## XPostFacto 3.0a12

Ryan Rempel
osxguru@macsales.com
March 3, 2004

XPostFacto is a utility which helps to install and boot Mac OS X, Mac OS X Server, and Darwin on certain unsupported systems. When Mac OS X installs successfully, its stability on unsupported systems appears to be excellent. However, there are cases in which Mac OS X is difficult to install, and there are a variety of problems you can run into. So read carefully. You should also remember to check the online version of this documentation from time to time, to see whether there have been any changes.

Here's a quick link to download the latest version.

> Download XPostFacto 3.0a12

Previous versions are also available in the version history below, along with a list of changes. Note that the latest version is an alpha version of XPostFacto 3. There are two main outstanding issues not yet addressed in version 3.0a12:

- SCSI devices are sometimes not showing up in Panther -- it appears that revisions to the SCSI drivers for Panther are required. Further information is available in the bug report.

- Built-in video is not yet working in Panther on the Beige G3. But version 3.0a12 now has a video driver for the built-in video on the 7300 - 9600 series.

#### What's new in 3.0a12

Here's a summary of what's different in 3.0a12.

- A video driver for the built-in video on the 7300 - 9600 series (at least, those which have built-in video). This is the OpenControlFramebuffer.kext, which will be installed by XPF 3.0a12.

- Fixed an issue with the installation procedure -- version 3.0a11 had inadvertently failed to install BootX when doing a fresh Mac OS X installation, which led to several difficulties.

#### Panther Support

XPF now includes limited support for Panther (Mac OS X 10.3) on the 7300 - 9600 (and friends), as well as the Wallstreet Powerbooks and Beige G3 (with some limitations related to video). The original Powerbook G3 (Kanga) is not yet supported, but I will be working on it.

You will see a new kernel extension which handles sound support on the 7300 - 9600 -- OpenOWScreamerAudio. It is based on the AppleOWScreamerAudio that used to be included in Mac OS X, but which is no longer included in Mac OS X 10.3. Sound still has the same limitations as in pre-Panther versions (that is, for most people sound input doesn't work). Hopefully it will be possible to fix that eventually.

You will also see a new kernel extension called GossamerDeviceTreeUpdater, which makes some ... adjustments ... to the device tree on the Wallstreet Powerbooks and Beige G3, in order to make the Panther Installer feel more at home with its surroundings and willing to perform its duties without complaint. (In case you are thrown by my needlessly sinister tone, I should quickly inform you that these adjustments are entirely temporary and last only until you reboot).

There is also an OpenControlFramebuffer kernel extension which provides video support for the built-in video on the 7300 - 9600 series (for those models that have built-in video).

Built-in video is still not working on the Beige G3 in Panther. I need to do some more work to get this fixed. The Radeon 7000 works in Panther, as does the original Radeon Mac Edition, as well as some others. One option that you may find useful in Panther is the "Use old NDRVs" option, which sets up a boot argument which tells Panther to use the ROM-based drivers on older video cards that it would otherwise ignore.

#### Pre-Jaguar Support -- not!

As a consequence of some of the changes I've made for Panther support, XPF doesn't work with Mac OS X 10.1 or 10.0 anymore. I'll fix this eventually, but for the moment XPF should only be used with 10.2 or 10.3.

#### Automatic Cache Detection and Configuration

XPF will now automatically detect and configure L2 and L3 cache when you boot into Mac OS X, including when you boot from the CD to install. This is courtesy of the newly-included OWCCacheConfig extension. I have not written a user-interface for it yet, but you can control its behaviour using the "Enable L2/L3 Cache" option in XPostFacto. If OWCCacheConfig is causing problems for you, you can turn it off by de-selecting this option.

Unfortunately, OWCCacheConfig is causing problems for a fair number of users so far, so XPF is now defaulting to have it turned off, rather than on. You can turn it on if you want to test it.

#### Choosing between Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X

You can now use XPF to choose whether to boot from Mac OS 9 or Mac OS X (via the options in the main XPF window). If you choose Mac OS 9, you'll boot from whichever Mac OS 9 disk you last booted from. I need to add the ability to select a specific Mac OS 9 volume -- I just haven't gotten that far.

#### Firewire Booting and Helper Disks

I have completely redesigned the way that XPF deals with synchronizing files between the root disk and the helper disk. The XPF startup item launches a background process which periodically checks to see whether synchronization is required (for instance, whether you've installed a software update or a new kernel extension). However, the startup item no longer tries to actually perform the synchronization (because it turned out to be tricky to stay out of the installer's way). Instead, it pops up a message telling you that synchronization is required, and that you can use XPostFacto to perform the synchronization, once the installation is complete. When you launch XPostFacto, you'll see that you're now setup to boot in Mac OS 9 instead of Mac OS X. The purposes of this is to make sure that you don't reboot in Mac OS X without synchronizing first. So, all you need to do at this point is use XPF to switch back to booting from Mac OS X, and XPF will take care of the required synchronization.

Depending on what you're installing, there are cases in which you can't launch applications after installing (until you restart). In that case, you'll restart in Mac OS 9, and you can use XPostFacto to get back to Mac OS X (it will do the required synchronization along the way).

The helper mechanism appears to be working well when you don't really need it (for instance, when I test it with two SCSI drives). It is still problematic, though, when booting from Firewire drives. It appears that there is often (but not always) a problem reading from Firewire drives when they are used as the root disk. One user reports that 10.2.8 is better than 10.2 in this respect. I am very curious to see whether 10.3 fixes this problem, since it (infamously) makes some significant changes in the way that Firewire drives are accessed.

#### Running XPF in Mac OS X

The XPF version of Mac OS X should be working now, and should be able to do everything that it can do in Mac OS 9. There are a fair number of people who report that the Mac OS X version of XPF crashes upon launch -- I will be following up on that. Also, some people report that the install process does not work if initiated from Mac OS X, but does work if initiated from Mac OS 9. Again, something I need to follow up on.

#### Behaviour when Quitting

XPF now behaves very differently when quitting than in previous versions. In previous versions, XPF would automatically save your preferences in its own preference file, but would not write any settings to NVRAM, or make any changes to your drives, unless you clicked on the "Restart" or "Install" buttons.

Now, XPF will do two things when you quit:

- If you have made any changes to the settings, XPF will offer to apply them. For instance, if you have chosen to change your startup disk, XPF will offer to make the change. You can then choose whether to make the change, cancel, or quit without saving changes.

- After this is finished, XPF will read your active NVRAM settings and do whatever is required to make them work. For instance, if you have chosen to boot from Mac OS X, XPF will make sure that BootX is installed properly, the current versions of the extensions are installed, etc.

The general idea is to mimic the behaviour of Apple's Startup Disk application. I think you'll find that it mostly makes sense -- let me know if what XPF is doing feels unexpected to you.

