Snow Leopard on Unsupported PowerPC Macs

[ChrisCharman]

Eventually (possibly sooner than later, at least as it relates to 10A96), a version of the build might make its way into some kind of an installer to post for other folks somewhere. Given @ChrisCharman ’s work on painstakingly compiling frameworks for 10A190 (I cannot imagine how hard that is to do, especially in the beta-level Xcode 3.2 build environment!), such an installer could be delayed a little once Chris makes some of those re-compiled frameworks available for community testing. I’d like to try those with 10A96 and see whether any actually of them improve system stability. If somehow I could create a working compiling environment for compiling 10.6.0 frameworks for 10A96, I’d already be doing this myself.

I would say it's still too early for me to upload most of the things i'm testing, and as some currently decrease stability i don't think it would be wise, but i should be able to upload some of the libraries and binaries as a .dmg for people to copy over to their test machines for further experimentation.

 

[ChrisCharman]

If you’re feeling adventurous, or if you want a quick diversion from compiling dylibs and/or frameworks, might you be up to seeing whether this short utility could be amended to compile for big-endian PPC use?

I've had a look at this utility and have been unable to compile for PowerPC as it would need rewriting, there's also no makefile included so manual compilation is required. The creator also modified the code for each iteration of the framework for compatibility. In theory someone could read through the source and manually apply the changes, but as the framework version in builds 10A096 and 10A190 are earlier than 10A432 it may be a better idea to apply the changes to the later framework and then copy that framework across when the dependencies have been satisfied.

 

[ChrisCharman]

For reference here are the different LibSystem and LibmathCommon versions across builds:

LibSystem.B.dylib - Mach-O dynamically linked shared library - Universal


10.5.8:


/usr/lib/libSystem.B.dylib (compatibility version 1.0.0, current version 111.1.7)


/usr/lib/system/libmathCommon.A.dylib (compatibility version 1.0.0, current version 292.4.0)


10A096:


/usr/lib/libSystem.B.dylib (compatibility version 1.0.0, current version 114.0.0)


/usr/lib/system/libmathCommon.A.dylib (compatibility version 1.0.0, current version 301.0.0)


10A190:

/usr/lib/libSystem.B.dylib (compatibility version 1.0.0, current version 117.0.0)


/usr/lib/system/libmathCommon.A.dylib (compatibility version 1.0.0, current version 302.0.0)


10A222:

/usr/lib/libSystem.B.dylib (compatibility version 1.0.0, current version 117.0.0)


/usr/lib/system/libmathCommon.A.dylib (compatibility version 1.0.0, current version 302.0.0)


10A261:


/usr/lib/libSystem.B.dylib (compatibility version 1.0.0, current version 119.0.0)


/usr/lib/system/libmathCommon.A.dylib (compatibility version 1.0.0, current version 306.0.0)


10A354:

/usr/lib/libSystem.B.dylib (compatibility version 1.0.0, current version 123.0.0)


/usr/lib/system/libmathCommon.A.dylib (compatibility version 1.0.0, current version 313.0.0)


10A380:

/usr/lib/libSystem.B.dylib (compatibility version 1.0.0, current version 123.0.0)


/usr/lib/system/libmathCommon.A.dylib (compatibility version 1.0.0, current version 314.0.0)


10A432:

/usr/lib/libSystem.B.dylib (compatibility version 1.0.0, current version 125.0.1)


/usr/lib/system/libmathCommon.A.dylib (compatibility version 1.0.0, current version 315.0.0)

 

[Hughmac]

Somebody somewhere mentioned using Finder from 10.5.8 to get more functionality, in particular to get external drives to show up on the desktop, and I can't locate the relevant post.
I tried doing this myself by copying/replacing from the Leopard partition onto 10A190, and when I boot SL PPC Finder goes into a cycle of crashing and restarting, so I had to restore the original version.

Can anyone please explain how this was achieved as I must have missed a step somewhere?

Cheers

Hugh

 

[ChrisCharman]

Somebody somewhere mentioned using Finder from 10.5.8 to get more functionality, in particular to get external drives to show up on the desktop, and I can't locate the relevant post.
I tried doing this myself by copying/replacing from the Leopard partition onto 10A190, and when I boot SL PPC Finder goes into a cycle of crashing and restarting, so I had to restore the original version.

Can anyone please explain how this was achieved as I must have missed a step somewhere?

