix was version 1 revision 6... now I am on version 3 revision 45 =) I have been busy.

 

Here is what I know, the audio fix version which I will refer to as v1r6 for now on does not sleep properly without the sleepenabler kext, because I no longer use that kext and my system does not sleep with v1r6 due to some issues with the usb devices.

 

My dsdt v3r45 on the other hand has several optimizations, and fixes for A04 specifically (not sure if it is cpu specific yet but I am using T6600).

http://www.mediafire.com/?zdjgoww2mmz

- eliminated all compiler warnings from iaslme, removed a lot of useless return zeros added a lot of return zeros.

- renamed several devices to match the original macbookpro5,5 dsdt, which uses the same MCP79 chipset

- applied known fixes for the USB devices to enable sleep without sleepenabler (other people here I am sure applied it to theirs too)

- applied additional USB fix to prevent eject error when waking back up from sleep (does not work on the eSATA port)

- modified several scope entries to match macbookpro5,5

- Power button device modified, added Sleep button device entry

- Added power state methods to PCI device

 

Known Bugs

- eSATA does not work after sleep mode.. this is a very big top priority issue for me, in the meanwhile I believe that the sleepenabler kext may resolve this issue, because when I used it I do not recall having issues with eSATA.

[lancorp]

cool stuff, not sure what to tell you on getting things detected properly.. maybe a modified smbios file? I am just using whatever my snowosx install came with.. the ram shows up as 1066mhz and the cpu shows up as a core 2 duo @ 3ghz.. which is obviously wrong.

 

On another note I have noticed that now when I try my audio fix dsdt file on A04.. my system does not sleep properly so I am now going to post the most recent version I have.. the audio fix was version 1 revision 6... now I am on version 3 revision 45 =) I have been busy.

 

Here is what I know, the audio fix version which I will refer to as v1r6 for now on does not sleep properly without the sleepenabler kext, because I no longer use that kext and my system does not sleep with v1r6 due to some issues with the usb devices.

 

My dsdt v3r45 on the other hand has several optimizations, and fixes for A04 specifically (not sure if it is cpu specific yet but I am using T6600).

http://www.mediafire.com/?zdjgoww2mmz

- eliminated all compiler warnings from iaslme, removed a lot of useless return zeros.

- renamed several devices to match the original macbookpro5,5 dsdt, which uses the same MCP79 chipset

- applied known fixes for the USB devices to enable sleep without sleepenabler (other people here I am sure applied it to theirs too)

- applied additional USB fix to prevent eject error when waking back up from sleep (does not work on the eSATA port)

- modified several scope entries to match macbookpro5,5

- Power button device modified, added Sleep button device entry

- Added power state methods to PCI device

 

Known Bugs

- eSATA does not work after sleep mode.. this is a very big top priority issue for me, in the meanwhile I believe that the sleepenabler kext may resolve this issue, because when I used it I do not recall having issues with eSATA.

 

Installed and seems to fix sleep mode ok (before my 14z would wake right back up), and USB flash drive is not ejected upon wakeup. Good! Thanks!

 

 

 

 

For some reason, my screen saver function does not work. I set the time to activate, but it does not ever trigger.

 

I can "test" the screen savers just fine, but none of them work when set to activate after a certain time.

 

Any others with this problem??? My LCD does power off correctly, though, as a power saving measure.

 

Also (and now I am on a mission to fix this), my About This Mac, of course, does not display the correct CPU.

It shows "unknown", which is "normal" for a Hackintosh, but after doing some research, it seemed like an easy fix.

Alas, it isn't.

 

First, I tried modifying the smbios.plist file. I found the instructions and did it. The RAM mod worked, and now shows the correct RAM in my system, but the cputype entry did not seem to do anything.

 

Then, I tried modifying the AppleSysteminfo.strings file. Again, easy edit to change, but after restarting, ATM still shows "unknown" for the CPU.

