[Bear Hunter]

Ok, this community has come up with some great fixes that have been posted all over in different threads (that are not currently a part of NBI). I have no doubt that Meklort will be continuously improving NBI (as shown with his work with 10.6.2) and incorporating same. In the interim, I thought it would be a good idea to consolidate these user fixes/improvements in one thread so people have a single place to go to see what's new.

Please add yours as you come across them. Please include an "as of date" so we can identify how old the fix is and determine if it is included in NBI as it develops.


Updated As Of 10 JAN 10.
This is a compilation from folks linked/quoted in the instructions and contributors within this thread

*** If I have a fix or improvement that belongs to you and you are not linked or quoted, please let me know and I will annotate accordingly...thanks

OUTLINE
- General Troubleshooting
- Bluetooth not always coming back after sleep
- NBI 8.3 Final Released
- FAQ & Best Practices
- OSX 10.6.> to include Mini 9 and 10v
- All OSX to include Mini 9 and 10v
- Mini 9
- Miscellaneous



General Troubleshooting Tips - By bsoplinger

If you are experiencing problems or issues with your install, try the following steps:

1. Repair permissions from disk utility
2. Run update extra from a normal not safe boot to rebuild the kext caches
3. Manually clear the system cache files
4. Booting in safe and/or verbose mode, Or -f (ignore cached files)
5. For people upgrading from older boot132 or DellEFI method installs make sure there aren't leftovers files in "/"




Bluetooth not always coming back after sleep (Still testing)

If your Mini has bluetooth and it is enabled in bios and USB Legacy is also disabled, but it is unreliable or does not always come back after putting your system to sleep....try the following.

1. Go to System Preferences
2. Open Network
3. Click "+" (lower left hand corner)
4. Add Bluetooth DUN from the interface drop down menu
5. Click "Apply"

So far this has been working and bluetooth has reconnected every time after sleep. I will continue to test.




NBI 8.3 Final Released here:

NetbookInstaller 0.8.3 Final (Official Release)

With the release of NetbookIstaller 0.8.3 Final, third-party kexts should be in put in the AdditionalExtensions folder located at /Extra/AdditionalExtensions where they will remain persistent throughout future releases of NetbookInstaller and will be automatically included whenever UpdateExtra or NetbookInstaller is run.

For those who are updating to 10.6.2 the first time (assuming you have not run NBI 8.3rc4). Make sure to run NBI 8.3 final before doing the software update and reboot. Once reboot is complete, use software update to upgrade to 10.6.2. Reboot your machine and copy over any additional kexts such as "VoodooPowerMini.kext" (for speedstep) in the AdditionalExtensions folder above. Finally, run "UpdateExtra" located at /Extra, reboot and fix disk permissions via Disk Utility.




Dell Mini 10v OSX FAQ, Best Practices
http://www.mydellmini.com/forum/dell...ides-mods.html





OSX 10.6.> to inlcude Mini 9 & 10v



1. Restart after sleep: (NBI 8.3rc4 and older only). This fix is incorporated into NBI 8.3rc5 (not to be confused with "wake after sleep").

OSXRestart.kext - restart after sleep (10.6 only)



2. Sub Pixel Font Smoothing: By Jimmymac_4

Snow Leopard disables LCD font smoothing (sub-pixel rendering) on many third party LCD displays, including the Dell Mini. The following Font smoothing style options are available in Leopard's System Preferences Appearance Pane:

Automatic - Best for Main Display
Standard - Best for CRT
Light
Medium - Best for Flat Panel
Strong

In Snow Leopard, the available options are essentially limited to ON or OFF, ON being the "Use LCD font smoothing when available" option. The problem with this option is that Snow Leopard relies on information retrieved from the display driver, often mistakenly detects third party LCD displays as CRTs and disables LCD font smoothing. Fortunately, Snow Leopard can be forced to use LCD font smoothing. From the Applications/Utilities folder, double-click on Terminal and enter, or copy (Cmd-C) and paste (Cmd-V), the following command into Terminal:

defaults -currentHost write -globalDomain AppleFontSmoothing -int 2

2 corresponds to Leopard's Medium - Best for Flat Panel setting. 1 for light smoothing or 3 for strong smoothing, can be used if you prefer. Press Ctrl-D and Cmd-Q to logout of and quit Terminal. A restart is required for this setting to take effect.

