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Switching Graphics Cards GT7600 -> G 210

MoTo77

By MoTo77,
in nVidia

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MoTo77
MoTo77
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I have a working OSX with an old GT7600 card, but I recently got a G210 and would like to switch it over.

 

I had installed the latest RC5 version of Chameleon in order to get dual booting with Win 7, and I thought that also automatically included drivers for the new nvidia cards, but apparently not. I tried just switching the card out, hoping the driver would be there, but of course that didn't work. It gets all the way through the Apple screen, but as soon as it gets to the point that it would normally open the Finder, I get a black screen instead.

 

Can anyone tell me what to do to get the 210 working?

 

Thank you!

oldnapalm
oldnapalm
Posted
Posted

Have you tried banini_jeque's string in this post?

http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php...t&p=1423346

 

Your black screen problem may be caused by wrong NVCAP.

 

Did you use GraphicsEnabler with your previous card?

 

You may need to change to EFI string or injector kext (NVEnabler) to be able to use custom NVCAP.

 

In this topic a guy with other card but similar problem fixed it inverting NVDA,Display-A and NVDA,Display-B in NVEnabler Info.plist

http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php...t&p=1541876

MoTo77
MoTo77
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Thanks for the reply!

 

Have you tried banini_jeque's string in this post?

http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php...t&p=1423346

That sounds promising as he has the exact same card as me (an EVGA version).

 

There are two files there (in addition to a screen shot):

geforce210.plist

GeForce210EFIString.txt

 

I will try them, but where do they go?

 

Your black screen problem may be caused by wrong NVCAP.

I don't know what NVCAP is... is that part of what the above files fix?

 

Did you use GraphicsEnabler with your previous card?

Yes. However I tried turning it on and off with this card. Neither worked.

 

You may need to change to EFI string or injector kext (NVEnabler) to be able to use custom NVCAP.

 

In this topic a guy with other card but similar problem fixed it inverting NVDA,Display-A and NVDA,Display-B in NVEnabler Info.plist

http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php...t&p=1541876

Oh... I barely know what I am doing in English. No chance in the world I could follow instructions in Spanish. :P

 

 

In addition to the above, I should mention that I haven't even gotten this card to boot in safe mode yet.... (I hit spacebar at the Chameleon startup screen then down arrow to "Safe Mode". Black screen after I type "exit" to boot the OS.

 

Every time I make a change I have to put in the old card, boot in 32 bit mode, make changes, shut down, put in the new card, reboot. :D

oldnapalm
oldnapalm
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That sounds promising as he has the exact same card as me (an EVGA version).

 

There are two files there (in addition to a screen shot):

geforce210.plist

GeForce210EFIString.txt

 

I will try them, but where do they go?

They go in your /Extra/com.apple.Boot.plist file. Make sure to turn off GraphicsEnabler and remove any injector kext (NVEnabler, NVInject, etc) you may have.

<key>device-properties</key>
<string>insert huge string from GeForce210EFIString.txt here</string>

 

I don't know what NVCAP is... is that part of what the above files fix?

Yes, it's a property it injects, you can see it in the plist version.

http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=228733

 

Yes. However I tried turning it on and off with this card. Neither worked.

Now that's strange. Maybe you have an injector kext also?

 

Oh... I barely know what I am doing in English. No chance in the world I could follow instructions in Spanish. :unsure:

Actually it's portuguese :)

But I translated the basic procedure, you would just edit the Info.plist and invert those keys values.

 

In addition to the above, I should mention that I haven't even gotten this card to boot in safe mode yet.... (I hit spacebar at the Chameleon startup screen then down arrow to "Safe Mode". Black screen after I type "exit" to boot the OS.

Aren't you confusing safe mode (-x) and single user mode (-s)? It should work in safe mode.

MoTo77
MoTo77
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They go in your /Extra/com.apple.Boot.plist file. Make sure to turn off GraphicsEnabler and remove any injector kext (NVEnabler, NVInject, etc) you may have.

<key>device-properties</key>
<string>insert huge string from GeForce210EFIString.txt here</string>

 

Ok I tried what I think you meant, with the same black screen result. I posted my current /Extra/com.apple.Boot.plist file below. Is that correct?

 

Now that's strange. Maybe you have an injector kext also?

I had NVEnabler 64.kext because someone had reported success with it. OK, it's out now.

 

Aren't you confusing safe mode (-x) and single user mode (-s)? It should work in safe mode.

