Thinkpads Forum

I'm looking to play around with OS X on ThinkPads and I am going to be getting a T41 in any case. Does anyone have any advice for installing either 10.4 or 10.5 on the T4x series? From what I've gathered so far in my research, it is possible to make it work pretty well with the exception of the Intel wireless (so I'll probably have to find an Atheros card). Any other tips?

Thanks!
Brendan

Well, the latest OSx86 distro is also a really good onee - use Kalyway 10.5.2. It comes with detailed instructions, and they make it really easy.

The biggest install tip I have is, know your hardware! Look on the hardware compatibility list for your machine, and make sure you know what knid of hardware you have for LAN, graphics, sound card, chipset, etc. This will help immensely when you're picking out drivers.

I have Kalyway 10.5.2; it is pretty easy to install. I tried it on my desktop (on a spare hard drive) and it works perfectly.

I haven't had the time to test the T41 yet, though. When I do, I'll be sure to report back in this thread.

I've gotten "Kalyway 10.5.2" installed on my T41, but the results were disappointing. WiFi doesn't work. The ATI Radeon 9000 Mobility isn't recognized (I couldn't get higher than 1024x768 resolution, nor any graphics acceleration.) Sleep doesn't work; the menu command or closing the lid has no effect. CPU Throttling (SpeedStep?) doesn't work causing high temps and constant fan noise at all times. Overall performance is a mixed bag; Safari was pretty snappy, but certain programs would quit unexpectedly.

I'm sure there are workarounds and patches available but I have a feeling that getting OS X to work optimally on a T41 would require more know-how and hacking than I have the patience for.

I also tried Kalyway 10.5.2 at first with similar results. From what I understand, WiFi will work with the Atheros card but not the Intel card (I have an Intel). Graphics acceleration (QE/CI) with the 7500 or 9000 seems nearly impossible in Leopard, but may work better in Tiger...I am actually installing 10.4.8 right now to see if that goes any better. I could get my T41 to go to sleep in 10.5.2 but not wake up (kernel panic). SpeedStep seemed to work for me; the fan cycled on and off and I didn't notice any abnormally high temps.

I'll report back with any more findings.

10.4 didn't go any better than 10.5; actually, it was worse. I went back to 10.5.2.

I also replaced my Intel 2100 802.11b wireless card with an Atheros 802.11a/b/g card and WiFi now works under 10.5.2. Still no progress with the graphics, so I guess I'm stuck without Quartz Extreme, and sleep doesn't work either. Other than those two problems, it is fully functional. Not bad, considering there was never any real Mac with a Pentium M.

Go with XxX 10.4.11 Rev 2. Best install I've ever had on my T42: everything works out of the box except for spotlight crashing (disabled it) and not being able to boot on battery (working on it). The hardware support surprised me.

I'm using it now with speedstep on my SSE2 and it's great.

Ashiaveli wrote:Go with XxX 10.4.11 Rev 2. Best install I've ever had on my T42: everything works out of the box except for spotlight crashing (disabled it) and not being able to boot on battery (working on it). The hardware support surprised me.

I'm using it now with speedstep on my SSE2 and it's great.

I'm going to try this with my T30, can you provide me with a list of what drivers you chose to install... I'm fairly certain they'd be pretty much the same.

http://t30.fileave.com/T30.html

I keep getting a b0 error... What should I choose for Kernels and Kexts and all in that tree, also ATA/USB Controllers... Thanks