Newbie help

[Naoki S]

Hi, Naoki S, but you can call me Naoki.

 

Basicly, I've always wanted projects to do and always had hardware laying around. Recently after messing with MESS to get OS 6 (I think) working on an emulated Mac Plus, I considered having a try at OS X after reading about the emulated EFI. Now I'm blown away with guides and distro's to choose from, but don't have all the time in the world to try them, since I'm still a student. I thought instead of reading through massive pages of info that possibly is outdated and nothing like my hardware, I'd thought I'd come here to try get the best Distro and guide for me.

 

Now, I'm not fussy which OS X version I can use, because TBH I'd be fine with Tiger, though I'd rather have something more modern so software will still work with it. I would wish for it to be as simple as possible, but will try harder with help. I'm also broke for cash, and I don't live near any (or so I've seen) computer stores and can't buy hardware without making a trip to Swindon (I live in the UK you see). I also can't buy stuff from online. I'll list the availible hardware I have now:

 

• CPUs: AMD Athlon XP (Not sure what type, but 2.6 GHz if i remember), 2x Pentium 4 1.8GHz (Both are Northwood I think), 2x Pentium 4 1.7GHz (Not sure which type), Pentium 4 1.6GHz (Not sure which type, currently missing), Pentium II (I know it's pointless listing, but just so you know)
  
• Motherboards:
   
  Jetway V600DAP (Max. 3GB RAM (DDR SDRAM/DIMM, 3 Banks), Socket A, 8x USB (4x External, 4x Internal), NorthBridge (VIA KT600/0444CD), SouthBridge (VIA VT8237/0430CD), Intergrated Audio (Realtek AC'97 I think), OnBoard LAN (Not sure what chip), 2x SataII (I think) ports, 2x IDE Ports, Floppy port, 5 PCI ports, AGP x8 (I think), Parrallel, 2x Serial, 2x PS/2 ports.
   
  AOpen MX4LR (PGA478 Socket, Max. 2GB RAM (DDR DIMM/SDRAM, 2 Banks), 6x USB (2x External, 4x Internal), Intel Intergrated Graphics (4MB RAM (I believe), ADD Port (Doesn't accept add-on AGPS)), Cannot read NorthBridge ID, SouthBridge (Intel FW82801DR/L214TB31/SL66K), Intergrated Audio (Realtek AC'97 I believe, possibly C-Media. BROKEN, using external sound card), OnBoard LAN (I think it was Realtek, but unsure), 2x IDE Ports, Floppy port, 3x PCI Ports, Parrallel, Serial, 2x PS/2, VGA.
   
  HP-OEM Board - "Berlin" (Will grab info later)
   
  Unknown Manfac. or ID (Intel Slot 1, Unknown Max. RAM (SDR SDRAM, 3 Banks), 2x USB (External), AGP Unknown type (Possibly X2, maybe better), NorthBridge (Intel AGPset, FW82443LX/F747VB25/SL2KK, I think), SouthBridge (Intel PCIset FW82371AB/L7471516/SL23P, I think), ISA Controller? Is third chip (NSC 2S9802ADE4/PC97307-IBU/VUL), No OnBoard Audio, No Onboard LAN, 2x IDE Ports, Floppy, 4x PCI Ports, 2x ISA Ports, Parrallel, 2x Serial, 2x PS/2.
  
• RAM Sticks:
   
  3x Crucial 1GB DDR DIMM 333MHz
  4x SAMSUNG 256MB DDR DIMM Unk. Speed
  2x Unk. Manfac. 64MB SDR SDRAM Unk. Speed
  1x Nothing known about this stick, but it is SDR SDRAM
  
• GFX Cards:
   
  NVidia RIVA with 2~4(unsure)MB RAM, AGP. Board made by STB Systems. No-TV, just VGA.
  NVidia GeForce 7600GS with 256MB RAM, AGP. Board is made by Inno3D. Has VGA, DVI, S-Video (Also supports direct Composite and Componant output)
  NVidia Quadro NVS285 2D 128MB, PCIe (Have no MB to use with, Doesn't support 3D). Has DVI-DualLink port.
  
