Note: This is only here for archival reasons. As soon as a new Boot123 ISO is produced, I will publish a new version.

DellEFI 3: Installing using External DVD Drive

This install method is OS independent, meaning that all Prep work can be done on any operating system with capable software. It may be slower and use some older software, but it gets the job done rather well.

Requirements:

1) Burn the DellMiniBoot ISO directly to a CD. You can do this with Disk Utility, CDBurnerXP, or your favorite burning software. Open the ISO with your burning software of choice. We want to burn a disk from the image, not burn the file to a data disc.

2) Connect the external DVD drive to the Mini, insert the DellMiniBoot CD that you just burned, and boot up using the DVD drive. Eject the DellMiniBoot CD, put in the Mac OS X Leopard DVD, then boot with drive number 9f. (You may need to unplug the USB cord, power down, power up the DVD drive and reinsert the USB cable to get it to work properly. It may take a while for the drive to recognize the disc, so be patient.)

3) You should now be in the Mac OS X Instatller. Select your language, press Continue, and Agree. Now click Utilities in the Menu Bar, and open Disk Utility. This time we want to select your SSD drive, then select the Partition tab. (This can also be performed on an external flash/HDD drive.) Volume Scheme is "1 Partition", Name it whatever you want, Format as "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)", and click "Options..." to change it to "GUID Partition Table". Click OK, Apply, and confirm the decision. Once it is done formatting, close Disk Utility, select your new partition, and click Continue. I recommend no matter what your configuration is to press Customize and deselect anything you do not need, such as Language Translations, Additional Fonts, and Printer Drivers, but adjust according to your needs. Click Done, and then Install. This can take anywhere from 20-50 minutes. The Installer may or may not fail at the end, but either way press Restart.

4) Boot back into the DellMiniBoot CD but this time press Esc, then type either 80, 81, or 82. Select your SSD name and begin to boot. You may or may not see the startup video, depending on the version of your Install DVD. Setup your account as you see fit. When it comes to the Migration Assistant, do not transfer settings. (If you get stuck in a loop here, use the "-x" boot option before booting into the SSD at startup. When it is all done, you should see your Desktop, with drive icons for your SSD and DVD drive.

5) Now it's time for DellEFI. You should have this copied this to a flash drive, or you could download it now, but either way run the app. If it prompts you about needing to remove or delete a file first, press "Keep It". You will need to run a Custom Installation with the following settings:

(You can also select "Remote CD" if you want to use that feature.) Press Install, confirm the decision, and let it run until completion. However, when it comes up with the prompt that says, "All done, ready for reboot" select No.

9) No matter what version you originally installed, you'll want to install the 10.5.7 update. Either use the Mac OS X 10.5.7 Combo Update for discs 10.5.5 and older, or the Mac OS X 10.5.7 incremental update for 10.5.6 discs. (You can either obtain from the website via your Dell, or it could be stored on another drive, but please note that older disc installations (10.5.5 and below) will probably have a problem opening the DMG. To circumvent this, extract the update package from the DMG to an external drive and plug it in before booting). When the install completes, press Restart.

10) This time when it reboots, you will see a little progress bar underneath your SSD icon. Hit the "-" (minus) key before the progress bar disappears, and then type "-x" (no quotes.) If you look in the bottom left corner, you should see white text that says, "boot: -x"; hit enter. This will boot Mac OS X into Safe Mode. Once you log in back to the Desktop, run DellEFI one last time. Use these settings in a Custom Installation:

Click Install, confirm the decision, and this time press Yes when it is done installing. Ignore the box that appears during the restart process, it is just letting you know that it is still updating some files. This time, you will boot into a fully functioning Mac OS X updated to 10.5.7. Congratulations!

You can now go ahead and install any other software and adjust any settings at this point. Treat it like any other Mac!

mechdrew DellEFI 3 Version 2.99a