8800gt Warning - Please Read

[Transeau]

Just wanted to point something out to everyone....

If you upgrade to the 8800GT, DO NOT sell the card you are replacing.
Why? Because the Leopard install DVD DOES NOT SUPPORT the 8800. The GUI will NEVER start.

I figured this out last night. I wanted to get a clean start, however I was unable to even get the install DVD to boot. It would crash before the GUI started. Reinstalling the ATI X1900 allowed me to get the OS reinstalled, and updated to 10.5.2 before I was also to put the 8800GT back in.

AppleCare has no solution for this. The current retail Leopard DVD is STILL 10.5. The current Mac Pro's ship with 10.5.2, but the installer will not allow it to be used on the older Mac Pros.

The major issue is this. My father had his 8800GT installed at the Apple Store, who kept his 7300 (which was failing anyway). I have no want of doing a clean install on his box, unless I keep my ATI. I was planing on selling it.

So far, AppleCare has told me that I will have to wait for a new Leopard retail Refresh, then buy a new copy. Is it just me, or does this seem a bit wrong?

 

[Le Big Mac]

So far, AppleCare has told me that I will have to wait for a new Leopard retail Refresh, then buy a new copy. Is it just me, or does this seem a bit wrong?

It seems like an understandable bug with the installer disk that Apple should fix, and when they do send a free updated Leopard retail disk to anyone who has the problem (and who bought the older retail disk).

 

[Transeau]

Okay, after 45 minutes with a Mac Pro specialist... I have a case number. Once the 10.5.3 Retail DVDs are available, I can call on my case number and they will send me a new leopard dvd for a discounted price. As of now, there is no way at all to install 10.5.x on a pre-2008 Mac Pro with an 8800GT in it.

 

[almostinsane]

The 2008 MAc Pro's ship with 10.5.1 so I hope they boot but I have tried with my 8800GT yet.

 

[jjahshik32]

Wait are you talking about the 8800gt for the older gen mac pro? Because I've only had the 8800gt in the 8 core mac pro (newer gen) and reinstalled leopard just fine.

 

[apfhex]

Wait are you talking about the 8800gt for the older gen mac pro?

Being that the Leopard 10.5.0 retail disc doesn't include support for the 8800GT, and that's what us 2006 MP owners running Leopard would have. Of course the 2008 MP shipped with support out of the box (10.5.0 retail disc wouldn't worth with those either).

Thanks to the OP for this warning, I haven't even considered that it would be an issue. I'll surely keep my X1900 when I get around to upgrading.

 

[dogbait]

Thanks for the heads up Transeau. And here I was thinking the other day how nice Leopard's installer was, detecting my dual displays and running the install at their native resolution. It's rather shocking that the Leopard installer can't revert to a basic video resolution when the installer can't find a suitable video driver.

I'm sure Tiger's installer didn't have this problem.

 

[freezerburrn]

Wow I'm really glad I read this thread! I was about to throw my dying 1900XT out.

 

[tom.]

The new Mac Pros will not suffer this problem because their leopard disc has the support. It is quite obvious the older gen will not have support, as the 8800GT didn't exist (at least for Apple) at the time.

Good thread though, I think a lot of people will find this useful.

 

[twitch757]

Just wanted to point something out to everyone....

If you upgrade to the 8800GT, DO NOT sell the card you are replacing.
Why? Because the Leopard install DVD DOES NOT SUPPORT the 8800. The GUI will NEVER start.

I figured this out last night. I wanted to get a clean start, however I was unable to even get the install DVD to boot. It would crash before the GUI started. Reinstalling the ATI X1900 allowed me to get the OS reinstalled, and updated to 10.5.2 before I was also to put the 8800GT back in.

AppleCare has no solution for this. The current retail Leopard DVD is STILL 10.5. The current Mac Pro's ship with 10.5.2, but the installer will not allow it to be used on the older Mac Pros.

The major issue is this. My father had his 8800GT installed at the Apple Store, who kept his 7300 (which was failing anyway). I have no want of doing a clean install on his box, unless I keep my ATI. I was planing on selling it.

So far, AppleCare has told me that I will have to wait for a new Leopard retail Refresh, then buy a new copy. Is it just me, or does this seem a bit wrong?

Just FYI for everyone reading this. Assuming you already are running 10.5.2 with the graphics update already installed, all you have to do is make a UDF compressed image of your 10.5 install DVD and then convert it to a read/write image with disk utility. Mount it, copy your NV* files from /System/Library/Extensions to /System/Library/Extensions on the disk image you created. Convert it back to a UDF compressed image with disk utility and burn it. You can then boot off that DVD and your 8800 will work during the install.

I'm doing this from memory right now but that is basically all the steps I took to make a working 10.5 8800 install DVD.

 

[Transeau]

Just FYI for everyone reading this. Assuming you already are running 10.5.2 with the graphics update already installed, all you have to do is make a UDF compressed image of your 10.5 install DVD and then convert it to a read/write image with disk utility. Mount it, copy your NV* files from /System/Library/Extensions to /System/Library/Extensions on the disk image you created. Convert it back to a UDF compressed image with disk utility and burn it. You can then boot off that DVD and your 8800 will work during the install.

I'm doing this from memory right now but that is basically all the steps I took to make a working 10.5 8800 install DVD.

I would love some more detail on this! Even better, if there is a way to make the install DVD's updated with 10.5.2

Edit:
Though this does work, and quite well - there is a minor issue... The installer doesn't install those files to the new system, so you will have to manually copy them. Or find a way to update the installer packages.
At the very least, this is an easy way to NOT have to swap the ATI back in.

 

[twitch757]

I would love some more detail on this! Even better, if there is a way to make the install DVD's updated with 10.5.2

Edit:
Though this does work, and quite well - there is a minor issue... The installer doesn't install those files to the new system, so you will have to manually copy them. Or find a way to update the installer packages.
At the very least, this is an easy way to NOT have to swap the ATI back in.

I knew I was forgetting something, you are right you do have to manually copy the NV files from the Install DVD onto the system through terminal before the reboot at the end.

I know there is a way to integrate 10.5.2 into your 10.5 install DVD, the people from the hackintosh scene do this all the time. Unfortunately I really don't know how. If you look around on the forums on osx.kbot.de and forum.insanelymac.com you might be able to find a howto.

 

[Infrared]

Okay, after 45 minutes with a Mac Pro specialist... I have a case number. Once the 10.5.3 Retail DVDs are available, I can call on my case number and they will send me a new leopard dvd for a discounted price.

They absolutely should not charge you for anything but postage.

These disks cost them almost nothing to make. The little they do
cost, they can take out of their 8800GT profits.

It's absolutely fundamental that a system should be reinstallable.

 

[MacsRgr8]

Once the 10.5.3 Retail DVDs are available, I can call on my case number and they will send me a new leopard dvd for a discounted price.

That is good news.

It seems that Mac OS X 10.5.3 will be a very significant update. Same goes for the Server BTW...
So, Apple will be making a real 10.5.3 Retail DVD? Like they did with the Tiger 10.4.6 Retail DVD?
Cool!

 

[NATO]

Thanks for the heads up! Definitely beats finding this out the hard way