The Hack Is Back!

February 11th, 2009

Apple / Mac

The tie-wearing idiots over at Best Buy’s Geek Squad finally received my Dell Inspiron 1525 back from warranty. The guy who examined it after it arrived was very surprised that they replaced the whole LCD screen. He opened it up as he was explaining how rare it was for them to replace the whole thing. “Look, brand new… that’s rare.” I thought he was going to make love to it the way he looked at my laptop’s lid.

Recovered Inspiron

To make it even better than new, I’m now running 10.5.6 in the most painless installation to date. I went with “XxX 10.5.6,” having used their releases for Tiger back in the day — I knew it was quality. I selected few add-ons, leaving most of the stuff to my own packages (including broadcom, audio, etc.). Though I did select Chamelion this time, and the patcher and everything else, which means this baby is running super smooth. I didn’t bother editing About This Mac to reflect my actual CPU type as a Pentium Dual Core — I’m getting lazy these days.

I had issues running all of the available updates at once. iTunes, Java, QuickTime, etc. would freeze during installation unless I installed them and rebooted one at a time. I started with all the updates (one at a time) that didn’t require a reboot, then hit up the monster Java update, followed by iTunes, QuickTime, and some iLife Browser update.

Here’s a nice tip for first installs or recovering from bad updates — always install Clamshell Display. I had issues getting XxX 10.5.6 to go to sleep for the first time after installing until I re-installed and made sure I had Clamshell Display checked. I simply closed the kid after the CPU and HDD was done loading the “Welcome” post-installer screen, and boom. I woke it up by opening the lid and I was ready to set up my new Mac.

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About Richard

Richard is a professional web developer and business consultant. He opened his first web hosting company at the age of 13 out of his bedroom on an ISDN connection and hasn't looked back since. Richard currently resides in sunny Florida.

View all posts by Richard

50 Responses to “The Hack Is Back!”

  1. Rahul

    Update : Fixed it :)

    Had to boot using windows dvd and set the windows partition as active.

    Now i will try and remove the vista bootloader and try out the newest chameleon.

  2. Rahul

    Need some help pretty badly.. I upgraded to Win7, and had to reinstall Leopard. Before i had a Windows Boot Manager show me the OS’s, then Chameleon would kick in. Now its Chameleon first and then WBM. Is there anyway i can make the windows boot manager show me the options first? :(

  3. Alejandro

    Hello everyone.

    I CAN confirm that the patch

    http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?act=attach&type=post&id=46099

    works on my 1525, running Kalyway 10.5.2 + Combo Update + Apple Download Update 10.5.4

    Thanks a lot, guys… you rock the catskills.

  4. Thomas

    First thing is that next time for your issues, you should post them to either the hackintosh tutorial or the “Your Audio doesnt work, right? Well…” post so that more people will see the question and can address it to help you. That being said, first make a backup (https://dailyblogged.com/post/backing-up-your-data-the-where-why-and-how/) and then install the new applesmbios kext (http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?s=2483e73132477a3762a1502aa389dc75&act=attach&type=post&id=41219) with kext helper. Then restart and your bluetooth should still work after restarting. Be sure to write back to let us know if it works for you.

  5. Rick

    Running 10.5.6 on Inspiron 1525 with built in blue tooth. When I put the computer to sleep from the Apple menu drop down the bluetooth stops working after the computer wakes up. (I’m using a bluetooth mouse) When I click the bluetooth icon (using the touch pad at this point) it says Bluetooth: Not Available. Everything else Audio/USB seems to be fine.

    Haven’t installed the ethernet driver yet.

    Any ideas?

  6. Alex

    Is it possible to disable Clamshell Display? It’s starting to annoy me.

  7. Richard

    I’ve noticed my tapping and scrolling sensitivity seems to go in and out, changing from really light and easy to double click, two finger scrool, etc. to very hard and almost impossible. Not quite sure why.

  8. Spencer

    @rahul

    I wouldn’t mind the patch because I’d really like Battery Meter to work.

  9. rahul

    Is it just mine or double-tap on touchpad “magically” working for everybody else without any patching??
    Am running XxX. Dint used to work on Kalyway.

  10. Richard

    I’d get rid of those kexts, rebuild/repair and try it again.

  11. Geoff

    I also tried to replace the seatbelt kexts with both a 10.5.5 and a 10.5.6 version (extracted from combo update) and neither seemed to work, i still have to boot in safe mode.