We are now returning the regularly scheduled portion of this document. If you are a seasoned XPF user who has read this stuff many times before, you can pretty much stop now.

- Preparing to use XPostFacto
  - You need a machine that XPostFacto works with
  - You need to have at least Mac OS 9.0 installed
  - You need sufficient RAM to run Mac OS X
  - You need sufficient disk space to install Mac OS X
  - You need a disk that was formatted with Apple's Drive Setup or Intech's Hard Disk SpeedTools
  - You need to choose a partition strategy
  - You need to think about your backup strategy
  - You need to review your PCI cards and other peripherals for compatibility
  - You need the Mac OS X Install CD
- What Works and What Doesn't Work
  - CPUs
  - Floppy Drive
  - Sound and Video
  - ADB Keyboard and Mouse
  - Internal and External SCSI
  - Serial Ports
  - Ethernet
  - Internal Modem
  - Sleep
  - PCMCIA Cards and Cardbus Cards
- Enough, already! How do I use XPostFacto?
  - Installing XPostFacto
  - Installing Mac OS X
  - Switching between Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X
  - Upgrading from a Previous Version of XPostFacto
  - Upgrading Mac OS X
  - Creating a Custom Install CD
  - Advanced Options
- Troubleshooting
  - If Mac OS X will not boot successfully ...
  - Diagnosing the problem
    - If you cannot successfully boot
    - If you do not get any text in verbose mode
    - If you still get no text in verbose mode
    - If you do get text in verbose mode
    - If you get a kernel panic
    - If you get as far as the Mac OS X Installer and then have problems
  - The XPostFacto Log
  - The "Debug" Menu
- Source Code
- Credits
- License
- Version History

## Preparing to use XPostFacto

Here is a checklist of things to consider before attempting to install Mac OS X with XPostFacto.

You need a machine that XPostFacto works with

  XPostFacto works with some unsupported machines, but not all of them. Here are the machines that XPostFacto can work with:

  - The PowerSurge models

    These are the 7300, 7500, 7600, 8500, 8600, 9500, and 9600, as well as the clones that were based on one of these systems (the Umax S900 and J700, the PowerComputing PowerWave and PowerTower Pro, and the Daystar Genesis and Millennium, among others).

  - The Beige G3s

    The Beige G3s are working. However, some additional work is required to get the built-in video to work with Panther.

  - The Wallstreet Powerbooks

    The Wallstreet Powerbooks are working, with some video-related issues in some configurations.

  - Certain Other Powerbooks

    These are the original Powerbook G3, the 2400 and the 3400. However, there are significant limitations in the support for these machines. The most serious limitation is that sleep does not work. On some models, the built-in ethernet connection also does not work. There are additional details below. I should warn potential users that Mac OS X is pretty slow on the 2400 and 3400. But an XPostFacto user was kind enough to bring his 2400 running Mac OS X to show me at MacWorld NY, and it was pretty cool to see.

  Support for other models is in development. Some users have recently had success with some of the "Catalyst" machines (in particular, the PowerCenter and PowerCenter Pro). At least on some of these machines, the onboard video is not working, so a video card is required. Also, some progress has been made with the Alchemy and Gazelle (the 6400 and 6500), but they are not working reliably yet.

  The basic requirement for Mac OS X to ever work on a machine is that it have a PowerPC processor, a PCI bus, and Open Firmware. So the earliest PowerPC computers from Apple (e.g. the 6100, 7100, and 8100) are not likely to ever work with Mac OS X.

You need to have at least Mac OS 9.0 installed

  XPostFacto does not run in Mac OS 8, so you need to have at least Mac OS 9.0 installed to use it. XPostFacto will run in Mac OS 9.0, 9.1 or 9.2. (It requires Mac OS 9.x in order to be able to copy files with long filenames from the Mac OS X Install CD to your hard drive).

  If you do not already have Mac OS 9.x installed, the problem is that Mac OS 9.2 does not ordinarily work on older machines, and it is not so easy to buy Mac OS 9.0 or 9.1 anymore. There are some procedures available for installing 9.2 if you need to do that.

  Version 3.0 of XPostFacto will also run in Mac OS X.

You need sufficient RAM to run Mac OS X

  Apple recommends a minimum of 128 MB of RAM to run Mac OS X. But more is better, especially if you are planning to make use of the Classic environment to run Mac OS 9. I would suggest at least 256 MB.

  If RAM is tight, and you still want to install Mac OS X, I have heard of cases where people have done so in as little as 64 MB. But that is not recommended.

You need sufficient disk space to install Mac OS X

  The bare minimum space required for installing Mac OS X is about 1.5 GB. However, a more realistic minimum is 2 GB. And more is better, depending on how much space your applications and data are likely to need.

You need a disk that was formatted with Apple's Drive Setup or Intech's Hard Disk SpeedTools

  In order to boot Mac OS X on older machines, the disk you are using to boot from must have been formatted with Apple's Drive Setup or Intech's Hard Disk SpeedTools. Disks formatted with other formatting utilities generally are not bootable on older machines with Mac OS X. (The symptom is that when you try to reboot, you will end up back in Mac OS 9 instead of Mac OS X). If you are using Intech's Hard Disk SpeedTools, make sure that you have upgraded to the most recent version, as previous versions had some difficulty with the Mac OS X Installer.

  Once you have Mac OS X installed, it is possible to use the Mac OS X Disk Utility to format disks. However, those disks do not appear to be bootable on older machines, even if you check the "Install Mac OS 9 Drivers" checkbox. So it seems best to use the Mac OS 9.x version of Drive Setup to format drives instead.

  One exception is Firewire drives, which can be formatted in Mac OS X. (The reason is that XPostFacto uses a "helper" drive for the first part of the boot process when booting from Firewire drives).

You need to choose a partition strategy

  The ideal strategy for installing Mac OS X is to have three separate partitions: one for Mac OS X, one for Mac OS 9.1, and one for Classic. These partitions can be on the same disk or on separate disks--it does not matter.

  The advantage of having Mac OS X on a separate partition from Mac OS 9.1 is that you can install Mac OS X without touching your current installation. This provides some peace of mind, in case anything should go wrong when installing Mac OS X.

  It is possible to install Mac OS X on the same partition as Mac OS 9. However, the Mac OS X Installer will "bless" the Mac OS X installation, which "de-blesses" the Mac OS 9 System Folder. The Mac OS 9 System Folder can be re-blessed (most easily with the Startup Disk preference panel in the Mac OS X System Preferences application), but that process can become tricky in situations where Mac OS X does not boot correctly after the first install. (There are some troubleshooting suggestions below if you find yourself in this situation).