 

Next, I tried the OSX86Tools app. DO NOT USE THIS! It dorked up my ATM with a bunch of field titles instead of actual values. Fortunately, the app has a "restore" feature which put it back the way it was!!

 

I read that the latest PC_EFI has autodetection code to detect your CPU and put the correct stuff in ATM, but I am a bit nervous about replacing my "boot" file. I foresee doing it and rebooting and having my wonderful DellBook stop working!

 

Does anyone have any insight on updating the PC_EFI version on the 14z, and/or if installing a new Chameleon bootloader would break anything? I just want my About This Mac to show "Intel Core 2 Duo"!!!!

 

Thanks.

[tamorgen]

Also (and now I am on a mission to fix this), my About This Mac, of course, does not display the correct CPU.

It shows "unknown", which is "normal" for a Hackintosh, but after doing some research, it seemed like an easy fix.

Alas, it isn't.

 

First, I tried modifying the smbios.plist file. I found the instructions and did it. The RAM mod worked, and now shows the correct RAM in my system, but the cputype entry did not seem to do anything.

 

Then, I tried modifying the AppleSysteminfo.strings file. Again, easy edit to change, but after restarting, ATM still shows "unknown" for the CPU.

 

Upgrade to Chameleon RC4. Seems to fix all of that, plus you can remove the uuid kexts.

 

Next, I tried the OSX86Tools app. DO NOT USE THIS! It dorked up my ATM with a bunch of field titles instead of actual values. Fortunately, the app has a "restore" feature which put it back the way it was!!

 

As far as I can tell, OSX86Tools hasn't really worked since Leopard. I use Kext Utility to do all my permission repairing. Works great.

 

I read that the latest PC_EFI has autodetection code to detect your CPU and put the correct stuff in ATM, but I am a bit nervous about replacing my "boot" file. I foresee doing it and rebooting and having my wonderful DellBook stop working!

 

Does anyone have any insight on updating the PC_EFI version on the 14z, and/or if installing a new Chameleon bootloader would break anything? I just want my About This Mac to show "Intel Core 2 Duo"!!!!

 

Thanks.

 

Again, try Chameleon RC4. Fixes everything you are trying to do. No smbios.plist required!

 

 

My dsdt v3r45 on the other hand has several optimizations, and fixes for A04 specifically (not sure if it is cpu specific yet but I am using T6600).

http://www.mediafire.com/?zdjgoww2mmz

- eliminated all compiler warnings from iaslme, removed a lot of useless return zeros.

- renamed several devices to match the original macbookpro5,5 dsdt, which uses the same MCP79 chipset

- applied known fixes for the USB devices to enable sleep without sleepenabler (other people here I am sure applied it to theirs too)

- applied additional USB fix to prevent eject error when waking back up from sleep (does not work on the eSATA port)

- modified several scope entries to match macbookpro5,5

- Power button device modified, added Sleep button device entry

- Added power state methods to PCI device

 

Known Bugs

- eSATA does not work after sleep mode.. this is a very big top priority issue for me, in the meanwhile I believe that the sleepenabler kext may resolve this issue, because when I used it I do not recall having issues with eSATA.

 

Just downloaded it and installed. So far I'm not hearing the poping from the audio. Good sign.

 

So you are not using SleepEnabler at this point? I left it in there, and sleep seems to work. Not sure about the eSATA port though. I don't have my drive with me today. I'll have to try it and let you know.

 

Any work on screen dimming/power management? Screen still doesn't dim when the power get's disconnected, and the dimming keys doen't work either.

[glitchbit]

Just downloaded it and installed. So far I'm not hearing the poping from the audio. Good sign.

 

So you are not using SleepEnabler at this point? I left it in there, and sleep seems to work. Not sure about the eSATA port though. I don't have my drive with me today. I'll have to try it and let you know.

 

Any work on screen dimming/power management? Screen still doesn't dim when the power get's disconnected, and the dimming keys doen't work either.

