GA-EP45-UD3L Snow Leopard Install Guide v1.0 for Newbies

[Nuse]

Breaking, you've been very helpful. I'm happy to say that i got to a point where if i restart i can still boot into the OSX via the verdant disc. From what it sounds like, theres a point where you can completely bypass using the verdant disc and you can just boot from the hard drive. This would be awesome.

 

The way i got it to load up after restarting(it didn't hang, either), is probably a mixture of the catri bios and installing chameleon via terminal. I initially tried installing chameleon via executable and it didn't work. I'm familiar with the terminal anyway. The last thing i guess i need clarification is can you boot from the hard drive at boot or will i always need verdant's cd?

 

EDIT: So i figured out how to use Chameleon and get it to boot from the hdd as well as a usb stick. For some reason it says EBIOS READ ERROR: DEVICE TIMEOUT for about 5 minutes before loading the chameleon bootloader.

 

Also, when i go to load it gets stuck at a part about terminating a usb device.

 

To workaround i put back int the verdant cd and did a -f -v and it went to the apple desktop again.

 

To me, booting from the cd all the time isn't a big deal, i rarely shut off my pc's anyway. Would be nice to figure out why it halts on that certain step when using the hdd chameleon as opposed to the cd's.

 

Lastly, more good news in that the ethernet driver works out of box. I guess tomorrow i'll research kexts/dsmt as you mentioned as that seems to be the last thing needed for me.(equivalent to windows drivers i suppose)

[Nuse]

So yay! I got it to boot from the hard drive. The EBIOS error was referring to a usb stick i had inside. Only downside is i still can't boot from the osx drive without using the cd. If i boot from the hd bootloader with verbose mode it says, "SMC missing" or something like that. This is probably due to the fact that i haven't done much post installation such as install the right kexts and whatnot(i've seen threads about fakesmc) and whatnot.

 

Oh well another day and more progress made. Thanks for all your help.

[breakingbad]

So yay! I got it to boot from the hard drive. The EBIOS error was referring to a usb stick i had inside. Only downside is i still can't boot from the osx drive without using the cd. If i boot from the hd bootloader with verbose mode it says, "SMC missing" or something like that. This is probably due to the fact that i haven't done much post installation such as install the right kexts and whatnot(i've seen threads about fakesmc) and whatnot.

 

Oh well another day and more progress made. Thanks for all your help.

The problem you´re facing about the SMC is probably due to not have the fakesmc file into the /Extra/Extensions folder. Try placing this kext into the folder mentioned and see what happens.

After the installation, the post install process is as important as the install itself. To get rid of the boot disk to start system, you need to have Chameleon 2 RC4 installed to your system and the right kexts into your Extensions folder.

 

Cheers,

bb.

[Nuse]

The problem you´re facing about the SMC is probably due to not have the fakesmc file into the /Extra/Extensions folder. Try placing this kext into the folder mentioned and see what happens.

After the installation, the post install process is as important as the install itself. To get rid of the boot disk to start system, you need to have Chameleon 2 RC4 installed to your system and the right kexts into your Extensions folder.

 

Cheers,

bb.

 

So i broke my installation for the fourth time using the automated tools UI OSX86 Installer and Osx8tools. I vow to never use these things again. I'd rather handpick kexts and place them in the extensions folder.

 

Lastly, i somehow messed up the chameleon boot installation(for the 1st time, last time i got it right). I used diskutil list in terminal and saw the drives. I didn't know whether i needed to apply the code to the guid partition or the partition with mac osx on it, both were about a 1gb difference. So i applied to both. This causes a loop of, "TESTING. GPT.TESTING.GPT" over and over until i force a reboot.

[breakingbad]

So i broke my installation for the fourth time using the automated tools UI OSX86 Installer and Osx8tools. I vow to never use these things again. I'd rather handpick kexts and place them in the extensions folder.