  The advantage of having Mac OS 9.1 on a separate partition from Classic is that certain extensions and control panels are problematic in Classic (or simply not needed). Having a separate partition permits you to do a bare-bones install with only the things actually needed for Classic, and still have another partition to use when you want to reboot into Mac OS 9.x. The other advantage is that it is possible to install and use Mac OS 9.2 for Classic, even though it will not be bootable apart from Classic.

  It is possible to use the same partition for your bootable Mac OS 9.1 and for Classic. If you do that, then you will need to remove any problematic extensions or control panels. Alternatively, you can use the Classic preferences in Mac OS X to disable some extensions or control panels when using Classic.

  So if you have three partitions available, it is ideal to use one for Mac OS X, one for Mac OS 9.x, and one for Classic. If you have two partitions, then Classic and Mac OS X can coexist on the same partition. And if you have only one partition, then everything can coexist together, with some disadvantages. (Of course, the size of the partitions available to you will also influence your strategy).

  If you are installing onto an ATA drive, there are some cases in which you must install onto a partition that is entirely within the first 8 GB of the drive. The Mac OS X Installer enforces this limit, so if you are unable to select your desired partition, that may be the reason.

You need to think about your backup strategy

  It is a good idea to backup your data before attempting a major installation, and doubly so before attempting something that Apple does not support! So you should consider whether you have a good backup system in place at the moment. (You could also consider what backup system you will use once Mac OS X is installed. One option is to copy drives with a utility such as Carbon Copy Cloner--using a Firewire drive for this purpose can be handy. And Retrospect now has a Mac OS X compatible version, for more sophisticated backups).

You need to review your PCI cards and other peripherals for compatibility

  Compatibility is a large subject--you can consult my compatibility page for a longer (though still incomplete) discussion. Here I will briefly discuss a few issues that sometimes prevent a successful install.

  - Firewire/USB cards in Mac OS X 10.0

    If you are installing Mac OS X 10.0, then you may need to remove Firewire/USB cards, until you have completed the install and upgraded to Mac OS X 10.1. Mac OS X 10.0 had some trouble with Firewire and USB, but Mac OS X 10.1 is much improved.

  - Video cards

    Some video cards are problematic in Mac OS X. Check the compatibility page for details.

  - SCSI cards and ATA cards

    The Mac OS X 10.1 Install CD has a more complete set of drivers for SCSI and ATA cards than does the Mac OS X 10.0 CD (and the 10.2 CD is even better). Check the compatibility page for details.

  - CD-ROM devices

    Some older CD-ROM devices do not work with Mac OS X. The symptom that you will get in this case is the message "still waiting for root device" when booting in verbose mode (with command-v held down at startup).

You need the Mac OS X Install CD

  I almost forgot to mention this one! You can use XPostFacto to install Mac OS X, Mac OS X Server, or Darwin. But you do need the Install CD. XPostFacto should work with Mac OS X 10.0, 10.1, and 10.2, as well as their Mac OS X Server and Darwin equivalents. There is also some support for Mac OS X 10.3 now (see above).

## What Works and What Doesn't Work

Here is a quick survey of what works and what doesn't work on the machines that XPostFacto supports. For information about the compatibility of peripheral devices, check the compatibility page.

CPUs

  Mac OS X does not work with a 601 CPU. Therefore, if you have a 7500 with the original 601 processor, you will need to install a CPU upgrade before installing Mac OS X.

  Mac OS X 10.2 does not work with a 603 or 604 CPU either. I have done some work to try to fix this, but it seems unlikely that this problem will be solved soon. The workaround is to install a G3 or G4 upgrade card.

  If you install a G3 or a G4 upgrade, you will need some software to enable the L2 cache in Mac OS X. You can use my L2CacheConfig software, or the PowerLogix cache control software, which is also free. Your computer will work without enabling the L2 cache--it will just be slower. L2CacheConfig required some changes to work with Mac OS X 10.2, so you should upgrade to version 3.3 of L2CacheConfig before installing Mac OS 10.2.

  The 9500MP and 9600MP work, but only one processor is active at this time. I have been working on MP support from time to time, but have not made much progress lately.

Floppy Drive

  Mac OS X does not come with support for the floppy drive. Some work has been done (by others) on an open-source driver, but it hasn't been updated for a while and I'm told that it's not working well at this point. Your best bet if you really need a floppy drive is to look at a USB-based drive.

Sound and Video

  Sound out works. However, it is not possible to change the volume globally (you can change the volume in applications such as iTunes). There are some cases in which users report trouble with sound out after intensive disk access. The exact cause has been difficult to track down, but is probably related to the PCI bus in some way.

  Sound in does not work yet (at least, for most people -- there are cases where it does).

  Video in and out does not work yet (on those models that have it--the 7600 and 8600, I believe).

ADB Keyboard and Mouse

  ADB keyboards and mice generally work. If you are tempted to replace them with a USB keyboard and mouse, it is useful to keep your ADB keyboard and mouse around. This is because the boot-time key combinations only work on ADB keyboards, and the built-in support for ADB comes in handy sometimes if you run into trouble.

Internal and External SCSI

  The internal and external SCSI bus both work. However, there are some users who have trouble with the internal SCSI bus. One thing that you need to double-check is that your SCSI termination is correct, because Mac OS X is picky about that. In general, Mac OS X is sensitive to timing issues on the SCSI bus. Sometimes removing unnecessary devices helps. Also, you will sometimes need to adjust the jumper settings on drives connected to the internal bus, to make sure that they spin up automatically at boot time (the "Disable Unit Attention" jumper is one that sometimes needs to be changed).

Serial Ports

  The serial ports generally work, though not all serial devices are supported. Some modems work, but serial printers are not supported. Localtalk does not work in Mac OS X (i.e. Appletalk over the printer port). However, you can get localtalk-to-ethernet adapters.

Ethernet

  The built-in ethernet connection works, with the exception of the Powerbooks that have an Ethernet-only connection. Those do not work, but the combo Ethernet-Modem connections do work (at least for ethernet).

Internal Modem

  I have not tested the internal modem in the Powerbooks--I suppose I should!

Sleep

  Display sleep works, and is safe. Disk sleep works and seems safe in Mac OS X 10.1 and later. In Mac OS X 10.0, there were some reports of data corruption upon waking for sleep.

  System sleep is not working yet. On the desktop models, it fails gracefully (or at least reasonably gracefully--I seem to lose my Internet connection sometimes). On the Powerbooks, however, sleep crashes the system. So it is important to turn sleep off in the Energy Saver preference panel in the System Preferences application.

PCMCIA Cards and Cardbus Cards

  PCMCIA cards appear not to work in the Powerbooks. However, some CardBus cards do seem to work.