 

If the audio issue was fixed then that would be purely coincidental as I did not make any changes specifically to fix that issue. I believe I still hear the pop when I power down or up, not sure which.. although during normal usage I can't recall if it still occurs or not for me.

 

The screen dimming/power management seems to always work for me... earlier on it would sometimes stop working like 10% of the time, but I cannot recall the last time I have had issues with my media keys. I will post a list of my current kexts when I get home, maybe that will help? Also I am not currently using chameleon rc4, so I will see about upgrading to that.

 

You should be able to remove the sleepenabler kext now, I used it this morning to see if eSATA would work better, but the sleepenabler has no affect for me. In the past I believe it may have caused issues with my mouse and keyboard at random when waking up, but it was not often.

[tamorgen]

If the audio issue was fixed then that would be purely coincidental as I did not make any changes specifically to fix that issue. I believe I still hear the pop when I power down or up, not sure which.. although during normal usage I can't recall if it still occurs or not for me.

 

The screen dimming/power management seems to always work for me... earlier on it would sometimes stop working like 10% of the time, but I cannot recall the last time I have had issues with my media keys. I will post a list of my current kexts when I get home, maybe that will help? Also I am not currently using chameleon rc4, so I will see about upgrading to that.

 

You should be able to remove the sleepenabler kext now, I used it this morning to see if eSATA would work better, but the sleepenabler has no affect for me. In the past I believe it may have caused issues with my mouse and keyboard at random when waking up, but it was not often.

 

Yeah, just heard a pop a few minutes ago, so I guess it didn't fix it.

 

I'll remove the SleepEnabler and see if it has any ill effects. Hopefully when Chameleon RC5 is finalized, I can remove EvOreboot as well, but I hear the current build still has some issues.

[lancorp]

Yeah, just heard a pop a few minutes ago, so I guess it didn't fix it.

 

I'll remove the SleepEnabler and see if it has any ill effects. Hopefully when Chameleon RC5 is finalized, I can remove EvOreboot as well, but I hear the current build still has some issues.

 

Yes, I still have pops in the audio also after updating the DSDT file as well, but like Glitchbit said, he didn't make any changes to fix that. Also, thanks for the reference to EvOreboot, though. I hadn't been able to restart (shutdown is fine), and now, at least twice, I have been able to do a restart!

 

I will try RC4. I didn't see how to install it, but I think I found the RC4 installer.

 

Also, ANYONE, does your SCREEN SAVERs work? Like I mentioned prior, mine do not trigger when they are supposed to.

[lancorp]

Upgrade to Chameleon RC4. Seems to fix all of that, plus you can remove the uuid kexts.

 

 

Well, I installed Chameleon RC4 and rebooted, and everything booted back up, EXCEPT, I had no networking!

No Wifi. No Ethernet. Completely gone. I went into "Network" in System Preferences, and just got the spinning beach ball.

 

I forced a power off, and rebooted with using the "arch=i386" flag at startup, and that brought back my networking.

 

But, I do know before RC4 that I had 64-bit Kernel and Extensions. So, what happened? I don't want to run 32-bit.

 

As an easy fix, I made a backup of my boot file, can I just revert back to the old one? Is there a fix for RC4 that allows me to run 64-bit?

 

I hate making changes like this that break the system!

[tamorgen]

The screen dimming/power management seems to always work for me... earlier on it would sometimes stop working like 10% of the time, but I cannot recall the last time I have had issues with my media keys. I will post a list of my current kexts when I get home, maybe that will help? Also I am not currently using chameleon rc4, so I will see about upgrading to that.

 

Glitchbit,

If you have a chance, can you post your current kexts? I'd be interested to try them out and see if they make any difference for me.

[glitchbit]

Glitchbit,

If you have a chance, can you post your current kexts? I'd be interested to try them out and see if they make any difference for me.

