Don't upgrade to 10.6.2! Atom-chip is not supported.

Don't upgrade to 10.6.2! Atom-chip is not supported.

Osxic 1257237452|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

Apparently Apple finally decided to ban hackintosh on netbook.

Read here: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/11/snow-leopard-update-blocks-intel-atom-kills-hackintoshes/

I personally think they are going to launch the tablet Mac early next year, netbook running OSX is bad for their business.

Re: Don't upgrade to 10.6.2! Atom-chip is not supported.

Diamondsw 1257375298|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

And it was fixed in the build released the following day.

This was a bunch of non-news from a developer seed. Same thing happened when they changed the way the RTC was used in one of the 10.5 builds (I think it was 10.5.6).

last edited on 1257380611|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover by Diamondsw + show more

Re: Don't upgrade to 10.6.2! Atom-chip is not supported.

Osxic 1257400244|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

I hope you are right.

Earlier this year I installed 10.5.2 using genuine retail disc and updated to 10.5.5, then 6, 7 and 8 - I have never encountered any problem using vanilla kernel.

Re: Don't upgrade to 10.6.2! Atom-chip is not supported.

nhirt 1257409085|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

It has been confirmed, Atom support is back…

Re: Don't upgrade to 10.6.2! Atom-chip is not supported.

Diamondsw 1257793174|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

*sigh*

Rumor mill is churning that it might be out again. Honestly, the only issue if it's no longer in there is that we'll have to start using custom kernels like voodoo.

last edited on 1257843719|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover by Diamondsw + show more

Re: Don't upgrade to 10.6.2! Atom-chip is not supported.

Simonb42 1257820837|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

It's confirmed that it's down in the final release… if it worked with some 10.6.2 pre-versions, it could be possible to use their kernel right? Some obscure thingie in full .6.2 might not be coherent with this kernel but that would work, no?

Using a non-standard kernel complicates other stuff right? It's already hard enough for me to make everything right with the simpler Vanilla kernel, I'm not sure I'll want to play with another kernel..

In fact, I haven't updated my latest 10.5.6 fresh install at all and I'm very happy with it. It crashes even more rarely than what I was used to before and it's perfect for solid daily use. I might go to .7-.8 for the latest Safari (which crashed horribly all the time on my previous install), but I'm in no hurry!

---

"MacBook Mini" Eee PC 1000HA * Intel Atom N270 * 2 GB DDR2-5400 * Seagate 7200.3 250GB * BIOS 1902_patched * Chameleon 2.0 RC2 * Mac OS X 10.5.6 retail install & Windows XP (bootloader down ATM, but who cares) * Used daily for Uni :)

Re: Don't upgrade to 10.6.2! Atom-chip is not supported.

Osxic 1257838749|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

If you are on 10.5.8, there's a new Security update that fixes A LOT of bugs:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3937

Most of 10.6.2's bug fixes are included in there for 10.5.8

Good to see Apple still supports Leopard.

Re: Don't upgrade to 10.6.2! Atom-chip is not supported.

Osxic 1257839888|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

I think I will stick with 10.5.8 for my netbook.

SL looks faster than Leopard on the interface but with current applications it is actually slower.

Check out the benchmark at the bottom of the page:

http://reviews.cnet.com/macintosh-os/apple-mac-os-x/4505-3673_7-33676737-2.html?tag=txt;page

The multitasking performance of SL is especially bad compared to Leopard.

Re: Don't upgrade to 10.6.2! Atom-chip is not supported.

Diamondsw 1257843542|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

I'd have to disagree there - Snow Leopard runs just as well or better, and the myriad of interface tweaks and touch-ups make it more than worth it.

And the only thing that Snow Leopard lagged in "multitasking" is Quicktime multitasking - probably due to the new Quicktime X architecture, which is in its infancy (and may have had to sublaunch Quicktime 7 - the review isn't clear).

It's not like it's that hard to upgrade (at least, if you're on a GUID disk and don't need to hack the installer package…). Just your standard "get the right versions of the kexts" than any update requires.

last edited on 1257843661|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover by Diamondsw + show more

Re: Don't upgrade to 10.6.2! Atom-chip is not supported.

Osxic 1257847979|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

The reason I want to stick with Leopard is because my 3G's driver is very unstable under SL, the other reasons are mainly because the Atom chip can't use GCD or 64bit, the Intel GMA chip can't use h264 HW acceleration or OpenCL - so there's no incentive in upgrading.

I think Apple named this current OS Snow Leopard for a good reason. Instead of another feline species, they just added a 'snow' to leopard because it's a higher end Leopard, but it's still Leopard. (They even use the same wallpaper.) Apple didn't want to distinguish them.

10.5 is the last version that supports PPC Mac, there are millions of these machines out there - I believe in the next 2 years 10.5 will continue to be supported together with 10.6, 2 years should be enough time for PPC owners to ditch their old machine for an Intel Mac - before a completely new OS arrive.

