Core i5 / i7 P55A-UD4P rev1&2 /GTS250 Simple Install Guide

[level5]

This is a Step by Step Guide to Installation for Core i5 and i7 on the P55A-UD4P rev 1.0 and 2.0 with an Nvidia GTS250 Graphics card.

The intended audience is basic skill set to advanced - Anyone that can follow instructions really
** Note to the advanced users i am sorry it is so basic but hey everyone should have a chance to run a "Mac"

Introduction
I am giving back to the community in writing this document.
I wanted to have a step by step guide which would have everything all in one place to make it as simple as possbile.
I hope it helps everyone.
Plz ingore spelling or gramma errors i tried

My System Configuration
Intel Core i7 870 Processor - 2.93GHz Quad Core - Overclocked to 3.5Ghz
GIGABYTE P55A-UD4P Rev 2.0 (Different Network Card to rev 1.0)
Transcend aXeRam DDR3-2000 4GB Gaming RAM Kit
Seagate 500GB Serial ATA II With 16MB - Boot Drive
2x Seagate 1TBSerial ATA II With 32MB
LITEON 24 Speed DVD Super All-Write SATA
GIGABYTE nVidia GeForce GTS250 - 1GB GDDR3, 1x D-SUB, 1x DVI, HDMI

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

* If you have greater than 4gb of RAM, remove the extra RAM for a maximum of 4gb.You can put back any extra RAM in after the installation process.
* Use only 1 graphics card in the 1st PCIe slot with 1 monitor plugged in.
* Remove any hard drives besides the blank drive being used for OS X.
* Remove any USB peripherals besides keyboard and mouse.
* Remove any PCI cards besides graphics- they may not be Mac compatible.
* Use the blue Intel SATA ports- not the white Gigabyte SATA ports.
* It's best to use an empty hard drive- you will have to partition and format the drive.
* Always back up any of your important data.

The above text was taken from http://tonymacx86.blogspot.com/2010/04/ ... -x-on.html and modified

Step 1 - Updgrade BIOS
GIGABYTE P55A-UD4P rev 2.0 upgrade to F14
Download BIOS here http://download.gigabyte.asia/FileList/ ... 4p_f14.exe

Use a windows PC to extract the motherboard_bios_ga-p55a-ud4p_f14.exe file
Copy p55aud4p.f14 onto the root of a flash drive
Insert Flash Drive into "Mac"
Press Del at Startup to load into the BIOS
Press F8 to load BIOS Flash application
Update BIOS off Flash Drive

Step 1b - BIOS Settings
Press Del to enter BIOS
You will need to set your BIOS to ACHI mode and your Boot Priority to boot from CD-ROM first. This is the most important step, and one many people overlook. Make sure your bios settings

match these. It's not difficult- the only thing I did on my Gigabyte board besides setting Boot Priority to CD/DVD first was set Optimized Defaults, change SATA to AHCI mode, and set HPET

to 64-bit mode.

Need more help take a look here it has pictures http://tonymacx86.blogspot.com/2010/04/ ... -x-on.html

Step 2 - Download iBoot
# Used iBoot 2.3 *** Note use iBoot 2.5 as it includes the Lnx2Mac's RealtekRTL81xx.kext so will be easier
Download the lastest version of iBoot here - Public/iBoot.zip

# Write iBoot.iso onto a CD using most CD programs - lower/lowest speed is a good idea.
*** N00Bs don't copy the ISO file onto a CD you need to write the ISO file onto a CD - I have clients that do this
*** N00Bs If you have NERO or Windows 7 just double click on the ISO file and it will write it for you

Step 3 - Download Some more files
Download the following files and save them onto a flash drive as we will use them later

1> Download MultiBeast Public/MultiBeast.zip

2> Combo Apple Update to 10.6.4 Download here http://support.apple.com/downloads/DL10 ... 10.6.4.dmg

3> UserDSDT for F14 BIOS Downloaded here - Public/DSDT-GA-P55A-UD4P-F14.aml

4> Sound Drivers (Easy Install) - http://voodoohda.googlecode.com/files/V ... .2.pkg.zip

5> Realtek Network Card Drivers - http://lnx2mac.blogspot.com/p/realtekrt ... river.html

6> KextBeast (Used to Installed Realtek Drivers) - Public/KextBeast.zip

Ok all downloaded Copy them onto a Flash Drive or DVD as we will use them later

Step 4 - Installing
Make sure that the BIOS is set to boot off CD-ROM first
# Insert iBoot CD
# Wait a while until you see the iBoot screen
# Eject the iBoot CD
# Insert a Retail Copy of Snow Leopard (MUST BE RETAIL)
# Press F5 wait a while until you see the Snow Leopard
# Click on the CD and install as normal.
# When you get to the installation screen, open Utilities/Disk Utility.
# Format your hard drive to Mac OS Extended (Journaled) using the OS X Installer's Disk Utility. Give it a Name But remeber it e.g. Snow

Once the install has complete insert the iBoot CD when the PC reboots
Select the Snow Leopard the drive you installed Snow Leopard on e.g. Snow.


