Mac OS X - cheap

Upgraded to 10.6.7, SleepEnabler needs pmIncrement=0

2011-05-14T10:15:00.001+02:00

The PM_DISPATCH_VERSION constant did not change going from 10.6.6 to 10.6.7. This is why a SleepEnabler.kext that worked with 10.6.6 should also work with 10.6.7. You need to add pmIncrement=0 or pmVersion=21 to your com.apple.Boot.plist though.

/Extra/com.apple.Boot.plist:

<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
...
        <key>Kernel Flags</key>
        <string>arch=[i386 or x86_64] pmIncrement=0</string>
...
</dict>
</plist>

- MacFiets

How to download Xcode 3

2011-05-06T21:41:00.001+02:00

Looks like there is only information about Xcode 4 on Apple's developer site http://developer.apple.com/xcode/index.php. What's more, Xcode 4 is not free -- you need to sign up for one of the developer programs, or alternatively buy it at the Mac App Store for the outrageous sum of €3.99 (or you local equivalent).

I am cheap bastard. This whole blog is about running OS X cheap after all. Well, actually I would have spent the money, but Apple's credit card verification drives me crazy. Ever tried using a credit card issued in a country different from the store's country? I got an error message saying "this card is not valid in the Netherlands". This is nonsense of course, every other shop happily accepts it. I digress.

So, where do I get Xcode 3 from? Turns out that it's still available from the old developer's site at http://connect.apple.com. Log in with your Apple id, select "Developer Tools".

- MacFiets

Upgraded SleepEnabler.kext to 10.6.6

2011-02-27T14:44:00.001+01:00

After upgrading to 10.6.6, I had to install a new version of SleepEnabler.kext. Since I have patched and built SleepEnabler from source for 10.6.5, I upgraded my own version to 10.6.6.

Version specific operating system header files

$ uname -v
Darwin Kernel Version 10.6.0: Wed Nov 10 18:13:17 PST 2010; root:xnu-1504.9.26~3/RELEASE_I386

I downloaded xnu-1504.9.26.tar.gz from www.opensource.apple.com and diffed the version specific operating system header files. Luckily, none of them changed so I simply pulled in the 10.6.6 changes from SleepEnabler's main source.

My Mercurial clone on googlecode.com

The name of my clone is no longer appropriate, but I didn't feel like creating another clone. If you would like to check it out:

$ hg clone https://macfiets-10-6-5.googlecode.com/hg/ macfiets-10-6-5

- MacFiets

Xcode is clogging up my internet connection

2010-12-19T19:25:00.001+01:00

Usually I notice pretty quickly when my internet connection clogs up with downloads I have not started myself. With the help of tcpdump and lsof it's pretty easy to find the receiving application -- Xcode in this case. So wtf is going on?

Today I learned two things. First, Xcode can automatically download updated documentation. Under Xcode -> Preferences -> Documentation you will find the Documentation Sets tab. This has a "Check for and install updates automatically" checkbox.

Second, Xcode has a little helper under Xcode -> Window -> Activity. This shows you what it's currently doing:

- MacFiets

Dell Inspiron 1018 - Unfortunately not my second Hackintosh

2010-12-19T18:02:00.001+01:00

I am in the market for a real simple netbook whose main -- almost only purpose -- is to run Skype. In other words I am looking for a video telephone. Ideally an OS X powered one. The MacBook Air is beautiful, but it costs an arm and a leg.

One of the most OS X compatible netbooks made so far seems to be Dell Mini 10v. The Mac OS X Netbook Compatibility Chart on myMacNetbook.com states that all hardware features such as sound, sleep, audio, wireless, ..., work. The only problem is that you cannot buy a new Mini 10v anymore.

The current low-end netbook on the dell.nl is the Inspiron 1018. Yes, cheap it is.

Despite having not seen any success stories, I ordered one. Well, I didn't get very far and ended up installing Linux. If anyone had more success, I would love to hear from you.

- MacFiets

Upgraded SleepEnabler.kext to 10.6.5

2010-11-28T17:06:00.001+01:00

The SleepEnabler.kext I used with 10.6.4 caused kernel panics with 10.6.5. I learned that this kext is kernel version specific so I grabbed one that was supposed to work with 10.6.5 from kexts.com, but I still got kernel panics. I then decided to build the SleepEnabler.kext from source myself and patch whatever has to be patched.

The main motivation was simply to find out how to do stuff like this. I understand that sleep would also work with a properly patched DSDT, but I leave for some other time.