## Enough, already! How do I use XPostFacto?

So, you have reviewed the checklist of things you need before using XPostFacto, and you have some idea of what works and what doesn't. Now, you ask, how do I actually go about using XPostFacto?

### Installing XPostFacto

To install XPostFacto, just copy it to a convenient location on your hard drive. You do not need to put it in a special location.

### Installing Mac OS X

Let me emphasize one last time that you need to be cautious when doing a major installation of this kind. Installing Mac OS X has worked very easily and reliably for some, while others have had significant problems that have not always been readily explained. There have been cases in which installing Mac OS X has been unsuccessful, and the computer has failed to boot at all--it appears to be "dead." If you read the tech forum, you will see that there has been some vigorous debate about whether the computer is ever "really" dead--in almost all cases, it has been possible to get it to boot again (until recently, I would have said "all cases"). But there are a handful of users who have either given up or come very close to it.

So you should ask yourself two final questions:

- Is my data backed up?
- If something goes wrong, do I have time to troubleshoot it right now?

Then take a deep breath, and follow the following procedure:

- Insert the Mac OS X Install CD (or Darwin, or Mac OS X Server, as the case may be)
- Launch XPostFacto
- Select the target volume that you want to install Mac OS X to
- Select the Install CD you want to use
- Click on the "Install" button
- Sit back and watch the action

XPostFacto will copy some kernel extensions to the target volume. Then it installs a modified version of BootX that will use these kernel extensions (along with the standard extensions on the CD). Then it will restart the computer.

The Mac OS X Installer runs in Mac OS X, so you will be booting into Mac OS X at this stage. It can take a few minutes, so you need to be a little patient. It is possible for the installation to fail at this point, either with an explicit error message, or a rainbow cursor that spins forever, or by rebooting into Mac OS 9, or just a blank screen. See the troubleshooting tips below if this happens to you.

When you reach the Mac OS X Installer, select the target volume again (make sure to select the same one). Do not reformat the target volume at this point, as we need to keep the files that we have already copied there. Follow the rest of the Installer's instructions as usual.

Once you have finished installing Mac OS X, the installer will reboot your system. Once you have successfully rebooted, remember to go to the "Energy Savers" panel in "System Preferences" and set your computer and hard drive to never sleep. System sleep does not work well on unsupported systems. However, display sleep is OK, and drive sleep is OK in Mac OS X 10.1.

One thing to note is that if you are using a "helper" disk (for instance, where your target is a Firewire drive), you will probably reboot into Mac OS 9 after the install is completed, rather than Mac OS X. At this point, you simply need to run XPostFacto again, select your target volume, and click on "Restart". That will set up the special boot process correctly again.

### Switching between Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X

Once you have installed Mac OS X, you may want to reboot into Mac OS 9 at some point. One way to do this is to hold down the option-key while restarting. However, it sometimes happens that when you install Mac OS X, your Mac OS 9 System Folder becomes "unblessed." In this case, you can use the "Startup Disk" panel in the Mac OS X "System Preferences" application. This will re-bless the System Folder and permit you to reboot into Mac OS 9.

After you reboot into Mac OS 9, you can use XPostFacto to return to Mac OS X. Simply select the desired startup volume and press the restart button. XPF will write the required settings to non-volatile RAM (NVRAM), and restart the computer. (Restarting from the Finder is not affected by your selection here.

XPF will only startup Mac OS X. To choose a different Mac OS 9 volume, use the Startup Disk control panel instead. However, do not use Startup Disk to choose a Mac OS X volume on unsupported machines, as it will not work, and may require you to zap your parameter RAM.

Version 3 of XPostFacto also runs in Mac OS X, so you can use it to switch your startup volume as well.

### Upgrading from a Previous Version of XPostFacto

If you are upgrading from a previous version of XPostFacto, you need to make sure that the latest version of the kernel extensions and startup item get installed. When you launch the new version of XPostFacto, it will take care of it!

### Upgrading Mac OS X

Version 2.0 of XPostFacto will install Mac OS X 10.1, and version 2.2 will install Mac OS X 10.2. To do the install, you follow the same steps listed above. The procedure is the same whether you are upgrading or doing a fresh install--in both cases, you need to boot from the Mac OS X Install CD, so you need to use XPostFacto's special install procedure.

For the minor Mac OS X upgrades (e.g. from 10.1 to 10.1.5), you can use the 'Software Updates' mechanism or the downloadable installers as usual--they have, so far, worked without XPostFacto's help.

XPostFacto now has some support for Panther (Mac OS X 10.3) -- see above for details.

### Booting from other CDs

Version 3 of XPostFacto should permit you to boot from any CD that would boot a supported system (for instance, the recovery CDs that some file and backup utilities include).

### Advanced Options

The "Options" button will bring up a dialog that allows you to select various advanced options which affect the NVRAM settings used for rebooting with XPostFacto. The help text in that window explains the effect of the settings.

## Troubleshooting

Here are some tips you can use if you run into trouble.

### If Mac OS X will not boot successfully ...

If Mac OS X will not boot successfully, you are going to want to reboot into Mac OS 9. Here are some ways to do that. None of these will solve your primary problem (i.e. they won't make Mac OS X boot any more successfully), but at least they will get you back to Mac OS 9 again.

- Reboot with the option-key down. This should return you to Mac OS 9.

- If that does not work, reboot with command-option-shift-delete held down.

- If that does not work, you can try inserting the Mac OS 9 CD and booting with the "c" key down.

- If that does not work, and you are using a G4 upgrade card, you could try booting from the "emergency floppy" that most of the card manufacturers include with the card. (This will help if speculative processing is the issue). Alternatively, you can try reinstalling your original CPU card.

- If that does not work, you may need to zap your parameter RAM. The simplest way of doing this is to hold down the command-option-p-r keys while rebooting. The computer will "chime" while it zaps parameter RAM. Allow it to chime several times, and then release the keys.

- If this does not work, then you may need to press the CUDA reset button on the motherboard for 30 seconds. The CUDA reset button is a small red button usually located near the processor card.

- If that does not work, you may need to unplug the computer, remove the motherboard battery, and leave it out for some time. Then reinstall the battery (and make sure to orient it correctly). The amount of time required varies--sometimes it can be as little as few hours, but in other cases you may need to leave it overnight.

- It that does not work, it sometimes helps to install a new battery, and try the "zapping parameter RAM" or "pressing CUDA reset button" steps again.

If you have installed Mac OS X on the same partition as Mac OS 9, rebooting with the option-key down may not work, because the Mac OS X installation process "de-blesses" the Mac OS 9 System Folder. In those cases, you can reboot from the Mac OS 9 CD with the "c" key held down, and take steps to "re-bless" the Mac OS 9 System Folder. The simplest method is to drag the System or Finder file to the desktop and then back into the System Folder. If that doesn't work, one user suggests command-option-double-clicking on the Finder file (I have not tried that yet). Also, you could check to see whether the /System/Library/CoreServices folder has been blessed by the Mac OS X Installer. In that case, you could de-bless that folder by dragging out the fake System file located there. You should then be able to re-bless your Mac OS 9 System Folder.

