Acer Aspire 5810TZ

[Raditude]

Hello,

I am new to MacOS, but not computers in general. I have an Acer Aspire 5810TZ Laptop, that I would like to install MacOS X Snow Leopard 64bit on.

The computer came with Windows 7 64bit, which I have erased, and currently have Ubuntu Linux Karmic Koala 64bit installed.

I want to install Snow Leopard on my laptop, and also be able to multi-boot into Ubuntu, Windows 7, and Windows XP. I don't have anything on the laptop worth saving, so a reformat/repartition is fine.

I tried installing a custom patched OSX made by "Hazard," but it hung on boot, giving me the "Still waiting for root device" error. I think it means that the SATA drivers aren't being loaded or it can't find my hard drive or partition.

Also, does anyone know of a good program for burning DMG files with Windows XP or Ubuntu?

My Laptop Specs:

Intel Pentium SU4100 - 1.3Ghz, 800 Mhz FSB
Intel GMA 4500M, Up to 1695 MB DVMT
15.6" 16:9 HD LCD
4GB DDR3 Memory
320 GB Hard Drive
802.11b/g/Draft-N Wireless Networking
Ethernet Port
4 USB Ports
HDMI Out
VGA Out
Webcam
Built in Speakers and Mic
Headphone and Mic Jacks
Touchpad Mouse

Thank you much

[Mets08123]

if it says it right where you first insert the CD. Do the following : boot up computer, keep press F12 (or whatever button it is for your computer) to get to setup options. scroll through the menus until you see SATA Something. Change whatever its set to compatibility or whatever you have. then when its done installing. go back to the setup utility BEFORE first boot into mac. and change the SATA back to what it was. then everything should be ok

[Raditude]

I've messed with the Bios settings, and I don't think it had the right options for me to change.

The option available to change is "SATA Mode." the options available are AHCI Mode and IDE Mode.

I changed it to AHCI, like a tutorial told me, but it didn't work. I'm changing it back to IDE and trying it now.

EDIT: I got a mouse pointer and a startup screen.

[Raditude]

Ok, I got this to work. Now I'm working in the Disk Utility. Like I said, I want to multiboot this. I'm hoping to run Snow Leopard, Windows 7, Windows XP, and Ubuntu. I would also like to run Live Android, but I can't get the installer disc to work right now.

How many partitions should I have? I have a 320GB Hard Drive (shows 298.1GB)

[Raditude]

Ok, I got it installed, but now it's not booting. It doesn't recognize the OS.

[Raditude]

Ok, I installed Ubuntu Linux in another partition. This installed GRUB (bootloader) Now I get the option to boot MacOSX, but when I try it, it gives me the Darwin Kernel Panic. I'm stuck here.

[Raditude]

Here's the Panic Error I get. Sorry the camera isn't that great.

[Raditude]

Ok, I figured out part of the problem. I wasn't selecting the Kexts to install. I thought they were installed automatically with each distro.

So I did that, and when I rebooted, it loaded Chameleon and the Apple logo came up, and it gave me the "Please restart your computer" message.

[mesco64]

Hi, Ratitude,
as far as I see, you've repeating my steps just a month after me . Here is what I did until now, results were encouraging but not excellent, I'm telling here hoping will save you time.

My laptop is an Acer Aspire 5810T (no 3G module) European version bought in July 2009. I had a pre-installed Windows Vista Home Premium that I didn't want to remove, and a 20Gb Linux on a second partition that used very rarely, and so I wanted to put Mac on the second one.

At first I got Kalyway 10.5.1 and installation seemed to go fine but in fact never booted correctly, I fixed many problems but had to surrender in front of "HFS+ Partition Error". Yes, I've read some tips & tricks to solve it but none of them worked (and I was tired of the trial/error cycle).

Then I decided to try with iAtkos v7, which really seemed better. After two or three attempts of install I think I've found the closest set of options to the best possible on this laptop.

