**This post is outdated. Use this guide to install Snow Leopard**
(At the time of writing, 10.5.4 is the latest version of Mac OS X)
I’ve done it, and I absolutely love it for more reasons than one. Now I’m going to show you how it’s done so you too can have your own Inspiron 1525 HackBook Pro. First, let’s look at the specs and see what we’re dealing with. I bought this laptop at Best Buy about a week ago now for $499.99. It was either on a fast sale or priced incorrectly because now the identical model with the same SKU and Best Buy # is showing up for $649.99 — same color and everything. You snooze, you lose.
On the outside is a rather unattractive and hard to keep clean jet black lid with silver trim. I’d say the only good thing about the exterior is the Dell logo. Opening it up reveals a very sexy, modern silver design, perfect key placement, a really attractive touchpad that looks like it’s built right into the case — very nice indeed. Touch senor media buttons with a nice blue light finish off a well-designed interior with a very modern feel. This thing was well thought out on the inside. One of the best I’ve seen from Dell.
Under the hood boasts a little bit older processor technology with a 533MHz FSB — Intel Pentium Dual Core. This is very similar to the new Celeron Dual Cores but don’t let it confuse you with the Pentium D — this CPU is actually rather nice. Although using the Pentium name, the Pentium Dual Core is based on the Core technology you’re already familar with on your Core Duo and Core2 Duo Macs. While the battery doesn’t last quite as long as a similar Core2 Duo (Centrino), this 1.87GHz packs a punch and unlike all you other dual core users, I don’t have to boot with cpus=1 — that’s right! This HackBook Pro is using both cores and it’s putting out some power with Mac OS X.
Let’s go over the fine details:
- Dell Inspiron 1525
- (Best Buy Model: I1525-121B / SKU: 8878002)
- Intel Pentium Dual Core 1.87 GHz
- 15.4″ Glossy XGA HD Widescreen LCD (1280 x 800)
- Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 (Like MacBook, MacBook Air!)
- 2 GB DDR2 Memory (Up To 4 GB!)
- 160 GB SATA Hard Drive (5200 RPM)
- Double-layer DVD±RW/CD-RW w/ Label Support
- 16x4x16 DVD+RW; 8x4x16 DVD-RW; 40x24x40 CD-RW
- Built-in 10/100 Ethernet, 56K Dial-up Modem, Dell 1395 Wi-Fi
- USB 2.0, Firewire, ExpressCard/54, Lithium-ion Battery, Card Reader, etc.
There are a couple things I’m going to end up doing to this laptop over time, including upgrading to a larger, faster SATA hard drive and maxing out the 4 GB supported memory. A few really attractive points of this system is not in the hardware, but in the drivers and support for Mac OS X Leopard (10.5.4). The wireless card is recognized and used as AirPort and the battery management works. Those are two huge pluses for those of you who have “half-supported” laptops running jury-rigged applications to connect to your wireless network or preserve your battery life. Oh, and did I mention that you don’t need ANY graphics drivers? That’s right, this model is fully supported with Quartz Extreme and Core Image!
Of course, getting your new Inspiron to run just like mine is going to take a bit of work, including downloading the ususal files from the usual places like a certain bay of thieves or the little green monster, but once you’ve burned everything to a single layer DVD, you’ll be up and running in under an hour! I highly suggest to any “noobs” that you don’t attempt to dual boot just yet. Let’s start with a full hard drive, no partitions, no “bull.”
1] Start by doing some downloading on a working computer that is connected to the Internet. You’re going to need a DVD burner, a fast Internet connection, and some Googling skills to find everything you need. Lucky for you, I’m going to provide all the difficult stuff to find — the drivers and hacks that are going to give your laptop the extras you need. First, download “Mac OS X Leopard 10.5.2 Kalyway” (AMD/Intel) installation DVD. It should be around 3 to 4 GB. Next, download the “Mac OS X Leopard 10.5.3 Kalyway Combo Update” which should be around 500 to 600 MB. Go ahead and burn the Kalyway 10.5.2 DVD to a Disc using Disk Utility if you’re already on a Mac, or PowerISO if you’re on Windows. If you use Windows a lot, PowerISO is one of those few programs I’d actually purchase. It’s that good. I suggest burning everything at 8X or slower to ensure it’s 100%.
2] Insert your newly burned 10.5.2 Kalyway Installation DVD into your laptop and boot from it. I assume you still have Windows Vista pre-loaded, which is fine. We’re going to delete all that crap. It’s going to take a while for the installation screen to load and you’re going to be flooded with a ton of text lines, even some errors, as the DVD probes and pokes around your hardware. Once the screen loads, you’ll notice your keyboard and touchpad instantly work out of the box. The first thing you want to do is click on Tools in the menu bar and select Disk Utility. Once this loads (give it a minute), select your hard drive (160.0 GB ….) by clicking on it, and then click on the Erase tab. Select “Mac OS Extended (Journaled) for Volume Format and for Name type “Macintosh HD” then click “Erase …” Give it a few minutes to rid all instances of Bill Gates and you’ll see your new “Macintosh HD” appear. Once that has completed, exit out of Disk Utility and continue the installation by going through the on-screen instructions. You may want to click “Customize” before you go through actually installing Mac OS X as Kalyway has included a lot of extras that might appeal to you. Be careful not to select the wrong items, like things that don’t pretain to your hardware or you’re going to end up screwing yourself later. I got you covered, don’t I? After your installation is complete, it’s going to reboot your computer.