NOTE: The Cmd key is the Dell Mini Alt key.



3. Quicktime 7 Installation By Jimmymac_4

If you did not opt to install QuickTIme 7 during the Snow Leopard installation, it can be installed as follows:

1. Insert your Mac OS X Snow Leopard Install DVD.
2. When the installer opens, double-click on the Optional Installs folder.
3. Double-click the Optional Installs.mpkg package.
4. Click Continue when prompted.
5. Select QuickTime 7 and click Continue to install.

The QiuickTime 7 installation package can also be downloaded directly from:

Apple - QuickTime - Download

NOTE: These instructions assume that Remote DVD/CD Sharing is enabled.



4. Quicktime X and Quicktime 7 Plugins that will allow you to play .avi, WMV, and much much more

Perian Perian is a free, open source QuickTime component that adds native support for many popular video formats. Perian - The swiss-army knife of QuickTime components

Flip4Mac With Windows Media® Components for QuickTime, by Flip4Mac™, you can play Windows Media files (.wma and .wmv) directly in QuickTime Player and view Windows Media content on the Internet using a Web browser. Windows Media® Components for QuickTime



ALL OSX to include Mini 9 & 10v



1. Get the DVD application to recognize an external DVD drive

Originally Posted by HotDog

DVD Player WORKS fine with External Drive

2. Enable Remote DVD/CD Sharing: By Jimmymac_4

The Dell Mini shares a limitation with the MacBook Air … lack of an optical drive. To overcome this deficiency, when the MacBook Air was released, Apple introduced remote sharing of another Mac's optical disc provided both computers are on the same wireless network. Only the MacBook Air has this particular feature by default, but with the entry of two Terminal commands, this option can be enabled on any Mac. This feature should already be enabled in NetbookMaker since that is the default setting. To enable Remote Disc in Terminal, from the Applications/Utilities folder, double-click on Terminal and enter, or copy (Cmd-C) and paste (Cmd-V), the following commands into Terminal:

defaults write com.apple.NetworkBrowser EnableODiskBrowsing -bool true
defaults write com.apple.NetworkBrowser ODSSupported -bool true

Press Ctrl-D and Cmd-Q to logout of and quit Terminal. Do a restart to enable the sharing feature on the Dell Mini (client) computer. Sharing must also be enabled on the server (host) computer. To enable sharing, in the System Preferences Sharing pane Service list, select (check) "DVD or CD Sharing". If user permission is a prerequisite, select (check) "Ask me before allowing others to use my DVD drive�.

To access a shared DVD or CD, in the Finder sidebar, click on Remote Disc in the Devices drop down menu.


NOTE: The Cmd key is the Dell Mini Alt key.

Works for sharing PC drives as well:

Originally Posted by underwhelmed

you can use a remote CD/DVD drive in a Windows machine using a free application from Apple.

Apple - Downloads - Application Updates - DVD or CD Sharing Update 1.0 for Windows

3. "About This Mac" Fix ***This package works with NBI 8.3rc5***

Originally Posted by bsoplinger1

You need an app called AboutThisMac. You can get it here-
Downloads | OS X | mechdrew

It can also be fixed by creating/editing a SMBIOS.plist in /Extra

4. "About This Mac" Fix (No longer relevant with the release of NBI 8.3rc5). Will keep this manual fix here just in case By Mechdrew

The About This Mac mod just changes the file that the About This Mac page reads so that the CPUID actually has a description instead of Unknown. Since the CPUID is changed in the kernel (10.6.2), the mod still happens but About This Mac no longer reads from that modified line; instead it reads from the line that says Core Solo. Hope that makes sense.

Here are some links on how to change the information yourself:

Method 1:
About This Mac Modifier (Version 3) This is a GUI editor - Confirmed that this method works

Method 2:
osx86tools - Download - Initial reports state this method is not working YMMV



5. CPU SpeedStep support via VoodooPowerMini

1. Download VoodooPowerMini Kext from superhai.com
2. Show Hidden files and move "VoodooPowerMini Kext" to /Extra/MinixxExt/
3. Run UpdateExtra located in /Extra/ by double clicking the application

Note: Make sure you move your cursor to the "UpdateExtra" window so you can see the spinning beachball. Do not quit the application until the beachball stops spinning and the "Update Extensions" button in the window is no longer depressed. Quitting the application early (before extensions are fully updated) will cause functionality problems. It will seem like it takes a long time, don't worry and let it do its job.