 

Sorry I meant to post it the other day

 

AppleACPIPS2Nub.kext IONetworkingFamily.kext

ApplePS2Controller.kext LegacyAppleAHCIPort.kext

CPUi_snow.kext LegacyAppleIntelPIIXATA.kext

EvOreboot.kext PlatformUUID.kext

HDAIDT.kext SleepEnabler.kext

IO80211Family.kext VoodooBattery.kext

IOAHCIFamily.kext fakesmc.kext

IOATAFamily.kext

 

And yes I have been using EvOreboot for awhile, had not realized it because it was in SLE by default from SnowOSX install. But now all the modified kexts I use are in EE. Although I have duplicated IONetworkingFamily and IO80211Family kext to be in both EE and SLE locations so if I have to go into safe mode I will still have those devices working.

 

Also the screen saver issue you and lancorp have is not affecting me.. my screen saver comes on just fine and my screen also powers off on its own as well according to the times I have set. If yall are using different mouse kexts then maybe that is keeping your system from working properly. I gave up on using the voodoo ps2 stuff, it also swapped my control key on my keyboard, but what really got me was the mouse acting too erratic.

 

Also I am not certain that I even really need these two kexts LegacyAppleIntelPIIXATA.kext, LegacyAppleAHCIPort.kext.

 

Well, I installed Chameleon RC4 and rebooted, and everything booted back up, EXCEPT, I had no networking!

No Wifi. No Ethernet. Completely gone. I went into "Network" in System Preferences, and just got the spinning beach ball.

 

I forced a power off, and rebooted with using the "arch=i386" flag at startup, and that brought back my networking.

 

But, I do know before RC4 that I had 64-bit Kernel and Extensions. So, what happened? I don't want to run 32-bit.

 

As an easy fix, I made a backup of my boot file, can I just revert back to the old one? Is there a fix for RC4 that allows me to run 64-bit?

 

I hate making changes like this that break the system!

 

I assume you still have the PC Card (1394) enabled, do you still get GUID invalid errors?

[lancorp]

Well, this is frustrating.

 

I finally got my Wifi working in 64-bit mode by putting IONetworkingFamily.kext in S/L/E, and then run the kext utility to do fix up.

 

Ethernet (again), is not working. In doing a -v at startup, I see that my RealtekR1000SL.kext is not loading. Normally I see a bunch of Realtek stuff when doing a -v, but now, nothing. In my Network Preferences, the Ethernet interface is there, but shows no cable, when, in fact, there is.

 

What is frustrating is, and I thought I understood all this, is that if I put the RealtekR1000SL.kext in my E/E folder, and do a fix up, why isn't it loading?

 

I also tried putting the Realtek kext inside the IONetworkingFamily.kext and did a fix up. Still no Realtek info displayed during a startup with -v.

 

How the heck do I get the RealtekR1000SL.kext to load????

 

Plus, my restart no longer works, and EvOreboot is in E/E. I can't be sure anything is starting like it is supposed to.

 

This RC4 Chameleon really f'ed up my config!!!

 

 

 

I assume you still have the PC Card (1394) enabled, do you still get GUID invalid errors?

 

I've always had that DISABLED in the BIOS.

 

I'm not getting GUID invalid errors, I don't think. What makes you mention that?

[glitchbit]

I know you had no luck with my IONetworkingFamily kext that I posted in the past but maybe you could try my IONewtorkingFamily kext again?

 

I've always had that DISABLED in the BIOS.

 

I'm not getting GUID invalid errors, I don't think. What makes you mention that?

 

1394 is detected similar to a networking device, it has a MAC address just like the ethernet does, so I was wondering if it was creating conflicts with your ethernet device.. but also I was simply wondering if RC4 resolves the detection of firewire's own MAC address.

[lancorp]

Although I'm not happy doing so, I'm going to use the 32-bit kernel. It appears everything works as it should, including screen savers, restart, networking, etc.

 

Apparently, 32-bit kernel still runs most everything 64-bit, so I'm not that limited. Performance seems good.

