Sapphire 6870 recognised as 6xxx - No DVD Player or Steam

[joesayegh]

Hi guys,

First of all huge thanks to tonymacx86 and the entire community.
I've learnt so much about Macs from reading these forums.

I recently bought all the components to build a CustoMac 4.
I successfully installed Lion 10.7.2 on it using Unibeast.
I made it from a copy of Lion that I purchased on the App Store on my MBP.

Once at the Desktop I used MultiBeast and used the settings on the attached PNG file excluding Audio.

For HDMI Audio I followed this tutorial and used the files included.
viewtopic.php?f=162&t=30584
(Big thanks to toleda and KEFKA)

I also included PCIRootUID=0 to the Kernal Flags Key.
I had to do this. If I didn't include this, it wouldn't boot (I've tried twice previously)

I also include my Ethernet Card ID to the device-properties Key.
This gave me access to iCloud and the App Store on the Hackintosh.

The only thing that doesn't work is the DVD Player, Steam and Geekbench.
They all crash when you open them.
Also, in the About This Mac section, the graphics card is recognised as 6xxx, not 6870.
I suspect this is related.

I'm connecting the Hackintosh to my HDTV via and HDMI cable for Audio and Video @720p.

Has anyone came across this problem before and solved it?
I'm really struggling here guys. Any help would be appreciated.

Best regards,
Joe

 

[powerpcg5]

If you only have a single DVI monitor, do you have Graphics Enabler set to Y?

 

[joesayegh]

Thanks for your quick reply. I'm connecting to my HDTV @ 720p via HDMI.
My Graphics Enabler is set to Yes. Should I change it to No and see if that makes a difference?

 

[powerpcg5]

Usually, if you have GE=Y, DVD player should work, QE/CI, etc... but the 2nd DVI port goes blank.

If GE=N, you get both DVI ports, but DVD player doesn't work.

In my case, I have GE=N (using 2 DVI ports), DVD player doesn't work (crash), but I do have QE/CI.

Other things you can try, changing to MacPro 3,1

 

[joesayegh]

That's odd. Graphics Enabler is set to Yes, it always has been. But the DVD player has never worked. Is it possible that HDMI is interfering?

Also, if I was to change the System Definitions using MultiBeast from iMac 12,1 to Mac Pro 3,1 now, is there any risk of screwing something up? I've tried setting the system up using both settings previously. It hasn't made any difference.

 

[Shurt]

You might want to ensure you're loading a frame buffer. You can test this either by grabbing IORegistryExplorer (here) or you can download the free version of GeekBench and try to open it. If it fails to open, then you've probably got a frame buffer that isn't loading.


If you decide to go the IORegistryExplorer route, place the application into your Applications folder, then open up a Terminal window (Applications -> Utilities -> Terminal) and type, "ioreg | grep ATY" (without quotes). If the frame buffer isn't loading, you'll see something about RadeonFramebuffer. If it says something else, then you're loading a frame buffer and the problem lies elsewhere.

 

[joesayegh]

Shurt, you are a gentleman. Thank you sir.

You're definitely on to something.
I used IORegistryExplorer as you described and it did say RadeonFrameBuffer.

The exact message was:

Last login: Fri Dec 2 15:50:33 on console
Josephs-Mac-Pro:~ joesayegh$ ioreg | grep ATY
| | | | +-o ATY,ATY,RadeonFramebuffer@0 <class AtiFbStub, id 0x1000002$
| | | | +-o ATY,ATY,RadeonFramebuffer@1 <class AtiFbStub, id 0x1000002$
| | | | +-o ATY,ATY,RadeonFramebuffer@2 <class AtiFbStub, id 0x1000002$
| | | | +-o ATY,ATY,RadeonFramebuffer@3 <class AtiFbStub, id 0x1000002$
Josephs-Mac-Pro:~ joesayegh$

Does this mean the frame buffer isn't loading?
If so, how do I fix it please?

(P.S. I also used Geekbench out of curiosity. I've exported the results in case it helps)

 

[Shurt]

Shurt, you are a gentleman. Thank you sir.

You're definitely on to something.
I used IORegistryExplorer as you described and it did say RadeonFrameBuffer.

