iATKOS S3 readme
Welcome all..
1- This DVD is designed for Non-Apple x86 Intel CPU computers.
Minimum: Compatible motherboard, Intel SSE2 CPU, 512MB RAM, 15GB free space on target partition, compatible VGA card.
Recommended :
Intel Core CPU, 1GB RAM, 15GB free space on target partition, Snow Leo
compatible nVidia 6600 or newer / ATI X1300 or newer / Intel GMA 950 or
X3100 VGA card.
Motherboard (the most important part) should be compatible for booting iATKOS S3 DVD and installing natively.
2- This DVD includes Apple's Mac OS X Leopard 10.6.3 (10D573) installation, some basic drivers and x86 patches.
3- IMPORTANT
NOTICE - Make sure that the md5 checksum of your iATKOS iso image
matches the one posted on our website. Do this MD5 check just before
mounting or doing anything with the iso image! Otherwise you may have a
faulty DVD image. Use quality media/burner and burn slowly.
4-
MAKE SURE YOU TAKE NOTE OF YOUR Hardware IDs, Device IDs and device
names before installing this system. This is very important. If you
aren't sure what devices/hardware you own nor its IDs, then 3 options:
-Boot iATKOS S3 DVD, run "Hardware Info" from Utilities menu and take notes.
-Fire up a Linux Live CD (ie. Ubuntu Live CD), type "lspci -nn" in terminal and take notes.
-Windowsers, get Everest Ultimate Edition and take note of your hardware.
5-
Do a google search or surf to InsanelyMac, Hackint0sh, our forum,
related OSX86 sites or wiki to find out if your hardware is supported or
not. OSX86 does not support a wide range of hardwares like Linux and
Windows. Make sure that it is supported before you install. This is very
important because after installation you may ask like "how can I get
this hardware to work" and people would simply slap you with "it will
never work". This little search will avoid your frustration and anger!
Extending your lifespan!
6- If something goes wrong, please don't
panic, Scroll down for the Troubleshooting guide. If that fails, take a
screenshot (or a picture) of what went wrong and post it in the forums.
Make sure you have done the 3 Revival steps and troubleshooting steps
before posting in the forum!
7- Do not forget one thing: IF THE
INSTALL ENDS WITH SUCCESS, THEN MOST LIKELY IT CAN RUN ON YOUR HARDWARE.
This means if you have a major booting error after installation like
kernel panic, "still waiting for root device" error, hang on grey apple
screen etc. then this is mostly related to your faulty selections during
install, read the instructions carefully and do a very basic install
until you boot your new system with success.
Information:
- 64-bit/32-bit thing:
Mac OS X Snow
Leopard is a hybrid operating system which can boot in both 64-bit and
32-bit modes. This iATKOS S3 release boots in 64-bit by default, if you
select the 32-bit package or any of the 32bit-only driver(s) then the
system will boot the kernel in 32-bit by default.
To load a
driver/module/kext in 32-bit (i.e. a 32-bit only driver) you must boot
the system in 32-bit, vice versa for 64-bit. All of the drivers and
patches except the 32-bit only ones in iATKOS S3 are hybrid (64/32bit),
this means you can load/use them in both 64-bit and 32-bit modes.
64-bit
applications can run in 32-bit mode and vice versa for 32-bit
applications, but modules/drivers/kexts will be loaded as the same
architecture (64-bit or 32-bit, in other words x86_64 or i386) you boot
in, 32-bit modules in 32-bit mode, 64-bit modules in 64-bit mode.
Therefore applications that need their own 32bit-only modules (kexts)
may fail in 64-bit mode. If you choose any of the 32-bit packages during
iATKOS S3 install, then your system will boot in 32-bit mode by
default.
- iATKOS S3 includes scripting and many actions for
using software updater just like real Macs on most PC hardware. This is
mostly possible like the old releases of iATKOS but we can never know
what Apple will do in next main system update, so it may not result in
%100 success. Please read the related section below.
- You can
make upgrade or refresh installs to your existing OSX86 system using
iATKOS S3 DVD. Please read the related section below.
