Tag Archives: Atheros

fixed : install OSX 10.11 El_Capitan on unsupported Macs

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Question :

I read somewhere that it is possible to install the latest version of OSX 10.10 Yosemite on my Mac, even though the official installer refuses to install.

Can you give me any directions ?

 

Answer :

Installing newer versions of OSX on slightly older Macs that do not meet the official system requirements can be done using MacPostFactor (MCPF).

MacPostFactor also supports installing OSX versions up to OSX 10.10 Yosemite on older Macs. And a new version that supports installing OSX 10.11 El_Capitan is in the works.

For more info (and downloads), go to the info page on MacRumors.com :

http://forums.macrumors.com/threads/os-x-yosemite-on-unsupported-macs-guide.1761432/

or see the (less readable) official page of the MacPostFactor team :

http://osxhackers.net/MCPF/

…in short :

!!! THIS IS FOR (RATHER) EXPERIENCED MAC-USERS ONLY, AND SHOULD NOT BE DONE ON YOUR ‘ONE AND ONLY’ MAC !!!

!! REMEMBER : DO FOLLOW THE COMPLETE INSTRUCTIONS THAT CAN BE FOUND HERE : MacPost Factor info page on MacRumors.com

…that should be it !

enjoy !

😉

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fixed : install OSX 10.10 Yosemite on unsupported Macs

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Question :

I read somewhere that it is possible to install the latest version of OSX 10.10 Yosemite on my Mac, even though the official installer refuses to install.

Can you give me any directions ?

 

Answer :

Installing newer versions of OSX on slightly older Macs that do not meet the official system requirements can be done using MacPostFactor (MCPF).

MacPostFactor (MCPF) also supports installing OSX versions up to OSX 10.10 Yosemite on older Macs. And a new version that supports installing OSX 10.11 El_Capitan is in the works.

For more info (and downloads), go to the info page on MacRumors.com :

http://forums.macrumors.com/threads/os-x-yosemite-on-unsupported-macs-guide.1761432/

or see the (less readable) official page of the MacPostFactor team :

http://osxhackers.net/MCPF/

…in short :

!!! THIS IS FOR (RATHER) EXPERIENCED MAC-USERS ONLY, AND SHOULD NOT BE DONE ON YOUR ‘ONE AND ONLY’ MAC !!!

!! REMEMBER : DO FOLLOW THE COMPLETE INSTRUCTIONS THAT CAN BE FOUND HERE : MacPost Factor info page on MacRumors.com

…that should be it !

enjoy !

😉

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fixed : install OSX 10.8 Mountain Lion on unsupported Macs

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Question :

I read somewhere that it is possible to install the latest version of OSX 10.8 Mountain Lion on my Mac, even though the official installer refuses to install.

Can you give me any directions ?

Answer :

Updated answer :

MLPostFactor has been succeeded/replaced by MacPostFactor, and is now being updated by a new crew of programmers. MacPostFactor also supports installing OSX versions up to OSX 10.10 Yosemite on older Macs. And a new version that supports installing OSX 10.11 El_Capitan is in the works.

For more info (and downloads), go to the info page on MacRumors.com :

http://forums.macrumors.com/threads/os-x-yosemite-on-unsupported-macs-guide.1761432/

 

Original answer :

Yes, thanks to the guys from MLPostFactor, it’s now possible to install OSX 10.8 Mountain Lion (even 10.8.4) on these older Intel-Macs :

Early 2006 (and newer) versions of the iMac and Mac mini

Late 2006 (and newer) versions of the Macbook, MacBook Pro, Mac Pro and Xserve

Early 2008 (and newer) versions or the Macbook Air

…and I must say : “(in my case) it runs smoother than MacOSX 10.7”, but there are a few downsides, especially these ones :

– regular OSX updates are disabled, you can only use a special OSX-update routine

– some (but very little) software is not compatible due to various reasons ; e.g. PhotoBooth, Little Snitch

– the SMB client is not working properly (the SMB server is), so file transfer is crippled

– it’s provided “as-is”, so no support from anyone (neither the developer nor me), and no guarantee it will fully or even partially work in your case (especially not if you do not strictly follow all of the directions !!)

