- Joined
- May 10, 2011
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- CPU
- i5 4670K @ 4Ghz
- Graphics
- GTX 960
- Mobile Phone
All right. So you went and got yourself a new Dell XPS 8300. The machine is pretty fast in windows, but lest see how it rocks in OS X, shall we?
Currently, this guide is working at 10.6.8. Scroll down to the bottom to see method for 10.6.8 Update!.
First thing you need to do, is get all the things in order that you need. This is your "Checklist", so to speak.
You will need 1 blank CD / DVD. You will also need a USB Stick of some kind. 4GiB is fine, but larger is better so that you can use it to store updated software for further updates from Tony and crew.
Disconnect any extra devices from the computer. You should only have the Dell Keyboard and Dell Mouse plugged into your USB ports.
iBoot. Located in the resources area of this site. Download it, and burn the ISO to a CD / DVD. *I used version 3.0.1 for this guide, 3.1.1 should work as well*.
Multibeast. Located in the resources area of this site. Download it, and put the zip file on a USB stick. *I used version 3.7.3 for this guide.*
KextBeast. Located in the resources area of this site. Download it and put the zip file on a USB stick.
BridgeHelper. Located on the resouces page of this site. Dowload it and put the zip file on a USB stick.
Snow Leopard ComboUpdate 10.6.7. Located here --> http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1361 put this on your USB stick.
RETAIL Snow Leopard 10.6.3 DVD. Purchased via Apple store, or local Retailer such as BestBuy, MicroCenter, and the like.
Wired LAN Kext. Download the zip file to a USB stick.
Wireless Kext. Download the zip file to a USB stick.
**If you are using an nVidia GT 430 as i do for this guide, download the OFFICIAL nVidia Quadro 4000 drivers for 10.6.7, direct from nVidia's website. Put that on your USB stick, with the rest of the goodies.**
***If you are using a PNY GeForce 210 You can get it working with MultiBeast. Read on.
Ok, so we have our Software all in one place, and ready to go. Now, we need to check the BIOS, and make sure everything is good to go.
The only setting we need to worry about, is the HDD mode. By Default, it *SHOULD* be set to ACHI. If its not, set it to such, F10 and reboot.
Here we go!
Pop your iBoot disc into your drive, and reboot.
Spam F12 to get to your boot options, and select the DVD drive, press enter.
Once at the bootloader screen, eject the iBoot disc, and insert your retail 10.6.3 DVD. Wait for 5-7 seconds, then press F5. Arrow over to the Snow Leopard DVD and type the Following …
PCIRootUID=1
Press Enter, and we are off to the races.
Once the installation environment shows up, select your language, and hit the button on the lower right corner to continue to the next screen.
At this screen, the Menubar will show up at the top of the screen. Click on "Utilities" and select "Disk Utility".
Once it hashes out your Drive Info, select the HDD from the list on the left, and go to the Partitions tab. In this window, you want to click on the dropdown that says "Current".
Select "1 partition". Under the box that shows the partition, click the "Options" button. In this window, select the GUID partition table. Apply the settings, and the window will close, taking you back to the main Disk Utility window.
Here you will name your drive ( I chose "iDell", just seemed fitting ), and format it in OS X Extended (Journaled).
Close the Disc Utility after it has done this process by clicking the red circle in the upper left corner. This will bring the main Installer Window back up.
At this stage, click continue, and accept the EULA. Select your freshly formatted drive in the box that shows up next. In the lower left corner of the screen, click on "Customize".
A list of options will show up. UN-check all of them. This speeds up the install process.
Click Continue, and sit tight for about 17 minutes.
Once the install finishes, it will auto-reboot the computer if you don't do it within 20 seconds. Its been my practice to let the timer count down, and have it auto-reboot on its own.
Once the machine does its re-boot, spam F12 again, and this time, swap your iBoot disc in. Boot off of it, and arrow over to your freshly installed OS X Drive.
Type the following…
PCIRootUID=1
Press Enter, and enjoy the Welcome Vid
After the Video is finished, go through the screens as you see fit. Set your username, and password. (I strongly advise using a password, anything will work for test purposes. It makes certain that permissions and caches are repaired properly.)
Once you have identified your keyboard, you can begin getting things dialed in.
Grab your USB stick, and plug it in. Drag the following to the desktop…
MultiBeast
KextBeast
BridgeHelper
10.6.7 Comboupdate
nVidia Quadro drivers
Wireless Kext
LAN Kext
Ok, first things first, start up the ComboUpdate. Select the drive, and proceed with the install. DO NOT REBOOT WHEN IT FINISHES!!
Minimize it to the dock instead.
Now, open MultiBeast and select the following items only…..
If MultiBeast closes un-expectedly, just click "Ignore" on the popup window that shows up, and re-run MultiBeast.
Now run BridgeHelper. This installs the 10.7.3 Kernel which supports your Sandy Bridge CPU.
Next, we run the nVidia driver package to get our GT 430 fully working.
Before we restart when the nVidia drivers prompt us to, remove your iBoot disc from the drive. (Right click the iBoot symbol in the upper right corner, and select "Eject "iBoot".)
Cross your fingers, and reboot!
