A CLOUDED LEOPARD:
Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard Developer Previews on PowerPC
WikiPost last updated: 11 April 2022
OVERVIEW
We’re exploring how to run early builds of Snow Leopard on (later) G4 and G5 PowerPC Macs.
This WikiPost outlines testing methods to get a Developer Preview (DP) of Mac OS X 10.6 running on a PPC7400/7450- or PPC970-based Mac.
This is a user-editable WikiPost! Everyone testing on their own gear is invited to assist. Our collective work since the project began in April 2020 is extensive. We’ve still much more to do!
Many thanks to Julian Fairfax and @parrotgeek1, who got things rolling and who inspired @Larsvonhier to unearth this forgotten part of PowerPC versatility!
Join us on this adventure!
And if this guide is helpful, why not give a ‘like’ down below? : )
SCREENSHOTS
Snow Leopard Server Developer Preview 10A96
Snow Leopard Developer Preview 10A190
WAIT, HOW’S THIS POSSIBLE?
During Apple’s product transition from PowerPC to Intel Macs, OS X supported both architectures, but a phase-out of PowerPC support neared. OS X 10.5 Leopard, on sale October 2007, would be the last major version retailed for PowerPC Macs.
When Apple supplied a first Developer Preview (DP) of OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard at WWDC in June 2008, its operating code prioritized Intel hardware but included a working kernel, Finder, and Universal Binary (UB) code for PowerPC Macs. Apple withheld comment on the UB nature of this DP, designated Build 10A96 (with a Darwin 10.0.0d1 kernel). At an early stage in Snow Leopard’s development, continued OS X support for PowerPC Macs was still on the table.
The following week, Apple clarified Snow Leopard would be Intel only. Nevertheless, a second DP in October 2008, known as Build 10A190 (Darwin 10.0.0d2), included UB code to run on PowerPC Macs and, like 10A96, a mach kernel compiled for three architectures — Intel 32-bit [i386], Intel 64-bit [x86_64], and PowerPC [ppc].
Though still PowerPC-bootable, 10A190 revealed just how much UB code, relative to 10A96, was gone and how less supported PowerPCs had become. By Build 10A222 (Darwin 10.0.0d3), December 2008, an all-new Finder, the first written wholly in Cocoa, was re-worked for Intel CPUs only. Although a “tri-architecture” kernel could boot on PowerPC Macs (namely, during startup “beneath” the grey Apple and loading wheel), it could not launch Finder. Internally, Apple may have maintained a UB fork as a plan B contingency.
After many more DPs, an OS X 10.6.0 “Golden Master” shipped August 2009. By then, most of Snow Leopard’s code base was Intel-only, but a handful of residual, “tri-architecture” components lingered. Knowledge that Snow Leopard’s earliest DPs could be used on PowerPC Macs was broadly forgotten.
In March 2020, @Larsvonhier read a tweet by @system2048, who posted a screenshot of Snow Leopard running on a PowerPC Mac. It was one of these 2008 DPs.
Ever since, the PowerPC Mac community have been learning all we can about the UB components in Snow Leopard — advantages, performance advances over Leopard, and areas where collective work will bring PowerPC Macs a big step beyond Leopard.
When Apple supplied a first Developer Preview (DP) of OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard at WWDC in June 2008, its operating code prioritized Intel hardware but included a working kernel, Finder, and Universal Binary (UB) code for PowerPC Macs. Apple withheld comment on the UB nature of this DP, designated Build 10A96 (with a Darwin 10.0.0d1 kernel). At an early stage in Snow Leopard’s development, continued OS X support for PowerPC Macs was still on the table.
The following week, Apple clarified Snow Leopard would be Intel only. Nevertheless, a second DP in October 2008, known as Build 10A190 (Darwin 10.0.0d2), included UB code to run on PowerPC Macs and, like 10A96, a mach kernel compiled for three architectures — Intel 32-bit [i386], Intel 64-bit [x86_64], and PowerPC [ppc].
Though still PowerPC-bootable, 10A190 revealed just how much UB code, relative to 10A96, was gone and how less supported PowerPCs had become. By Build 10A222 (Darwin 10.0.0d3), December 2008, an all-new Finder, the first written wholly in Cocoa, was re-worked for Intel CPUs only. Although a “tri-architecture” kernel could boot on PowerPC Macs (namely, during startup “beneath” the grey Apple and loading wheel), it could not launch Finder. Internally, Apple may have maintained a UB fork as a plan B contingency.
After many more DPs, an OS X 10.6.0 “Golden Master” shipped August 2009. By then, most of Snow Leopard’s code base was Intel-only, but a handful of residual, “tri-architecture” components lingered. Knowledge that Snow Leopard’s earliest DPs could be used on PowerPC Macs was broadly forgotten.
In March 2020, @Larsvonhier read a tweet by @system2048, who posted a screenshot of Snow Leopard running on a PowerPC Mac. It was one of these 2008 DPs.
Ever since, the PowerPC Mac community have been learning all we can about the UB components in Snow Leopard — advantages, performance advances over Leopard, and areas where collective work will bring PowerPC Macs a big step beyond Leopard.
FAQ
What do I need to begin tinkering?
Which builds may I test right now on my PowerPC Mac?
We’ve managed to boot completely into Builds 10A96 and 10A190. Table 1 has links for these.
And later builds?
Build 10A222 onward still has working UB code, but multiple barriers (kext conflicts, missing frameworks, Intel-only prefPanes, incompatible BootX, etc.) prevent PowerPC Macs from reaching loginwindow, WindowServer, or Finder.
We’re still looking for DP builds between Build 10A96 and the “Golden Master” (Build 10A432) — with especial interest to locate internal-only nightly builds. Should and/or when they emerge, we want to start sorting through them!
What may I expect?
If you’re new to our project, you should know that whilst less refined, Build 10A96 tends to run a bit more steady on PowerPC Macs, “out-of-box”, than Build 10A190.
[KEY DISCLAIMER: You must not expect this to behave as a finished version of Snow Leopard! It’s an alpha-level major work in progress. Features you take for granted on an Intel Mac running 10.6.8 or even 10.6.0 may not work well, correctly, or at all. You’re responsible for any damage or data loss to occur on your Mac. Here be a wild cat!]
In this thread, community members working with Build 10A96, despite it being older, find it to be a spiritual cousin of 10.5.3 (released a week before 10A96). In some ways, 10A96 appears to outperform not only 10.5.3, but also 10.5.8 (released three weeks before Snow Leopard went on sale). Build 10A96 still uses a Carbonized, 32-bit Finder and lacks HFS+ compression.
Build 10A190 behaves as a more direct ancestor of the final 10.6.0. Released soon after OS X 10.5.5, 10A190 runs on PowerPC Macs, but does so with less steadiness than Build 10A96. Apple’s work on removing residual UB code with 32-/64-bit Intel-only code becomes apparent here.
What’s this I hear about AGP video cards lacking hardware Core Image & Quartz Extreme hardware support? Is that true?
Yes. A long, boring, technical explanation is on #893.
In short: Snow Leopard’s development coincided with an industry-wide move Apple spearheaded toward a different video card driver programming language and computing standard called OpenCL (Open Computing Language). OpenCL, along with Grand Central Dispatch, débuted with retail 10.6.0. While Apple could have pressed GPU vendors NVIDIA and AMD/ATI to backport OS X drivers for AGP bus cards for hardware support in Snow Leopard, they didn’t bother because by going all-Intel, they could drop support for all AGP video cards (all Intel Macs use either discrete PCIe GPUs, integrated Intel GPUs, or a mix of both).
This means: PCIe video cards on multi-core Power Mac G5s (i.e., “late ’05” A1117) may be hardware-supported, but AGP video cards (on PowerPC Macs from 1999 to 2005) aren’t. Software-based support, however, allows a workaround. We have Fixes & Workarounds on how to do that.
