[Guide & Boot CD] D-Series Latitude/w NVIDIA or GMA950 and Intel Dual Core Retail Installs

[leppy700m]

Good morning Leppy,

 

I noticed some slowness when working on some charts today. I pulled up system profiler and did not see any mention of Hardware Acceleration or Quartz Extreme enabled for some reason. I don't recall if I ever had them enabled before however. Anyway, I installed using SL retail DVD and have done the 10.6.1 update. Can I just rerun the post installer of your CD image to get QE/CI working or do I have to do something different?

 

D620 with nVidia 110 card.

 

 

Thanks,

 

sci85

Apple, it it's infinite wisdom, removed the QE/CI report from that screen in 10.6.x. I've got a serious case of dislike about that.

 

You should have QE/CI now, but it is probably not optimized unless you added the EFI string posted by knutselaar on page 13, post 256 of this thread. He uploaded his Boot.plist, which should work better for you. That little gem is going into the next version of the SL boot CD. Say thanks to knutselaar.

[larryo108]

You should have QI/QE now, but it is probably not optimized unless you added the EFI string posted by knutselaar on page 13, post 256 of this thread. He uploaded his Boot.plist, which should work better for you. That little gem is going into the next version of the SL boot CD. Say thanks to knutselaar.

 

 

Leppy. Should I just overwrite my boot.plist file with the one that knutselaar provided? I just incorporated the EFI portion of his plist into my plist. Is that correct? Also, can you tell me how do I check that the EFI is working? Sorry, I am a Macnewb. Just trying to learn and do what I can to help.

 

I recall a post you made sometime back about needing a tester with a D820 that had an NVidia graphics card. Well I fall into that category and willing to help you out. I just need you to walk me through what you need, how to install what you need, and how to provide you with the information you are looking for after install. Just let me know.

 

Thanks again for all of your help thus far. Finally, did you get my PM the other day?

[sci85]

Cool, Ill give that a go and properly give props to knutselaar.

 

Yeah, I agree that was an unnecessary modification on Apple's part. What were they thinking?

 

So given the change, is there another way to know now if QE and hardware accel is in fact enabled?

 

sci85

[larryo108]

I just thought of another question. Sorry for all of the questions today. Can anyone point me to a dsdt tutorial or guide anywhere? I found one guide that is specific to two different Dell XPS models. I am starting with that to dump my ACPI tables etc, but would also like to learn how to decompile, patch and recompile a dsdt.aml file useable for my machine (Dell D820 Nvidia/Broadcom). Thanks in advance.

[jh49]

Cool, Ill give that a go and properly give props to knutselaar.

 

Yeah, I agree that was an unnecessary modification on Apple's part. What were they thinking?

 

So given the change, is there another way to know now if QE and hardware accel is in fact enabled?

 

sci85

I hope that the following website will be helpful:

http://prasys.co.cc/tag/enable-qeci/

[sci85]

Coolio! Many thanks jh49!

 

sci85

[leppy700m]

Leppy. Should I just overwrite my boot.plist file with the one that knutselaar provided? I just incorporated the EFI portion of his plist into my plist. Is that correct? Also, can you tell me how do I check that the EFI is working? Sorry, I am a Macnewb. Just trying to learn and do what I can to help.

 

I recall a post you made sometime back about needing a tester with a D820 that had an NVidia graphics card. Well I fall into that category and willing to help you out. I just need you to walk me through what you need, how to install what you need, and how to provide you with the information you are looking for after install. Just let me know.

 

Thanks again for all of your help thus far. Finally, did you get my PM the other day?

 

Yes, that file should replace your current plist. Backup you current one first though, in case it doesn't work.

 

I don't know if that string will work on a D820 with Nvidia or not. It is for a D620.

 

You can tell its working by looking under graphics in system profiler. This is what mine says:

nVidia Quadro NVS 110M EFI:

 

Chipset Model: nVidia Quadro NVS 110M EFI

Type: GPU

Bus: PCIe

PCIe Lane Width: x16

VRAM (Total): 64 MB

Vendor: NVIDIA (0x10de)

Device ID: 0x01d7

Revision ID: 0x00a1

Displays:

Display:

Resolution: 1440 x 900 @ 60 Hz

Pixel Depth: 32-Bit Color (ARGB8888)

Main Display: Yes

Mirror: Off

Online: Yes

Built-In: Yes

Display Connector:

Status: No Display Connected

 

Cool, Ill give that a go and properly give props to knutselaar.

 

Yeah, I agree that was an unnecessary modification on Apple's part. What were they thinking?

