Compromises and Making Time

Although this could have been easily made part of my 10.5.6 update post, I feel the need to dedicate one post entirely devoted to this matter.

My MacBook Mini lost the ability to sleep, or rather, its ability to wake up from sleep after I updated to 10.5.6.

Initially, on 10.5.5, the HP Mini would obediently sleep and be summoned from sleep but I couldn't adjust the brightness of the screen - it was perpetually set to max, thus causing my batt to drain quicker than I would've wanted it to. The "Fn" combo keys would work only for volume but not for screen brightness. Weird.

My original motive for updating was to finally be able to adjust brightness to save battery life. But now that my machine interprets sleeping as going comatose - it won't wake up and would require me to force power it off - I've been having doubts on whether doing the update and going through all those trouble only defeated my main purpose or were they worth it?

Update iDeneb 10.5.5 to 10.5.6

As I mentioned in my recent post, I'm opting for successfullly updating using the 10.5.6 combo updater and not via software update since I wanted to created an "HP Mini 1001TU Hackintosh Resource" which I plan to burn into a DVD for safekeeping purposes - for the rainy days if they come.

At first I certainly thought the path I'd chosen was the harder one, but as I dived into the experiment, it was even the opposite. If you have read my previous post, you'd notice that there are lots of step and lots of applications/tools involved. What I discovered is that you only need OSX86 Universal Installer and off you can go already.

1) Launch Universal Installer and:

- select your HDD

- select "OSX86_Essentials" from the drop-down menu for "motherboard"

- check option "Apply kext package"

- check option "Install PC_EFI v9 Chameleon Edition 1.0.12

2) Click on the "Instal" button to begin applying the options and reboot.

3) Once back in OS X, enable the root user account by typing the ff. in Terminal:

- "sudo passwd root"

-  enter your admin password when prompted

- type in a new password for the root user

- retype the new password for verification

4) Log out and you should be able to see a new "Others..." option for login. Click on this "Others.." and type "root" as the user name and input the password you've just configured.

5) Once you're logged in the root's account, navigate to the folder containing the Universal Installer package you've downloaded and unpacked to locate the DSDT Patcher inside the "Extras" folder.

6) Run DSDT Patcher. This process should create a file named "dsdt.aml" file in your / folder.

7) Copy the "dsdt.aml" to the root's home folder and also to your personal user's home folder too, just in case. (this is one point I think that needs cleaning up, I'd have to experiment more to see where this "dsdt.aml" should really be to avoid too much junk in the house)

8) Run the Mac OS X 10.5.6 Combo Update and reboot when prompted.

The system should be able to boot up fine. In my experience, it rebooted twice before I was able to see my login window again (I hadn't enabled auto login).

So what stuff breaks after the update?

- resolution is back to 800 x 600, squashed and distorted

- trackpad is broken - red led light and no response from trackpad at all

- keyboard is also broken

So I plugged in my mouse and got ready to log in. But then I'd remember that the keyboard is bricked and so this is the moment where I wished I had enabled auto login for my account so I'd be able to activate virtual keyboard with which to enter my password when I reinstall the PS2Controll kexts.

I was excited and my brain's circuitry was all jumpered with the adrenaline rush with not encountering a kernel panic as reported by others who attempted this exercise, so I was rather panicky and ready to wipe out and reinstall. But thankfully, presence of mind took over and I recalled I had a usb keyboard hanging around which saved me time and effort.

In short I was able to login and reinstall the necessary kexts to render my MacBook Mini acceptable and functional again.

Oh and for some reason, the iDeneb wallpaper and login image came back for a brief moment after I'd updated to 10.5.6 which disappeared again when I rebooted after having reapplied the kexts. Weird....

Insatiable

I have successfully installed OS X Leopard on my HP Mini 1001TU, thereby making me my very own MacBook Mini. I've done some tweaking, well partially at least - the only remaining stuff I had to do was fix ethernet. With the broadcom script step done and over with, I only have to verify if my MacBook Mini will be able to connect via WiFi, which means I've to tote the little one to a nearby Starbucks since though I now have decent broadband connection, I've yet to get a WiFi router.

