Update Snow Leopard's Key Extensions with 10.7?

[ssn637]

Is it possible to swap out selected Snow Leopard kext hardware drivers with updated versions from 10.7? For example, I noted the NVidia GeForce drivers in 10.6.7 are over a year old, whereas those in Lion date from late March 2011. The most interesting updates would be video, audio and network drivers.

 

[8CoreWhore]

If you want to chance it,... make a copy of what you want and paste it in the same folder in SL. But first make a copy of the old driver and have it ready on your desktop to put back.

BUT --- if you have a problem you will most likely need a way to access that drive without it booted so you can reverse your steps.

I haven't tested this so procede if you're adventurous and at your own risk.

They are in System>Library>Extensions

I wonder if there is a 64bit Vs 32bit issue??????

 

[ssn637]

If you want to chance it,... make a copy of what you want and paste it in the same folder in SL. But first make a copy of the old driver and have it ready on your desktop to put back.

BUT --- if you have a problem you will most likely need a way to access that drive without it booted so you can reverse your steps.

I haven't tested this so procede if you're adventurous and at your own risk.

They are in System>Library>Extensions

I wonder if there is a 64bit Vs 32bit issue??????

Well, I tried to swap out the GeForce kext but had to restore the system from a time machine backup. The screen kept flickering after the restart but the driver didn't seem to take, since after a couple of restarts I ended up with a black screen. I suspected something was wrong when I tried to modify the extensions folder permissions with the KEXT utility, which reported that the GeForce .kext had been installed incorrectly. Repairing disk permissions from the startup disk didn't help.

 

[Riemann Zeta]

Lion requires kernel extensions be compiled with XCode 4.1 with specific 10.7-only headers (and whatever specific version of their LLVM compiler that is integrated into the new XCode release). So alas, despite the theoretical coolness of 'back-installing' better NVIDIA drivers in 10.6.7, I don't think it is going to be possible.

But you can install the NVIDIA drivers and OpenGL framework from the 2011 Macbook Pro Special System Update onto other systems (with Pacifist). As for why a specific update for machines with AMD GPUs has newer GeForce drivers than the regular 10.6.7 update, I have no idea.

 

[ssn637]

Lion requires kernel extensions be compiled with XCode 4.1 with specific 10.7-only headers (and whatever specific version of their LLVM compiler that is integrated into the new XCode release). So alas, despite the theoretical coolness of 'back-installing' better NVIDIA drivers in 10.6.7, I don't think it is going to be possible.

But you can install the NVIDIA drivers and OpenGL framework from the 2011 Macbook Pro Special System Update onto other systems (with Pacifist). As for why a specific update for machines with AMD GPUs has newer GeForce drivers than the regular 10.6.7 update, I have no idea.

Wow, now that was an informative tip!!! OK, so 10.7 drivers aren't compatible with Snow Leopard operating systems, which would make sense. But I never would have thought to check the early 2011 10.6.7 Snow Leopard update for NVidia drivers! Great idea. Unfortunately, I swapped out all the NVidia drivers I could identify at the same time and ended up with a system that no longer booted. Had to wipe the partition from another MacBook Pro in T mode and then restore my time capsule backup image. Time to give up. I'm just not computer savvy enough to pull this one off. Not a big deal anyway, but was kinda fun to try.

Sticking with Snow Leopard on this 2010 MacBook Pro because I haven't found much in Lion that excites me. I can see the need for full screen apps viewing on a MacBook Air, but with a 24" external display, who needs it? And I can't get CoolBook to work. In fact, CoolBook is reporting that my system is running at max CPU clock speed when running on the battery all the time. Doesn't seem to be clocking down under routine use! Kinda strange.