PCI Sounds card only works on initial boot

[o0okiato0o]

Hi All,

 

I have just begun my attempt to turn my PC into a dual-boot Windows 7/Mac OS-X system. I am using the iATKOS S3 v2 10.6.3 Install DVD.

 

So the process I use is simply format a partition of my 1 hard-drive and erase in Disk Utility. Then I tick a bunch of customize options such as GraphicsEnabler (for my nVidia 9600gt), PCIroot -1 (doesn't seem to do anything for me), USB fixes, Apple PS/2 support (Voodoo enables my keyboard, not my mouse), and 2 drivers for my PCI-wireless LAN card (RT2561) and on-board ethernet (Atheros).

 

After the installation completes, I reboot. Now, for some reason if I take the disk out and boot from Windows dual-boot screen (that I have set up with EasyBCD in previous failed attempts to get everything working), then it boots into 64-bit kernel mode. If I leave the CD in boot using F8 and select my MAC OSX partition, then it will boot into 32-bit kernel mode. The reason this is important is because when I get into the OS my first wish is to install my PCI sound card (CMI8738). If I booted from the CD bootloader it will install fine and work. If I boot into 64-bit kernel mode and use 64-bit drivers it doesn't. So I have come to accept that I want to force 32-bit boot.

 

After testing the sound card, I restart to make sure it still works, and it doesn't. And that is where my problem begins.

 

Additionally, my Wifi card is not detected and cannot be used (but I suspect that the card may not be supported although there are drivers for it in the install DVD, because the official drivers only go to 10.5).

 

On the side, I am having trouble understanding how the bootloader works and why it is different when I boot from CD loader or loader from Windows dual-boot screen (which I presume is the MAC OSX partition). And when I have tried to update the loader to latest Chameleon (RC5), it still remains RC4 (the same boot loader that was in the install DVD)

 

Motherboard: ASUS P5P41T LE

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E2140

RAM: 4gb

Graphics: nVidia 9600gt

Sound: CMI8738

Ethernet: Atheros gigabit

Wifi card: ASUS PCI-G31 (RT2561 chipset)

 

Cheers

 

Stephen

[o0okiato0o]

OK,

 

good news and bad news.

 

The good news is that after reinstalling the OS and the kexts multiple times (maybe 20 times), I finally got to a point where the sound card worked. Updated to to 10.6.8 and all. So I guess it is safe to say that the sound card should work fine!

 

The bad news is, while running the diskutil mergePartitions command, I accidently managed to wipe my whole hard drive. So now I have to install it all over again, and despite trying to replicate the process I did before, it doesn't seem to get the sound card working. So I must be missing something.

 

The kexts look to install fine, i hear a sound coming from the speakers as though they receive power, but the sound card is not detected in system preferences.

 

I have followed all the guides on installing the CMI8738 PCI Audio Driver, permissions and all, but still no luck. If anyone could walk me through the installation that would be good. Are there any dependencies for this to work? Are there any things i shouldn't install?