Tag Archives: OSx86

[OSX86] Building a Hackintosh with ProQ’s AnyOS Motherboard

motherboard back

Prolegomena

With all those different Apple Computers available like Mac Mini’s, Mac Book Air’s, Mac Pro’s, why the hell should we consider setting up a hackintosh these days, since a Mac Mini comes at a price tag of only 600€ here in Europe?

Well the answer to this is quite simple. Hackintoshs aim at people who are basically interested in understanding and tweeking. If you just wanna use you Mac for Mails and a bit of internet-surfing a hackintosh is most likely the wrong thing for you.

But if you are artist for instance, dealing with audio- or video-editing a hackintosh definitely comes a lot more handy than an original Mac. The reason is simple: original Macs have become a lot less flexible when it comes to manual hardware upgrading during the last eight years. Let’s take the latest Mac Pro for instance. The design is still outstanding, but this design comes at the price that Apple entirely dropped the PCIe Bus architecture. What means, that we cannot use dedicated DSP, soundcards or videocards in that device anymore and need to switch to Firewire or Thunderbolt solutions. Which is an additional economical strain. Continue reading

[MacOS] Save Energy by Using Deep Sleep aka Hibernation

Looking at the situation in Japan at these days, it seems overdue to begin worrying about all our energy consuming devices.

As a MacOS user we are used to some quite convenient features. Like just clicking sleep and the system goes to sleep.

What most of us don’t realize at this point is, that sleep mode logically requires energy as it will immediately wake up when I hit the keyboard.

So for me this began causing me a bad conscious – until I found the way to hibernate MacOS also on desktops

How to Hibernate aka Deep Sleep

  1. Download Axonic Labs’ Deep Sleep Widget for Snow Leopard 10.6 here.
  2. Unpack by double clicking
  3. Install to
    /Library/Widgets
  4. open terminal and
  5. enter in terminal:
    sudo pmset -a hibernatemode 3

Step 5. because Hibernation Safe Sleep is disabled by default on desktop systems like iMac, Mac Mini, or Mac Pro’s.

By the way: first tests show that this Deep Sleep Widget is at least compatible to Chameleon EFI RC4 :-))

[MacOS] Psystar Release Rebel EFI

As of yesterday the notorious Mac Clone manufacturer Psystar has released a commercial software called Rebel EFI. Rebel EFI prepares a normal PC to allow for the installation of Mac OS.

After downloading Rebel EFI,

[..] users simply insert a retail copy of the Snow Leopard DVD, follow the installation procedures and then install the application. The application automatically detects connected devices and downloads the appropriate drivers.

Rebel EFI features Psystar’s DUBL (Darwin Universal Boot Loader) and a Safe Update mode, that prevents users from installing updates that could break their systems. The Safe Update mode only installs Psystar approved updates.

In contrast to the EFI-X manufacturers, Psystar in the past has released several drivers for free to the OSX86 scene. The advantage of Rebel EFI in contrast to solutions like the Chameleon boot is that is already comes with an automized hardware detection and a bunch of downloadable hardware drivers. Chameleon on the other hand is available free of charge and a lot more powerful for users in the know. So decide for yourself which product fits your needs the best.

A single license for Rebel EFI costs about 50US$ and can be ordered here.

rebelefi_hardware

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[MacOS] Comprehensive Gigabyte Hardware Specification List

With the advent of Snow Leopard many users have issues installing it onto PC based hardware. Well this is not very curious, since a PC is no Mac. Anyway as Gigabyte motherboards proved to be very close to the original Apple Intel specifications many people decided to buy those boards.

With the release of Snow Leopard DSDT patching seems to have become a must. Installation attempts will most likely fail without it. The intention of this list is to provide comprehensive information on the most used Gigabyte motherboards.

The original idea for this list was by a guy called ximekon (find original list here on InsanelyMac forums).

Model North- bridge South- bridge LAN Fire- Wire Audio BIOS Link Last Check
P35
P35-DS3L P35 ICH9 Gigabit -,- ALC888 F9 08/29/2009
P35-DS3 P35 ICH9 Gigabit -,- ALC889a F14 08/28/2009
P35-DS3R P35 ICH9 Gigabit -,- ALC889a F13 08/28/2009
EP35
EP35-DS3 P35 ICH9 RTL8111B -,- ALC889a F4 08/28/2009
EP35-DS3R P35 ICH9R RTL8111B -,- ALC889a F4 08/28/2009
EP35-DS3P P35 ICH9R Gigabit Yes ALC889a F6 08/28/2009
EP35-DS3L P35 ICH9 Gigabit -,- ALC888 F6 08/28/2009
EP35-DS4 P35 ICH9R RTL8111B -,- ALC889a F6 08/28/2009
EP45
EP45-DS3 P45 ICH10 2 x RTL8111C -,- ALC889a F9 08/28/2009
EP45-DS3R P45 ICH10R 2 x RTL8111C yes ALC889a F11c 08/28/2009
EP45-DS3P P45 ICH10R 2 x RTL8111C yes ALC889a F8 08/28/2009
EP45-DS3L P45 ICH10 RTL8111C -,- ALC888 F10 08/28/2009
EP45-DS3LR P45 ICH10R RTL8111C -,- ALC888 F2 08/28/2009
EP45-UD3 P45 ICH10 RTL8111C yes ALC889a F8 08/28/2009
EP45-UD3P P45 ICH10R RTL8111C yes ALC889a F9 08/28/2009
EP45-UD3L P45 ICH10 RTL8111C -,- ALC888 F5c 08/28/2009
EP45-UD3LR P45 ICH10R RTL8111C -,- ALC888 F5 08/28/2009
EP45-UD3R P45 ICH10R RTL8111C yes ALC889a F9 08/28/2009

