sitkom

Don't use ethernet, so i can't comment on that one. Haven't gotten around to rebranding yet, but plan to. That card you ID'ed is not right. Something like the following should work, tho: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Broadcom-Wireless-N-300Mbps-Mini-PCI-E-Card-DELL-1500-/400058973848?pt=UK_Computing_LaptopAccessories_PCMCIACards&hash=item5d255f7e98#ht_2323wt_816 Glad you got it working!

Hi Digzz, I'd recommend you boot to your installer drive, run myFix on your recent install under the myHack utility to get you back to a stable build. The steps that worked for me were: Install SL Download & install myHack 3.1 (or later) Download and run EDP 1.9.2 Download the d420 'bootloader' which is an Extras folder that has all the drivers (kexts) tuned for the d420 Install the bootloader Extras folder by selecting 'Install Extras' from the myHack menu. Select the new volume as the target and then select the Extra folder that you uncompressed from the bootloader file. You can find the bootloaders here: http://www.osxlatitude.com/edp2/bootpack/ As for the network card, you have to have a broadcom. There are a bunch of posts about talking about which ones will work. Note that if you get a 802.11n version, you may have to rebrand it to get the most speed. Good luck.

Found the thread on 'rebranding broadcom' which answered most of my questions. Any special considerations to be aware of on a d420 with 10.6.8? Thanks!

Hello all, Need to replace Intel wireless card in one of my d420 hacks and while I'm doing it I was considering putting in an 802.11n card instead of the standard Broadcom 1390 b/g. I've read where the 802.11n Broadcom wireless-n's working in Lion, but I have not seen any such animals configured in the old 420s. Does the 1.9.2 EDP support the Broadcom BCM94322MC 802.11 a/b/g/n card? I know this is the Airport Extreme (P/N 825-7216-A) used in recent macbooks, however, I don't want to waste my time if d420 running 10.6.8 SL and and the associated EDP/Bootloader won't recognize it. Thanks in advance for the assist!

Like most mysterious things with this migration, it fixed itself after re-applying the 1.9.2 EDP and loading the Extras from the d420 bootpack via myHack. Can I get a 'whoop! whoop!' All good. WiFi, Audio, etc. SD card reader's still inop, but from the reading I've been doing it appears that the SD reader is a tough one to tackle in Dell OSX-land. Thanks for the guidance, folks!

Can you share the process you used to get the system working? Thanks!

I did boot to the myHack drive and while in the OSX Setup screen I ran myFix 'full' on the root volume (internal HDD) in an attempt to fix the 10.6.8 environment. No change. 10.6.8 environment running slower than 10.6.3 and Airport config *very slow* (pinwheels for a minute+) and unable to acquire IP address. Airport turns on and sees the AP, connects but cannot grab an IP via DHCP. Worked fine in 10.6.3. I re-ran the EDP, but I have not re-run myFix again. Will do that this evening. A few basic questions: * When installing a bootpack, does one simply extract the contents into the root directory (so the folders line up) or do you run some sort of app to install? I noticed the hard way that if you just drop kexts into the extras directory, the Kernel has a hissy-fit. * Does myFix install a bootpack? Do I need to do anything after running myFix? * I'm still operating in single core mode (via bios) but the video and mouse lag are gone. Will the d420 with CoreDuo always operate in single core mode or will these kexts, etc. fix this issue? Follow-up Q: Is the CoreDuo a real 'dual core' or is it only a software emulated dual core? Thanks again for the continued assistance!

So. I did run the 1.9.2 edp. Reran it and no change. It was running like a champ on 10.6.3... like a chump on 10.6.8. Argh. Any suggestions?

I thought I did when I loaded EDP 1.9.2. Perhaps I screwed the pooch on that one, so I'll re-do it. Can't hurt to re-run it I suppose. Funny how it's usually the simple stuff... Thanks!

Perhaps instead of getting feedback, I'll just use this as a journal of my journey with OSX. Went into bios and *disabled* multi-core emulation. Bingo. No more mouse or graphics lag. Also, I saw another post that mentioned their CPU was running at 800 mhz instead of 1.2 GHz. This happens when you disable SpeedStep in the bios. Turn on SpeedStep and turn off multi-core and it appears everything works (with the exception of audio at this point). In the "About This Mac" it does say it is a Core Solo, so I feel I'm leaving some horsepower on the table. Anyone have any other experience with this?

Quick update. Rebooted to internal HDD with myHack USB attached and the wifi's now working. Wierd. Screen performance and mouse lag still an issue of course.

Hi, Long time reader, first time poster. Dell D420, CoreDuo, Broadcomm wifi, 945GMA 1.5GB RAM, 60GB Disk. Don't have a MAC, so i created USB install via VMware. That in itself was quite an exercise having to unlock the VM Workstation to recognize the MAC OS, etc. So, with the help of myHack3.1, I created Snow Leopard install. In attempting -v boot/install from the myHack drive, boot screen would get to the ALPS GlidePoint 8.99 drivers and then the screen would flash a couple of lines about the ACPI, go grey and then blank. After a lot more searching/reading trying every boot flag known to man, I discovered there's a custom BIOS that would help. Loaded tweaked BIOS this morning and viola' the install screen appeared and 10.6.3 installed! The cusom BIOS precludes the need for a special DSDT file I understand. Also, during the install, I had myHack load the standard extras. At one point the myHack extras installer prompted me if I wanted to remove a file that was used for HDCP content but created mouse/display lag issues with NVidia graphics controllers. Since I knew I had an Intel GMA 945, I chose to keep it. I wonder if this created a problem... So the problem is the mouse and graphics were/are *incredibly* laggy and so I installed the 1.9.2 EDP. The issue remains. Installed the GMA accelerator. Issue remains. You move the mouse and the pointer may move in 2-4 seconds. Makes it incredibly difficult to use. Screen is laggy as well even with the acceleration. Note that in both these cases where I applied the EDP and GMA accelerator the USB myHack installer drive was connected, though I booted from the internal HDD. This presented the boot screen where one could enter their own boot flags ( -v -f -x, etc.) I have since disconnected the myHack and now I get the OSXLatitude logo'ed start screen with no option to input my own flags, just able to select the small list using the arrow keys. When I rebooted after disconnecting the myHack USB, it took 3 reboots to get to the main screen (Finder/Drawer/etc.) Once it started up, in the "About this Mac" it shows the processor as a Core 2 Duo even though it is only a CoreDuo. Everything else looks OK. Reboots are not an issue any longer. Aside from the lagging graphics/mouse performance, the Broadcomm wifi doesn't seem to be working but that is secondary. Any ideas what is going on? I did not install a bootloader after the EDP since I thought that was done for me automatically. Correct me if that is not accurate. I have since reconnected the myHack USB and tried the USBBusFix=Yes, PCIRoot=1, -x safe mode. No change. Also the fan seems to be running fairly high as though the cpu is working overtime even though the system isn't doing anything but showing the standard screen with the app drawer. Since I am far from Mac proficient, I'll need some pretty explicit guidance on volume/files/directories/etc. if I need to change anything. Thanks in advance for the assistance and guidance! -Ted