OK I'm doing it... OS X install on Dell Mini 9

[Lee]

Well, I'm taking the plunge :)

I've got a fresh OS X 10.5 copy, an external dvd drive, and the cojones to finally go through with my threats against my mini and install OS X on my Mini 9. I have been wanting to do this for a while, but I used my mini 9 throughout my class last year and never found time to do it. With classes starting up again I am re-motivated to rid the laptop of XP!

Giving it a shot probably over the course of a few nights this week. I'll post up with my progress, problems, and hopefully success story!

For those curious, look here for instructions
http://blogs.zdnet.com/Apple/?p=3258

[Good Times]

awesome!!

if I had the mini I'd do the same just for kicks :)

[Lee]

really excited to get this done but i cant start till probably friday :(

busy tomorrow night, thursday i have class :(

[Lee]

ok i know i can do this now (got the mac OS X installer to run), I had to quit though because I left my damn power cord in class on thursday like a dummy and the battery is down to 45% and the install needs at least an hr :(

I'm borrowing a coworker's power cord though, so I should have it done tonight! Been taking pics, and all has worked fairly well.

[Lee]

it's happpppennnniiiinnng...

http://i31.tinypic.com/4hf9sh.jpg

[DHC6twinotter]

Awesome!

I might have to see if it's possible to do this on my pc. I wouldn't mind a dual boot setup. :D

[Lee]

DONE!!

http://i27.tinypic.com/2n69lll.jpg

[Lee]

what you need:
http://kidmoe.com/osx_install/IMG_0404.JPG

bootloader
http://kidmoe.com/osx_install/IMG_0405.JPG

after a few steps, you finally see this!
http://kidmoe.com/osx_install/IMG_0407.JPG

http://kidmoe.com/osx_install/IMG_0408.JPG

select your drive, make a partition that wipes the whole drive and you end up with 13 gigs free (need 10 or so for the install)
http://kidmoe.com/osx_install/IMG_0409.JPG

http://kidmoe.com/osx_install/IMG_0410.JPG

installing!!
http://kidmoe.com/osx_install/IMG_0411.JPG

DONE!
http://i27.tinypic.com/2n69lll.jpg

[Robinhood4x4]

You need to put an apple sticker over the Dell now.

[Lee]

GOOD call!

[Lee]

http://kidmoe.com/osx_install/IMG_0415.JPG

[Good Times]

that's awesome! does the touchpad have the capability to use the multitouch portion or is that a hardware limitation?

this is a great "CHEAP" mac alternative! :D

[Bob98SR5]

lee

pretty cool stuff. im not a huge mac fan, but im a big fan of modding

[Lee]

that's awesome! does the touchpad have the capability to use the multitouch portion or is that a hardware limitation?

this is a great "CHEAP" mac alternative! :D
yeah I was hoping it would have the multitouch but that is hardware dependent :(

the laptop is SO much faster. today I loaded Word, Excel & Powerpoint out of Office 08 as I have no need for Entourage or the other crapola.

With that, some mp3's (in case I want to study at an impromptu moment), and a couple of little apps, I still have 3 gigs free. Not astounding but enough!

If I could do it again, I'd get the newer 32gig ssd 10" and do this.... but that wasn't for sale when I got the 9.

Only 2 bugs I've found was one time it didn't like software update and basically got hung up on the icon bouncing. I rebooted and that hasn't happened since. Other bug is when I close the laptop then reopen it, for some reason the CTRL key gets viewed by the OS as being held down... all I have to do is press it once for it to stop, but still a bug.

But really, so far so good, there is no reason for any dell mini owner to not do this...



lee

pretty cool stuff. im not a huge mac fan, but im a big fan of modding
yeah, I hear that from time to time, but if you ever use a mac on a consistent basis you will LOVE os x.

[Lee]

hmm

I'm almost tempted to sell this and pick this one up!

click here (http://cgi.ebay.com/Dell-Mini-10v-OSX-1GB-RAM-160GB-HD-INTEL-ATOM-N270-9_W0QQitemZ160360543811QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLaptops_ Nov05?hash=item25563bb643&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14)

thats a good deal