Gateway P-6860FX Snow Leopard Installation

[ps2pk]

Which laptops?

 

Updated 10/12/2011

 

Confirmed

6831fx

6860fx

 

Unconfirmed (but similar laptops)

7805

7807

78xx

 

I have made a bootcd that works on my computer. It's for people who don't have any versions of OSX installed nor have any available to work on. This way only works if you are installing on the SECOND harddrive on your laptop. The FX series comes with 2 bays for hds. Go buy a 2.5" hd and install it in the empty bay. We'll use that. This will NOT touch your Windows installation if you install it on a separate drive. I used the Scorpio 320gb blue that came with my computer for my Snow Leopard and put in a Scorpio 320gb black for my windows installation.

 

What doesn't work:

Wifi - buy one off ebay that is known to work (dell 1395/etc)

Sleep

ESATA

 

What works:

HDMI

Audio

Keyboard/Trackpad

VGA

Mostly everything else

 

My geekbench score - 4757

 

1. Buy a Snow Leopard Disc and restore it to a USB (8gb).

2. Download the BOOTCD file from the link at the bottom.

3. Burn the bootcd using the slowest speed (cd or dvd - doesn't matter)

4. At the bios screen press f10 to get to the boot menu. Chose the cd/dvd drive.

5. Once you get to the Chamelon boot screen select the USB drive where SL is restored to.

7. Once you get to the installation screen go to utilities > diskutitilty > the empty hd > partition > 1 partition > options > GUID > name it Snow (or whatver) and select macosjournaled > erase. After it's done exit diskutitlies from the top bar.

8. Click next until you are at the which drive to install to.

9. Click the drive you just erased and click customize. Deselect all and now install. Insallation should take 15-20min.

10. Once it's done reboot. takeout the snow leopard disc (or usb) and insert the bootcd. repeat step 4-6 but this time select the drive you installed SL on.

11. Set up OSX.

12. Once snow leopard is booted copy the gateway file folder to the desktop.

extract it and you should see these files: extra, kext helper, kext utility, bootloader, applehda

13. click bootloader > install v2.0 r665

14. once bootloader is installed then copy the extra folder to the root of your snow leopard hd

15. then click on kext utility, enter your password and run it. once it's done reboot. now you can boot from the HD. no need for CD anymore

16. install all updates (10.6.6) - restart is required.

17. once back in SL open up kext helper, drap applehda to it, enter password and reboot. kext helper sometimes doesn't close so a force close might be needed or just wait until it reboots.

 

That's it. Everything works expect for sleep and camera partially works.

 

Let me know how it goes.

 

 

BOOTCD http://www.mediafire.com/?q4nizy0ftty

 

GATEWAY FILES http://www.mediafire.com/?a7hdw67tiz5wgc2

[ps2pk]

Okay so I finally got it working today. I think I found the problem for cpu panic 0. I have two GUID partitions on my drive. The 1st partition contained Leopard and on the 2nd one I was trying to install Snow Leopard.

 

Decided today to start fresh. Booted up with ipc 10.5.8 and in disk utility created two partitions. Named the 1st one Snow and the 2nd one Leopard. Installed 10.5.8 to the leopard partition and once I got into 10.5.8 went ahead and followed MACinizeds guide and installed 10.6 to the Snow partition. So Snow partition is 1. Leopard is 2. And guess what. No CPU panic 0.

 

Another problem I was facing was the NTFS (volume name) Version 3.1. - Think the problem was that I installed parallels the first time. I don't know what my windows drive has to do with snow leopard as they're phyically two different hard drives. But when I installed 10.5.8 and booted up I didn't do anything other than EFIStudio. And Snow leopard installed fine. Of course I'm using the arch=i1386 flag but hey it's better than nothing.

 

Could be useful for Gateway FX owners (6860, 7805, 6831 etc).

 

Some problems - Keyboard and Trackpad don't work. Wireless internet doesn't work but I just purchased a broadcom BCM of ebay and it works flawlessly. It's like $20 shipped.

 

Tips - MUCH easier if you use a fresh hard drive. Keep Windows and Mac separate and it's possible on our laptops because we have two hard drive bays.

 

1. Install iPC 10.5.8 or any 10.5.x leopard. If you want to know which kexts I used for iPC PM me.

1a. Load the DVD and get to the first window. On the top bar click utilities and then disk utility. Select your new hd (not the windows one) and click on partition. Set it up for two partitions. Doesn't matter size. Name the TOP one Snow (this is important). Name the bottom partition Leopard. Click options and select GUID. And then erase. Should take 30-45 seconds.

 

Now close this screen and continue towards the installation. When it asks you where to install 10.5.x select Leopard. Then chose the kexts and whatever else and install.

 

2. Once you have a working 10.5.x go here and follow the guide by MACinized. He did a great job explaining everything so make sure to double read and get everything right. It's fairly easy.

 

3. After you've finished opening 3.Macloader and installing the EFI loader to the snow parition remember to eject/disconnect the usb drive you installed from. Reboot.

 

4. You'll see the bootloader now. Select the Snow drive and use the down arrow to select verbose mode.

 

5. Type in -v arch=i386

If you don't do this it either hangs up at AppleEthernet or NTFS (volume name) Version 3.1

You could try to just boot straight up and if it works...awesome.

 

6. Install OSX86tools. Open it and click ADD EFI/BOOT STRINGS

 

7. Find 8800GTS 512mb.

 

8. Generate strings.

 

9. Select copy to com.apple.plist

Enter password and reboot.

[Diamondragon16]

Do you have an email I could reach you at? for some reason I can't message you.

 

Thank you.

[ps2pk]

Do you have an email I could reach you at? for some reason I can't message you.

 

Thank you.

 

Got your message. Check your PM.

[ps2pk]

Updated.

 

Any problems let me know.

[BoostedH23a1]

Many thanks to Ps2pk for the help

 

ordered a dell 1390/1490/1510 mini pci-e card for wifi (not here yet but will work the airport)

---edit--*added the mini wifi and it worked fine. Do note this is a 1/2 mini card so i made an adapter if you will to hold it in place. i took a piece of plastic and drilled 4 holes in it so i could bolt it down to the full size mounting nuts. i think i t could fall out if you dont. they probably make something for this or it might come with it but i got mine for 20 dollars on ebay so it only came with the card... seems to work fine..---end of edit*

 

and downloaded a private file from ps2pk for the sound and keyboard issues... seems to be working fine

 

only quirks are

-sleep

-Shutdown (when you shut down the OS shuts down fine but the lights and fans are still on so

have to hold the power switch down to turn all that off, not a huge deal though)

-webcam (have not tried camtwist like some have. the light on the camera will light up when you

go into photoboth but my pictures all all black)

[castelli]

Confirmed sound works for P-6860fx? it doesn't work for me. Help, if you have kexts or something that you know work, I can make myself a new bootcd, please send me them