3] This is where the fun begins! Take out your installation disc and reboot. When you get to the Darwin boot loader screen, hit F8 to enter some boot flags. Type -v -f and hit enter. After a ton of scrolling text, your screen will black out as if it’s asleep. Don’t panic! You want your computer to sleep. When you see the screen go black and activity slow down on your CPU light, unplug your inspiron from the power cable and close the lid. Come back to it in about 15 minutes when it has fallen asleep and wake it up by moving your finger around on the touchpad. Welcome to the post-installation. Go ahead and opt out of transfering files from another Mac, and also select that you don’t have an Internet connection. Keep clicking and you’ll be asked to enter your personal information. Keep clicking! You’ll soon be presented with the desktop — sexy, huh? Now there’s something you need to do ASAP or else you’ll be waiting for this computer to fall asleep every time you reboot.
4] Before you start drooling and examining your Mac-powered laptop, click on the Apple and go to System Prefernces. Click on “Expose & Spaces” and then click the “Expose” button. On one of the Active Screen Corners select “Sleep Display.” I chose the lower left-hand corner. Go ahead and exit out of that and reboot. When the screen goes blank, move your finger down towards the corner you selected. It may take a few imaginary strokes since you can’t see the mouse pointer. After a few tries you’ll master it and your screen will appear — ta da. Now, one thing I did notice that few people report (Maybe it’s just me?), with the “sleep trick” being used, sometimes the desktop icons become unclickable or hidden. Although this is a pain in the ass, it only takes a moment. After you boot up and do the sleep trick with the touchpad, go ahead and log out of your user account and log back in. This ensures everything’s 100% with your session. The only downside to the sleep trick is it requires you to leave Auto Login going. There’s a work around for this to put the display to sleep at the Login screen but I’m not going to go there yet.
UPDATE! Want this sleep trick to happen automatically and be able to see the Login screen? Click here!
5] Now it’s time to pop in your other DVD — the Combo Update. Go ahead and drag it all to the desktop and install it. Before we get busy with it, let’s make a copy of our current kernel for safe keeping in case you fuck something up. Open up Terminal (use Spotlight if you’re not sure where to find it) and type sudo su - to get a root session. Root is like the Administrator account on Microsoft Windows. If you screw up as root, you’re done. After su’ing to root, type cp /mach_kernel /mach_kernel_bkup1052 to make a copy of your existing kernel that you can use to boot up with later if you need to. It’s always good to have a backup plan, right? Install the Combo Update but don’t reboot. It’s going to ask you to but keep that window open! With that window still visable, go ahead and install the kernel package. Once that has installed successfully, hit reboot on your other window and hang on for the ride.
6] Boom. Now you’re running Mac OS X 10.5.3 Leopard. But that’s not the latest version. Lucky for you, the next round of upgrades to get to 10.5.4 are going to come from Software Update. That’s right, directly from Apple like a real Mac! But not just yet. First, we have to get this laptop online. This is where I come in. Click on one of the links below to download my Inspiron 1525 Mac Drivers Pack. A lot of this stuff may/will work on other Inspiron models but I only guarantee it’ll work on my exact model (see above). Go ahead and grab my pack, although I only take credit for making all this stuff easily accessible, I didn’t create any of these tools, just modified them to work with this laptop (if applicable).
7] After you download and unzip the pack, take a look inside. Now open up a Terminal window and find the directory on your desktop, or where ever you downloaded the ZIP to. Go inside Broadcom-Script and type sudo su – ; chmod +x bcm43xx_enabler.sh ; ./bcm43xx_enabler.sh to run the installer. Don’t worry, I’ve added the correct values for our internal Dell 1395 Wi-Fi. Once that runs, close Terminal and open up Disk Utility. Repair disk permissions just in case and then reboot your computer. AirPort should appear on your menu bar and you’ll be able to find your wireless network and get online.
8] Go ahead and use Software Update to download everything. When you reboot, since you’re upgrading to 10.5.4, you’ll have to run the Broadcom-Script again like we did above. Once you’ve upgraded to 10.5.4 successfully and re-applied the Wi-Fi drivers, fixed permissions, etc., connect back to your wireless network. Now it’s time to get audio working. Use my supplied 1525 Codec file and fire up crazy green frog (AppleHDAPatcher_v1.16). Drag the 1525_Codec.txt file into the window and let it work its magic. Repair permissions again just to be safe and reboot. Now you’ll notice sound works and you don’t have to keep re-applying the Broadcom-Script patch.
