Why the GMA900 JaS solution is NOT a solution.

[B612]

Hey guys.

 

As you can see from my signature, I have a GMA900 and therefore I had to face some problems.

 

First I went through the Installation that JaS suggested for those like me who have an Intel GMA900. So I installed his (reseed) 10.4.8 DVD without checking any GMA video, then after I finished the OS installation, I installed the package called GMA900 Support. It seemed that everything was working fine, until I noticed about some PPC applications which use video (like Sibelius) crashing immediately after launching them. I realized that also QuickTime, Mplayer and other applications crashed if launched under Rosetta. I opened a post here, but I had some replies only by Rammjet (thank you, Rammjet! ), who couldn't help much, since he didn't have the 10.4.8 new kernel installed (and by other people who like wasting time by typing messages with no content). In that post I listed also the error reports I had got from 2 programs.

 

Since nobody replied, then I understood I had once again to do by myself.

 

So I carefully analyzed the reports and I guessed the problems were given by the GMA900 Support installation. In order to be totally sure of it, I reinstalled my OS, and before applying the GMA900Support I launched many applications under Rosetta. They worked perfectly. Then I installed that package and they started crashing again.

 

After installing the GMA900 Support, I realized also that the file AppleIntelIntegratedFramebuffer.kext which is in this package gives the possibility to change the screen resolution, but it slows down the computer. So I preferred restoring the original version of AppleIntelIntegratedFramebuffer.kext and changing the resolution of my screen by typing

 

<key>Graphics Mode</key>

<string>1280x1024x32</string>

 

in the file com.apple.boot.plist. This way I increased my benchmarks of the 18%.

 

In order to fix my GMA900, instead I used another method: I modified the file AppleIntel915.kext, which I am attaching here in my version, and then I eliminated the files

AppleIntel915GLDriver.bundle?AppleIntel915GA.plugin?AppleIntelGMA950.kext

from System/Library/Extensions.

 

This way my GMA900 works, and I don't have all those problems with the PPC applications, which now run perfectly well.

 

Now the problem I have is that this solution looks a bit unstable to me, because from time to time (it happened twice in the last 4 hours) I see black spots on my screen, which eventually disappear.

 

May I ask now the attention of the entire forum, in order to definitely solve the problem of GMA900 and to make it more stable?

 

Thank you everybody.

AppleIntel915.kext.zip

Edited February 2, 2007 by B612

[zam]

I have also tried a couple of tricks for GMA900 and GMA950. With the genuine 10.4.8 AppleIntelIntegratedFramebuffer.kext we don't have resolution swithing, but in addition we also don't have any video vsync. Are you sure that your experiences of better performace with it are not just better results in test because of the disabled vsync? Disabled vsync will often give better scores in Xbench, but it looks horrible because the drawing of ie. moving windows is not in sync anymore. Also videos and gaming look unusable that way.

 

And no, I have not found a better solution. My solution was to buy a nVidia card... No problems after that...

[fishmonger]

I have been having problems with the GMA950 as well.

 

I installed from JaS "reseed" 10.4.8 disc, and I actually didn't install the GMA950 patch in the custom options right away - I used an nV PCIe card, and then installed the GMA950 patch after install. QE/CI both enabled, everything seems hunky dory & quite fast.... except for Quicktime.

 

DVD player works fine.

Quicktime will play Quicktime movies, but the screen is just white - no picture. If I start QT using Rosetta, the movie will play but the peformance is terrible.

AVI files crash QT completely, Rosetta or native.

 

I don't like the idea of using the older drivers for this hardware, like it sounds like you're doing. I'll likely just go back to my nVidia card. I was under the impression that the GMA drivers were very compatible, but that seems incorrect ... unless this isn't really a driver problem I'm having. Not sure how to figure that out or not but I'll keep futzing with it.

[fishmonger]

My solution was to buy a nVidia card... No problems after that...

 

Zam, have you tried running a QT movie? I get the same white screen in 10.4.8 JaS reseed install with an nVidia 6600, CI/QE enabled. The movie runs fine when CI/QE are not enabled, strangely enough.

