I just finished installing iPC 10.5.6 for the second time on a Dell Latitude D610 and so far everything is OK. I mean, I am still using the external Keyboard and mouse, but I will get to that in a few minutes.

I have 2 questions:
It asks for my info the first time it runs. Is it OK to enter my real info or am I looking at a few years behind bars if I do?

Second question is " Should I (or Can I) update the software?"

I did do the full update before and that is why I am reinstalling for the second time.

Also, I only get 1024 by 768 resolution. Anyway to select something higher?

Thanks,
Manya2000

I'll attempt to answer these questions as best I can, I'm almost a noob myself so don't feel bad.

First, I wouldn't put my real info there, I guess you could and it probably won't hurt anything but I'm not 100%. On all the machines I've done, I've made up BS to go into those slots and all has been well. I would suggest you put your name or nickname in there though cause it seems like it sets up using whatever name you put in there. Again...wait for another response on this one cause I'm not 100%.

You can update your installed software, like apps and stuff. Don't take the security updates because you'll have the same reinstall problem that you're having right now. I've also got experience on that, it sucks don't it?

If you could do a retail install then you could do regular updates and take security updates without issue, I think. I'm pretty sure that's right...

You're gonna have to find the right video kext to get higher resolution. It'll take some question asking and lots of reading to find the right one, I think. Depends on what video card or whatever you got going on, try posting your spec's and see what you get.

My suggestion to update to a newer version of OSX is to find the iDeneb website and get their combo updater & delta updater. Again, do some reading on this and you'll figure it all out, it's really a cake walk after you figure it out. But I'll try to give you some basic pointers from my experience to help you out...

If you have a large enough drive, partition it out and use the second partition for time machine backups. Once you get a somewhat working install, do a back up...it'll save you some trouble & time.

Find out what your hardware is and pick your kext/fixes/patches accordingly during install. If you can't find a match, skip it if possible and come back to it during a working install.

Once you get the Combo Updater, do a backup and backup your extensions folder and kernel. Try using OSx86Tools to do so. Run the combo updater and follow the instructions onscreen and I think it includes some in the folder too, read them if they're there.

BEFORE you reset the computer or restart it...replace your kext using either KextHelper or OSx86Tools and use OSx86Tools to replace your kernel. Then do the restart/reboot or whatever you want to call it. It should work fine this way and only do one version at a time, like 10.5.5 to 10.5.6, then 10.5.6 to 10.5.7 - got it?

Next time your install fails because you update your version, don't reinstall the whole thing all over again. Pop the install DVD into the drive and boot it up. Don't format the partition or any of that, go straight to the customize part. Usually at the top of the list is the essentials or whatever they call it, the actual OSX program(s) file(s). Uncheck that. Then go through and pick your kernel again, pick your bootloader, your AppleSMBIOS version and other fixes or patches it took to get a working install. Then tell it to install, it'll only take a minute or two, maybe less, and then it'll restart. It should boot right back up for you without problems.

You can just do that if you want to to update, take the update and then run the install disk and repeat those steps. I did that with mine, iPC 10.5.6 PPF5 Final and I had no problems at all. I even did that to change my bootloader and try different kernels out of the install DVD. Used it to add stuff that I'd skipped too. Might not work for you, might not work for any body else on this forum but it worked for me numerous times.

Good Luck!

Oh, and about your keyboard & mouse...

I got a working 10.5.8 install on a Dell 2200, I call it my super POS computer.

The keyboard & trackpad work fine right out of the box. For this install I used the iDeneb 10.5.8 Lite Edition distro, booted right up without problem. I installed and rebooted - it went straight to the desktop on the first try, been working since then. I did the iPC on my desktop.

I have an HP Pavilion DV6409wm that is AMD w/nVidia chipset. Seems like I used Leo4All on it and I did have a working (somewhat) install but I had the same keyboard & mouse issues that you are probably having. The fix is suppose to be to touch the touch-sensitive controls for audio/dvd above the keyboard but it didn't work for me. I botched that install and can't get it to take another install, so I gave up on that one. Gonna sell that laptop and just buy something else or spend that money in hookers or something.

If you didn't try whatever trackpad fix is on your distro, maybe try that. If you didn't use a PS/2 keyboard & mouse fix/patch, then try that also.

I'm not experienced with that laptop so I can't tell you for sure what to do in order to fix that problem, read on the forum and search the net. Somebody around here has the same laptop as you and they probably have experienced the same issues as you, the answer is here somewhere.

Thanks for your help. I was able to upgrade to 10.5.8 and did the fix and it seems to be working fine, except when I try to install the iPhone SDK I got the Panic screen. Same with another program (DisplayConfigX.dmg)

Maybe because I allowed the software Update to install the Security Updates?

I will try again to re install the Kernel and the drivers and see what happens.

If you didn't install the seatbelt kext or fix, then it's going to do that every time you try to mount a DMG.

Pop that DVD in there and do what I said about getting to the customize section and just select the seatbelt fix and nothing else, let that install and reboot. Then try mounting DMG's and see how that works.