9] At this point I assume you’ve learned enough or done enough reading elsewhere to know how to install kexts. Unzip PowerManagement_137_1.bundle.tar.gz and install the PowerManagement.bundle. Repair permissions, delete kext cache and all that fun stuff. Now reboot again. You should see your battery meter come to life on your menu bar. Keep the settings set to ‘Custom’ if you want it to continue to function. I set mine to Percentage.
10] If you’re like me, you want to be able to “tap” the touchpad to click, and scroll with a finger, etc. For this we use the install.sh script inside of ApplePS2Trackpad. Once that’s up and running, go into System Preferences and you’ll find a Trackpad tab within the Keyboard & Mouse window. Play around with the settings. Sometimes you may have to set it to what appears to be really low (slow) in order to get the speed just right. It’s a little funky, but you’ll find a setting that you can enjoy. Scrolling is a bit more than hit and miss as it doesn’t work REALLY well but it’s still useful to some. I’ve disabled it.
There are some loose ends, but I’m going to leave that up to you. The wired (Ethernet) will work using a quick patch that you can find by searching the InsanelyMac forums. Sleep will wake up properly with a different kernel. You’re welcome to replace your Dock with a darker, more attractive theme like I have included in the Midnight Dock directory. I suggest saving my Drivers Pack and stashing it somewhere, for when the next upgrade to Mac OS X comes out, you may end up re-applying some things again.
All in all, it’s a lot cheaper than spending $1,000 on a MacBook, or even $2,000 on a MacBook Pro. And it’s a lot more fun! I would put my current Mac-powered Inspiron at around the level of a MacBook Air at a fraction of the cost (And a bit less “Airy” since it’s pretty heavy). Unlike you crazy mobile gurus, I don’t carry around a full-sized laptop like it’s Palm Pilot. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment and I’ll respond within 24 hours in most cases. Good luck!
UPDATE!
Once you upgrade to 10.5.4, if you’re having issues getting the battery meter to display in your menu bar, you may be missing some files. Download my AppleACPIPlatform.kext, move yours somewhere safe as a backup (/System/Library/Extensions/AppleACPIPlatform.kext), pop mine in, repair permissions, kext cache, and all that fun stuff (Or use Kext Helper), reboot and check out your Energy settings in System Preferences now. Boom!
UPDATE!
Need S3 (Hibernation) Sleep on 10.5.4? Tired of putting your HackBook Pro to bed, only to find out it won’t wake up? Open Terminal and type sudo pmset -a hibernatemode 0 hibernatefile /dev/null then click Apple, Sleep. Wait for it to snooze and the fan to turn off. Now lightly hit your power button and it should crank back up, find your wireless network again, etc. If it doesn’t hold after a reboot, throw it in /etc/rc.common (Or /etc/rc.local if you’ve found that to work). Report your success here!
November 17th, 2010 at 11:38 PM
Hey Thomas, I got 10.5.2 installed but when I install 10.5.3 it installs correctly but when I reboot it doesn’t load it just stays on the white Apple loading screen, I’m sure I’m giving it enough time as I let it sit all night. Any suggestions? If not I’ll just stick with 10.5.2, honestly I really don’t care about most of the updates, all of my drivers work fine but still upgrading would be nice. Thanks
November 18th, 2010 at 6:41 AM
To be honest, it’s worth it to just remain on 10.5.2 and install Snow Leopard.
November 28th, 2010 at 11:07 PM
Hey Thomas thanks for this guide it helped a lot and i installed mac osx. The only problem i’m having now is getting my wireless card working. I keep getting a root error then when i start as root then go to the file it says it says it installed. Then i follow the rest of the steps and it never gives a wireless option. (Btw i have your wireless card.)
Could you please make these steps really easy to follow and spoon feed me please i just cannot seem to get this working. Thanks in advanced,
Wicksy.
November 28th, 2010 at 11:21 PM
Rather than mess around with Leopard, why not install Snow Leopard?
November 29th, 2010 at 12:01 AM
I guess i will get around to do it eventually but the only problem is that i’m running with slow internet and i got the disk from a friend so i’ll have to wait a while to get it running. Thanks anyhow :)
November 29th, 2010 at 1:01 AM
Sorry for the double reply but could you point me in the direction of a snow leopard install files? Thanks.
November 29th, 2010 at 3:21 PM
You’ll have to buy the install DVD to follow my guide. Luckily the DVD only costs $29.
November 14th, 2010 at 11:41 PM
For some reason it won’t let me boot from the disk. It just says that it can’t find an operating system. When I go into Vista to look at the files on the disk, the file is there but it’s a IOS file. Someone help me please!!!
November 15th, 2010 at 6:47 AM
Assuming you mean ISO file, you need to burn the iso file using IMGburn or some other other image burning software.
November 15th, 2010 at 6:07 PM
Awesome thanks, I’m kind of a noob at this. And thanks for the speedy reply too. By the way I’ve been reading the comments and I saw you actually painted your hackbook. You mentioned something about how you were going to paint the rubber screws white. Do you mean the rubber screws around the screen on the inside?