 

Are you others running 32- or 64-bit kernel?

 

Anyways, for now, all is working in 32-bit kernel land.

 

@Glitchbit: RC4 does not seem to fix the Firewire GUID problem. Still shows ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff for the MAC address.

[glitchbit]

@lancorp,

 

I am booting with the 32bit kernel as well, considering all mac hardware is other than the Mac Pro boots the kernel as 32bits.. I see no real con in booting with 32bits vs 64bits right now since 64bit apps seem to function just fine. NTFS for Mac OSX though is the primary reason I won't even consider 64.. also 64bits is a big reason why vista gets a bad rap, driver support was bad for it and considering drivers support is almost non-existent for osx.. I don't expect much.

 

 

I do need a favor though from anyone that has access to eSata drives! If yall would, could you please plug in an eSata drive and put your computer to sleep and then wake it back up and let me know how it goes?? I want to know if my issue is universal or if it could relate to a kext, dsdt or whatever the case may be.

[nightrider]

Hmm so I finally got a retail copy of snow leo onto a pendrive and made it bootable with Lifehacker's utility from their os x tutorial. I can now successfully install OS X but I can not manage to get the 14z specific kexts set up... The computer boots fine, I can restart etc and it still works but It seems that as soon as I place the v3r45 DSDT file in the extras folder along with the extensions in the EE folder, the computer gives the "still waiting for root device error" on boot.

 

I did the following:

1. Install retail os x
   
2. Boot off pendrive and select to boot from internal HD
   
3. Install chameleon 2.0 RC4 via binary installer to internal HD
   
4. Create "Extensions" folder in the extra's folder and place extensions (glitchbit's latest "Extensions-2-4-Aps2.zip") into the EE folder.
   

Could it be lifehacker's installer that is causing some problem? I checked the SLE folder for any duplicate kexts from the EE folder and tried both leaving them and deleting the dupes. Any help is much much appreciated!! I'm considering writing a nice step-by-step guide for anyone needing it once I do get it working

[glitchbit]

Could it be lifehacker's installer that is causing some problem? I checked the SLE folder for any duplicate kexts from the EE folder and tried both leaving them and deleting the dupes. Any help is much much appreciated!! I'm considering writing a nice step-by-step guide for anyone needing it once I do get it working

 

If you are able to boot into OSX before but not after, then I am not certain what could be hanging you up.. Although a couple of kext files may need to be deleted from SLE for audio and ethernet to work properly. I believe it was discussed earlier in the forum. One file is inside SLE's IONetworkingFamily (right click it and show package) under Contents/Plugins and it is something like AppleRL8169.kext I think. There may also be an AppleHDA kext that needs removal from SLE.

 

Neither of those ought to prevent you from booting though. You should still be able to boot into safe mode though using -v -x.. you could also try -f to force all the kexts to reload and it will rebuild your kext cache I presume. You should also try to boot without the any kexts in EE, but keep fakesmc.kext in there.

[lancorp]

@lancorp,

 

I am booting with the 32bit kernel as well, considering all mac hardware is other than the Mac Pro boots the kernel as 32bits.. I see no real con in booting with 32bits vs 64bits right now since 64bit apps seem to function just fine. NTFS for Mac OSX though is the primary reason I won't even consider 64.. also 64bits is a big reason why vista gets a bad rap, driver support was bad for it and considering drivers support is almost non-existent for osx.. I don't expect much.

 

 

I do need a favor though from anyone that has access to eSata drives! If yall would, could you please plug in an eSata drive and put your computer to sleep and then wake it back up and let me know how it goes?? I want to know if my issue is universal or if it could relate to a kext, dsdt or whatever the case may be.

 

Thanks for the info. Maybe that's why I've had so many glitches (pun intended) with mine...I've been running 64-bit kernel (not by choice...it was the default). Anyways, after doing some reading, I'm content with 32-bit kernel for now.

