OUTDATED (12/5/09)
Recently, I had the opportunity to install a copy of OSX86 onto a Dell Dimension 9200. Certain things took forever to figure out, but I want to start off by saying that it was time worth spent. The final result is a fully working Hackintosh. USB 2.0, LAN, sleep, and it’s even software-update-able thanks to the XNU Voodoo Kernel.
Anyways, long story short, I tried three distros. LEO4ALL 10.5.2, Kalyway 10.5.2, and iPC Final 10.5.6, and the only one that worked (well enough to call it a usable computer) was the iPC release and it’s nuts really, because I’ve never been able to conjure up the patience to figure out all the minor specifics that’s required prior to the install. Yeah, I’ve done a a lot of finger crossing with the Kalyway distro, but hey, it’s the most popular one for a reason right?
Here’s a gist of how the op took place:
1. Installed Kalyway’s distro but got stuck at the infamous “Do you already own a Mac?” kernel panic loop.
2. Booted into single user mode -s and manually set a resolution low enough to bypass the setup.
3. Booted fine after this, but USB and Ethernet wasn’t working.
4. Got slightly annoyed.
When USB and ethernet isn’t working, it’s pretty much game over because I’ll be damned if I had to burn a CD with a few kexts weighing in under 5 MB in the year 2009.
*As a minor note to anyone who cares, the “Do you already own a Mac?” kernel panic was being caused by conflicting/non-existing ethernet kext. I guess that’s the step where the OS tries to contact Apple to sell you MobileMe.
Leo4All pretty much went the same way, except USB was working, but there were other annoyances (like finding out the ninth beer of the night was the last one left in the fridge) and I wanted to start over again. Here’s where iPC Final came.
The next day, I sobered up, did all the homework and found out that at the time when Kalyway and Leo4All 10.5.2 was released, the kext for the NIC card on the 9200 mother board wasn’t written/compiled yet, hence the non working ethernet. For anyone out there planning on OSX86ing your Dimension 9200, this is what you need to know about your computer:
KERNEL : XNU Voodoo 9.5
CHIPSET : Intel ICHx SATA Drivers (or the closest to this)
NIC : Intel82566MM.Kext LAN Driver
AUDIO : Stac9227 Audio driver
VIDEO : NVinject 021 (Only if you have a Nvidia card obviously)
Be sure to add the seatbelt.kext and USB controller fix (the newer one). Mismatching versions of seatbelt.kext and kernel version will result in a kernel panic when you try to mount an image.
Everything was working after this, except I was using the aluminum Apple keyboard at the time, and for some reason the keyboard kext failed to load after the first reboot. Unplugging it fixed the issue.
The result:
Dell Dimension 9200
Core 2 Duo @ 2.13 Ghz
2GB DDR2 533 Mhz
250 GB SATA Drive @ 7200 RPM
Nvidia 7600 GS 128 MB
XBench score was 127. 130+ without the hard drive. Thats right around where the 15″ unibody MBP are at currently. Granted the Dell is a desktop, but not bad for a slightly outdated computer.
UPDATE FOR Niknacnooh:
This is what the key string should look like:
42 Comments
I tried the settings above on my 9200… but got a kernal panic.
I’m using ideneb 1.4 (10.5.6). On that install, I was able to find all 5 custom settings you mentioned above… but what I was not sure about was your seatbelt.ktext and USB controller fix. There was some mention of a seatbelt.ktext so I checked that. The USB controller fix was another thing. I simply selected something that looked close.
Any clues?
Sure thing, I’d be glad to help you out.
Let see… Can I have the detailed specs of the model you are running and where exactly you ate getting the kernel panic?
You only need to check seatbelt.ket if you installed Vodoo which it seens like you did…
Have you tried booting with -v -x command?
-v is verbose mode and tell you which portion of the boot is failing and -x is safemode.
If you can boot into safe mode, you might be able to fix things without having to reformat. Oh yeah and speaking of which… how did you partition your hard drive? GUID? MBR?