…in short :

!!! THIS IS FOR (RATHER) EXPERIENCED MAC-USERS ONLY, AND SHOULD NOT BE DONE ON YOUR ‘ONE AND ONLY’ MAC !!!

What you need :

– one of the Intel-Macs mentioned above (running MacOSX 10.7 Lion and at least 2GB of RAM)

– an official version of the OSX 10.8 installer, (re)downloaded from the Mac App Store inside your Applications Folder (sorry, pirated versions don’t work…)

– the 32-bit MLPostFactor v3.0 installer-patcher (should be put inside your Applications folder also) you can download from here :

http://www.osxhackers.com/Download.html

or alternatively :

http://mac.softpedia.com/get/System-Utilities/MLPostFactor.shtml

– a full backup of your current harddrive running OSX 10.7 Lion and all your personal files (simply put : “a Time Machine backup of your Mac”)

– a partition of 8GB to create the patched OSX 10.8 installer on ; according to the official directions this should be a partition on your main harddisk called “Install”, but it turns out that ‘if you dare’ you can also use an 8GB USB-stick or an 8GB partition on an external USB- or FireWire-harddisk for this [simply put, MLPostFactor does what Lion DiskMaker does AND includes a patch that’s needed for older Intel-Macs]

– a partition of at least 10GB called “ML” to install the new (patched) OSX 10.8 Mountain Lion onto ; this is will to be your final, ‘new’ harddrive for your ‘old’ Mac… it turns out that ‘if you dare’ you can assign this to your current MacOSX 10.7 Lion harddrive [provided you have a good (TimeMachine) backup]

Exact directions on how to install can be found here :

http://www.osxhackers.com/Installation.html

…or the video that HackerWayne (one of the MLPostFactor developers) has issued :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqMgrPKfrqM

You should follow the step-by-step instructions above, but just to give a quick impression of the routine :

– make a Time Machine backup and make sure both the OSX 10.8 installer and MLPostFactor are in you Applications folder

– run MLPostFactor to create the patched installer (8GB) for OSX 10.8.4 (or an other version if you prefer that one for some reason…)

– reboot from the patched installer and install the patched OSX 10.8 onto (the desired partition of) the internal harddrive

– this will either end in an error or a white screen (seemingly ‘hung’)

– reboot from the patched installer and run MLPostFactor from there onto the partition you have just installed OSX 10.8 on (= your internal harddrive)

– then reboot from the fresh OSX 10.8 partition (= your internal harddrive)

– if you get a “WiFi: No Hardware Installed”-error, get the KextUtility for OSX 10.8 and install the Edited Atheros Kext for Lion*3

!! REMEMBER : DO FOLLOW THE COMPLETE INSTRUCTIONS THAT CAN BE FOUND HERE :

http://www.osxhackers.com/Installation.html

or the ‘official’ video :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqMgrPKfrqM

…that should be it !

enjoy !

😉

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fixed : 10.7.5 refusing to see the Atheros AR9280

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I must admit the title might be a little misleading, since I have not had anyone claiming problems like the “WiFi: no hardware installed”-error with the Atheros AR9280 AirPort-card and MacOSX 10.7.5 yet, but still…

…that is probably due to the fact that the MacOSX 10.7.5 updater doesn’t overwrite the IO80211Family.kext system extension. So if you are upgrading from an earlier version of MacOSX 10.7 “Lion” which you had already ‘patched’ for use with the Atheros AR9280, you won’t get any (new) issues…

Anyway…

If you do get the “WiFi: no hardware installed”-error after upgrading to MacOSX 10.7.5 (e.g. from MacOSX 10.6 “Snow Leopard” or earlier), you can just do the same ‘patch’ of reinstalling the old IO80211Family.kext system extension. Instructions for doing so can be found here :

https://macmanusnl.wordpress.com/2012/05/17/1074_refuses_to_see_atheros_ar9280/

Enjoy !