• Sound Cards:
   
  C-Media CMI8738/PCI-8X (Don't think this works anymore)
  ENSOUND ES1370 AUDIOPCI (Not tested)
  
• Network Cards:
   
  RTL8029AS (8A208T1)
  ADMtek AN983B
  PCTEL PCT89T-C1
  USRobotics Sportster 33600 WINMODEM (ISA)
  
• Misc.
   
  TekrAm TRM-S1040E SCSI Card (1 External, 1 Internal)
  1GB USB Stick
  

 

I realize most of this info is unnesscary and pointless, but I put it there just incase anything could become usefull. Currently I have no spare harddisks with no use, the last 30GB I had died for no reason, and all the old 10GB<* Disks were dead, apart from one disk which seems to partially work.

 

So, could someone have a look at my specs and see which is best to use? I'm probably going to get a PCI->Sata card at somepoint and hopefully some more harddisks. I hope I haven't turned any person away from helping me Also, appologese if this is the wrong section, it's just gone 3AM and I want to sleep Naoki S

[wobblyrainking]

Use your AOpen board and one of the P4s. Preferable the fastest. Boot with [url=&quot;http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/279450-why-insanelymac-does-not-support-tonymacx86/&quot;]#####[/url] 3.0 supported and a retail CD. Partition your drive to GUID for this.

 

Should be no problem.

 

Make sure the BIOS supports AHCI (if not update and it should be so) and you Enable the Execute Bit Disabled option. Get yourself a top of the line AGP video card that's Nvidia (super cheap because they're AGP) and it should be pretty simple.

 

Use a SATA drive, it's easier that way.

 

Good luck!

 

Oh no AGP expansion. I guess get yourself the best PCI video card you can find then. hopefully that onboard video works....

[Naoki S]

Use your AOpen board and one of the P4s. Preferable the fastest. Boot with [url=&quot;http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/279450-why-insanelymac-does-not-support-tonymacx86/&quot;]#####[/url] 3.0 supported and a retail CD. Partition your drive to GUID for this.

 

Should be no problem.

 

Make sure the BIOS supports AHCI (if not update and it should be so) and you Enable the Execute Bit Disabled option. Get yourself a top of the line AGP video card that's Nvidia (super cheap because they're AGP) and it should be pretty simple.

 

Use a SATA drive, it's easier that way.

 

Good luck!

 

Oh no AGP expansion. I guess get yourself the best PCI video card you can find then. hopefully that onboard video works....

 

 

Hi, thanks for the reply.

 

Yes unfortunatly, Intel were idiots with ADD so no AGP Cards. And I'm assuming you mean when I have th Sata card to update the BIOS.

 

It may be worth noting that both the AOpen and HP "berlin" Board are very similar, only the latter using SiS Chipsets instead. It's currently running XP fine, despite the drive being empty for space and XP seems slightly corrupted. Here is a link to the "Berlin" Specs.

 

Also, which is the best Distro and guide for OS X on these?

[Naoki S]

Hi again.

 

None of my boards support 64-bit, and the guide says to use Snow Leopard which i believe is 64-bit. Is this true?

Also, only my AMD board has any means of SATA support, asides from my Sata > USB converter, though I doubt that'll work for this..

 

Also, if i install OS X but do not install the unpatches files at the end, can I still boot into Windows?

[Gringo Vermelho]

Hey I know you, you're that annoying guy from mameworld who doesn't think/research before he posts. You'll fit right in here on IM.

 

I would try with an old distro like JaS OSx86 Client/Server 10.5.4 (find with google), it has good compatibility with old P4 based systems.

Use the Voodoo XNU 9.4.0 kernel. If you want to attempt an upgrade to 10.5.8 later, these will be helpful:

http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=209192

http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=209712

SATA drives and AHCI mode is not necessary as long as you use the right driver - AppleIntelPIIATA.kext should work on a board with Intel chipset.

 

Don't try to install Snow Leopard on ancient hardware like that.

 

As wobbly says use the Aopen board (Intel chipset is good for compatibility, the others will be a pain) with the fastest P4.