For my build above, I chose MBR, just in case if you were wondering
If we can isolate the problem, I’ll upload the files you need to my way way-too-awsome Box.Net widget at the right oif thise page.
Hope to hear from you soon!
Again, I used the latest iDeneb. I didn’t get anything that asked me how to format. I simply “erased” the drive, selecting a volume name and telling it to format as “Mac OS Extended Journaled”
In Disk Utility while you’re booting from the DVD, there’s a option called partition. Under that you have option, where you can choose GUID APM or MBR.
I recommend you try MBR.
Also, check what type of video card you are using. If you’re not using a Nvidia Card, go with Natit.
Not all 9200’s are the same but if you installed XNU Voodoo and chose the correct chipset, you should atleast be able to boot in.
Oh yeah and can you also tell me where you get the Kernel Panic? Once you’re in the EFI Chameleon bootloader, you should have about 5 seconds to press key to set the boot parameters.
Type -v -x. Darwin will load and a bunch of text should fly by. If something is causing a panic, it should tell you what’s casuing the halt.
Sorry, but without this information, there’s really not much I can do to help.
I’ll run and post shortly.
BTW… I do have an nvidia card.
ok… did a reinstall. Using iDeneb 1.5.6 I used the following settings:
KERNEL : XNU Voodoo 9.5
CHIPSET : Intel ICHx
NIC : Intel82566MM.Kext LAN Driver
AUDIO : Sigmatel 9227
VIDEO : left empty for now
Misc: Seatbelt.Kext
Applications: I chose all
Anyway, didn’t get a panic this time, but instead, I get the dreaded “Still waiting for root device”.
One line does show up saying:
AppleAHCIDiskQueueManager::setPowerState 0×728ef00, 2-> 1) times out after 100202 ms
For what it’s worth… I have 2 500 gig drives in this machine. The first one is dedicated to Windows vista, and I dedicated the entire second drive to Mac. Is this too big of a partition?
I wasn’t able to select “partition”, but did see it defaulted to “Master Boot Record”.
Maybe I should try iPC Final 10.5.6
Tried formatting with GUID… but again, got the dreaded “Still waiting for root device”.
Decided to try installing on an external USB drive. This time I was successful installing and loading the OS. First, only in Safe mode, but once I got the video driver installed correctly (using OSx86Tools), I was able to boot in regular mode.
So… all good now. using external drive… but performance takes a big hit this way.
I’m guessing now that this is a SATA related issue.
OK. Decided to try to install on internal Hard Drive again. Downloaded the IPC Final 10.5.6 dvd. Checked to make sure it was PPF5 by checking the MD5 string.
Anyway, I installed using the setting above. Again, I’m getting the “Still waiting for root device” message.
My BIOS settings for SATA are set to system default. Did you change them in order to get this to work??
Should note that I did format using MBR.
Sorry for hijacking this thread. I figured that since you went through the trouble of posting “How to Hackintosh a Dimension 9200″ that other folks should benefit by my trials and tribulations
Sorry for getting back to you late. I’ve been away for a while without access to a computer.
Anyway, let me go check all the specifics on how the BIOS was set on my 9200. Still waiting for root device is pretty common problem. If you need answers asap try
http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/
I do remembering though, having to set the RAID option to auto.. or something of the sort.
Anyway I’ll brb.
Yes, if you can check… then great.
I tried setting SATA option to Auto/ATA (vs Raid On.. which is the default) and it made my Vista drive not boot cleanly anymore (kept getting BSOD even after I switch the bios setting back). In fact, I had to reinstall Vista and copy all of my data back over.
Needless to say, I never did test MAC OS with this setting.
I can try pulling my Vista Drive out, changing that Bios setting, then installing MAC and seeing what happens…. but would like to know for sure what your setting is at.
