I just got my hands on "XPC" which claims to be a newer, smarter way to boot os x, and a step closer to efi.

Test machine was my asus asus p5gc-mx/1333 running its internal gma950

The setup is straightforward once you have the files, an empty usb stick & a machine running windows. Running "makeusb d:" and dropping the boot rom file onto the root was all that was needed.

The bootloader is clearly based on duet:

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The device paths seem somewhat locked, whether they are hardcoded or for some other reason..

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It appears to be able to read HFS+

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At boot it clearly loads some patches, whether these are universal, selected, or generated IDK

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Inserting the retail DVD (I used 10.5.6) & hitting "enter" (which is pretty much all you can do with this thing) boots the retail DVD, quite neatly & smoothly, in verbose mode. Clearly the stick contains at least the decryption keys, if not the decryptor itself.

System Profiler shows Mac Pro:

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Extensions pane:

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this seems an interesting, if secretive initiative, and I'd love to know exactly how it works & what it can develop into.

as Joker said "Where does he get those wonderful toys?"

Very interesting. I may have to "have a fiddle" with this

I have the files if you want them.

apparently a new build is expected today.. I hope to get my greasy fingers in that, too..

in the meantime I can't help thinking that the boot device selector is locked or disabled rather than missing, as the duet shell can see all the other partitions just fine, but can't boot from them. I smell a closed project, which would be a bad thing, but early days yet.


Incidentally, several people have suggested that this could be recompiled to run in 64-bit...

OK, well with the eprom has been updated and works like magic on the above machine.. boot dvd, install OS, reboot, boot install ... profit (yes... for me, it will boot the first os x partition it comes across usb, dvd, hd.. whatever)

I think this is a "stop the clock" moment.. the boot/install dongle is here.

Hagar, would you be apposed to writing a step-by-step guide?

I was able to create the USB stick in windows, however it refuses to boot fully :\

my pleasure..

too tired to do the full thing now, but as a framework:


In Windows:
download:
http://h50178.www5.hp.com/local_drivers/17550/SP27608.exe HP usb format utility
http://rapidshare.com/files/208240813/bootsector.rar.html The main bootloader installer
http://www.mediafire.com/?jzoz1ymz1oz The eprom file I used
install the hp format util & format a usb stick to fat32 with it
unrar bootsector.rar, read the instructions. run cmd, and cd to where you unrar'ed it & type makeusb <driveletter of your stick>
unplug/replug the usb stick
unrar the eprom file & drop it onto your usb stick
put a retail DVD in the DVD drive & boot from the usb stick.. it should start the install DVD in verbose mode. if all goes well, you boot to the installer & can go on to installing
otherwise it's a case of finding out what's stopping it & fixing it by means of kexts, entries in the kext exclusion list (see instructions) dsdt.aml files or device property entries, all set up as files on the usb stick.
rinse, repeat, until it works
install,
reboot & remove the DVD from the drive, booting off the usb stick again
hopefully it should now boot your install.

alternatively you can do what I did.. put the uefi booter on a 512mb usb stick & write the retail disc to an 8gb usb stick and install off that..
to clone the retail dvd to a usb stick in windows,

download transmac
make a dmg image of the retail dvd in transmac
right-click the usb stick in the transmac browser & select "format with disc image" and select the .dmg you just made.

that'll have to do for now.

[edit]
new eprom file - haven't tried it. http://uploaded.to/?id=y4chj4

OMG!
i assume that it can load even the bootcamp efi module
it will suppress nooobs alltogether

PS. i hope in an efi module with the amd patcher! ;D

@hagar: any website for more infos?

just a quick update, that it now has a splash screen, a working boot selector, can use dsdt.aml, devprops.dat (with device property hex "efi strings"), extra kexts, it has a "built-in" smbios settings you can edit from the bootloader, and a built-in disabler that is configured from the file "kext-exclude.dat" on the stick.

major issues at the moment are with AHCI & USB2

latest news & info is always in #UEFI-Boot on irc.moofspeak.net the last release was v. 40h on last thursday (iirc)

OMG OMG OMG new version 0.42 with efi shell and refit and..and.. =D

omgomgomg

zomg! rotflolcopter! etc!

seriously tho, this thing sounds amazing...

Things have moved on a lot since this topic started and it's really time for a proper guide.. by someone closer to it than myself

it's been a whole month since last post in this topic, and no news at all from XPC project ...

Check the IRC channel for current news

#UEFI-Boot on moofspeak.net

The current news is: first successful boot into osx from standalone xpc bootloader uefi application | screenshot xpc default gui (90% ready) http://ul.to/ka0g5n

For whatever reason the original XPC announcement thread on insanely is gone now, and with it, lots of useful information.

Does anybody know if iPhoneTom has started a new thread somewhere in another forum?

He's building a new team to do new development work. Patience is the name of the game.

Thanks for the heads-up, that's great news.

New screenshot: http://img146.imageshack.us/i/other64bit2009061507280.png/

New news from the IRC "new build w/ gui available this week"

"DumpBS.efi (x86/x64) Tool: http://ul.to/vcbkux (DumpBS will write boot sector to HDD in future release)"[/url]

To be used used with the new XPC

is anyone else incredibly excited for snow leopard and hopefully the new xpc bootloader thats compatible with it?

Yes, this is the best bootloader yet

btw this is the first bootloader that boot's restored images on usb sticks

T

can't reach it, even using a proxy ...

could someone be kind enough to tell me what happens there, and which files are posted ?

edit: working again ...

XPC is not a "bootloader". Apple's boot.efi is the bootloader. XPC is an efi environment capable of loading boot.efi...

XPC should be referred to as an application or environment.

any word on when the new XPC environment will be released? i have my store bought copy of snow leopard patiently waiting to be installed.

What news under the project? Share who in course of events

hello everybody! Great news from IphoneTom today! posted on irc channel about new GUI version of XPC ver 0.50:



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wait..

news from iPhoneTom:
xpc gui tryout version
kext exclude editor fix
DumpBS.efi (x86/x64) Tool
windows efi install _not_ fixed yet

. . . wow: great news

No, it is not. It uses in no way Apples boot.efi.

Btw, i'm kind of tired to say this over and over again. So if you ppl not sure, please say nothing before saying this ^^

Thanks!

unfortunately, it doesn't boot to the GUI on my rig : I'm stuck with a blanck screen and a tiny underscore on its upper left side ...

doen't detect any partion on my gpt,efi partion is active and contain boot,extra etc.
Mac-Pro-mark:~ mark$ diskutil list
/dev/disk0
#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER
0: GUID_partition_scheme *500.1 GB disk0
1: EFI 209.7 MB disk0s1
2: Apple_HFS system 110.0 GB disk0s2
3: Apple_HFS other 389.5 GB disk0s

when plug another hdd with mbr,disk parions detected correctly.

How do one upgrade old xpc to a new one?
Is there no machine settings manager in new xpc, like smbios fix or kernel options?

[The project] is on hold until i completed house moving and vacations, so continue date is prolly end of this year, start of next year.