6. Throttling. Useful for low-load working to extend battery life. Together with SpeedStep controlled through CPU-i. This is the same as #5 above, with the addition of CPU-I

Originally Posted by grassle

Here's what worked for me:

• Optional, for success control:
  • Download CPU-i from this post at insanelymac.com. You must have an account, it becomes not active until you confirm with the emailed link.
  • Unzip and copy out of disk image as needed.
  • Start it and note the frequency in the status tab.
• Download VoodooPowerMini Kext from superhai.com
• Download Kext Helper from cheetha.net
• Unzip and/or copy out of disk image both as needed.
• Drag the kext into Kext Helper Window, type an admin password.
• Optional: Check "Advanced" to get an impression of what is being done.
• Click "Easy Install".
• A dialog tells you about success. Reboot.
• Optional: Start CPU-i and note the frequency. Watch it while giving your Mini some work.

7. Occasional hang at boot. (NBI 8.3rc3 and older only. It is already included in newer versions of NBI)

Show hidden files and go to //Extra/com.apple.Boot.plist and edit the .plist. Copy and paste the following and reboot. Item highlighted in red is the modification to the original.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
<key>Kernel</key>
<string>mach_kernel</string>
<key>Kernel Flags</key>
<string></string>
<key>Timeout</key>
<string>5</string>
<key>device-properties</key>
<string>c600000001000000020000006100000002000000 02 010c00d041030a000000000101060000027fff040010000000 6d006f00640065006c0000000b000000474d41203935302000 00004100410050004c002c00480061007300500061006e0065 006c0000000800000001000000590000000200000002010c00 d041030a0000000001010600001b7fff0400180000006c0061 0079006f00750074002d00690064000000080000000c000000 160000006200750069006c0074002d0069006e000000050000 0001</string>
<key>Boot Graphics</key>
<string>Yes</string>
<key>SMBIOSdefaults</key>
<string>No</string>
<key>UHCIreset</key>
<string>Yes</string>
</dict>
</plist>

8. Hibernate/Sleep Mode Fix. By Jimmymac_4

Sleep mode saves the contents of RAM to a sleepimage file on the hard drive whenever the computer is “put to sleep�. Occasionally, with a “hackintoshed� OS, when hibernate is enabled (a NetbookInstaller option), it just doesn't work properly resulting in a "Hibernate image is too old by (a certain number of) seconds" error message during the boot process. One fix for this is to disable hibernate (sleep mode) and delete the sleepimage file. From the Applications/Utilities folder, double-click on Terminal and enter, or copy (Cmd-C) and paste (Cmd-V), the following command into Terminal:

sudo pmset hibernatemode 0

Press Ctrl-D and Cmd-Q to logout of and quit Terminal. Do a Restart.

From Terminal, enter, or copy (Cmd-C) and paste (Cmd-V), the following command into Terminal:

sudo rm /var/vm/sleepimage

Press Ctrl-D and Cmd-Q to logout of and quit Terminal. Subsequently, there will be less wear and tear on the hard drive, hard disk space will be freed up, and shutdown and boot times will be slightly faster.

NOTE: The Cmd key is the Dell Mini Alt key.


9. Vertical Screen Resolution Fix .

Method 1 By Jimmymac_4
Although most applications size properly on the Dell Mini, some require a minimum screen resolution of 1024x768 to fully display a screen image. Such applications cannot not fit a displayed image on the Dell Mini's screen which has a vertical resolution of 600. To overcome this hardware limitation, applications have been developed that implement a larger virtual screen resolution by altering the system screen size scaling setting, effectively shrinking the displayed image. These applications apply a screen scaling factor (percentage) which persists until a subsequent screen scaling factor is applied. Several such applications can be found in the Screen Size Scaling Applications folder. My personal preference is the Screen Size Automator applications which I copied to the Applications/Utilities folder and dragged to the Dock for ready acces. Several such applications can be found in this forum thread...