[B612]

I have also tried a couple of tricks for GMA900 and GMA950. With the genuine 10.4.8 AppleIntelIntegratedFramebuffer.kext we don't have resolution swithing, but in addition we also don't have any video vsync. Are you sure that your experiences of better performace with it are not just better results in test because of the disabled vsync? Disabled vsync will often give better scores in Xbench, but it looks horrible because the drawing of ie. moving windows is not in sync anymore. Also videos and gaming look unusable that way.

 

And no, I have not found a better solution. My solution was to buy a nVidia card... No problems after that...

 

My videos run perfectly well. So far the only con I have seen is that I cannot change the screen resolution, but it doesn't mean anything, because I only use ONE screen resolution!

The problem is that yesterday looked more unstable...

[fishmonger]

Moderate progress on my part. Looks like my QT problems are not driver related after all... JaS 10.4.8 reseed DVD installed QT 7.0.4. An update to QT 7.1.2 fixed my problem with the nVidia card, and I have a feeling the same would be true of the GMA950. I will have to go back and try that after I get sound (ALC882) up and running.

[B612]

Today it happened again: while I was using MS Word, my screen started having black squares, my mouse became invisible and after a while it was not possible for me to do anything. The only thing I could do was pushing the reset button and reboot this way. Now it is working very well again, but what happened is the proof that what we did is not a solution yet.

 

Has anybody tried other solutions for GMA900? Please, suggest and keep in touch!

[B612]

I was wondering if any of the gurus want to try to do something to help us. So far, we know for sure that JaS method doesn't work well because all the video applications don't work in PPC (nor all the PPC applications related to them) and get a Kern_Protection_error. :mellow:

We also know that the other method I am temporarily using (explained at the beginning of this topic) works but it is buggy (often, especially with Office, the screen gets covered of black squares and kind of freezes).

 

So: is anybody able to solve this problem?!? Please try, because many people like me have a GMA900!!!!

[REVENGE]

Zam, have you tried running a QT movie? I get the same white screen in 10.4.8 JaS reseed install with an nVidia 6600, CI/QE enabled. The movie runs fine when CI/QE are not enabled, strangely enough.

 

Can't say bout your card, but my 7800GT works QT fine. Except for Xvid files, which my DivX decoder can't handle properly. So I've screwed QT all together and switched to the cvs builds of VLC instead.

[zam]

B512: Are you 100% sure that you have vsync enabled? I have tried this with several installs and several versions of OSX86, and I have always come to the conclusion that broken resolution switching for GMA also means no vsync. And no vsync automatically by definition means ugly video and gaming graphics.

 

Try this: Take any window and start slowly moving it horizontally on the screen. If vsync is broken, you are able to see fractions of second when the top part of the window is in a different location that the bottom part. Try with different moving speeds.

 

And yes, all my nVidia cards work perfectly in QT.

 

I think that the GMA900 is starting to get unsupported... But that's understandable because no real Apple product has ever had it. What's interesting, is that even GMA950 is not fully functional out of the box on hackintosh (it needs the old AppleIntelIntegratedFramebuffer.kext). So what is the difference between Apple GMA950 and our GMA950? Could there be some EFI-magic like in the case of Titan/Natit that we could administer in order to run fully up to date GMA drivers? I would be really interested to investigate on this.

[B612]

B512: Are you 100% sure that you have vsync enabled? I have tried this with several installs and several versions of OSX86, and I have always come to the conclusion that broken resolution switching for GMA also means no vsync. And no vsync automatically by definition means ugly video and gaming graphics.

 

Try this: Take any window and start slowly moving it horizontally on the screen. If vsync is broken, you are able to see fractions of second when the top part of the window is in a different location that the bottom part. Try with different moving speeds.

 

And yes, all my nVidia cards work perfectly in QT.

 

I think that the GMA900 is starting to get unsupported... But that's understandable because no real Apple product has ever had it. What's interesting, is that even GMA950 is not fully functional out of the box on hackintosh (it needs the old AppleIntelIntegratedFramebuffer.kext). So what is the difference between Apple GMA950 and our GMA950? Could there be some EFI-magic like in the case of Titan/Natit that we could administer in order to run fully up to date GMA drivers? I would be really interested to investigate on this.

