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Acer Laptop users (Intel).


Detosx
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Edit 2: A lot of laptop owners coming here, lately, use laptops with the GMA 4500 graphics chip, for which there is alas no essential QE/CI support (meaning some software won't run; others run the CPU at 100%; heat is a problem with some laptops, even before that); if your laptop uses that chip, please read the GMA 4500 threads, here: http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?showforum=175

 

Edit:- This is a fairly taxing but fun hobby for existing laptop owners who don't have the money, yet, for a real Mac, new or used. You still need to nominally do the right thing by Apple and buy Leopard and iLife, both of which come pre-installed on Macs; I am not condoning breaking licensing terms but commenting that people historically do whatever they want under their own roof with the products that they have purchased. Yes, Macs cost more, but look at the build quality and style, the service - the time saved! Thanks to this and other communities I am a happy Mac owner (Mac Mini; keen to upgrade to the newer one). I am keen that people not shell out big money for a laptop with a view to putting the Apple operating system on it, that's daft, dispiriting, and, most especially with laptops, even assuming you have chosen a compatible model, there is always the relatively small risk of hardware failure. It has been found that some Acers, as with other makes, apparently run HOT, which should probably serve as a warning not to embark on this project on the models in question. Take a look at the MacBook's battery life! Hackintosh's don't fare well in that area.

 

A rule of thumb in the community - along with don't post URL links - is know your hardware. Don't ask others questions without first listing your laptop's component specification; don't just list the model number. Armed with your laptop's make, model number and components, you can search the boards, via Google or otherwise, and find someone using the same model as you and then private message them; that will save you a LOT of time.

 

I will pop periodic updates in here over time, while keeping most of my old entries in tact for archival purposes, to show we are all subject to the knowledge that was available at the time of posting and how things have since evolved. I would strongly recommend you read the thread in its entirety. Everyone in this thread and in the forum is giving of their time freely, so please be civil even where disagreeing. If you solve a problem, please post how your solved it to help others.

-----------------

 

Sat 10 Jan 09

Owning a leopard retail disc I could try the 1-2-3 installer method but at the moment use IPC_OSX86, simply because IPC_OSX86 comes with a LOT of options in the installer. At the time of writing, however, 10.5.6 is new and does require, in some cases, even with the evolving beta of IPC_OSX86, changing quite a few kexts to get everything working. That's not ideal for new experimenters; you might find something like iATKOSv5 more laptop-friendly if you're starting out, even if those installers are 10.5.5 based rather than 10.5.6; at the time of writing the former 10.5.5 is more stable on many setups and perhaps worth sticking with, meantime. When a new kernel comes out the community buzzes like a hyperactive hive trying to find compatible kexts; if you're a new user you might want to avoid that search-and-experiment headache rather than be put off Leopard. Mind you, if it makes you want to save harder for a real new or used Mac, more the good.

 

9th April 2009

 

Chameleon 2 is out!

 

For some reason I initially had problems getting this one to work with my existing GUID partitioned hard drive, which is partitioned

 

|EFI| VISTA | OSx86 | OSx86|

 

I couldn't get Vista to work (the same senerio works with Windows 7, I found). So I started over. Some people say it's not possible to get Vista 32 to work on such a setup because the installer, unlike the 64 version, won't recognise the GUID partition table. While that is true, I found I was able to trick Vista by cloning my Vista hard drive using a free imaging tool from Paragon. This process will only work if you have an external hard drive.

 

Okay, here goes. Again, I am assuming you have done the right thing and purchased Leopard and that this is for use under the privacy of your own roof.

 

1. Using the Gparted Live CD partitioning tool, partition your hard drive as Primary and FAT32.

 

2. Boot from your preferred OSx86 installer DVD, say IPC, and when you are on the desktop, go up to Utilities and select Disk Utility.

 

3. Click on your hard drive, then click on the Partition tab. You want to make three partitions and you want to click on the Options button to select the GUID partition scheme. Name the first partition VIS and select msdos, name the second partition with any combination of three letters, say HDD, and select Mac OS Extended (Journalled), give the third partition another three letter name and again select Mac OS Extended (Journalled). Then click Apply and then exit Disk Utility. Continue on with the installer, selecting the first OSx86 partition as the one you want to install to.

 

4. Don't forget to click on the customize tab and select the correct options for your hardware. You should have a detailed list of your laptops components in front of you or you won't know which options to install.

 

Having installed onto the first OSx86 partition and having selected your preferred settings (don't forget to enable the extended Firewall options under security), go online and, while downloading updates, go to chameleon's website and download the installer for version 2.

 

5. Install Chameleon to your first OSx86 drive, in other words, in the customize tab, don't select the EFI HFS system partition. In Themes, deselect all but the Standard theme.

 

On reboot, the Chameleon bootloader should be working in all its glory.

 

6. Install OSx86 to your second OSx86 partition and select your chosen settings.

 

7. Using your paragon CD, install your vista image to your msdos partition which will be overwritten with NTFS during the install. In my case, this took over two hours, so be patient!

 

8. You will find that if you try to boot from the Vista partition you get an error message - NTLDR is missing. What you need to do is boot your Vista installer DVD, select American as language (or you might have problems getting the \ symbol!). Click on Repair, then click on Next. Then click on terminal (command prompt). After each terminal command, press the Enter/Return key

 

diskpart

 

select disk 0

 

select partition 2

 

active

 

Now exit Terminal get get out of Diskpart

 

Now open Terminal up again and, assuming your DVD is the letter D (if not, substitute the correct letter), and noticing that there are some spaces, carefully type the following and then press Enter/Return:-

 

d:\boot\bootsect.exe /nt60 all /force

 

The next command, again pressing Enter/Return after it is:-

 

bootrec.exe /rebuildbcd

 

Good, now type the following, pressing Enter/Return after each command.

 

diskpart

 

select disk 0

 

select partition 1

 

active

 

Shutdown the computer, boot up and remove the Windows DVD. You should now have a working Chameleon V2 loader and a working Vista/Windows 7.

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Hi, Detosx. I was reading your posts (while looking for the cure for the X3100 GPU). And I know you has an Acer Extensa 5620 working! with Leopard (as well as Tiger?)

 

I want to buy from an spanish computer shop this (nice and cheap!) model:

 

ACER ASPIRE 5720-6683 - Core 2 Duo T5250 1.5 GHz

Intel Centrino Duo

Enhanced SpeedStep Technology

Mobile Intel 945 Express
chipset family

Bus Speed 667MHz

Cache 2MB L2

Chipset Intel GM965 Express

Intel GMA X3100

Hard Drive 120GB Serial ATA

Network 10/100/1000
Gigabit Ethernet
IEEE 802.3ab

Intel PRO/Wireless
3945
54Mbps Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11a/b/g

S-Video Out - DVI-D (Digital) - IEEE 1394 - FireWire

 

 

This is a very similar hardware. It must work like yours, don´t you think? So, I want to make you some questions (please forgive my basic english)

 

1) Is ALL working?, EXCEPT, OF COURSE, WiFi intel 4965 (have you heard about beta driver?), Web Cam and Power saving? - I would like to know your experiences with Tiger and Leopard, which releases?

 

2) 2 Cores? It would be great...

 

I guess this weekend I will get that notebook. From here, I will post my experiences. I builded 2 hackintosh with good results (intel 915GV mobos -GLVG&GUX-) but this will be my first time with a notebook.

THANKS IN ADVANCE.

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Hi guys,

 

Just bought an Acer Extensa 5620-6389

 

The specs described are similar.

 

 

I installed the natit patch for Intel GMA X3100 and it is working good.

 

What I miss now is LAN and WiFi.

 

 

I know the Intel Pro/Wireless 3945ABG driver is not ready for leopard yet, but I would like LAN at least:

 

The LAN Ethernet adapter is 10/100/1000 and it is : Broadcom NetLink Gigabit

 

Windows says: VEN_14E4&DEV_1693

 

 

Could somebody help us ?

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My Acer 5620 comes with a 200gigabyte hard drive. There are so many different versions of the same model of Acer, it's amazing. They are taking over the world, I swear! Using iATKOS you don't even need to use Natit seperately; it's already an install option with iATKOS. I am very happy with this laptop but unless you want to use a USB wifi dongle, you will want to change the wifi card inside the laptop. I personally was happy to spend just a £10 on a wireless USB dongle, made by Sweex, the LW053. Please see my other posts for details! It's a bit of a hassle, unplugging and replugging. There was a work-around with Tiger but I couldn't get it to work with Leopard.

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Hi there

It's so nice to know that there is a thread for acer laptop user. Mine is Acer aspire 5583, it works well with Tiger, except from ethernet card marvell Yukon 80...38 and PCMCIA card.

I installed Iatkos, It seems to work similarly as Tiger except that I have to type "cpus=1" in each boot.

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A very sad day for me, today. I put my laptop away in its carry bag, unaware that it was still on. The screen periodically blacks out in Leopard and on this occasion I thought I had shut down the laptop. Basically, it cooked. Bye, bye HP DV6205US. It was such a dear, lovely glossy creature.

 

However. Inside it there is a BRCM1020 wireless card which, in the HP, works out of the box with iATKOS. I took it out and put it in the Acer, powered up the Acer and wireless showed up instantly on the first boot. Small consolation but better than phaffing around with the USB wireless dongle. Time is money, so though I have lost a heap on the HP, I 'gain' time on having a solid wifi.

 

If you are able to order one from HP or ebay, it is identified as a " HP Spare 407159-001 7F0714 "

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Hello there!

 

I would like to say a big HELLO to the whole InsanelyMac community :) and join the Acer Laptop users..

To make things funnier I've got an even stranger 5620 spec - the 5620Z version with the following:

 

CPU - Intel Pentium Dual-Core (recognized as Core 2 Duo) T2310 1,46 GHz

RAM - 2 GB

Chipset - Intel 965M Santa Rosa

GPU - Intel GMA X3100

Audio - Realtek HD Audio ALC-268

HDD - Hitachi 120 GB SATA

DVD - Slimtype DVD A DS8A1P

PCMCIA - Texas Instruments PCIxx12 Cardbus Controller

Wi-Fi - Broadcom 802.11g

CardReader - Texas Instruments PCIxx12 Integrated FlashMedia Controller

 

Which of these components do work, and which still cause problems?

I'm seriously thinking on a move to the Mac platform but hope that it won't bring bigger trouble..

The most important thing is the Wi-Fi card.. Because it's my only way to connect to the Internet. Also the card reader would've been useful cause I use it to load files to my portable mp3 player. Fine working audio and 1280x800 on the x3100 also would make me happy :)

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Hello there!

 

I would like to say a big HELLO to the whole InsanelyMac community :unsure: and join the Acer Laptop users..

To make things funnier I've got an even stranger 5620 spec - the 5620Z version with the following:

 

CPU - Intel Pentium Dual-Core (recognized as Core 2 Duo) T2310 1,46 GHz

RAM - 2 GB

Chipset - Intel 965M Santa Rosa

GPU - Intel GMA X3100

Audio - Realtek HD Audio ALC-268

HDD - Hitachi 120 GB SATA

DVD - Slimtype DVD A DS8A1P

PCMCIA - Texas Instruments PCIxx12 Cardbus Controller

Wi-Fi - Broadcom 802.11g

CardReader - Texas Instruments PCIxx12 Integrated FlashMedia Controller

 

Which of these components do work, and which still cause problems?

I'm seriously thinking on a move to the Mac platform but hope that it won't bring bigger trouble..

The most important thing is the Wi-Fi card.. Because it's my only way to connect to the Internet. Also the card reader would've been useful cause I use it to load files to my portable mp3 player. Fine working audio and 1280x800 on the x3100 also would make me happy :P

As far as I am aware no card reader, except an external USB2 one, will work. Or at least that was the case with my HP dv6205us which used a Ricoh reader. Certainly it doesn't work with my Acer, though I haven't yet looked into it. As for sound, you can get a patch to get fixed output from the headphone socket (you can then adjust the volume on VLC player or Quicktime) but said patch causes the speakers to stop working (in software) - from the speakers you get a loud rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat sound! I'm sticking with my X-FI USB soundcard!

 

Ethernet I'm not sure about, I haven't had cause to try it. As for wifi, if you have the same wifi card as came with mine, which was an Intel® PRO/Wireless 3945ABG (802.11a/b/g) - that doesn't work. People have been working on a solution for a long time but none has been found, as yet. If you are careful and have a steady hand you can replace said wifi card with the one I mention above, though. There are two small wired connectors that are quite fiddly to attach. They require gentleness rather than impatience!

 

Whatever laptop you use or buy, building a so-called 'hackintosh' is usually a stopgap to getting a Mac, a bit like buying a used car. Mac laptops rock for SO many reasons. Long battery life, anybody? -_-

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Hmm it's nice with the sound because those from acer deliver crappy performance.. I use the earphone socket to connect the laptop to the HiFi set, and set the volume from the remote controller.. Nice to hear that the socket is working.

 

Yeah I've heard that there are problems with the Intel WiFi module.. My second notebook is HP Compaq nx7400 and I think if I tried to install MacOS there, it would cause huge problems with the SoundMax AD1981HD chip, and the mentioned Intel WiFi.. But the sign shows me "Broadcom 802.11g" so it's not Intel for sure. How to check detailed information about it?

 

Back to the Card Reader question.. My portable player is better known as Nokia 6151 ;) I've got a DKU-2 cable to connect it through USB.. Do you think it's going to work properly when I use it with iSync and a Nokia plugin? Then this problem would be history..

 

I also think that buying a real Mac is the greatest idea.. However I'm still quite young and depend on what my parents buy.. One day I'll buy the Apple stuff for sure :(

 

Thanks for the investigation Detosx :)

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Hej,

nice Story, i own an Extensa 5220 ( the extremly cheap one). I´d use KALYWAY 10.5.1 to install. The only thing that is a bit complicated is the first install with an external Monitor. I´d used Paulicats patched Natit to run the X3100 with QE and CI. The WIFI-Card runs out of the box Only mistake is the energy-management and the Battery indicator.

 

Amanoth

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Hmm it's nice with the sound because those from acer deliver crappy performance.. I use the earphone socket to connect the laptop to the HiFi set, and set the volume from the remote controller.. Nice to hear that the socket is working.

 

No, the socket doesn't work unless you apply Taruga's ALC628 patch. As I say, it gave fixed output sound from the headphone socket (You need to select it by clicking the Speaker icon in control panel and selecting your output preference. As I say, the laptop's speakers don't work after (in software), beyond a loud percussive click. I personally need the laptop's speakers working.

 

If your Acer uses the ALC628 codec/device, you can find the installer here and give Taruga a hand by reporting your results (there is a link through thread for that). ;)

 

http://forum.insanelymac.com/index.php?showtopic=32859

 

Your other questions I don't have an answer to. USB functions fine, with an occaional glitch that requires you unplug your usb device and then plug it back in or it's not 'seen'. My usb wireless dongle is a case in point. If I loose the signal, I have to unplug and replug. There is a work-around for that in Tiger but it doesn't seem to work in Leopard and caused kernel panic. USB hard drives and SD card readers dont' seem to have that problem, though I do need to disconnect before bootup. I supsect I need to change the boot order in bios, though I thought I had.

 

If you need to find your laptop's full specification, which unfortunately is often not listed in full on manufacturers homepages, you will need to buy and run Everest under windows. I'm told it is more reliable at reporting vendor IDs under XP than under Vista but I can't confirm. With this laptop I haven't had the need to change IDs.

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Folks, can I beg you, as a humanitarian who has just lost a valued colleague in battle - my HP DV6205US - please to be very careful with your laptop, post installing Leopard.It is all to easy to find yourself in a situation where you have newly installed Leopard, you're delighted but haven't had time to mess around with the power settings, your screen goes blank, you think the laptop is switched off, you happily put your laptop in your day pack and... it fries. DEAD. I was trying to keep the HP's gorgeous case scratch free, so I used to wrap it in a thick cotton top. I never had this happen with Tiger but I am reading a lot of user reports of Leopard mishaps. Most are carelessness from tiredness but... there is something very addictive about this sport and trying to get everything working asap and forgoing sleep and... sh*t happens, as they say!I have read forums where Acer users complain a lot that they bag their laptop and it accidentally gets switched on, they get to their destination and the battery is flat. I have had that happen to me twice, where with an older IMB laptop I never had it happen once in two years.

 

In my travels I found this post from Paulicat - it refers to Tiger, not Leopard - in November 2006:-

 

Finally, an answer for anyone with a super hot running laptop!

Ok, so I just got an HP laptop the other day, and I was forewarned that the fan didn't function properly and you would need to invoke sleep then wake it for the fan to function properly.

This worked to a degree, firstly, sleeping and waking on every boot up is lame.

Secondly, the temps at which the fan was set to turn on was WAY to hot. Upwards of 61C. Needless to say that made for a VERY hot lap*top.

 

So, in my very logical mind, I said "But the bios/mobo should be able to handle the fan on its own, it shouldn't NEED an os or driver to function!".

Next logical step, find the right kext. Enter "AppleACPIThermal.kext" which is a plugin of AppleACPIFamily.kext.

Removed that plugin, cleared kextcache, and VOILA!! Fan works perfectly!

Temperatures have dropped to the low 40's high 30's!!

I CAN USE THE LAPTOP ON MY LAP!!!! biggrin.gif

 

So, if your laptop seems like its going to melt, try out this little fix.

Be careful and monitor your temps with the freeware Temperature Monitor.app

 

 

NOTE!

 

I am copying and pasting this customer comment, though I do have my doubts about it. I would have thought that the referred to ePower software serves a useful power saving function if you are using Windows, however it has to be said that many people install Linux on their computers and no manufacturer in their right mind, surely (surely?) is going to let their laptop's overheat. Bios should handle it. That said, nothwithstanding what Leopard was telling it to do I am curious as to why my HP didn't have some kind of thermal cut out to stop the laptop from frying. Does ePower

have some kind of handshake with bios? Anyway, the Customer review below (from the Amazon.co.uk website, his nick is pet2000) is for the ultra cheap Acer Gemstone 5315:-

 

"Looks good, plastic feels a bit cheap, keyboard not suitable for fast typing, noisy, unresponsive mouse pad. I also experience the following: When I open the lid after the computer was on standby or hybernation, the fan does not come back on and the computer overheats until it switches itself suddenly off. I tried to find an answer online and came across a forum where people described the same fault with their Acer notebooks. After further investigations with Acer it turns out that all Acer notebooks run only correctly with their ePower software switched on (which I don't want and which slows down the computer dramatically). My conclusion, if you think of buying an Acer notebook be aware that you need to run all the Acer software which makes it run extremely slow. This also keeps the whining fan on most of the time at an annoying frequency. My recommendation is stay away from Acer until they have sorted out this problem and you can run your notebook on Windows Vista without their bloatware."

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What isn't working.Wi-fi - I need to change my wifi card for either a Dell or an Atheros AR5BXB6 Mini-PCIe. Don't quote me on those, those are Google searches, wi-fi replacement cards that have worked on other laptops and Leopard. Instead, I use a sweex usb wifi dongle. Works with the Tiger driver downloadable from sweex's website. Only cost £10/$20.
I opted to replace my Acer's WiFi with a Broadcom 4311. I noticed it was one of the ones that was supported natively in MacOS. Worked on first boot. No problems, special kexts or anything else.
Crystal Eye webcam - I read that someone who installed Leopard found this worked with his Acer laptop but it doesn't work on mine. I did find an application called PIP which does allow you to tweak your webcams settings but... though you get to see your slightly surprised face within the application ... it doesn't work alongside applications you might want to use when using a webcam, so it's pretty useless. I haven't found a working driver, yet. Anyone else?
My Acer came with Acer Orbicam. Not sure what the underlying brand is. Did not work for me in tiger (Uphuck 10.4.9) but no problems in Leopard (iATKOS or KALYWAY).
Sleep - sleep doesn't work. Doubtless there are workarounds. Anyone have any power saving tips?
I have not experienced a successful sleep. I also do not have working battery meter, which is probably all related to the Power Management kext.Finally, my SD/MMC built-in card reader is not functioning.
I hope this helps someone and, Acer user or not, you might like to help, too. :)
Aside from these shortcomings, I am extremely pleased how far I have been able to come in making my Acer Macbook Pro ;)
There is a work-around for that in Tiger but it doesn't seem to work in Leopard and caused kernel panic. USB hard drives and SD card readers dont' seem to have that problem, though I do need to disconnect before bootup. I supsect I need to change the boot order in bios, though I thought I had.
I have the same issue on my Acer: I cannot pass the POST screen (big ACER logo) with a USB drive plugged in. I used to be able under Vista. But the drive was formated NTFS when I ran Vista. It is now Mac Journaled. I cannot be sure, but this might be related. I never changed the boot order along the way.
. My conclusion, if you think of buying an Acer notebook be aware that you need to run all the Acer software which makes it run extremely slow. This also keeps the whining fan on most of the time at an annoying frequency. My recommendation is stay away from Acer until they have sorted out this problem and you can run your notebook on Windows Vista without their bloatware."
That's quite interesting. I have been running Tiger, then Leopard, on my Acer Aspire for about 2 months now, and never had a heating and/or a heat related shutdown. And my unit is on virtually 24/7. But as many know, even within the same model there can be a wide variance in the hardware used. I agree with in that "buyer beware" and do your research as best you can before purchase.Cheers.
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Good to hear, JonyBravo!

 

Does your webcam work during install when you select a login picture? Could you fire up Photobooth and see if it works? ;) The Orbicam is a different model, as I understand it but that's good to know.

 

Since my HP died from heatstroke, I am in the market for a second cheap laptop. Acer's deals in Scotland are fairly amazing. The other possibility is an HP with a Celeron processor. Not sure how well Leopard would run, might be a big false ecconomy on Video rendering work, etc.

 

I will also from now on be obsessed with temperatures! I'm tempted to say that if you are a new user, go with iATKOS's Darwin X86 install option rather than EFI/Vanilla kernel, and select speedstep - and monitor the mps. All being well and if battery life isn't important to you, go with the faster EFI/Vanilla kernel.

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Whoa, Detosx that is quite frightening.. Luckily I don't travel with my laptop so much, but I will be aware of what you say..

 

So folks, I've downloaded Kalyway Mac OS X 10.5.1, made backups of my important files and.. What's next? I mean if I reboot my laptop with the Kalyway CD in it (the Installer works, but I didn't manage to go past the language choice because I didn't have my data stored) which options/drivers should I choose? And which patches/fixes will be recommended for my hardware (I will put it on the pendrive and apply after the install) ?

 

Try to explain the installation as much as you can please, because I'm a TOTAL n00b for this kind of systems.. I mean this will be the first time I install the Mac so have your fingers crossed.. ;)

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Hi Grabar,

 

First of all the boring answer - there are a lot of guides out there on how to dual boot with windows and it's best you read through those carefully, having first backed up your data! Use the search facility. It can be a good idea to try and find someone who has the same computer as you do and see what trials and tribulations they went through.

 

Having tried both Kalyway and iATKOS, I would go for iATKOS because, if you have an X3100 graphics card, Kalyway doesn't support it out-of-the-box whereas with iATKOS it is an install option. The iATKOS install is the easier of the two, not very much harder than installing Windows XP, though you do have to be a little careful which options you chose. Also, the iATKOS team didn't mess around with the appearance of Leopard, which Kalyway has a bit.

 

Not to labour the obvious but as I say to everyone, buy Leopard, give Apple their due and, if you really want to do this, do it with a view to buying an Apple laptop/iMac at a later date when you can afford the premium. They're worth it, no least for battery time.

 

My only other advice, if you go for iATKOS, would be go for the X86Darwin boot option and forget about EFI. Yes, EFI and the unmodified Vanilla Apple kernel give you a marginally faster machine but you are very limited in what you can go - no speedstep, short battery time, little teething problems that as a new user you really don't want to be spending time on.

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Hi Detosx,

 

First of all my idea is a little bit more radical - I want Mac OS to be the only system on the PC.. You're right with the search, but it is difficult to find someone with a similiar hardware spec.. And it's not working at the moment :P

 

Okay, I'm downloading the iAtkos version right now..

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I have a Toshiba core2duo laptop with HD2400. Leopard doesnt support 2400 so i was unable to use it

I was asked to restore a Acer extensa 5220 for a friend & while setting it up i tried running iATKOS on a usb hd.

To my surprise everything works out of the box except bluetooth, sleep & EFI. So i brought 1(A$580) & for $10 got a usb bluetooth adaptor.

The sound is {censored}(no surprise) but already had logitech V20 usb speakers. Am very happy with its performance for a $600 laptop running Leopard. :)

SPECS:

Celeron 1.86

2gig DDR2

80gig Sata

15.4 CrystalBrite

DVD-Super Multi Dual Layer

X3100

Intel High-Def audio

Wireless Network Adapter (802.11 b/g)

Ethernet (RJ-45)

Firewire

Bluetooth

Crystal Eye Webcam

5-in-1 Card Read

4x USB2

1x Express Card

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Hi Detosx,First of all my idea is a little bit more radical - I want Mac OS to be the only system on the PC.. You're right with the search, but it is difficult to find someone with a similiar hardware spec.. And it's not working at the moment :POkay, I'm downloading the iAtkos version right now..
In that case your options are somewhat more straightforward but you're as well to follow one of the tutorials that apply to most intel spec hackintoshes.

 

1) Buy Leopard - I believe if you are in further eduction you can get a discount but at your local dealer it's inexpensive compared to Windows and a stopgap on the way to buying a real and yummysome Mac when funds provide.

 

2) If you are going to wipe the drive rather than dual boot, download the latest Gparted live CD (partitioning software) and burn it to CD as an iso. Now go into your laptops bios and change the bootup order so that your CD/DVD drive is the first boot device and the hard drive the second.

 

3) Boot from the Gparted CD and then format the drive as a primary partition with FAT32. Or, you might want to set up a seperate data partition for your various projects. Again, select FAT32 because it is readable/writeable by bother Leopard and Windows, which is useful if the laptop dies - you can put the hard drive in a USB caddy/enclosure and transfering it to a working Windows/Apple computer.

 

4) Boot up iATKOS and wait a few minutes. All being well, go up to the top of the Screen and from the Utilities menu select Disk Utility. Click on your chosen Partition. Then click on the erase tab. Seleced Journalled from the drop down menu and then erase/format said partition. It takes about ten seconds.

 

5) Exit Disk Utility. and then continue with the installer, selecting which drive to install to. Lookout for a button called Customise. Click on it and select your favoured options/drivers based on what hardware you have. If you have a laptop I would select the X86Darwin rather than go with EFI and the vanilla Apple kernel; that way, if your intel processor supports it, you can select 'Speedstep'. The EFI/Vanilla Apple kernel option is the better performer but not vastly so and with a laptop you want to be saving battery and - all those little tweaks that you want if you are a laptop user that aren't present out-of-the box with the Vanilla Apple kernel (vanilla meaning non hacked, the original - with the vanilla kernel you can theoretically do most Apple updates including kernel updates, whereas with the hacked kernel if you update from 10.5.1 to 10.5.2, say, you probably won't be able boot up your laptop). I have tried both the EFI/Vanilla route and the X86Dawrin with Speedstep and power saving options and with a laptop I would say use that, unless you never take your laptop out of the house. Also, having fried one laptop, anything that keeps an eye and monitors power useage is A-okay in my book! SMBIOS can be useful for comptibility with certain Applications(programs). Hopefully you should now be able to boot from the hard drive and complete the instillation. Once you have done so, go to the Control Panel and adjust the power settings! It is all too easy to happily play around with your new laptop's fresh install, go away and make a cup of coffee, come back and find the screen is black, not press a key to wake the screen and, thinking the laptop has shutdown, put the laptop in a bag - and fry the processor. No, this doesn't happen a lot and certainly less so under Tiger for some reason, but it does happen. How many people publically admit to it or not is another matter!

 

Above all, have fun and promote the Mac platform. :)

I have a Toshiba core2duo laptop with HD2400. Leopard doesnt support 2400 so i was unable to use it I was asked to restore a Acer extensa 5220 for a friend & while setting it up i tried running iATKOS on a usb hd. To my surprise everything works out of the box except bluetooth, sleep & EFI. So i brought 1(A$580) & for $10 got a usb bluetooth adaptor. The sound is {censored}(no surprise) but already had logitech V20 usb speakers. Am very happy with its performance for a $600 laptop running Leopard. :PSPECS:Celeron 1.862gig DDR2 80gig Sata15.4 CrystalBriteDVD-Super Multi Dual LayerX3100Intel High-Def audioWireless Network Adapter (802.11 b/g)Ethernet (RJ-45)FirewireBluetoothCrystal Eye Webcam5-in-1 Card Read4x USB21x Express Card

That's good to know. :) There was some doubt expressed about that range of Acer laptops on other forums and Amazon.co.uk, that without the Acer power saving program specific to Microsoft Windows the laptop can't properly cool itself, that it wasn't therefore suitable for, say, Linux. Ergo...

 

Does it run tolerably fast with Leopard? I seriously thought about getting one of those as a replacement for my HP. That said, Apple do have a new sub notebook coming out in Feb that doesn't use a hard drive and reportedly has a ten hour battery life! Hmm!

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That's good to know. There was some doubt expressed about that range of Acer laptops on other forums and Amazon.co.uk, that without the Acer power saving program specific to Microsoft Windows the laptop can't properly cool itself, that it wasn't therefore suitable for, say, Linux. Ergo...

Does it run tolerably fast with Leopard? I seriously thought about getting one of those as a replacement for my HP.

No prob with speed, hav'nt noticed any lag. Tried multi tasking without any drama's.

If its running all day it gets warm, thats normal 4 most laptops. Ive got a cooling pad that i use if im on it 4 hrs.

I get 1.5-2hrs battery time, depending wot im doing. Ive installed speedstep, which should be helping out.

The only wierdness ive found so far(2weeks) is the trackpad has a mind of its own occasionally.

 

Apple do have a new sub notebook coming out in Feb that doesn't use a hard drive and reportedly has a ten hour battery life! Hmm!

Ten hour battery IMPRESSIVE!!

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Aaa Help Help Help

 

1. I've made everything like Detosx said, with a little bit of advice of iAtkos readme. The first problem was the Darwin_boot script which returned me messages that setting up the boot failed because it's read only.

 

2. However I made it, and launched the system using the Darwin loader from the DVD but it's working very slooooow. I mean the intro works about 5 fps synchronizing with that rat-ta-ta-ta-ta music :/ I don't know what is the problem.

 

3. Then in configuration is the biggest problem - no keyboard input working. I mean I can adjust volume using the notebooks controls but typing any letters is impossible. I've plugged an external USB keyboard and have the same problem. And I'm stuck at this point because you need to enter some registartion info...

 

 

Btw you were right with Kalyway - after installing the system was crashing on the grey apple logo.

 

Please heeeeeelp

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Good to hear, JonyBravo!

 

Does your webcam work during install when you select a login picture? Could you fire up Photobooth and see if it works? :D The Orbicam is a different model, as I understand it but that's good to know.

 

Since my HP died from heatstroke, I am in the market for a second cheap laptop. Acer's deals in Scotland are fairly amazing. The other possibility is an HP with a Celeron processor. Not sure how well Leopard would run, might be a big false ecconomy on Video rendering work, etc.

 

I will also from now on be obsessed with temperatures! I'm tempted to say that if you are a new user, go with iATKOS's Darwin X86 install option rather than EFI/Vanilla kernel, and select speedstep - and monitor the mps. All being well and if battery life isn't important to you, go with the faster EFI/Vanilla kernel.

 

Yes, my webcam worked during install. But no, it doesn't seem to work for Photobooth. Interesting......

 

I was interested in vanilla so that upgrades were smooth. But I have been thinking of going the other iATKOS since I have the EFI think in now anyway.

 

Question for all: Can iATKOS be applied while Kalyway is on? Will it change the system to iATKOS without wiping the data already present?

 

EDIT: I tried, didn't work. Glad I had my Time Machine backup.

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