Virtually increase your Dell Mini Screen Resolution


Method 2 By bsoplinger1
The Photoshop installer (and its cheaper sibling Photoshop LE installer) and iSale among other programs won't be happy with the screen scaling workaround mentioned in the summary. They explicitly check the screen resolution and that is reported as 1024x600 (or 576 for early 10v) even when scaling is enabled. You can enable 1024x768 with SwitchResX. There is no scrolling which means the top 600 of 768 vertical part of the screen is visible and the rest is unreachable. It isn't needed for the Photoshop installers. Once installed Photoshop or LE will happily run with a screen res of 1024x600. iSale OTOH must be started with the res set to 1024x768. Once the program is running you can set the screen res to 1024x600 and use the Maximize command (Command-M or the '+' button upper left corner of the screen) to resize the window to fit and work in 1024x600. Or you can set the scaling at 75% and run as is.

Attached are 2 convenient automator scripts that will set the screen res. One sets to 75% and the other sets to 100%, which is how you undo the 75% setting. They aren't mine, I grabbed them from an old screen scaling thread here. http://www.mydellmini.com/forum/mac-...tml#post123412



10. Audio "PoP" and Short Sound Fix.

Originally Posted by outphase

This was pointed out in Audio pops and noises

For users who have the occasional popping noise when a sound is played, install Antipop. It turns out that the sound system turns off after some period of inactivity. The first sound that is attempted to be played ends up getting "popped" instead.

DOWNLOAD >> antipop 1.0.2

Description
antipop is a LaunchAgent designed to prevent Mac OS X from turning off the sound system. On many laptops (particularly on MacBooks and MacBook Pros), the sound system emits an audible pop or click when it goes to sleep. This is particularly noticeable when a low-impedence or externally-amplified device is plugged in to the laptop's line-out jack -- users with sensitive headphones or amplified speakers often hear this pop when Mac OS X puts the laptop's sound hardware to sleep after 15-30 seconds of inactivity. This software stops this pop from occurring.

antipop uses Mac OS X's 'say' binary to speak a single space every 10 seconds. While this will not produce any audible output, it will prevent Mac OS X from putting the sound system to sleep. By default, antipop will only do this when the laptop is plugged-in -- when on battery, the sound system will sleep normally. If you wish to change this behavior, simply execute the following command:

echo -n "0" > /usr/local/share/antipop/ac_only

Changes take effect upon reboot. The performance impact is pretty minimal. Unless you're benchmarking you won't notice it -- and even then, you'd be hard pressed to notice an effect.

The .dmg includes a script that you run in terminal if you find the need to uninstall.


Mini 9



1. Sound Fix (This fix may be irrelevant with the release of NBI 8.3rc5). Will keep this resource posted pending feedback from Mini 9 users

• Speakers work 100%
• Earplug jack works 100%
• Mic works 100%

Patched NB 8.3RC4 that has the updated changes for full working sound on Mini 9.

Originally Posted by tommyv

Here's patched NBI 0.8.3 RC4 reflecting changes from this thread, including kexts and DSDT patches from my last post, also including the latest OSXRestart.kext V 1.5

You should have original 10.6.2 AppleHDA.kext in /System/Library/Extensions prior to running NBI, otherwise the sound won't work.
Run it with install extensions and generate dsdt options checked

The changes I made are specifically for Mini 9 and 10.6

UpdateExtra.app is patched as well.

NetbookInstaller 0.8.3 RC4 Dell Mini9 10.6.zip

Sound and mic working with AppleHDA



Miscellaneous



1. Snow Leopard Terminal Tweaks:

Top 15 Terminal Commands for Hidden Settings in Snow Leopard | Terminal, Finder, Dock/Exposé/Dashboard, iTunes + iPod | Mac OS X Tips

Folder preview in quick look is pretty cool




2. Set Default Zoom Level in Safari using .CSS File

Set default zoom level in Safari using a CSS file - Mac OS X Hints

I have mine set at 92% on a 10v. Try it out and see what zoom level is best for you



3. SuperDocker (Free)

Show Hidden Files
Tweak Dock Appearance and location
Modify your stack background
Customize Dashboard
Plus Safari, System, and Application tweaks

SuperDocker | SuperDocker



4. Bootable Clone Backup By Jimmymac_4

A bootable clone is an advantageous backup solution in the event of internal hard drive failure. To create a bootable clone, run Carbon Copy Cloner to copy the internal hard drive (source) to an external USB drive (target). To install the bootloader, select the cloned (external USB hard drive) volume and run NetbookInstaller from the Applications folder.