- Easy installation on Software RAID volumes, nearly all procedures automated. Please read the related section below.
- GPT (Guid Partition Table) and MBR (Master Boot Record) partitioned harddrives:
GPT
is a partition table type for x86 computers which is also Intel Mac's
partition table type. Its structure is different from MBR and so it has
some nice features. The whole GPT multiboot procedure may not be so
friendly for newbies, so they should go on using MBR, performance of the
system will not differ from GPT to MBR.
MBR has a limit of 4 primary
partitions (which is a must for booting an OS, however linux can boot
from logical partitions by MBR) but GPT has no such thing like primary
or logical, therefore you can create up to 128 bootable partitions on
GPT disks. HFS+ partition resizing is only possible on GPT drives and it
is such a comfortable feature. All windows series (win 3.1, win95 and
win98 are MBR only) can be installed to a Hybrid GPT drive which can be
easily created using OS X disk utility, just create one or more FAT32
partition(s), make sure that they are at the first 3 order and there you
have the Hybrid GPT for windows installation.
New Linux bootloader Grub2 supports GPT, so nearly all updated Linux distros can be installed to pure GPT drives.
For Software RAID feature on Leopard and Snow Leopard, you must have GPT partitioned drives.
In the near future, most of x86 computers will run on GPT drives.
-
This dvd may not include all the necessary drivers required by your
setup. Additional steps may be needed to be taken by the user to setup
and use such components.
- Main system is fully stock! That means it can't run on PC hardware without selecting none of the patches.
Clean Installation:
Backup
your personal data before the process. A target partition (primary
partition for MBR) or disk will be needed for installation. Use a clean
harddisk with no personal data/OS as for target if you are not an
advanced user and unplug all the harddisk drives connected to your
motherboard just to be safe. If the target disk includes personal data
and/or any OS, we advice Parted Magic Live CD for partitioning and such
operations for preparing a target. You can also do the partitioning and
create targets by using OS X Disk Utility.
1- Run Disk Utility via Utilities menu and erase (format) the target for clean install.
-
You can choose MBR (Master Boot Record) or GPT (Guid Partition Table)
via partitioning options. If you want to change your existing partition
table type, note that all your existing data on disk will be gone!
Please do not play with partitioning options if your are not an advanced
user.
2- Select the destination for installation.
3- Click Customize* and select what you need.
4- Click Install.
Install time is about 20 minutes.
Upgrade from previous versions:
You
can upgrade your existing installation to Snow Leopard 10.6.3 (keeping
your applications, data, user settings and accounts) by using iATKOS S3
DVD. This works best on old iATKOS installations but should work for
most installations including retails from 10.5.0 to 10.6.2.
For
upgrading from Leopard to Snow Leopard; if you have some 3rd party
drivers (32-bit only) that is sure compatible with Snow, then you should
boot Snow Leopard in 32-bit. You can select the 32-bit package during
install for booting Snow Leo in 32-bit by default. After upgrade, you
can of course search for the updates of the 3rd party softwares/drivers
that you use in Leopard for Snow Leo compatibility and to use them fully
in 64-bit.
Your 3rd party applications, personal data, user
settings and user accounts will be reserved but all system
files/drivers/applications will be gone, so you will need to setup your
selections just like a clean install.
There may be some
incompatibility issues of some applications and drivers with Snow
Leopard as you know, this has nothing to do with the upgrade procedure
or this OSX86 release.
1- Select the destination for upgrade installation.
2- Click Customize* and select what you need.
3- Click Install.
Install time is about 20 minutes.
Reinstalling your existing 10.6.3 main system:
If
you harmed your main system and somehow it has something wrong that you
can not figure out and solve, then you can do a refresh install to your
existing crap 10.6.3 system. This is like an upgrade install. This of
course works better on iATKOS S3 installs but should work on all
including retail installs.
1- Select the destination for renew installation.
2- Click Customize* and select what you need.
3- Click Install.
Install time is about 20 minutes.
* Customize:
There
is already a basic default profile chosen. You should add only device
drivers for your hardware setup at first trials of your OSX86 install if
you are a newbie, then you may try adding other packages to find out
the best combination for your PC. Adding a few packages to default
profile will probably be enough for most hardwares, read the package
details carefully!