BTW… I’m at BIOS 2.5.3
Here’s my BIOS settings
Bios version 2.5.0
Diskette drive = Off
Sata 0 – 5 = All on
Raid auto detect = on
Integrated NIC = on
Integrated audio = on
USB controller on
Rear quad USB = on
Read dual USB = on
Front USB = on
Primary Video = PEG
Multiple CPU core = on
Speed Step = off
HDD acoustic mode = Performance
Execute disable (bit) = on
I’m guessing it’s your Vista drive that’s causing the problem since my install went pretty much flawlessly with the settings above. I recommend you remove your Vista drive and get the Hackintosh working first like you mentioned. Once you get everything working, add the second drive and try to boot into Windows via the boot loader. There should be a thread at Insanelymac however, that’s dedicated to dual booting if you encounter anymore problems.
Please tell me how it goes.
I’m running bios 2.5.3.
I took out my windows drive and rebooted… same error. Then I changed my Sata setting from Rain On to Raid auto/ata and BAM! machine boots up. We’ll, I had to use the bios F12 boot method to get it to work… but basically, I know it works.
Again, not sure why you didn’t have to switch your Raid/Sata setting like I did.. but again, you’re using an older version of the bios.
Thanks!
Nice man! I’m glad you got it working!
Once again, sorry my responses were late, but if you have any other problems, feel free to leave a comment here!
OK… got absolutely EVERYTHING working
Kernal : 9.5.0 Voodoo Kernal
Video Drivers: NONE at this time. After you install, you can select the video card using OSx86 tools application that will be installed. There should be some instructions out there for how to do this.
Chipset: Intel ICHx SATA Drivers
Audio: Sigmatel 9227
NIC : Intel 82566MM/DC
Fixes/Patches: Seatbelt.Kext and IOUSBMassStorage Fix
Applications: I chose all
The trick was modifying the AppleAHCIPort.kext (info.plist) to have a section in it that looks exactly like this:
ICH8RAHCI
CFBundleIdentifier
com.apple.driver.AppleAHCIPort
Chipset Name
ICH8-R AHCI
IOClass
AppleAHCI
IOPCIPrimaryMatch
0×28218086 0×28228086
IOProbeScore
2000
IOProviderClass
IOPCIDevice
Vendor Name
Intel
Hmm… the blog’s editor got rid of all of the xml tags that I included above. So, you’re going to have to search for exactly what that is supposed to look like.
Hey,
I’m on a dell 9200 running the osx86 10.5.6 ipc (torrent 6.5GB).
machine is booting ok, although get dmg load errors alot when trying to install firefox, weird installed logic pro 8 and is running neatly. Bit of newbie to all this, thou really see the point of running osx on non apple HW.
I kinda need a little help / some pointers.
Not applied the AppleAHCIPort.kext fixes as am really unsure of the best way to do this.
Can’t seem to find a way to edit the file. I’ve copied the file to a 2nd partition on my machine and really wondered what the best way of doing this step was?
Is it possible that one of you fine gentlemen can point me in the right direction. Not afraid of cocking it up and starting again, not familiar with command / terminal and any pointers would be seriously appreciated.
I have seen the “Still waiting for root device” error. Although after a complete power down. i.e. remove the power cable. It reboots and starts up without the error.
Tech specs of the Dell Dimention 9200 are as follow.
2.66 GHz Intel (Conroe)
4GB DDR2 800MHz
PNY Nvidia 9400 GT 512
Build is similar
ERNEL : XNU Voodoo 9.5
CHIPSET : Intel ICHx
NIC : Intel82566MM.Kext LAN Driver
Wireless NIC: Broadcom (belkin 54G)
AUDIO : Sigmatel 9227
VIDEO : left empty and updated via efi studio.
Misc: Seatbelt.Kext & IOUSBMassStorage FixApplications:
Apps: I also choose all
10.5.6 osx86 booting and rebooting although glitches every now and then:-(
Hi Niknacnooh! And welcome!
My machine worked fine without statman24’s AppleAHCIPort.kext fix but if you’re interested in how to edit the info.plist this is how the procedure goes:
First, locate AppleAHCIPort.kext under/
/System/Library/Extensions/AppleAHCIPort.kext
right click on it and hit show contents. A new window should open up with a colder called contents. The info.plist is in there.
