10.8 on Early '08 MacBook

[mac.heretic]

Hello tonymac forums!
This is quite a situation I've got myself into & forgive me for this long post but I'd like to document this best as I can.

I have an early '08 MacBook (4,1) - Core 2 Duo, 2.4GHz, 4GB RAM, 60GB SSD.
When the Developer Preview of Mountain Lion was released I used some hackery from a couple different forums to get it installed on my MacBook despite being unsupported. Earlier this week I (Thursday actually) I got the full version successfully except the brightness keys didn't work & without any audio (to say nothing about the choppy graphics of moving in & out of fullscreen apps). I was snooping around here & found the link to Kext Utility which installed the .kext needed to get my audio working on my MacBook (thank you so much for that btw!).
Not being able to leave well-enough alone I decided I wanted to try to get my brightness up/down keys working & to see if there was a way to better the graphics performance. Foolishly while not paying attention I ran the MultiBeast for 10.6/10.7 & not 10.8. As such I've sent my MacBook into a kernel panic boot-loop.

I am currently getting 10.8 reinstalled using the same method as before, but seeing all the amazing tools you seem to have here I'm wondering if there is an easier way then my manual method of modifying .plists & copying over .kext files.

So I guess my questions are:
1) Does anyone know of a way I can enable the brightness functions of my MacBook?
2) ^ditto^ except in reference to the Intel GMA X3100 graphics?
3) Is there a way to install 10.8 on this system more easily (using tonymac's tools or otherwise)?

Thanks a ton in advance!

 

[mac.heretic]

Just wanted to put an update up.
I got Mountain Lion back on my MacBook following the steps in the first post here:
new guide for installing mountain lion gm on unsupported macs - MacRumors Forums

I'd like to state that step 16 is absolutely must be done before the reboot into OS X - else it will kernel panic boot-loop & you'll have to start the process over.

The best/easiest way to get audio working is to copy the AppleHDA.kext form Lion into Kext Utility referenced here at tonymacx86.

I've also noticed that sleep doesn't work properly, the LCD never turns off it just reverts to a white screen.
Still looking for a graphics fix.

 

[giofrida]

Fix Needed

I also need a graphics fix for my 6720s

 

[mac.heretic]

2nd Update

Another update.
I haven't made any appreciable gains on my MacBook I'm afraid.

Some minor graphics performance improvement has been made. Scrolling on webpages has been smoothed out & CMD+Tab as well. Moving into Expose/Spaces is no longer choppy but snaps; that is you'll see your desktop then all open windows - no animation shows. Coming out of Expose/Spaces is a little choppy but is slightly animated despite that.
The system's CPU fan also no longer runs up to full while 3 tabs are open in Google Chrome (v21.0.1180.57) or Safari 6.

The Kext files I installed using Kext Utility are from OS 10.7 (Lion):
AppleGraphicsControl.kext, AppleGraphicsPowerManagement.kext, AppleIntelCPUPowerManagement.kext, AppleIntelCPUPowerManagementCient.kext, AppleIntelFrameBufferCapri.kext, AppleIntelHD3000Graphics.kext, AppleIntelHDGraphicsGA.plugin, AppleIntelHD3000GraphicsGLDriver.bundle, AppleIntelHD3000VADriver.bundle, AppleIntelGraphics.kext, AppleIntelHDGraphicsFB.kext, AppleIntelHDGraphicsGA.plugin, IOAccelerator2D.plugin, IOAcceleratorFamily.kext, IOGraphicsFamily.kext

I found these files in an older Time Machine backup I have of my MacBook on Lion:

(Files located in Lion that are removed from Mountain Lion are highlighted in red.)

None of the Keyboard or Display kexts I installed changed the functionality of the display brightness at all.


I think for my next steps I'm going to (at some point) try installing some graphics Kexts from 10.6 to see if that smooths things out any further. At this point I'm not sure if it's true that the Intel X3100 graphics are unable to properly run the GUI or if the fact that System Report still states that no Kext is installed for Kernel Extension (ergo driver is not installed).

 

[mac.heretic]

Possible Advice

I also need a graphics fix for my 6720s

Hey giofrida,
I see numerous Kexts I see from my Lion install are referencing ATI graphics. I've included a screenshot (easier than typing them all out).

These are found in /System/Library/Extension/


Not all of these are for your GPU family & I don't know if Apple made a Kext that is generalized to the HD6000 family or if the Kext specifies certain types of GPUs. Supposedly, and this was rumor only I heard just after Lion's release, Apple added support for 3rd party GPUs in the mac Pro line. I also saw that rumored by one of my coworkers just before Mountain Lion was released.

I looked at my MacBook's install of Lion & my iMac's (2011 Thunderbolt, has HD6750) & I see no differences in the Kext files (file size, modification & create date are all the same). It also does not appear that the Lion Kexts from my system image are any different. Perhaps you can try creating a modified bootable USB like I did & adding the Kexts to the installation USB (though if they are truly not any different then installing them won't make a difference).


I do have a question for you however: you have a Pentium 4 system in your signature that is fully working; which version of OS X are you running? I inherited an old Pentium 4 Dell that I was going to donate but I may be interested in a modifying it a Hackintosh if there is any ability for it.

 

[giofrida]

Leopard 10.5.8

 

[mac.heretic]

Leopard 10.5.8

Thanks! I've got a retail copy of that actually.

 

[mac.heretic]

Closing Update

Just to provide a final update for my mis-adventure into Mountain Lion.
I installed a copy of 10.6 & copied the Intel graphics Kexts over - no graphics improvement
I updated to 10.6.8 - copied the Kexts again: same result.
Also installing these Kexts increased my boot time from 20 seconds to 40 seconds.

I have also found other issues with Mountain Lion on my MacBook. Such as there is no UI for Time Machine, Back to My Mac/Find my Mac doesn't work. Bluetooth will occasionally shut off then come back on.

Given all those headaches I'm just going to stick with 10.7
If anyone finds any fixes either here or on another site please let me know! I'd still like to have 10.8 if there's a way to do it.