Still waiting for root device
 

My XP install finally broke beyond hope of repair, so I've decided to wipe it and go with mac.

The problem is I've tried several different installs, and nothing is working so far. iAtkos didn't even get past the "apple/pinwheel" loading screen. iDeneb installs fine, but it always hangs during boot.

I have an Acer ASE380-UD440A desktop, with the following specs:
CPU: 4400+ AMD Athlon 64 X2
Chipset: Acer EM61/EM61PM
Video: Nvidia GForce 6150SE nforce 430
RAM: 2GB DDR
HDD: 320GB SATA

I've tried installing with vanilla kernel, vanilla kernel with AMD fix, Voodoo Kernel, and all of these with/without the seemingly appropriate kexts for video,audio,etc...

Every time I install, I get the "no smoking sign" ("O" + "/") upon boot.
UPDATE: I tried booting in verbose mode, but I got "Still waiting for root device"
Safe mode doesn't work either

Should I try a different Kernel, or a different distro? Can anyone help me out?

Try checking your Southbridge Drivers to see if it is supported.

I don't know much about this as I have never experienced this problem.

i would replace the board.

i know it sucks but keep in mind osx is more or less proprietary so it won't run on everything.
if you wanna have osx you gotta comply with it. (at least a little)

you're all noobs, that just means it can't find his hard drive.

"Buy a different motherboard"... you're a ###.

that's right and now what?
he tried many installers and none seemed to have supported his chipset.

what would you recommend mr. smarta.. :rolleyes:

Wow Pater,

This is really an excellent answer ! Very helpful ...
If you have nothing else to say I think you can stay quiet ... really.

Doesn't it come to your mind that maybe he has no money to change is motherboard at the moment and that he only want to know if someone knows what to do before ?

What's the point of telling them that they're all noobs ?
If you're not a noob anymore, remember when it was the case ...

@pater: Haven't you read our rules upon registering? Every single post you made here was hateful and unconstructive, hence violated the rules.

Even if you aren't a noob at OSx86, you're a noob at how to behave properly.

Please just stay away from our place, we don't need you and your "elitist" comments. Thank you!

You should use VoodooKernel with AMD.
If it still doesnt boot you would need to find out if your SATA controller is supported by the AppleNForceATA.kext you are using, is it loading at all? is it finding all your drives (read what is printed on verbose mode). If its not you would need to find an alternative kext that works with your specific nForce SATA controller (that can be difficult...).
If the GeForce video card you mention is an integrated with shared memory you will have lots of trouble getting it to work and most likely it will never work with hardware acceleration.

can the x86 crap get any cheaper than today? :)
you can get a board that's working well with osx for 20 bucks or even less.
for that you don't even get the cables from apple ^_^

anyhow he could of course try to get this board to work somehow but i doubt it will ever run trouble-free.

sorry for any hassle my earlier post might have caused

he said he had tried several installers so i'm quite sure there was at least 1 voodoo kernel among them

Yea I know, he actually said he tried voodoo, I was just pointing that trying different kernels with AMD usually makes no sense, you should just stick with Voodoo.
Some nForce chipsets are definitely supported, others got trouble with the storage controllers being detected. In any case I would not buy a new mobo blindly, you have the risk of getting one with a troublesome chipset too!

Try switching the sata mode in bios to ahci mode.That worked for me using xxx 10.5.6