### Diagnosing the problem

Here are some steps you can take to diagnose problems.

If you cannot successfully boot, then the most important thing is to try booting in verbose mode. Hold down command-v as the computer restarts, and note any error messages which appear.

If you do not get any text in verbose mode, you can use the 'Open Firmware' settings in the "Options" dialog to diagnose the earliest part of the boot process. The items in that dialog have the following meanings:

> auto-boot?

>   When this is selected (the default setting), your computer will boot in the ordinary way. When it is unselected, the computer will stop at the Open Firmware prompt when you boot. If you have no idea what the Open Firmware prompt is, you should leave this checked. If you do uncheck it, make sure that you set up the input-device and output-device. (XPF 3 now enforces this).

> input-device

>   This is the device that will provide input at the Open Firmware prompt (should you stop there). Generally, you will want this to be the keyboard, but you can choose the modem or printer port as well.

> output-device

>   This is the device that will receive output at the Open Firmware prompt. Generally, you will want this to be the built-in monitor, or a video card. You can also choose the modem or printer port.

By selecting an input-device and output-device, and then holding down command-v as the computer restarts, you will get additional diagnostic messages earlier in the boot process.

If you still get no text in verbose mode, then there are a couple of things you can try.

If you have a G3 or G4 upgrade card, you can try adjusting the "Throttle" setting (again, in the "Options" dialog). The "throttle" menu allows you to adjust the speed of your G3 or G4 upgrade card during the earliest part of the boot process. For some users, this solves a problem booting from certain SCSI devices. Once the earliest part of the boot process is complete, the processor will be reset to its full speed.

The higher the throttle setting, the slower the processor is during the early boot process. Several users have reported that a setting of 4 or higher allows them to boot on certain problematic drives, while 3 or less fails.

You can also try adjusting the clock speed or bus speed of your CPU upgrade.

Sometimes, problems booting have to do with RAM. It is sometimes best to de-interleave RAM, especially with CPU upgrades. You do this by making sure that matching DIMM slots do not have matching memory modules. Also, there are occasions where a particular DIMM which works in Mac OS 9 is problematic in Mac OS X. So you can try swapping out DIMMs to see if you can isolate a problematic one.

If you do get text in verbose mode, then note any error messages, and note what the last messages are before the process grinds to a halt. If the last messages are a repeated "Still waiting for root device", then it means that Mac OS X is having some trouble with your CD-ROM device.

If you get a kernel panic, then the best thing is to take a picture of your screen with a digital camera, post the picture on the web somewhere, and then post a link the tech forum (or send me an e-mail, but the tech forum is faster). If you don't have a digital camera, then copy down all the information and type it up. (It is tedious, but there is no better way yet--I do have some ideas for how to save the panic information automatically).

One useful troubleshooting measure, especially for kernel panics, is to remove any unnecessary PCI cards and try again. If that works, you can add cards back in until you have figured out which one is causing trouble.

If you get as far as the Mac OS X Installer and then have problems, there are a couple of possibilities.

If you get random freezes (that is, the cursor stops moving and you get no error message of any kind), then the most common reason is trouble with your RAM. You can try swapping out DIMMs and see whether you can isolate a problematic one. (There are cases where DIMMs which are fine in Mac OS 9 are problematic in Mac OS X).

If you get an error message about not being able to write a file, or read a file, then I am not entirely sure what the problem is. In some cases, using a different install CD helps. In some cases, reformatting the target volume helps. But there are cases where this problem goes unsolved.

### The XPostFacto Log

XPF generates a log file that sometimes helps me figure out what is going wrong. If you have any difficulties, feel free to e-mail the log file to me, and describe the nature of the problem. The file is called "XPostFacto Log" and it is located in the Preferences folder, inside your System Folder.

### The "Debug" Options

XPostFacto has some "Debug" options that allows you to take advantage of certain debugging features present in the Mac OS X kernel. This is only useful if you know what these options mean. So if you do not understand what they are, simply leave them unselected.

If you are getting kernel panics with the multilingual text screen that tells you that you need to reboot, you might want to turn on the "See panic text" option. This will show you the traditional panic text instead, which can be helpful for figuring out what is causing the panic.

## Source Code

XPostFacto is an open-source application. For information about the source code, consult the XPostFacto page at opendarwin.org. There is also a Bugzilla database there which can be used to report and track bugs in XPostFacto.

## Credits

Great credit is due to the Darwin project and all those involved in it. The code in the kernel extensions installed by XPostFacto is derived from Darwin, with a few bug fixes here and there. Josh de Cesare deserves particular credit for his work on platform support. Dan Markarian and Chris Sarcone helped with the CD audio problem in Mac OS X 10.0. I would also like to thank Markus Hitter for debugging tips (and for being a good sounding board), as well as Marc St-Jean for help with testing, and general encouragement. Finally, I would like to thank Kyle Kost and Will Schoumaker for their work on clone support.

XPF makes use of the zlib compression library, for which I wish to thank Jean-loup Gailly and Mark Adler.

El-Gato Software contributed a bug fix that helps support additional SCSI CD-ROM, CD-R and CD-RW devices.

Joshua Thorpe suggested the new name.

Michel Lanners wrote the Forth code to permit processor throttling in Open Firmware, and Matt Schechtman passed it along to me.

Pierre d'Herbemont has done some terrific work on 6400 support.

Joe van Tunen figured out how to solve the issue with the Radeon 7000 card becoming active only late in the boot process.

Ken Lui did some nice work updating the AppleMaceEthernet driver.

I would also like to thank Other World Computing (Larry O'Connor in particular) for their generous support.

## License

BootX and the kernel extensions which are installed by XPostFacto are subject to the Apple Public Source License.

XPostFacto itself is subject to the following license:

> Copyright (c) 2001, 2002, Other World Computing. All rights reserved.

> Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:

> 1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer as the first lines of each file.

> 2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.

> 3. Redistributions in binary form must retain the link to Other World Computing's web site in the application's "About Box."

> This software is provided by Other World Computing ``as is'' and any express or implied warranties, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose are disclaimed. In no event shall Ryan Rempel or Other World Computing be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, exemplary, or consequential damages (including, but not limited to, procurement of substitute goods or services; loss of use, data, or profits; or business interruption) however caused and on any theory of liability, whether in contract, strict liability, or tort (including negligence or otherwise) arising in any way out of the use of this software, even if advised of the possibility of such damage.