BTW, months ago I installed Leopard with the grey retail discs that came with a Macbook. Some people thought that those discs can't be use, all I did was to restore the image onto an old empty ipod and patched the OSinstall package file. It's funny how people were using the same technique to install SL.

Upgrade to 10.6.2 working; two methods

Diamondsw 1257974257|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

Method 1 - 10.6.1 kernel

As long as you make a backup of the 10.6.1 kernel and then replace the 10.6.2 version after installation (you'll need another bootable Mac OS X volume to do this, such as a backup or an install DVD), everything works perfectly.

Credit goes to Meklort for having the guts to do it first - I figured it might work, but wasn't going to be the first to try. :)

Steps:

• Backup 10.6.1 kernel

cp /mach_kernel /.mach_kernel_1061

• Install 10.6.2 from Software Update
• Reboot on (in my case) a Snow Leopard Install USB key
• Use the Terminal to move the 10.6.1 kernel back over the 10.6.2 one

cd /Volumes/Your_Disk/
cp mach_kernel .mach_kernel_1062
cp .mach_kernel_1061 mach_kernel

• Reboot into 10.6.2
• Repatch Bluetooth for power on/off functionality
• (optional) Repatch Intel GMA 950 drivers (the 10.6.1 ones were functioning fine - I just wanted to be 100% up to date)

Everything working fine - sleep, power management, accelerated video, sound, ethernet, etc.

Method 2 - Patched 10.6.2 kernel

Alternatively, it appears someone has made a binary patch to the 10.6.2 kernel to allow it to work on Atom processors (makes the brouhaha of the last few days seem pretty silly, eh?). If you use this, you'll also want the 10.6.2 version of SleepEnabler, which is tied tightly to the kernel version. I've confirmed that this works perfectly as well:

mbp ~ $ uname -a
Darwin mbp 10.2.0 Darwin Kernel Version 10.2.0: Tue Nov  3 10:37:10 PST 2009; root:xnu-1486.2.11~1/RELEASE_I386 i386
eee ~ $ uname -a
Darwin eee 10.2.0 Darwin Kernel Version 10.2.0: Tue Nov  3 10:37:10 PST 2009; root:xnu-1486.2.11~1/RELEASE_I386 i386

You'll need to follow a similar procedure to the steps above, but install both the patched kernel (instead of 10.6.1) and the new SleepEnabler.kext. Overall, I recommend using the 10.6.1 kernel as a first step, then proceed to the 10.6.2 kernel and updated SleepEnabler.kext.

Warning: If you end up with a mismatch between SleepEnabler.kext and the kernel (say, a 10.6.2 kernel and a 10.6.1 SleepEnabler.kext), your system will not boot!

last edited on 1257975788|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover by Diamondsw + show more

Re: Upgrade to 10.6.2 working; two methods

Osxic 1258013190|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

I think the first method is dangerous and pointless, the update is tied to the kernel - by using a previous kernel you might as well stay at 10.6.1.

The second method is equivalent to a Voodoo kernel, I have always avoided a patched kernel due to the performance hit and compatibility issue. (The voodoo kernel was created for AMD cpu and older cpu without SSE3)

Can anyone report back if this patched method results in slower performance?

Re: Upgrade to 10.6.2 working; two methods

Diamondsw 1258037345|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

The kernel is a tiny portion of the updated components in 10.6.2, unless you think a 7MB kernel equals the several hundred megabytes of framework updates. You're hardly "at 10.6.1" if you use the older kernel. The second is a patched kernel, but it is all of three bytes or so of patches - this is not a major overhaul like Voodoo.

I cannot see how the patched method would affect performance - the patch is a binary one and simply too small to have any impact.

Re: Upgrade to 10.6.2 working; two methods

Osxic 1258048990|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

The kernel is the brain of the OS, it's tied to everything. By using an old kernel will probably result in a kernel panic in some situations. Also, it will defeat the purpose of the update, which is mostly security - the old kernel will not respond to the updated framework's new security measures.

Dadaz mentioned the patch being a substitute of core-solo with atom, if it works well then we should celebrate.

None of the core-solo Mac has hyper-threading, if the kernel detected Atom (a single-processor), will it assume it is a core-solo and thereby turn HT off?

Re: Upgrade to 10.6.2 working; two methods

Diamondsw 1258060388|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

Vast oversimplification. A modern kernel like Mach is almost entirely very low-level memory, process, and thread management. Everything else, from the driver model, API's and the whole operating system is implemented above it. Remember - Mach is 18MB. The OS updates are several hundred megabytes compressed. It's simply not that big a deal.

Re: Upgrade to 10.6.2 working; two methods

Osxic 1258092941|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

Above you said "I figured it might work, but wasn't going to be the first to try." Why? ;)

Re: Upgrade to 10.6.2 working; two methods

dadaz 1258096923|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

I c an confirm again it work very well. I just made a mistake the Atom is recognize as a Core 2 solo, but activity monitor shows two cores like before.