Has anyone run benchmarks on “Clouded Leopard” to find whether it’s slower or faster than Leopard 10.5.8?
Yes: #1029.
- 10.6 Developer Preview DVD image (Table 1)
- PowerPC Mac: G4 or G5 (Table 2 lists community-verified compatible PPC Macs)
- kernel extensions & BootX carried from OS X 10.5 (10.6PPC.zip & BootX, attached)
- external FireWire/USB drive
- helper Mac able to run 10.5 or 10.6, out-of-box
Which builds may I test right now on my PowerPC Mac?
We’ve managed to boot completely into Builds 10A96 and 10A190. Table 1 has links for these.
And later builds?
Build 10A222 onward still has working UB code, but multiple barriers (kext conflicts, missing frameworks, Intel-only prefPanes, incompatible BootX, etc.) prevent PowerPC Macs from reaching loginwindow, WindowServer, or Finder.
We’re still looking for DP builds between Build 10A96 and the “Golden Master” (Build 10A432) — with especial interest to locate internal-only nightly builds. Should and/or when they emerge, we want to start sorting through them!
What may I expect?
If you’re new to our project, you should know that whilst less refined, Build 10A96 tends to run a bit more steady on PowerPC Macs, “out-of-box”, than Build 10A190.
[KEY DISCLAIMER: You must not expect this to behave as a finished version of Snow Leopard! It’s an alpha-level major work in progress. Features you take for granted on an Intel Mac running 10.6.8 or even 10.6.0 may not work well, correctly, or at all. You’re responsible for any damage or data loss to occur on your Mac. Here be a wild cat!]
In this thread, community members working with Build 10A96, despite it being older, find it to be a spiritual cousin of 10.5.3 (released a week before 10A96). In some ways, 10A96 appears to outperform not only 10.5.3, but also 10.5.8 (released three weeks before Snow Leopard went on sale). Build 10A96 still uses a Carbonized, 32-bit Finder and lacks HFS+ compression.
Build 10A190 behaves as a more direct ancestor of the final 10.6.0. Released soon after OS X 10.5.5, 10A190 runs on PowerPC Macs, but does so with less steadiness than Build 10A96. Apple’s work on removing residual UB code with 32-/64-bit Intel-only code becomes apparent here.
What’s this I hear about AGP video cards lacking hardware Core Image & Quartz Extreme hardware support? Is that true?
Yes. A long, boring, technical explanation is on #893.
In short: Snow Leopard’s development coincided with an industry-wide move Apple spearheaded toward a different video card driver programming language and computing standard called OpenCL (Open Computing Language). OpenCL, along with Grand Central Dispatch, débuted with retail 10.6.0. While Apple could have pressed GPU vendors NVIDIA and AMD/ATI to backport OS X drivers for AGP bus cards for hardware support in Snow Leopard, they didn’t bother because by going all-Intel, they could drop support for all AGP video cards (all Intel Macs use either discrete PCIe GPUs, integrated Intel GPUs, or a mix of both).
This means: PCIe video cards on multi-core Power Mac G5s (i.e., “late ’05” A1117) may be hardware-supported, but AGP video cards (on PowerPC Macs from 1999 to 2005) aren’t. Software-based support, however, allows a workaround. We have Fixes & Workarounds on how to do that.
Has anyone run benchmarks on “Clouded Leopard” to find whether it’s slower or faster than Leopard 10.5.8?
Yes: #1029.
GETTING STARTED: SET UP YOUR TEST ENVIRONMENT
- Once you’ve downloaded and copied one of the DP installers to a bootable drive (i.e., via FireWire or USB), get the 10.6PPC archive (attached).
- Use either the script 10.6 PPC.sh (you’ll need to open and change it to your volume name/path before running), or copy the kexts to the correct Extensions folder on your installer drive. Verify file permissions are set to root:wheel rwx r-x r-x (755), or use BatChmod.app (attached).
[10.6 PPC.sh was prepped by Julian Fairfax, based on brief sketches from @parrotgeek1. Thanks for making it available!] - OSInstall.mpkg (attached) must be copied to /System/Installation/Packages (replacing original .mpkg). Verify file ownership and permissions! Another Mac running OS X is needed here. If all is done correctly, then this installer volume should boot on PowerPC Macs.
- SHORTCUT: A pre-installed image of Build 10A190 is available (Table 1, “Fresh install image”). With thanks to Action Retro, we can present how to jump-start & skip manual patching steps. This image may only work on certain Macs.
Apple DP seed notes: #726.
| DP BUILDS [LINKS] | AVAILABLE | SOURCE | PRODUCED [YYYY.MM.DD] | KERNEL & NOTES | PowerPC-BOOTABLE? | KERNEL DEBUG KIT [LINKS] | SUMMARY |
| 10A14 | no | AOSP dyld changelog | 2008.03.14 | see #1530 | |||
| 10A96 Client [1] [2] [3] [4] Server [1] [2] [3] [4] | yes | WWDC Dev Preview (DP) | 2008.06.04 | Darwin 10.0.0d1; oldest build | YES | first DP release; BootX (PowerPC) support; some carryover from Leopard 10.5.3, but runs on new kernel; Xcode 3.2 works | |
| 10A190 Client [1] [2] [3] | yes | Apple Dev Center (ADC) DP | 2008.10.10 | 10.0.0d2 | YES | [1] [2] | better multicore mgmt, Cocoa Finder alpha, HFS+ compression début; BootX-supported but some PowerPC code stripped; “Fresh install image”: see #200 |
| 10A197 | no | AOSP dyld changelog | 2008.10.17 | see #1530 | |||
| 10A198 | no | AOSP dyld changelog | 2008.10.18 | see #1530 | |||
| 10A210 | no | AOSP dyld changelog | 2008.10.30 | see #1530 | |||
| 10A212 | no | AOSP dyld changelog | 2008.11.01 | see #1530 | |||
| 10A222 Client [1] [2] [3] Server [1] | yes | ADC DP | 2008.11.19 | 10.0.0d3 | PARTLY | [1] [2] | partly boots, kexts amiss; mostly Intel prefPanes; can’t reach WindowServer; Intel Finder & prefPanes; backport of earlier components may be req’d along with compiling AOSP (Table 5) |
| 10A224 | no | AOSP dyld changelog | 2008.11.21 | see #1530 | |||
| 10A244 | no | AOSP dyld changelog | 2009.01.09 | see #1530 | |||
| 10A246 | no | internal & AOSP dyld changelog | 2009.01.11 | stable build | YES* | see #1337 & #1530 | |
| 10A250 | no | internal | 2009.01.15 | unstable build | YES* | see #1337 | |
| 10A251 | no | AOSP dyld changelog | 2009.01.16 | see #1530 | |||
| 10A256a | no | AOSP dyld changelog | 2009.01.21 | see #1530 | |||
| 10A261 Client [1] [2] Server [1] | yes | ADC DP | 2009.01.26 | 10.0.0d4 | NO | post-PPC: more Intel stability; kext loading differences between EFI & BootX methods, EFI prioritized | |
| 10A264 | no | AOSP dyld changelog | 2009.01.29 | see #1530 | |||