 

So given the change, is there another way to know now if QE and hardware accel is in fact enabled?

 

sci85

 

the three things I used to look for were:

• Translucent menu bar
  
• Front row works
  
• DVD player works
  

 

I now have to rethink that because 10.6.2 broke my nvidia dvd player. Same HD, different post install works fine on D620 with IntelGMA950. Everything else is fine with on the nvida machine.

 

However, if those three things work, I think it's safe to say QE/CI is working.

 

 

 

I just thought of another question. Sorry for all of the questions today. Can anyone point me to a dsdt tutorial or guide anywhere? I found one guide that is specific to two different Dell XPS models. I am starting with that to dump my ACPI tables etc, but would also like to learn how to decompile, patch and recompile a dsdt.aml file useable for my machine (Dell D820 Nvidia/Broadcom). Thanks in advance.

if you find one, please let me know. I read everything I could find and have a half a million questions myself. That said, I have managed to successfully extract and compile a dsdt.aml for my Atom 330 board running GMA950 graphics - and it works beautifully. But that was a zero hitch, simple run and I am far from an expert.

 

I hope that the following website will be helpful:

http://prasys.co.cc/tag/enable-qeci/

Yeah, that sounds about right. It seems that starting with 10.6.0, Apple is trying to build a noose for non-apple hardware as often as it can without impacting what they do support.

 

Removing that report from the system profiler was not the brightest thing as even real Mac users can legitimately upgrade their graphics cards and would most likely want a simple report in profiler that QE/CI is on.

[g0nad]

10.6.2 installed without issue for me. 620 with intel graphics

 

w00t!

[leppy700m]

10.6.2 installed without issue for me. 620 with intel graphics

 

w00t!

 

Yep, and the only issue with the D620 Nvidia machine is the DVD player, which is not the best piece of software to begin with.

 

Researching this problem has only revealed that it's had this same problem sporadically in the past - with real apple hardware and previous versions of OS X.

 

At some point, I'll toss the HD into the D630, run a new post install and see what kind of fireworks are created.

[jb77]

Leppy,

I check my Display Settings, the highest Resolution of my D620 is 1280 x 800, I have a Nvidia, SL10.6.1, Bios A10. What do i need to do, so i can get a Res 1440 x 900? Here's my system profiler.

nVidia Quadro NVS 110M EFI:

Chipset Model: nVidia Quadro NVS 110M EFI

Type: GPU

Bus: PCIe

PCIe Lane Width: x16

VRAM (Total): 64 MB

Vendor: NVIDIA (0x10de)

Device ID: 0x01d7

Revision ID: 0x00a1

Displays:

Display:

Resolution: 1280 x 800

Pixel Depth: 32-Bit Color (ARGB8888)

Main Display: Yes

Mirror: Off

Online: Yes

 

Thanks Again.

 

thumbs up to knutselaar

[consolation]

the three things I used to look for were:

• Translucent menu bar
  
• Front row works
  
• DVD player works
  

 

Easiest way to check is the 10.4 way. Startup dashboard, drag a new widget onto the screen. If when it drops (installs) you get watery waves around the widget you have QE/CI. If it just appears there with no wave animation - nadda.

 

Leppy,

I check my Display Settings, the highest Resolution of my D620 is 1280 x 800, I have a Nvidia, SL10.6.1, Bios A10. What do i need to do, so i can get a Res 1440 x 900?

 

In the *boot.plist add

 

<key>Graphics Mode</key>

<string>1440x900x32@60</string>

 

works for me....

 

P.S. If I may make some suggestions for the post install script:. A )Remove natit. It's unnecessary for the 950 cards as they use patched kexts fine (new 64bit ones in 10.6.2), for nVidia we can use the graphics string in the bootplist. B ) Add an option for VoodooPower.kext C ) Add an option for SleepEnabler.kext Netkas (Netkas.org) has one patched for 10.6.2. D )Add an entry for Graphics Mode in *boot.plist

[leppy700m]

Leppy,

I check my Display Settings, the highest Resolution of my D620 is 1280 x 800, I have a Nvidia, SL10.6.1, Bios A10. What do i need to do, so i can get a Res 1440 x 900? Here's my system profiler.

nVidia Quadro NVS 110M EFI:

Chipset Model: nVidia Quadro NVS 110M EFI

Type: GPU

Bus: PCIe

PCIe Lane Width: x16

VRAM (Total): 64 MB

Vendor: NVIDIA (0x10de)

Device ID: 0x01d7

Revision ID: 0x00a1

Displays:

Display:

Resolution: 1280 x 800

Pixel Depth: 32-Bit Color (ARGB8888)

Main Display: Yes

Mirror: Off

Online: Yes

 

Thanks Again.