November 15th, 2010 at 9:54 PM
You can check out the guide on it here. By rubber screws I was referring to the 6 grey rubber screw covers located on the LCD bezel.
October 30th, 2010 at 1:55 PM
Everytime I log in my screen goes black, and I need to wait long time to see something on the screen. Any tips?
October 30th, 2010 at 2:11 PM
Tip: Read the guide.
October 25th, 2010 at 2:48 PM
Hi,
I’ve got a strange one here…I’ve come to install Leopard again using the guide above but I’m not experiencing a Kernel Panic after rebooting from the install. I’ve installed 10.5.2 from the same disc on my Inspiron 1525 with no problems!
Any help would be much appreciated :)
Cheers,
James.
October 25th, 2010 at 2:51 PM
Sorry that should say I am now experiencing a Kernel Panic!
October 25th, 2010 at 7:00 PM
It seems as if you’re forgetting to install a kext/patch that your system needs.
October 26th, 2010 at 1:07 PM
Hi Thomas,
Thanks for the quick reply. I realised afterwards it was because my hard drive partition was formatted as Mac OSX Extended without being ‘Journaled’, that fixed my problem.
I’m trying to update my Leopard to 10.5.4 but because that version isn’t available through Software Update anymore can I just download the 10.5.4 combo update and install that?
Thanks,
James.
October 26th, 2010 at 4:25 PM
Yep, installing the 10.5.4 Combo Update from Apple.com is fine.
October 27th, 2010 at 6:07 PM
Thanks for the help with that, I’m now running 10.5.4. I’m struggling to get the Battery Meter working though, even after following your instructions about installing the PowerManagement.bundle and also your AppleACPIPlatform.kext file.
Any ideas?
Thanks.
October 27th, 2010 at 10:50 PM
For this issue, and all other issues, check out this guide. You might also want to consider updating to Snow Leopard.
October 28th, 2010 at 1:02 PM
Thanks I’m all up and running now, I might have to check out Snow Leopard at some point!
October 28th, 2010 at 2:16 PM
Check it out whenever you get a chance. It’s extremely stable now and practically everything that worked in Leopard is now working in Snow Leopard.
September 24th, 2010 at 6:31 AM
Is there any way to fix Sleep On AC Power?
Guess I’ll be stuck with Leopard for a while.
Also, do these update guides work for the Snow Leopard guide on macyourpc?
I might as well try that one.
Thanks!
September 25th, 2010 at 10:12 AM
There isn’t a fix for Sleep on AC power; it just works for a few and the rest must be on battery power (including myself). I have not tried the Macyourpc guide, though several people have reported that my update guides do not work with his install guide due to kext conflicts. I do know that there are discussions on updating in the comments of his post, so that’s probably your best.
September 18th, 2010 at 3:39 PM
Hey!
Just thought you should add the Kext Here,
http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=141033
It lets me use my internal mic now – awesome! (and quality is as good as it gets in skype :P)
And it’s just a quick kext not even a complicated installer, you really should add it to the drivers pack!
-soule
September 18th, 2010 at 4:42 PM
You can already find the most recent drivers for Leopard, including the one you linked to, here.
September 14th, 2010 at 11:41 AM
Hello,
I wound up using iPC to install Leopard 10.5.6 – running like a champ. (on it right now :))
But regardless, I seem to be unable to find legacy kernel for 10.6.0- the earliest i can find is the 10.6.3 kernel from http://www.dailyblogged.com/updating-to-snow-leopard-10-6-3/
Please point this out to me, sorry- just trying not to blow something up, after finally getting leopard to run.
Thanks a bunch!
September 14th, 2010 at 4:07 PM
As I stated in my previous reply, 10.6 does not require a legacy kernel. The subsequent update guides have the appropriate legacy kernels.
September 12th, 2010 at 8:18 AM
Whoops, sorry bout that.
(in continuation to the previous comment)
It plays the fancy intro, then does the whole post installation from the start.
So in essence, The post installation restarts when i click OK on the TIme Machine backup part.
Thanks!
September 12th, 2010 at 12:11 PM
I believe you can skip the setup screen by booting with -x.
September 12th, 2010 at 3:42 PM
Sad to say that did not work.
Are there any other distros you think may work? like iPC or iAtkos
After i get Leopard using another distro working can i follow your guide to upgrade to snow leopard?
Thanks, really want to jump into iphone development! (what i bought the laptop for in the first place)
September 12th, 2010 at 4:39 PM
iPC 10.5.6, iAtkos 10.5.8, and XxX 10.5.6 all work. If you decide to use XxX, you can follow this picture to install the items with yellow dots. Once you have Leopard installed, you cannot directly upgrade to Snow Leopard, but you can follow our guide to install a clean copy of Snow Leopard.
September 12th, 2010 at 7:24 PM
Okay, cool.
Well, I want to get Snow leopard 10.6.4 in the end.
I have a DMG file of Snow leopard, also a DVD.
