[GUIDE/HOWTO] Snow Leopard 10.6.3/10.6.4 on Asus "Republic of Gamers" G60JX

[T13]

Thanks for the useful post.

 

I just picked up the G60Jx.

 

Before I embark on this mission (It will be my 3rd hack) I was just wondering what are the reprocussions of hard shutdowns all the time. Do you need to need to do repair permissions more often?

[quaestor]

My harddrive is booting up, I mean, I see the Chameleon menu, and can choose to start OSX from there, but after selection it goes to a white screen with an Apple and basically locks up from there. If I hit tab and try to watch the output or put it in verbose mode, some text flies by then it's a black screen.

You might try installing the Asere BL, but AFAICT from your description, it sounds like you're actually booting just fine, it's just that the GUI isn't loading, so i.e. graphics is busted, probably a driver issue. Did you install the MBP Update? Also, make sure you have "GraphicsEnabler" in your boot.plist.

 

Before I embark on this mission (It will be my 3rd hack) I was just wondering what are the reprocussions of hard shutdowns all the time. Do you need to need to do repair permissions more often?

I cheat

I do a Restart from OSX and then power off while BIOS is in POST. I've never hurt a system by doing that, so I'm not worried.

[Cknoblet]

My bootloader issues are fixed! Turns out the 10.6.3 kernel wouldn't work with any bootloader. And maybe I missed a step somewhere but I couldn't run the MacBookPro update (to fix the kernel) until I had a working bootloader. Total catch-22.

 

I saw in another thread that you were at one point using the kernel from preboot.dmg (included in the Empire EFI boot disc). The minute I put that kernel in, the bootloader was fixed. With the bootloader working, smbios gets used, with smbios, I was able to install the MBP update, which ultimately installs a new kernel.

 

So now I'm up and running and working on getting the drivers up. The sound kexts are scary so I'm saving those for last, but I've already got the video, keyboard, battery, touchpad working.

 

Problems at the moment:

 

Sleep Mode: Choosing Sleep from the menu totally messes something up. I have to run a repair on disk permissions from the OSX install disc to be able to boot up again.

 

Touchpad: Installed and working along with settings panel. However, settings seem to have to be reapplied every time I restart. The old settings are still set, but the touchpad moves VERY slowly until I open the settings and close them. Then all is well.

 

Backup Extensions: Some of my kexts are being installed to "Backup Extensions" and I'm not sure why. I'm using Kext Helper to install things, so that's part of the problem, but do things still load up from "Backup"?

 

I'm so excited! Its working pretty damn good so far!

[quaestor]

Problems at the moment:

 

Sleep Mode: Choosing Sleep from the menu totally messes something up. I have to run a repair on disk permissions from the OSX install disc to be able to boot up again.

 

Touchpad: Installed and working along with settings panel. However, settings seem to have to be reapplied every time I restart. The old settings are still set, but the touchpad moves VERY slowly until I open the settings and close them. Then all is well.

 

Backup Extensions: Some of my kexts are being installed to "Backup Extensions" and I'm not sure why. I'm using Kext Helper to install things, so that's part of the problem, but do things still load up from "Backup"?

 

I'm so excited! Its working pretty damn good so far!

Excellent! I'm glad to hear that things are going so well.

 

You might have missed it, but I mentioned in the guide that if sleep/hibernate/shutdown fail, get access to the disc (somehow :censored2: ) and delete "/private/var/vm/sleepimage".The "fix" is: the kernel never tries to use the sleepimage with "Wake" set false in com.apple.boot.plist, so you don't have to worry about an accidental sleep or shutdown leaving your system wedged.

 

I referenced the touchpad install instructions in the guide, but here's the link again. You're just missing the settings loader.

 

Don't know about the Backup Extensions thing; that's weird. Oh, and as far as using Kext Helper - I told you so (by which I mean: if you do things manually, you might screw them up, but if you use an installer/script/wizard that someone else made, you really have no idea what it's doing to your system, right?)

[Cknoblet]

Don't know about the Backup Extensions thing; that's weird. Oh, and as far as using Kext Helper - I told you so (by which I mean: if you do things manually, you might screw them up, but if you use an installer/script/wizard that someone else made, you really have no idea what it's doing to your system, right?)

 

Well I took your advice to heart and started over completely. I also took notes as I went along so that I could redo it in a few hours without guessing my way through certain parts.

 

I have a great sense of satisfaction having done it without any auto installers this time. I know where every installed file went and it gave me a better understanding of the whole process.