Basic Info:
- Many less compatible systems
need a modified kernel instead of the stock kernel, you may try with
selecting a modified kernel if you have problems after install.
-
There may be more than one way to make your VGA card work; Efi String,
GraphicsEnabler, Enablers and modified drivers for your VGA card
(gma950, x3100 and ATI packages etc.). You need to choose only one of
Efi String/GraphicsEnabler/Enablers and a modified driver/patch for your
card if so needed. GrahicsEnabler is under bootloader options, Efi
Strings and Enablers are under the target VGA card drivers section.
- Do not select any of the packages that you are not sure what it is for.
- Do not select the driver of a network card that is not presented in your hardware setup.
- Read the descriptions carefully.
Software RAID:
Information:
-
Software RAID combines two or more physical harddisks or their
partitions (RAID slices) into a single logical unit. RAID's various
designs involve two key design goals: increase data reliability and/or
increase input/output performance.
- You can create RAID volumes and install Snow Leopard on RAID using iATKOS S3 DVD.
- RAID levels or types for OS X:
Striped
RAID (RAID-0): A RAID-0 set splits data evenly across multiple disks
with no parity information for redundancy. RAID0 is normally used to
increase performance for both read and write. It can also be used as a
way to create a small number of large virtual disks out of a large
number of small physical ones. Simply it is a way to use the disks like
using the dual or more channel RAMs, so it increases the read and write
performance more than a bit. Many people are talking about the minimal
performance gain for RAID0 but they are wrong, I am on Software RAID0
with 3 slices on both Mac OS X and Linux for a while (3x 500GB WD caviar
black) and the reality is the number, 226 xbench hdd score is way
higher (%22) than any SSD on the market (~185). It is not a safe way for
your personal data but I advice Striped RAID for your system volume.
Simple solution; if you use Time Machine, then your system volume will
also be safe.
Mirrored RAID (RAID-1): A RAID-1 set creates an exact
copy of a set of data on two or more disks. This is mostly for data
safety and also an increase of performance for read operations is
expected. The RAID array can only be as big as the smallest member of
the slices. I advice Mirrored RAID set for your data storage volumes.
Concatenated
Disk set: Which is not exactly a RAID level. The slices are merely
concatenated together, end to beginning, so they appear to be a single
large disk. It provides no data redundancy. This may be thought of as
the inverse of partitioning. Whereas partitioning takes one physical
drive and creates two or many more logical volumes, concatenation uses
two or more slices to create one logical volume. No increase in
performance is possible and neither increased data reliability is
possible.
- Boot helper partition: OS X Software RAID systems
boot using boot helper partitions and so the bootloader will be
installed to boot helper partition instead of the RAID slice. If one of
the RAID slices of your target RAID volume is disk0s2, then its hidden
boot helper partition named as "Boot OSX" is disk0s3. Do the math for
the others.
- Create RAID volumes: You can easily create RAID
volumes using OS X Disk Utility. Do the partitioning if you need to,
click on the target disk and then click on RAID tab, choose RAID type,
name it and by pressing "+" create a new RAID set. Add the target
partitions or disks to RAID set by dragging them and when you are done,
click to "Create" button. The added partitions or disks will be the
slices of your RAID set, in a few seconds your RAID volume will be
mounted and ready for installation.
- iATKOS S3 RAID operations:
-For
RAID targets, S3 installer removes the Extra folder. Extra can not be
loaded from RAID volume root. The selected drivers will be loaded from
system extensions folder.
-S3 installer also adds a flag for DSDT.aml
users for RAID. By default it is loaded from Extra folder as you know,
for RAID volumes it will be loaded from the boot helper partition.
DSDT.aml users will mount the boot helper volume of the preceding disk
manually and copy the DSDT.aml to root of the boot helper volume named
"Boot OSX".
-S3 has some more scriptings for RAID install for some
custom selections. You will do the install just like installing to a
normal volume.