 

Zam, I have tried what you suggested for the vsync, and now I am surer than before: it works perfect. Vsync must be enabled on my computer, because I saw no strange things when I moved some windows the way you said.

 

Then, from System Profiler, I got this information:

Intel GMA 900:

 

Modello Chipset: GMA 900

Tipo: Monitor

Bus: Integrato

VRAM (totale): 64 MB di memoria di sistema condivisa

Fornitore: Intel (0x8086)

ID dispositivo: 0x2582

ID revisione: 0x000e

Monitor:

Monitor:

Risoluzione: 1280 x 1024

Profondità: Colore 32-bit

Core Image: Supportato

Monitor principale: Sì

Mirror: Spento

Online: Sì

Quartz Extreme: Supportato

Sorry, it is in Italian; anyway "Supportato" means "Supported", "Sì" means "Yes", "Spento" means "Off".

Probably it works because I modified AppleIntel915.kext and I eliminated AppleIntelGMA950.kext...

 

...but still it is buggy, especially if I open Office.

[B612]

I found out that in JaS' GMA900 support what creates those crashes with QT under Rosetta and other PPC applications is the old version of OpenGL.framework. I thought that maybe by "transforming" that version by substituting some files of that with the corresponding of the new one, probably it could work. Now it's up to understand which files specifically are creating those crashes.

 

Today I am leaving for 3 days, so I couldn't try it immediately. If in the meantime somebody wants to try and let everyone else know, that would be great!

[MichalK]

What about mouse cursor? With the "old" approach (GMA900 support package) I get a "stable" mouse cursor that does not flicker over videos/animations.

 

By using modified AppleIntel915.kext my mouse cursor flickers over videos/animations. Right now I'm using an "old" way - up to date, my apps are working OK with that. Did the check with QT - it crashes when "opened using rosetta" (and then if I click reopen it opens fine).

[B612]

Since I am back, and I see that nobody has found a solution while I was away, I will try by myself.

 

What about mouse cursor? With the "old" approach (GMA900 support package) I get a "stable" mouse cursor that does not flicker over videos/animations.

 

By using modified AppleIntel915.kext my mouse cursor flickers over videos/animations.

 

The same here. That's the inconvenient of this method.

 

Right now I'm using an "old" way - up to date, my apps are working OK with that. Did the check with QT - it crashes when "opened using rosetta" (and then if I click reopen it opens fine).

Yes, but if you try to open a document in the reopened QT, it crashes again. So it doesn't work. You cannot even open a document in Powerpoint!

 

I will try to see what happens by modifying OpenGL.framework and then I'll let you know.

[MichalK]

Yes, but if you try to open a document in the reopened QT, it crashes again. So it doesn't work. You cannot even open a document in Powerpoint!

I will try to see what happens by modifying OpenGL.framework and then I'll let you know.

 

Unfortunately, confirmed. PP crashes with "old" approach, graphics glitches with the new one.

 

Any findings yet?

[B612]

Unfortunately, confirmed. PP crashes with "old" approach, graphics glitches with the new one.

 

Any findings yet?

 

Nope. I have tried to modify the OpenGL.framework, but it didn't solve the problem. I think we should try to hack the single components of it, and maybe I cannot do that (also because I have no time!).

 

Now I am making a package to switch to the files which avoid crashes and another one to switch to the solution that makes everything work but the PPC. In this particular package, I will not include the same AppleIntegratedFramebuffer.kext which JaS has used, because it decreases the performances of the system.

 

Is anybody else trying to do something?

[B612]

OK. I have made some packages for those who have a GMA900:

 

1) B612.GMA900Support.pkg.

This uses the same logic of JaS' support, but it is faster. It doesn't give you the possibility to change your screen resolution, but it sets it to 1280x1024, so I guess it satisfies everybody.

2) B612.GMA900.back.to.10.4.8.pkg

I think this package is essential for those who want to undo all the changes of JaS' GMA900Support and of course B612's Support as well. After applying this pkg, the PPC applications work perfectly well and everything works well, even though the speed of the GMA is much slower than in the other version.