Prerequisites

Install the Mercurial client and download the xnu-sleep-enabler sources

$ sudo port install mercurial

$ hg clone https://xnu-sleep-enabler.googlecode.com/hg/ xnu-sleep-enabler

Get version specific operating system header files

$ uname -v
Darwin Kernel Version 10.5.0: Fri Nov 5 23:20:39 PDT 2010; root:xnu-1504.9.17~1/RELEASE_I386

This tells you exactly which version of the xnu kernel to download. Navigate to www.opensource.apple.com, click on Mac OS X 10.6.5 and scroll down. Near the bottom of the page you will find this link http://www.opensource.apple.com/tarballs/xnu/xnu-1504.9.17.tar.gz. Download and install next to the sleep enabler.

Patching

The sleep enabler has version specific directories called Headers_10.x.y for the different kernel versions 10.x.y. I created a new one called Headers_10.5.0. There are two files called pmCPU.h and cpu_topology.h in the existing directories:

$ ls -l Headers_10.3.0
total 40
-rw-r--r--  1 macfiets  macfiets  9615 Nov 28 15:56 cpu_topology.h
-rw-r--r--  1 macfiets  macfiets  5208 Nov 28 15:56 pmCPU.h

In the xnu kernel source, those files reside in the osfmk/i386 directory so I copied them from ../xnu-1504.9.17/osfmk/i386 to Headers_10.5.0. It turned out that pmCPU.h also needs rtclock.h so I copied this one too.

$ ls -l Headers_10.5.0
total 56
-rw-r--r-- 1 macfiets  macfiets  9747 Nov 28 15:56 cpu_topology.h
-rw-r--r-- 1 macfiets  macfiets  5634 Nov 28 15:56 pmCPU.h
-rw-r--r-- 1 macfiets  macfiets  4211 Nov 28 15:56 rtclock.h

Next, I fixed the references in pmCPU.h to the two other files.

$ diff ../xnu-1504.9.17/osfmk/i386/pmCPU.h Headers_10.5.0/pmCPU.h
32,33c32,34
< #include <i386/cpu_topology.h>
< #include <i386/rtclock.h>
---
> #include "cpu_topology.h"
> #include "rtclock.h"
>

Building

The last step before actually building this project was to create a new Xcode configuration that would tell Xcode to use the include files from Headers_10.5.0. I copied the Debug configuration to "Debug 10.6.5" and change the KERNEL_VERSION.

Now you can build from the Xcode gui or alternatively from the command line

$ xcodebuild -configuration 'Debug 10.6.5'

Check that the resulting binaries contains code for both 32 and 64-bit:

$ file build/Debug\ 10.6.5/SleepEnabler.kext/Contents/MacOS/SleepEnabler
build/Debug 10.6.5/SleepEnabler.kext/Contents/MacOS/SleepEnabler: Mach-O universal binary with 2 architectures
build/Debug 10.6.5/SleepEnabler.kext/Contents/MacOS/SleepEnabler (for architecture x86_64):     Mach-O 64-bit kext bundle x86_64
build/Debug 10.6.5/SleepEnabler.kext/Contents/MacOS/SleepEnabler (for architecture i386):       Mach-O object i386

Done. Install the SleepEnabler.kext in /System/Library/Extensions and reboot.

My Mercurial clone on googlecode.com

I have created a Mercurial clone of the xnu-sleep-enabler project and pushed my changed. If you would like to check it out:

$ hg clone https://macfiets-10-6-5.googlecode.com/hg/ macfiets-10-6-5

- MacFiets

Updating the BIOS of a gigabyte board without the help of Windows

2010-11-21T13:27:00.001+01:00

GIGABYTE's support is pretty good. There have been a number of BIOS upgrades since I bought the board for my first hackintosh. However, the BIOS files all come as self-extracing Windows .exe files. I don't have a Windows machine anywhere in my house. Honest.

I found two programs to uncompress those files on a Mac though. Zipeg has has a simple gui and works a treat.

If you prefer to use the command line, then there is http://p7zip.sourceforge.net. If you have the MacPorts installed, then it's simply

sudo port install p7zip

This will install the 7z program in /opt/local/bin.

How to upgrade the BIOS

Download the BIOS from gigabyte.com
Download either zipeg or p7zip
Unpack the .exe file and put the BIOS file on a MS-DOS formatted USB stick
Restart your computer and hit the "end key". In case you have an Apple keyboard, then you may not have a key labelled "end". It's the one to the right of the "delete".
This will start the Q-Flash utility. Select the file you want and let it do its job

Success. The "F6" version is installed.

iBoot + Multibeast

2010-11-21T00:05:00.001+01:00

I still enjoy my first hackintosh, but I completely underestimated the amount of "hack" necessary to keep a hackintosh current. On my real Macs I never had problems installing whatever the "Software Update" deemed necessary. Yep, install, sometimes reboot. Works. Not so running a hackintosh. I kept using 10.6.2 for some time, because I could not upgrade in the same simply way.

