Someone please direct me to an appropriate guide...

[Hervé]

There's an easy way to know if you have an Intel wireless card or not: go to the BIOS System tab at the top and move down to Device Info. If you have an Intel wireless card, it'll show "Wi-Fi Device = Intel Wireless", if you have a Broadcom-based card such as DW1390/1395/1490/etc, it'll show "Wi-Fi Device = Dell Wireless" and if it's a 3rd-party card like an Atheros, it'll show "Wi-Fi Device = Unknown device installed". If it's Intel, yes disable it in BIOS or take it out, it would have to go anyway...

 

When ModCD is booting, right before it switches to the OSX86 ModCD B&W screen, it should say:

Reading ramdisk image: bt(0,0)/Extra/Preboot.dmg

Mounting: done

 

You should not have any error message, so yes, it would appear you have a problem, most probably the disc did not burn properly... May be too fast a speed. Or your ModCD image download got corrupted. I would recommend that you start all over again with the ModCD disc.

[lcsmdna]

IT IS FINALLY INSTALLING! THANK YOU SO MUCH YOU ARE A SAVIOR! I had to re-download ModCD image and burn it again. 

Ok a few more questions:

1. What do you mean "interrupt bootstrap and specify boot option GraphicsEnabler=No" ? Does this mean I should boot with ModCD again after installation and type in GraphicsEnabler=No and enter on my partition?

2. Is there a way to install EDP without reinstalling OSX via USB with myHack? Or do I have to use the USB and everything and install again?

[Hervé]

1. No, after installation is done, you reboot off the HDD (you can put ModCD disc away from that point). When you'll see the Chameleon horizontal delay bar move, press a key to interrupt the bootstrap and enter the option as listed, then press [ENTER].

 

2. You install EDP through the EDP package that you will download or have already downloaded. You need an Internet connection to install EDP because it fetches files off our server. However, I don't understand what you mean here. EDP is a post-install (i.e. post OS X install) tool that provides all the tuning necessary to complete your OS X installation 100%. You need to have OS X installed and booted up to install and use EDP.

[Darvinko]

What Hervé is saying, is on reboot, hit any key to interupt the booting and type in "GraphicsEnabler=No" (without quotation marks). It will appear in the lower left, then hit enter. This is a boot flag (or option), instructing the computer which parameters to boot with. To have your system run optimally, You are using the ModCD to create a MyHack installer, which you will use to reinstall the system. The benefits greatly outweigh the time spent.

[Darvinko]

Sorry, about the duplicate post Hervé, I thought you had turned in by now. I think he is asking if he needs to reinstall OSx via MyHack to utilize EDP.

[Hervé]

Ha! Missed that, sorry! Ok, he can install myHack on his ModCD SL installation, it's not a problem. After EDP is installed and the EDP System Build is done, everything will be nearly as if it were a myHack installation from the very beginning (the difference is ModCD installs kexts directly in /S/L/E, whereas myHack places them cleanly and more efficiently under /S/L/E/myHack kext). No need to start all over again, but it's a good exercise to do once at least. Something to do on a small 2nd and temporary HDD partition maybe...

 

Turning in now, 'way past normal bed time! 

[lcsmdna]

Thanks for the patience and all your help. I managed to make it all the way through to the 10.6.8 combo update (installed extra with myHack, ran myHack utilities, and installed EDP). I have no problems and it even installs the combo update. But when I restart after that, I get a kernel panic and can't use the computer.

[Hervé]

Did you do the EDP System Build? Without it, you would get a KP because the ACPIPlatform kext from 10.6.8 has to be replaced. Can you tell us what it says at KP?

 

Also, make sure you use myHack 3.1.2, not 3.2 as the more recent version does not support Snow Leopard very well.

 

Hold tight, you're nearly there!

[lcsmdna]

I made sure to get myHack 3.1.2 because I wanted to follow the exact same process.

I did everything in this order:
1. copy the DSDT file to /Extra
 
2. Run myHack 3.1.2 and:
3. Install Extra, used volume "/", chose "choose my own" then I selected the extra folder from the bootpack.
 
4. When it says done, I then run myHack utilities
5. Run EDP package to install it, then go to config, and select builds from database or something like that. Then I choose dell, latitude, D630 1200x800. Build.
6. Run and apply 10.6.8 Combo Update. Then it finishes, says restart. I click restart, and then after the OSXLatitude loading screen, I get this kernel panic:

http://i.imgur.com/bC04GRK.jpg

[Hervé]

Ok, let's try and fix this:

• boot in single user mode with flag -s
• once at the # prompt in single user mode, enter the 2 commands displayed on screen (fsck & mount)
• enter: rm -rf /Extra/Extensions/VoodooHDA.kext
• enter: myfix -t /

The system will reboot automatically, hopefully Ok. I'm going to redo the install with VoodooHDA to verify things, but I'm pretty sure it's what I used.