  12. Geoff

    Hey i just had a quick question. I upgraded from 10.5.4 and it all went reasonably fine. As soon as i tried to install the intellenhancedspeestep.kext though it would no longer boot in verbose mode, and gave me a hold power button message without the -v flag. Any ideas?

  13. Richard

    @Jamie – It should work fine. Any additional steps you need to go through for the bigger display you’ll probably repeat here. This releases functions the same if not better than Kalyway’s. A lot of these different builds simply include a different set of installation options. What’s inside (Leopard) remains almost the same.

  14. Jamie

    Heya,

    Does this work out of the box (or with some kexts) with the 1440×900 model? Assuming that I’d also want QE/CE.

    Thanks.

  15. Danubletta

    Guys, one a side note of the beautiness of XxX release… Is this Marvell Yukon 88E8040 working?
    Atm I can use ONLY Ethernet, no Wi-Fi.
    That’s crucial since the 256kb/s unstable adsl connection with 3,3Gb file makes a trouble or two :p

    Cheers!

  16. SwampFoetus

    rahulUpdate :

    Clamshell works when its on battery, but when on power after i close the lid it reboots after few seconds and keyboard wont work till it boots into vista.. (vista is my default OS)

    This is a known issue with sleep in general. If you want to sleep your laptop (clamshell or otherwise) and leave it on AC, you must unplug it first then re-connect it once it’s asleep.

  17. rahul

    Update :

    Clamshell works when its on battery, but when on power after i close the lid it reboots after few seconds and keyboard wont work till it boots into vista.. (vista is my default OS)

  18. rahul

    Umm..my hackbook restarts 5-10secs after i’ve closed the lid, how do i disable clamshell? i just want the display to sleep after i’ve closed the lid :(

  19. ffreese

    For people who like tap2click:
    Tap2Click is only active after sleep-by-lid wakeup (Clamshell-Display).
    No Tap-2-Click after start with the old wakeuptrick (expose).

  20. ffreese

    Thank you so much.
    After endless ionstallations without succes this one with XxX works fine :)

    I only had to downgrade Chameleon as fresh installation stucked with errors on boot…

    Sometimes even tap-to-click on trackpad works, even though there ist no trackpad visible
    in system-setup. Any suggestions to get tap-to-click on after every boot?

  21. rahul

    I got the battery meter working using a patcher actually. It’s working great..if anyone needs that patcher just drop a comment here. i will upload it somewhere and link it here.

    I couldn’t get richard’s patch working cuz the system said i had “Insufficient privileges” to copy or move around the data in that folder.

  22. SwampFoetus

    Huge leap forwards yesterday as I FINALLY got the battery meter working! Not sure what I did wrong when trying all the various methods that are floating around, but I finally worked out the necessary versions of the necessary kexts/bundles from various forums and got it working!

    So, if you want to have a go at this, here’s a step-by-step of what I did. Now, I must point out that this may not work for you and could possibly screw your installation, so BACKUP with TimeMachine (or whatever) before you try it. My laptop is a Dell 1525, bought in the UK in January 2009. I got this working on XxX 10.5.6, so I don’t know if it will work on anything other than XxX 10.5.6, but I imagine it will (well, you’re going to backup anyway, right?).

    I’ve uploaded the necessary files to a website, as, after all the various forums I visited, I can’t actually remember where I got them. In fact, they may well be the same ones as Richard’s, but I don’t have time to compare them.

    1. Download PowerManagement.bundle.tar (version 136.0.0) from here: http://www.swampfoetus.net/downloads/PowerManagement.bundle.tar
    2. Download AppleACPIPlatform.kext.tar (version 1.1.0) from here: http://www.swampfoetus.net/downloads/AppleACPIPlatform.kext.tar.
    3. Extract both of the above files (double-click them in finder).
    4. Start a Terminal session.
    5. Type “sudo su –“ and enter your root password to become the root user.
    6. Type “cd /System/Library/SystemConfiguration/”
    7. Type “mv PowerManagement.bundle PowerManagement.bundle_backup” i.e. take a backup.
    8. Copy in the one you downloaded at step 1, so, depending on what user you downloaded the file as, type “cp –R ~/Downloads/PowerManagement.bundle ./” Here, should be replaced with the username you download the file as.
    9. Type “cd /System/Library/Extensions/”
    10. Type “mv AppleACPIPlatform.kext AppleACPIPlatform.kext_backup” i.e. take a backup
    11. Open KextHelper and drag-and-drop the downloaded AppleACPIPlatform.kext into it.
    12. Open Disk Utility and click “Repair Disk Permissions”. (I got a load of “…permissions differ…” messages and ignored them.)
    13. Reboot with –v –f
    14. Open System Preferences and go to Energy Saver. Fingers crossed, you should have a load of new stuff in this window. Click the Options tab and tick Show battery status in the menu bar.

