[space-time]

Originally Posted by minimalpc

It should be, but it is hard to tell at this point whether it is. Ask them to try booting it via F12|USB then report back what happens in as much detail as possible (if it does not work).

Thanks minimalpc, will try to get more info from them.

[space-time]

hi,

apparently, one needs a bootable OS X USB stick and then you can run the NetBookInstalled 0.8.3 Final, correct? Without a Bootable OS X USB stick, you cannot boot.

In other words, if all you put on the USB stick is the NBI 0.8.3F, but no OS X, can you boot from it? is there a magic format that you need to apply? because my Brother-in-law gets these kernel errors (incompatible kernel) when trying to boot from the USB stick with NBI but no OS X on it, and when he boots from the HD, he gets a loop where the computer just reboots itself over and over again.

Many thanks.

[minimalpc]

Originally Posted by space-time

hi,

apparently, one needs a bootable OS X USB stick and then you can run the NetBookInstalled 0.8.3 Final, correct? Without a Bootable OS X USB stick, you cannot boot.

Incorrect.

In other words, if all you put on the USB stick is the NBI 0.8.3F, but no OS X, can you boot from it?

Yes. If you properly write the NBI_083F.img file to the flash drive with dd or the Windows ImageWriter Tool and if the flash drive supports booting (apparently, not all do), then you can boot the NBI flash drive. It will end up booting to the the Chameleon bootloader menu. If OS X is the only OS installed, it may just skip the menu and try to boot straight into OS X (not sure and can't easily test since I triple boot). If that is the case, it may be that the flash drive is booting, and your brother-in-law just can't tell because it looks fairly similar to a normal boot. This still doesn't explain why the flash drive isn't working to get him back into OS X.

[minimalpc]

If your brother-in-law has access to an external USB CD/DVD drive, you should ask him to burn NetbookCD 0.8.3 final to a disc (e.g. using ImgBurn) and boot it (may need to use F12 at the Dell screen to choose CD/DVD boot). It should boot to a menu that lists the existing installation of OS X. Once selected, that will (hopefully) get him back into OS X where he can then download and run NBI 0.8.3 final. I have found that NetbookCD sometimes works better than a flash drive with the NBI_083F.img file on it. I had an issue today; and the latter did NOT get me back into OS X, while NetbookCD did. Give it a shot if possible.

[space-time]

Hi!

my Brother-in-law got the computer running LINUX from a USB stick. I don't know the details, it's one of those Live LINUX distributions.

Is there any way to patch the kernel while booted in LINUX?

if not, I still plan to install OS 10.6.2 on a MacBook and then run the updates and send the hard drive to my Dad, but would be easier if they managed to patch the kernel and keep using the HD in the Mini 10v

Thanks again.

[minimalpc]

Originally Posted by space-time

Hi!

my Brother-in-law got the computer running LINUX from a USB stick. I don't know the details, it's one of those Live LINUX distributions.

Is there any way to patch the kernel while booted in LINUX?

if not, I still plan to install OS 10.6.2 on a MacBook and then run the updates and send the hard drive to my Dad, but would be easier if they managed to patch the kernel and keep using the HD in the Mini 10v

Thanks again.

It can be done, but it is not easy. OS X uses the HFS+ filesystem. Normally, Linux will mount HFS+ drives as read-only. You can mount it as writeable, unless it is HFS+ journaled (which it probably is ). You can force mount a journaled HFS+ drive, but it is not recommended. Doesn't seem to be much to lose here though. There are some instructions on this page. If you manage to get the OS X partition mounted as writeable, you need to patch the /mach_kernel file as described here. It is a 3-byte change. If you cannot get write access, an alternative would be to attempt to use a raw disk editor to locate the relevant byte string and modify it. This is not for the faint of heart.

If you are going to try the Linux route, I would suggest using an Ubuntu Live CD, as I have read that it has HFS+ support included. Not sure about others.

Before doing any of this, I would try using whatever Linux LiveCD you have to rewrite NBI_083F.img to the USB flash drive using dd (command syntax is same as in the guides linked above). See if that will get you booting via the USB drive. Some people have had more luck using dd in Linux (which shouldn't be a surprise since dd was ported to Windows from Unix). Otherwise, I still suggest finding someone with an external CD/DVD drive and trying NetbookCD. That is how I got my system working when I accidentally ran an older version of NBI that did not support 10.6.2.

[space-time]

minimalpc

thanks again for your support, I admire your effort to answer my questions.

[space-time]

hi all, I know this thread is quote old, but here is the update:

I got the netbook in my hands. It just keeps rebooting intself.

I downloded NBI_083F image and wrote to a USB stick using my PowerBook (OS 10.4.11). The USb stick is a Sandisk Cruzer Titaniu 4 GB. After I wrote the NBI_083F.img to the stick, here is the information

Disk Description : SanDisk Cruzer Media Total Capacity : 3.8 GB (4,110,227,968 Bytes)
Connection Bus : USB Write Status : Read/Write
Connection Type : External S.M.A.R.T. Status : Not Supported
USB Serial Number : 0000173EA180CA18 Partition Scheme : Master Boot Record

and the partition itself is like this

Mount Point : /Volumes/NBI_083F 1 Capacity : 47.7 MB (49,999,872 Bytes)
Format : Mac OS Extended Available : 5.3 MB (5,505,024 Bytes)
Owners Enabled : No Used : 42.4 MB (44,494,848 Bytes)
Number of Folders : 19 Number of Files : 119

Now I try to boot the Netbook from this USB stick (I am using the USB port closer to the power connector) and I get the Apple logo, but very quickly a Kernel Panic:

panic(cpu 0 caller 0x2a86f7): "Version mis-match between Kernel and CPU PM"@SpurceCache/xnu/xnu-1486.2.11/osfmk/i386/pmCPU.c:681

Now the NetBook has BIOS A06 and the only way to install 10.6 on it was to put the HD in a MacBook. I can also try to take the HD put and put it back in the MacBook, but that's quite a bit of work and wife needs her macBook... so I have to see when I can steal her MacBook and do this. Meanwhile, I would still like to boot from a USB,... any ideas?

Thanks