XPostFacto was written with the MacApp Application Framework. (c) 1983-2001 Apple Computer, Inc. MacApp is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the United States and certain other countries.

## Download Links and Version History

3.0a12 (March 3, 2004)

  Here's a list of what's new in version 3.0a12.

  - A video driver for the built-in video on the 7300 - 9600 series (at least, those which have built-in video). This is the OpenControlFramebuffer.kext, which will be installed by XPF 3.0a12.

  - Fixed an issue with the installation procedure -- version 3.0a11 had inadvertently failed to install BootX when doing a fresh Mac OS X installation, which led to several difficulties.

3.0a11 (January 14, 2004)

  Here's a list of what's new in version 3.0a11.

  - 1009 - Bless Mac OS 9 System Folders.
    XPostFacto now has a "Bless Mac OS 9 System" menu command, which will re-bless the Mac OS 9 System Folder on the selected volume. (The Mac OS X Installer blesses the CoreServices folder instead, which is not necessary on Old World machines).

  - 1118 - Startup item should re-bless Mac OS 9 System Folder.
    The XPFStartupItem now automatically re-blesses the Mac OS 9 System Folder on the root volume if it detects that the CoreServices folder has been blessed instead. This should prevent the problems caused when the Mac OS X Installer blesses CoreServices.

  - 1210 - Put "Options ..." in a menu (and perhaps "Restart ..." and "Install ...").
    1288 - XPostFacto App window too large for 640x480 display.
    There is now a "Window" menu in XPostFacto which gives access to the Log Window and the Options Window. This helps deal with 640 x 480 resolution, where the "Options..." button is off-screen.

  - 1303 - OWCCacheConfig tests not working right on cold boot with G4/700.
    OWCCacheConfig was not detecting the correct cache values with a G4/700 on a cold boot (a warm boot worked fine). So I changed the strategy for detecting cache values for the L3 cache -- I'm now assuming a 200 MHz cache speed. Also delayed the cache testing until an accurate CPU speed is determined.

  - 1337 - AppleMaceEthernet slower in 3.0a10 versus 3.0a9.
    Fixed performance problem introduced in Ethernet driver in 3.0a10.

  - 1338 - OpenPMUPCCardEject.kext not loading in 10.3.2.
    Fixed a problem loading the OpenPMUPCCardEject.kext in 10.3.2.

  - 1339 - Mac OS X version sometimes fails to find Open Firmware name.
    XPostFacto is now using a slightly different strategy for finding the Open Firmware name of a volume -- this fixes some cases where the Mac OS X version was unable to find an Open Firmware name.

  - 1352 - Should delete extensions cache when installing extensions in Mac OS 9.
    Deletes the extensions cache when installing extensions in Mac OS 9, to make sure that the extensions cache gets updated.

  - 1364 - Improve BootX installation.
    When installing BootX, XPostFacto now makes sure that the partition entry indicates that the partition is bootable, and that the boot-blocks are installed on the volume.

  - 1375 - Only take the boot-device and helper preferences from NVRAM.
    XPostFacto had been taking some preferences from NVRAM, rather than the preferences file. However, the Mac OS X Installer makes changes to NVRAM, so it is better to take most preferences from the prefs file.

  - 1378 - Make sure that input-device and output-device are set if auto-boot is false.
    If auto-boot? is false, you need the input-device and output-device set to control the boot process. So XPF now ensures that auto-boot? is true, unless you have the input-device and output-device set.

  - 1415 - Only synchronize when necessary.
    XPostFacto used to use an optimized copy routine to synchronize extensions with the helper every time. Now, it checks the modification dates and only synchronizes when necessary. And, when synchronizing, it does a full copy rather than an optimized copy (since the optimization didn't save that much time and was a potential source of problems).

3.0a10 (December 19, 2003)

  Here's the list of changes since 3.0a9. The video drivers for built-in video on Panther are still coming.

  - 1022 - Install only those items needed for a particular Mac OS X version.
    XPF now only installs kernel extensions which are needed for a particular version of Mac OS X. This will eliminate some spurious error messages in the startup process.

  - 1126 - Ethernet shows up as "cable not attached" in Panther network status.
    Network preferences will no longer say that the Ethernet cable is not attached to built-in Ethernet. (I'm not actually successfully detecting whether the cable is attached yet, but it's probably better to say that it is than that it isn't).

  - 1153 - Mac OS X version crashes in OFAliases:aliasFor
    Fixed a bug which caused XPF to crash with the Sonnet ATA 4.0 firmware installed.

  - 1159 - Should ask users about installing new versions of extensions etc..
    Version 3 had been automatically installing things on a current Mac OS X installation without asking first. On reflection, this is bad manners, so XPF will now ask before installing anything. XPF will automatically check for things that need to be installed at two points: at launch, and when saving preferences. If there are things that need to be installed, XPF will display a dialog box to ask the user to confirm the install.

  - 1196 - XPF should use decimal, not hex, for partition number on Firewire devices.
    Fixed the way that XPF constructs Open Firmware names where a volume has 10 or more partitions.

  - 1199 - Should default OWCCacheConfig to "off" until it's working better.
    Default to having OWCCacheConfig turned off, rather than on, since it causes trouble for many, and needs to be fixed.

  - 1205 - Permissions on Library and tmp.
    Fixed the permissions which XPostFacto sets for the /Library directory.

  - 1211 - PC cards not ejecting in Panther.
    Incorporated the missing kernel extension from 10.2 which controlled the ejection of PC Cards.

  - 1212 - BootX uses "screen" alias for output, rather than the output-device.
    Fixed the problem which caused the boot video on video cards on Beige G3 computers to appear late in the boot process.

  - 1275 - NVRAM patch resource not accounting for GossamerDeviceTreeUpdater.
    Fixed a problem which prevented the Mac OS X version of XPF from working properly on the Beige G3 and Wallstreet Powerbooks.

  - 1312 - Add "uninstall" feature.
    XPF now has an "Uninstall..." menu command, which you can use to uninstall the things that XPF has installed on a volume. The one exception is BootX -- what would be required in order to uninstall BootX would be to reinstall an original BootX, and I haven't implemented that yet.

  - 1314 - GossamerDeviceTreeUpdater won't load in 10.3.2
    Fixes a problem with the Beige G3 and the 10.3.2 update (the GossamerDeviceTreeUpdater wasn't loading in 10.3.2).

3.0a9 (November 22, 2003)

  Initial support for Panther on the Wallstreet Powerbooks and the Beige G3. The main limitation on the Beige G3 is that the built-in video is not supported yet -- you need a video card. On the Wallstreet Powerbooks, video is problematic in some configurations, but it can be dealt with by changing colour depth or deleting the ATIRagePro.plugin extension. Support for Panther on Kanga is not ready yet.