 

I have an ALMOST fully working system now, sound, bluetooth, graphics, network (not wifi of course), battery, DSDT hacks, FakeSMC, MBP update. The one thing I can't seem to fix is the Keyboard/Touchpad driver. All of the files are installed:

 

ApplePS2Controller

com.meklort.ps2.helper

Synaptics Pref Pane

AppleACPIPS2Nub

 

The system keeps telling me that I've incorrectly installed the kexts. I'm putting them in S/L/E and chmod and chown'ing them.

 

This same setup with all the same drivers, etc was working with the keyboard and touchpad before I started over. The only difference is that I didn't run myHack and some of the other auto utils. I'm thinking maybe one of those utils deleted a conflicting mac driver or something (allowing the new ps2 drivers to function). Something I wouldn't know to do on my own.

 

I am currently using a USB keyboard and wireless mouse, so I'm not dead in the water, but please help me finish it off!

[quaestor]

Well I took your advice to heart and started over completely. I also took notes as I went along so that I could redo it in a few hours without guessing my way through certain parts.

 

I have a great sense of satisfaction having done it without any auto installers this time. I know where every installed file went and it gave me a better understanding of the whole process.

AWESOME! I wish more people understood this. Yeah, it's frustrating, and there's a learning curve, but it's very satisfying (when it works ), and you have a great deal more control over your system in the long run. (PS Good job taking notes; it's an excellent idea; you should put them online, in a blog or forum post!)

 

ApplePS2Controller

com.meklort.ps2.helper

Synaptics Pref Pane

AppleACPIPS2Nub

 

The system keeps telling me that I've incorrectly installed the kexts. I'm putting them in S/L/E and chmod and chown'ing them.

 

This same setup with all the same drivers, etc was working with the keyboard and touchpad before I started over. The only difference is that I didn't run myHack and some of the other auto utils. I'm thinking maybe one of those utils deleted a conflicting mac driver or something (allowing the new ps2 drivers to function). Something I wouldn't know to do on my own.

What do you mean when you say "the system keeps telling me that I've incorrectly installed the kexts"? The only things I can think of would be 1) You're running in 64-bit mode - the PS2 kext may not be compatible or 2) You may have an older (way older) version of the kext. AFAIR, the PS2 stuff is completely gone from SL, so there shouldn't be any conflicting kexts...

[Cknoblet]

Keyboard and Trackpad fixed! You were correct, the culprit was indeed that I was in 64 bit mode using 32 bit keyboard drivers. I started by putting arch=i386 in the boot.plist, but ultimately went with VoodooPS2 drivers to keep everything 64 bit for whatever reason.

 

Having fixed that, I moved on...

 

I saved the SBRG/LPCB DSDT hack for last because I didn't fully understand what I was doing, but with enough looking around, and the ID you posted on the wiki, I think I got it all set up. Though my laptop is still pushing very warm air out the side. I was hoping it would cool off some with this lower temps hack.

 

I believe there's only 3 things left to tackle:

 

Which wifi card to purchase as a replacement.

 

How to get this thing to sleep and wake without breaking permissions. (sleep = dead right now)

 

Fix dual booting to Windows 7.

 

Just FYI, I did the extra steps to make my install on an MBR, so hopefully Win7 doesn't complain too much.

 

I'll keep you informed, and let me know if you have any tips on any of these issues.

 

Thanks again!

[quaestor]

but ultimately went with VoodooPS2 drivers to keep everything 64 bit for whatever reason.

Let me know how that works; seems like I remember having wacky tracking (or maybe no multi-touch? Can't remember).

I saved the SBRG/LPCB DSDT hack for last because I didn't fully understand what I was doing, but with enough looking around, and the ID you posted on the wiki, I think I got it all set up. Though my laptop is still pushing very warm air out the side. I was hoping it would cool off some with this lower temps hack.

Yeah, this thing gets bloody hot when it's doing anything (although mine does idle <40^oC); I keep my fingers crossed that the designers knew what they were doing...

How to get this thing to sleep and wake without breaking permissions. (sleep = dead right now)

You fix that and I'll... Come mow your lawn, or something. You'd certainly be my hero

Thanks again!

NP; I'm actually chuffed that I'm finally able to give back to a community that's always been willing to help (although finding the right help can sometimes be hard ).

[nfshp253]

Everyone who's having problems dual-booting can try downloading the SL install disk that supports MBR. You can also patch the original disk you have.

