InstaDMG & New Hardware

[golbiga]

I’m newish at InstaDMG and I had a quick question. I’ve created my image on an older Mac Pro using a 10.6 retail DVD and then added the combo updater, etc. The image has worked fine on all my test machines, ones newer than my mac pro even. Today I just imaged a new Mac Mini and the ethernet port is not being recognized. I’ve checked to see if it was hardware related, but its not. I was always under the assumption that you didn’t need to necessarily run InstaDMG on the newest hardware and that since its 10.6.4 that the any machine at this point should work. Should I be using the 10.6.3 disc that came w/ the Mac Mini to make the default image? Or is it simply that I should do the whole instadmg config on the mac mini? Thanks in advance.

Allen

[dead2sin]

[QUOTE][u]Quote by: golbiga[/u][p]I’m newish at InstaDMG and I had a quick question. I’ve created my image on an older Mac Pro using a 10.6 retail DVD and then added the combo updater, etc. The image has worked fine on all my test machines, ones newer than my mac pro even. Today I just imaged a new Mac Mini and the ethernet port is not being recognized. I’ve checked to see if it was hardware related, but its not. I was always under the assumption that you didn’t need to necessarily run InstaDMG on the newest hardware and that since its 10.6.4 that the any machine at this point should work. Should I be using the 10.6.3 disc that came w/ the Mac Mini to make the default image? Or is it simply that I should do the whole instadmg config on the mac mini? Thanks in advance.

Allen[/p][/QUOTE]

There is a special version of 10.6.4 JUST for mac Minis. 10.6.4 should work on all hardware that was released before it came out. 10.6.4 was released June 15th, so it will have drivers for any hardware that came out before June 15th. Unforunately the best solution at the moment is to do a special image build just for the Mac Minis using that special 10.6.4 update or you could wait for 10.6.5, which should contain the Mac Mini drivers as well.

Here is the specific 10.6.4 update you’d probably want:
[url]http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1054[/url]

Nate

[golbiga]

Thanks! I thought I was going crazy for a minute there. Is it recommended to use the newest hardware anyways? I’m waiting on a new iMac so it shouldn’t be a problem soon enough. Thanks again.

[dead2sin]

[QUOTE][u]Quote by: golbiga[/u][p]Thanks! I thought I was going crazy for a minute there. Is it recommended to use the newest hardware anyways? I’m waiting on a new iMac so it shouldn’t be a problem soon enough. Thanks again.[/p][/QUOTE]

You can build the image on any machine really. For Snow Leopard Images, the only things you need to keep in mind are that the build box #1 is Running Snow Leopard (I tend to keep it as up to date as possible) and of course #2 it has to be intel, which is really a requirement of Snow Leopard.

Nate

[larkost]

Apple tends to have their people recommend that people create images on their newest hardware, but that is really to try and simplify the message going out. With InstaDMG I don’t think it matters what hardware you build on (if people find exceptions please tell me), but you do have to use “Combo” updates (InstaUp2Date will take care of that for you), and you have to make sure that the hardware you are targeting supports the “main line” of Apple’s current OS.

My one exception to my ambivalence about hardware is when it is new hardware that is not supported by the regular installers. Then I think if you are going to build an image for them that you should use the discs that came with them (not my usual insistance on “retail” or “reference” installers, but the grey ones that came in the box with the computers), and unfortunately you are not going to be able to use the InstaUp2Date vanilla catalog to help you.

To take the specific example of the new Mac minis and the newest iMacs: both shipped with a custom version of 10.6.3, and shipped on the same day as 10.6.4. So Apple had a custom version of 10.6.3 on them, and then built a special version of the 10.6.4 updater just for them (two different ones I believe). Because of this those two models (and presumably the Mac Pros that are on their way) will not be back in the “main line” of “regular” computers for images until at least 10.6.5. Presumably at that point everything will be back to normal and images will be back to being “universal”… until the next new hardware shipped, then that hardware will be need a new image for it.

[nobrainer]

I actually just ran into this too yesterday afternoon as well. Theoretically, I can replace the catalog file with the linked 10.6.4 update for the mini’s and not loose anything – but gain the mini support? What about if the person maintaining the script just updates to that update rather than the original? hen you won’t need to maintain separate builds and … stuff..

EDIT: As a note, we had problems with our netboot image as well, since it was never updated since 10.6.3 came out originally… so if you’re using an “old” netboot that will need to be updated too.

[golbiga]

Using the retail disc and then replacing the 10.6.4 combo updater with the Mac Mini will not work. Just get the spinning pinwheel. I have casper and I’m going to try one more thing. I’m going to use the Grey discs that came with it, install OS X on there and then try out their Modular build method. I’m praying this works, if not I’m just going to install OS X on it and then shut the machine off and then do the rest through Casper.

So now we’ll need a separate image for the Mac Mini, iMac and now new Mac Pro. At least until 10.6.5 comes out. This stuff really makes my head spin sometimes.

[nobrainer]

Just as a heads up, I was able to set the create a mini NBI by using the mini cd, layering the 10.6.4 off the catalog file and adding the 10.6.4 mini on top of it.

I was about to start the main image now.

[golbiga]

What were the steps in instadmg that you took to get this working?

Importdisk – 10.6.3 that came with the mini, then catalog with 10.6.4 and 10.6.4 mini?

[nobrainer]

pretty much, used the mini’s cd to import, then ran through insta up2date which had the original 10.6.4 update, then in 3rd party software I added the mini’s 10.6.4.

I just built the mini using casper, seemed to work as well..

[golbiga]

Thanks! That worked. Thanks again.

[Anthony Reimer]

FYI, it appears you can skip the intermediate 10.6.4 (non-mini) update if you are not using InstaUp2Date. I have created an InstaDMG workflow that has just the Mac mini (mid-2010) 10.6.3 disc image and the 10.6.4 mini-specific updater and have deployed it successfully to a Mac Pro (2006) and an iMac (24″ 2006) in addition to the current Mac mini. I also created a NetInstall Image (using DeployStudio) from this same simple image that successfully booted the aforementioned machines.

I’m not saying that this would be “best practice,” but it does seem to work.

[Author]

Posts