| 10A266 | no | AOSP dyld changelog | 2009.01.31 | see #1530 | |||
| 10A286 Client [1] | yes | ADC DP | 2009.02.18 | 10.0.0d5 | NO | [1] | QuickTime 10 début, full Cocoa Finder; final ZFS update |
| 10A314 Client [1] | no | ADC DP | 2009.03.25 | 10.0.0d6 | NO | ||
| 10A331 | no | AOSP dyld changelog | 2009.04.11 | see #1530 | |||
| 10A335 | no | ADC DP | 2009.04.15 | NO | |||
| 10A354 Client [1] [2] [3] | yes | ADC DP | 2009.05.05 | 10.0.0d8 | NO | ||
| 10A380 Client [1] [2] Server [1] [2] | yes | WWDC DP | 2009.05.29 | 10.0.0b1 | NO | UI improvement; new QTX icon (purple) début seen in WWDC demo, not in DP; see #515 | |
| 10A394 | no | seed update | 2009.06.12 | NO | |||
| 10A402 | no | seed update | 2009.07.01 | NO | |||
| 10A403 Server [1] | yes | ADC | 2009.07.02 | 10.0.0b3 | NO | appeared on ADC in 2016 | |
| 10A411 | no | seed update | 2009.07.11 | NO | |||
| 10A421 | no | seed update | 2009.07.21 | NO | QTX (blue) icon début in DPs | ||
| 10A428 | no | conjectured, internal | 2009.07.28 | YES* | * see #1223 | ||
| 10A430 | no | conjectured, internal | 2009.07.30 | YES* | * see #1223 | ||
| 10A432 Client [1] | yes | Golden Master | 2009.08.01 | 10.0.0 | NO | [1] [2] | EFI kextload |
| 10A433 Server | yes | GM | 2009.08.01 | 10.0.0 | NO |
| ID (oldest to newest) | MODEL | TESTED BY | 10A96 STOCK INSTALL NOTES | 10A190 STOCK INSTALL NOTES |
| PowerMac3,1 [M5183] | Power Mac G4 400 AGP | @Larsvonhier | ||
| PowerMac3,4 [M5183] | Power Mac G4 533 DA | @Larsvonhier @jimjamyaha | boots with Radeon 9600 ADC/DVI from G5 | |
| PowerMac3,4 [M5183] | Power Mac G4 466 DA w/ 1.6 GigaDesigns upgrade | @ChrisCharman | boots w/ flashed X850XT; ATI ROM Extender red’d for proper display. no hw CI/QE support. AP/BT untested. Finder crashes cyclically | |
| PowerBook3,1 [M7572] | PowerBook G3 500 Pismo w/ G4 upgrade | @Larsvonhier | no hw CI/QE support for ATI Rage GPU | |
| PowerBook3,2 [M5883] | PowerBook G4 500 | @Larsvonhier | no hw CI/QE support; Tiger beta 9A343 ATI kexts work, enabling patches for improved GUI speed (devised by @vddrnnr) | |
| PowerMac3,5 [M8493] | Power Mac G4 800 DP | @armdn | no hw CI/QE. Radeon X800XT (flashed FireGL X3). AP unrecognized; Xserve RAID Card recognised by adding MegaRAID.kext/megaraid cli tool. PCI USB 2.0 (NEC) card recognised. ethernet works; no DHCP service | |
| PowerMac4,2 [M6498] | iMac G4 800 | Julian Fairfax | ||
| PowerMac4,4 [A1002] | eMac G4 700 | @Larsvonhier | ||
| PowerMac6,4 [A1002] | eMac G4 1.25 | @MacPro2006VBox | installs | |
| PowerBook5,1 [A1013] | PowerBook G4 1.0 17" | @weckart | no hw CI/QE for GeForce 440 Go. APEx [BCM43xx (0x14E4, 0x4E)]/BT works & detected by phone but won’t connect, possibly due to age of BT. SW Upd shows update list (untried: will break install) | |
| PowerBook3,5 [A1025] | PowerBook G4 1.0 Ti | @Larsvonhier | no hw CI/QE support for ATI Rage | |
| PowerBook5,2 [A1046] | PowerBook G4 1.0 Al 15" | @Larsvonhier | no hw CI/QE support for Radeon Mobility 9700; added 10.5.8 ADB kexts to get working kbd/trackpad | |
| PowerMac7,3 [A1047] | Power Mac G5 2.0 DP | @Larsvonhier | no hw CI/QE support for FX5200/6800 GT | no hw CI/QE support for FX5200/6800 GT |
| PowerBook6,5 [A1055] | iBook G4 1.33 14" | @ChrisCharman | no hw CI/QE for Mobility Radeon 9200; APEx unrecognised/BT untested | |
| PowerMac8,1 [A1058] | iMac G5 1.6 17" | @Larsvonhier | no hw CI/QE support for FX5200 | |
| PowerMac8,2 [A1076] | iMac G5 2.0 20" | @tensixturtle | no BT/APEx; ethernet works | |
| PowerBook5,5 [A1085] | PowerBook G4 1.5 17" | @Larsvonhier | no hw CI/QE support for Radeon Mobility 9700 | no hw CI/QE support for Radeon Mobility 9700 |
| PowerBook5,4 [A1096] | PowerBook G4 1.5 15" | @swamprock | (mod build) runs, won’t sleep | |
| PowerBook6,8 [A1104] | PowerBook G4 1.5 12" | @Larsvonhier @armdn | no hw QE/CI for GeForce FX Go5200; must substitute driver & frameworks from 10A96 for APEx; BT seen but not working properly; ethernet works | |
| PowerMac11,2 [A1117] | Power Mac G5 2.3 DC | @ChrisCharman | hw CI/QE support for GeForce 6600. Ethernet working; AP/BT untested | |
| PowerMac11,2 [A1117] | Power Mac G5 2.5 QC | @Larsvonhier @vddrnnr | hw CI/QE support for eForce 6600 & Quadro FX4500 | |
| PowerBook5,8 [A1138] | PowerBook G4 1.67 15" DLSD | @vddrnnr @B S Magnet | no hw CI/QE for Radeon Mobility 9700; APEx/BT untested | |
| PowerMac12,1 [A1144] | iMac G5 1.9 17" iSight | @mikiotty | ||
| PowerMac10,2 [A1103] | Mac mini G4 1.5 silent upgrade | @pc297 | no hw QE for Radeon 9200 AGP, QI unsupported |
NOTE: Core Image & Quartz Extreme hardware acceleration for all AGP cards in Snow Leopard isn’t possible. No updated drivers, kexts, frameworks, or patches to enable hardware acceleration is known. #893 explains why. CI/QE hardware acceleration for is confined to specific PCIe cards on multicore Power Mac G5s.
Test OpenGL with OpenGL Extensions Viewer 3.37 (OS X 10.2–10.6).
Test OpenGL with OpenGL Extensions Viewer 3.37 (OS X 10.2–10.6).
| GPU MODEL | BUS | MODEL | HW SUPPORT | NOTES |
| NVIDIA 6600GT/LE | PCIe | Power Mac G5 | YES | both 10A96 & 10A190 |
| NVIDIA 7800GT | PCIe | Power Mac G5 | YES | same |
| NVIDIA Quadro FX4500 | PCIe | Power Mac G5 | YES | same |
| NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra | PCI | Power Mac G5 Power Mac G4 | YES | tested on 10A190, shows artifacting despite HW acceleration |
| NVIDIA GeForce 6200 | PCI | Power Mac G4 | YES | #592 |
| NVIDIA GeForce 6200 | AGP | Power Mac G4 | NO | #592 |
| NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra | AGP | Power Mac G5 | NO | [separate entry for Macs w/ AGP version of FX 5200] |
| ATI Radeon 9600/9700/9800 | AGP | Power Mac G5 | NO | QuartzGL support; CoreImage/QuartzExtreme software acceleration only; OpenGL up to 2.1 |
| ATI Mobility Radeon 9600/9700 | AGP | PowerBook G4, iBook G4 | NO | same |
| ATI Rage 128 | AGP | PowerBook G4 Ti | NO | QuartzGL support; CI software only; no QE |
| ATI Radeon X800XT/X850XT | AGP | Power Mac G4 | NO | same |
| NVIDIA GeForce FX Go5200 | AGP | PowerBook G4 | NO | same |
| NVIDIA GeForce 4400 Go | AGP | PowerBook G4 | NO | same |
Some kexts/bundles are model-specific and may not load for your testing setup. Modifying them will have no impact. See last column. To know if a component is used by your Mac, open Extensions or Frameworks section in System Profiler. Components your Mac uses are shown here. Move kexts/frameworks via root/su only; rename old components in case you wish to revert!