 

@quaestor, can you try something for me? Can you get Handwriting in Simplified Chinese to work? It's in International or something in the Preferences pane.

[quaestor]

@quaestor, can you try something for me? Can you get Handwriting in Simplified Chinese to work? It's in International or something in the Preferences pane.

Can take a whack at it, though I've never tried it before.

[Ocha888]

I have G60Jx (best buy version) and I am having trouble installing sound kext. I tried different version of VoodooHDA wih patching and all that good stuff but its no go. Can you help me with it please?

 

Believe me, I followed your instructions step by step but it still doesnt work. I am running 10.6.4 with OSXkernel (one located on OSX partition - unmodified). I have DSDT patched and all that stuff. Could you send me your sound kexts and DSDT.aml file too please?

 

Thanks in advance.

[quaestor]

Believe me, I followed your instructions step by step but it still doesnt work. I am running 10.6.4 with OSXkernel (one located on OSX partition - unmodified). I have DSDT patched and all that stuff. Could you send me your sound kexts and DSDT.aml file too please?

I'm at work right now, so I can't attach any files yet, but I'm wondering what the exact problem is. You said you're having trouble installing the kext; are you being literal, or do you mean you install the kext and sound doesn't work? If the latter, what are the symptoms? No devices in System Prefs? Devices but no sound?

 

S/PDIF never worked for me until after the 10.6.4 update, at which point I realized I'd forgotten to take the new AppleHDA.kext out of use. I've just left it alone since then 'cause it works and hasn't caused any problems. Point being; if you deleted the AppleHDA.kext after you did the update, it may have broken sound completely. Just a theory, mind you.

[Ocha888]

I'm at work right now, so I can't attach any files yet, but I'm wondering what the exact problem is. You said you're having trouble installing the kext; are you being literal, or do you mean you install the kext and sound doesn't work? If the latter, what are the symptoms? No devices in System Prefs? Devices but no sound?

 

S/PDIF never worked for me until after the 10.6.4 update, at which point I realized I'd forgotten to take the new AppleHDA.kext out of use. I've just left it alone since then 'cause it works and hasn't caused any problems. Point being; if you deleted the AppleHDA.kext after you did the update, it may have broken sound completely. Just a theory, mind you.

 

No. I installed kext without problem. There is no device in list. 32Bit pref pane also crashes. I have arch=i386 flag but it still boots in 64bit mode (maybe because im using unmodified kernel) also keyboard wont work unless i have arch=i386 flag.

 

Thanks.

[Ocha888]

No. I installed kext without problem. There is no device in list. 32Bit pref pane also crashes. I have arch=i386 flag but it still boots in 64bit mode (maybe because im using unmodified kernel) also keyboard wont work unless i have arch=i386 flag.

 

Thanks.

 

Got Sound working: Needs original AppleHDA from 10.6.4 update. then I used VoodooHDA installer 0.2.61 that caused kernel panic. replaced it with one noted in the guide and substituted the PCIMatch all works now perfect. Voodoo installer installed 64 and 32 bit pref panes. 64 bit was not available in guide.

 

Also another news: PS2 keyboard/mouse (Im talking about trackpad - trust me) works fine. WITH finger swipes.

 

Only problem is that VoodooHDA pref pane settings are not saved across the restart. Can you help me with this please?

[quaestor]

Got Sound working: Needs original AppleHDA from 10.6.4 update. then I used VoodooHDA installer 0.2.61 that caused kernel panic. replaced it with one noted in the guide and substituted the PCIMatch all works now perfect. Voodoo installer installed 64 and 32 bit pref panes. 64 bit was not available in guide.

So, you ran the VoodooHDA 0.2.61 installer, and then copied the files from the guide over that? I wasn't concerned with making things 64-bit clean, so I don't recall for certain, but I'm pretty sure that the 64-bit pref pane is included in the archive I linked to.

Also another news: PS2 keyboard/mouse (Im talking about trackpad - trust me) works fine. WITH finger swipes.

And this is with the VoodooPS2 kext (not the Meklort)? Which version? Can you post a link?

Only problem is that VoodooHDA pref pane settings are not saved across the restart. Can you help me with this please?

You are probably missing the voodoohdahelper; I don't know if it's included in the installer you mentioned or not. The link is in the guide.

[Ocha888]

It says its 64 bit on folder name but when you go to pref pane its 32 bit. yea its VoodooPS2 installer with 10.4.0 vanilla kernel. i downloaded iatkos 7 DVD and extracted installers from there.