So, this Retail Snow Leopard guide wont work?
http://www.dailyblogged.com/retail-snow-leopard-installation-guide/
Cause i can’t seem to find a guide on your site that is specifically for a clean install..
sorry about the troubles, i’m a linux guy, pretty n00by to the osx86 scene.
BTW, if it helps, i have the Celeron processor version of 1525.
Thanks a lot!
September 12th, 2010 at 9:58 PM
Yes, that is the guide I was referring to. By clean install I simply meant installing onto a blank partition (the only way you can install Snow Leopard). It was probably poor wording on my part. Since you have a Celeron Processor, you will need to install the Legacy Kernel. Each guide, excluding the retail install guide (since 10.6 does not require it), has a step on doing so, so just make sure you follow that step or your system will not boot.
September 13th, 2010 at 6:23 AM
Thanks a bunch,
sorry i ask too many questions, it is just that I’ve messed up OSX so many times i want to save some time & hassle.
Just to get this straight:
I follow the retail snow leopard guide just like it is told?
So i have Leopard installed (xxx, 10.5.6) then i use the retail Snow Leopard guide to install via DMG on a separate partition like it is told, correct?
Please help me out, sorry for the troubles.
Thanks, really.
September 11th, 2010 at 6:59 AM
Hello,
good guide, thank you!
But, i have a problem;
The first time i installed Leopard (using your guide) It worked fine. But when i tried to upgrade to 10.5.3, i messsed up the kernel; so i tried reinstalling OSX (fresh). Whenever i reach the post-install page, when it says “Do you want to get your info from another mac?” I select no (or any other) and then it just freezes and after a few seconds it plays the fancy intro..
Please help!
September 11th, 2010 at 8:25 PM
I don’t see what the issue is. You say it freezes but then continues, so what’s the problem?
August 26th, 2010 at 5:35 PM
After updating to 10.5.3 using the combo update dvd, is it safe to use apple’s software update to update to 10.5.8? I’ve already tried once and i got a kernel panic but i’m not sure if it was because of the software update or because i messed something up.
August 26th, 2010 at 8:44 PM
You can’t update straight to 10.5.8; you must install each update individually. You can install the 10.5.4 update from Apple (get it from Apple.com), and then find the subsequent update guides here.
August 19th, 2010 at 8:45 PM
I have leopard setup and running but I’m not sure what to do at step 9. how do you install .kext files? also in step 5 when you make a backup of the kernel, after i enter “cp /mach_kernel /mach_kernel_bkup1052″ nothing happens. how do i know that the kernel copied correctly and how do I boot from the copied kernel if I mess up? (I’ve already messed up twice and I had to reinstall Leopard because of kernel panics)
Thanks
August 19th, 2010 at 11:10 PM
You can install .kext files with Kext Helper b7 (Google it). If you enter the cp command and it doesn’t report errors, it has executed successfully. If you need to boot from the kernel backup, type the kernel name at the Chameleon boot prompt, ie. mach_kernel_bkup1052.
August 10th, 2010 at 9:52 AM
When I download the “Mac OS X Leopard 10.5.3 Kalyway Combo Update” inside the folder, there are 2 .pkg files. it won’t let me burn them to a disc in powerISO. the “Mac OS X Leopard 10.5.2 Kalyway” installation DVD burned fine. That’s because it was a .iso file. how do I burn .pkg files to a disc?
August 10th, 2010 at 10:51 AM
Why would you burn it to a disc? You don’t need to boot from the pkg (you can’t); you just need to run it.
August 10th, 2010 at 11:08 AM
oh ok my bad. so i guess i have to download it after leopard is installed?
August 10th, 2010 at 11:11 AM
never mind. i didn’t realize that .pkg files are for mac only. i got it now. sorry, I’m a complete noob.
June 30th, 2010 at 5:51 PM
Take a look at the new 1545′s before you say that, Thomas. They look so good.
June 30th, 2010 at 8:24 PM
Yikes! That confirms it, silver + black definitely looks better than all black. I find the 1545 to be quit ugly, without any contrast. This is also why I’ll probably be painting the rubber screw covers on the bezel white.
June 30th, 2010 at 1:02 AM
Oh. Yeah, I was thinking about painting the palm rest as well, but I simply couldn’t get the display assembly off.
June 30th, 2010 at 1:10 AM
I’ve disassembled this laptop quite a few times, so it’s pretty much memorized at this point. I’m just afraid I would get paint on the trackpad, rendering it useless (I would assume). Also, an all black laptop might not look so hot.
June 30th, 2010 at 12:57 AM
By black base, do you mean black palm rest?
June 30th, 2010 at 1:01 AM
No, I mean the very black bottom of the laptop that the battery slides into and has the 4 rubber feet. It is also where the CD Drive and HDD slide into it. I was considering painting the palm rest black, though it would be difficult to cover the trackpad so as not to get paint on it.
June 29th, 2010 at 1:14 AM
Thomas – Good Luck, mate. Be sure to post the pics! It doesn’t take long. How much was the bezel?