Other than that, I'm pretty good to go but one particular aspect still keeps tugging at my heartstrings; I'm on 10.5.5 thanks to iDeneb. And yes, I want to update to 10.5.6.

Like the obedient hackintosher, I did my research first and found that, unlike updating on the Wind which could break PS2 control, video and at times. audio kexts, updating on the Mini 1001TU could potentially result to kernel panics on top of the aforementioned kext issues. This would mean rendering previous efforts in installation and tweaking null and void.

That's why I'm taking things on a slow walk. So I'm off to prepping my MacBook Mini for its major operation.

Remote Control For the Hackintosher

Who said only Macheads - I meant "real" Macheads have all the cool stuff? MacBooks, "real" MacBooks come with an Apple remote control which lets the user control his/her Mac instead of using the keyboard and mouse. Being a mere hackintosher (who doesn't have enough moolah to buy herself a nice genuine MacBook), I neither dreamed of getting the same feature on my MacBook Wind (MSI Wind notebook/netbook with OS X Leopard installed) and now, on my MacBook Mini (HP Mini 100TU with OS X Leopard as well) - nor even dared to dream.

Last year, I replaced my Moto Ming (Motorola A1200) with the Sony Ericsson w890i because I finally realized, or admitted to myself rather, that it wasn't easy texting with the touchscreen Ming - puny little itsy bitsy letter squares that make up an equally puny virtual keyboard is not exactly what I'd call convenient. I'm happy with the SE w890i and its loads of features; specifically the "Remote Control" feature wich has always intrigued me right from day 1.

Ungrateful Hackintosher

I want to replace the logo and text that show up whenever I click on "About this Mac" on my MacBook Mini; it's currently displaying a blue apple with "iDeneb" stuck underneath the logo.

After installing iDeneb OS X on the Mini 1000, instead of the starry outer space glow of Aurora, Leopard's default wallpaper, I was greeted with a blue screen with iDeneb on it. I know I should be grateful to the people who made iDeneb since if not for them, my MacBook Mini would still remain vaporware as it was some months ago. But I just can't stand the over all feel of the dark blue with some glowy effect I rather find spooky - just as if I were watching an episode of X Files and Scully's all too perfectly sculpted facial features would pop out behind that dark-almost-black-bitten-apple along with a bunch of loony big-eyed alien heads.

I simply prefer the no nonsense original Apple look like what I'd usually get from a fresh install using msiwindosx86 on my MacBook Wind; it was cleaner and more polished and chic looking all in all.

I just gotta find a way to revert things back the old Apple way and this is what I found:

Look Ma, It's A Mac Pro!

For some definitely weird reason, MacTracker thinks the HP Mini 1000 is a 2008 Mac Pro

It Started With A Huge Download and Patience

Given the netbook addict that I've become, it's no surprise that connecting my MSI Wind (currently running OS X Leopard) to an LCD monitor has become a pretext to justify purchasing the HP Mini 1000.

And given the really sexy and so scrumptuous looks of the Mini 1000, I knew I was gonna try OSX-ify it -- the little machine just oozed with chicness and class that my inner nerd-slash-geek was all aglee. There was no way I was gonna let it be defiled (continuously) by Win XP Home that it came with pre-installed; beautiful should mate only with equally beautiful. Simple as that.

But actually bagging the guy didn't seem as easy as eyeing it as a prospect, (read my futile attempts at my previous site).

In the end, like any solid relationship, one's gotta go under a bit of hardship to lay the foundation;

MacBook Mini

You may have already heard of my other blog, MacBook Wind, which chronicles my first attempt at hackintoshing - a quite successful hackintoshing experience at that. 

Now I'm starting a new one in line with that same "story and journey" stuff but not so much as a newbie as before.

Welcome to my new blog (I'm leaving WordPress alone for now - putting google ads requires paid subscription - oh well) where I'll be recording how I put OS X Leopard on my new netbook:

HP Mini 1000

Let the hackintoshing begin!