reinstall OS with non flashed card

[92jlee]

Hi guys,

I've got a 1,1 flashed to a 2,1 running x5355s and an Xfx6870 on 10.6.8.

I want to wipe the OS and maybe install 10.7. I've tried putting a disk in and holding "c" but nothing comes up - I was hoping EFI is just for the boot screen.

Any ideas how I could do an install? My apple card is dead and I can't flash this one because I have 32bit EFI. There must be a way somewhere, I can't borrow my friends Mac 4870 as he just moved to London!

 

[Baunkjaer]

Seems like a very bad situation.
I don´t know if it´s possible, to set superdrive as startdisc.... If, that should be the way to go. Otherwise look for a cheap Mac card on ebay.

 

[Tesselator]

Can't you install from within 10.6 just by inserting the install disk? (Mine does.)

Just click on the Install Lion icon and follow the prompts. If you need to completely wipe the destination HDD then place the 4GB installer on a USB thumb drive, DVD, or whatever.

No good?

 

[92jlee]

I can 'boot' into the 10.6 disk by holding the C key but without the 'boot screen' it wont show anything so I can't select to install the OS.

I've looked at cheap cards on ebay and the prices are RIDICULOUS even for a 7300.

I might just have to by a 5770. I was planning to sell this machine so I suppose that would boost the value slightly.

Pain in the arse! My next mac is a hackintosh!

 

[brand]

Pain in the arse! My next mac is a hackintosh!

Because those don't have their own set of problems

 

[ActionableMango]

This is what irritates me about people who say that something like bootchamp "replaces" boot screens. Boot screens are more than an OS switcher.

I can't think of any way to succeed with the PC 6870.

What happened to your old card, can you use it temporarily? Can you borrow an Apple 5770?

Worst comes to worst, you can buy a used Apple 5770 and then flip it right back around for roughly the same price.

 

[Tesselator]

I can 'boot' into the 10.6 disk by holding the C key but without the 'boot screen' it wont show anything so I can't select to install the OS.

I've looked at cheap cards on ebay and the prices are RIDICULOUS even for a 7300.

I might just have to by a 5770. I was planning to sell this machine so I suppose that would boost the value slightly.

Pain in the arse! My next mac is a hackintosh!

So control it blindly. How many boot options are there? 2? 3? So in the worst case you would only need to reboot the machine 3 times. The right and left arrow keys select the next and previous boot drive options and pressing enter begins the startup process.

No good?

 

[Nermal]

I suspect that the issue may not be around the EFI boot screen (since holding C would bypass that issue), but rather whether 10.6 without any updates has drivers for your card at all. Does anyone know whether 10.6.0 supports a 6870?

 

[MacVidCards]

Yep, that's 2nd half of problem.

6870 drivers appeared in 10.6.6

but if there were EFI drivers, the card would probably work here. it has no drivers in EFI or OS, so black screen.

 

[92jlee]

Yep, that's 2nd half of problem.

6870 drivers appeared in 10.6.6

but if there were EFI drivers, the card would probably work here. it has no drivers in EFI or OS, so black screen.

So do you think a 10.7 disk would have the drivers in it? That could mean it might recognise the card when booting from the disk...

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So control it blindly. How many boot options are there? 2? 3? So in the worst case you would only need to reboot the machine 3 times. The right and left arrow keys select the next and previous boot drive options and pressing enter begins the startup process.

No good?

Holding C makes the computer boot from the disk already - the ability to select a boot disk isn't the issue as I have windows and Mac on desperate HDDs so pull the one out that I don't need. The problem is that once booted into the install disk it doesn't recognise the card Sol I can't see anything on screen.

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So control it blindly. How many boot options are there? 2? 3? So in the worst case you would only need to reboot the machine 3 times. The right and left arrow keys select the next and previous boot drive options and pressing enter begins the startup process.

No good?

Holding C makes the computer boot from the disk already - the ability to select a boot disk isn't the issue as I have windows and Mac on desperate HDDs so pull the one out that I don't need. The problem is that once booted into the install disk it doesn't recognise the card Sol I can't see anything on screen.

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Yep, that's 2nd half of problem.

6870 drivers appeared in 10.6.6

but if there were EFI drivers, the card would probably work here. it has no drivers in EFI or OS, so black screen.

And I can't flash the card to have EFI drivers as apparently the 6870 "becomes" a 64 bit card which my Mac wouldn't recognise.

 

[Tesselator]

OK, I'm not understanding tho. Why would you boot from 10.6 when it's 10.7 you wanna install. 10.7 installer is capable of booting... Mine is at least and it's straight from Apple.

So insert the DVD or the Thumbdrive hold down option and blind select or use the C key if it's from optical and go...

No? What am I missing here?

 

[92jlee]

Just an update for anyone who is doing research on using unsupported cards and found this thread.

I have managed to make a 10.7 disk using a program called 'lion disk maker', it will take a long time to boot up but eventually the screen will work with the 6870 and you will be able to reinstall your OS.

Beware you will not be able to reinstall 10.6 though.

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OK, I'm not understanding tho. Why would you boot from 10.6 when it's 10.7 you wanna install. 10.7 installer is capable of booting... Mine is at least and it's straight from Apple.

So insert the DVD or the Thumbdrive hold down option and blind select or use the C key if it's from optical and go...

No? What am I missing here?

Its because I wanted to keep 10.6 so I have rosetta - I needed a method to do a clean install so ended up having to use 10.7.

Ugh. Mission control is terrible.. Now I remember why I didn't upgrade before!

Anyway - cheers for all the help everyone who replied and hopefully this will help anyone searching in the future.

 

[Tesselator]

Cool, glad you got it sussed!

LionDiskMaker huh? Sweet!