    Well, I really hope this works for you. Let me know your successes.

    I’m posting this to all the blogs, as Batter Meter problems are mentioned in all of them.

    P.S. It’s my birthday tomorrow so, as a gift, could someone get my hibernation working? It’s the only thing left that I need working!

  23. rahul

    Update : Everything’s working :)

    Had to reinstall a dozen times though. I f’ed up the boot config somehow.

    Used :
    X11
    Chameleon
    Essential Kexts
    Clamshell display
    Richard’s dell 1525 patches (wifi wouldn’t patch until i booted it using -v-f)

    Thnx Richard :)

  24. rahul

    I tried installing this with my vista partition still intact. i had no problem with kalyway 10.5.2. it was dual booting and everything was smooth. but i tried xxx today, i selected essential kexts and clamshell display. after installation i reboot, it gave me boot0 error. I repaired vista boot and booted into mac os. it loads up the gray apple logo screen, goes to the blue screen and blacks out. i unplugged and waited 15mins. still nothing :( moreover it screwed my input peripherals. but i managed to get it back.

    do i HAVE to select pc efi or chameleon?? cuz i dint select them…

  25. Guster

    Can i install this without the clamshell display? Like is there any cons of installing this feature??

  26. SwampFoetus

    Harry@SwampFoetus, or Richard

    What all is not working? Am thinking of diving into this one. Just want to make sure if i will loose anything important feature.

    Also Richard, you mentioned something about using a different sleep trick towards the end of the article. Could you please elaborate on it? :)

    All I know is that what was working before 10.5.6 (i.e. when I was on 10.5.6) still works on 10.5.6 after installing Richards stuff.

    Working for me;
    * Wifi
    * Audio
    * Sleep trick
    * Keyboard
    * Trackpad (just the standard, no extra scrolling, etc.)
    * USB
    * TimeMachine

    Not working for me (before or after XxX 10.5.6);
    * Battery meter
    * Trackpad extra features e.g. scrolling etc.
    * Hibernation

    Untested (before or after XxX 10.5.6);
    * Ethernet
    * HDMI
    * Firewire
    * Card Reader

    If you choose Clamshell Display during the XxX install, closing the lid puts the 1525 to sleep, so you can use this instead of the sleep trick. Simply boot-up, screen goes black, wait for HDD activity to settle (as you would for sleep trick), close lid, open lid, BOOM.

    I still use the sleep trick, as it really doesn’t bother me, but if the sleep trick doesn’t work or has stopped working, closing/opening the lid should do it (as long as you have Clamshell installed). The only other way is to pull out the AC, close the lid, and wait for it to go to sleep (15 mins?) then open the lid.

  27. Jaime

    for anyone else that has downloaded the disk and nothing has worked i finnaly got it to work, using rev.1 found in the bay of thieves, even though i have an inspiron 1525, and if youre on this website you mgiht have one too i used the same instructions as if i were using an inspiron 1520, which is is predecessor
    Use this forum but just use it to choose drivers and tools when you customize and to know what kext to install for graphics, nothing else, read the instructions before starting it

    not liable for anything that happens to anyones computer just trying to help from experience

  28. stormcracker

    http://antyalias.wordpress.com/2009/02/16/how-to-install-1056-on-dell-1525-ideneb-v14/

    THIS CAME OUT YESTERDAY AND I SEE THAT THERE IS A CARD READER FIX BUT I CANT GET IT TO WORK(ITS IN THE DRIVER FOLDER) TRY IT GUYS LET ME KNOW!!

  29. BodyGuarDMX

    Dell studio 15 or Dell Inspiron 1525

    would this work same on dell studio like in Inspirion 1525 ?
    I’m buying tomorrow lap-top & both of these have same price… & dell studio is little better….
    what should I buy? I WANT HACKBOOK!!!! :)

    thx

  30. Harry

    @SwampFoetus, or Richard

    What all is not working? Am thinking of diving into this one. Just want to make sure if i will loose anything important feature.

    Also Richard, you mentioned something about using a different sleep trick towards the end of the article. Could you please elaborate on it? :)

  31. SwampFoetus

    I had 10.5.5 running on my Dell 1525 (UK version), which I got working in stages using these blogs (thanks guys!), but was avoiding the move to 10.5.6 because it looked like too much work. However, when I spotted this blog, using XxX, I thought it was worth a try as it sounded easy.