-S3 installs the bootloader of your choice to the boot
helper partition of the preceding disk of the RAID set, therefore make
sure the disk order in Disk Utility is exactly the BIOS disk order,
somehow it may be wrong in Disk Utility, if so reboot the DVD again
until the disk order is right. If the order is wrong and the bootloader
is installed to other than the first disk that you boot by your BIOS,
then you may need to change the boot order from your BIOS setup to boot
your RAID system. Not a serious problem tough but you need to know the
procedure.
I may have modified the bootloader to install the
bootloader to all RAID set disks but I didn't, because this is not an
advantage for users that have foreign OS' on other drives, that would
make the foreign OS' on other disks unbootable.
RAID Install Steps:
1- Make sure the disk order in Disk Utility is exactly the BIOS disk order.
2- Create RAID volume as described above.
3- Select it as destination for install.
4- Click Customize and select what you need, no special combination for RAID, procedures automated.
5- Click Install.
Install time is about 20 minutes.
Main System Updates:
As
you know, using software updater to apply main system updates is
possible for most PC's by using iATKOS. Your custom kernel and many
drivers will be protected after the update but some drivers and patches
will be overwritten and some will be non-functional, so computers that
need these drivers and patches will not be able to update with 1 click.
These packages are:
- Sleep Enabler: This package includes
SleepEnabler.kext which may cause kernel panic after the update, so
delete it before applying the update or boot with 'pmVersion=0' option.
-
GMA 950 drivers (32bit): These packages include AppleIntelGMA950.kext
and AppleIntelIntegratedFramebuffer.kext. These drivers may be
overwritten by applying the update. Copy these kexts from
/System/Library/Extensions directory to some other location, reinstall
them after applying the update before reboot. You can install these
kexts using kext utility located at /Library/Tools or if you are an
advanced user then you can reboot to single user mode "-s" and install
them manually.
- X3100 Framebuffer (32bit): This package includes
AppleIntelGMAX3100FB.kext and AppleIntelIntegratedFramebuffer.kext.
These drivers may be overwritten by applying the update. You need to
reinstall these drivers after applying the update before reboot. Copy
these kexts from /System/Library/Extensions directory to some other
location, reinstall them after applying the update before reboot.
-
ATI 48xx: This package also includes ATIRadeonX2000.kext. Copy this kext
from /System/Library/Extensions directory to some other location,
reinstall them after applying the update before reboot.
- ATI
Framebuffer: This package includes ATISupport.kext and
ATIFramebuffer.kext. Copy these kexts from /System/Library/Extensions
directory to some other location, reinstall them after applying the
update before reboot.
- USB: This package includes IOUSBFamily.kext
which may be overwritten by the update. Copy this kext from
/System/Library/Extensions directory to some other location, reinstall
them after applying the update before reboot.
- Atheros Corei7
Fix: This package includes IO80211Family.kext which may be overwritten
by the update and this may cause kernel panic on boot for systems that
need this package. Copy this kext from /System/Library/Extensions
directory to some other location, reinstall them after applying the
update before reboot.
- ACPI Thermal (32bit): This will be
non-functional after the update, edit the Info.plist of the
ACPIThermal.kext to match the current ACPI version of the new updated
system.
You can find Kext Utility.app at /Library/Tools location.
Every
main system update had some issues with our PC hardwares that had been
covered mostly after the release of the update, so updating like real
Macs is not a thing that you can always count on because we can never
know what Apple will do for the next update. Until now it had no major
problems with x86 PC hardwares.
Multiboot:
iATKOS S3 has no integrated procedure for multibooting but preparing a multiboot GPT or MBR system with this release is easy.
Here
is a ''How To'' for GPT and MBR triple boot including Mac-Win-Linux.
iATKOS S3 DVD, Debian GNU/Linux DVD and Windows7 DVD installers are used
in this example.
- MBR (Master Boot Record) triple boot -
-
Nearly all PC's work on MBR partitioned harddisks, check it with Disk
Utility, if so do no touch it. If it is GPT then you need to repartition
your harddisk by loosing all the data in it. Click to partitioning
options, select MBR and do the partitioning.