LEGEND
IMPORTANT! BOLD VERSION NUMBERS DENOTE HIGHER VERSION NUMBER ONLY, NOT THEIR SUITABILITY IN THE 10.6 ENVIRONMENT!
███ (GREEN, top-left hue in colour picker): using version from 10.5.8 PASSes (loads & functions) on likely most, if not all G4s & G5s
███ (PURPLE, top row, fifth from left): version from 10.5.8 conditionally PASSes (loads & functions) tested systems, but may only work on specific models
███ (GREY, top row, sixth from left): 10.6 version is same or higher/newer than 10.5.8 source; leave the 10.6 version in place
███ (RED, bottom row, fourth from left): 10.5.8 version FAILs to load on likely most, if not all G4s & G5s; stay with 10.6 version
███ (ORANGE, bottom row, second from left): Intel-only
███ (BLUE, top row, fourth from left): these exist on 10.5.8 only, but may load successfully for G4s & G5s in 10.6 (i.e., ADB function, recognizing GPU, etc.)
LEGEND
IMPORTANT! BOLD VERSION NUMBERS DENOTE HIGHER VERSION NUMBER ONLY, NOT THEIR SUITABILITY IN THE 10.6 ENVIRONMENT!
███ (GREEN, top-left hue in colour picker): using version from 10.5.8 PASSes (loads & functions) on likely most, if not all G4s & G5s
███ (PURPLE, top row, fifth from left): version from 10.5.8 conditionally PASSes (loads & functions) tested systems, but may only work on specific models
███ (GREY, top row, sixth from left): 10.6 version is same or higher/newer than 10.5.8 source; leave the 10.6 version in place
███ (RED, bottom row, fourth from left): 10.5.8 version FAILs to load on likely most, if not all G4s & G5s; stay with 10.6 version
███ (ORANGE, bottom row, second from left): Intel-only
███ (BLUE, top row, fourth from left): these exist on 10.5.8 only, but may load successfully for G4s & G5s in 10.6 (i.e., ADB function, recognizing GPU, etc.)
| (K)ext (B)undle (P)lugin | KEXT /S/L/Extensions/ | Description | 10.5.8 version (Aug 2009) | 10.6 10A96 (Jun 2008) | 10.6 10A190 (Oct 2008) | Does 10.5.8 version load correctly/properly when used | Observed benefit when using 10.5.8 version |
| K | ALF | Algebraic Logic Functional programming language | 1.8.77 | 1.0.85 | 2.93.1 | PASS | unknown |
| B | /System/Library/CoreServices/AOS | .Mac/MobileMe service | 2.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | FAIL | even if it loads, it’s likely bundled w/ DotMacSyncManager.framework, (which fails & breaks Finder) |
| K K | AppleACPIPlatform IOACPIFamily AppleAHCIPort IOAHCIFamily | AHCI (Advanced Configuration & Power Interface); (AHCI) Advanced Host Controller Interface | 1.2.5 1.2.0 1.7.0 1.5.0 | n/a 1.3.0 1.5.2 1.5.0 | 1.3 1.3.0 1.5.2 1.5.0 | n/a | note: AHCI is NVMe’s predecessor |
| K | AppleAD741x AppleHWSensor AppleLM7x AppleLM8x AppleMaxim1989 AppleMaxim6690 AppleSMUMonitor IOI2CAD741x IOI2CLM6x IOI2CLM7x IOI2CLM8x IOI2CMaxim1631 IOI2CMaxim1989 IOI2CMaxim6690 IOI2CSMUSat | PPC-only low-level family of kexts for thermal sensors & other embedded components, loaded kexts vary by model | 1.9 | 1.7.2 | 1.8 | PASS* | as a family, swap these together before flushing mkext & reboot; results may vary with Mac model, as only some kexts may load (e.g., for PBG4 DLSD, only 3 of these appear on System Profiler) |
| K K K | AppleADBButtons AppleADBKeyboard AppleADBMouse | ADB bus support (needed for many PPC Macs) | 3.0 2.3.9 2.1.1 | n/a | n/a | PASS | copying this group from 10.5.8 restores kbd/trackpad/mouse function on ADB-bus Macs |
| K | AppleBacklight | illumination control for Apple displays | 1.6.0 | 1.4.8 | 1.4.10 | PASS* | unknown: not shown as loaded in System Profiler in 10.5.8 or 10.6 |
| K | AppleIRController | infrared on Macs w/ built-in IR sensor (iMac G5 iSight & Intel Macs) | 1.8 | 1.6 | 2.0 | TBD / n/a | |
| K | AppleLMUController IOI2CDeviceLMU | ambient light sensor management unit | 145 | 141 | 141 | PASS* | laptops & iMac G5 only; works as expected |
| K | AppleMobileDevice | iTunes 10.6.3/10.4.1 | 3.3.0*/3.3.0 | 1.1.0 | 3.2.0 | TBD | different v3.3.0 in iTunes 10.6.3 & 10.4.1; for 10A190, update by manually moving 10.6.3 components into place / 10.5.0+ breaks Finder in 10A96; use 10.4.1 & see Appendix A |
| K | AppleOnboardDisplay | 1.6.15 | 1.6.3 | 1.6.3 | PASS | loads | |
| K K | AppleRAID AppleRAIDCard | hardware RAID service | 3.0 70 | 4.0 108 | 4.0 110 | n/a n/a | 10.5.8 is lower; may only load if RAID card is detected by Xserve or Power Mac |
| K | AppleSmartBatteryManager | 158.10.5 | 143.0.0 | 160.0.0 | n/a | ||
| K K | AppleSMU AppleSMUMonitor | PowerPC System Management Unit | 1.2.1 1.9 | 1.2.1 1.7.2 | n/a 1.8 | n/a PASS | AppleSMU not shown in System Profiler; AppleSMUMonitor is |
| K K K K K | AppleUSBAudio AppleUSBDisplays AppleUSBEthernetHost AppleUSBMultitouch AppleUSBTopCase | USB service | 2.6.4 2.0.2 2.3.0 189.35 1.7.4 | 2.5.8 2.1 2.3.0 183.29 1.6.5 | 2.5.8 2.1 n/a 183.33 1.7.5 | PASS* n/a n/a n/a PASS* | USB audio out verified TBD TBD MB/MBP ’08 & up only mid/late ’05 ’Books only |
| B | AppleAltivecDVDdriver | part of GPU-related kexts for G4s & G5s | 1.5.48.6 | n/a | n/a | PASS* | absent in 10.6; may provide some utility for PPC GPUs in SL-PPC |
| K | ATINDRV | support for Intel Radeon GPUs | 1.5.48.6 | 1.6.0.18 | 1.6.0.27 | ||
| K | ATIRNDRV | support for Radeon GPUs | 1.4.19.01 | 1.4.19.01 | 1.4.19.01 | ||
| K B P B | ATIRadeon ATIRadeonDVDDriver ATIRadeonGA ATIRadeonGLDriver | drivers for PPC Macs w/ unspecified Mobility Radeon/Radeon GPU | 1.5.48.6 | n/a | n/a | may only load for select Radeon GPUs | |
| K B P B B | ATIRadeon8500 ATIRadeon8500DVDDriver ATIRadeon8500GA ATIRadeon8500GLDriver ATIRadeon8500VADriver | drivers for PPC Macs w/ Mobility Radeon/ Radeon 8500 GPU | 1.5.48.6 | n/a | n/a | ||