 

Lastly, i somehow messed up the chameleon boot installation(for the 1st time, last time i got it right). I used diskutil list in terminal and saw the drives. I didn't know whether i needed to apply the code to the guid partition or the partition with mac osx on it, both were about a 1gb difference. So i applied to both. This causes a loop of, "TESTING. GPT.TESTING.GPT" over and over until i force a reboot.

 

Hi Nuse.

Well, it´s normal to mess up with the install in the begin when you´re not familiarized with the process.

What I suggest you to do is this:

- Do a fresh install following the steps I told you to.

- Looks for Dr. Hurt installation package for Chameleon 2 RC4. (It´s easier to install the bootloader).

- After that, create the Extra folder in root and inside it create the Extensions folder.

- In Extra, put DSDT.aml + com.apple.Boot.plist + smbios.plist

- In Extensions put fakesmc.kext (look for the 2.5 version of it) and the other kexts needed to run your system as in post #1.

 

I believe that should solve your problem. Remember that the boot disk is only needed to start the installation. After that you install the bootloader to same partition of Snow Leo and you shouldn´t need the boot disk anymore.

 

Cheers,

bb.

[Nuse]

So great news guys: I'm pretty much up and running. I got ethernet, sound, and video(thanks to kext utility and nvinject). Only part im missing i guess is the hardware acceleration. I'm guessing this because when i minimize/maximize a window theres a slight(and i mean, ever so slight) lag, and also when i play a video it lags.

 

I think this is partly due to the fact that i picked a card not on the HCL. 9800 GT 1GB BFG. I would play around with efi strings, but i haven't been successful with those.

[breakingbad]

So great news guys: I'm pretty much up and running. I got ethernet, sound, and video(thanks to kext utility and nvinject). Only part im missing i guess is the hardware acceleration. I'm guessing this because when i minimize/maximize a window theres a slight(and i mean, ever so slight) lag, and also when i play a video it lags.

 

I think this is partly due to the fact that i picked a card not on the HCL. 9800 GT 1GB BFG. I would play around with efi strings, but i haven't been successful with those.

 

This GFX is supported.

What you may need is to add the strings into the com.apple.Boot.plist.

You can generate strings for your card via OSX86 Tools or EFIStudio.

 

Cheers,

bb.

[Nuse]

This GFX is supported.

What you may need is to add the strings into the com.apple.Boot.plist.

You can generate strings for your card via OSX86 Tools or EFIStudio.

 

Cheers,

bb.

 

Breaking, you've been extremely helpful. I just wanted to point that out first. Secondly, i got the gfx working with EFI Studio. My com.apple.boot was messed up and i had to put an old one in place before the injection would work. I'm glad there was an alternative to Osx86tools because i couldn't get that to work for the life of me.

 

I'm officially 100% up and running. Ethernet, Sound, and Video(with hardware acceleration tested in VLC).

 

This has been a week and a half long project 2 week project, and between work and responsibilities i'm glad to say i'm up and running full. Not only does it feel have it running, but the savings is tremendous compared to a cart build on apple.com.

[breakingbad]

Breaking, you've been extremely helpful. I just wanted to point that out first. Secondly, i got the gfx working with EFI Studio. My com.apple.boot was messed up and i had to put an old one in place before the injection would work. I'm glad there was an alternative to Osx86tools because i couldn't get that to work for the life of me.

 

I'm officially 100% up and running. Ethernet, Sound, and Video(with hardware acceleration tested in VLC).

 

This has been a week and a half long project 2 week project, and between work and responsibilities i'm glad to say i'm up and running full. Not only does it feel have it running, but the savings is tremendous compared to a cart build on apple.com.

 

Hi Nuse.

Nice to hear you´re up and running your system 100%.

Now that you have everything working, see how easy it is?

About saving money on an original mac, yeah, it´s true. But take this whole process as just knowledge. Whenever you get money, buy a real mac or everytime you need, buy Apple hardware to give them financial support.

I already did my part.