    Now, I didn’t think it was clear enough that it was a fresh install or an upgrade, so I went in expected a fresh install and decided to back everything up with TimeMachine.

    I download XxX OS X 10.5.6 Final (NOT rev 1 or 2), burned it to a DVD, and booted my Dell 1525 with it.

    When I got to the install screen I hit the Customize button and selected a load of stuff, including Chameleon and Clamshell Display. However, when it got so far into the install I got an “Install Failed” error, saying something about a selected option was missing from the disc.

    So, I tried again and this time chose only Chameleon and Clamshell Display and everything worked fine! Booted into 10.5.6 with all my files intact, so I didn’t need to perform a restore.

    Of course, Wifi and sound was bust, so ran the Broadcom script, repaired permissions and rebooted (with -v -f boot flags!) and Wifi was back. I then dropped the 1525 codec onto the HDAPatcher (green frog), rebooted (-v -f) and sound was back.

    The “sleep trick” still works, however you don’t really need it as Clamshell Display lets you close the lid to sleep the machine, and once you re-open the lid your display is back!

    Before 10.5.6 I could never get the battery stuff to work and I still can’t get it working now, but not too bothered anyway. Has anyone got it working on a UK bought 1525?

    Also, does anyone know at what point you can stop using -f ? I had to use it every time I booted or my Wifi wouldn’t work. However, all of a sudden, I no longer needed to use it. Now that I’ve upgraded to 10.5.6, I need to use -f again. Does anyone understand why this is? Not a problem, just curious.

    So, all-in-all, XxX looks to be the painless way to upgrade, as long as you’re careful what options you choose during the install. I can’t vouch for a fresh install, but I imagine it’ll be fine, plus you’ve nothing to lose if you’re trashing the disc anyway.

  32. Cristian

    gbonillaIn my opinion I would say just go with a 10.5.6 and yes it would ease the work of having to install all of the updates. I used iPC but XxX could very well work just as well. Just as Richard said make sure to install clamshell it makes a world of difference.

    Gbonilla,
    Will you please let me know how you get IPC 10.5.6 up and working because I experienced a lot of troubles and install not going to the end. I mean, after the first reboot following the installation, my 1525 are staying in a dark grey screen with a mouse pointer over it. No matter how long had been waiting (even 2 hours left to do its thing) my laptop refuse to go on. No kernel panic, no nothing but grey screen.
    Any suggestion would be highly appreciated.
    Thanks

  33. stormcracker

    DISREGARD… I GOT IT TO WORK I USD KEXT HELPER TO REINJECT THE HDA THINGGY THEN I RAN HIS PATCH .
    the mute dont work though

  34. stormcracker

    i got xxx to work and the clamshell thinggy works ..wireless works but no sound..i am using richards patcher and it shows that everything is fine and reboot but i still get no sound when i do..i have the same laptop and every thing worked fine for me on kallyway.. can someone write me a script to remove the old sound driver so that i can try it again?

    richard how did u get sound to work..did u choose a special thing while installing..

  35. Jaime

    dude i have an inspiron 1525 im what people consider a noob here
    im trying this method but i have no idea what drivers to choose
    not only that but ive installed a couple hundred times(that might be an understatement) and problem after problem inclusing that the black screen last 15 years, anyways would really help if tyou please tell me what drivers you recommend and if their is anything that you did in particular for this installation and also how much time did your black screen last

  36. rahul

    umm.. Richard, is this simpler than kalyway?? any issues we need to know before diving in?

  37. marvs

    Richard,, help please… if you can’t post the links here… can you send me the links of all the the things i need to download for my dell inspiron 1525 to install mac instead.. please… would you suggest to install 10.5.6 or 10.5.2?? actually i’am downloading some of them but i’m not really sure f i’m downloading the right thing…
    help please… here’s my e-add.. marvs2287@yahoo.com

  38. Hack5190

    Are you still running your “SleepDisplay Hack”? It was working great for me under 10.5.5 but no longer works since I went to 10.5.6. Any suggestions?

  39. Kyle

    Richard – Congrats on getting your machine back. I’ve been reading about all the issues people are having upgrading to 10.5.6 for months now. I think I might just start over with 10.5.6 directly and use Time Machine to restore my machine.

    Anything not working on your machine? (i.e. Bluetooth, Time Machine, etc).

  40. Richard

    No loss of audio after waking up no matter how it goes to sleep, and I’m using the same AppleHDA patcher with my original codec that comes with my drivers pack. Same goes for the Wi-Fi (Broadcom-Script).