Now, depending on what program you open it in, the display may look completely different but the basic information is the same. I usually open it with TextEdit or Cot Editor. Basically anything that can open a plain text file should be fine.
Now , If you were to apply statman24’s string, it should look something like this:
ICH8MAHCI
CFBundleIdentifier
com.apple.driver.AppleAHCIPort
Chipset Name
ICH8-M AHCI
IOClass
AppleAHCI
IOPCIPrimaryMatch
0×28218086 0×28228086
IOProbeScore
2000
IOProviderClass
IOPCIDevice
Vendor Name
Intel
(I’m afraid the tags might disapear once I hit post, since it did so with statman24, so if it does, ill put up a picture towards the end of the article)
Basically the “” starts the additional line and “” ends it. You’ll add this somewhere in your AppleAHCIPort.kext’s info.plist without disturbing any of the other strings.
The Xcode package should have a program called “Property List Editor” that makes this much easier but if you can’t get your hands on that, try the trial of the Pro version:
http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/development_tools/plisteditpro.html
I’m not sure about the limitation, but for something this simple, the trial version should be more than enough.
Now comes the most perplexing problem of all…your mounting issue.
If you really applied the Seatbelt.Kext fix, there should be no reason why you shouldn’t be able to mount images…
Okay… let’s try this:
Download the newest VOODOO Kernel, which is in ver 1 now I believe (here’s the link:
http://code.google.com/p/xnu-dev/
Install the kernel using the pkg file inside. This whole package should also come with a matching Seatbelt.kext. If I remember correctly, there should have been an option where you can apply the kext automatically when you install. If not, use OSX86tools.app and install the Seatbelt.kext that came with the package.
FYI, this whole upgrading the kernel using this automatic method is relatively safe as long as you’re over 10.5.5
Hopefully that will fix your mounting issue.
Oh yeah, and also, if you can’t edit the plist because of privilege issues, copy the kext on your desktop, edit the plist, then reinstall using OSX86tools.app.
Be sure to use OSX86.app, don’t just throw it back in there and over write it because you need to fix permissions (chmod , chown root:wheel, etc) Basically it’s a hassle when you do it through the terminal, hence programs like OSX86.app were made.
Just to be safe, at the very end, open Disk Utility and fix all permissions and try rebooting.
Hit me back anytime if you have anymore questions.
Faaack, it killed the tags, haha… Ill up a updated image in the article right now.
At this point, I’m almost at expert status with IPC 10.5.6 on Dimension 9200… only because I’ve done the install on 2 separate of these machines TONS of times.
I have seem NO WAY to boot into Mac OSX on this machine without doing one of the following:
1) With “Raid On”, modifying the AppleAHCIPort.kext file. or
2) With “Raid Auto / ATA” and no modifications.
In both cases, I’ve installed the Intel ICHx Chipset.
So… you folks are telling me that you can boot into OS with “Raid On” and no modification to the AppleAHCIPort.kext file?
I don’t get why you’re asking this since it almost has nothing to do with your original question…
As I have said before, my set up is Raid Auto, I made no modifications to AppleAHCIPort.kext, and everything else went smooth sailing using OSX86tools.
Are you dual booting? How did you format your partition? MBR? GUID? What version BIOS are you using? Do you have another Windows partition and are you trying to dual boot? What are you trying to achieve? You have to be more specific.
You first made it seem like you could boot in, but when trying to install Firefox, you got a Kernel panic. DMG mounting issue, is the first thing people would think. Whatever happen to this issue?
Now you’ve reformatted so many times you’re an expert, and what exactly is your question?
thedemiseofcommonsense.
I think your mixing up my comments with that of Niknacnooh.
But… since you mention it… I was under the assumption that you had RAID ON instead of RAID AUTO/ATA. Since you have it set to the latter… then it explains why you have had little trouble.
If someone has their machine set to the default setting and is running windows, and wishes to dual boot into OSX86, then they need to keep it on RAID ON. This is because there is no way (at least that I could find) to get Windows to run under Raid Auto if it was previously installed with Raid ON.