June 29th, 2010 at 1:26 AM
Free… 3 year warranty FTW!!! I also got a new keyboard, media controls/power button, top lid with Dell logo, and black base just by making things up. The complete care warranty for 3 years cost a fortune, but I’ve gotten my moneys worth. Anyway, I sprayed it with 4 coats (third coat got messed up and required an additional coat) and so it’s still drying from 8 hours ago. It’ll be completely dry by the morning and will be ready to go on my 1525. Then I’ll put together a quick post to show off my mod. It’s worth noting that I accidentally bought glassy paint instead of flat paint, so it looks kinda funky.
June 24th, 2010 at 3:43 AM
What wireless card would that be?
June 24th, 2010 at 12:38 PM
The card is the BCM94312. There is one downside to the card- when used with a Wireless N network in OS X, it won’t get speeds above 130Mb/s, about half of Wireless N’s potential 300Mb/s. But, if you’re using Wireless g then the card will be just fine.
June 27th, 2010 at 4:27 PM
Alexander Brown- I just picked up some black spray paint and got Dell to send me a new bezel. Once I receive it, I’ll see how it comes out and, if it’s nice, I’ll post some pics. Wish me luck!
June 23rd, 2010 at 8:01 PM
Mine’s back on fine. It looks so epic. Um, all I used was black spray paint with 3 layers. All I need now is the apple logo and the “MacBook Pro” label, and it’ll be a real HackBook.
How easy are the hardware upgrades?
June 24th, 2010 at 12:13 AM
They’re super easy. I know I said I’d get around to posting a guide for upgrading your Wireless card, but that never really came together. It’s still super easy though, and for $15, you can get a Wireless N card that works OOB with OS X. Plus, you’ll never have to worry about support for the card being broken by a new update, since it’s the same card used in real Macbooks.
Upgrading RAM is very straightforward if you’ve ever installed RAM before (and it’s even easier on a Laptop), albeit fairly price now as the price of DDR2 RAM continues to sky rocket.
Battery upgrades are the simplest upgrade possible, and installing a new HDD is as well (after you get all your data transferred, of course).
Finally, you can upgrade your processor for the most noticeable performance increase. Though a more complicated procedure for an inexperienced user, installing a new processor on a laptop really just comes down to applying the right amount of thermal paste and screwing in the heatsink.
I’ve performed all of these upgrades on my 1525, excluding the battery upgrade (though I plan to do so in the near future). For most parts, eBay is a great place to look. Don’t be afraid to buy used parts either. As long as the product is guaranteed against DOA as doesn’t have an insane amount of use, it should be fine. The only two parts I would recommend you purchase new, and would be foolish of you not to, are a new Hard Drive and Battery. With both, you can never be sure how much they were used and what conditions they faced.
June 23rd, 2010 at 7:33 AM
I have just made my 1525 look more like a MacBook Pro. I painted the bezel black! It looks so awesome, even though I now have a crack in the bezel (be careful when removing it).
June 23rd, 2010 at 7:55 PM
Yeah, that thing is held on pretty tight. It’s actually made so that once you take it off, it needs to be replaced. What kind of paint did you use? I’m considering doing some visual customization myself, as I’ve pretty much maxed this thing out hardware wise.
June 19th, 2010 at 9:48 PM
If you look in the 1525 service manual, there is. I’m going overseas soon, and I want to take my HackBook with me. Any kexts or help in general would be appreciated.
June 20th, 2010 at 5:25 PM
Alexander- I’m not too sure how all this stuff works, but my research suggests that you just need an OS X supported Modem and you’ll be good to go.
June 19th, 2010 at 6:28 PM
Hi Thomas. Is there any way to get the SIM card slot working?
June 19th, 2010 at 9:10 PM
Until you asked that question just now, I wasn’t even aware the 1525 had a SIM card slot. It doesn’t look like there is any way to get it working, though I’ll look around a little more to see if I can modify an existing kext.
June 18th, 2010 at 8:43 PM
I have 10.5.2 running, but I have two problems. The first problem is that after installation, I can only see the desktop if I plugin an external monitor. Is there a kext file or driver that I need that will get my laptop monitor to work? the second is, if I try to install the software update it corrupts my OS and it will no longer boot correctly, and I have to redo everything. Any suggestions?
June 19th, 2010 at 12:12 AM
Both of those issues have not only been solved in the comments countless times, but they have also been directly addressed and solved in the actual guide. My suggestion? Uninstall!
June 14th, 2010 at 1:09 PM
hi! i have a problem, after I reboot or close and I don’t have the kalyway dvd in , appear: HFS+ partition error! any suggestion ? pls [sry for my english]
June 14th, 2010 at 3:23 PM
Use the Kalyway DVD to boot into Leopard. Once booted, follow this guide to install the Chameleon Bootloader to your HDD.
June 8th, 2010 at 8:07 AM
Eric – I have had the same problem. Try booting with the device in the USB port.