| K B P B B | ATIRadeon9700 ATIRadeon9700DVDDriver ATIRadeon9700GA ATIRadeon9700GLDriver ATIRadeon9700VADriver | drivers for PPC Macs w/ Mobility Radeon/ Radeon 9700 GPU | 1.5.48.6 | n/a | n/a | PASS | hardware CI/QE support not activated, but kext loads on 10.6 & aids some improvement for UI/video; extent of positive impact under testing |
| K P B B | ATIRadeonX1000 ATIRadeonX1000GA ATIRadeonX1000GLDriver ATIRadeonX1000VADriver | drivers for Macs w/ Radeon X1000-series GPU | 1.5.48.6 | 1.6.0.18 | 1.6.0.27 | 10.5.8 is UB; 10Axxx is Intel | |
| K P B B | ATIRadeonX2000 ATIRadeonX2000GA ATIRadeonX2000GLDriver ATIRadeonX2000VADriver | drivers for Intel Macs w/ Radeon X2000-series GPU | 1.5.48.6 | 1.6.0.18 | 1.6.0.27 | ||
| K | Dont Steal Mac OS X (DSMOS) | anti-Hackintosh DRM | 6.0.3 | 6.0.2 | 6.0.2 | n/a | |
| K B B B P B K K K B B K B B P B K K K K K K B B P B K K K | GeForce [L] GeForce7xxxGLDriver [L] GeForce8xxxGLDriver GeForceFXGLDriver [L] GeForceGA [L] GeForceVADriver [L] NVDANV40Hal [L] NVDANV50Hal [L] NVDAResman [L] GeForce2MXGLDriver GeForce3GLDriver GeForcePPC [L] GeForce7xxxGLDriverPPC [L] GeForceFXGLDriverPPC [L] GeForceGAPPC [L] GeForceVADriverPPC [L] NVDANV10Hal [L & SL] NVDANV20Hal [L & SL] NVDANV30Hal [L & SL] NVDANV40HalPPC [L] NVDAResmanPPC [L] GeForce [SL] GeForce7xxxGLDriver [SL] GeForceFXGLDriver [SL] GeForceGA [SL] GeForceVADriver [SL] NVDANV40Hal [SL] NVDANV50Hal [SL] NVDAResman [SL] | drivers & bundles for NVIDIA GPUs; “Hal” is “hardware abstraction layer” | 1.5.48.6 1.5.48.6 1.5.48.6 1.5.48.6 1.5.48.6 1.5.48.6 1.5.48.6 1.5.48.6 1.5.48.6 1.5.48.6 1.5.48.6 1.5.48.6 1.5.48.6 1.5.48.6 1.5.48.6 1.5.48.6 1.5.48.6 1.5.48.6 1.5.48.6 1.5.48.6 1.5.48.6 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a | n/a n/a 1.6.0.18 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 1.6.0.18 1.6.0.18 1.6.0.18 n/a n/a 1.6.0.18 1.6.0.18 1.6.0.18 1.6.0.18 1.6.0.18 1.6.0.18 1.6.0.18 1.6.0.18 | n/a n/a 1.6.0.27 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 1.6.0.27 1.6.0.27 1.6.0.27 n/a n/a 1.6.0.27 1.6.0.27 1.6.0.27 1.6.0.27 1.6.0.27 1.6.0.27 1.6.0.27 1.6.0.27 | TBD | 1.6.0.x components may have higher version number, but bringing over 1.5.48.6 (Universal & PPC) components as a group may be needed to enable improved GPU support PPC & Intel components in Leopard [L] are separate files — e.g., “GeForce” (for Intel) and “GeForcePPC” (for PPC); these are combined in 10A96/10A190 [SL] as UB, but extent of PPC support is TBD |
| K | IONDRVSupport | NVIDIA PCIe support | 1.7.3 | 1.6 | 1.6 | TBD | |
| K | IOATAFamily | IO kext for ATA bus | 2.0.1 | 2.0.0 | 2.0.0 | FAIL | hangs boot, “Still waiting for root device” repeats |
| K K K | AudioIPCDriver AppleMikeyHIDDriver IOAudioFamily | audio service | 1.0.6 1.0 1.6.9 | 1.0.5 n/a 1.6.4 | 1.0.5 n/a 1.6.5 | PASS TBD PASS | loads; audio works not in 10A96; 1.1 is in 10.6.0GM loads; audio works |
| K K K K K | IOFirewireAVC IOFirewireFamily IOFirewireIP IOFirewireSBP2 IOFirewireSerialBusProtocolTransport | FireWire I/O | 2.2.3 3.4.9 1.7.7 1.9.8 1.5.2 | 4.0.1 4.0.3 1.7.3 4.0.1 2.0.0 | 4.0.4 2.0.1 4.0.1 2.0.0 | n/a n/a PASS / n/a n/a n/a | 10.5.8 is lower 10.5.8 is lower PB5,8 ok / 10A190 is newer 10.5.8 is lower 10.5.8 is lower |
| K | IOGraphicsFamily | 1.7.3 | 1.6 | PASS / | kext loads; benefit unknown | ||
| K | IOHIDFamily | Human Interface Device | 1.5.5 | 1.5.2 | 1.6.0 | PASS* / n/a | loads; unknown benefit / 10A190 is higher |
| K | IOPlatformPluginFamily ACPI_SMC_PlatformPlugin PBG4_PlatformPlugin PBG4_ThermalProfile PowerMac7_2_PlatformPlugin PowerMac8_1_ThermalProfile PowerMac9_1_ThermalProfile PowerMac11_2_PlatformPlugin PowerMac11_2_ThermalProfile PowerMac12_1_PlatformPlugin PowerMac12_1_ThermalProfile RackMac3_1_PlatformPlugin Simple_PlatformPlugin SMU_Neo2_PlatformPlugin.kext | hw-specific plugin group; non-bolded kexts are plugins inside IOPlatformPluginFamily | 3.4.0 | 3.2.0 | 3.3.0 | PASS | loads (and loads PBG4_PlatformPlugin on DLSD PBG4) |
| K | SM56KUSBAudioFamily | USB dial-up modem audio | 1.6.0 | 1.5.11 | 1.6.0 | TBD | |
| K | System | matches kernel | 9.8.0 | 10.0.0d1 | 10.0.0d2 | n/a | “Pseudoextension” to match kernel version |
| K | VirtualAudioDriver | may only load for virtualization (vmware, parallels) | 2.5.8 | 2.5.7 | 2.5.7 | TBD | |
| P | /S/L/Graphics/Quartz Composer Plug-Ins/WOTD | 1.0.1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | TBD | ||
| [———] K K K K K | [FILE SYSTEMS] /S/L/Filesystems/AppleShare/afpfs /S/L/F/A/asp_tcp smbfs webdav_fs zfs.readonly | afp client function part of afp group smb client function | [———] 9.0.2 4.7.1 2.1 1.8 6.0 | [———] 9.0 4.7 1.6.0 1.6 n/a | [———] 9.0 4.7 1.6.0 1.6 n/a | [———] FAIL FAIL FAIL TBD n/a | [———] won’t open 2nd vol from same server fails to open login TBD 10.5 only |
| (F)ramework (C)omponent | NAME | Description | 10.5.8 (Aug 2009) | 10A96 (Jun 2008) | 10A190 (Oct 2008) | Does 10.5.8 version load correctly/properly when used | Observed benefit when using 10.5.8 version |
| F | /S/L/PrivateFrameworks/Bom | bill of materials service (pkg install receipts) | 9.0.1 | 9.0 | 10.0 | PASS* | loads; unknown impact / n/a |
| F F F F F F F F F | /S/L/PF/CoreAUC /S/L/PF/CoreMedia /S/L/PF/CoreMediaAuthoringPrivate /S/L/PF/CoreMediaIOServices /S/L/PF/CoreMediaIOServicesPrivate /S/L/PF/CoreMediaPrivate /S/L/Frameworks/CoreVideo /S/L/PF/MediaToolbox /S/L/PF/VideoToolbox | Core media components | 3.08.0 0.484.2 1.6 140.0 30.0 15.0 1.6.1 0.484.2 0.484.2 | 3.08.0(764A36) 0.261.2 1.4 n/a 11.0 11.0 1.5.0 0.261.2 0.261.2 | n/a 0.296 2.0 1.0 20.0 11.0 incomplete 0.296 0.296 | PASS PASS PASS PASS PASS PASS PASS PASS PASS | “10.5.8” sourced from QuickTime for Leopard 7.7.0, helps to restore QuickLook function in Build 10A96: #926 |
| F | /S/L/PF/CoreFP | iTunes Core service | 1.12.20* | n/a | 1.0.15 | PASS | * lower version but part of iTunes 10.4.1, post-10A96/10A190 |