What I am trying to accomplish is dual booting without having to reinstall windows.
I was able to install the iPC 10.5.6 on my DELL DIMENSION 9200. But the strange thing is that.. after rebooting two, tree or four time (random) I still get the error “Still waiting for root device”. Can anyone help me to solve out this problem? Is maybe cause the Mac OsX AutoUpdate? Or maybe it depends on that .kext file that I have no edited?
@Mauro
I’ve heard this same problem on other forums many times as well, but never been able to recreate the problem, not even on other home-brews… But, perhaps these links might point you in the right direction?
http://wiki.osx86project.org/wiki/index.php/Still_waiting_for_root_device
http://www.iclarified.com/entry/index.php?enid=1119
It seems like it’s an issue with the hard drive controller kext… one of those things that could be solved really easily but impossible to figure out until someone clarifies… Sorry I couldn’t be of much help. If you do figure out what the problem was though, I’d appreciate it if you post back the results for others. =)
Mauro,
I get the same problem. At times, I have to reboot a few times before it will let me in.
I’m working on a vanilla install to see if I can get things working with the least number of changed kext files to see if this problem goes away.
Statman24,
same issue. Sometimes I’m able to boot.. sometimes not! Always this Still waiting on root device. But I have to say that it’s working in a perfect way if it is able to boot.
I’ve tried all the “thedemiseofcommonsense” suggests.. but… nothing to do.
If you want we can keep in touch tring to solve out this stupid issue togheter? (maybe throught skype, msn, email…)
Mauro,
Did some more research. Found this thread:
http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php…;hl=IOATAFamily
It has a link to a new IOATAFamily.kext file which I installed. I have not gotten a “waiting for” message since I’ve installed it… but again, it’s been intermittent.
To make it easier, here’s the direct link to the file:
http://www.mediafire.com/?ejxaynenyvh
Let me know if this works out for you. Again, this is the kext that is used if you are running in ATA mode (Not “Raid On”)
Post your email address (or at least a temporary one) to that I can contact you direct).
Yes, I’m running the syste in Raid Autodetect, not in Raid=On.
I used this commands throught the Terminal on the Installation CD as soon as I got the Still waiting error and it temporary solved out the issue.
rm /System/Library/Extensions.kextcache
kextcache -k /System/Library/Extensions/
kextcache -L -N -e
I’ll try your file.
My mail where u can contact me is mauro AT emagi.it (mauro@emagi.it)
No more issue with the files u posted!
Great. The system is working in a perfect way.
I tired IPC Final 10.5.6 ppf5 without any luck. Not being a Mac person I am sure I may be missing something simple. I have dell 9200 with bios 2.5.3 and have it set to Auto/ATA, and I am using a 2nd drive to install OS X on, I removed my XP drive while installing. I boot of DVD use option -v to load and it kinda hangs on Firewire unsecured thing and then move to installation. I did the partition MBR and Erase extended journal, then choose to install. I did customize and did just the base install and on reboot use -v -f and I get the dread “Still waiting for root device”. I tired going to terminal and copying AppleAHCIport.kext for dvd to hdd, but could not figure out what the dvd drive letter or path is. And also tired some other commands suggested still the root device never goes. Then I boot of DVD and tired just the drivers and patches option on the DVD and it hangs on some 920SpeedStep script install error. Thats when I gave up.
Hi Mackey.
I did this install quite a bit ago so I don’t remember the exact specifics but I’ll point out a few things that are a must so you can cut down on your trial and error attempts.
