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Dell Precision M4600 Install Newbie


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Ok awesome thanks! I checked out the link you sent and the instructions for the perl script. Is it safe to run this script on my wife's iMac without affecting her system at all? Do I just have to ammend the path so that it goes to my thumb drive vs. her Mac hard drive? Same with the chameleon wizard to generate the smbios? Thanks again!

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Well I was able to generate the SMBIOS from Chameleon wizard but I'm a little confused on how to patch the perl script. Sorry, is there any more thorough tutorial or explanation I could look at? I'm getting a no such file or directory error even though it's in the downloads folder. Also want to make sure it's not going to alter my wife's iMac and that I can get the file to the usb installer. Thanks again!

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make a folder on desktop and drop the script and kext into it. use that location for the procedure. anything that is in S/L/E location should be to that desktop folder. you can also just drag and drop the file or folder into terminal. first typing in terminal cd to "Change Directory" then drop the file of folder. I do not mind helping you... but can you at least make an effort to understand what you are attempting to do. we are going on 5 pages. and yet still at square one. i hope it does not come off as rude as it is not meant to be. but there is alot of repetitive questions.

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Thanks a lot for the info on the perl script. I'll try that when I get home. I'm sorry for so many basic questions and I apologize if I've repeated some. I really appreciate all the help you guys have given. Alot of this I'm learning for the first time and trying to digest all the info, but definitely I'll do more research on this stuff so I have a better understanding before I ask some questions. I've actually found several sources of info that I plan to go over this weekend which I think will give me a better understanding of the overall process. That plus all the info on this site which has been really helpful. I'll check back once I've made some more progress on this. Thanks again!

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Hey guys...

 

Just checking back after several days of research/trial and error. Actually have learned a lot in the process and have gotten past some things, but still hung up on the graphics card. Here's what I've done so far:

 

1. Did some research on my model/specs and confirm that it's definitely a MBP8,2 (15" early 2011)

2. Created tuned versions of SMBIOS, FakeSMC to MBP8,2 (the FakeSMC tuning doc on this site was really helpful, thanks!)

3. Those tuned versions seemed to fix all the power management errors I was getting before (not using nullcpupower)

3. Was getting fatal errors from LPC sensors so I removed the LPC plugin from FakeSMC plugins and that fixed it.

4. I get to the point in the image below where it tries to load the graphics controller but then goes to a black screen:

post-59655-0-99392800-1405480543_thumb.jpg

 

I've definitely turned off Optimus in Bios. In fact, I tested it being on but it automatically shuts off unless it's using Windows 7. Did some research on this and it appears that some systems with Optimus don't have a way to discretely turn off the dedicated or integrated gpu's since the dedicated passes through the integrated to the display panel. If you turn off the integrated gpu you get no video output from either card. However, supposedly with Dell systems if you turn off Optimus in the Bios, you are in fact turning off the integrated gpu and using the discrete gpu (in my case, the Nvidia Quadro 1000m) since on Dells they apparently have a connection to the display from each card.

 

What does this all mean? Well, with Optimus off it's trying to load the nVidia card but is unable to. Playing with some of the flags in the Boot.plist I'm able to skip the nVidia and have it try to load the intel (I think), but I get the same results (black screen). Here's the Boot.plist I've tried with every possible boot flag combination I can think of:

post-59655-0-44549400-1405481218_thumb.jpg

 

I've been researching anyone I can find with the same model laptop, and more specifically with my processor and graphics card combo. The ones that have succeeded in getting OS X to load seem to use one of these boot flag combos:

 

-f -v GraphicsEnabler=Yes
-f -v GraphicsEnabler=No
-f -v GraphicsEnabler=Yes PCIRootUID=0
-f -v GraphicsEnabler=No PCIRootUID=0
-f -v GraphicsEnabler=Yes PCIRootUID=1
-f -v GraphicsEnabler=No PCIRootUID=1

 

I've tried them all but no luck. I noticed one used a dsdt file which I tried since we had the exact same specs, but still didn't work for me. I'm still researching more on my graphics cards but wondering, should I make my own DSDT at this point to get this to work? I'm wondering if that's how some of these systems get just the integrated card to work or vice versa. I know that Mavericks is supposed to natively support both the Intel HD3000 and the nVidia Quadro 1000m but maybe it needs the dsdt to get loaded initially?

 

As far as my extras folder I've tried both the generic and the HP pack mentioned previously. Currently using the HP pack as it seemed to actually handle the power management better now with the tuned SMBIOS and FakeSMC files.

 

Thanks in advance guys for any assistance. I'll continue to dig and check back in a few days hopefully with a lot more progress! :)

 

 

 

 

 

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Hey guys,

 

Thought I'd just check in. So finally I have success!! I was able to get the installer to boot and have installed Mavericks 10.9.3 onto my system. Sorry again for the 5 pages of probably frustrating questions. I do appreciate the help and have ended up learning a ton about the process.

 

So, now that I'm up and running, I did the EDP post install process step by step. The only thing I added to the Extra/include was my tuned ssdt.aml for my processor and a tuned FakeSMC for MBP8,2 to the Extra/include/extensions folder. I started the build and have let it run now for about 30 min. I know it's supposed to take a while so I didn't want to interrupt in case it's just slow with my system. But, at what point should I stop this and investigate if it just continues? Anything in particular I should check out?

 

Thanks again for any assistance!

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So EDP just hung indefinitely (or at least a couple hours I left it). I just quit EDP and restarted and figured I'd redo the process, but it looks like it did do at least some of the update as lists it as a MacBook Pro (early 2011) whereas it was listed as an iMac prior to the EDP installation. Do you recommend I redo the build to be safe?

 

I noticed while it was doing the build, the interface was flashing every few seconds, but then just never completed. Not sure if that might be related to the hd3000 as I also get that flashing whenever I type a url in the safari browser. I also notice the only resolution choice I have for the display is 1024x768, no others are listed but I know that it's capable of 1920x1080. Could that possibly be from the build hanging? Going to see if I can get the Nvidia running eventually but wanted to try and get the base install working good first.

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Ok thanks for the heads up on EDP. I downloaded again, reinstalled, and reran the build process. Everything worked perfect! I added my tuned SMBIOS, ssdt and tuned the latest FakeSMC to my model number which seemed to dial in a lot of things. So a lot of progress now!

 

The main issues I need to investigate which aren't working:

1. No shutdown. I had it before EDP so must be a kext or something that needs to be tuned?

2. No wake from sleep. I also had this before EDP so another thing to tune.

3. No sound and no volume control. Both of these also worked before the EDP build so must have to add something back?

4. My processor temps seem to be running hot in idle (I'm also hearing the fan a lot) From what I've read this processor is best at 80 degrees celsius and below:

 

post-59655-0-98440500-1406042976_thumb.png

 

5. Not really an issue but HD3000 only shows 1 resolution. I was able to set graphics mode to  1920x1080 in the bootlist so it is the correct resolution now, but wasn't sure if I'm supposed to be seeing other modes as well? Either way it works!

 

Well that's the main stuff right now I'm investigating. Thanks again for any assistance!

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