- Create 3 or more
partitions by using iATKOS Disk Utility or Parted Magic Live CD. HFS+
format for OS X target, Fat32 (ms-dos) for the others. OS targets must
be one of the first 3 partitions creating with Disk Utility.
- Add boot flag to Windows or Linux target and install the operating systems in any order you like.
For
windows, make sure the windows target disk is the first preceding disk
by your BIOS, unplug the other harddisks if needed. This is a general
windows issue.
For linux, do not install linux bootloader to MBR, install it to linux root.
- Boot iATKOS S3 DVD and install OS X to target as usual.
-
If Windows fails to load then you may need to repair Windows (win7 or
vista) (mostly you will not face this issue): Add boot flag to Windows
partition, boot Windows DVD, select repair, add boot flag to OS X
partition.
- You can also add boot flag to Linux partition to use Linux bootloader for multiboot manipulation if you want to.
Now you have triple boot on MBR.
Note: Adding boot flag to MBR partitions: Boot Parted Magic Live CD, right click to partition, select flags and click to boot.
- GPT (Guid Partition Table) triple boot -
-
Check the partition table type with Disk Utility. If it is not GPT then
repartition the drive and change the partition map scheme to GPT by
pressing partition options. You will loose all the data on target disk
by repartitioning.
- Create 3 or more partitions by using iATKOS
Disk Utility. HFS+ format for OS X target, FAT32 (ms-dos) for the
others. Windows and Linux targets should be of the first 3 partitions.
- Boot Windows Media and install it to its FAT32 target.
- Boot iATKOS S3 DVD and install OS X to target as usual. You have dual-boot with OS X and windows right now.
- Boot Linux media and install the operating system (OS) to its FAT32 target.
Do not install the linux bootloader to MBR, install it linux root.
Do not change the boot flags.
Do not modify the partition table, it can be risky for some distros, just erase the target and do the install.
Use grub2.
-
Now you can boot to OS X and Linux using OSX86 bootloader which boots
by default, but windows fails at this stage because Linux installation
broke the hybrid GPT, so we will bring it back on this step.
Boot
iATKOS S3 DVD and enter "gptsync /dev/diskX" command on terminal. X is
the BSD number of your target disk, run disk utility and right click on
your disk, you will see it.
Now you have triple boot on GPT. By
default OS X bootloader will take the control by these steps. It can
boot all of them by just selecting. If you want linux or windows to take
the control of multibooting then go on reading, it is described below.
All
the OS' are independent by this way, you can re-install each of them
one by one when needed. You just need to care about 2 things:
- gptsync will be needed after Linux re-install
-
you need to re-install OS X bootloader after Windows re-install. Boot
iATKOS S3 DVD and use one of the Manual Bootloader installers from
utilities menu. If you use linux for multibooting then this step is not
necessary.
There are more combinations to make multiboot work on
especially on GPT. If you know the procedures as well, there is no thing
like an uncoverable multiboot error. i.e. keep in mind that hybrid GPT
may fail when dealing with linux stuff, then the windows will not boot.
Do not use parted magic live cd for Hybrid GPT, it breaks Hybrid GPT
causing an unbootable windows. There comes the gptsync, it creates a
fake MBR code on GPT drives that make Windows feel like it works on MBR
partitioned hdd. You can always apply gpysync if hybrid GPT is broken
somehow. After bringing back the hybrid GPT partition using gptsync,
windows will work again. After gptsync, you can add boot flag to other
partitions by using OS X or Linux fdisk if you like to boot from another
OS. i.e. if you want to boot from linux and use grub for multiboot
manipulation instead of chameleon.
For OS X fdisk, boot iATKOS S3 DVD and open terminal:
fdisk -e /dev/diskX # X is the BSD number of your target disk
p # p is the fake MBR partition list
f Y # f for adding boot flag to the target partition, Y is the partition number you want to boot from
w # w to write changes
q # q for quit.
In
this multiboot example I created 4 volumes, 3 for OS' and 1 for
storage. OS volumes are first 3 ones. As you see on this fdisk print out
and disk utility screen below, fdisk lists the 4 partitions of fake MBR
of my hybrid GPT. You can not see the "Data 2" partition (disk0s5)
there because it is the 5th one. 1st partition is the hidden efi, for
this reason the OS' are to be installed to first 3 volumes.