 

then I have made two pkgs that you can use after applying the B612.GMA900Support.pkg to instantly switch between the PPC and the fast GMA mode.

3) B612.OpenGLPPC.pkg

I use this package when I need to work in Powerpoint or in other PPC programs that use video.

 

Then, after using those applications, I simply (and quickly) click on

4) B612.OpenGLfast.pkg

and I get back to the fast GMA, as it was after the B612.GMA900Support.pkg, without the need of rebooting.

 

If some of you tell me that you are interested, I will put these files somewhere online.

 

PS: I forgot to say that with none of these packages you need to fix your permissions.

[zam]

B512: Great respect for your efforts with this issue!

 

In the long run, mixing 10.4.8 parts with older parts will always result in a potentially unstable system. I would be interested in seeing an ioreg dump from a real GMA950 mac, for example the Mini. Then we could try to inject EFI values with Natit just like nVidia or Ati users are doing. If there are no hardware differences between Apple's GMA and our GMA, it should work 100% with 10.4.8 kext and frameworks. The fact that the framebuffer does not work with this solution makes the GMA unusable for CRT monitors (always 60hz) and widescreen resolutions. And having tried the new framebuffer myself on several computers, I still doubt that the vsync would work

 

However, If we start to calculate the hours spent with this problem, we would need to assume that our time is worth next to nothing, because the cheapest nVidia cards go for 30-50 bucks, and they are SO much better than GMA900 or GMA950 in EVERYTHING.

[pln]

U cant change card on a notebook... Lots of notebooks also uses the GMA 900

[B612]

B512: Great respect for your efforts with this issue!

 

In the long run, mixing 10.4.8 parts with older parts will always result in a potentially unstable system. I would be interested in seeing an ioreg dump from a real GMA950 mac, for example the Mini. Then we could try to inject EFI values with Natit just like nVidia or Ati users are doing. If there are no hardware differences between Apple's GMA and our GMA, it should work 100% with 10.4.8 kext and frameworks. The fact that the framebuffer does not work with this solution makes the GMA unusable for CRT monitors (always 60hz) and widescreen resolutions. And having tried the new framebuffer myself on several computers, I still doubt that the vsync would work

 

However, If we start to calculate the hours spent with this problem, we would need to assume that our time is worth next to nothing, because the cheapest nVidia cards go for 30-50 bucks, and they are SO much better than GMA900 or GMA950 in EVERYTHING.

 

Apart from the fact that I agree with pln, I am very idealistic and I think that solving a problem of whatever nature by yourself is much more worth than avoiding it. It is not a question of money

Then I can guarantee that the vsync works perfect in my computer. Don't know why, but it does.

[MichalK]

Apart from the fact that I agree with pln, I am very idealistic and I think that solving a problem of whatever nature by yourself is much more worth than avoiding it. It is not a question of money

Then I can guarantee that the vsync works perfect in my computer. Don't know why, but it does.

 

Could you tell which kext/frameworks combinations are you using in your gma900 support package? What about side effects (like visual artefacts on Intel915+GMA950 drivers, flickering mouse cursor etc.)?

[B612]

Could you tell which kext/frameworks combinations are you using in your gma900 support package? What about side effects (like visual artefacts on Intel915+GMA950 drivers, flickering mouse cursor etc.)?

 

You can download my installers from dem***

For what I can see, there are no visual artifacts.

[MichalK]

You can download my installers from dem***

For what I can see, there are no visual artifacts.

OK, I'll try and will provide you with feedback. In the meanwhile I need to find a way to reduce the resolution down to 1024x768.

 

EDIT: I'll just edit boot.plist and see what happens...

[B612]

OK, I'll try and will provide you with feedback. In the meanwhile I need to find a way to reduce the resolution down to 1024x768.

 

EDIT: I'll just edit boot.plist and see what happens...

 

Have you installed something?

If you want your resolution to be 1024x768 you have to edit com.apple.boot.plist AFTER installing the B612.GMA900Support.pkg.

Let me know how it goes!

[guiyoforward]

hey there, there's a point that I don't get: does this apply to GMA 900 only or to GMA 950 too? thanks