    If you look closely you’ll notice I don’t have the battery meter up yet — haven’t gotten around to loading that kext but I don’t expect any issues. This thing is running **smooth**!

  41. Wolfer

    Richard et al,

    Thanks. Well. . . Got sleep working in all states — Sleep (S3) from Apple Menu/Sleep (Power Button Wake), Close Lid/Sleep, Open Lid/Wake (when on AC), Close Lid/Sleep/Open Lid/No Wake (when on Battery) — which is perfect for preventing the infamous “backpack meltdown.” And, no matter what the sleep state, all peripherals come back fine — audio, USB, bluetooth, wireless, etc., etc.

    And, best of all, NO MORE bitching corruption/error messages from Chameleon when booting.

    So. . . in all. . . I think I’ve got about everything this Dell could have, “gotten.”

    ‘Presh, All.

    — Dave

  42. Wolfer

    RichardI can’t legally say where to get the files. I mean, I could — but I have to abide by my server provider and hosting provider’s terms of service because they’ve been very good to me. I will give you a hint. You can find it on a number of sites, especially one full of Swedish pirates, and the exclusive clan of the green monster.

    I used the Clamshell Display option from XxX 10.5.6. To be honest I don’t know what version it is. I’ve never had an issue with either my self-installed one (from previous 10.5.5) or this.

    I’d post a tutorial, but they’re all very similar. This build is so easy, you just put the disc in and go. Follow my previous posts to find your way to success here.

    _____________________________

    No problem. Understand. Just thought I’d save time “digging.” Found it. Playing with it now. Also, took your advice and DL’d XxX to play around with it — since you gave it such rave reviews. There’s a few other people here at the office with various Dell’s. Figured I’d put it to the test. If nothing else, it saves them (me) from having to update from other installs not at 10.5.6 already!

    Question. . . you said, “. . .made sure I had Clamshell Display checked. I simply closed the lid after the CPU and HDD was done loading the “Welcome” post-installer screen, and boom. I woke it up by opening the lid and I was ready to set up my new Mac.” Now that you have everything installed, and assuming you’re using gbon’s audio driver, you haven’t noticed that after wake your audio output is lost, have you? I’ve heard a lot of talk of sleep (especially S3) killing the audio post waking up.

    — Dave

  43. Richard

    I can’t legally say where to get the files. I mean, I could — but I have to abide by my server provider and hosting provider’s terms of service because they’ve been very good to me. I will give you a hint. You can find it on a number of sites, especially one full of Swedish pirates, and the exclusive clan of the green monster.

    I used the Clamshell Display option from XxX 10.5.6. To be honest I don’t know what version it is. I’ve never had an issue with either my self-installed one (from previous 10.5.5) or this.

    I’d post a tutorial, but they’re all very similar. This build is so easy, you just put the disc in and go. Follow my previous posts to find your way to success here.

  44. Wolfer

    Hey Richard,

    What version of ClamshellDisplay are you using? And, if no problems, could you post it. I’d like to give it a try.

    Thanks!

    — Dave

  45. stormcracker

    does all the drivers work…are there any issues? is it better to go this way?right now i am at .5 because the new update requires me to do too many things but you said it real simple..can you please make up a tutorial…

  46. gbonilla

    In my opinion I would say just go with a 10.5.6 and yes it would ease the work of having to install all of the updates. I used iPC but XxX could very well work just as well. Just as Richard said make sure to install clamshell it makes a world of difference.

  47. marvs

    ei… just a question is that the same laptop, (from the previous post–dell inspiron 1525), you used to install the mac os 10.5.6??
    because i have exactly the same laptop and want to install it…
    do i have to install the 10.5.2-kalyway dvd and then update it to 10.5.6 or should i look for the 10.5.6 dvd installer?? i’m completely new to mac.. i know how to install windows and linux.. but not this one… i would greatly appreciate your help….
    oh another thing… where can i download all the files needed… if you don’t want to post the links… please send me an email… thanks a lot… here’s my e-add: marvs2287@yahoo.com.. thanks..√ú

  48. Cristian

    Hi, Richard
    Have you tried installing IPC 10.5.6 and see the results on your Inspiron 1525?
    I am curious to find out whether this will ease our work when having a fresh WORKING installation
    Thanks!

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. An Accidental Stroke of Brilliance | Daily Blogged - March 19th, 2009

    […] when I closed the lid on my newly installed and configured HackBook (running XxX 10.5.6) and left it alone for awhile, the display went to sleep. I thought nothing of it of course, but […]