Blog | OSX | mechdrew

The current guide will now lead you through the installation process from scratch to a fully-functional 10.6.4 installation. There are a few subtle differences throughout the guide. An important note is that there currently isn’t a 10.6.4 friendly version of NetbookBootMaker, so I had to include the newer NetbookInstaller app that meklort released in the package. Just follow the guide, it will help tell you what needs to happen.

You may notice there is a slight naming and style change with the this guide. I’m trying to trim out all of the useless fluff, especially since I can’t write a one-size-fits-all-netbooks guide without going into too much detail. I’m also preparing to convert the guide over to a wiki format so that other users can pitch in with corrections and handy articles without my intervention. That part is still in the works, but for now this will do.

The donation page has been updated, I’m not taking PayPal donations anymore but I do have some other ways to payback, check the page for details. I decided that with the neglect this site has been under I shouldn’t accept money donations until there is substantial work done here again.

And for anyone wondering how the 1012 handles OS X: it works, but… meh. I still prefer the 10v experience. The 1012 could get better soon with meklort’s further development, but for now the 10v is better.

Good news, folks! meklort has put together the 0.8.3 release candidate 5 for NetbookInstaller and NetbookBootMaker. Among the important changes in RC5 (compared to RC4) are a faster booting time, fixed dsdt.aml generator, temporary fixes for the Dell Mini 9 audio and 10v BIOS A06 issues, and rudimentary GMA 500 support for the Dell Mini 10 and similar netbooks. Remember, this is a release candidate, and not every bug has been squashed yet. But it is recommended that this be used in place of any reference to NetbookInstaller or NetbookBootMaker in any of the guides.

Learn more over at Meklort’s Blog

Since this will most likely be made into the final release for 0.8.3, I will be updating the guides this next week to reflect this change. I’m hoping to have them done by Christmas, but I can’t guarantee it so please be patient. Update: Please, please, please DO NOT contact me about bugs, feature requests or adding models to the software. I don’t do the programming!!!

Since some do not know about meklort’s site yet, I’m relaying some information he posted yesterday about the development of NetbookInstaller and NetbookBootMaker. From his blog:

I’ll be releasing NebookInstaller 0.8.3 RC5 no later than the 20th (or 21st) of december. If all goes well, NetbookInstaller 0.8.3 final will be released on Christmas day (after all, it’s Christmas, and it’ll be 6 months from the initial NetbookInstaller release).

I find this exciting, personally. Since the final will probably be the same as RC5 and might be released on Christmas day (“If all goes well”) then I will probably update the guides (all four of them!) hopefully in time for Christmas but no later than the new year. There’s a bunch of fixes waiting for us in the next release so the process should go more smoothly no matter which guide you use.

Thanks to the feedback from viewers here and some forum members over MyDellMini, NetbookCD 1.1 has been released today. This release primarily consists of a fix for the Snow Leopard verison, which for all intents and purposes just didn’t work for the 1.0 Final release. Also included on both versions is a CD edition of the NetbookInstaller 3 guide, providing easier access and a reference tool for users without requiring Internet access. You can find the new releases on the NetbookInstaller 3 Guide page or on the Downloads page.

Well isn’t that nice! I was expecting tomorrow to be the release date for 0.8.2 final, but it’s out NOW! A huge thanks to meklort for his work. This release supports patching Snow Leopard, but I still don’t have it so my guide will be delayed two weeks or more. It has also been reported that 0.8.3 work has already begun.

Get it:
NetbookBootMaker Final
NetbookInstaller 0.8.2 Final

And just in time; I was going to begin rewriting the guides tonight! I’ll update the links in Method 1 first before working on Method 2. I also have an external DVD drive for tonight only, so that will be updated as well. Expect some changes on the site throughout the night and coming week!