If all went well, you should now be at the Desktop. Drag your Wired LAN Kext to the desktop from your USB stick, and un-zip it. Run KextBeast to install it. Do a re-boot, and you should have Interwebz
Once you get back to the desktop, you can rejoice and enjoy your new "iDell"
**Final tuning. Go to System Prefrences>Energy Saver. UN-Check the 2 options for putting the drives / computer to sleep. Move the sliders to the "Never" position. You can set the Monitor to what ever timeout you like, but the "Computer Sleep" slider msut be set to Never, or it will not sleep properly. This is something im slowly working on getting fixed.
Next go to System Prefrences>Software Update. Un check the boxes. This will prevent any automatic updates, and headaches when you don't need them.
*********FOOTNOTES*********
If the LAN Kext will not work for you, then see about getting a Dell 1510, or 1397 half mini PCI-E card. If you have either one of those, change out the Kext in the guide to the wireless one instead of the Wired LAN.
If you are NOT using a nVidia GT 430 Vid card, then try using a GeForce 210. During the MultiBeast install phase, add the selection under Graphics>enablers and injectors> NVEnabler. Do not use the Quadro drivers for the 210, it will not work.
UPDATE TO 10.6.8 WORKING! FOLLOW THESE STEPS!
Download Carbon Copy Cloner. Make a clone of your working 10.6.7 install to a separate, identical drive (if possible).
Boot into the cloned version of your install. *I named mine "iClone", heh *
Download the 10.6.8 ComboUpdate available here --> http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1399 .
Run the ComboUpdate, but install it to your ORIGINAL drive. *iDell for example, instead of iClone.*
Once it finishes, open MultiBeast Version 3.8.0. Available in the resources section of this site.
Run the same options as in the original install, posted in the screenshot above. Destination drive, again, is your main drive.
Once that is finished, boot back into your original drive, not the cloned one.
Download the Official nVidia Quadro 4000 drivers for Mac version 10.6.8 from nVidia's site. Reboot.
Done!
"Project iDell" current specs are as follows …..
i5 2300 @ 2.8 Ghz.
8GiB Ram @1333Mhz.
Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200 RPM HDD
Dell 1397 Half-Mini PCIE Wireless card.
Galaxy nVidia GT 430 (Fermi) 1GiB video Card.
OS X 10.6.8 64Bit.
Acer S202HL 20" Widescreen LED backlit LCD running on DVI.
Stock Dell Keyboard.
Stock Dell Wired Optical Mouse.
*****Credits*****
TonyMac, Macman, Gordo74, Sasherm13(Wired LAN Kext
) This entire Forum / community for being amazing, and helpful
Enjoy!
~~Grave
Currently, this guide is working at 10.6.8. Scroll down to the bottom to see method for 10.6.8 Update!.
First thing you need to do, is get all the things in order that you need. This is your "Checklist", so to speak.
You will need 1 blank CD / DVD. You will also need a USB Stick of some kind. 4GiB is fine, but larger is better so that you can use it to store updated software for further updates from Tony and crew.
Disconnect any extra devices from the computer. You should only have the Dell Keyboard and Dell Mouse plugged into your USB ports.
iBoot. Located in the resources area of this site. Download it, and burn the ISO to a CD / DVD. *I used version 3.0.1 for this guide, 3.1.1 should work as well*.
Multibeast. Located in the resources area of this site. Download it, and put the zip file on a USB stick. *I used version 3.7.3 for this guide.*
KextBeast. Located in the resources area of this site. Download it and put the zip file on a USB stick.
BridgeHelper. Located on the resouces page of this site. Dowload it and put the zip file on a USB stick.
Snow Leopard ComboUpdate 10.6.7. Located here --> http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1361 put this on your USB stick.
RETAIL Snow Leopard 10.6.3 DVD. Purchased via Apple store, or local Retailer such as BestBuy, MicroCenter, and the like.
Wired LAN Kext. Download the zip file to a USB stick.
Wireless Kext. Download the zip file to a USB stick.
**If you are using an nVidia GT 430 as i do for this guide, download the OFFICIAL nVidia Quadro 4000 drivers for 10.6.7, direct from nVidia's website. Put that on your USB stick, with the rest of the goodies.**
***If you are using a PNY GeForce 210 You can get it working with MultiBeast. Read on.
Ok, so we have our Software all in one place, and ready to go. Now, we need to check the BIOS, and make sure everything is good to go.
The only setting we need to worry about, is the HDD mode. By Default, it *SHOULD* be set to ACHI. If its not, set it to such, F10 and reboot.
Here we go!
Pop your iBoot disc into your drive, and reboot.
Spam F12 to get to your boot options, and select the DVD drive, press enter.
Once at the bootloader screen, eject the iBoot disc, and insert your retail 10.6.3 DVD. Wait for 5-7 seconds, then press F5. Arrow over to the Snow Leopard DVD and type the Following …
PCIRootUID=1
Press Enter, and we are off to the races.
Once the installation environment shows up, select your language, and hit the button on the lower right corner to continue to the next screen.
At this screen, the Menubar will show up at the top of the screen. Click on "Utilities" and select "Disk Utility".