Stick as much RAM in there as you can, and use USB mouse and keyboard for better compatibility.

 

Forget about the PCI soundcards, and use the Realtek 8029 NIC which should work if you can find the right driver, if not out of the box.

 

Your Nvidia 7600 GS will probably work well with Leopard, but it will run at 33MHz PCI speeds, which is fine for day to day use. For 3D gaming you will not want to go above 640x480. For MAME and MESS, no problem as long as you have working hardware acceleration so that you can use the OpenGL renderer.

 

/EDIT

I just read your post again - if you use the Aopen board you will not have any sound and, since you can't use the 7600 GS with it, probably no hardware accelerated graphics, which will cause OS X to suck. I don't think any of the other two boards will work though.

[Naoki S]

Hey I know you, you're that annoying guy from mameworld who doesn't think/research before he posts. You'll fit right in here on IM.

 

Nice to see you again too Remind me, who are you?

 

I would try with an old distro like JaS OSx86 Client/Server 10.5.4 (find with google), it has good compatibility with old P4 based systems.

Use the Voodoo XNU 9.4.0 kernel. If you want to attempt an upgrade to 10.5.8 later, these will be helpful:

http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=209192

http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=209712

SATA drives and AHCI mode is not necessary as long as you use the right driver - AppleIntelPIIATA.kext should work on a board with Intel chipset.

 

Is that included with JaS? Or will I need to download it?

Don't try to install Snow Leopard on ancient hardware like that.

 

I knew that a 2002 PC would have issues with Snow Leopard, so I thought I'd check first. Heck, my original intention was running 10.4.

 

As wobbly says use the Aopen board (Intel chipset is good for compatibility, the others will be a pain) with the fastest P4.

Stick as much RAM in there as you can, and use USB mouse and keyboard for better compatibility.

 

Hmm, ok. I think my second 1.8Ghz snapped a pin in the socket.... tankfully I have a couple of 1.7s.

Forget about the PCI soundcards, and use the Realtek 8029 NIC which should work if you can find the right driver, if not out of the box.

 

12v killed it

Your Nvidia 7600 GS will probably work well with Leopard, but it will run at 33MHz PCI speeds, which is fine for day to day use. For 3D gaming you will not want to go above 640x480. For MAME and MESS, no problem as long as you have working hardware acceleration so that you can use the OpenGL renderer.

 

/EDIT

I just read your post again - if you use the Aopen board you will not have any sound and, since you can't use the 7600 GS with it, probably no hardware accelerated graphics, which will cause OS X to suck. I don't think any of the other two boards will work though.

 

I thought the AOpen board was a bad choice. Hmm, so ideally, the best way to go with OSx86 is with a good C2D, a motherboard with an Intel Chipset, SATA and a good Graphics Card? Hmm... Ok, I'll keep this in mind when upgrading PC's.

 

Thanks for te help.

[Gringo Vermelho]

Yes, JaS 10.5.4 comes with ApplePIIIntelATA.kext.

so ideally, the best way to go with OSx86 is with a good C2D, a motherboard with an Intel Chipset, SATA and a good Graphics Card?

Yes, something like that and you'll be able to install OS X from a retail Snow Leopard DVD with just a suitable boot CD.

 

Try to find out what on-board video is on that Aopen board. If you're lucky, maybe it's supported.

 

Even if it's not, you could probably still get Tiger or Leopard going on that board with basic unaccelerated graphics and no sound.

[Naoki S]

Yes, JaS 10.5.4 comes with ApplePIIIntelATA.kext.

 

Yes, something like that and you'll be able to install OS X from a retail Snow Leopard DVD with just a suitable boot CD.

 

Try to find out what on-board video is on that Aopen board. If you're lucky, maybe it's supported.

 

Even if it's not, you could probably still get Tiger or Leopard going on that board with basic unaccelerated graphics and no sound.

 

As far as i remember it was an AGP - Intel Extreme Graphics 845GL, but I don't have my hopes it's supported.

 

I wouldn't care if it was Tiger or Leopard, I'd just try to install one of the two.