 

thumbs up to knutselaar

That looks right for your machine. I am guessing your laptop didn't have 1440x900 in Windows, either. Many D620s and D630s have 1280 x 800 displays. I was careful to buy with 1440x900.

[leppy700m]

Easiest way to check is the 10.4 way. Startup dashboard, drag a new widget onto the screen. If when it drops (installs) you get watery waves around the widget you have QE/CI. If it just appears there with no wave animation - nadda.

 

 

 

In the *boot.plist add

 

<key>Graphics Mode</key>

<string>1440x900x32@60</string>

 

works for me....

 

P.S. If I may make some suggestions for the post install script:. A )Remove natit. It's unnecessary for the 950 cards as they use patched kexts fine (new 64bit ones in 10.6.2), for nVidia we can use the graphics string in the bootplist. B ) Add an option for VoodooPower.kext C ) Add an option for SleepEnabler.kext Netkas (Netkas.org) has one patched for 10.6.2. D )Add an entry for Graphics Mode in *boot.plist

 

The graphics mode string won't enable a resolution his screen won't support.

 

Not all GMA950 laptops are created equally, and the GMA950 in D620s does not work with the newer appleintelintegratedframebuffer.kext. An older framebuffer is required to enable the display, so until I find another solution, we're stuck with a couple of older 32 bit extensions. The combination of kexts I am currently using (including natit) worked best on my D620 with Nvidia. The same procedure I used to patch dsdt on other machines with GMA950 fails miserably with D620s. If you have a D620 and have a solution that doesn't require loading kexts, then I am really missing something and I am all ears.

 

VoodooPower.kext is going into the next version of the CD, along with AppleACPIThermal.kext.

 

I thought about adding sleepenabler, and I've tested it about 500 times and ways, and it doesn't enable reliable sleep on any of my Latitudes with or without dsdt, efi strings or bios tricks. Further, sleepenabler is kernel sensitive - something I am trying to avoid. There's a good chance that if it's not removed before the next update, (10.6.3 is coming) it'll cause KPs. Basically, because sleep just doesn't work, I don't see any upside to adding it, unless it's actually part of a working sleep solution for my Latitudes.

 

The rebuild_mkext.command allows people to easily customize kexts to their own liking at their own risk. If they want to add or remove kexts, they can do it and rebuild in a matter of seconds without ever opening terminal manually.

 

If by graphics strings you mean efi string, that's a good idea and in the works. What I am planning to do is include EFI strings for D620/nv and possibly D630/nv and whatever others are tested for specific machines and verified by others. They would get added automatically by a user query during post install to establish whether or not hardware is supported by one of the efi strings.

 

But if you mean strings to set specific screen resolutions, I haven't had a situation yet where a graphics card with QE/CI enabled doesn't enable a display's optimal resolution. If someone has a special need, they can still do their own customization. If I provided an option to add a resolution string in the plist, I think it would cause more problems than it would fix. Either someone would pick the incorrect resolution from a long, confusing (to them) list or they would have to enter their own string correctly. I'd have to get paid to get involved in that mess. You have to remember that many people (not all) are not going to do research and they won't even read the docs. It just has to work. Already people are looking here for solutions for Intel wifi, when my position on that was clearly stated in the doc and repeatedly on this thread. And I say this just to illustrate a point, not to say that I would not implement an option for Intel wifi if it becomes reliably viable.

 

Thanks for the input. Edit: I really do appreciate your comments. If you think I am missing something, please help me understand.

[leppy700m]

Still looking for a solution concerning the mouse lags / cpu stuttering...

I've been meaning to ask - did the 10.6.2 update fix these issues? I read on another thread that it solved the same issue for someone else.

 

I recall a post you made sometime back about needing a tester with a D820 that had an NVidia graphics card. Well I fall into that category and willing to help you out. I just need you to walk me through what you need, how to install what you need, and how to provide you with the information you are looking for after install. Just let me know.

I am wondering if that same EFI string works with your D820. Since the amount of memory it has is different (more) it may or may not.

yeah i had same puzzle a yr+ ago and i didnt give up sorta. till chameleon2 came around.

 

Leppy700m .

my main issue is the shutdown and restart.. what did u find that fixes the shutdown? i thought i had it pinpointed but i havent yet as im exhausted with 12 hrs on this..

I just had a thought - I add the AppleBCM5751ethernet.kext post install. Try removing that, IONetworkingFamily.kext and re-running rebuild_mkext. I think it may also problematic on my D630, so it might end up a D620 - only default or even optional in the next version.

