Mac OS X on x86 Hardware 2008–2024 Technical Archive
InfiniteMac OSx86 › OSx86 Core & 10.X › How to: iPC OSx86 on GigaByte GA-MA78GM-S2H
12,006 reads · 2009-01-18 – 2009-04-19
Guide 10.X Core

How to: iPC OSx86 on GigaByte GA-MA78GM-S2H

Which are the best options for this board? Has somebody a working iPC on a GA-MA78GM-S2H? USB2 working aswell? Any suggestions? FHT

Primary Author
@FirstHackTosh Published 2009-01-18
Collection
OSx86 Core & 10.X
Archival Footprint
12,006 historical reads · 7 curated field notes (from 10 dispatches) · 2009-01-18 – 2009-04-19
Credited Voices (7)
@FirstHackTosh (2)@Edgelessdiamond (2)@Ali C. (2)@MegaZJ@erick2red@markolo25@naquaada

Which are the best options for this board?
Has somebody a working iPC on a GA-MA78GM-S2H? USB2 working aswell?

Any suggestions?

FHT

Author Updates & Technical Revisions

Follow-up dispatches by @FirstHackTosh

Author Update #1 @FirstHackTosh 2009-01-18

Now I have tried several install options and can't get a working USB2
It's very frustrating

Synthesized Community Field Notes

7 technical responses curated from 10 original dispatches

Field Note #1 @MegaZJ 2009-03-15

I have this same board with iPC 10.5.6 Final running great. Even on real Macs OS X can be picky about ports so first I would try different ports as some of them might not be running at 2.0 specs. Generally the ports on the front are not 2.0 so try to use the back ports for high-speed stuff.

Also check your BIOS USB settings for stuff like OHCI and EHCI (1.1 and 2.0 respectively) and make sure the high-speed is enabled.

If that doesn't work install the modified SB700 kexts from this thread →. In my case the AMD/ATI chipset drivers from the iPC install work just fine but it might help.

Field Note #2 @Edgelessdiamond 2009-04-17 ↳ Re: @MegaZJ
@MegaZJI have this same board with iPC 10.5.6 Final running great. Even on real Macs OS X can be picky about ports so first I would try different ports as some of them might not be running at 2.0 specs. Generally the ports on the front are not 2.0 so try to use the back ports for high-speed stuff. Also check your BIOS USB settings for stuff…

Yo, megaz how did you do it. I have the motherboard with an amd 5200 with cool n quiet technology 2.7ghz dual core. I also have a nvidea geforce 7200gs running on it.

I've been on this thing for like 15 hours straight now, what options did you choose exactly on ipc thanks

Field Note #3 @erick2red 2009-04-17 ↳ Re: @FirstHackTosh
@FirstHackToshNow I have tried several install options and can't get a working USB2 It's very frustrating

I had this issue, and when i boot "-f" then usb 2 protocols works. so i added to com.apple.Boot.plist and it works so far.

Field Note #4 @Edgelessdiamond 2009-04-17 ↳ Re: @erick2red
@erick2redI had this issue, and when i boot "-f" then usb 2 protocols works. so i added to com.apple.Boot.plist and it works so far.

uh are you talking about the ipc distribution, and its not the usb that I got problems with, I can't get the thing to load I guess after 30 more attempts I'll have it.

So please a bit more specific to what your talking about. If I knew how to inject and edit ipc a lil bit, it'd probably make things go smoother, but since someones done it, I know I can do it.

Anyways any help from anyone would be greatly appreciated.

Field Note #5 @Ali C. 2009-04-18

Nope, SB700.
Personally, never had any USB 2.0 troubles. I found, however, that the top two rear ports on the mobo are only USB 1.1 for some dumb reason. Thought this was OS X but Windows reacts the way you would expect-the old "this device can run faster" balloon. :\
No worries, though, I just keep the webcam and hard drive on 2.0 and the rest on 1.1 (except for the rarely used printer).

Field Note #6 @naquaada 2009-04-18

Which devices except harddisks, cardreaders and other external media storage devices are using full USB 2.0 speed? I have printer, audio interface, midi interface, IR receiver and various other devices, but they're all using low speed.
I know there are professional audio interfaces which need a Firewire 800 connection (RME Fireface 800), but actually I don't have an idea which usb device requires hi-speed. How about scanners?

Field Note #7 @Ali C. 2009-04-19

Webcams (AFAIK) use the 2.0 bus to get a better picture piped into the computer.
Some printers use the 2.0 bus in order to process the print data and thus print faster. The same is probably true for some scanners.
Other than that and the above mentioned (harddrives, media devices, card readers, etc.) I see little reason for any other device to need 2.0. Lessened keyboard/mouse lag? Sounds good in theory but I personally don't think this is in practice.

Corroborated & Participated: @markolo25
Sources & Contributor Provenance (7 credited usernames · Thread #1955)
UsernameDossier ContributionDispatchesActive Window
@FirstHackToshPrimary Author22009-01-18
@EdgelessdiamondContributor22009-04-17
@Ali C.Contributor22009-04-18 → 2009-04-19
@MegaZJContributor12009-03-15
@erick2redContributor12009-04-17
@markolo25Contributor12009-04-18
@naquaadaContributor12009-04-18