  I have also made a couple of changes to the Mac OS X version of XPostFacto. XPF now writes to the system log in Mac OSX, rather than its own log file. I also fixed one bug which may have contributed to the problem initiating an install from the Mac OS X version.

3.0a8 (November 17, 2003)

  I've added a new method of disabling OWCCacheConfig. XPF will now actually install or delete OWCCacheConfig.kext based on the setting you choose for "Enable L2/L3 Cache". I still haven't figured out why my previous method of disabling it isn't working (it works for me), but deleting it should be pretty certain to work :-)

  I've also fixed a problem which occurred if you launched XPF in Mac OS 9 and there was no Install CD around, and no existing Mac OS X volume. XPF should now do the expected thing when you quit in these circumstances (i.e., nothing).

3.0a7 (November 17, 2003)

  I've made some minor changes to OWCCacheConfig since 3.0a6. Some users are reporting problems with OWCCacheConfig -- and, worse, reporting that they are unable to disable it using the techniques below. Unfortunately, I can't reproduce the problem yet.

  I've also removed the AppleMaceEthernetPreJaguar kernel extension. One user reported that removing it solves a kernel panic which several users had reported.

3.0a6 (November 16, 2003)

  Here's a list of the bugs fixed since 3.0a4. Version 3.0a6 also has support for Mac OS X 10.3 on the 7300 - 9600 series (and friends), but without support for built-in video (yet). I'm also not entirely sure which video cards will work with 10.3 at this point.

  Support for 10.3 on the Beige G3 and Wallstreet is still coming.

  - 855 - OWCCacheConfig causes kernel panic for G3 and G4 CPUs (but not the 74xx).
  - 856 - Mac OS X version cannot install BootX.
  - 865 - Add version information for kernel extensions and startup item.
  - 867 - Splash screen does not always draw.
  - 870 - Volume selection improvements.
  - 871 - Should offer to write NVRAM when closing.
  - 873 - Check to make sure that "sleep" is disabled.
  - 874 - Offer reboot into Mac OS 9?.
  - 900 - Backlight not working on TAM.
  - 927 - Should warn earlier if NVRAM space insufficient for settings.
  - 928 - Progress bar should show progress.
  - 935 - Newly mounted volume not showing up right away in Mac OS X.
  - 937 - Make OWCCacheConfig respect the "-c" boot argument.
  - 956 - Mac OS X version not launching if disk image mounted.
  - 966 - XPF thinks the DiskWarrior CD is an Install CD.
  - 983 - Add "recopy helper files" command.
  - 985 - Restart in Mac OS 9 when synchronization necessary.
  - 990 - Fix interaction between XPostFacto and xpfbootsupportd.
  - 1066 - Mac OS X version will not launch if non-ASCII character in path.
  - 1076 - Mac OS X version sometimes launches in background.
  - 1114 - Add romndrv=1 option (to get Panther to use old NDRVs).

3.0a4 (September 22, 2003)

  Here's a list of the bugs fixed since 3.0a3. If you have noticed one of these bugs in 3.0a3, I'd be most grateful if you could test 3.0a4 and verify that the bug is actually fixed. In case you're interested, here's a link to the bugs I'm hoping to fix before I release a beta version (but I might not get to all of them).

  - 858 - Mac OS X version should construct Open Firmware names in the same way as Mac OS 9 version.
  - 861 - Test support for BootCD.
  - 866 - Update Extensions.mkext when installing extensions in Mac OS X.
  - 875 - Launching URLs doesn't work in the Mac OS 9 version.
  - 883 - Cannot eject disks while XPostFacto is running.
  - 897 - Volume list should show why some drives are not bootable.
  - 908 - Must turn off "ignore ownership" before installing extensions etc..
  - 910 - Make "debug" options available to facilitate testing.
  - 912 - Volume scroll list does not scroll selected volume into view upon launch.
  - 913 - Volume scroll list should scroll in proper increments.
  - 926 - Use application font (not system font) in log window.
  - 929 - Ownership of created directories wrong in Mac OS 9 version.
  - 930 - Newly mounted volume not showing up right away in Mac OS 9.
  - 932 - Fix deletion of Extensions.mkext from helper when deleted from target.
  - 934 - xpfbootsupportd crashes AFTER successfully updating the Extensions folder.
  - 943 - Need icon for Mac OS X version.

3.0a3 (September 1, 2003)

  A pretty major rewrite. This is an alpha version, which means that there are some features not implemented yet, and probably some bugs. Here's a quick summary of what should be working (but may still have bugs), and what is not implemented yet.

  Should be working (but possibly with bugs):

  - Now launches in Mac OS X as well as Mac OS 9.
  - Should be able to boot from Firewire drives, using the "helper" mechanism.
  - Should be able to boot any CD that would boot on a supported system.

  Not implemented yet:

  - L2/L3 cache configuration (almost done, but some bugs remain to be found).
  - Panther support (Mac OS X 10.3).
  - USB booting.
  - AppleEvent support.
  - Additional platform support (Starmax etc.).
  - Some user interface elements.

  One other limitation is that it is not possible to do an Install from the Mac OS X version of XPostFacto yet--you will need to reboot into Mac OS 9 first.

2.2.5 (January 4, 2003)

  - Fixes a problem with certain SCSI cards which use multiple busses (in particular, some of the ATTO cards).
  - Works better in situations where the settings had previously required too much space in NVRAM

2.2.4 (October 21, 2002)

  Fixes a problem with version 2.2.3 that could cause a kernel panic when installing Mac OS X 10.2.

2.2.3 (October 7, 2002)

  - Fixes a couple of problems with Darwin 6. Will now recognize the Darwin 6 Install CD as an installer. Also, will automatically boot in verbose mode when booting Darwin.
  - Will now find the correct Open Firmware name for the Sonnet ATA/100 card with the 2.3.5 firmware applied. Users report that the boot process still fails, though, so further investigation is required.

2.2.2 (September 12, 2002)

  - Fixes the problem starting Classic in Mac OS X 10.2. Remember to reinstall the extensions in order to apply the fix. (You can do this from within Mac OS X now by launching XPostFacto).
  - Uses a little less NVRAM when installing.

2.2.1 (September 2, 2002)

  - Updated the custom BootX to use the new boot graphic from Mac OS X 10.2. This looks a little odd when used with Mac OS X 10.0 or 10.1, but it works OK.
  - Added a "debug" preference to show panic text, rather than the new panic dialog.
  - Fixed the problem with the SCSI bus on unsupported Powerbooks.

2.2 (August 23, 2002)

  The changes since version 2.2b17 are as follows:

  - Fixes problem with booting from external SCSI drives in Mac OS X 10.0.
  - Only allows the "install" button to be used with the Install CD (not "restart").