Enter 'help' for information
fdisk: 1> p
Disk: /dev/disk0 geometry: 30401/255/63 [488395055 sectors]
Offset: 0 Signature: 0xAA55
#: id cyl hd sec - cyl hd sec [ start - size]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1: EE 1023 254 63 - 1023 254 63 [ 1 - 409639]
2: AF 1023 254 63 - 1023 254 63 [ 409640 - 97656256] HFS+
3: 07 1023 254 63 - 1023 254 63 [ 98328576 - 97654784] HPFS/QNX/AUX
*4: 83 1023 254 63 - 1023 254 63 [ 195983360 - 97654784] Linux files*
fdisk: 1> _
--------------------------
disk utility layout:
250.06GB WDC WD250…
-OS X
-Windows
-disk0s4
-Data 2
--------------------------
Unmounted
disk0s4 volume is ext4 linux partition (hd0,4) in this example. I added
the boot flag to Linux partition using OS X fdisk and modified the
grub.cfg file to boot all of them via grub2.
### here is the grub.cfg lines of this example for multibooting
menuentry "Snow Leopard" {
insmod hfsplus
set root=(hd0,2)
multiboot /boot
}
menuentry "Windows 7" {
set root=(hd0,3)
chainloader +1
}
menuentry "Debian GNU/Linux……
###
OS X bootloaders do not need editing for multiboot 
Simple Troubleshooting guide:
At
times after installation, your system may not work properly as in - it
may restart, not boot at all or hang at a certain point. This is quite
normal and there are many ways for it to be fixed. It varies from one
case to another case. However this basic troubleshooting guide would
help you to fix most of the common problems.
- If you're facing
hangs, freezes or kernel panics (which is present as a shutdown symbol
on the screen just after boot) type in "-v -x" (without quotes) in the
boot command of the bootloader. This would give you verbose output which
is useful for us to help you or for you to post in the forums so that
we can trace it down.
- "Waiting for root device" - It means that
OS X doesn't see your hard disk or boot device. You can face with this
during dvd boot or after system install during hdd boot. Chances are:
If
you face with this during HDD boot, then most likely you may have
installed the wrong drivers. You need to reinstall, read the readme
carefully.
If you have this error during DVD boot, then change your
SATA mode from RAID to ACHI or even to IDE, and also you need to check
other bios settings that might be the usual problem, read the "mickey
mouse guide" on our forum for bios settings. This usually does fix the
problem. If not, then you can try to install using a USB media. You need
to restore the S3 DVD iso image to the USB media and install chameleon
to it. You can do it on both OS X and Windows systems, search our forum
or google for instructions. If still no light, then may have really
incompatible hardware for this OS.
- CPU errors - Try to boot
with "cpus=1" without the quotes. It happens on certain CPUs due to
BIOS/DSDT bug. Your DSDT may need patching. You may also need to enter
busratio vaules for such cpus, i.e. "busratio=20". Search for them.
There are 5 kernels to boot the S3 DVD. qoopz 10.3.0, qoopz 10.2.0, pcj
0.9 10.2.0, atom 10.3.0 and the modbin 10.0.0 kernel.
the default is qoopz 10.3.0.
"mach_qoopz" for qoopz 10.2.0
"mach_pcj" for pcj v0.9 10.2.0
"mach_atom" for atom 10.3.0
"mach_modbin" for modbin 10.0.0
-
Blue or black screen during HDD boot - This means that OS X doesn't see
your monitor properly or your graphics card isn't working correctly.
Firstly boot with "-x -v" commands to reach up to GUI, then you can
search the internet for the solution for your graphics hardware.
Secondly reinstall the OS again, but this time make sure you don't
select any graphic drivers. If you can login to GUI you know what to do
so.
- Keep in mind that sometimes certain kext patches may not
work for your system even though they are the same chipset but a slight
variation may cause it not to work on your PC. The result may be a
kernel panic again, reinstall back but this time don't select any funny
patches/drivers. This would resolve your problem.
*******************************************