you cant see this line, do you?

The Golden Gigabyte Model Rules

  • if last character of the model name is a “number” or a “P” (i.e. EP35-DS3 or EP45-DS3P etc.) it means ALC889a audio chipset
  • if last or penultimate character of the model name is an “L” (i.e. EP35-DS3L or EP45-DS3LR) it means ALC888 audio chipset
  • if last character of the model name is an “R” (i.e. P35-DS3R or EP45-UD3LR) it means SATA Raid controllers
  • The P35 or P45 strings in the beginning are fairly self explaining I suppose (P35 always with ICH9 and P45 always with ICH10)

Your Help is Wanted

Weather these rules nor the list above might be 100% accurate. It is only what I found on the net and summarized from the list above.

  • If you derived a DSDT.aml clean from a BIOS (like using Koalala’s DSDT patcher) and you fixed it for OSX86, you may post it in the comment’s section – don’t forget to tell how much RAM you had while compiling the DSDT.aml (Don’t add individual graphic or wi-fi strings. Just add onboard-devices like onboard-audio and onboard-ethernet.)
  • If your board is not on the list check Gigabyte’s pages and post the specifications in the comments section below.
  • If your board is listed but details above are wrong: please post it in the comments section below.
  • If you know the LAN chipset of the board and it is not listed precisely above (saying Gigabit) please post it in the comments section.

Please always crosscheck with the official Gigabyte specification page for your model (links to your model are included in the BIOS column) before adding a dsdt.aml or anything that could burn your BIOS.

[MacOS] Is EFI-X illegally using 3rd Party Program Code?

About a year ago a company called ASEM released a device called EFI-X. This device has been claimed to be capable of booting several Microsoft Windows versions and Mac OS X Leopard.

Legal concerns

From the beginning there were question regarding the legal status of the device. But ASEM claimed the device is legal, although it circumvents Apple’s binary protection using Apple’s copyrighted secret operating system keys (OSK1 and OSK2).

Technical issues

Anyway EFI-X devices had some issues. Many forums reported about problems with Bonjour and sharing in general. In the meantime articles from the official EFI-X support forums have been suddenly disappeared. Customers reporting issues or solutions and workaround to severe bugs have been banned from EFI-X support forums – our own help article to recover almost lost data was removed aswell and one of our members has been officially banned from their forums (the reason was this article in october 2008).

Examining EFI-X in deep

Now some frustrated customers who are on the other hand technologically very familiar have examined the EFI-X device in deep. One of the main points AsereBln found: in contrast to what EFI-X is stating: “Our approach is entirely different, (..) all our code and development is our own only” – they seem to be using program code that has been developed by the OSX86 community though. They seem to be using “Disabler.kext“. Moreover another user (RezRov) found out the EFI-X Windows update software seems to be violating the LGPL as it incorporates a modified USB device library (libusb-win32).

Use of possibly unlicensed 3rd party program code, possibly illegal use of Apple security keys, and customer support below grade for a 170€ (250US$) commercial product that seems to be the summary about a year after product launch.

Lessons learnt

We suppose end users should be aware of this possible hassle. Only an original Apple Mac is really hassle free and 100% compatible to a Mac. But if you are technologically interested and have the time and motivation search the OSX86 communities for setups. The OSX86 forums are full of knowledge and willing to help. But remember a PC won’t ever be 100% compatible to a real Mac.

[Windows] Safari available as recommended iTunes update

english

Pay attention guys when updating iTunes on your Microsoft Windows machines. iTunes will list Safari as a recommended update to your iTunes installation, although you never installed Safari before – and of course: you’d better not install it, since Paypal is about to block it anyway. More details to be found on Golem.de (german only).

» Golem.de: Apple verteilt Safari weiterhin über iTunes-Update
» Incomplete-News: Paypal about to block Safari Users

deutsch

Vorsicht beim Update von iTunes auf Windows Maschinen. iTunes zeigt neuerdings Safari als ein empfohlenes Update für iTunes an – auch wenn man noch nie vorher Safari installiert hatte, weil man weiß, dass Paypal ohnehin drauf und dran ist, Safari-Browser den Zugang zu Paypal zu blockieren. Weitere Details hat Golem.de.