 

Regarding your request for eSATA, I plugged in my 2.5" eSATA drive let it mount, opened it and then put my computer to sleep. Upon waking, the drive was immediately available and still mounted. No errors. If there is anything else you want me to try, let me know.

[glitchbit]

Regarding your request for eSATA, I plugged in my 2.5" eSATA drive let it mount, opened it and then put my computer to sleep. Upon waking, the drive was immediately available and still mounted. No errors. If there is anything else you want me to try, let me know.

 

hmm... then it sounds like I am running after a ghost, thanks! I was about to down grade to A01, but that kills speedstepping for me so that would not have been a good solution. I also booted into safe mode a little while ago and only two modified kexts of mine loaded there and I doubt they are the cause.. there must be something else about my install that is creating issues for me..

 

I just got done rebooting several times and changing my bios settings, I found that my usb ports started to eject improperly again once I set my BIOS to its defaults. To make a long story short I had to turn off powersharing in the BIOS and boot into safe mode then turn powersharing back on and boot into safe mode then boot into normal mode and my usb eject error went away.

 

But my eSATA still does not work after sleep, oh well I guess when my new expresscard SSD comes in the mail I will just reinstall SnowOSX and see how it goes. If I have to I will just use the boot-132 method and see if it gives me any different results.

[lancorp]

Found this interesting piece of software.

 

Tried it (only $10), and it seems to keep my CPU temps almost 10C cooler when undervolting.

 

Last night, iTunes playing with Visualizer running (about 20% CPU) my CPU was running in the low 50C's...

 

With Coolbook running and my CPU undervolted to 0.9375V, my temps are in the low 40C's (42-43C) doing the same thing with about 20% CPU.

 

Fan is hardly noticeable anymore.

 

Plus, it puts a Mhz and Temp reading in the Apple bar at the top.

[tamorgen]

hmm... then it sounds like I am running after a ghost, thanks! I was about to down grade to A01, but that kills speedstepping for me so that would not have been a good solution. I also booted into safe mode a little while ago and only two modified kexts of mine loaded there and I doubt they are the cause.. there must be something else about my install that is creating issues for me..

 

I just got down rebooting several times and changing my bios settings, I found that my usb ports started to eject improperly again once I set my BIOS to its defaults. To make a long story short I had to turn off powersharing in the BIOS and boot into safe mode then turn powersharing back on and boot into safe mode then boot into normal mode and my usb eject error went away.

 

But my eSATA still does not work after sleep, oh well I guess when my new expresscard SSD comes in the mail I will just reinstally SnowOSX and see how it goes. If I have to I will just use the boot-132 method and see if it gives me any different results.

 

 

My eSATA DVD drive works fine after sleep, and I'm running in 64 bit. I'm not sure why I'm not having this issue.

[glitchbit]

Well I have discovered what my problem was, my voodooBattery.kext file was corrupted somehow, but everything is working good now since I replaced it. I just tested it with my usb drive and I no longer have the eject error, so I suspect it will probably fix my eSata issue as well.

[nightrider]

Step-by-Step Install Guide:

• This is a very basic step-by-step install guide specifically for the Dell 14z. The 14z runs OS X great! I'm using it as my primary OS on my 14z right now, I actually prefer the 14z over the current gen macbooks because of the 14z's higher-res screen and HDMI output! The 14z works without a hitch, the only minor issues are that the brightness of the screen can not be adjusted and the speakers have the occasional "pop".I hope this guide will help those struggling get their 14z up and running OS X! If anyone has any tips or corrections you think should be made to this guide, feel free to reply in this thread!
  
  
• You do not need an external DVD drive for this install so long as you have access to another machine running OS X. This guide assumes you are using a retail image/disc and that you want to run just OS X on your machine - no windows.
  
• Special thanks to glitchbit for all his hard work on perfecting the DSDT for the 14z along with his collection of extensions.
  
• As with any guide, I am not responsible for any damage you may cause by following this blah blah.
  

