Cerastez Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 This is a guide for installing Snow Leopard 10.6.8 on a Dell Optiplex GX280. Everything will work when you are finished except the onboard ethernet. You will have quartz extreme, sleep and sound. You will need to install a compatible ethernet card to have a fully functional system. **********************Specs***************************** 2.53GHz Intel Celeron microprocessor. The chipset was an Intel 915 Grantsdale Express with a data bus speed of 533.0MHz. integrated Intel Extreme Graphics Accelerator audio AC97 driver from Realtek 00:00.0 Host bridge [0600]: Intel Corporation 82915G/P/GV/GL/PL/910GL Memory Controller Hub [8086:2580] (rev 04) 00:01.0 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation 82915G/P/GV/GL/PL/910GL PCI Express Root Port [8086:2581] (rev 04) 00:02.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: Intel Corporation 82915G/GV/910GL Integrated Graphics Controller [8086:2582] (rev 04) 00:02.1 Display controller [0380]: Intel Corporation 82915G Integrated Graphics Controller [8086:2782] (rev 04) 00:1c.0 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) PCI Express Port 1 [8086:2660] (rev 04) 00:1c.1 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) PCI Express Port 2 [8086:2662] (rev 04) 00:1d.0 USB Controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) USB UHCI #1 [8086:2658] (rev 04) 00:1d.1 USB Controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) USB UHCI #2 [8086:2659] (rev 04) 00:1d.2 USB Controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) USB UHCI #3 [8086:265a] (rev 04) 00:1d.3 USB Controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) USB UHCI #4 [8086:265b] (rev 04) 00:1d.7 USB Controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller [8086:265c] (rev 04) 00:1e.0 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation 82801 PCI Bridge [8086:244e] (rev d4) 00:1e.2 Multimedia audio controller [0401]: Intel Corporation 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) AC'97 Audio Controller [8086:266e] (rev 04) 00:1f.0 ISA bridge [0601]: Intel Corporation 82801FB/FR (ICH6/ICH6R) LPC Interface Bridge [8086:2640] (rev 04) 00:1f.2 IDE interface [0101]: Intel Corporation 82801FB/FW (ICH6/ICH6W) SATA Controller [8086:2651] (rev 04) 00:1f.3 SMBus [0c05]: Intel Corporation 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) SMBus Controller [8086:266a] (rev 04) 02:00.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: Broadcom Corporation NetXtreme BCM5751 Gigabit Ethernet PCI Express [14e4:1677] (rev 01) *************************************************** Boot into your bios (F2 key) and make sure that your SATA Operation is set to Combination and that your Video Memory size is set to 8MB. Change the boot order so that you boot off your optical drive first. You will need to collect some things before you get started: • A retail Snow Leopard installer disk, I used 10.6.3 • Nawcoms ModCD 0.3.2 • A kext installer utility • legacy_kernel-10.6.8.v2.pkg (attached) • MacOSXUpdCombo10.6.8.dmg from Apples website • AppleAC97Audio.kext(attached) • AppleIntelIntegratedFramebuffer.kext(attached) • ElliottAppleIntelGMA950LegacyEnabler.kext (attached) • AppleSMBIOSEFI.kext (attached) Burn the Nawcoms ModCD 0.3.2 image to a CD Put everything else on a flashdrive, CD, external hard drive or whatever works for you. They will need to be copied to your GX280 later on. Put your Nawcoms ModCD 0.3.2 in your optical drive. Reboot When you see the screen with the white phone, eject the Nawcoms ModCD 0.3.2. Put your Snow Leopard installer disk in your optical drive. Hit the F5 key. The Snow Leopard installer disk should appear on screen. Use the arrow keys to select the Snow Leopard installer disk and hit Enter. There will be some text on the screen. When asked, press any key to continue. The screen will go black , there will be allot of white text (this may take awhile) and then you should get the gray Apple start up screen. When the first window comes up, select your language , and hit the arrow button. ************************Format your Drive*************************** Go up to the tool bar and under Utilities, select Disk Utility. When Disk Utility opens, highlight your hard drive and select the Partition Tab. Select the number of partitions that you want. Name them and make certain that their format is Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Hit the Options button and choose GUID Partition Table. Hit the Apply button, when the window pops up hit Partition. **My keyboard was not functioning at this point and I could not change the name of the hard drive. I was using a USB keyboard. When the partitioning is done, quit Disk Utility. ************************Basic System Installation*************************** Continue with the Snow Leopard installation. The button sequence is Continue, Agree, Select the hard drive you are installing on and hit the Customize button. In the Customize window, expand the CUSTOM OPTIONS line by clicking on the little triangle. Check Legacy Kernal Check ElliotLegacyRTC Fix Check Apple PS2 Check AppleIntelPIIXATA under Chipsets Uncheck AppleAC97Audio. under Audio Uncheck Autodetected Wired LAN support under Networking Check GraphicsEnabler Hit the OK button. Hit the Install button. The install will take about 45 minutes. It will seem like the install has frozen, the progress bar won't move, but don't worry it is installing, just leave it alone. Let the GX280 restart. You will need to go through the set-up process. This is where you enter your address and time zone as well as other information. It is a well guided process, just follow the instructions, I won't go through the details here. *************************************************** Eject the retail Snow Leopard installer disk Copy the following files to your GX280 • A kext installer utility • legacy_kernel-10.6.8.v2.pkg • MacOSXUpdCombo10.6.8.dmg from Apples website • AppleAC97Audio.kext • AppleIntelIntegratedFramebuffer.kext • ElliottAppleIntelGMA950LegacyEnabler.kext • AppleSMBIOSEFI.kext ************************Update to 10.6.8*************************** Open the MacOSXUpdCombo10.6.8.dmg. Hit Continue, Continue, Continue, Agree and