Help, can't boot on this build. GA-Z68M-D2H i5-2500K 10.6.7

[rob00]

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Second, Ive had issues with older Nvidia cards not being able to boot into 64-bit mode a few times. Try using the 32-bit selection first until you get a working bootable system and then look at changing to 64-bit.

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Step 3 and Step 4 (And possibly Step 5, shown twice above) appear to be in the wrong order. Can you confirm the exact order of the steps you took ?

How do you boot into 32-bit mode?

Here is the clarified order:

1. Boot with iBoot CD. Switch to OS X retail DVD 10.6 to re-format hard drive and install 10.6 to hard drive.
2. Boot with iBoot CD again. Switch to hard drive and start OS X from hard drive.
3. Move my DSDT.aml, 10.6.7 Combo update and MultiBeast to the desktop from USB drive.
4. Install 10.6.7 Combo, but do not reboot
5. Run MultiBeast before reboot with:
UserDSDT
System Utilities
Audio -> ALC8xxHDA and ALC889
Disk -> IOAHCIBlockStorageInjector
Network -> Realtek Gigabit Ethernet 2.0.6
Boot Options -> 64-bit Apple Boot Screen
Software -> Kext Helper b7
6. Reboot

At this point, it does not work. I'll see the black screen with the red tomato and the blue reverse progress bar go down. then the white screen with the grey apple in the middle, and everything will freeze. no hard drive activity.

If I do this sequence:

1. Boot with iBoot CD. Switch to OS X retail DVD 10.6 to re-format hard drive and install 10.6 to hard drive.
2. Boot with iBoot CD again. Switch to hard drive and start OS X from hard drive.
3. Move MultiBeast to the desktop from USB drive.
4. do NOT install 10.6.7 Combo.
5. Run MultiBeast before reboot with:
easyMultiBeast
System Utilities
Audio -> ALC8xxHDA and ALC889
Disk -> IOAHCIBlockStorageInjector
Network -> Realtek Gigabit Ethernet 2.0.6
Boot Options -> 64-bit Apple Boot Screen
Software -> Kext Helper b7
6. Reboot

Then, it works. The system will boot from the hard drive. I'll see the black screen with the red tomato and the blue reverse progress bar go down. then the white screen with the grey apple in the middle, and there IS hard drive activity, and then the OS X desktop appears. As long as I do not use the DSDT from the DSDT database and I do not upgrade to 10.6.7, the bootloader lets me boot from the hard drive. However, I only have 10.6, no 10.6.7, no sound, no network card, no motherboard support, etc.

Someone said that maybe I need to hack directly to 10.7, but I thought you have to have a working 10.6.7 to get to a working 10.6.8 to get to a working 1.7.

 

[WonkeyDonkey]

Apologies for the late reply, I missed your most recent post.

In your first sequence, what happens if you boot with the -v flag, what do you get on screen ? Im talking about after 10.6.7 and MultiBeast.

The second sequence is one i would personally not progress. It makes no point being stuck at 10.6 and not being able to do anything else.

You can install Lion directly now if you have prepared the installation media correctly before you begin. There are plenty of posts about this in the forum.

One thing I have done in the past when setting up Multibeast is to select only UserDSDT and System Utilites. No other kexts or definitions. This is sufficient enough to get a bootloader installed and have a basic booting system. Once it is booting up itself, start adding the other required kexts and stuff afterwards. It might help you get to the source of the problem.

Most importantly overall though, boot with the -v flag so you have some screen output. Post the results from that screen and we can go from there.

 

[rob00]

In your first sequence, what happens if you boot with the -v flag, what do you get on screen ? Im talking about after 10.6.7 and MultiBeast.

...

Most importantly overall though, boot with the -v flag so you have some screen output. Post the results from that screen and we can go from there.