When I came across How to Build a Hackintosh Mac and Install OS X in Eight Easy Steps on liferhacker.com, I started over and invested some more time to re-install Snow Leopard, upgraded to 10.6.4, a day later 10.6.5 came out. All works fine now. Many thanks to tonymacx86 and MacMan for their fantastic site and tools. Check out their iBoot + MultiBeast: Install Mac OS X on any Intel-based PC install guide.

Garageband 1.2 GB download

2010-11-20T23:45:00.001+01:00

I bought iLife '11 last weekend. As soon as I installed it from DVD, Garageband wants to download another 1.2 GB of instruments and loops. Rats! Not many people seem to mind - it only takes a couple of minutes or so, right? With my DSL connection it's going to take hours .... and I cannot even download it from the Apple website for any future installations.

My First Hackintosh

2010-11-20T23:02:00.001+01:00

My previous desktop Mac was a PowerMac G5 bought in 2006. There are two things I do not like about it. First, it is slow and second, it is as loud as a hoover. My very first Mac was the original 1.25GHz Mac Mini. This was the Mac I liked the most so far. The truly stunning Mac operating system running on absolutely quiet hardware.

When the PowerMac began to show its age to the point where it was no longer bearable I looked for a new desktop Mac. The Mac Pro has become far too expensive and the iMacs are nice, but come with glossy screens only. Early 2010 I came across Cindori Custom: Building an i7 Hackintosh on the macrumors.com forums. An i7 based Mac for about the half the price of an original Mac Pro. This I had to try it out.

My shopping list:

Fractal Design Define R2
be quiet! 480W power supply

GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD5 (rev. 1.0)
Intel Core i7-920 CPU
Noctua fan
6GB Black Dragon DDR3 memory
GeForce 8400 GS graphics card
Intel X25-M solid state disk 160GB (not exactly cheap, but FAST)
2x Seagate 500GB disks for data

The virgin case

Most parts assembled

Booting ...

Mouse Modding

2010-11-20T21:56:00.001+01:00

Coming from a UNIX background using X11 with a 3 button mouse for years, I tried a regular Apple single button mouse for a while when I got my first Mac. This didn't work for me. I wanted "right clicking" back.

I could have gone for one of those fancy wireless ubermice or alternatively a notebook mouse with a retractable cable. Being cheap I opted for one with cables and built my own. Parts needed:

Microsoft Comfort Optical Mouse 1000
Retractable USB cable from dealextreme.com

The original mouse

The remedy for $2.50 or so from dealextreme.com

The modded mouse

Looks really neat and tidy

Useful Mac Software

2010-11-20T18:08:00.001+01:00

The web is full of useless top ten lists of must have Mac applications. But it's fun to make one. So here is mine - in no particular order.

MarsEdit 3 - this is what I use to write this blog
SuperDuper! - essential for copying stuff around
iTerm - terminal replacement
MacPorts - the FreeBSD ports system ported to the Mac
Dropbox - this is simply awesome
VirtualBox - for when you need something other than OS X

There is nothing really new on my list. I would like to here about cool hidden gems that the masses have not yet discovered.

You will find hackintosh specific links on the right hand side of this blog.

This software cannot be installed on this computer

2010-11-14T20:46:00.000+01:00

Did you ever try using the grey installation disks that came with your new and shiny Mac to update your older Macs too? This won't work, because the Apple supplied installation discs are locked down to only work with the hardware model that they came with. However, if you are comfortable with the UNIX command line and a text editor, then it's pretty simple to unlock it. Here's how it works for Leopard.

Use xar to unpack the file /System/Installation/Packages/OSInstall.mpkg from "Mac OS X Install Disc 1". From 10.5 onwards, xar is part of the base install. If you don't have it, you can get it from MacPorts.

mkdir /tmp/unlock cd /tmp/unlock xar -xvf "/Volumes/Mac OS X Install Disc 1/System/Installation/Packages/OSInstall.mpkg"
Open /tmp/unlock/Distribution in a text editor.
Change function checkSupportedMachine. You can simply replace the function body from the first opening brace { to the last closing } with "return true;".
function checkSupportedMachine() { return true; }
Change function hwbeModelCheck
function hwbeModelCheck() { return true; }
Save the file and exit the editor
Put the file Distribution back into the OSInstall.mpkg archive file
cd /tmp; xar -cvf /tmp/OSInstall.mpkg *
Copy /tmp/OSInstall.mpkg back onto your install DVD. Actually, this does not work of course. You have two options. Create a disk image of the DVD, replace OSInstall.mpkg with the "unlocked" version, and burn a new DVD. Alternatively, make a copy of install DVD on an external firewire disk. Place the unlocked file on your copy on the external disk and boot off it.