[leppy700m]

Just discovered another problem with 10.6.2 update: 64 bit mode causes a kernel panic, was running okay with 10.6.1.

 

I think this is because of the updated Nvidia kexts, and I think the DVD player problem is related.

 

Anyone else looking at this on a D620 with Nvidia?

[larryo108]

Yes, that file should replace your current plist. Backup you current one first though, in case it doesn't work.

 

I don't know if that string will work on a D820 with Nvidia or not. It is for a D620.

 

if you find one, please let me know. I read everything I could find and have a half a million questions myself. That said, I have managed to successfully extract and compile a dsdt.aml for my Atom 330 board running GMA950 graphics - and it works beautifully. But that was a zero hitch, simple run and I am far from an expert.

 

Well I had downloaded the com.plist before and simply incorporated the EFI string from the downloaded file into my own file. I have not gotten any errors, but I have no idea what to look for to see that it is doing what it is supposed to be doing. I am not quite sure what the benefit of an EFI string is to be honest.

 

As far as the DSDT goes. I found this thread. This is specific to the XPS models and I do not know how transferrable it is to the Latitude series. I am personally stuck on the decompiling with iasl step. I loaded ubuntu on CD and was able to dump the ACPI tibles. I copied the DSDT file and the 5 required SSDT files. But I just can't figure out the correct command to decompile the .aml files into .asl files.

 

I also just checked my graphics/displays in my system profiler. OSX is reporting my card as an NVidia GeForce Go 7300 card. I don't think this is right. Or maybe it is. I do not know if this corresponds to the 110 card or not.

[leppy700m]

Well I had downloaded the com.plist before and simply incorporated the EFI string from the downloaded file into my own file. I have not gotten any errors, but I have no idea what to look for to see that it is doing what it is supposed to be doing. I am not quite sure what the benefit of an EFI string is to be honest.

 

As far as the DSDT goes. I found this thread. This is specific to the XPS models and I do not know how transferrable it is to the Latitude series. I am personally stuck on the decompiling with iasl step. I loaded ubuntu on CD and was able to dump the ACPI tibles. I copied the DSDT file and the 5 required SSDT files. But I just can't figure out the correct command to decompile the .aml files into .asl files.

I've done the decompilation before. I'll have to check my notes on that and maybe we can make some progress.

 

I also just checked my graphics/displays in my system profiler. OSX is reporting my card as an NVidia GeForce Go 7300 card. I don't think this is right. Or maybe it is. I do not know if this corresponds to the 110 card or not.

 

You need to remove the graphics enabler in the Boot.plist if you want to use an EFI string. On the D620, the benefit is faster graphics. If the string is working, it won't report a Geforce Go 7300 anymore. If not, you won't have QE/CI anymore.

[larryo108]

I've done the decompilation before. I'll have to check my notes on that and maybe we can make some progress.

 

You need to remove the graphics enabler in the Boot.plist if you want to use an EFI string. On the D620, the benefit is faster graphics. If the string is working, it won't report a Geforce Go 7300 anymore. If not, you won't have QE/CI anymore.

 

First of all, your notes would be awesome.

 

Second of all, I went back and looked at the boot.plist file and it was the original one installed with your post_install. So... I went back and overwrote it with the EFI string one. When I restarted and chose OSX from my XP bootloader it went to the Chameleon choose screen. Did not include the timeout feature. I chose OSX again and it started booting up. It seemed to take longer, but I didn't time it or anything. It did have a nice 3D apple logo. So I think it added CI/QE stuff. Unfortunately, once OSX finally booted up, my sound and trackpad were broken. So, if it is going to work on my machine, it is going to need more work. I went back to the post_install for now, and don't have the nicer graphics, but the remainder works. I am going to try to frankenstein my boot.plist and I will report back. Thanks.

 

OK. I feel like Leppy. All of these posts back to back. I frankensteined my boot.plist. I removed the graphics enabler string and added the EFI string. I took out the legacy logo and now understand why i got the nice 3D logo. Anyways, I put the two together and now the graphics card shows up correct, I don't see anything under system profiler that says whether or not CI/QE is working. They don't even show up. So I am not sure whether it is actually working or not. It hasn't broken anything though. I have attached my boot.plist file if anyone else wants to try it.

com.apple.boot.plist.txt

[leppy700m]

First of all, your notes would be awesome.