How do I boot with the -v flag?

and thank you for your post. you have no idea how much I appreciate it. Looks like I am the only one having this problem and no one else knows how to help me, so your help is a life line.

on another note, I did some research about the videocard I have. According to http://wiki.osx86project.org/wiki/index ... 6.8#NVIDIA, the GeForce 9600GSO EVGA I have, requires a "custom EFI string (768mb, vga/dvi ),(One display will work with nVenabler 64 kext but I was only able to get dual display to work without it and by using a custom efi string from uInstaller)." I only plan to have one display, and only plan to go up to 10.6.8, but where do I get the "custm EFI string (768mb, vga/dvi)"? for it to work at 10.6.8?

Also, if I plan to use the GeForce 9600GSO and disable the HD3000 in the i5 & MB, then do I need to adjust the DSDT file for the GA-Z68M-D2H? does the DSDT file assume that I will be using the HD3000?

Finally, is the DSDT for the GA-Z68M-D2H in the DSDT database specific for 10.7 or does it also work with 10.6.8?

 

[dewarez]

I have same issue with a Giagabyte p55-us3l I now think the dsdt is corrupted or the new bios have problems with dsdt, I use and run not fine but rune easybeast for bootloader only next aply drivers, and next I install fake smc. And works fine Im using
i5 2.8
gigabyte p55-us3l
8 Gb ram (Adata)
250 HD Seagate
Nvidia GTx 460

 

[WonkeyDonkey]

Where you see the red tomato and blue countdown bar, simply bash a key on your keyboard to stop the countdown and then hit the keys '-' and 'v' and press enter. This tells it to boot up in verbose mode so you will get some text output on the screen and hopefully an idea of what is causing the problem.

I wouldnt worry about any custom EFI string just yet, lets try and find out what the actual problem is first.

The DSDT file should not need adjusting, and as far as Im aware, the DSDT files have never been specific to Lion or Snow Leopard.

You should also make sure you are using the DSDT file that corresponds to your current bios version. If not, grab the correct version DSDT or update your system bios so they are both the same version.

Edit : The latest version DSDT for your motherboard is F4; the latest bios version on the gigabyte website for your board is F5. So make sure your system is running the F4 bios so it matches the DSDT version.

 

[rob00]

Good news everyone, I got it working! Yeah!!

I am not sure what I did different this time. I was up at 1 am, and in a whim, I just gave it a try and followed the very same instructions I had followed before many times. I must have done something different this time, but for some reason, the darn thing booted from the hard drive. Yeah! I overcame my main obstacle.

I did use the nVidia 9600 GSO 768mb video card with the GA-Z68M-D2H DSDT.

Now, with the bootstrap working from the had drive, I reluctantly upgraded to 10.6.8, and ta-da! it still worked! and full resolution video under nVidia 9600 GSO.

HOWEVER, OS X reported it as a 9600 GSO 512 with 786mb ram. At first all the desktop applications like word, internet, etc. worked great graphics wise. I even ran Cinebench graphics tests, which runs OpenGL tests in a windowed mode. BUT then I found out that whenever i tried to run any games in full screen mode, i.e. non-windowed mode, the screen would go black and I would not be able to see anything. I would still hear everything and the hackintosh was still running the game, but I would lose control of the screen and would not be able to see anything or get back the desktop. Eventually I would have to unplug the computer.

I wonder is there is a .kext or a fix for my 9600 GSO 768 to fix this. Anyone else having problem with the 9600 GSO 768 under 10.6.8? I used to use this very same video card on my older hackintosh that was running 10.6.4, but it needed a .kext injector/fix. Someone very nice wrote the .kext fix for me and emailed it to me. It was actually someone from this very forum here (Thank you so much, tech-hero!). With that fix, the 9600 GSO 768 reported itself correctly to the OS X, and I was able to play all my mac games in full screen correctly.

So, other than this full screen game problem, my hackintosh is working properly. I am not sure how it started to work. My best guess is the video card and some random luck. But I WANTED TO THANK EVERYONE FOR PUTTING UP WITH ME AND FOR THE ENCOURAGEMENT AND THE HELP. THANK YOU. Please add the Gigabyte GA-Z68M-D2H to the list of motherboard that are fully hackintosh 10.6.8 compatible.

PS. if you know a solution to the video card problem, please post a reply.
PSS. Thank you again for all your help. you know who you are.