June 6th, 2010 at 6:25 PM
I have followed the instructions of this tutorial and everything worked like a charm, but I only have one problem. My USB ports do not recognize any device. A keyboard I plugged in does not work and a portable hard drive does not work. Does anyone know what the problem could be?
May 29th, 2010 at 7:18 PM
Thomas – I now have a successsful dual boot with Vista! However, the Windows Boot Manager looks disgusting in comparison to Chameleon. Is there any way I can remove the Windows Boot Manager and just use Chameleon?
May 23rd, 2010 at 1:31 AM
Thomas, is there any way to create a dual boot with Windows XP/Vista AFTER you install Mac OS X? There was some mention in the post, but all other sites say to install Mac OS X after Windows.
Any help would be appreciated!
May 25th, 2010 at 8:43 PM
You should be able to do just that using this dual boot guide. Just make sure that, when you are installing Windows, the NTFS partition you will be installing to is set as the active partition (you can do so using GParted) otherwise Windows will not allow you to install to the disc.
May 22nd, 2010 at 9:37 AM
Hello everyone! I have successfully made a dual booting hackintosh out of my inspiron 1525. The internet works on the windows side and when I try to install the drivers on OSX side it does not work. Does anyone else know what the problem is?
May 20th, 2010 at 10:20 PM
I got 10 5 2 Kalyway on and working. Most stuff works fine to my eye but no wireless or audio. When I got to the wifi point of your tutorial, terminal required a password when i would sudo. My keyboard wouldnt work at that point so I couldnt put the password in. is there an alternative way to get the wireless working?
May 22nd, 2010 at 7:49 PM
Unfortunately, that is the only way to get wireless working. As a temporary fix, you can use a USB keyboard to type your password.
July 12th, 2010 at 5:59 PM
If you go to http://www.macyourpc.com, and download the drivers pack, you have a Broadcom (wi-fi) installer package. Working great as I type this.
May 10th, 2010 at 10:43 AM
Alright, I got a hold of 10.5.1 i think? i found a download of it on warez-bb. would that make any difference
May 9th, 2010 at 12:29 PM
Sorry, but I’m a little confused, as I read guide, it seemed as if you were already running Leopard. I’m am currently running Windows 7, on the Inspiron 1525.
May 9th, 2010 at 1:15 PM
Sorry, I got confused as to what you were referring to. Yes, you should install with this guide and then install Snow Leoaprd. As for your black screen, wait for the HDD activity light to die done, wait about another 30 seconds, and then press Fn+Esc. After about another 15 seconds, the screen will come to life. Afterward, use this guide to never have to use that sleep trick again.
May 9th, 2010 at 11:58 AM
Also, I’ve tried this guide before, however, I could never reach the post-installation screen. This is my second attempt (last one was over a year ago). I would finish the installation, reach the white loading screen, it would turn black, but from there, I could never see the post-installation. Suggestions?
May 9th, 2010 at 10:40 AM
So I should follow this guide and then follow the newer guide?
May 9th, 2010 at 11:57 AM
Follow both guides if you want to dual boot Leopard and Snow Leopard. Otherwise, if you just want the newer Snow Leopard, follow this guide.
May 8th, 2010 at 4:06 AM
I’m seeing the exact same issue as Matt there. Even the standalone installer for 10.5.4 causes the system to fail and enter an irrecoverable state. Have to wipe the drive and start all over again.
May 7th, 2010 at 5:05 PM
Could you answer the other part of my question? I have different specs, compared to your Inspiron 1525. (I have a 1525 too)
May 8th, 2010 at 1:23 PM
Sorry, didn’t realize you were also asking about that. You should be just fine, though I do recommend you follow this guide for installing the much newer Snow Leopard.
May 6th, 2010 at 5:29 PM
Hi Tom.
I have a Intel 965 Express Chip-set Family. I’m not sure if this could be a problem. And I also have a Intel Duo Core T5750 @2.0gHz. Not sure if these could be problematic. Finally, I read something about the sleep fix. Could you elaborate. My friend had a problem where everything installed, but when you came and tried to boot it up, the screen would just stay black.
Doug
May 7th, 2010 at 4:48 PM
What the sleep fix does is resolve the issue of the screen remaining black after booting into OS X. There are several sleep fixes, all of which work in different ways. The newest and, quite frankly, the best sleep trick is adding a dsdt.aml to your system. You can find a guide on doing so here.
May 5th, 2010 at 3:17 PM
got it fixed =)
i simply didnt selected any of them–no update
my processor is Intel Dual Core T2330(not sure about the Txxxx) @ 1.6Gz altough it recognizes a Core 2 Duo =O
May 5th, 2010 at 3:23 AM
I am having the exact same problem as Andre, using the combo update with any of the supplied kernals results in getting stuck at the spinning apple logo on reboot.
I believe my processor is Intel Core 2 Duo T8300 2.4Ghz, 3mb, 800Mhz FSB
Also, after leaving the version at 10.5.2 and trying the broadcom script drivers I was unable to get wireless to work.