I bought:

- Apple Ethernet to USB adapter

- Magic Mouse

- Wireless Aluminum Keyboard

- About to buy the original DVD of Snow Leopard.

And I´m saving money to buy a real MacBook Pro.

 

Cheers,

bb.

[jdys_1991]

Thanks for writting up this detailed guide!

[breakingbad]

Thanks for writting up this detailed guide!

Well, I´ll take your gratitude in consideration.

I´m not the one who wrote it, but since Gurujee doesn´t show up since page 2, I´ll take the "credits" for him. LOL !

 

Cheers,

bb.

[Nuse]

Yeah, i definitely see how easy it was. I made it harder by not following the HCL for video cards. I just noticed yesterday that my screen is "sparkling" i guess they call that artifacts. Under 1280x1024 its fine, but that res looks ugly on my 24". I'll probably get a different videocard as this one may be "working", but with artifacts. Maybe its overheating. I can't seem to find any decent GPU readers.

 

Yeah, i'm definitely going to invest in getting a macbook pro laptop one day. They're expensive, but they sure are pretty.

[breakingbad]

Yeah, i definitely see how easy it was. I made it harder by not following the HCL for video cards. I just noticed yesterday that my screen is "sparkling" i guess they call that artifacts. Under 1280x1024 its fine, but that res looks ugly on my 24". I'll probably get a different videocard as this one may be "working", but with artifacts. Maybe its overheating. I can't seem to find any decent GPU readers.

 

Yeah, i'm definitely going to invest in getting a macbook pro laptop one day. They're expensive, but they sure are pretty.

 

Can you post any pics of this "artifacts" from your screen so we can see what exactly is the problem.

May be something with the configuration of your GFX. Do you own a 9800GT right? I see so many people using it without a single problem.

 

Cheers,

bb.

[Nuse]

Screenshots dont capture it as it happens every other milisecond. It's like seeing stars. White little stars popping up all over the place. Also, sometimes it gets scrambled as if watching an old cable channel you weren't allowed to. My friend made mention that when we got the card it had something "loose" inside. We thought nothing of it and installed it. This may be defective.

 

EDIT: Loose as in, when jiggled, something rattled.

[breakingbad]

Screenshots dont capture it as it happens every other milisecond. It's like seeing stars. White little stars popping up all over the place. Also, sometimes it gets scrambled as if watching an old cable channel you weren't allowed to. My friend made mention that when we got the card it had something "loose" inside. We thought nothing of it and installed it. This may be defective.

 

EDIT: Loose as in, when jiggled, something rattled.

Hi Nuse.

Try swapping the port out to display.

Sometimes this happen between DVI and the other one I don´t remember the name now.

 

Cheers,

bb.

[Nuse]

This one has two dvi, but i'll sure try and switch it out to the other one. I'll let you know.

 

I switched the DVI to the other and its not sparkling. But on the initial one its not sparkling either. Maybe it stopped. I'll leave it plugged in to the other dvi for now.

[hiroo]

I did a build with this MB and had things working ok. I decided to try sleep out to see if it works, but when I tried to wake it up with mouse click, it started waking up (fans turned on), then shut down after like 2 sec. then it started rebooting after about 3 sec.

 

when i got to the chameleon bootloader screen, I chose the snow leopard like normal and the boot disk icons disappear and just the chameleon graphic is left at the top and it just freezes there.

 

any clues on how i can get this booting again?

[breakingbad]

This one has two dvi, but i'll sure try and switch it out to the other one. I'll let you know.

 

I switched the DVI to the other and its not sparkling. But on the initial one its not sparkling either. Maybe it stopped. I'll leave it plugged in to the other dvi for now.

OK.

Just give it a try. It´s important.

Sometimes the port where you plug your display, makes the difference.

 

Cheers,

bb.

 

P.S. - I´ll be offline for sometime because I´m rebuilding my computer and I´m waiting for the new parts to arrive and as my father is traveling today and he´s taking his computer with him, I´ll have no access to here for a few days. Just FYI.