  And here is a summary of the changes since version 2.11 (the last non-beta version):

  - Support for Mac OS X 10.2 (aka Jaguar).
  - Partial support for the original Powerbook G3, the 2400, and the 3400. (There are still some significant limitations).
  - Support for the Beige G3s.
  - Support for some additional PowerComputing models.
  - Support for leaving onboard video disconnected when using a video card.
  - Support for UltraTek IDE cards (along with OWC's firmware update).
  - The "throttle" feature, which slows down the CPU in the earliest part of the boot process, and helps booting some SCSI devices when using a CPU upgrade card.
  - No longer panics on first reboot after clean install.
  - Better documentation.

2.2b17 (August 18, 2002)

  - Fixes the "file not found" error when trying to install Mac OS X 10.0 (the error was introduced in version 2.2b15).
  - Fixes the "squished cursor" problem when using Jaguar with onboard video.
  - Extensions built with the Jaguar development tools and headers.
  - Minor updates to BootX to synchronize with Apple's changes.
  - Uses slightly less NVRAM when setting up the install.
  - Is now able to install the current version of the extensions while running in Mac OS X. This takes the place of the "package" file which was formerly included.

2.2b16 (August 10, 2002)

  Fixes a problem which prevented some of the kernel extensions from loading properly in 2.2b15, which could cause a kernel panic early in the boot process.

2.2b15 (August 8, 2002)

  - Fixes the "kernel panic on first reboot after clean install" problem.
  - Better compatibility with Mac OS X 10.2.
  - On the Beige G3s, saves some space in the NVRAM patches (at the expense of net-booting).

2.2b14 (July 10, 2002)

  - Fixes several problems which affected the Beige G3s.
  - May work with additional PowerCenter models, if they have video cards installed.
  - Integrates this documentation into the application itself (see the 'Help' menu). This makes it possible to distribute XPostFacto as a single application file.

2.2b9 (June 29, 2002)

  - Permits unsupported Powerbooks to use Mac OS X 10.1.1 and later. However, sleep now crashes the system (in previous versions, sleep did not work, but at least it failed gracefully). So you will need to avoid sleep for the time being.
  - May now work with the Beige G3. Ordinarily, Mac OS X should just work with the Beige G3, but there are some cases in which the Beige G3 has problems that XPostFacto may be able to help with. XPostFacto is untested on Beige G3s, so if you try it, let me know how it works.
  - Has some limited support for the 6400 and 6500. My 6500 still has problems with the SCSI bus, so booting from a CD does not work. So the 6400 and 6500 support is mostly for people who want to work on the problems, rather than the ordinary user.
  - A great deal of restructuring in the source code of the XPostFacto application. Some things may have been broken in the process--let me know.
  - A "debug" menu, for accessing certain debugging features in the Mac OS X kernel. If you do not know what the options mean, just leave them unselected.
  - Better error messages if you launch XPostFacto in Mac OS X or in Mac OS 8.x.
  - The "prepare a custom CD" feature is gone for the moment. It did not work with recent versions of the install CD. I should be able to fix this, but have not gotten around to it yet.
  - Source code now in the cvs repository at http://www.opendarwin.org/

2.2b7 (April 20, 2002)

  Restores the "throttle" menu, so that you can adjust the processor throttling. Really, truly avoids persistent processor throttling when rebooting in Mac OS 9. Should add support for the later 8600 and 9600 models (i.e. the 8600/250, 8600/300, 9600/300, 9600/350), but is not well tested on those machines.

2.2b4 (April 16, 2002)

  Fixes a problem with the "throttle" feature of version 2.2b3. On some machines, it was possible for the processor throttling to persist when you reboot into Mac OS 9 (which is undesirable). Version 2.2b4 fixes that. (Well, I thought it did. It turns out that a few more changes were needed--and they are in version 2.2b7).

2.2b3 (April 13, 2002)

  This release allows you to throttle (i.e. slow down) a G3 or G4 processor upgrade during the earliest part of the boot process. This sometimes solves problems that some users have experienced when booting with G3 and G4 upgrade cards. If you have been stuck with a blank screen on reboot with earlier versions of XPostFacto, it is possible that this version will work better for you (assuming you have a processor upgrade).

2.2b1 (April 7, 2002)

  - Beta-level support for the original Powerbook G3, the 3400 and (possibly) the 2400.
  - Fixes for the "kernel panic if nothing connected to onboard video" problem. (The ATI driver update will still be needed for some ATI cards, however).
  - Will permit installation onto drives connected to the UltraTek IDE card (with the OWC/FirmTek upgrade applied).
  - Fixes a problem installing Darwin 1.4.1.
  - Fixes a problem with Mac OS 9.2.x.

2.11 (January 21, 2002)

  Fixes a problem reading the catalog of highly fragmented drives. Partially fixes an incompatibility with NoFinderZoom9. Provides some feedback when preparing custom install CDs.

2.1 (January 13, 2002)

  Adds support for additional SCSI CD-ROM devices, including some CD-R and CD-RW devices (courtesy of El-Gato Software). Adds the ability to create a custom install CD for older machines. Various bug fixes.

2.0 (October 29, 2001)

  Better error logging.

2.0b4 (October 13, 2001)

  Fixes a problem booting from a SCSI card or IDE card installed in the lower three slots of six-slot systems. Fixes a problem running out of NVRAM space in some configurations.

2.0b3 (October 2, 2001)

  Restores support for some CD-ROM mechanisms that were not bootable in version 2.0b1 and 2.0b2. Changes the installation strategy to access the CD-ROM later in the boot process.

2.0b2 (September 30, 2001)

  Fixes a bug that had created problems in some situations when installing BootX (the Mac OS X bootloader). Also keeps track of the version of BootX that is installed, so that it can be updated when necessary. Adds an 'Open Firmware' menu which can be used to interact with Open Firmware (and BootX) at boot time (see documentation below).

2.0b1 (September 23, 2001)

  More changes meant to improve compatibility with future versions of Mac OS X. The installation strategy has changed significantly in this version. UUX now installs a modified version of BootX which loads kernel extensions from more than one source.

1.1 (August 22, 2001)

  A variety of changes meant to improve compatibility with future versions of Mac OS X. It may turn out that further changes are required.

1.0 (August 3, 2001)

  Verified that Mac OS X Server can be installed successfully.

1.0b10 (July 27, 2001)

  Fixed a problem booting Darwin 1.3.1 (the "file not found" error).

1.0b9 (July 26, 2001)

  Now pre-installs BootX in the manner required for older machines. This should allow installation to work with a broader range of CD-ROM models. It also helps to install Mac OS X Server and Darwin 1.3.1. Also added options for booting in verbose mode and single user mode.

1.0b8 (June 18, 2001)

  Original release