Install. Authenticate with your password and let it install. DO NOT RESTART when installation finishes. Drag the installation window off to one side and leave it alone. Open the Legacy Kernel 10.6.8 package and install it. Hit Continue, Continue, Continue, and Install. When the installation has finished hit Close. Open your root directory and then open System/Library/Extensions scroll down until you find ATI300Contorller.kext. Highlight every kext that starts with ATI. Right click and select "Move to Trash." You will have to authenticate with your password to throw the ATI kexts away. Restart your computer. You should see the start up screen, the gray apple screen and then you are running 10.6.8! ************************Fix the Audio, Video and the About this Mac crashing *************************** Use your kext installing utility to install the following: • AppleAC97Audio.kext <--fixes the audio • AppleIntelIntegratedFramebuffer.kext <--fixes the video • ElliottAppleIntelGMA950LegacyEnabler.kext <--fixes the video • AppleSMBIOSEFI.kext <--fixes the About this Mac crashes ************************Ethernet*************************** I could not get the built in ethernet to work. Some people have used the following, but it didn't work for me. http://www.insanelym...blem-sometimes/ or this http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/155590-broadcom-5751-applebcm5751ethernetkext/page__hl__+gx280?do=findComment&comment=1715195 ************************Updating*************************** Use Software Update to update your system and applications *************************************************************** AppleAC97Audio.kext.zip AppleIntelIntegratedFramebuffer.kext.zip AppleSMBIOSEFI.kext.zip ElliottAppleIntelGMA950LegacyEnabler.kext.zip legacy_kernel-10.6.8.v2.pkg.zip 2 Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/284885-guide-1068-on-a-dell-optiplex-gx280/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReCat Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 I know this is old but thanks for this, provided some files I couldn't quite find anywhere else. I'd give you a kiss if I weren't {censored} to thank you. Holy {censored} the word is censored? O_o 1 Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/284885-guide-1068-on-a-dell-optiplex-gx280/#findComment-1902403 Share on other sites More sharing options...
narosis Posted November 26, 2013 Share Posted November 26, 2013 Indeed this post is almost a year old but it has helped me immensely, I had my second MBP die on me, so this project is keeping me sane as I can't readily afford $2500 for another laptop at present besides the (S)ThinkPad T500 I picked up second hand gets the basics done I await the rest of the parts I ordered to build my (second due to this posting) Hackintosh so I can return to my more advanced musings, some would say, "You should save up, wait it out, & buy another MBP. You can't use a Hackintosh daily for mission critical tasks!" I shall endeavor to prove all the naysayers wrong!!! Thank you again!!! Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/284885-guide-1068-on-a-dell-optiplex-gx280/#findComment-1971550 Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeathMetalSoul Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 Thanks for this very useful guide, I follow instructions and all works fine for me. Only troble with power management after 10.6.8 update. Shutdown, Stop and Reboot doesn't work properly, i've only blu screen after hard disk led activity. I try to install many times different types of Evoreboot, sleepEnabler etc with no success... any suggestion? Thanks Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/284885-guide-1068-on-a-dell-optiplex-gx280/#findComment-2012131 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerastez Posted April 29, 2014 Author Share Posted April 29, 2014 Thanks for this very useful guide, I follow instructions and all works fine for me. Only troble with power management after 10.6.8 update. Shutdown, Stop and Reboot doesn't work properly, i've only blu screen after hard disk led activity. I try to install many times different types of Evoreboot, sleepEnabler etc with no success... any suggestion? Thanks I didn't keep the GX280 for very long so I can't say now if mine had sleep problems. It sounds like you are trying the right sort of kexts. You could also try DSDT Editor. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/284885-guide-1068-on-a-dell-optiplex-gx280/#findComment-2016157 Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeathMetalSoul Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 Ok thanks Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/284885-guide-1068-on-a-dell-optiplex-gx280/#findComment-2016235 Share on other sites More sharing options...
149113 Posted August 19, 2014 Share Posted August 19, 2014 ************************Basic System Installation*************************** Continue with the Snow Leopard installation. The button sequence is Continue, Agree, Select the hard drive you are installing on and hit the Customize button. In the Customize window, expand the CUSTOM OPTIONS line by clicking on the little triangle. Check Legacy Kernal Check ElliotLegacyRTC Fix Check Apple PS2 Check AppleIntelPIIXATA under Chipsets Uncheck AppleAC97Audio. under Audio Uncheck Autodetected Wired LAN support under Networking Check GraphicsEnabler Hit the OK button. Hit the Install button. The install will take about 45 minutes. It will seem like the install has frozen, the progress bar won't move, but don't worry it is installing, just leave it alone. Let the GX280 restart. You will need to go through the set-up process. This is where you enter your address and time zone as well as other information. It is a well guided process, just follow the instructions, I won't go through the details here. *************************************************** If at this point you are on the base 10.6.3 install DVD how are you getting these options via Customize? Am I missing something? Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/284885-guide-1068-on-a-dell-optiplex-gx280/#findComment-2053170 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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