 

Second of all, I went back and looked at the boot.plist file and it was the original one installed with your post_install. So... I went back and overwrote it with the EFI string one. When I restarted and chose OSX from my XP bootloader it went to the Chameleon choose screen. Did not include the timeout feature. I chose OSX again and it started booting up. It seemed to take longer, but I didn't time it or anything. It did have a nice 3D apple logo. So I think it added CI/QE stuff. Unfortunately, once OSX finally booted up, my sound and trackpad were broken. So, if it is going to work on my machine, it is going to need more work. I went back to the post_install for now, and don't have the nicer graphics, but the remainder works. I am going to try to frankenstein my boot.plist and I will report back. Thanks.

 

OK. I feel like Leppy. All of these posts back to back. I frankensteined my boot.plist. I removed the graphics enabler string and added the EFI string. I took out the legacy logo and now understand why i got the nice 3D logo. Anyways, I put the two together and now the graphics card shows up correct, I don't see anything under system profiler that says whether or not CI/QE is working. They don't even show up. So I am not sure whether it is actually working or not. It hasn't broken anything though. I have attached my boot.plist file if anyone else wants to try it.

You can tell if it's working with the widgets trick Consolation mentioned earlier on this page. Or if Front Row works - that requires QE/CI.

 

Post your graphics page in profiler. I am curious to see what it says now.

[jb77]

That looks right for your machine. I am guessing your laptop didn't have 1440x900 in Windows, either. Many D620s and D630s have 1280 x 800 displays. I was careful to buy with 1440x900.

 

 

Thanks Leppy & Consolation.

 

im getting a D630 soon. i need to make sure the resolution is 1440x900.

 

thanks again.

[larryo108]

You can tell if it's working with the widgets trick Consolation mentioned earlier on this page. Or if Front Row works - that requires QE/CI.

 

Post your graphics page in profiler. I am curious to see what it says now.

 

 

I will try that. I always thought that if iMovie opened I had CI/QE because it required QE. Who knows. I will get you my graphics page tonight. I am at work right now, so no running Mac.

[LatinMcG]

well guys i got a good deal on a inspiron 1520 with 2.0 core2duo bad hard disk and needs dc jack possibly. ( i do it)

it has nvidia 8400gs ? 8600m gt 256MB . so im gona stick with 10.5.8 and see if i can recreate the whole sleep like i did on the inspiron 1420

and cross my fingers shutdown works (this is possibly gona be my keeper so i can play for long time with it)

[Mikkp]

Just installed 10.6 via retail and all seems stable.

Using USB dongle for wifi. I was lucky to stumble upon the updated 10.6 drivers that Ralink had made a few days ago , so nice timing from me.

 

BTW Intel Wireless 3945abg is working!!!!! Its not stable but it is working on 10.5.8!!!

http://projectcamphor.mercurysquad.com/

 

Updating to 10.6.2 and then going to install 10.5.6 and update that to 10.5.8 to see if those drivers work for me, and possibly going to stay on 10.5 if they do.

 

M

[larryo108]

You can tell if it's working with the widgets trick Consolation mentioned earlier on this page. Or if Front Row works - that requires QE/CI.

 

Post your graphics page in profiler. I am curious to see what it says now.

 

Here is my graphics page.

 

nVidia Quadro NVS 110M EFI:

 

Chipset Model: nVidia Quadro NVS 110M EFI

Type: GPU

Bus: PCIe

PCIe Lane Width: x16

VRAM (Total): 128 MB

Vendor: NVIDIA (0x10de)

Device ID: 0x01d7

Revision ID: 0x00a1

Displays:

Display:

Resolution: 1680 x 1050

Pixel Depth: 32-Bit Color (ARGB8888)

Main Display: Yes

Mirror: Off

Online: Yes

Built-In: Yes

Display Connector:

Status: No Display Connected

 

Front Row works. iMovie works. I tried to add a widget using Dashboard, but I deleted the shortcut for it and apparantly that deletes the entire app in the Mac world. Oops.

[leppy700m]

Here is my graphics page.

 

 

 

Front Row works. iMovie works. I tried to add a widget using Dashboard, but I deleted the shortcut for it and apparantly that deletes the entire app in the Mac world. Oops.

 

Interesting - so the graphics card name/model is hard coded into the hex string. You could probably make it report gefilte fish 1000 and it would still work. I just wonder if there's a better string for that machine because even thought the chip is pretty much the same as the one used in the D620, is has more memory.

 

BTW Intel Wireless 3945abg is working!!!!! Its not stable but it is working on 10.5.8!!!

 

Yeah, I know they've been working on it, but it's far from ready for prime time. When It's solid, it will be a really nice thing for a lot of people. In the meantime, the Broadcom cards are dirt cheap.