Cheers

Hugh

I had the same issue when attempting to do this myself @Hughmac

I believe it was @vddrnnr who originally stated he had this working? He was also using a different version of LoginWindow if i recall correctly?

 

[MacPro2006VBox]

USB booting, while possible, is temperamental. I have always just used partitions on the boot drive instead and found that method far more reliable.

I’ve successfully installed 10A96 Client by simply using the OSinstall.mpkg under my leopard partition to a blank partition on my SSD. I have tested iTunes 10.2.2 (and well it doesn’t work)

I was able to upgrade QuickTime to 7.6.4 by simply copying a couple frameworks and the application to their respective locations on my Snow Leopard partition. QuickLook works as well (it probably already did and was broken in 10A190)

TenFourFox works great, and the system feels pretty snappy. Finder doesn’t have that annoying issue with ejecting removable volumes that 10A190 had.

I do see what people mean by blocky pictures though in terms of this build.

 

[MacPro2006VBox]

Would you be OK with walking us through the steps you took to prepare and install the 10A96 build before trying to boot from USB? I’m curious to see the workflow here.

(Also, while I’m pretty sure it’s possible to boot Snow Leopard from USB on the PCIe G5s and mid/late 2005 G4 Macs, I’ve never done it personally.)

I just simply ended up installing manually from the OSInstall.mpkg to a blank partition previously used by my Tiger partition as it didn’t want to boot from the USB drive. Afterwards I simply ran the post install script and I was good to go. I did get slightly hung up during setup but a reboot after I had that portion done it works fine now

 

[B S Magnet]

I do see what people mean by blocky pictures though in terms of this build.

There’s a fix for that in the Tips section of the WikiPost.

 

[B S Magnet]

I've had a look at this utility and have been unable to compile for PowerPC as it would need rewriting, there's also no makefile included so manual compilation is required. The creator also modified the code for each iteration of the framework for compatibility. In theory someone could read through the source and manually apply the changes, but as the framework version in builds 10A096 and 10A190 are earlier than 10A432 it may be a better idea to apply the changes to the later framework and then copy that framework across when the dependencies have been satisfied.

I was afraid of that. Thanks for having a look, though!

 

[ChrisCharman]

I just simply ended up installing manually from the OSInstall.mpkg to a blank partition previously used by my Tiger partition as it didn’t want to boot from the USB drive. Afterwards I simply ran the post install script and I was good to go. I did get slightly hung up during setup but a reboot after I had that portion done it works fine now

The initial reboot hang is expected and documented by apple.

 

[ChrisCharman]

I’ve successfully installed 10A96 Client by simply using the OSinstall.mpkg under my leopard partition to a blank partition on my SSD. I have tested iTunes 10.2.2 (and well it doesn’t work)

I was able to upgrade QuickTime to 7.6.4 by simply copying a couple frameworks and the application to their respective locations on my Snow Leopard partition. QuickLook works as well (it probably already did and was broken in 10A190)

TenFourFox works great, and the system feels pretty snappy. Finder doesn’t have that annoying issue with ejecting removable volumes that 10A190 had.

I do see what people mean by blocky pictures though in terms of this build.

See this post for instructions on fixing the blocky images. @B S Magnet has organised a large number of links to fixes on the WikiPost that you'll find useful - i recommend replacing binaries from 10.5.8 as @vddrnnr has been doing if you're sticking with 10A096 for the moment. @B S Magnet has explored various versions of iTunes and QuickTime a few pages back for reference.

 

[B S Magnet]

See this post for instructions on fixing the blocky images. @B S Magnet has organised a large number of links to fixes on the WikiPost that you'll find useful - i recommend replacing binaries from 10.5.8 as @vddrnnr has been doing if you're sticking with 10A096 for the moment. @B S Magnet has explored various versions of iTunes and QuickTime a few pages back for reference.

In addition, have a look at Table 4 in the WikiPost for those kernel extensions and applications which you might want to swap in from 10.5.8 (whilst, of course, moving existing ones to a “.old” or “.10A96” file extension, in case you wish to revert your changes).

Overall, the kernel extensions and bundles I’ve tested with 10A96 are generally being left in place on my test Mac, as none is throwing errors onto the Console and, in some cases, the 10.5.8 kexts have improved overall performance and stability. In a few cases, migrating kexts to 10.5.8 versions may assist in the functionality of Apple applications (like iTunes 10.4.1 and QuickTime 7.7.0).