Step 5 - Booted into your Mac

# Insert Flash Drive or DVD with the downloaded files on them
# Copy DSDT-GA-P55A-UD4P-F14.aml onto your Desktop - important must be on the desktop

# Double click on MultiBeast.zip it will extract it
# Run MultiBeast.pkg - Do nothing just leave it open
# Run the file called MacOSXUpdCombo10.6.4.dmg - follow the Steps it will tell you that it needs to reboot at the end click OK BUT - DO NOT REBOOT when asked at the end of the

installation just leave it open

*** Note i have found that sometimes MultiBeast will close during the Combo Update Installation don't worry about it just run MultiBeast.pkg again

Step 6 - Using MultiBeast

#Tick UserDSDT - remember that the DSDT-GA-P55A-UD4P-F14.aml must be on the desktop

MultiBeast * System Utilities
#Tick All

MultiBeast * Advanced Options - (installing Kexts)

# Advanced Options --> Kexts ---> Disk -> IOAHCIBlockStorageInjector - As i dislike the internal drives looking liek removables

# Advanced Options --> com.apple.boot.plist --> 64-bit Apple Boot Screen (Contains GraphicEnabler=Yes)

*** Core i7 Users
# Advanced Options --> smbios.plist --> Mac Pro --> Core i7

*** Core i5 Users
# Advanced Options --> smbios.plist --> Mac Pro --> Core i5

** OSx86 Software -
# Installed All

Reboot

Step 7 - Installing the Sound and Network Drivers

** Sound Card **
# Open the Flash drive
# Double click on VoodooHDA-2.7.2.pkg.zip
# It will extract the files
# Double click on VoodooHDA-2.7.2.pkg
# Super Simple to install just follow the instructions no need to worry about install the Kext files yourself.


** Network Card ** Important If you have rev 1.0 of the Mother Board dont follow this step
# Open the Flash drive
# Double click on RealtekRTL81xx_0.0.67.zip ( You may have a newer version e.g.RealtekRTL81xx_0.0.68.zip )
# It will extract the files
# Now double click on the extracted folder "RealtekRTL81xx_0.0.67"
# Double click on Release
# Copy RealtekRTL81xx.kext onto your Desktop

# Open the Flash drive
# Double click on KextBeast.zip
# It will extract the files
# Double click on KextBeast.pkg
# Follow the instruction

Reboot

Got super fast DDR 3 - 2000Mhz RAM
Only follow this step if you have DDR 3 2000mhz Memory installed
Go to here and follow the BIOS setting viewtopic.php?p=13521#p13521

All Done.

What works - well everything expect USB 3.0
Sound
Lan
VGA, DVI and HDMI with QE and CI work

 

[Tman7Deuce]

Great guide.......
I have been messing with a similar setup and left it at F8 over a year ago when the system was up and running, but only VGA output.
Since the release of Lion, I have decided to upgrade and also have a shot at the HDMI video and sound if possible.
I too have the nVidia GTS 250 video card, but cannot get the HDMI output working still.

Can you please confirm that the HDMI (Video and Audio) is working for this card for you.
I chose the 64-bit apple Boot Screen so the GraphicEnabler-Yes is chosen and have confirmed this was installed correctly in the com.apple.boot.plist file.

If you have managed to upgrade your system to the F14 Bios, can you advise if you had to make any additional changes to the DSDT that is downloadable from the DSDT Database.
Could you maybe post your DSDT if this has been modified as you have the same board and video card as I am also using.

Thanks.

Update:- Checked out the Optical sound today and it does not appear to be 5.1. I think this only works 2 channel with the standard DSDT file from the database. Checked my DSDT and it has the same code as suggested at this link:-
viewtopic.php?f=16&t=29531
Anyone actually get 5.1 working with this card with Optical output or HDMI?

 

[ModBot Jr]

Move to the correct forum section.

10.6 Support -> 10.6 Guides