» Golem.de: Apple verteilt Safari weiterhin über iTunes-Update
» Incomplete-News: Paypal about to block Safari Users

[MacOS] Paypal about to block Safari Users

english

According to a white paper by Paypal, Safari lacks certain specific anti-phishing protections and EV SSL (Extended Validation Secure Sockets Layer) certificates. Paypal will in the first place just tell the users, that they are using those unsafe browsers. Later on Paypal will take steps to refuse access to Paypal at all, when users are still using those browsers. The main problem is, Safari is not safe from fishing attacks. According to MacNN Safari is the only browser to lag behind in comparison to other browsers like Firefox 2, Opera or Internet Explorer 7.

By the way: this article is written on the Mac version of Firefox

[e-Biz] The never ending Psystar Story

As denoted yesterday, the Psystar topic seems to be a little fishy. First: obviously they use the EFI v8 emulation developed by Netkas. For comprehensible reasons Netkas is not amused about Psystar and decided to edit his EULA to bar commercial use of PC EFI – well… we don’t expect Psystar to respect Netkas’ EULA, but not Apple’s EULA?! Psystar just don’t respect any EULA – quite simple. In the end, they don’t seem to care anyway – no matter if it’s Netkas’ EULAs or Apple’s EULAs. We all know Netkas can’t be bribed, but nevertheless Psystar should think about helping the community in return…

The second thing fishy is, Psystar had three different postal address in the last four days. Yes, three addresses. Users living in Miami could not locate the company under even one of these. There are rumors, that this company doesnot exist at all and is hoax. ‘Tune in tomorrow for the next episode of “Where Will The Little Green Mac Clone Be Next?”‘ (Guardian). And in the meantime: Apple just doesn’t react at all to the whole story…

» Netkas prohibits commercial use of PC EFI v1 – v8
» Guardian.co.uk: Psystar on the move again

[MacOS] GeForce 8800 GT Update for old Mac Pro’s

english

It took a really long time, but in the end Apple decided to offer at least something to their customers of the 2yrs old MacPro’s. Apple now offers a GeForce 8800 GT graphics board that is compatible to the old 32 bit EFI. The price in the Apple US webshop is US$279 (=€175).

» Apple NVIDIA eForce 8800 GT in Apple’s US online store

deutsch

Golem.de berichtet, dass sich nun endlich nach laaaanger Zeit Apple wohl doch ein Herz genommen ;-) hat, ihrer alten Kundschaft etwas für die schon knapp 2 Jahre alten MacPros anzubieten. Apple bietet nun eine NVidia GeForce 8800 GT Grafikkarte an, die zum alten 32 bit EFI kompatibel ist. Der Preis im deutschen Apple online Shop beträgt €230.

» Apple NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT in Apples deutschen online Shop

[e-Biz] Apple in weak Position for Cease and Desist against Psystar?

english

Probably Apple is in a weaker position than all of us may have expected in the first place. That comment in the MacRumors forum and that article on Wired.com explain, why. The biggest problem seems to be: Psystar does not break the law. They don’t sell pirated copies, but legally bought copies of OS X Leopard with their machines.

And since OS X is based on open source software, the EULA even explicitly allows to change the kernel. So what could be the basis for a cease and desist order? There is even no contract between Apple and Psystar, that Psystar may have broken. So in the end Apple may stop Psystar to pre-load Leopard on their machines, but Psystar would sell Leopard separatly and leave the installation to the customers then…

The recommendation from the incomplete-news staff to Psystar: think about supporting the Hackint0sh project or hire Netkas himself (we doubt he’s bribably, though). But without the protagonists of the Hackintosh community the basis of your business may suddenly vanish…

» comment in MacRumors forum
» article on Wired.com..

P.S. newest rumors: Psystar company may not exist at all and the whole thing is a well prepared joke or even rip off. Be warned…

deutsch

Möglicherweise ist Apple im Falle Psystar in einer schwächeren Position als wir alle erwartet haben. Dieser Kommentar im MacRumors Forum erklärt, warum. Das größte Problem scheint zu sein, dass Psystar gar nicht gegen das Gesetz verstößt. Schließlich verkaufen sie keine Raubkopien von OS X Leopard mit ihren Geräten, sondern legal erworbene Retail Versionen.

Da nun OSX auf Open Source Software basiert, erlaubt sogar auch (die möglicherweise rechtlich nicht bindende EULA), dass man den Kernel austauschen darf. Also stellt sich die Frage, worauf eine Unterlassungsklage nun abzielen müsste? Es gibt keinen Vertrag zwischen Apple und Psystar, den Psystar verletzt haben könnte. Also bleibt, dass Apple letztendlich Psystar abhalten könnte, Leopard vorzuinstallieren, aber Psystar würde dann einfach Leopard separat verkaufen und die Installation den Kunden selbst überlassen.

» Kommentae im MacRumors Forum (englisch)…
» Artikel auf Wired.com (englisch)…

P.S. die neusten Gerüchte besagen, dass es die Firma Psystar vielleicht gar nicht gibt und es sich einfach nur um einen gut gemachten Witz oder gar Betrug handelt…