To boot from an external USB hard drive, USB BIOS Legacy Support must be enabled. To enter setup, promptly press F2 when the Dell logo appears. Navigate to the Advanced screen and ensure that USB BIOS Legacy Support is enabled.

To boot from the cloned external USB hard drive, promptly pressing F12 when the Dell logo appears or press any key at the prompt … "Press any key to enter startup options". Then, select the external USB hard drive as the boot drive.

NOTE: Carbon Copy Cloner can be downloaded from: http://www.bombich.com/software/download_ccc.php


5. Alternative Kext Update Procedure By Jimmymac_4

(NBI 8.3rc4 and Older Versions)

NetbookInstaller creates the Extra folder in the root folder of the installation target drive. Ordinarily, third-party kext files are copied to the Extra/mnExt folder where "mn" is the model number (i.e. 9 or 10v). UpdateExtra is then run to rebuild the extension cache. An alternative method is to splice kext files into the NetbookInstaller package. From the Finder window, right-click (or Ctrl-click) on Applications/NetbookInstaller. Select Show Package Contents. Navigate to the Contents/Resources/SupportFiles/machine/Dell Mini mn/Extensions folder where "mn" is the model number (i.e. 9 or 10v). Copy third-party kext files to this folder location. Kexts will then automatically be installed whenever NetbookInstaller is run. For this alternative method to remain in effect, kext files must be replaced (reinserted) in the Extensions folder whenever a new version of NetbookInstaller is installed.

NOTE: NetbookInstaller has a “Hide NetbookInstaller Files� option. To access the Extra folder, when hidden, either press shift-Cmd-g, or from Finder's “Go� drop-down menu, select “Go to Folder�. Then, enter /Extra in the “Go to folder:� window bar. The Cmd key is the Dell Mini Alt key.

NBI 8.3rc5 and Newer Versions

With the release of NetbookIstaller 0.8.3 RC5, third-party kexts should be in put in the AdditionalExtensions folder located at "/Extra/AdditionalExtensions" where they will remain persistent throughout future releases of NetbookInstaller, and will be automatically included whenever UpdateExtra or NetbookInstaller is run.



6. Accelerate The Boot Process (Time out settings only apply to Single Boot: NBI 8.3RC4 and older, or Dual Boot (or more): NBI 8.3RC5 and newer. If you are single booting in NBI 8.3RC5 there is no option or need to adjust time-out settings)

By Jimmymac_4

Boot time can be shortened by reducing the Chameleon bootloader delay (timeout value in the /Extra/com.apple.Boot.plist).

Press the option key (the Windows key on the Dell Mini) and drag the plist to the desktop. Right-click (or Ctrl-click) on the plist and select "Open With Other". Navigate to TextEdit or your editor of choice. Locate the following entries:

<key>Timeout</key>
<string>5</string>

The integer in line two specifies the delay in seconds before the boot process automatically proceeds without user intervention (i.e. pressing any key to select a boot drive or enter a command, like "X" to boot in Safe Mode). Acceptable values are 1 through the number of seconds of delay preferred. The integer value is likely set to 5. Changing it to 2 will shave 3 seconds off the boot time. When finished editing, drag the com.apple.Boot.plist back to the folder. Click "Replace" to overlay the existing (older) plist. Enter your password when prompted and click "OK"

The com.apple.Boot.plist timeout value must again be reset whenever a new version of NetbookInstaller is installed (run)

Adjusting Chameleon Bootloader for Multi-Boot - By mechdrew

if you multi-boot and want the Chameleon menu to instantly come up (no timer, no keypress) you can add the following lines to the com.apple.Boot.plist file:

<key>Instant Menu</key>
<string>yes</string>

A great resource for Chameleon mods is the documentation put together by one of the Chameleon forum members:
Documentation for Chameleon 2.0



7. Custom Mini 10v Screen Calibration (Color Profiles)

Two new color profiles created for the Mini 10v. Download the zip file located here:

http://www.mydellmini.com/forum/dell...tml#post116889

1. Copy the two ".icc" files to /Library/ColorSync/Profiles/Displays
2. Open System Preferences
3. Select Displays
4. Select the "Color" tab
5. Choose "Custom Mini" or "Custom Mini 2"


8. ClickToFlash Still in its early stages of development but already working well

Originally Posted by rmzajac

A little off topic ...