Requirements:

• Real Mac or PC running OS X
  
• 8GB or greater pendrive
  
• Lifehacker's "magic" install package from their "Install Snow Leopard on Your Hackintosh PC, No Hacking Required" guide - search google to find this guide
  
• Snow Leopard image or disc
  
• glitchbit's extensions collection zip file
  
• glitchbit's latest DSDT <--The one linked here is the latest one as of this writing
  
• KextUtility App
  
• Chameleon 2.0 RC4 v3 Installer
  

Lingo:

• SLE = System\Library\Extensions
  
• EE = Extra\Extensions
  

Procedure:

1. Follow Lifehacker's "Install Snow Leopard on Your Hackintosh PC, No Hacking Required" guide to set up your Snow Leopard Install disc to a bootable pendrive with the EP45UD3P Snow Leopard.pkg tool. You must use a computer already running OS X to do this (real mac or a hackintosh). Basically all your doing is formatting the pendrive with GUID, ripping your install disc to the pendrive and then installing their "magic" package to the pendrive
   
2. Boot your laptop and remember to press F12 and select to boot from pendrive once you're ready to install.
   
3. Format your destination drive as Mac OS X (Journaled) with Disk Utility
   
4. Install OS X with desired customizations (i suggest installing only the base system not the printer drivers etc to save HD space).
   
5. Restart and press F12 and select to boot from the USB Pendrive again, once the pendrive boots press the right arrow key on the keyboard to change from "Mac os Install DVD" to "Macintosh HD" (or whatever you named the harddrive). In essence your using the pendrive to boot the harddrive since you haven't installed a bootloader yet). Run through first boot registration etc.
   
6. Install ChamelionRC2.0_v3 with the installer
   
7. Delete AppleHDA.kext from SLE
   
8. Right click IOnetworkingFamily.kext in SLE and click "show package contents" and then go to Contents\Plugins and delete AppleRTL8169Ethernet.kext
   
9. Copy the extensions from glitchbit's Extensions-2-4-Aps2.zip to EE
   
10. Copy glitchbit's latest DSDT.aml to \Extra
    
11. Run KextUtility to fix permissions in SLE and EE
    
12. Update system software to 10.6.2 via the Update Software option by clicking the apple in the top left
    
13. Shut Down and on boot up, enter the following boot commands when in Chameleon "-v -f"
    
14. If all is good you should be booting into a fresh OS X Install with the dock on the bottom of the screen
    

[lancorp]

Nightrider,

 

Excellent post! I've only done the install once, and it was so happenstance that I could barely remember what I did and the order in which I did it!

 

I feel that I may re-do my 14z again soon, just to clean it up from making the mistake of doing the Chameleon RC4 update that butchered everything up!

 

I'll follow your instructions step by step and let you know how it works out.

 

I know I did not use lifehackers package, so it will be interesting to see how that plays out.

 

Quick question, though...your guide states Chameleon RC2v3, but the link takes us to RC4v3. Which did you use?

I used RC4 and it really messed up my installation. I am leery of using RC4.

 

Thanks!

[nightrider]

Nightrider,

 

Excellent post! I've only done the install once, and it was so happenstance that I could barely remember what I did and the order in which I did it!

 

Thanks!

 

lol yeah I put the guide together so I would remember exactly what I did so that I can know next time I install (maybe when 10.6.3 kills my system :mellow: )

 

Nightrider,

Quick question, though...your guide states Chameleon RC2v3, but the link takes us to RC4v3. Which did you use?

I used RC4 and it really messed up my installation. I am leery of using RC4.

 

Thanks!

 

Thanks for the catch there! I corrected it. I did in fact use Chameleon 2.0 RC4 v3, the first link in that thread that I have linked in the guide. I had problems when I used the RC4 V1 installer but all the problems seemed to be sorted out once I used v3. If you have any issues you can always use your pendrive to boot the harddrive and then try to figure it out.