Once it hashes out your Drive Info, select the HDD from the list on the left, and go to the Partitions tab. In this window, you want to click on the dropdown that says "Current".
Select "1 partition". Under the box that shows the partition, click the "Options" button. In this window, select the GUID partition table. Apply the settings, and the window will close, taking you back to the main Disk Utility window.
Here you will name your drive ( I chose "iDell", just seemed fitting ), and format it in OS X Extended (Journaled).
Close the Disc Utility after it has done this process by clicking the red circle in the upper left corner. This will bring the main Installer Window back up.
At this stage, click continue, and accept the EULA. Select your freshly formatted drive in the box that shows up next. In the lower left corner of the screen, click on "Customize".
A list of options will show up. UN-check all of them. This speeds up the install process.
Click Continue, and sit tight for about 17 minutes.
Once the install finishes, it will auto-reboot the computer if you don't do it within 20 seconds. Its been my practice to let the timer count down, and have it auto-reboot on its own.
Once the machine does its re-boot, spam F12 again, and this time, swap your iBoot disc in. Boot off of it, and arrow over to your freshly installed OS X Drive.
Type the following…
PCIRootUID=1
Press Enter, and enjoy the Welcome Vid
After the Video is finished, go through the screens as you see fit. Set your username, and password. (I strongly advise using a password, anything will work for test purposes. It makes certain that permissions and caches are repaired properly.)
Once you have identified your keyboard, you can begin getting things dialed in.
Grab your USB stick, and plug it in. Drag the following to the desktop…
MultiBeast
KextBeast
BridgeHelper
10.6.7 Comboupdate
nVidia Quadro drivers
Wireless Kext
LAN Kext
Ok, first things first, start up the ComboUpdate. Select the drive, and proceed with the install. DO NOT REBOOT WHEN IT FINISHES!!
Minimize it to the dock instead.
Now, open MultiBeast and select the following items only…..
If MultiBeast closes un-expectedly, just click "Ignore" on the popup window that shows up, and re-run MultiBeast.
Now run BridgeHelper. This installs the 10.7.3 Kernel which supports your Sandy Bridge CPU.
Next, we run the nVidia driver package to get our GT 430 fully working.
Before we restart when the nVidia drivers prompt us to, remove your iBoot disc from the drive. (Right click the iBoot symbol in the upper right corner, and select "Eject "iBoot".)
Cross your fingers, and reboot!
If all went well, you should now be at the Desktop. Drag your Wired LAN Kext to the desktop from your USB stick, and un-zip it. Run KextBeast to install it. Do a re-boot, and you should have Interwebz
Once you get back to the desktop, you can rejoice and enjoy your new "iDell"
**Final tuning. Go to System Prefrences>Energy Saver. UN-Check the 2 options for putting the drives / computer to sleep. Move the sliders to the "Never" position. You can set the Monitor to what ever timeout you like, but the "Computer Sleep" slider msut be set to Never, or it will not sleep properly. This is something im slowly working on getting fixed.
Next go to System Prefrences>Software Update. Un check the boxes. This will prevent any automatic updates, and headaches when you don't need them.
*********FOOTNOTES*********
If the LAN Kext will not work for you, then see about getting a Dell 1510, or 1397 half mini PCI-E card. If you have either one of those, change out the Kext in the guide to the wireless one instead of the Wired LAN.
If you are NOT using a nVidia GT 430 Vid card, then try using a GeForce 210. During the MultiBeast install phase, add the selection under Graphics>enablers and injectors> NVEnabler. Do not use the Quadro drivers for the 210, it will not work.
UPDATE TO 10.6.8 WORKING! FOLLOW THESE STEPS!
Download Carbon Copy Cloner. Make a clone of your working 10.6.7 install to a separate, identical drive (if possible).
Boot into the cloned version of your install. *I named mine "iClone", heh
*Download the 10.6.8 ComboUpdate available here --> http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1399 .
Run the ComboUpdate, but install it to your ORIGINAL drive. *iDell for example, instead of iClone.*
Once it finishes, open MultiBeast Version 3.8.0. Available in the resources section of this site.
Run the same options as in the original install, posted in the screenshot above. Destination drive, again, is your main drive.
Once that is finished, boot back into your original drive, not the cloned one.
Download the Official nVidia Quadro 4000 drivers for Mac version 10.6.8 from nVidia's site. Reboot.
Done!
"Project iDell" current specs are as follows …..
i5 2300 @ 2.8 Ghz.
8GiB Ram @1333Mhz.
Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200 RPM HDD
Dell 1397 Half-Mini PCIE Wireless card.
Galaxy nVidia GT 430 (Fermi) 1GiB video Card.
OS X 10.6.8 64Bit.
Acer S202HL 20" Widescreen LED backlit LCD running on DVI.
Stock Dell Keyboard.
Stock Dell Wired Optical Mouse.
*****Credits*****
TonyMac, Macman, Gordo74, Sasherm13(Wired LAN Kext
) This entire Forum / community for being amazing, and helpful Thank You for testing this! Good news for 10.6.8 Installstheabbot said:I can confirm that spdif is working!
Enjoy!
~~Grave
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