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fixed : 10.8 refusing to see the Atheros AR9280 (same error as in 10.7, including alternative solution !)

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Question :

After installing OSX 10.8 “Mountain Lion” on my Mac which has an Atheros AR9280 AirPort-card, I am not able to get any WiFi-connection, and when I click on the (piece-of-pie shaped) AirPort-icon in the upper menubar in the Finder, it indicates “WiFi: no hardware installed”. How can I fix this ?

Answer :

—- updated answer ——

if you get a “WiFi: No Hardware Installed”-error, get the KextUtility for OSX 10.8 and install the Edited Atheros Kext for Lion*3

—– original answer ——

Thanks to Thomas and Josh, I can now present to you the solution to the “WiFi: no hardware installed”-error in OSX 10.8 “Mountain Lion” :

if you encounter the “WiFi: no hardware installed”-error after installing OSX 10.8, do this :

– go to [your hard disk] –> System –> Library –> Extentions –> IO80211Family.kext

– CTRL-click on the IO80211Family.kext and select “Show Package Contents” from the pulldown menu

– then go to Contents –> Info.plist and drag the Info.plist to the Desktop

– CTRL-click on the Info.plist (the one on the Desktop) and select “Open with –> TextEdit” from the pulldown menu

– then, inside the Info.plist file, find and delete these line (found near the end) :

<key>OSBundleRequired</key>
<string>Network-Root</string>

– then select File –> Save to save the edited version of the Info.plist on your Desktop

– then, drag the Info.plist from the Desktop back onto the original version that is in System –> Library –> Extentions –> IO80211Family.kext –> Contents

– in the warning window that pops up, click on “Authenticate” and type your administrator login and password

…that should be it !

now your AR9280 should be recognized by OSX 10.8 “Mountain Lion”, and the “WiFi: no hardware installed”-error should be gone

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FYI :

the original solution by Thomas (based on the directions from Josh) can be found here :

https://macmanusnl.wordpress.com/2012/02/11/10-7-3-refuses-to-see-the-atheros-ar9280/#comment-446

fixed : 10.7.4 refusing to see the Atheros AR9280 (same error as in 10.7.3)

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Question :

After the update to OSX 10.7.4 the “WiFi : no hardware installed” error is back on my Mac that has an Atheros AR9280 AirPort card, how can I fix this ?

Answer :

The solution is the same as in OSX 10.7.3 :

(Re)install the “Edited Atheros Kext for Lion*3″ you can download here :

https://macmanusnl.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/edited-atheros-kext-for-lion3-zip.doc

Note : after downloading the file “edited-atheros-kext-for-lion3-zip.doc” you need to rename the file to “edited-atheros-kext-for-lion3.zip” and double-click it to unzip. To install follow the instructions as lined out in the “CAUTION ! (Read Me).txt”-file

The latest version of the .kext-installer that’s needed can be downloaded here :

http://cvad-mac.narod2.ru/Kext_Utility

or here :

KextUtility for OSX 10.8

TIP : your Atheros AR9280 AirPort card and AirPort network are automatically detected when you restart in Rescue Mode… so restart with the ‘CMD’ + ‘R’ keys pressed (‘Rescue Mode’), then use Safari (listed as ‘online help’) to go online and download both files from the links above. If you get a warning that there’s no space in your download folder (because you’re in Rescue Mode), just go into Safari’s preferences and change the download folder to a USB-stick or external hard drive. Now do a normal restart and install the old .kext file and restart afterwards. Done.

