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Acer S3-391-6448 Apple Store "an unknown error has occurred"

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I just got the Atheros 9280 Half-Mini PCIE but I just found out that I had this Wifi (it seems to be soldered on) - http://www.ebay.com/itm/Acer-55-4TH...3-391-WLAN-and-BT-Connect-Board-/370952762544.

I've tried placing the Half-Mini PCI Wifi that I got on the mail to where the 20GB SSD once was, and it doesn't work. Is it possible to use an Apple USB to Lan adapter to get this working so that I can authorize Apple Store?
 
aparagas said:
I just got the Atheros 9280 Half-Mini PCIE but I just found out that I had this Wifi (it seems to be soldered on) - http://www.ebay.com/itm/Acer-55-4TH...3-391-WLAN-and-BT-Connect-Board-/370952762544.
Click to expand...

That device is not supported.

I've tried placing the Half-Mini PCI Wifi that I got on the mail to where the 20GB SSD once was, and it doesn't work. Is it possible to use an Apple USB to Lan adapter to get this working so that I can authorize Apple Store?
Click to expand...

These kind of slots are often single purpose (in your case only SSD).

You cannot use a USB lan adapter, your laptop must have a "built-in" AirPort or Ethernet.
 
aparagas said:
So this means I'm stuck forever without Apple Store authorization? Why can't USB to Ethernet adapters work?

According to this link, it might work: http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/to...n-in-zenbook-prime-no-internal-ethernet-help/
Click to expand...

I didn't see a solution there...

The only way I can think of making this work would be to create a NullEthernet driver (kext). A driver that pretends to be a "working" "built-in" Ethernet, probably providing at least a MAC address to the system, always showing "no cable connected." I think that might satisfy the requirement and, of course, you would still use your USB WiFi to access the internet.

It would be a matter of stripping most of the code from a real Ethernet driver (eg. Mieze's RealtekRTL8111.kext) so that it pretty much does nothing, doing some DSDT edits to provide it a device to attach to (so it loads), and doing some experimentation on just what part of IOEthernetController is necessary to implement, what properties need injecting, etc.

Do you have experience programming C++?
 
Funny, because I thought of the same exact idea (long time ago, when I encountered this problem)! I have no experience with C++, but I WOULD love to dive into C++ programming with Kexts to begin. I know about 13 languages so the transition shouldn't be that hard for C++ (I love programming).

If it does end up that I make such a Kext, it would be a groundbreaking change for those with Hackbooks without internal LAN modules and incompatible Airplay WLAN cards. I'd love to jump in!
 
aparagas said:
Funny, because I thought of the same exact idea (long time ago, when I encountered this problem)! I have no experience with C++, but I WOULD love to dive into C++ programming with Kexts to begin. I know about 13 languages so the transition shouldn't be that hard for C++ (I love programming).

If it does end up that I make such a Kext, it would be a groundbreaking change for those with Hackbooks without internal LAN modules and incompatible Airplay WLAN cards. I'd love to jump in!
Click to expand...

@aparagas,

Did you ever make any headway on this? I had started work on it some time ago, and I thought I would "finish" it a little bit before I needed it (may need it in the near future).

It is available here: https://github.com/RehabMan/OS-X-Null-Ethernet

You will need to build it using xcode. Please read the README.md so you know how to setup your DSDT for making it load (patch.txt, use MaciASL to apply).

I tested it a bit here, by doing this:
- removed my real WiFi card
- disabled my real Ethernet device by removing the driver
- installed this kext and did the DSDT patch

Results:
- it shows in SysPrefs->Network
- it shows in Network Utility as link status "Inactive", link speed "0 Mbit/s"
- it has a self assigned IP address (169...)
- it is pulling the MAC address from the DSDT patch as I intended
- system.log shows it loading and methods being called on it as expected
- shows in IOreg as I expected... (like a network device would)
- shows as IOBuiltIn=true
- by removing all network interfaces (/Library/Preferences/SystemParameters/NetworkInterfaces.plist), it shows as 'en0'

Problem is, I do not currently have a USB WiFi dongle to test Mac App Store access with...

It probably needs work, but I thought you might want to start where I left off.

Note: I went ahead and made a build available on Bitbucket. Read the README for download location.
 
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