[quaestor]

It says its 64 bit on folder name but when you go to pref pane its 32 bit. yea its VoodooPS2 installer with 10.4.0 vanilla kernel. i downloaded iatkos 7 DVD and extracted installers from there.

I don't understand what you mean by "with 10.4.0 vanilla kernel". The VoodooPS2 installer includes the kernel?!

I'm a little confused; iAtkos 7 is Leopard (10.5.7). It shouldn't have any 64-bit kexts or pref panes (note to self; I see that there's a very new VoodooPS2 installer at nawcom.com... newer than the kext files there).

I'm still curious as to how you got sound working. It seems as though you ran a VoodooHDA installer, and then copied files over top of that by hand. Is that the case? Also, I take it that the pref pane you mention is the HDA pref pane, not the one for PS2?

[Ocha888]

hmm. it was latest iATKOS. its 10.6.3 DVD. I pulled installers from there. Vanilla kernel --> i mean that my a.c.B.p uses kernel that came with mac (located at /OSX_DRIVE/mach_kernel). I use arch=i386 flag for kernel flags but it still buts in 64bit mode (i go to activity screen and it says Intel 64bit)

 

VoodooPS2 had no prefpane. I am using mac's original built in prefpane and everything works great. clicking/dragging/swiping.

 

When I installed VoodooHDA i restarted pc. I got kernel panic. So I booted using -x -s and deleted VoodooHDA from the S/L/E folder. At that pint VoodooHDA pref pane (both 32 and 64 bits) are installed. I boot back without panic (kext is gone) and install the kext that you linked to. I change PCIMatch and restart. It starts with everything working. Line in/Mic/Speakers both internal and external work.

[quaestor]

hmm. it was latest iATKOS. its 10.6.3 DVD. I pulled installers from there. Vanilla kernel --> i mean that my a.c.B.p uses kernel that came with mac (located at /OSX_DRIVE/mach_kernel). I use arch=i386 flag for kernel flags but it still buts in 64bit mode (i go to activity screen and it says Intel 64bit)

 

VoodooPS2 had no prefpane. I am using mac's original built in prefpane and everything works great. clicking/dragging/swiping.

 

When I installed VoodooHDA i restarted pc. I got kernel panic. So I booted using -x -s and deleted VoodooHDA from the S/L/E folder. At that pint VoodooHDA pref pane (both 32 and 64 bits) are installed. I boot back without panic (kext is gone) and install the kext that you linked to. I change PCIMatch and restart. It starts with everything working. Line in/Mic/Speakers both internal and external work.

Great, thanks, much clearer.

If you're booting with "arch=i386", you are NOT booting the 64-bit kernel. You are booting the 32-bit kernel with 64-bit extensions.

The following is (roughly) what you'll see in system.log when booting the 32-bit kernel (this is actually from Leopard, but SL is very similar):

May 7 09:09:02 localhost kernel[0]: PAE enabled

May 7 09:09:02 localhost kernel[0]: Darwin Kernel Version 9.7.0: Tue Mar 31 22:52:17 PDT 2009; root:xnu-1228.12.14~1/RELEASE_I386

 

On SL booting the 64-bit kernel, the end of the second line will state "x86_64" or something very similar

[Cknoblet]

Update on my system:

 

DUAL BOOT OSX & WIN7

 

I've finally managed a dual boot (MBR) with OSX as the first partition, and Win7 as the second. I wanted to keep the Chameleon bootloader, so I found a way to make it happen.

 

Simplified

1. Install OSX, creating BOTH partitions with the disk utils.

2. Boot from Win7 disc and Install Win7. (OSX will no longer start)

3. Boot OSX from boot disk and install Chameleon2 rc4 loader. (Win7 will no longer start)

4. Boot Win7 from install disc and run the "startup repair".

5. Boot directly into Win7.

6. Using "diskpart" in Win7, set your OSX partition to be active (this MUST be done in Windows).

 

Chameleon will now start and should be able to boot to either OS.

 

FIXING WIN7 HIBERNATION

 

Apparently Win7 must have its partition set to Active if you want to use hibernation. I've tested this, and it is true. So using the steps I've listed above, essentially breaks Windows hibernation. Well there is a workaround, but it's not for the weak of heart, and may only work with MBR installs.

