[Guide] Dell XPS 13 9360 on MacOS Sierra 10.12.x - LTS (Long-Term Support) Guide

[shockingpants]

what kernel panic do you have?

I did not log the kernel panic extensively (did not use verbose etc.). But what happened was that I would be stuck on the apple logo at close to 100%, and when boot into safemode, the on board trackpad and keyboard didn't work. I'll replicate the problem to get a more detailed log later, but it seems that moving the FakeSMC to L/E did cause problems on my setup for some reason.
_____
Update

I added FakeSMC.kext back and updated the kext cache. In verbose, the boot enters a loop:

[IGPU] Hash data from ME never returned, status = 1, doing retry
[IGPU] Begin Gfx firmware load process
...
Apple IntellpssI2CController::_serviceMatchingTlmeSubr: fTlmerServiceMatching timed out, fNotifications 0

Looks like there is something to do with the IGPU, and the trackpad + keyboard.
A thread mentioning the Hash issue, https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/...e-never-returned-status-1-doing-retry.226107/, suggested a fix. Does that means I should move FakeSMC.kext to L/E anyway and "add the boot option -disablegfxfirmware to Clover", or just leave FakeSMC.kext in clover kext folder as per my current set up?

Another thread, https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/voodooi2c-help-and-support.243378/, mentions Apple IntellpssI2CController. Will look into it for a fix.

See the next post for logs of my setup.

 

[shockingpants]

I am having CPU power management issues, which is another reason why I tried to see if moving kext to L/E would help solve it. This problem was reported a while back by several users :
#2247 #2364

When the laptop wakes up from sleep, the cpu frequency will be maxed out as seen in the power gadget, and it is dominated by kernel_task. Additionally, the battery percentage stays constant, until I toggle 'show percentage' to refresh it. I'd lose 5% every 10 minutes or so.

Closing and opening the lid several times helped restore the temperature and frequency of the laptop to idle.

Does anyone have any advice? I have attached my troubleshooting documents for your reference.

 

[egore]

I am having CPU power management issues, which is another reason why I tried to see if moving kext to L/E would help solve it. This problem was reported a while back by several users :
#2247 #2364

When the laptop wakes up from sleep, the cpu frequency will be maxed out as seen in the power gadget, and it is dominated by kernel_task. Additionally, the battery percentage stays constant, until I toggle 'show percentage' to refresh it. I'd lose 5% every 10 minutes or so.

Closing and opening the lid several times helped restore the temperature and frequency of the laptop to idle.

Does anyone have any advice? I have attached my troubleshooting documents for your reference.

Are you using the the latest commit from @the-darkvoid repo? The battery percentage issue was resolved. Are you APFS and TRIM? Should be fixed, if so.

 

[shockingpants]

Are you using the the latest commit from @the-darkvoid repo? The battery percentage issue was resolved. Are you APFS and TRIM? Should be fixed, if so.

Aha, that helped with the battery percentage issue! I set up my hackintosh a couple days before that push, must have missed it.

Yes, I am on APFS and TRIM, and using a sata M.2, not the stock NVME. The CPU is still guzzling battery to run the mysterious kernel_task. I think it has to do with the audio related kexts.

 

[RehabMan]

I did not log the kernel panic extensively (did not use verbose etc.). But what happened was that I would be stuck on the apple logo at close to 100%, and when boot into safemode, the on board trackpad and keyboard didn't work. I'll replicate the problem to get a more detailed log later, but it seems that moving the FakeSMC to L/E did cause problems on my setup for some reason.
_____
Update

I added FakeSMC.kext back and updated the kext cache. In verbose, the boot enters a loop:

[IGPU] Hash data from ME never returned, status = 1, doing retry
[IGPU] Begin Gfx firmware load process
...
Apple IntellpssI2CController::_serviceMatchingTlmeSubr: fTlmerServiceMatching timed out, fNotifications 0

Looks like there is something to do with the IGPU, and the trackpad + keyboard.
A thread mentioning the Hash issue, https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/...e-never-returned-status-1-doing-retry.226107/, suggested a fix. Does that means I should move FakeSMC.kext to L/E anyway and "add the boot option -disablegfxfirmware to Clover", or just leave FakeSMC.kext in clover kext folder as per my current set up?

Another thread, https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/voodooi2c-help-and-support.243378/, mentions Apple IntellpssI2CController. Will look into it for a fix.

See the next post for logs of my setup.

You most likely forgot -disablegfxfirmware kernel flag.