 

heh heh...yeah... ;)

 

Here is my /Extra/com.apple.Boot.plist file:

 

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
<key>Kernel</key>
<string>mach_kernel</string>
<key>Kernel Flags</key>
<string>arch=i386</string>

<key>GraphicsEnabler</key>
<string>No</string>
<key>Timeout</key>
<string>1</string>
<key>Legacy Logo</key>
<string>Yes</string>
<key>EthernetBuiltIn</key>
<string>Yes</string>

<key>PciRoot(0x1)/Pci(0x1,0x0)/Pci(0x0,0x0)</key>
<dict>
	<key>@0,compatible</key>
	<string>NVDA,NVMac</string>
	<key>@0,device_type</key>
	<string>display</string>
	<key>@0,fboffset</key>
	<integer>131072</integer>
	<key>@0,name</key>
	<string>NVDA,Display-A</string>
	<key>@1,compatible</key>
	<string>NVDA,NVMac</string>
	<key>@1,device_type</key>
	<string>display</string>
	<key>@1,name</key>
	<string>NVDA,Display-B</string>
	<key>@2,compatible</key>
	<string>NVDA,sensor-parent</string>
	<key>@2,device_type</key>
	<string>NVDA,gpu-diode</string>
	<key>@2,hwctrl-params-version</key>
	<data>
	AAAAAg==
	</data>
	<key>@2,hwsensor-params-version</key>
	<data>
	AAAAAg==
	</data>
	<key>@2,name</key>
	<string>sensor-parent</string>
	<key>@2,reg</key>
	<data>
	AAAAAg==
	</data>
	<key>NVCAP</key>
	<data>BAAAAAAAAwAQAAAAAAAABwAAAAA=</data>
	<key>NVPM</key>
	<data>AQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA==</data>
	<key>VRAM,totalsize</key>
	<string>0x20000000</string>
	<key>device_type</key>
	<string>NVDA,Parent</string>
	<key>model</key>
	<string>NVIDIA Geforce 210</string>
	<key>name</key>
	<string>display</string>
	<key>rom-revision</key>
	<string>NVIDIA Geforce 210 OpenGL Engine [EFI]</string>
</dict>

<key>device-properties</key>
<string>STRING IS HERE BUT DELETED TO CONSERVE SPACE
</string>
</dict>
</plist>

oldnapalm
oldnapalm
Posted
Posted
Ok I tried what I think you meant, with the same black screen result. I posted my current /Extra/com.apple.Boot.plist file below. Is that correct?

Actually it's not, please see the attachment.

com.apple.Boot.plist.zip

 

If it doesn't work, remove the EFI string and try with attached NVEnabler.

NVEnabler_64.kext.zip

MoTo77
MoTo77
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Actually it's not, please see the attachment.

com.apple.Boot.plist.zip

 

If it doesn't work, remove the EFI string and try with attached NVEnabler.

NVEnabler_64.kext.zip

Your EFI string worked, thanks a lot! I get the ripple effect when I add a dashboard accessory, too, which didn't happen in safe mode. The fact that you can do this technical stuff bilingually is amazing!

 

Should I try the NVEnabler, too? Is one solution better than another for stability or speed?

 

Also, I tried deleting the arch=i386 string and booting up... the first THREE times I got system panics, (I don't know why I kept trying) but the fourth time it booted and has booted ever since. I assume that means this system is 64 bit capable?

 

Again thank you so much!

oldnapalm
oldnapalm
Posted
Posted

You are welcome. I'm glad it worked, but it's not mine, it was provided by banini_jeque :angel:

 

If you can test the NVEnabler (removing the EFI string) it would be nice just to know if it works. Both methods should work the same (no stability or speed difference).

 

I have no idea why it KP 3 times and then worked fine, but if it's running x86_64 and you aren't missing any kext that used to be loaded in i386, I would say it's 64 bit capable, yes.

MoTo77
MoTo77
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You are welcome. I'm glad it worked, but it's not mine, it was provided by banini_jeque :)

 

If you can test the NVEnabler (removing the EFI string) it would be nice just to know if it works. Both methods should work the same (no stability or speed difference).

 

I have no idea why it KP 3 times and then worked fine, but if it's running x86_64 and you aren't missing any kext that used to be loaded in i386, I would say it's 64 bit capable, yes.

UH OH. That EFI killed my sound. I just noticed... instead of the normal sound outputs, I have "Digital-out (HDMI)". Not only that, there are 4 identical versions of that in the sound control panel. (See the screen shot.)

 

That might be OK, but in the specs for this card, the HDMI port does not pass sound, so that can't possibly be working (I assume) since the hardware doesn't support it.

 

Sound INPUT is still OK, referencing the "pink front" connecter as normal.

 

Any ideas?

post-162048-1283550642_thumb.png

 

Edit: I tried using the NVEnabler_64.kext -> Black Screen

I removed the EFI string and reverted back to my old video card -> Sound works again

 

So it's definitely the EFI string that is bonking out the sound. That EFI seems to be telling the computer that the HDMI on the card is sound capable, which it isn't.

MoTo77
MoTo77
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Try other strings, like this one from blackandblue

http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php...t&p=1524638

 

 

Sigh.... black screen. But thanks for the tip. Is there a list of these somewhere? Or are you just finding them randomly around the site?

oldnapalm
oldnapalm
Posted
Posted

Just using the forum search.

 

Try converting the strings to plist (see this topic) and play with the properties. Compare them, maybe a property inside the string that makes the video work, is messing with the audio. If you can identify it, just remove it and convert the plist back to EFI string.

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