MacBuild Desktop Build

Building a desktop in MacBuild is a fairly simple process. Aside from occasionally needing specific hardware, building a desktop MacBox is virtually identical to building a standard FreekBox.

What we build

We presently work on PowerMac G4s and better, eMacs, iMac G4s, iMac G5s, and any newer models that come in. The specs we build the most common models to are as follows:

Specs

iMac

iMac G4 (iLamp) Specs Processor: G4/1.25 GHz RAM: 512 MB internal, 512 MB SODIMM in base Hard drive: 40 GB or better Optical drive: DVD ROM/CD-RW combo or better Wireless: Airport or Airport Extreme if available Note: Auto Recycle everything < 1.25 GHz.

iMac G5 (integrated LCD) Specs Processor: G5/1.6 GHz - 2.1 GHz RAM: At least 1024 MB Hard drive: At least 80 GB - SATA Optical drive: DVD ROM/CD-RW combo or better Wireless: Airport Extreme

eMac

eMac Specs Auto-recycle all eMacs

PowerMac G4

PowerMac G4 Specs Auto-recycle all PowerMac G4s

What we don't build

We don't build anything below the specs listed above. PowerMac G4 Graphites (the ones with dark blue/grey cases) are presently tested to see if they post and sold in the store as is. Systems on the Old Mac Keeper List in MacBuild Eval are kept on the Old Mac shelf for future processing. Everything else is recycled.

PowerMac G4 As-Is Procedure

1. Install a tested battery
2. Populate all memory slots with tested memory modules
3. Install optical drive, if necessary
4. Connect a wiped HD to primary IDE channel
5. Connect a mouse, keyboard, and monitor to system
6. Boot from OS X external drive (hold the Option key on the keyboard while system starts up, and select the external drive from the menu)
7. When at the desktop, insert a CD into the optical drive and check if it mounts on the desktop
8. Click on the blue apple in the upper-left corner of the screen
9. Select the About this Mac option from the menu
10. Click the More info button to launch the System Profiler
11. Check the information for ATA and Memory in System Profiler to ensure that the system can see all devices on IDE channels and each memory module in each memory slot
    • If it fails to see the HD or reports the amount of memory incorrectly, the system should be recycled
12. Eject the CD
13. Power the system down, remove the HD, and leave only 128MB of RAM in the system
14. Attach an As Is tag to the system and take it to the store

Wiping HDs in systems

If you've just received a system from Mac Eval and need to wipe its drive without opening the system up, refer to the Hard drive wiping checklist for wiping instructions.

Building Instructions

Please refer to the MacBuild Desktop Checklist for build instructions.

QC Instructions=

Please refer to the MacBuild Desktop Checklist for QC instructions.

Special Configurations

Steps	Notes/Detailed Instructions	Done
Starting up Ubuntu on a difficult system	There are startup options set by default in the bootloader, so startup will usually not require any input. However, the following are the default options that you can enter yourself if you don't want to wait for the bootloader to do it automatically. For the first-stage Ubuntu bootstrap, enter l for Linux For the yaboot boot prompt, enter Linux for the Ubuntu install that was just completed (it's case-sensitive, so make sure the L in Linux is capitalized) Some systems will not boot properly due to video issues. These systems will usually hang with a white or black screen after the yaboot boot prompt. For these systems, providing it with Linux video=ofonly at the yaboot boot prompt should fix the problem.
Enabling video on eMacs	eMacs rarely end up with a working desktop after a standard install due to the lack of automatic configuration of X, which is the backend of Ubuntu's default display manager In order to fix this, you need to identify the type of video card present in the system and provide it with an appropriate xorg.conf file. Switch the system over to a virtual terminal by pressing Ctrl + Alt + F1. Keep in mind that you can use keys F1 through F6 for multiple virtual terminals. Run the following command: lspci Look for a reference to either nVidia or ATI in the command's results. Make a mental note of which reference you found Copy the appropriate configuration file to the system If lspci contained a reference to nVidia, run: sudo wget -P /etc/X11 http://llama.freegeek.org/~serge/xorg.conf.emac.nv If lspci contained a reference to ATI, run: sudo wget -P /etc/X11 http://llama.freegeek.org/~serge/xorg.conf.emac.ati Remove the old xorg.conf file: sudo rm /etc/X11/xorg.conf Rename the downloaded file to xorg.conf For the nVidia version: sudo mv /etc/X11/xorg.conf.emac.nv /etc/X11/xorg.conf For the ATI version: sudo mv /etc/X11/xorg.conf.emac.ati /etc/X11/xorg.conf Restart GDM by running: sudo /etc/init.d/gdm restart You should now have a working desktop.
Permanently make the video=ofonly addition to yaboot	If you needed to use the video=ofonly option to get the system to start up properly, you can permanently make the addition to yaboot. This is how you do it: In a terminal, edit the file /etc/yaboot.conf as root sudo nano /etc/yaboot.conf Locate the line that reads image=/boot/vmlinux Move the cursor to the end of the line that starts with append The line, in its unaltered state, should read append="quiet splash" Add video=ofonly to the end of the append line (make sure to add it within the quotes of the original append entry The line should now read append="quiet splash video=ofonly" Save and close the file Ctrl+o, then Ctrl+x Update the bootloader with the changes to yaboot by running the following in a terminal: sudo ybin -v Restart the system to test the change
Enable the Ubuntu startup splash screen	Sometimes a system will show a blank screen during startup instead of the normal Ubuntu splash screen. If this is the case, we can enable the Ubuntu splash screen by doing the following: In a terminal, edit the file /etc/usplash.conf as root sudo nano /etc/usplash.conf Move the cursor down to the first empty line Type xres=1024, press Tab, and type yres=768 So the line should read: xres=1024 yres=768 If you happen to know the native resolution of the display, you can try using that instead Save and close the file Ctrl+o, then Ctrl+x Update the startup files with the changed resolution values by running the following in a terminal: sudo update-initramfs -u The command takes a couple of of minutes to complete
Adjust the screen display (for systems with built-in CRTs)	Start up MacBuild's OS X system in transfer mode Hold the T key on the keyboard while the system is powering on If done correctly, you should see a FireWire icon on the screen of the system Power down the system you are working on Connect a FireWire cable from the OS X system to the system being worked on Hold the Option key on the keyboard while starting the system This should bring up a graphical menu of all the drives the system sees that it can boot from Select the OS X FireWire drive from the menu, and click on the Continue arrow Once the desktop loads, click on the blue apple in the upper left corner of the screen Click on the System Preferences option in the dropdown menu Click on the Displays icon in the System Preferences window Click on the Geometry tab in the Displays window Select the kind of adjustment you'd like to make, and drag the edges of the monitor icon to adjust the screen display Once you're done, click on the blue apple in the upper left corner and click on the Shutdown option in the dropdown menu Disconnect the FireWire cable once the system powers off, and turn off the OS X system Repeat as necessary If the screen display cannot be adjusted to an acceptable state, the system should be recycled