Acer V3 571g hangs on "Still waiting for root device" no matter what I try

[srsx]

Hey

Using unibeast method, paid for ML 10.8.2 2 days ago, USB prep went fine. I boot with -v, and it just gets stuck on "Still waiting for root device", no matter what I try.

I have tried all the different USB ports, updating IOAHCIsomething.kext, tried another kext called TotallyStillWaiting.kext, about 6 or 7 different boot options. I haven't gotten around it.

PS: I have swapped the original hard drive with Intel 330 SSD (120GB). I swapped them back with a normal hard drive with no avail.

Thanks.

 

[RehabMan]

Hey

Using unibeast method, paid for ML 10.8.2 2 days ago, USB prep went fine. I boot with -v, and it just gets stuck on "Still waiting for root device", no matter what I try.

I have tried all the different USB ports, updating IOAHCIsomething.kext, tried another kext called TotallyStillWaiting.kext, about 6 or 7 different boot options. I haven't gotten around it.

PS: I have swapped the original hard drive with Intel 330 SSD (120GB). I swapped them back with a normal hard drive with no avail.

Thanks.

Does it boot with "-f"? If so, you need the AHCI patch (find bcc9's post re "waiting for root device... fix" on insanelymac)

 

[srsx]

Does it boot with "-f"? If so, you need the AHCI patch (find bcc9's post re "waiting for root device... fix" on insanelymac)

I read the entire thread yesterday. I'll try with -f, if that doesn't work, I'll modify the kexts on the install usb with the 10.8.2 perl script patch

Thanks for the quick reply :]

Apple

 

[srsx]

No luck with -f.

Right now I'm on my desktop with Lion 10.7.5, and how do I apply this patch? ;s I have a perl script, but nothing that let's me apply it to a unibeast install usb.

Thanks

 

[RehabMan]

No luck with -f.

Right now I'm on my desktop with Lion 10.7.5, and how do I apply this patch? ;s I have a perl script, but nothing that let's me apply it to a unibeast install usb.

Thanks

Oh, I don't think I realized you're still booting your Unibeast USB. So that is a different situation.... Usually that is because you don't have it in a USB that is USB2... Does the laptop have some USB2-only ports? Have you tried the other USB ports?

 

[srsx]

It has 1x3.0 and 2x2.0

Tried all 3 of them, no dice.

 

[RehabMan]

It has 1x3.0 and 2x2.0

Tried all 3 of them, no dice.

Check to see if there are any USB options in BIOS to tweak. Otherwise it might be DSDT issue, which you'd rather attack after the install... If you have another computer, you can always complete the first phase of the install with that one, then transplant the HDD/SSD.

 

[srsx]

If I hooked the SSD in my laptop upto my desktop, via SATA, booted from my USB, installed ML from there, and then put the SSD back into my laptop, it'd work like normal? No weird settings from my desktop?

 

[RehabMan]

If I hooked the SSD in my laptop upto my desktop, via SATA, booted from my USB, installed ML from there, and then put the SSD back into my laptop, it'd work like normal? No weird settings from my desktop?

Correct. What Apple's installer puts on the HDD is completely generic. You use Multibeast after that to add the things specific to your hack. You will have to go through most of the install process though, including running Multibeast to install FakeSMC, NullCPU, and any other kexts your laptop might need to boot. Once you get it too boot, then you can continue to tweak. Problem is that tweaking often results in a system that is not bootable, and you usually use Unibeast to boot again and fix things. Trial and error. In your case the errors are going to be extra painful because they will involve a transplant to the other computer and back.

Another thing you could try is to clone the Unibeast volume to a small partition on SATA HDD and install Chimera on that HDD... Then you can boot your Unibeast partition directly from the HDD. That is easier to do if you have another (desktop) hack/Mac already because you can do it in OS X.

That said, maybe somebody else with a similar laptop has discovered some boot flags that will make the USB work... And there is that Legacy USB option in Unibeast (never had to use it). And perhaps, as I mentioned before, some BIOS tweaks?

 

[srsx]

Hey, I'll try your SATA HDD idea. I happen to have a couple laptop hard drives laying around.

Infact, that's genius. Thanks. I'll be doing that ...now!