My first attempt at installing OSx86 not going too well...

Hello all, I am a long time Windows PC user who is very interested in learning about the Mac OS. I have 10+ years professional experience with windows based computers. One thing I enjoy about trying to install OSx86 is the thrill of learning something new. So here is my situation:

I have downloaded the latest iDeneb v1.4 10.5.6 distro and burned it to a DVD. Next, my test box is a Compaq with the following specs:

CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Processor
Motherboard: M2N68-LA (ASUS)
Chipset: NVIDIA GeForce 6150SE nForce 430
Memory: 2 x 1GB DDR2-667
Hard Drive: Seagate 250GB SATA2
Optical Drive: Samsung DVD+RW SATA
Audio Chipset: Realtek ALC888
Video Card: XFX GeForce 8600GT PCIe 256MB
USB Wireless Keyboard + Mouse


My issue is that when I try to boot from the disc the apple logo appears and the "working" icon swirls but never does anything else. Furthermore I did some research and tried hitting F8 then used -v I get the following screen -

http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/2603/53573787.jpg

This seems to me like it cannot find my hard drive. Does anyone have a suggestion that I can try next?

Thanks,
SB

Well for starters your not using a very user friendly CPU for installing iDeneb. I would try something with an Intel CPU for best results. Don't get me wrong, you can get iDeneb to work on some setups using an AMD CPU but Intel would be the way to go.

So were you able to actually install iDeneb? Like did you go thru the setup process? Did you make sure to install the AMD Patch? Did you install any other patches?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DSMKilla

Well for starters your not using a very user friendly CPU for installing iDeneb. I would try something with an Intel CPU for best results. Don't get me wrong, you can get iDeneb to work on some setups using an AMD CPU but Intel would be the way to go.

So were you able to actually install iDeneb? Like did you go thru the setup process? Did you make sure to install the AMD Patch? Did you install any other patches?

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Thanks for the reply. I am taking your advice. I have an Acer Desktop wih a Intel 2.0GHz Core2 Duo and I what I believe is an Intel motherboard. I will attempt it with that box and see how far I get. Since this is my first attempt I don't need to make this any harder than I have to :)

So I booted from the iDeneb DVD on the Acer and I got the setup screen. I was able to chose my language, use the Disk Utility to format my hard drive (I chose the Extended Mac Jounraling). Then I clicked install and went to lunch. When I got back the screen was stuck on the apple boot screen with a slashed circle icon. I chose the -v boot option and the screen below is as far as I get.

http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/3921/70023800.jpg

My new computer has the following specs:

Model: Acer Power FH
Motherboard: 946GZT-AM
CPU: Intel Core2 Duo 2.GHz
Memory: 2GB DDR2 667MHz
Chipset: Intel 946GZ
Hard Drive: Seagate 250GB SATAII
Optical Drive: DVD+RW
Graphics Card: nVidia GeForce 8600GT 256MB

I wonder what this "root device" it's looking for is.

Thanks for any help!

SB

**** UPDATE ****

So I did a little research and googled "still waiting for root device". I came across several posts of people with the same issue. Some people recommended switching SATA for IDE so I tried it. I installed a Western Digital 250GB IDE hard drive as a single master with nothing else on the ribbon, I booted from the iDeneb DVD, used Disk Utility to format the drive, selected it to install to and installed it. The installation completed and then upon reboot I got the same error that I did with the SATA hard drive. I also tried using a SATA DVD and IDE DVD. Same result each time.

Yeah see that's how I have my iDeneb install setup via an external hard drive. But either way I was able to install it on my internal hard drive with no issues either. In my BIOS I have an option for "SATA Controller Mode" I have that set to COMPATIBILITY rather than AHCI. You should go into your BIOS and see if you have any similar options. Something to the effect of SATA controller. I remember on my HP laptop I had an option that I could either ENABLE or DISABLE SATA mode. I always had to disable it.

http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w...pc_ideneb2.jpg

In any case let's check over a few things to make sure your installing right...

Make sure that when you go into the disk utility that your setting look like this. As you can see from my setup, my first drive shows 232.9 GB TOSHIBA which is my internal drive. Then 298.1 GB WD 3200BEV which is my Western Digital external hard drive. I then have THREE paritions on that drive, (three partitions is not required I just have 1 NTFS partition, 1 FAT32 partition, and lastly the MAC OSX partition which is what I install iDeneb on.
http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w...eb/iDeneb6.jpg

Then once you get to the install summary make sure that you click CUSTOMIZE. Then once you get to that screen make sure you select these options.
http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w...eb/iDeneb9.jpg

The first time I performed the install I did not select customize and check those options. However, yesterday I realized my mistake and re-installed (after a fresh format) with all of the same options you have shown. After I rebooted I continued to get the "still waiting for root device" message.

I will check my BIOS for the SATA settings you mentioned but I did not see anything earlier that allowed me to chose "Compatibility" mode.

Hiya there DSMKilla, Can you make a tutorial about how to install? And post it in the tutorial section? surely it will help other users, thx for sharing ;)

I also am new to this and have the same problem. "Still waiting for root device"
What can we do?

Thank you

You all have the same machine?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by icchansan

Hiya there DSMKilla, Can you make a tutorial about how to install? And post it in the tutorial section? surely it will help other users, thx for sharing ;)

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Done... :)

iDeneb v1.4 10.5.6 Walkthrough Installation