The exact message was:

Last login: Fri Dec 2 15:50:33 on console
Josephs-Mac-Pro:~ joesayegh$ ioreg | grep ATY
| | | | +-o ATY,ATY,RadeonFramebuffer@0 <class AtiFbStub, id 0x1000002$
| | | | +-o ATY,ATY,RadeonFramebuffer@1 <class AtiFbStub, id 0x1000002$
| | | | +-o ATY,ATY,RadeonFramebuffer@2 <class AtiFbStub, id 0x1000002$
| | | | +-o ATY,ATY,RadeonFramebuffer@3 <class AtiFbStub, id 0x1000002$
Josephs-Mac-Pro:~ joesayegh$

Does this mean the frame buffer isn't loading?
If so, how do I fix it please?

(P.S. I also used Geekbench out of curiosity. I've exported the results in case it helps)

Hmm.

You managed to use Geekbench? And it didn't crash immediately? Strange. Generally, when there is a frame buffer issue, it crashes immediately.

Irregardless, it does seem that you have a frame buffer issue. Unfortunately, there is no quick-and-easy way to figure out which frame buffer you need to use... The best method is just trial and error. In order to test these, you'll want ensure you're using the latest Chimera/Chameleon and then reboot your computer. Stop your computer at the Chimera screen, type, "AtiConfig=(name of frame buffer below)" without quotes and typed exactly like that. You might start with Duckweed. I have a 6850 and that is the frame buffer I'm loading. In order to test whether or not the frame buffer is working, try opening up Steam, or DVD Player, or go through the IORegistryExplorer thing again.

Once you find a working frame buffer, you can add it under under Kernel Flags in org.chameleon.boot.plist. You also should probably add, "AtiPorts=(number of ports on the card)".

One last thing, if you find a frame buffer that won't show anything on your monitor, don't panic. Just force your computer to reboot (hold the power button for ~10 seconds) and when it boots back up, it won't load that frame buffer again and you can try a new one.

List of 6000 series frame buffers:

Pithecia
Bulrushes
Cattail
Hydrilla
Duckweed
Fanwort
Elodea
Kudzu
Gibba
Lotus
Ipomoea
Mangabey
Muskgrass
Juncus

Hope this helps.

 

[joesayegh]

Thanks again Shurt.
I went through all of the Frame Buffers you listed.
All of them produced the exact same result.
i.e About this Mac still showed ATI Radeon HD 6xxx and DVD Player still crashes.
It didn't like Fanwort. That wouldn't boot at all. I had to do a hard restart.

However, one thing that concerns me is that regardless of what Framebuffer I choose at the Chimera boot screen, for example AtiConfig=Duckweed, when I finally get to the Desktop, and open Terminal, and run ioreg | grep ATY, the result is always the same. i.e.

Last login: Fri Dec 2 23:45:32 on console
Josephs-Mac-Pro:~ joesayegh$ ioreg | grep ATY
| | | | +-o ATY,ATY,RadeonFramebuffer@0 <class AtiFbStub, id 0x1000003$
| | | | +-o ATY,ATY,RadeonFramebuffer@1 <class AtiFbStub, id 0x1000003$
| | | | +-o ATY,ATY,RadeonFramebuffer@2 <class AtiFbStub, id 0x1000003$
| | | | +-o ATY,ATY,RadeonFramebuffer@3 <class AtiFbStub, id 0x1000003$
Josephs-Mac-Pro:~ joesayegh$

Am I doing something wrong? It seems as though I can't specify a FrameBuffer.
Either I'm not enabling the Framebuffer correctly or there is a setting that's overriding my choice. It's very frustrating. What are your thoughts?

I've attached a grab of the Graphics tab from Sys Info

 

[powerpcg5]

I think your best bet is a reinstall.

Graphics Enabler is set to Yes, it always has been. But the DVD player has never worked. Is it possible that HDMI is interfering?

I don't know if HDMI is interfering. But from the looks of it, your GE is set to NO. That's the reason why DVD player is crashing and you get a generic description.

Update: My DP to DVI cable adapter just arrived this afternoon, and I finally changed my GE from No to Yes. Now, my ABout this Mac description says the correct model : AMD Radeon HD6870 and now my DVD player also works.

From what I understand, the 6870 is supported OOB. So you don't need to set manually all those framebuffers. Just a simple GE=Yes gets you going.