My wireless card is Intel 4965AGN Wireless-N Mini-card
Thanks for your help!
May 5th, 2010 at 8:29 PM
Nick- Try what Andre did- not selecting any of the kernels. And unfortunately your wireless card is unsupported in OS X.
Andre- Glad you fixed the issue!
May 4th, 2010 at 4:22 AM
I have the exact same problem as Kaya:
So, I’ve completed this tutorial before, and everything went fine. However, I had to reinstall because I messed up the installation of snow leopard. Unfortunately this time I haven’t been able to get past step 5. I tried installing the combo update then the kernel, but I didn’t know if I was supposed to install Vanilla, Modbin, or both. So I tried Vanilla. When I rebooted I ended up getting stuck at the spinning wheel under the apple logo during the boot. I had made a back up of my old kernel, unfortunately I didn’t know how to reinstall my it. So I tried reinstalling the whole OS, however I didn’t format the drive first and I found that I was able to boot up again. I’m assuming that it just repaired the OS instead of reinstalling it.
Anyway, I tried installing the combo update again, except this time with the modbin kernel. Same result as before. Repaired it again and tried a third time. This time with both. Same result, again.
So,what am I doing wrong? How do I fix it? And how do I restore my old kernel if it happens again?
May 4th, 2010 at 10:08 PM
Andre- What processor do you have?
April 30th, 2010 at 9:09 PM
Sir
i have installed “iATKOS v7″ on Dell inspiron 1525. And there is no error just it start loading OS from Hard drive and after that instead of showing “Desktop” it show me totally black screen and hanged.
Please sir , help me ….
Thanks alot
Best Regards
May 1st, 2010 at 4:56 PM
Please actually follow the guide before posting questions that have already been answered countless times in both the post and other comments. Nevertheless, you can follow this guide to fix your issue.
April 27th, 2010 at 9:54 PM
Dear sir
i am trying ti install Mac OSx on my inspiron 1525. it had installed but when i start the computer , it will hand after loading MAC from hard drive .
Can you please help me???
Thanking you in anticipation
Best Regards
April 27th, 2010 at 10:04 PM
Tariq- Are you getting some sort of error? If not, what’s the last thing you see before it hangs.
April 17th, 2010 at 7:16 PM
Hey again! I’m still absolutely loving my Hackintosh, but I have anotheere problem. I’m stuck on Leopard 10.5.2 – every time I try to install the latest update from Mac’s “Software Update” (10.5.8, I think) it re-boots which is good because it’s meant to… but then I get a kernel panic! I really would like to update to the latest version of Leopard. Please help me out. Cheers. :)
April 18th, 2010 at 9:53 PM
You must follow the incremental guides for each update. You can find their respective guides in the OS X Updates section of the site.
April 6th, 2010 at 4:00 PM
Thomas: haha i finally figured it out! :) i just installed the broadcam script in terminal then i droped the codec into the frog (apple hda) and it recognized it :).
Now i have another problem… sorry.
everytime i plug in a usb device. my computer doesn’t seem to identify it. (ie plug ipod and itunes does not see it.)
thanks so much thomas :)
April 6th, 2010 at 4:08 PM
That’s good to note as several users in the past have mentioned that it works, but I never actually believed it. For USB and other issues, 10.5.6 will resolve them. The update is a bit of a hassle, but it truly has enough benefits to make it worthwhile.
April 6th, 2010 at 7:50 AM
I have done this multiple times before but now I have got a problem.
My battery is dead and my charger won’t charge it. I have to leave charger in all the time to keep it on.
My Question; how can I make my hackintosh sleep after reboot. It’s Dell inspiron 1525. I’s there any way to see the screen, cos after waiting 15mins with battery in it just reboots
April 6th, 2010 at 3:32 PM
Nathan- Follow this guide to do just that!
April 4th, 2010 at 4:10 PM
Hey folks.
I’m having an issue after step 2. I install it and I reboot my computer with the startup of the internal hard drive. I get a black screen with a flashing underscore. Does anyone know what the issue is?
April 5th, 2010 at 10:32 PM
Mariah- Try running a kext cache rebuild in Kext Helper and then booting with -f. If that doesn’t work, reboot without any flags.
Tod- Do you have Windows installed in the hard drive?
April 4th, 2010 at 3:08 PM
Thomas: I have done exactly what you said but I still don’t see airport or networks. The only new thing isee is info.plist.AppleAirPortBRC.m4311.kext
Any other solutions? Thanks.
April 3rd, 2010 at 3:56 PM
Hi everyone! I’m having trouble with step 7. Well I type sudo su – and all the other stuff in the terminal and then I drag the bcm43xxx shell into the terminal. The installation starts but then it says “where is AppleAirPortBRCM4311.kext located?” I search everywere and I can’t find it. So I just press enter (return) then type /dev/null and then repair disk permissions and restart. I never see the airport thing or any networks. My wifi is on and I have a dell1525 inspiron… plz hellp!? :)