After your iAtkos DVD boots you should get to Customize... and set the following options:
- Leave all the default choices that are already checked
- Add USB support only, NOT the other suggested (3 in 1 memory card, etc), only USB
- Add the first ACHI driver (unlike Kalyway, with iAtkos you don't have to change the SATA controller mode from the BIOS, you just put the dvd and boot)
- Add PS/2 handler with trackpad support
- Under Kernel, check the highest version, the second one
- Add support for Laptop battery
- Add support for Intel Processor Stepping mode (throttle, etc)
- I also added Network (wired), Intel Gigabit driver, but it didn't work, perhaps it's better to leave it out
FIXES:
- I had EasyBCD under Windows to manage dual boot. I added Chameleon v2 under the Mac partition, now my first boot is Win dual boot, then it jumps to the mac partition and I see the Chameleon screen, allowing (for a second time) to move back into windows or, as default, boot Mac OS. I think you'd probably find a simplest solution (Chameleon in the first place, for example, with no windows menu, but for the moment it's fine like this).
- Native screen resolution fix as explained here: www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=173338

RESULTS:
What I tested and works out of the box:
- Trackpad and keyboard, OK
- USB ports OK, so pen drives OK.
- Screen resolution OK (now it shows several screen res. available, not only 1024x768)
- HAIWEI USB Internet Key was installed automatically, the 3g provider put Mac drivers on it, but cannot connect from the software given with the key.
Connecting from the Mac works fine, I had to configure manually the number to call, but worked fine. (In fact in the meantine I applied a patch, a package E220.dmg with drivers for a newer model)
Reading forums about HUAWEI I found that it's a very common issue not related to iAtkos or Kalyway but to the Mac itself. Our Italian 3 provider has apparently distributed a buggy version of the software.
Absolutely OK (be warned, by using the Mac connection utility you can't tell when in roaming)
- Webcam, seems to work but didn't test it in depth (I think it's internally connected as USB device) OK
- Power management ok, reacts immediately to power supply plug/unplug. OK
- Sound, Yeah! OK
- Memory card 5 in 1 slot, OK
- Bluetooth, OK (In fact it didn't work until I realised that I had to enable it with Fn+F3, exactly the same as in windows mode) so...
- Soft Acer keys (FN + F2 (?) NO, F3 (bluetooht) sometimes YES (check better), F4 (Sleep) NO, F5 () NO, F6 (turn off screen) YES, F8 (mute/unmute) YES, Volume up/down YES, Brightness left/right YES) I'd say OK.
- Mounting/unmounting the Windows partition OK
- Opening 3gp videos from my cell phone (iTunes), OK
- Listening mp3 files (with iTunes), OK
What I tested but doesn't work:
- LAN support
- Wireless lan support
- Opening DIVX file, a message appears telling you should download something, maybe it's easy to fix
- Microphone... seems not to work
What I haven't tested yet:
- Video acceleration (as told above, cell phone videos look perfect, but it should be tested with a bigger frame/higher frame rate)
So as you may see, the final score is very high, most of the functions I used, (excluding LAN), work fine with no or little effort. The system performance is remarkable, boots and shutdowns in
a flash. I'm really impressed with "my new toy" (as my wife named it

Right now I'm trying to add the Atheros (or Attansic, I'm getting contradictory information) LAN and WLAN driver... let you know later.

[mesco64]

I forgot to say that in iAtkos v7 the version is Leopard, not Snow Leopard. Please note that the BIOS change is no more necessary (at least for me) since I'm using iAtkos.

UPDATE:
Now after having connected to the internet with the USB Key, I updated the software from the Finder menu... Some updates were fine, the last one, labeled Mac OS X updates or something similar (200+ Mbyte), had a devastating effect on my previous install: screen reverted to 1024x768, no USB hotplug, and only God knows what else ... keep in mind this before you try updates. Seems like the whole Extensions folder has been overwritten by the update.
Patched the screen again, now it's ok. Need to reinstall the USB driver and (perhaps) the newest kernel mentioned in my first post, but my dvd is at home...

REMAINS UNRESOLVED: the network card (wired and wireless) not working yet. I've just downloaded a driver named AttansicL1Ethernet_10.5.6.zip but haven't tested it. I'll post updates later, in case of success will give you the path. No. Not the good one.
Next step: I've found there's an Universal Network Driver for Mac OS project in sourceforge.net, I think I'll try it, even if it's in beta.
Stay tuned!