You can update safely your kernel, just replace the sleepenabler with the new one or you will have kernel panics.

Re: Upgrade to 10.6.2 working; two methods

fasfcastro 1258098901|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

Hello Diamondsw

I've used method 2 and (almost) everything is working well. The exception is the ability to control de bluetooth. You refer to a repatch of the bluetooth for power on/off functionality, which seems exactly what I need, but because I'm new in this I don't know exactly what files/method to do that. I arrive to the 10.6.1 system using the procedure explain by eNik. Can you help?

Thanks

Re: Upgrade to 10.6.2 working; two methods

pineaway 1258190043|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

i had a few problems getting it to work right, but i did get it. however, my video seems to be running slow and my menu bar is no longer transparent (no video acceleration?).

is anyone willing to post their 10.6.2 gma 950 kext?

Re: Upgrade to 10.6.2 working; two methods

pineaway 1258231414|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

Well, I went and learned how to patch the GMA kexts and now I'm back to perfect! Hooray!

That was actually one of the easier system updates to deal with.

Re: Don't upgrade to 10.6.2! Atom-chip is not supported.

dadaz 1258014876|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

I use the patched keernel, it works great. It's not like a voodoo one, the voodoo kernel have a lot of modifications, this one have just a little hack for the CPU. If I understand, the guy who patch it replace the code for the core solo with the code of ATOM, so the Atom is recognize as a core solo. It could be cool if he or someone else give the method to do this for the next kernels.

Re: Don't upgrade to 10.6.2! Atom-chip is not supported.

Osxic 1258031546|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

Have you tested the multi-tasking performance? Unlike Atom cpu, core-solo has no hyper-threading. It would be bad if HT is not usable.

Re: Don't upgrade to 10.6.2! Atom-chip is not supported.

dadaz 1258032477|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

no I don't, but I don't see any performance regression. Will test later. I try to know (and understand) what the guy has done to reproduce it later.

He also patched chameleon for ATOM :
-resolution for the screen
-pb with battery (we have to use AppleSMBIOS.kext)
and a patch for UUID (error 35) we don't have to use uuid kext.

I will compile the boot file with the hibernation patch and try it. If it's ok I'll post it on the forum.

This guy is awsome.

Re: Don't upgrade to 10.6.2! Atom-chip is not supported.

blakken 1258152226|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

I tried today to upgrade to 10.6.1 with patching the mach_kernel and it works except bluetooth switch on/off.
What's strange is ,previously, I did try after the very moment the update was available ,to install and after the kernel shift (from 10.6.2 to 10.6.1) the only way to boot without KP was to use the safe mode fix.
Besides I patched the bluetooth stuff and here's the file:
http://www.mediafire.com/?wm5jwjt2my0/IOBluetoothFamily.kext.zip

last edited on 1258156796|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover by blakken + show more

Re: Don't upgrade to 10.6.2! Atom-chip is not supported.

fasfcastro 1258192508|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

Hi blakken

Yours patched IOBluetoothFamily.kext worked for me. Great.

Thanks

Re: Don't upgrade to 10.6.2! Atom-chip is not supported.

pineaway 1258325883|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

has anyone figured out how to get "about this mac" to show the atom info? the about this mac.pkg fix no longer works.

Re: Don't upgrade to 10.6.2! Atom-chip is not supported.

dadaz 1258354641|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

does it really matter ???

I have Core 2 Solo and it's enough for me. It's just cosmetic.

Re: Don't upgrade to 10.6.2! Atom-chip is not supported.

pineaway 1258355476|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

haha, not really. just curious more than anything.

Re: Don't upgrade to 10.6.2! Atom-chip is not supported.

dadaz 1258367542|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

Have you just try to reapply the Atom fix for about this mac ?

Re: Don't upgrade to 10.6.2! Atom-chip is not supported.

wdTST 1258384308|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

There is an application called OSXTools utility where you can customize the "about this mac" to whatever processor you are using etc. I don't think it's hard to find over google, but if you're having trouble finding it let me know and i will help you.

Re: Don't upgrade to 10.6.2! Atom-chip is not supported.

Diamondsw 1258517942|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

It uses the same method as AboutThisMac.pkg, which is simply to change the string for "Unknown" to "Intel Atom" or whatever. It's not actually fixing the underlying processor detection code. Since the patched 10.6.2 kernel is using the Core Solo codepath, Mac OS X believes you have a Core Solo, and will display it as such. It's just a hunch, but I'll wager that using the 10.6.1 kernel with AboutThisMac.pkg would work fine, if you really want to see "Intel Atom" in there.

Re: Don't upgrade to 10.6.2! Atom-chip is not supported.

wdTST 1258544465|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

yes well in the os x tools utility you can change the processor string in about this mac to Intel Atom or whatever you want no matter what kernel or hardware you have, unlike the aboutthismac.pkg where it detects automatically that u have a core 2 duo. What more could you possibly need?