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————————–

Some background info for those interested :

What is installed by the 10.7.4 installer :

IO80211Family.kext (v4.1.2)
– including these Plugins :
AirPortAtheros21.kext (v4.3.1)
AirPortAtheros40.kext (v5.0.4)
AirPortBrcm4331.kext (v5.3)
AppleAirPortBrcm43224.kext (v5.0.1)
IO80211NetBooter.kext (v4.2)

…which gives the “no hardware installed” error yet again on systems with the Atheros AR9280 AirPort-card…

What I’ve tried and didn’t work :

1- normal restart with ‘reopen windows when logging back in’ unchecked ; still the same ‘no hardware installed’ error

2- repair disk permissions, followed by a full shut down with ‘reopen windows when logging back in’ unchecked, followed by a normal startup ; still the same ‘no hardware installed’ error

3- installing the OSX 10.7.4 Client Combo Update (from Apple.com) ; still the same ‘no hardware installed’ error

fixed : 10.7.3 refusing to see the Atheros AR9280

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UPDATE [2] :

Easiest fix so far (thanks to delifruit on InsanelyMac.com) :

(Re)installing the “Edited Atheros Kext for Lion*3″ you can download here :

https://macmanusnl.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/edited-atheros-kext-for-lion3-zip.doc

Note : after downloading the file “edited-atheros-kext-for-lion3-zip.doc” you need to rename the file to “edited-atheros-kext-for-lion3.zip” and double-click it to unzip, after that download the Kext Utility using the “kext-installer for Lion (Kext Utility by cVad)”-link included inside the unzipped folder ; to install follow the instructions as lined out in the “CAUTION ! (Read Me).txt”-file

the latest Kext Utility can be downloaded here :

KextUtility for OSX 10.8

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——————————

UPDATE [1] :

Apple seems to have acknowledged this problem, and has withdrawn the basic 10.7.3 update ; everyone will get the 10.7.3 combo update now :

http://www.macnn.com/articles/12/02/04/apple.fixes.lion.upgrade.issue.with.combo.switch/

And there’s a special fix for iMacs that have WiFi-problems since the OSX 10.7.3 update (but… it’s a iMac-only fix…) :

http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1501

I hope this fixes thing for all of us 😉

——————- ORIGINAL POST BELOW —————————-

The Atheros AR9280 was seen as a genuine AirPort-card by OSX…

…in 10.6 Snow Leopard

…and in 10.7 Lion it could even do AirDrop…

…until 10.7.3 that is…

10.7.3 for some mysterious reason lost it’s ability to detect the AR9280 at all…

…the AirPort-icon in the menubar is blank, and it lists “WiFi: no hardware installed”…

Oddly, when restarting the Mac mini in ‘Rescue mode’ (pressing Apple(CMD)+R during startup), AirPort instantly connects using that same AR9280 card… ???!!

…but that doesn’t last if you start up 10.7.3 the normal way.

So… after a lot of fiddling around I found the solution is quite easy :

Start by downloading the special .kext-installer here :

http://cvad-mac.narod2.ru/Kext_Utility

1- then… reinstall the IO8211Family.kext from 10.6 Snow Leopard and reboot (you can get that .kext-file from the Snow Leopard installer DVDrom)

if you only need WiFi-connection, that will do, but…

…if you also want to use AirDrop, you need to do step 2 also :

2- only after doing step 1, you will be able to successfully reinstall the IO8211Family.kext from 10.7.2 (the previous version of Lion ; the .kext-file you can get from your TimeMachine backup)

It is mind boggling why this works because :

– directly reinstalling the IO8211Family.kext from 10.7.2 onto the version in 10.7.3 doesn’t work – for some reason you need to downgrade to the Snow Leopard version first…

– the IO8211.kext from 10.7.3 appears to be exactly the same as the one from 10.7.2 ; they have the same version number (4.1.2) and have been created and modified at the exact same date…

…only thing is : this doesn’t seem to be an as stable solution as sticking with 10.7.2