In short, make use of the WikiPost as an essential desk reference and as a springboard. I have put some effort into organizing and making easier to find all the fixes, tweaks, and notes which have been amassed by our community in nearly a thousand posts (and counting).

 

[MacPro2006VBox]

In addition, have a look at Table 4 in the WikiPost for those kernel extensions and applications which you might want to swap in from 10.5.8 (whilst, of course, moving existing ones to a “.old” or “.10A96” file extension, in case you wish to revert your changes).

Overall, the kernel extensions and bundles I’ve tested with 10A96 are generally being left in place on my test Mac, as none is throwing errors onto the Console and, in some cases, the 10.5.8 kexts have improved overall performance and stability. In a few cases, migrating kexts to 10.5.8 versions may assist in the functionality of Apple applications (like iTunes 10.4.1 and QuickTime 7.7.0).

In short, make use of the WikiPost as an essential desk reference and as a springboard. I have put some effort into organizing and making easier to find all the fixes, tweaks, and notes which have been amassed by our community in nearly a thousand posts (and counting).

I am sad to report that iTunes 9.2.1 does not work (much like 10.2.2 currently), in addition to Safari 4.1.3 (from Tiger). Like with 10A190, Safari 5.0.6 also doesn't work, however migrating QuarzCore from Leopard does in fact work on 10A96.

 

[MacPro2006VBox]

That reminds me, hello from 10A96 (Client)!

 

[Hughmac]

I had the same issue when attempting to do this myself @Hughmac

I believe it was @vddrnnr who originally stated he had this working? He was also using a different version of LoginWindow if i recall correctly?

OK, so how do we do if Finder from 10A096 is put into 10A190?
Unfortunately I don't have 10A096 at the moment

One of the problems I found with trying to copy Finder from 10.6.8 (and also 10.4.11 which I tried as well), was that one of the permissions changed from 'system' to 'hugh' (my user account) when transferred, and I couldn't find a way of correcting this.

Cheers

Hugh

 

[ChrisCharman]

OK, so how do we do if Finder from 10A096 is put into 10A190?
Unfortunately I don't have 10A096 at the moment

One of the problems I found with trying to copy Finder from 10.6.8 (and also 10.4.11 which I tried as well), was that one of the permissions changed from 'system' to 'hugh' (my user account) when transferred, and I couldn't find a way of correcting this.

Cheers

Hugh

I have been unable to move Finder from 10.5.8 or 10A096 into 10A190. I am slowly improving the 10A190 Finder and system usability by replacing things like LibXML, Zlib, Cups, Ntp and other libraries instead.

If permissions are your issue you can try changing them in the terminal or use Batchmod for example.

 

[MacPro2006VBox]

Well 10A96 refuses to load GeforcePPC.kext, Same with NVDAResmanPPC.kext

OSX86Tools also refuses to work on this build.

 

[MacPro2006VBox]

For reference here are the different LibSystem and LibmathCommon versions across builds:

LibSystem.B.dylib - Mach-O dynamically linked shared library - Universal


10.5.8:


/usr/lib/libSystem.B.dylib (compatibility version 1.0.0, current version 111.1.7)


/usr/lib/system/libmathCommon.A.dylib (compatibility version 1.0.0, current version 292.4.0)


10A096:


/usr/lib/libSystem.B.dylib (compatibility version 1.0.0, current version 114.0.0)


/usr/lib/system/libmathCommon.A.dylib (compatibility version 1.0.0, current version 301.0.0)


10A190:

/usr/lib/libSystem.B.dylib (compatibility version 1.0.0, current version 117.0.0)


/usr/lib/system/libmathCommon.A.dylib (compatibility version 1.0.0, current version 302.0.0)


10A222:

/usr/lib/libSystem.B.dylib (compatibility version 1.0.0, current version 117.0.0)


/usr/lib/system/libmathCommon.A.dylib (compatibility version 1.0.0, current version 302.0.0)


10A261:


/usr/lib/libSystem.B.dylib (compatibility version 1.0.0, current version 119.0.0)


/usr/lib/system/libmathCommon.A.dylib (compatibility version 1.0.0, current version 306.0.0)


10A354:

/usr/lib/libSystem.B.dylib (compatibility version 1.0.0, current version 123.0.0)


/usr/lib/system/libmathCommon.A.dylib (compatibility version 1.0.0, current version 313.0.0)


10A380:

/usr/lib/libSystem.B.dylib (compatibility version 1.0.0, current version 123.0.0)


/usr/lib/system/libmathCommon.A.dylib (compatibility version 1.0.0, current version 314.0.0)


10A432:

/usr/lib/libSystem.B.dylib (compatibility version 1.0.0, current version 125.0.1)


/usr/lib/system/libmathCommon.A.dylib (compatibility version 1.0.0, current version 315.0.0)

Have you tried downgrading libSystem.B.dylib to the one in Leopard (10.5.8)?