 

 

 

 

 

I did a build with this MB and had things working ok. I decided to try sleep out to see if it works, but when I tried to wake it up with mouse click, it started waking up (fans turned on), then shut down after like 2 sec. then it started rebooting after about 3 sec.

 

when i got to the chameleon bootloader screen, I chose the snow leopard like normal and the boot disk icons disappear and just the chameleon graphic is left at the top and it just freezes there.

 

any clues on how i can get this booting again?

 

Well mate, I´m a little confused... about what MB you´re talking about?

In your sig is saying that you own an Asus... are talking about same MB?

 

Cheers,

bb.

[hiroo]

Well mate, I´m a little confused... about what MB you´re talking about?

In your sig is saying that you own an Asus... are talking about same MB?

 

oops, the sig is from a way old build...never changed it. the mb i'm talking about is the one for this thread, GA-EP45-UD3L. I think trying out sleep messed up something in the boot process and when i select it in chameleon, it just hangs the process. this is the first build i've used chameleon for, so wanted some clues on how to fix this and get it booting again.

[breakingbad]

oops, the sig is from a way old build...never changed it. the mb i'm talking about is the one for this thread, GA-EP45-UD3L. I think trying out sleep messed up something in the boot process and when i select it in chameleon, it just hangs the process. this is the first build i've used chameleon for, so wanted some clues on how to fix this and get it booting again.

 

Hi mate.

I don't know with messing around with the sleep function would mess up the boot process.

What I suggest you to do is follow the steps I told Nuse to do in the previous posts to have a clean, fresh and working install of OS X.

 

 

Cheers,

bb.

[millie]

Hello there people!

 

I am thinking of updating my current hackintosh to a ud3l build however i am between getting the q6600 or the q8300

and would be installing using catri's bios.

 

Any thoughts on which processor i should choose?

 

cheers people

[breakingbad]

Hello there people!

 

I am thinking of updating my current hackintosh to a ud3l build however i am between getting the q6600 or the q8300

and would be installing using catri's bios.

 

Any thoughts on which processor i should choose?

 

cheers people

Well, this is a very personal issue.

The choose of a processor is only up to what do you use your computer for.

Here, I own a Q6600 OCed to 3.0 that runs smooth with the system. I'm a graphic designer and have no problem with my hardware.

Assuming you're a huge game player or and graphic artist, both of the processors you mentioned are quite enough.

I don't believe that price will be a problem since the difference between than must be very low...

I'd be with the newer one. I'm a geek when it comes to tech stuff. If I can, I always buy the latest stuff.

 

Cheers,

bb.

[verdant]

Well, this is a very personal issue.

The choose of a processor is only up to what do you use your computer for.

Here, I own a Q6600 OCed to 3.0 that runs smooth with the system. I'm a graphic designer and have no problem with my hardware.

Assuming you're a huge game player or and graphic artist, both of the processors you mentioned are quite enough.

I don't believe that price will be a problem since the difference between than must be very low...

I'd be with the newer one. I'm a geek when it comes to tech stuff. If I can, I always buy the latest stuff.

 

Cheers,

bb.

 

Further to what bb says, if you want to overclock your CPU, e.g. for gaming, I would look at UD3L MOBO reviews that include overclocking tests.........this way you can see which CPU overclocks better on this specific MOBO.....

[hiroo]

anybody have any success getting an Parallel IDE hard drive to mount on the Mac side using this motherboard? I could have sworn I saw it mount before but now am having trouble getting the Mac to see that drive, even as unmounted in Disk Utility.

[millie]

Cheers for your replies @verdant and @breaking,

 

Its nice to see people supporting the forums, i am already running the ep45-ud3lr mobo with an old core 2 extreme processor seems to be working fine following this guide im just thinking about going quad core for video editing and photoshop work.

 

Cheers for your help