| P P P P F F | /S/L/E/AppleMIDIFWDriver.plugin /S/L/E/AppleMIDIIACDriver.plugin /S/L/E/AppleMIDIRTPDriver.plugin /S/L/E/AppleMIDIUSBDriver.plugin /S/L/F/CoreMIDI /S/L/F/CoreMIDIServer | MIDI service | 246.4.1 1.6.1 1.1.1 1.6.1 1.6.1 1.6.1 | 241.4.2 1.6 1.1 1.6 1.6 1.6 | 243.41 1.6 1.1 1.6 1.6 1.6 | PASS* | 10.5.8 frameworks moved into place along w/ corresponding AppleMIDI plugins; unknown benefit w/o testing MIDI devices |
| F | /S/L/PF/CoreRAID | hardware RAID service | 62 | 37 | 100 | FAIL | background crashing |
| F F | /S/L/PF/DeviceLink /S/L/PF/MobileDevice | iTunes service | 4.1 423.2 | 1.0 2.1 | 2.0 3.2.2 | PASS PASS | part of iTunes 10.4.1 install |
| F | /S/L/PF/DotMacSyncManager | .Mac/MobileMe service | 1.2.4 | 1.2.3 | 1.2.3 | FAIL | Finder crashes immediately |
| F | /S/L/PF/DSObjCWrappers | Objective-C service | 1.3 | 1.2.1 | 1.2.1 | PASS* | loads; unknown benefit |
| F | /S/L/PF/FileSync | FileSync service | 4.2 | 4.0.1 | 4.0.1 | PASS* | loads; unknown impact |
| K F | /S/L/E/AppleFWAudio /S/L/F/FWAUserLib | FireWire audio service | 2.4.6 | 2.4.2 | 2.4.3 | PASS | successful audio w/ iSight FW mic |
| F F | /S/L/PF/FWAVC /S/L/PF/FWAVCPrivate | FireWire AV/ iTunes service | 130.46 30.46 | n/a 1.0 | 1.0 1.0 | PASS PASS | |
| F | /S/L/F/GLUT | OpenGL Utility Toolkit | 3.4.2 | 3.4.1 | 3.4.3 | PASS* | loads; unknown benefit |
| F | /S/L/PF/iLifeMediaBrowser | iLife service | 2.1.5 | 1.0.7 | 1.0.9 | PASS* | loads; unknown benefit |
| F | /S/L/F/IOKit | I/O Kit | 1.5.2 | 1.5.1 | 1.5.1 | FAIL | 1.5.2 loads but invokes “dyld: Library not loaded” errors; browsers may crash |
| F | /S/L/PF/iTunesAccess | iTunes service | 10.4.1 | 7.6.2 | 8.0.1 | PASS | part of iTunes 10.4.1 |
| F F F F - - - - - | /S/L/PF/JavaApplicationLauncher /S/L/F/JavaFrameEmbedding /S/L/PF/JavaLaunching /S/L/F/JavaVM /S/L/CoreServices/Jar Launcher /S/L/CS/Java Web Start /usr/share/java/Tools/Applet Launcher /u/s/j/T/Jar Bundler /u/s/j/T/Java VisualVM | Java service | 12.9.0 | 12.1.0 12.1.0 n/a 12.1.0 12.1.0 n/a 12.1.0 12.1.0 n/a | 12.1.0 12.1.0 n/a 12.1.0 12.1.0 n/a 12.1.0 12.1.0 n/a | PASS* | loads; all listed must be moved into place |
| F | /S/L/PF/MachineSettings | HID: trackpad & keyboard | 3.7 | 3.5 | 3.5 | PASS* | swap in 3.7 if changing combined Keyboard & Mouse prefPane to discrete Keyboard & Trackpad panes; see prePane section below |
| F | /S/L/PF/MultitouchSupport | multitouch trackpads | 189.35 | 1.0 | 1.0 | PASS* | loads; multitouch not part of PPC ’Books, but may assist Magic Trackpad |
| F | /S/L/PF/OfficeImport | Office service | 1.4 | 1.1 | 2.0 | PASS* | loads; unknown impact |
| F | /S/L/PF/PlatformHardwareManagement | 1.5.10 | 1.1.7 | 1.5.0 | PASS* | loads; unknown benefit | |
| F | /S/L/PF/PodcastProducerCore | 1.1.1 | 1.1 | 2.0 | PASS* | loads; unknown impact | |
| F | /S/L/F/PubSub | publish-subscribe | 1.0.5 | 1.0.3 | FAIL | dyld crash; “arch=ppc failed” | |
| F F C C C C C C C C C C C C C C F | /S/L/F/QTKit /S/L/F/QuickTime /S/L/QuickTime/ApplePixletVideo /S/L/QT/AppleProResDecoder /S/L/QT/AppleVAH264HW /S/L/QT/QuickTime3GPP /S/L/QT/QuickTimeComponents /S/L/QT/QuickTimeFireWireDV /S/L/QT/QuickTimeH264 /S/L/QT/QuickTimeIIDCDigitizer /S/L/QT/QuickTimeImporters /S/L/QT/QuickTimeMPEG /S/L/QT/QuickTimeMPEG4 /S/L/QT/QuickTimeStreaming /S/L/QT/QuickTimeUSBVDCDigitizer /S/L/QT/QuickTimeVR /S/L/PF/SyncLegacy | QuickTime service | 7.7 7.7 1.2.18 2.0.1 1.0 7.7 7.7 7.7 7.7 7.7 7.7 7.7 7.7 7.7 2.3.2 7.7 5.0 | 7.6 7.6 1.2.15 2.0 n/a 7.6 7.6 7.6 7.6 7.6 7.6 7.6 7.6 7.6 2.1.7 7.6 n/a | 7.5.7 7.5.7 1.2.15 7.5.7 7.5.7 7.5.7 7.5.7 7.5.7 7.5.7 7.5.7 7.5.7 7.5.7 7.5.7 7.5.7 7.5.7 7.5.7 5.0 | PASS | all part of QT for Leopard 7.7.0, except ApplePixletVideo & QuickTimeUSBVDCDigitizer (sourced from 10.5.8) |
| F | /S/L/PF/ScreenReader | 2.2 | 2.0 | 3.0 | PASS* | loads; unknown impact | |
| F | /S/L/PF/SpeechDictionary | Speech service | 3.9.9 | 3.8.3 | 3.10.2 | PASS* | loads; unknown impact |
| F | /S/L/PF/SyndicationUI | 2.0.5 | 2.0.3 | 2.0.3 | PASS* | loads; unknown impact | |
| (p)ref(P)ane | NAME | Description | 10.5.8 Aug 2009 | 10.6 10A96 Jun 2008 | 10.6 10A190 Oct 2008 | Does 10.5.8 version load correctly/properly when used | Observed benefit when using 10.5.8 version |
| pP pP | /S/L/PP/Keyboard /S/L/PP/Trackpad | Keyboard, mouse, & trackpad configuration (integrated in 10A96/10A190, split into two prefPanes for 10.5.8 and 10.6.0 GM: 1) Keyboard & Mouse and 2) Trackpad | 1021000* 1021000* | 1050000 n/a | YES, w/ modification | to split Trackpad from Keyboard & Mouse, Keyboard prefPane & Trackpad prefPane from 10.5.8 must replace the Keyboard prefPane in 10A96/10A190; also, /S/L/PF/MachineSettings.framework/ must be replaced w/ version from 10.5.8 to have Trackpad appear | |
| PATH | APPLICATION | Description | 10.5.8 Aug 2009 | 10.6 10A96 Jun 2008 | 10.6 10A190 Oct 2008 | Does 10.5.8 version load correctly/properly when used | Observed benefit when using 10.5.8 version |
| /Applications | Chess | 2.4.1 | 2.4 | 2.4 | YES* | launches, but CI/QE hw support req’d | |
| /A | Dictionary | 2.0.3 | 2.0 | 2.1 | NO | crashes on search | |
| /A/Utilities | Keychain Access | 4.0.2 | 4.0.1 | 4.0.1 | YES | basic works | |
| /A/U | RAID Utility | hardware RAID service | 1.0.3 | 1.0.2 | 1.0.2 | TBD | runs only when RAID card detected by Xserve/Power Mac |
| /A/U | VoiceOver Utility | 2.1 | 2.0 | 3.0 | NO | aborts | |
| /S/L/CS /S/L/CS /S/L/CS/Menu Extras /usr/libexec /A/U F F K | AirPort Base Station Agent Apple80211Agent AirPort.menu airportd AirPort Utility /S/L/PF/Apple80211 /S/L/F/Airport /S/L/E/IO80211Family | AirPort wi-fi service | (10A96) (10A96) (10A96) (10A96) (10A96) (10A96) n/a (10A96) | 1.5 5.3 5.3 2008.06.04 5.3.1 5.2.1 1.0 3.0.0 | n/a | see #513; note: for 10A190, using 10A96 components may be enough | |