 

[Hughmac]

I have been unable to move Finder from 10.5.8 or 10A096 into 10A190. I am slowly improving the 10A190 Finder and system usability by replacing things like LibXML, Zlib, Cups, Ntp and other libraries instead.

If permissions are your issue you can try changing them in the terminal or use Batchmod for example.

I'll try Batchmod later or tomorrow. I need to do a complete backup first in case I bork it again

Cheers

Hugh

 

[B S Magnet]

I am sad to report that iTunes 9.2.1 does not work (much like 10.2.2 currently), in addition to Safari 4.1.3 (from Tiger). Like with 10A190, Safari 5.0.6 also doesn't work, however migrating QuarzCore from Leopard does in fact work on 10A96.

Just keep in mind that “installing” iTunes and QuickTime 7.7.0 does not involve the installer.pkg app! You’ll need to open the package contents in Pacifist (on a different Mac), extract those files from the package contents, and then manually move those contents to their respective destinations on 10A96.

As for Safari/WebKit, I’ve honestly never bothered with it since I haven’t used Safari in any guise for most of the last ten years.

 

[MacPro2006VBox]

Just keep in mind that “installing” iTunes and QuickTime 7.7.0 does not involve the installer.pkg app! You’ll need to open the package contents in Pacifist (on a different Mac), extract those files from the package contents, and then manually move those contents to their respective destinations on 10A96.

As for Safari/WebKit, I’ve honestly never bothered with it since I haven’t used Safari in any guise for most of the last ten years.

iTunes 9.2.1/10.2.2 install fine from their respective packages on 10A96... however they refuse to work properly once installed (hang or crash)

 

[B S Magnet]

OK, so how do we do if Finder from 10A096 is put into 10A190?
Unfortunately I don't have 10A096 at the moment

One of the problems I found with trying to copy Finder from 10.6.8 (and also 10.4.11 which I tried as well), was that one of the permissions changed from 'system' to 'hugh' (my user account) when transferred, and I couldn't find a way of correcting this.

When it comes to any and all /System and /Library files, you should only be moving those from a command line whilst logged in as root/superuser (i.e., “sudo su”), or whilst logging into login screen as “root” and not, say, “hugh”.

If the stuff you just moved shows your name as owner/group and not something like “root:wheel” or "system:wheel” or whatever the rest of the directories/files in that directory are all set to, then you can go back to the directory/files you just moved, using a sudo command, “chown -R 0:0 /whatever/file/or/directory/you/want/to/change”. The “0:0” restores ownership/group to the default/correct settings for that file/directory.

 

[B S Magnet]

iTunes 9.2.1/10.2.2 install fine from their respective packages on 10A96... however they refuse to work properly once installed (hang or crash)

So you did launch the .pkg file to install those?

 

[MacPro2006VBox]

So you did launch the .pkg file to install those?

Yes, and it installed fine both times. 10A190 is where I had to manually install iTunes 10.6.3

Speaking of iTunes 10.6.3... it itself installs fine on 10A96, but it’s odd that 10A190 refuses it.

 

[B S Magnet]

Yes, and it installed fine both times. 10A190 is where I had to manually install iTunes 10.6.3

Speaking of iTunes 10.6.3... it itself installs fine on 10A96, but it’s odd that 10A190 refuses it.

For these applications, I have not been using the .pkg installer application. I have been manually moving the files from inside the package to their respective destinations via command line as root. That’s how I’ve been able to get QuickTime 7.7.0 and also iTunes 10.4.1 to run on 10A96. (in the WikiPost, I also note how these later iTunes builds will not quit properly; they will hang and require a force-quit. I do not have a remedy for this yet.)

thread sidebar: Aaaaaaaand… that’s a thousand!