 

You have to hex edit the bootloader to where it doesn't care if the OSX partition is active or not. That way you can set Win7's partition active, fixing Windows hibernation. Here's a link to the posting where I found the fix (WARNING MIGHT BE MBR ONLY):

 

Hexedit Chameleon to fix Win7 Hibernation

 

I pulled the free version of Neo that they link to, and had to enable it's trial to be able to edit the harddrive directly. Also note that when you Open your harddrive with that program, there's a check box that makes it read only. You have to uncheck that for the edit to save.

 

What's kinda neat with this is that when you resume hibernation, you're presented with the Chameleon loader. At which point you can choose OSX or Windows. Choosing Windows resumes from hibernation. This means you don't really have to shut down Windows when you want to boot into OSX, simply hibernate and wake the system, then boot to OSX.

 

I'm still working on sleep in OSX. I think we might be out of luck here.

[quaestor]

@nfshp253:

Sorry, man, I have no clue about handwriting input. I strongly suspect that without "native" trackpad support (i.e. Apple Trackpad pref pane is available and usable) the system doesn't think there's a trackpad connected and doesn't offer handwriting input. Just a guess.

 

@Ocha888:

Is there any way you can upload or attach the installers you used for PS2 and sound? I can't find a 64-bit VoodooHDA prefpane anywhere, and the latest VoodooPS2 installer from nawcom.com does not work for me at all.

 

@Cknoblet:

Interesting. I may try that out this weekend if I'm feeling particularly brave.

[Fradical One]

Do you mean you let the Software Update app do an update? If so, that's a Very Bad Idea for OS version updates (i.e. from 10.6.0 to 10.6.4; letting it update apps like iTunes and such is fine).

 

Any time Software Update offers an *OS* update, uncheck it. If you want to do that particular update, look at Apple's website for a Combo Update, which you download and install manually. I don't know why the difference, but OS auto-updates are poison for hackintoshes.

 

Hmm .. I have been looking for information on this .. I installed Hazard 10.6.2 in VirtualBox, and so far it works well. I am glad I snapshotted the install, cause I used Apple Software Update to move up to 10.6.4, and it killed my boot.

 

So you think the combo install will get around this? I will have to try this. Is there anything else I should look out for?

[quaestor]

Hmm .. I have been looking for information on this .. I installed Hazard 10.6.2 in VirtualBox, and so far it works well. I am glad I snapshotted the install, cause I used Apple Software Update to move up to 10.6.4, and it killed my boot.

 

So you think the combo install will get around this? I will have to try this. Is there anything else I should look out for?

I've always gotten good results from downloading the Combo Updates and applying them manually. As far as anything else goes, I've never heard of Hazard and I've only ever installed/run OSX bare-metal, so I can't speak to anything involved with running it virtualized.

In any case, this is a little off-topic; I'm sure there are threads out there which deal more specifically with virtualized OSX.

[Fradical One]

I've always gotten good results from downloading the Combo Updates and applying them manually. As far as anything else goes, I've never heard of Hazard and I've only ever installed/run OSX bare-metal, so I can't speak to anything involved with running it virtualized.

In any case, this is a little off-topic; I'm sure there are threads out there which deal more specifically with virtualized OSX.

 

I am not sure what the right forum is for this! Hazard is one of those OSX86 distros. It can be installed directly to metal, or used in VirtualBox.

 

I did install the combo, and the error I get is the same as when I installed 10.6.4 from Apple Software Update. I get Panic (CPU 0 ) "Version mismatch between Kernel and CPU PM".

[Cknoblet]

I just got my replacement Broadcom wifi card in. It's a full height B/G card, so I'm giving up Wireless N, but that's no big deal. If I want fast transfers, I'll use a cable. The full height card fit in fine just like you said. Simple to install, electrical tape to hold it in place.

 

A boot up and a restart and it's ready to go, OSX thinks it's a legit Airport!

 

I am still wrestling with sound and ps2 issues. I'm using voodooPS2 and voodooHDA. There's a lot of versions of both of these kexts, their pref panels, and even the helper apps. I think we need to find combinations that work well together.

 

At this point, my sound quality is good, no skipping, no crackle. But my pref panel has a lot of devices listed that probably aren't in use. Plus my microphone isn't working at all.

 

The ps2 kext and pref panel is working fine, but seems to lack precision when you're trying to click on an X or option box, etc. I tried it on a real Mac and when making fine movements on a trackpad, it should be very precise. Mine is kind of hoppy when you try to put the pointer on a small target. Maybe thats a pref panel option that I need to turn on?

 

VoodooPS2 has it's own panel, but also lets you use the vanilla trackpad pref panel to set things.

 

How are things going with the sound and ps2 kexts you're using Quaestor?