Luke D Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 So this question seems to have been asked in a number of different places, but I haven't seen any concrete answer yet. I figured I'd report on my attempt and see if anyone has any advice. I have the Gigabyte GA-P55M-UD4P board with an i7-860. I'm attempting to do a basic Chameleon RC3 based install from a USB key that I've "restored" Snow Leopard onto from a retail DVD (10.6 kernel). This install works without a hitch on an ION-Atom board, no DSTS.aml at all, just fakesmc.kext and NullCPUPowerManagement.kext. Getting the system to function nicely also requires OpenHaltRestart.kext, and the sound isn't working. None of this is relevant to the P55 install, it's just an indication of where I'm trying to start on P55. I realize that I'll need a different set of kernel extensions for the P55, but I can't get far enough for that to be an issue yet. First of all, I have set SATA to use AHCI in the bios. Windows Vista installs fine in this setup, so I know that the system works. When booting from Chameleon, I get the option to install from the USB key, which I select. The standard Chameleon text flies past the screen, ending with something about starting x86_64 (I haven't been able to get a picture of that last bit). Then, when I would normally see the screen go Mac-gray, right before the apple icon shows up during booting from the install key, the system reboots rather than trying to load the installer. It appears, from reading the forums, that this happens because the vanilla kernel can't handle the i7-860 processor family string, and initiates a reboot. This appears to have been a problem with Leopard and the original X58 i7 boards as well, which was solved by using a patched kernel. It appears that, for reasons that I don't fully understand, this is no longer a problem and people are installing X58 i7s from vanilla kernels. I guess that this means that they are getting a newer vanilla kernel than is distributed on the install CD, and getting it onto the USB key? Anyway, my question is whether or not the processor ID is the likely problem, and if so, is there is any way to "fake"the processor ID through the bios or through a patched dsdt.aml? There shouldn't be anything fundamentally different between the 1366 pin i7s and the 1156 variety, at least as far as the OS is concerned. There may be trouble with the P55, but I can deal with that if I can get past my current problem. If the only option is to wait for a patched kernel, is this an easy or hard thing to do? I know that the kernel code is available, and am happy to take a look at it if someone can give me some pointers. Thanks for any advice. - Luke Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/189610-any-chance-of-a-vanilla-install-on-p55/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
makaa Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 UP sorry i have no answer to this, i'm just a newbie, but i want upgrade to i7 860 too, so this thread sounds very intresting to me. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/189610-any-chance-of-a-vanilla-install-on-p55/#findComment-1286326 Share on other sites More sharing options...
mafao Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 It appears, from reading the forums, that this happens because the vanilla kernel can't handle the i7-860 processor family string, and initiates a reboot. This appears to have been a problem with Leopard and the original X58 i7 boards as well, which was solved by using a patched kernel. It appears that, for reasons that I don't fully understand, this is no longer a problem and people are installing X58 i7s from vanilla kernels. I guess that this means that they are getting a newer vanilla kernel than is distributed on the install CD, and getting it onto the USB key? The vanilla kernel runs X58 with i7 after Apple released the first Nehalem MacPros — as thy have added support for this CPU (if I am not mistaken t was in OS X 10.5.7). The newer Lynnfield revision is not yet supported by the vanilla kernel — the only hope is that Apple will start building new MacPros based on Lynnfield. Or that maybe someone finds a way to fool the vanilla kernel into seeing a different CPU revision Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/189610-any-chance-of-a-vanilla-install-on-p55/#findComment-1286557 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke D Posted October 2, 2009 Author Share Posted October 2, 2009 The vanilla kernel runs X58 with i7 after Apple released the first Nehalem MacPros — as thy have added support for this CPU (if I am not mistaken t was in OS X 10.5.7). Thanks, that's what I figured. I guess I was confused since I wasn't aware that X58 supported dual processors (or Xeon's ECC ram for that matter, though I guess since the memory controller is on-chip it's just a matter of routing the PCB correctly and not northbridge related), so I assumed that Apple was either using Intel's 5500 or 5520 or something custom on the Mac Pro. I don't really understand how someone would use the Leopard install DVD and get the 10.5.7 kernel but I suppose that the X58 install forums explain this... presumably done by Chameleon or something. The newer Lynnfield revision is not yet supported by the vanilla kernel — the only hope is that Apple will start building new MacPros based on Lynnfield. Well, the news is that mini and iMacs are being replaced soon, maybe one of them will use a Lynnfield derivative. Or that maybe someone finds a way to fool the vanilla kernel into seeing a different CPU revision This was my main hope with this thread, that someone knew if this was possible with the BIOS/dsdt.aml, or someone would post when they got the 10.6/10.6.1 kernel patched to allow Lynnfield and AMD and I'd see it. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/189610-any-chance-of-a-vanilla-install-on-p55/#findComment-1287710 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke D Posted October 8, 2009 Author Share Posted October 8, 2009 As an update to this thread, I've tried the modbin kernels. They get farther into the boot process than vanilla, but crash when attempting to create some ramdisks (not a panic). The notes that I've seen online about the problem indicate that I should use a 64 bit kernel. Unfortunately, the modbin kernels are not 64 bit, so I'm stuck for a while. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/189610-any-chance-of-a-vanilla-install-on-p55/#findComment-1293337 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke D Posted October 20, 2009 Author Share Posted October 20, 2009 Well, iMacs are using i5/i7 -- presumably p55, so there's now hope of vanilla installs. I guess that there should be a 10.6.2 kernel at some point with this support? They also have Radeon 4670s, so hopefully a 58XX should appear soon in the Mac Pro realm. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/189610-any-chance-of-a-vanilla-install-on-p55/#findComment-1305057 Share on other sites More sharing options...
everdone Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 Just as a note, 10.5.7 will work on a Gigabyte P55 board. I used a HD from my X58 computer with 10.5.7 and it boots and runs with no problem. Of course it uses a voodoo kernel instead of vanilla since the vanilla kernel with 10.5.7 on the X58 suffers from the 'fast clock' problem. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/189610-any-chance-of-a-vanilla-install-on-p55/#findComment-1305193 Share on other sites More sharing options...
mg100796 Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 I was just wondering, does any of your Core i7s show up correctly in "About this Mac"? Mine shows up as an "Unknown" processor. I have the SMBios file in my E/E folder (Fixed my RAM running at 667MHz problem), and the EFI v10.3 boot file that's supposed to fix this... any ideas?? Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/189610-any-chance-of-a-vanilla-install-on-p55/#findComment-1305213 Share on other sites More sharing options...
strats37 Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 This may also help get the ball rolling for a SL install with a modified kernel if you can't wait for a Vanilla install. http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php...t&p=1299586 Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/189610-any-chance-of-a-vanilla-install-on-p55/#findComment-1306515 Share on other sites More sharing options...
leeyowon Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 there's a new iMac with i5/i7 released on the apple store, so it will be possible in the near future as soon as the new imacs start shipping and kernel is updated for those. and I don't see your problem as a kernel problem. If it's a kernel problem it must just reboot after selecting HDD from chameleon without any message. Your problem is identical to mine but I have no idea either. Just keep trying. O.o Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/189610-any-chance-of-a-vanilla-install-on-p55/#findComment-1306527 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts