[Compilation] Dell XPS M1330, M1530, Vostro 1400, 1700, Inspiron 1420, 1520, 1720

[niek!]

im thinking of buying a dell 1310, should it be possible to get it fully working with a x3100 videocard?

 

is the shutdown problem only for the nvidia cards?

[macgirl]

only with Nvidia, but the X3100 has also another issues (which in my opinion are worst than the shutdown/restart problem).

[crosbyla]

Ok, so maybe this is completely unrelated to the last few posts. But here is where I stand with my XPS M1530:

 

Running Leopard 10.5.4 vanilla via BrazilMac patched DVD and PC EFI v8

Shutdown/reboot - not working (as stated at the beginning of the guide)

Accelerated Graphics - working with NVinstaller 5.2

Sleep - working

Battery meter - working

Wireless - working with Dell 1390 wireless card

Media Keys - working with sonotone Dell Package

Audio - only speakers work after putting to sleep, with kexts at the beginning of this post

 

 

My question is this: is there a way to get the headphone jack working again? For some odd reason when I originally installed Leopard (10.5), at the first reboot after installing the audio kexts, both the speakers and the left headphone jack worked. Now, only the speakers work. Is there a different AppleHDA.kext for the M1530 that will resolve this issue or is it caused by updating to 10.5.4? If anyone has fully working audio, please post a link to the kext file you used and/or the solution. Thanks.

 

Well, I guess I had to answer my own question (thanks guys). I ended up buying a cheap USB 7.1 channel audio device for like $13 shipped online and finally figured out how to use it in Leopard today! I had to go to System Preferences then Sound and select USB as the output (and input in order to use microphone - have not tested.) Now I have 100% working audio (can use internal speakers, headphones, and external speakers with subwoofer ). I just wanted to put that out there for anyone else who may have audio issues. And to get the USB sound card, just Google 'Cheap USB Audio' and it should turn up in the results.

 

Cheers.

PS - as a side note, even when factoring the cost of buying peripherals to get fully functionality (wireless card, USB audio, and eventually USB ethernet) I still come out about $600 golden over an equivalently-spec'd MacBook Pro. That's not chump change for a poor college student . OSx86 rocks the house!)

[DarwinX]

Well, I guess I had to answer my own question (thanks guys). I ended up buying a cheap USB 7.1 channel audio device for like $13 shipped online and finally figured out how to use it in Leopard today! I had to go to System Preferences then Sound and select USB as the output (and input in order to use microphone - have not tested.) Now I have 100% working audio (can use internal speakers, headphones, and external speakers with subwoofer ). I just wanted to put that out there for anyone else who may have audio issues. And to get the USB sound card, just Google 'Cheap USB Audio' and it should turn up in the results.

 

Cheers.

PS - as a side note, even when factoring the cost of buying peripherals to get fully functionality (wireless card, USB audio, and eventually USB ethernet) I still come out about $600 golden over an equivalently-spec'd MacBook Pro. That's not chump change for a poor college student . OSx86 rocks the house!)

 

$600 cheaper than Pro? How much did you pay for your XPS?

[DarwinX]

MacGirl, please accept my belated appreciation of your advice regarding the Snow Leopard, couldn't reply earlier due the very busy schedule.

 

To anyone that cares, I was able to install Snow Leopard on a friend's iMac quite painlessly without a DL-DVD. I've used an image of 10.6 on my removable HDD, if only the hackintoshes were this easy. Interestingly, despite only having 512mb of RAM, this 64 bit system had installed and functioned beautifully while appearing almost identical to Leopard.

It was a crying shame having to erase it. Needless to say, only kernel panics occur while trying to install the 10.6 on my Dell, even with the modified BOOT-132.

Also, does anyone on this planet know why the sound stutters on my system using ANY vanilla kernel? It does NOT occur when I'm running off an external HDD.

[crosbyla]

$600 cheaper than Pro? How much did you pay for your XPS?

 

I paid about $1874 for my XPS with the following specifications and peripherals, a combination of a special promotion and college discounts (I just copied and pasted my order confirmation email below). Keep in mind that I got the computer, a bag, and a printer for the final figure of about $1874.

 

Order Details

Order Number: 254733425

Estimated Ship Date: 05/21/2008

 

Item Description

XPS M1530, Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T8300 (2.4GHz/800MHzFSB, 3M L2 Cache)

Tuxedo Black Casing XPS M1530

4GB, DDR2, 667MHz 2 Dimm, for XPS M1530

15.4 inch Wide Screen WXGA+ TrueLife LED LCD with Camera for XPS M1530

256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT

Dell 926 Vista Printer Driver

320GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive for XPS M1530

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Edition, English

Media Direct 3.5

Dell Owners Manual installed on your system,click on icon after system set-up to access

DELL RESOURCE DVD,BACK-UP, XPSM1530

Turbine Lord of the Rings Online

ADOBE ACROBAT READER 8.1 DIM/INSP

8X DVD+/-RW Slot Load Drive for XPSM1530

Roxio Creator DE 10

Integrated Sound Blaster Audigy

Intel 4965AGN Wireless-N Mini-card

No Virus Protection Requested

85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery, for XPS M1530

No Internet Service Provider Requested

Microsoft Works 9.0, English For Inspiron

Soft Contracts - Qualxserve

3 Year Limited Warranty

Dell Hardware Warranty Plus Onsite Service, Extended Year(s)

Type 15- Third Party At HomeService with Nights and Weekends, 24x7 Technical Support,2 Year Extended

Dell Hardware Warranty PlusOnsite Service, Initial Year

Type 15- Third Party At Home Service with Nights and Week ends, 24x7 Technical Support, Initial Year

Soft Contracts - Consumer Complete Care

CompleteCare Accidental Damage Protection, Inspiron, 3 Year

Bundle LoJack Theft Recovery Service - 3 Year

Dell Wirless 355 Bluetooth Module (2.0+EDR)

Finger Print Reader XPS M1530

You have chosen a Windows Vista Premium System

Intel Centrino Core Duo Processor

15.4 inch Black Wide Screen WX+ LED TrueLife LCD with 2.0 MP Camera for XPS M1530

Camera Software XPS M1530 2.0MP

Adobe Pepe,English

XPS,Datasafe 20GB,1YR,DHS

DataSafe included with DellCare Service bundle

 

Subtotal: $1,613.92

Shipping and Handling: $0.00

Sales Tax: $104.81

Total: $1,718.73

 

Order Details

Order Number: 254733474 Estimated Ship Date: 05/21/2008

Item Description

Dell Photo AIO Printer 926

DELL USB PRINTER CABLE - 10 FTBLACK

Warranty Support, initial year

 

Subtotal: $109.12

Shipping and Handling: $0.00

Sales Tax: $7.38

Total: $116.50

 

Order Details

Order Number: 254733532 Estimated Ship Date: 05/21/2008

Item Description

Absolute - Computrace LoJack for Laptops 3 Year

Sling Bag for Laptops up to 15.4-in - Laptop Carrying Backpack - Black Red

Subtotal: $36.96

Shipping and Handling: $0.00

Sales Tax: $2.49

Total: $39.45

 

Here is the closest spec'd MacBook Pro and the cost (with college discounts of course; please keep in mind that the 'Buy a Mac for college get a free iPod' promotion wasn't going on at the time I ordered, and that I can easily buy an iPod with the money I saved ):

MacBook Pro, 15-inch, 2.4GHz

Part Number: Z0EY

4GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM - 2x2GB

Backlit Keyboard (English) / User's Guide

SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)

MacBook Pro 15-inch Glossy Widescreen Display

250GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm

2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo

Accessory Kit

Apple Remote

AppleCare Protection Plan for MacBook Pro (w/or w/o Display) - Auto-enroll (3 years)

Subtotal: $2,282.00

Free Shipping : $0.00

Estimated Tax: $154.03

Estimated Total: $2,436.03

 

 

So there you have it: overall price difference of only $562, a price difference of $718 when only factoring in the computer. This is the absolute closest configuration I could get, and the Dell still comes out on top: a bigger hard drive, more software (Adobe Premiere Elements + Photoshop Elements for free), a real accessory kit. And, more importantly, the ability to run three operating systems . I am very happy with my decision to go Dell.

[devilhood]

only with Nvidia, but the X3100 has also another issues (which in my opinion are worst than the shutdown/restart problem).

 

macgirl, do you have the 'family specific matching fails' issue due to the EHCISleepEnabler.kext?

Without the EHCISleepEnabler.kext, I don't have the 'family specific matching fails' spam in my verbose.

 

crosbyla: you could at least edit your post so that it doesn't have a stupid amount of spaces

[crosbyla]

macgirl, do you have the 'family specific matching fails' issue due to the EHCISleepEnabler.kext?

Without the EHCISleepEnabler.kext, I don't have the 'family specific matching fails' spam in my verbose.

 

crosbyla: you could at least your post so that it doesn't have a stupid amount of spaces

 

Done deal, edited post to eliminate most spaces.

[DarwinX]

I see. I suppose it always strikes me a surprise considering I've only paid $950 (slickdeals.net) for mine (plus tax$). In fact, it would have been $150 less had I opted for a slower processor and no bluetooth, probably should have but the T9300 runs just as fast as any modern MacBook Pro. This CPU is identical to the ones found in most of the high end Macs. What are your GeekBench scores? I am very curious as mine average around 3300 which is expected of a Mac with the same specs. However, I consistently rank at only around 2800 while on Vista, also expected. The 64 bit Leopard averages up to 3800(!) on a genuine Mac! As personal opinions are obviously very subjective, benchmarking is the only true way to measure the viability of any given system, so why not share all of our experiences to establish a sort of a baseline to achieve better performance. Perhaps even consider overclocking, nothing major, +.1 Ghz or so, I do realize it is not recommended in Windows based notebooks but I want it just a little faster!PS. Running Vanilla 9.4.0 now after replacing the 1.5.28 (10.5.3) NVidia kexts with the 1.5.26 (10.5.1) ones per MacGirl recommendation. I was using the NVKush, perhaps that was the culprit that produced this unbearable stuttering on Vanillas, strange...

I paid about $1874 for my XPS with the following specifications and peripherals, a combination of a special promotion and college discounts (I just copied and pasted my order confirmation email below). Keep in mind that I got the computer, a bag, and a printer for the final figure of about $1874.Order Number: 254733474 Estimated Ship Date: 05/21/2008Item DescriptionDell Photo AIO Printer 926DELL USB PRINTER CABLE - 10 FTBLACKWarranty Support, initial year Subtotal: $109.12Shipping and Handling: $0.00Sales Tax: $7.38Total: $116.50 Order Details Order Number: 254733532 Estimated Ship Date: 05/21/2008Item DescriptionAbsolute - Computrace LoJack for Laptops 3 YearSling Bag for Laptops up to 15.4-in - Laptop Carrying Backpack - Black RedSubtotal: $36.96Shipping and Handling: $0.00Sales Tax: $2.49Total: $39.45 Here is the closest spec'd MacBook Pro and the cost (with college discounts of course; please keep in mind that the 'Buy a Mac for college get a free iPod' promotion wasn't going on at the time I ordered, and that I can easily buy an iPod with the money I saved ):MacBook Pro, 15-inch, 2.4GHzPart Number: Z0EY4GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM - 2x2GBBacklit Keyboard (English) / User's GuideSuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)MacBook Pro 15-inch Glossy Widescreen Display250GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm2.4GHz Intel Core 2 DuoAccessory KitApple RemoteAppleCare Protection Plan for MacBook Pro (w/or w/o Display) - Auto-enroll (3 years)Subtotal: $2,282.00Free Shipping : $0.00Estimated Tax: $154.03Estimated Total: $2,436.03So there you have it: overall price difference of only $562, a price difference of $718 when only factoring in the computer. This is the absolute closest configuration I could get, and the Dell still comes out on top: a bigger hard drive, more software (Adobe Premiere Elements + Photoshop Elements for free), a real accessory kit. And, more importantly, the ability to run three operating systems . I am very happy with my decision to go Dell.

macgirl, do you have the 'family specific matching fails' issue due to the EHCISleepEnabler.kext?Without the EHCISleepEnabler.kext, I don't have the 'family specific matching fails' spam in my verbose.crosbyla: you could at least your post so that it doesn't have a stupid amount of spaces

I know this was for the MacGirl, but I have also noticed this exact verbiage, since the 10.5.4 update I believe. It is hard to miss as it is presented in yellow....

[devilhood]

My Dell XPS M1530, T9300 CPU and Nvidia GeForce 8600M GT scores a GeekBench of 3411 in 32-bit mode

 

I attached it for those who want to compare.

Goff_GeekBench.zip

[crosbyla]

I got a GeekBench score of 3171 with my M1530 in the 32-bit test. I'm not sure why, but my memory test scores seem a bit slower than most MacBook Pros, but the overall score is on par with an equivalently spec'd model. Wow $950? That's quite a steal especially with a faster processor (albeit by .1GHz). I'm still happy with mine, which is running Vanilla kernel 9.4 and 10.5.4 like a dream. I used NVinstaller v5.2 for accelerated graphics, and I haven't had any stuttering issues so far. Just the shutdown/reboot problems that everyone with accelerated graphics experiences...

[Big Kahuna]

researching for a friend that has a 1530, any updates to the first page about what's working and not working?

[macgirl]

MacGirl, please accept my belated appreciation of your advice regarding the Snow Leopard, couldn't reply earlier due the very busy schedule.

 

To anyone that cares, I was able to install Snow Leopard on a friend's iMac quite painlessly without a DL-DVD. I've used an image of 10.6 on my removable HDD, if only the hackintoshes were this easy..

Well they are easy once you know which elements need to change, tha lastest Intalation I made to make som test was very easy, I installed from a Real Mac onto an External USB Disk (I did not need to boot with the Retail DVD sice you can open the OSInstall.mpkg directly), then without rebooting I applied the 10.5.3 Combo Update (when you install on a different volume it does not need to run the InstallAtStartup script because none of its system files are in use) then I deleted some kexts (like AppleIntelCPUPowerManagement), installed some other and patches like dsmos.kext, gfx string, etc. then the last step was the installation of the bootloader, with PCWiz OSXTools I installed Chameleon. I disconnected the drive, connected to the M1330 and boot from it.

 

Piece of cake...

 

macgirl, do you have the 'family specific matching fails' issue due to the EHCISleepEnabler.kext?

Without the EHCISleepEnabler.kext, I don't have the 'family specific matching fails' spam in my verbose.

Yes I having those, but only on boot, I had to read the old system.logs because is rare that I boot on verbose lately, and rare that I boot since I put the laptop to sleep mostly all the time.

 

researching for a friend that has a 1530, any updates to the first page about what's working and not working?

The 1st post is updated, unless you count the 10.5.4 updates, which does not require any special work (I mean the 10.5.4 delta update, since it has no conflicting kext), of course if you are running without any EFI bootloader you need to reinstall a modded kernel before reboot.

[Doron]

hey m8s.

i read this topic and i couldn't decide - What is the best Dell Notebook for OSX?

i just can't find any perfect notebook... every model got it own problems....

pls help?

thanks

[mdg]

Just wanted to notify that i have made a new kext called SMBIOSResolver which is replacing my previous AppleSMBIOS kext. It is supposed to work with the "vanilla" SMBIOS.kext

 

Will this help me with "Unknown CPU" in about this mac? I have a C2D E8400 on a P5E-VM HDMI. All is well...but this little things is bugging me.

 

Thanks in advance...

 

/mdg.

[devilhood]

Will this help me with "Unknown CPU" in about this mac? I have a C2D E8400 on a P5E-VM HDMI. All is well...but this little things is bugging me.

 

Thanks in advance...

 

/mdg.

 

Unfortunately, no

 

hey m8s.

i read this topic and i couldn't decide - What is the best Dell Notebook for OSX?

i just can't find any perfect notebook... every model got it own problems....

pls help?

thanks

 

The Dell XPS M1530 compares very well to the MacBook Pro imho.

The only major gripe is that you have to sleep/wake the system to use sound, but tbh, just do what Macgirl does... never shutdown

[cacahuete]

Hi,

 

I've a Dell M1530 and the shoutdown doesn't works :S (I must stop the dell by the power button).

I'm on Kalyway 10.5.3

Who are a solution for this ?

 

Sorry for my bad bad English.

[Doron]

The Dell XPS M1530 compares very well to the MacBook Pro imho.

The only major gripe is that you have to sleep/wake the system to use sound, but tbh, just do what Macgirl does... never shutdown

 

wow really? even the doal core? the card reader? wlan? lan? turn off and reset? what about the battery? (sorry for all the questions lol ...)

that's great! thanks!

 

ho btw, on what system version?

 

edit:

i Checked the system spec, and it's like M1330 but heavier, is the M1330 will work perfectly fine as the m1350 is?

thanks.

i'm talking about this spec:

YSTEM COLOR Alpine White edit

PROCESSOR Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T5750 (2.0GHz/667Mhz FSB/2MB cache) edit

OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition SP1 edit

LCD AND CAMERA Standard Display with 2.0 Megapixel Webcam edit

MEMORY 2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz edit

HARD DRIVE Size: 160GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM) edit

INTERNAL OPTICAL DRIVE CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW Drive) edit

VIDEO CARD Intel® Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 edit

WIRELESS CARDS Dell Wireless 1395 802.11g Mini Card edit

BLUETOOTH AND WIRELESS USB Built-in Bluetooth capability (2.0 EDR) edit

BATTERY OPTIONS 37Whr Lithium Ion Battery (4 cell) edit

SOUND OPTIONS High Definition Audio 2.0 edit

FINGERPRINT SCANNER Biometric Fingerprint Reader

[devilhood]

wow really? even the doal core? the card reader? wlan? lan? turn off and reset? what about the battery? (sorry for all the questions lol ...)

that's great! thanks!

 

ho btw, on what system version?

 

edit:

i Checked the system spec, and it's like M1330 but heavier, is the M1330 will work perfectly fine as the m1350 is?

thanks.

i'm talking about this spec:

 

I'm running 10.5.4 dual booting with Vista SP1 Ultimate atm.

Dual core works perfectly, the card reader doesn't work, but you could always buy a seperate USB card reader that is compatible with Mac (I think). The M1330 is a great little machine too, same kind of setup really, just a smaller screen. Check out MacGirl's machine page, she lists her M1330 and all the aspects of the hardware that work, I'm sure you will be happy

[Doron]

Ho COOl!!

 

LAN: Integrated Broadcom 5906M (not working)

WLAN: Integrated Intel 3945abg mini PCI-E [on WWAN slot] (not working)

 

that's a real problem....

but i saw that the wlan card that comes with the m1330 is "Dell Wireless 1395 802.11g Mini Card" and i think that works fine, doesn't it?

another thing:

she got Geforce 8400mGS QE/CI, i will get ntel® Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator X3100, is this video adapter works fine? the hdmi and all...?

 

thanks!

[devilhood]

Ho COOl!!

 

LAN: Integrated Broadcom 5906M (not working)

WLAN: Integrated Intel 3945abg mini PCI-E [on WWAN slot] (not working)

 

that's a real problem....

but i saw that the wlan card that comes with the m1330 is "Dell Wireless 1395 802.11g Mini Card" and i think that works fine, doesn't it?

another thing:

she got Geforce 8400mGS QE/CI, i will get ntel® Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator X3100, is this video adapter works fine? the hdmi and all...?

 

thanks!

 

I don't have any first hand experience with the Intel X3100, but if you refer to Macgirl's first post, she has two links for X3100 users.

Personally, I'd recommend getting the GeForce 8400M GS, and go for the Dell Wireless 1505 802.11n WLAN card instead.

[Doron]

it's comes 2 expansive for me.

i will upgrade for Dell Wireless 1505 Wireless-N Mini-card, but this is inner card right?

for the video adapter... i will check those links out...

 

thanks man

[devilhood]

Inner card, yeah, but very easy to fit!

All you do is unscrew the panel at the back, take the Intel Wireless card out and put the Dell Wireless one in.

If you're worried about doing it yourself, don't be, because all Dell laptops have a service manual that you can download from their site

I'm assuming you're getting this as a package deal though, so you probably don't need to worry about the whole DIY aspect

[DarwinX]

My Dell XPS M1530, T9300 CPU and Nvidia GeForce 8600M GT scores a GeekBench of 3411 in 32-bit mode I attached it for those who want to compare.

Is this the average? My scores tend to range anywhere from the 3200 - 3400, all on the same system, not very consistent at all. Vista benches consistently around 2750. Also, I think the GUID makes a difference, it is quite nice to be able to resize and defragment my mac volumes, GPT is the only way to go.

I got a GeekBench score of 3171 with my M1530 in the 32-bit test. I'm not sure why, but my memory test scores seem a bit slower than most MacBook Pros, but the overall score is on par with an equivalently spec'd model. Wow $950? That's quite a steal especially with a faster processor (albeit by .1GHz). I'm still happy with mine, which is running Vanilla kernel 9.4 and 10.5.4 like a dream. I used NVinstaller v5.2 for accelerated graphics, and I haven't had any stuttering issues so far. Just the shutdown/reboot problems that everyone with accelerated graphics experiences...

My CPU choice was largely due to the 6 MiB of the L2 cache as well as the 45 nm architecture which of course your processor also possesses. This deal was the largest thread to date on the slickdeals.net, sometime around the first of May. In any case, as I have mentioned before, the stuttering has now dissipated just as unexpectadly as it had once appeared, somehow, manually installing the Vanilla kernel apparently resolves that issue. Interestingly, the sound was consistently operational, however stutterish and it still is now, upon every reboot; it is peculiar considering that most systems on this thread are very similar or even identical.

Well they are easy once you know which elements need to change, tha lastest Intalation I made to make som test was very easy, I installed from a Real Mac onto an External USB Disk (I did not need to boot with the Retail DVD sice you can open the OSInstall.mpkg directly), then without rebooting I applied the 10.5.3 Combo Update (when you install on a different volume it does not need to run the InstallAtStartup script because none of its system files are in use) then I deleted some kexts (like AppleIntelCPUPowerManagement), installed some other and patches like dsmos.kext, gfx string, etc. then the last step was the installation of the bootloader, with PCWiz OSXTools I installed Chameleon. I disconnected the drive, connected to the M1330 and boot from it.Piece of cake...

Oh MacGirl, it all comes so easily to you! However, considering the intelligence of your average beer guzzling homo erectus, all of this may as well be rocket science, literally.

Will this help me with "Unknown CPU" in about this mac? I have a C2D E8400 on a P5E-VM HDMI. All is well...but this little things is bugging me. Thanks in advance.../mdg.

PCWiz's OSx86 Tools resolves that, among others.http://osx86tools.googlecode.com/files/OSX...ols_1.0.149.zip

Ho COOl!!LAN: Integrated Broadcom 5906M (not working)WLAN: Integrated Intel 3945abg mini PCI-E [on WWAN slot] (not working)that's a real problem....but i saw that the wlan card that comes with the m1330 is "Dell Wireless 1395 802.11g Mini Card" and i think that works fine, doesn't it?another thing:she got Geforce 8400mGS QE/CI, i will get ntel® Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator X3100, is this video adapter works fine? the hdmi and all...?thanks!

For the love of GOD man, NOT the Intel X3100, anything but that!

[Doron]

oh ok... so i will have to add more 100$

thank you guys