D620 1440 x 900 Intel Lion install - black screen before install starts

[moonman]

Tried starting up in verbose mode, after 2 quick pages of verbose the screen goes black and installation stops. 

 

I remember having trouble trying to install Lion on a D620 Intel with 1440 x 900 display a while back and I had to use a different DSDT file for the higher resolution. I downloaded one from this site and installed on my USB pen, then ran MyFix full, but I still get a black screen. 

 

My model is the D620 Intel GMA945 (not 950) 1440 x 900 Core Duo 1.83 with 4GB RAM. 

 

I am using the latest MyHack.

 

Could it be a problem with the USB drive? Do I need a different DSDT? 

 

Is Lion supported on this machine?

 

Any help appreciated. Thanks. 

[Hervé]

Even if the D620 BIOS reports something like "Intel 945GM graphics", the integrated graphics chip of that D620 remains nevertheless the GMA950. Have no doubts on that point, GMA945 does not exist per sé.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GMA_900#GMA_900

 

^{-> Extract from Intel Mobile 945 Express chipset datasheet}

 

Yes, Lion is supported on that model, it's in the Compatibility chart and there's a boot pack for it. Having recently done various reinstalls on my D620 GMA950 LoRes, I can vouch that things do work for that model but I'll have to swap LCD to verify things with the HiRes version. You did use our OSXL D620 Intel GMA950 (1440x900) Lion bootpack, right?

 

At this stage, you may suspect the DSDT but I'll have to verify a Lion installation with our bootpack to confirm this.

 

Bear in mind that latest myHack (v3.2) bears the issue of booting in 32bit mode until you update Chameleon to v2248 or above. That may also be the cause of the problem (although unlikely) but there's a very easy way to verify that point: boot with option arch=x86_64. You won't have QE/CI in 64bit kernel mode, but that'll potentially help pinpoint the root cause of your black screen problem. Alternatively, stick to myHack v3.1.2.

[Hervé]

Just installed Lion 10.7.2 on the D620 GMA950 on which I had previously fitted one of my WXGA+ LCD screens. I built my USB installer with myHack 3.1.2 + OSXL D620 GMA950 HiRes boot pack.

 

All looks Ok, I do not get any black screen neither at installation, nor on 1st boot. All Ok after EDP System Build (important to apply GMA950 brightness fix).

 

Conclusion: if you follow our usual installation process with your D620, everything will be Ok (D620 fitted with a (cheap and cheerful) 1.83GHz T5600 Core2Duo CPU).

 

[moonman]

Many thanks Herve'. Fast reply as usual. 

 

Yes, I had made the USB pen with the right D620 EDP, but I used a different (higher version) MyHack.

 

But I just want to be clear: I have the Core Duo - not Core 2 Duo - version of the D620. I later remembered that Lion needs a Core 2 Duo processor, so I thought that might be the problem. 

 

So just to be sure:  can I install Lion on my Core Duo? 

[Hervé]

No, you need a Core 2 Duo for Lion (and/or ML); with core Solo or Core Duo, you're limited to Snow Leopard. This being said, a T7200, T7400 or T7600 shouldn't be too hard to buy for very cheap these days...

[moonman]

Okay, that explains it. I'd forgotten about the Core 2 Duo requirements. I'll have a look on eBay for a better processor. 

Thanks again.