Installing ClickToFlash 1.5x plugin rentzsch's clicktoflash at master - GitHub really helps the poky atom cpu from rendering your mini useless when navigating to pages that use flash heavily.

Here's a link from a macworld review for more info....
Promising Prospect: ClickToFlash Review | E-mail and Internet | Mac Gems | Macworld

9. Trackpad Modification **NEW

Originally Posted by yidakee

Even with the latest trackpad drivers, I do get a bit irritated sometimes, dragging files, closing windows, expecially trying to open tabs in new windows, right clicking on links... it can be so frustrating....

Well,slow day at the office made me come up with this trick! I can tap in place, have MUCH more 1 finger control movement, right clicking is in place and does not run off...

http://www.mydellmini.com/forum/dell...tml#post127348

[HotDog]

Bear Hunter: What about that little tweak that we found that caused Mac DVD player to launch with an external DVD drive? That would be an easy NBI fix that would bring pleasure to some . . .

DVD post located at: DVD Player WORKS fine with External Drive

[Bear Hunter]

Originally Posted by HotDog

Bear Hunter: What about that little tweak that we found that caused iDVD to launch with an external DVD drive? That would be an easy NBI fix that would bring pleasure to some . . .

DVD post located at: DVD Player WORKS fine with External Drive

Good call, I forgot about that.

[mechdrew]

I thought DVD Player already allowed external DVD drives in 10.6? Maybe TUAW was wrong about that.

As for the iDVD thing, most people don't actually have that application, it's part of iLife, not the OS. So anyone who didn't buy the Mac Box Set (a majority here) or didn't buy iLife separately (also a majority) would have this as a low priority. Not a bad fix, but that might be a bit of unnecessary work to incorporate a patch. But I'm all for whatever can be incorporated.

But I do especially like the restart kext and the font smoothing. Those are features everyone will want.

[HotDog]

mechdrew. Yes, I misstated; not iDVD, but DVD player. And it did not work in 10.6 on my 10-V w/o the mod.

[HotDog]

Just for further clarification, this suggestion was not about iDVD, it is about the on-board DVD player that everyone has as a component of OS X, but doesn't work w/o the mod. For movies and other DVD media, I find it to be more satisfying to use than VLC. Thanks.

[CodF4ther]

I'm not sure how ready for prime time this is (haven't tried it myself), but there is progress being made on sound fixes for the Mini 9 using AppleHDA in this thread:

Sound and mic working with AppleHDA

[bmcclure937]

Cool info. This compilation thread is a nice place to look for functionality not available in NetbookInstaller.

Please consider submitting feature requests so that meklort can decide whether any of these changes are within the scope of NBI and possibly incorporate them in future releases.

To be honest, some things may not be included because they would be out of the scope of the overall goal of NetbookInstaller or may use methods that meklort does not endorse.... in those cases, it is nice to have this thread for a reference.

[CodF4ther]

CPU SpeedStep support via VoodooPowerMini...

SpeedStep in Snow Leopard with NBI 0.83 RC3 possible?

[bsoplinger1]

SpeedStep is a really good one. Works in 10.5.x also. Perhaps it would be good to mark fixes that only apply to 1 or the other version of Mac OS. The restart after sleep and subpixel are both 10.6.x only for example but the DVD player fix works for both and so on.

---------- Post added at 07:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:14 PM ----------

What about the 'about this mac' showing unknown?

I lifted this bit from a post over on the general OS X discussion. Don't know if NBI installs this or not (or runs it or exactly whatever it takes.)

You need an app called AboutThisMac.

You can get it here-
Downloads | OS X | mechdrew

It can also be fixed by creating/editing a SMBIOS.plist in /Extra