Also, I’ve noticed later on that some of the info above can be misleading. My understanding of how the whole OS X thing worked was skewed at the time (not that it’s perfect now, but I have a much better grasp…I think). Anyway, here’s the gist:
First off to answer your question, -s will boot you into single user mode. There are no “drive letters” like Windows in *nix based OS’s. The root of your drive is “/” (backslash without the quotes) so “cd /” in the terminal will take you to the root of your HDD. If you have multiple HDD installed, in OS X, you go to /Volumes to see all your partitions. But before you try any of this, (if you’re getting “still waiting for root device”, chances are you won’t even be able to boot into single user mode) you should try doing a clean install again using a GUID partition map with only the correct options/fixes. I said in the article above to use the XNU kernel, but the Dimenson 9200 sports a Core2 Duo CPU so you can install the Vanilla Kernel (just don’t select anything under the kernel options) instead. The Vanilla Kernel is the unmodified kernel for OS X, and in most cases, it will allow you to update your computer through software update just like a normal Mac. If you decide to install Vanilla, don’t install the seatbelt.kext, because this kext fix is for modified kernels.
If I remember correctly, there are quite a few drivers and patches options for iPC 10.5.6, and if you install them all it wont work at all so choose only what’s relevant to your machine. Once you install successfully, you’re gonna need to modify AppleAHCIport.kext so check out this thread:
http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=157333
SticMan has provided the already modified kext so you don’t have to do everything manually. If you know how to use nano or vi, you can do it that way too.
The thread above should solve all your problems though. Good luck, and come back if you have any questions =D
Well gave it one more try, cannot boot without dvd, without it will hang on “still waiting for root device”. with dvd boot, I do -v rd=disk0s2 and it take me to desktop, however I don’t think any of my drivers work(lan, video, audio). I tried editing the APPLEAHCIport.kext, I think I did it right, but not being a mac person I am not so sure.
Good lord… I didn’t notice you posted again. My apologies for the long reply.
If you edited the kext correctly, you should have a computer that can you can boot into without the DVD. You might want to just use SticMan’s kext. Use OSX86 Tools to install. Repair permissions, and then reboot.
Thanks demise for all the help, I will give your suggestion a try. Thanks for everything again.
Update: I thought I’d try final attempt and to be sure I downloaded another distro Ideneb 10.5.7 and installed it fresh. However disappointment continues. The still waiting for root device error continues, but I don’t get is why non of my drivers get installed, no Lan, no Sound, no Video. The file download you suggested I could not try as I dont know how to get the file on the system, with no internet and USB not working even after installing USB fix patch. Since rd=disk0s2 from DVD works, I even tired the suggestion here:
http://www.ihackintosh.com/2009/05/still-waiting-for-root-device/
No luck. So its not just the root device error I have more issue than I can fix. This just aint for me I guess.
Just did the installation using IPC with raid set to auto, worked like a charm.
Installed without video which resulted in a “still waiting..” error but after installing the correct video its ticking like a clock!
Just to kill time, I tried to install 10.5.6, and god knows why but everything works. Don’t know if I want to try and update or not.
Heya. Sorry getting back to you late.
Well, if you remember everything you did exactly to the tee, (or if you have another HDD that you can clone the perfect install to) you might want to try updating your machine. You can simply hit software update if you installed Vanilla, but if not, you have to remove a few kexts and a line of code from a specific kext. I don’t remember which these were but the ones I remember are “AppleIntelCPUPowerManagement” and removing a line from (I think it was) DSMOS.kext so it doesn’t get loaded on boot.
Like I said though, I don’t remember the specifics but if it’s working right now, and if you don’t aim to make this Hackintosh your main computer, then 10.5.8 isn’t too different than 6. =D
Hi
I must say I found your article very informative, I have a Dell 9200 and would love to have Mac OS X on it. I think it would make a great project. I hope to follow your guide and I was wondering if I get stuck would you help me out.
Hey there,
First off, thanks a lot for providing this info, I have a stable 9200 that runs everything.
After installing using IPC and following your instructions, I used EFI studio to get my Geforce 8600 gt working. The only issue I experience, is a loss of network after waking from sleep. My bios settings match yours, I was hoping you might know what causes this. I thought maybe using EFI studio for my graphics drivers might be the problem , as you don’t mention how you installed yours after bringing the system up the first time. Thanks again for all the help and effort.
Anyone try Snow Leopard yet?
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