| /S/L/CS | Archive Utility | 10.5.1 | 10.5 | YES* | provisionally appears to work | ||
| K K F F pP /S/L/CS /S/L/CS /S/L/CS /S/L/CS /S/L/CS /A/U /S/L/ContextualMenuItems /S/L/CS/Menu Extras /usr/sbin | IOBluetoothFamily IOBluetoothHIDDriver IOBluetooth IOBluetoothUI Bluetooth.prefPane AVRCPAgent Bluetooth Setup Assistant Bluetooth Audio Agent BluetoothUIServer OBEXAgent Bluetooth File Exchange BluetoothContextualMenu Bluetooth.menu blued | Bluetooth service | 2.1.9 2.1.9 2.1.8 2.1.8 2.1.8 2.1.8 2.1.8 2.1.8 2.1.8 2.1.9 2.1.9 2.1.8 2.1.8 (2.1.8) | 2.1.1 | 2.2* | PASS | BT works for 10A96/10A190 once all 10.5.8 components are used NOTE: v2.2 in 10A190 is higher rev number, but will not work with PPC; use 10.5.8 (2.1.8/2.1.9) components |
| /S/L/CS | RawCamera | Camera RAW support | 2.1.3 | 2.0.5 | 2.0.10 | TBD | |
| /S/L/CS /S/L/CS /S/L/CS F F F /S/L/KerberosPlugins /S/L/KP /usr/bin/ /usr/bin/ /usr/bin/ /usr/bin/ /usr/bin/ /usr/bin/ /usr/sbin /usr/sbin /usr/sbin /usr/sbin /usr/sbin /usr/sbin /usr/sbin /usr/sbin /usr/sbin | CCacheServer Kerberos KerberosAgent /S/L/F/Kerberos /S/L/PF/KAdminClient /S/L/PF/KAdminServer /KerberosDatabasePlugins/db2.bundle /KDP/kldap.bundle kdestroy kinit klist kpasswd kswitch kvno kadmin kadmin.local kadmind kdb5_ldap_util kdb5_util kprop kpropd krb5kdc kutil | Kerberos service | 6.0.15 | 6.0.12 | 6.5.3* | PASS | once all 6.0.15 components are in place, kerberos keys may be generated & shown when connecting to other kerberos-enabled devices (i.e., other Macs) * use 10.5.8 components, despite higher version number |
| /S/L/CS /S/L/CS | File Sync FileSyncAgent | MobileMe service | 4.2 | 4.0.1 | 4.0.1 | NO | background crashes; may prevent reboot |
| /S/L/CS /S/L/PF | Front Row BackRow | Front Row service | 2.1.7 2.2.7 | 2.1.3 2.1.3 | 2.1.6 2.1.3 | TBD | requires CI/QE hw support |
| /S/L/CS | loginwindow | UI for OS X login | 5.6 | 5.3 | 5.3 | YES* | 5.6 works in 10A96 |
| /S/L/CS | Network Setup Assistant | 1.5.3 | 1.5 | 1.5.3 | YES* | launches in 10A96 | |
| /S/L/CS | ODSAgent | optical drive service | 1.3 | 1.0.2 | 1.2 | TBD | |
| /S/L/CS | rcd | remote control daemon | 1.8 | 1.6 | 2.0 | TBD | iMac G5 models |
| /S/L/CS /S/L/PF | Screen Sharing ScreenSharing | 1.0.3 1.0.3 | 1.0 1.0 | 1.2 1.2 | PASS | 1.0.3 works but is much less feature-rich than 1.0 |
REPOSITORIES
COMPILED BINARIES FOR USE WITH Snow Leopard on PowerPC
- Apple Open Source Projects (AOSP)
- Apple Open Source GitHub
- MacPorts Recommended way is to use PowerPC Ports distribution. Alternatively, build from source from here and adjust the config as advised in this thread. Then you can either add macos-powerpc tarball to sources.conf or borrow fixes from its repo. (Notice, no version of MacPorts works on 10A96 presently. Please use 10A190.)
COMPILED BINARIES FOR USE WITH Snow Leopard on PowerPC
| BINARY | TESTED ON | SOURCE | TOOLS REQ’D | VALIDATION | NOTES |
| cups-218 | 10A190 | source/cups/cups-218/ | Xcode 3.2 cli tools (from 10A96) | Compiled & installed by @ChrisCharman | fixes cupsd issues; improves function of Printer.prefPane |
| g4fancontrol | 10A96 | https://github.com/andreafabrizi/G4FanControl/ | XCode 3.2 from 10A96 | Compiled & installed by @B S Magnet | compiles command-line build of G4FanControl for compatible ’Books; Java GUI unavailable |
LEGEND
███ (GREEN, second row, left hue in colour picker): should run (possibly device-agnostic, but expect possible variations with your particular Mac)
███ (RED, bottom row, fourth from left): won’t run
███ (GREEN, second row, left hue in colour picker): should run (possibly device-agnostic, but expect possible variations with your particular Mac)
███ (RED, bottom row, fourth from left): won’t run
| APPLICATION | VERSION | ▶ FINAL UB ▶▶ FINAL VERSION | ⌘ prefPANE | NOTES |
| Adobe Creative Suite | CS4 | ▶ | Mac must have at least 2GB of RAM to avoid blank “installer alert” (halting installation). [Safari DP4 (10A96) may produce same blank alert and must be removed.]; launch installer with no browser running post-install, Illustrator hangs following splash screen; fix: Illustrator’s pref permissions should be set to 755, not 700[/I] | |
| AppleWorks | 6.2.9 | |||
| AppZapper | 1.8.0 | > 1.8.0 crashes | ||
| Audacity | 2.1.1.0 | ▶ | ||
| BBEdit | 9.6.3 | ▶ | ||
| Carbon Copy Cloner | 3.4.7 | |||
| Cocktail | LE (Leopard Edition) | ▶ | LE sees OS as 10.6; SLE (Snow Leopard Edition) won’t run (Intel only) | |
| Data Rescue | 3.2.3 | |||
| Disk Utility | 11.5 (10A96) | incomplete; opens, but tools won’t work | ||
| DjView | 4.4 | |||
| Fidelia | 1.0.8 | |||
| Final Cut Studio | 2 | ▶ | when installing on Mac w/o hardware Core Image & Quartz Extreme support, installer halts, reporting GPU has 0 MB VRAM | |
| F.lux | 11.0 | ▶ | ||
| Geekbench | 2.2.7 | ▶ | ||
| GraphicConverter | 6.6.1 | |||
| Handbrake | 0.9.4 | |||
| IceClean | 3.4.6 | ▶ | ||
| Interarchy | 10.0.2 | |||
| InterwebPPC | FPR 32 (SPR 5) | thanks, @wicknix! | ||
| iStat Menus | 3.1.9 | ▶ | user may experience spontaneous crash/relaunch, esp. after login on fresh boot; should calm down after a bit | |
| iTunes | see notes | ▶ | 10A96: 9.1.1 runs as-is, UI glitches appear in 9.2.1; 10.4.1 is max version 10A96 runs (see #928; to fix crash-on-quit, see #1079) 10A190: 10.6.3 works (see #632 & QuickTime 7.7.0 notes | |
| iWork | ’09 | installs but fails to launch | ||
| KDX | 1.6 | ▶▶ | ||
| Keka | 0.1.2.1 | ▶ | ||
| Lab Tick | 0.9.4 | ▶▶ | backlit keyboard tool | |
| Leopard WebKit (Safari) | r226588 | quits, citing lack of 10.6 support; see Fixes & workarounds | ||
| Little Snitch | 2.5.3 | ▶ | new alerts won’t pop-up; set rules manually | |
| Max | 0.9.2 | ▶▶ | ||
| Mac DVDRipper Pro | 3.4.2 | |||