Note: It is not kernel panic.

 

[shockingpants]

You most likely forgot -disablegfxfirmware kernel flag.

Note: It is not kernel panic.

I added the -disablegfxfirmware kernel flag but it brings up a different error.

IOConsoleUsers : time(0) 0->0, lin0, lik1,

IOConsoleUsers: gIOScreenLockState 3, hs 0, bs 0, now 0, sm 0x0

Also, when I added VoodooI2C.kext from the clover folder, I lost trackpad functionality. I am not sure where to get a verbose of the error.
It is one of those 'if it ain't broken...' moments.



My biggest concern is still power management after sleep. I am encountering the same problem as @markmark2 and @mfuesslin. Deleting AppleHDA_ALC256.kext generated from @the-darkvoid patch HDA seem to stop the kernel_task problem, at the expense of losing audio.

______

Update:
Solved the Power management issue! https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/solved-patched-applehda-maxing-out-cpu-utilization.211829/page-3
Remove LineIn from the AppleHDA_ALC256.kext according to the thread's instruction above. Apply it to layout1.xml.zlib instead of layout3.xml.zlib since I am using layout-id 1 as suggested by darkvoid's method to patch-hda. Do note that you do lose linein capabilities, but I don't really foresee real-world usage of linein on a laptop.
Moving all kext to /L/E is still problematic.

 

[shockingpants]

My hackintosh is finally working with an idle battery life of about 7-8 hours, albeit with some instabilities and differences compared to a MBP. Since these problems surface intermittently, I believe it isn't an outright kext or patch error.

1. Intermittent connection to 5Ghz wifi.
   • tried https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/broadcom-wifi-bluetooth-guide.242423/#post-1664577
2. Softer max audio volume than windows.
3. Battery percentages sometimes refresh.
   • Updated to latest darkvoid's repo with SSDT-BATT changes. Still an intermittent issue.
4. USB-C works intermittently. 80% of the time.
5. Audio would sometimes disappear after sleep. 50-50
6. Trackpad may fail to detect multi-finger gestures once in a while.

Overall, I am still pleased with the ability to use it as a daily driver. There may be more things I can try, but at this point, it will probably require someone beyond my capabilities to fix the issues. I will just have to live with some of the minor imperfections that come with an almost perfect hack!

Thanks!

 

[egore]

I added the -disablegfxfirmware kernel flag but it brings up a different error.

IOConsoleUsers : time(0) 0->0, lin0, lik1,

IOConsoleUsers: gIOScreenLockState 3, hs 0, bs 0, now 0, sm 0x0

Also, when I added VoodooI2C.kext from the clover folder, I lost trackpad functionality. I am not sure where to get a verbose of the error.
It is one of those 'if it ain't broken...' moments.



My biggest concern is still power management after sleep. I am encountering the same problem as @markmark2 and @mfuesslin. Deleting AppleHDA_ALC256.kext generated from @the-darkvoid patch HDA seem to stop the kernel_task problem, at the expense of losing audio.

______

Update:
Solved the Power management issue! https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/solved-patched-applehda-maxing-out-cpu-utilization.211829/page-3
Remove LineIn from the AppleHDA_ALC256.kext according to the thread's instruction above. Apply it to layout1.xml.zlib instead of layout3.xml.zlib since I am using layout-id 1 as suggested by darkvoid's method to patch-hda.
Moving all kext to /L/E is still problematic.

Could you share your AppleHDA_ALC256.kext with the changes? Or, better describe exactly what to alter in the kext? I tried by looking at the link, but audio ended up not working after. Thanks.

EDIT: Nevermind as @the-darkvoid just posted a new commit with your suggestion included.

 

[postbreak]

Update:
Solved the Power management issue! https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/solved-patched-applehda-maxing-out-cpu-utilization.211829/page-3
Remove LineIn from the AppleHDA_ALC256.kext according to the thread's instruction above. Apply it to layout1.xml.zlib instead of layout3.xml.zlib since I am using layout-id 1 as suggested by darkvoid's method to patch-hda.
Moving all kext to /L/E is still problematic.

Can you please post your layout1.xml? I edited mine and got audio working without the cpu trying to catch on fire, but now the microphone doesn't show up in input. I'd like to compare to what I deleted in that xml file to see what I did wrong.

I also have battery percentage not updating in the menu bar, but shows correctly in activity monitor.

 

[egore]

I also have battery percentage not updating in the menu bar

Do you have the latest commit from @the-darkvoid repo? This issue was addressed.