| Microsoft Office | 2008 | ▶ | ||
| MinDiscCD | 0.1 alpha | Discord for PowerPC; thanks, @AC910! | ||
| Monolingual | 1.4.2 | versions > 1.4.2 on 10A96 won’t launch | ||
| 1Password | 3.5.15 | ▶ | ||
| OnyX for Snow Leopard | 2.2.5 | ▶ | verify/fix disk/permissions don’t work (to verify/repair, mount your SL-PPC volume on another version of OS X and run that OS’s version of Disk Utility; see #796 for link | |
| OSx86 Tools | 1.0.150 | ▶ | some features Intel only | |
| Pacifist | 3.0.10 | |||
| Pathfinder | 5.2.2 | ▶ | some quirks, per #1191 | |
| Perian | 1.2.3 | ▶▶ | ⌘ | |
| Pitbull Pro | 2.4.4 | ▶ | Hotline client | |
| PopChar | 5.3 | |||
| PPCMC | 7.2.5 | thanks, @alex_free! | ||
| QuickTime | 7.7.0 for Leopard | ▶ | install via Pacifist (whilst booted from another volume); manually move package components from inside QT 7.7.0 .pkg into their respective destinations. This requires either: A) terminal window, as super-user, to 'mv', or move pre-existing components (by appending something like “.old” or “.disabled” to filename); or B) changing old filenames from Finder on a different boot volume, as root & copy-drag components into place before rebooting SL-PPC post-reboot, QT 7.7.0 should work. QuickLook rich media preview should be restored; some codecs may not work; recording with iSight FireWire works, but only after other video-component tweaks are in place (see Fixes & workarounds) | |
| QuickTime | 7.6.x | 7.6 only time-expired; 7.6.4 intel only; use 7.7.0 for Leopard | ||
| Ralink USB Wireless Utility | 10.6 | ▶ | launches but frameworks are Intel only | |
| Remote Desktop | 3.4 | 3.4 update, versus version bundled with SL-PPC (3.2.1), breaks WindowServer post-reboot: login works, but system hangs on blue screen; shy of reversing this installation (e.g., from a backup), you will need to re-install SL-PPC | ||
| RipIt | 1.5 | |||
| Secrets | 1.0.6 | ▶▶ | ⌘ | |
| Shiira | 2.3 | starts but lacks current security certificates to open many sites (ErrorUnsupportedURL) | ||
| SMARTreporter | 2.7.3 | ▶ | ||
| SmartSleep | 2.6 | ▶ | ⌘ | only for Macs whose OpenFirmware supports hibernate mode |
| Socialite | 1.5.4 | |||
| Speed Download | 5 | installs, licence can be keyed in, but fails to download | ||
| Split & Concat | 3 | |||
| StuffIt Deluxe | 15 | ▶ | ||
| Techtool Pro | 6.0.8 | ▶ | must be installed from a Mac running 10.5.8. See #1,211 | |
| TenFourFox | FPR 32 | ▶▶ | use version compiled for your CPU | |
| Toast | 10.0 (530) Titanium | ▶ | ||
| Transmission | 2.22 | ▶ | first launch opens (w/ UI issues); subsequent launches crash. Use Transmission-qt 2.84 or better Transmission-x11 (the latest version via MacPorts) | |
| Transmission-qt | 2.84 | ▶ | if Transmission 2.22 was run previously, delete ~/Library/Application Support/Transmission directory first | |
| Transmit | 4.2 | ▶ | ||
| ViewIt | 1.0.2 | |||
| Virtual PC | 7.0.3 | ▶▶ | slow | |
| VLC | 2.0.10 | ▶ | video performance is poor/absent if running on GPU without hw acceleration | |
| VueScan | 9.0.96 | ▶ | ||
| Wireshark | 1.9.2 | ▶ | crashes on start | |
| Xbench | 1.3 | ▶▶ | ||
| XLD | 20211018 | |||
| Xcode | 3.2 (10A96 and 10A190) | ▶ | use the version corresponding to the 10.6 build in use |
FIXES, TIPS, GOALS
“Something’s broken!” Fixes & workarounds
Improve SL-PPC’s utility/performance
- Patching your test Mac to reach Login Window & Finder on Build 10A96: WikiPost attachments & install steps: #26
- bring over working kexts from Build 10A96, for use in Build 10A190: #476
- How can I fix images & improve my graphics/video somewhat?
- Fix blocky desktop backgrounds, icons, and JPEG rendering: #187
- Software Core Image & Quartz Extreme fixes: #381, #911
- Use QuartzGLEnable flag on applications to improve on-screen motion: #816
- Get QuickLook working on Build 10A96: #926
- #381 may fix DVD Player playback: #443
- Expert: IOKit fundamentals may offer troubleshooting tips in absence of CI/QE support for Radeon AGP GPUs: #723
- Expert: AGP graphics driver: #467; AGPGart.kext discussion: #611, #624, #712, #715, with notes on ATY_init.kext: #498, #522, #532, #554, #575
- Patch Leopard WebKit (5.0.6) to run: #149
- Add basic emoji — “backmoji” — support to Snow Leopard: #1078
- Swap in project’s TextEdit.app to read/modify .rtf documents: #1397 (or #322)
- Get AirPort Extreme detected, even running: for Build 10A96, #406; for Build 10A190, #492 & #513
- Repair printer/fax crash (cupsd/Printers.prefPane) & ntpd (Network Time server): #115 & #281
- MacPorts
- Table 5; compile manually [repository]
- set correct Darwin build env: #452
- (Re-)compile from AOSP to fix function on broken components, Table 5 & #446
- Discussion on changing frameworks: #559 & Table 4
- switch from Server to Client: #618
Improve SL-PPC’s utility/performance
- Table 4 for bringing over newer revisions of system components (kexts, frameworks, etc.)
- custom IOSCSIArchitectureFamily.kext (“2.5.9”): #630
Desk reference
- Siracusa/ArsTechnica comprehensive review of Snow Leopard retail edition, Aug. 2009
- Topological representation of how Snow Leopard differs from Leopard & Tiger
- Mac OS X internals: #736
- Apple Documentation Archive
- Discord server
To-dos
- Task: max out Snow Leopard on PowerPC with latest stable software
- Task: assess UB components from 10.5.4–10.6.0 which can be backported to run on SL-PPC
- Task: merge latest working components on PPC builds to make final PPC build of SL w/ minimal bugs/issues; then archive “final” build of SL-PPC using stable/optimized components (w/ install script folding in project tweaks) to Archive/Macgarden
THANKS FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT, GUIDANCE & PARTICIPATION! : D
Vive la PowerPC!
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