Installing Snow Leopard on the Asus 1201N netbook (Sound now improved using AppleHDA instead of VoodooHDA!

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This guide created

by mosslack hackintosh1@comcast.net

For best results, initial installation should be performed using only the system memory which came with your unit. Adding more memory can take place after you have installed the system. Also the BIOS should be set to default settings prior to OS installation.
(Note: If you plan to dual boot Windows 7 and OS X, you might want to consult this guide first so as to setup your hard drive correctly.) This guide will show you how to install Snow Leopard onto the internal hard drive of your Asus 1201N netbook. Most everything works except the wifi. The wifi can be made to work by swapping the internal PCIe card with a Dell 1510 card available at many places on the web, including Ebay. To keep up with the latest developments on what is working and what is not, be sure to check this thread regularly. Special note: This guide assumes you have basic skills, you know how to copy and paste files, etc. If this is not the case then you probably should not attempt this. You have been warned! Items Needed: (Note: this list is provided, complete with links, as these are known to work with the 1201N and this guide, no substitutions unless noted!) Asus 1201N netbook (Currently available at several online outlets) Retail Snow Leopard DVD (available from Amazon.com among others) An 8 Gb or larger bootable USB flash drive prepared using this guide or similar. This version of the NetbookBootMaker Snow Leopard 10.6.4 Combo Update 1201N install files here. (Special notes)

(1) For the following procedure, a system running 10.6.x should be used to keep the install files consistent. There have been reports of problems from those preparing the USB flash drive using systems running 10.5.x, so just a word to the wise. (2) For those who don't have access to an actual Mac or Hack system to do this next step, you can use Snow Leopard running on a VM in Windows to accomplish this. Instructions here.

Step 1 - Before ejecting the flash drive from the system you prepared it on, run the NetbookBootMaker choosing the flash drive as the target. This will install the correct boot files to the flash drive so it will be able to boot the Asus 1201N and install Snow Leopard on it. Once it is finished, eject the flash drive. Note: Before the next step, make sure you have any files you wish to save from the hard drive backed up as the hard drive will be erased in the next steps. Step 2 - Insert the prepared flash drive into a USB slot on the Asus 1201N and power on the unit. Press F2 to go into the BIOS section. Press F9 to load the Setup Defaults. Select OK. Press F10 to Save configuration changes and exit now. Select OK. 2a - When the system restarts, press ESC at the first screen to go to the boot menu. Choose the flash drive as the boot device and press Enter. Step 3 - After a short time, you should be presented with the language choice screen for the installer. 3a - Go to the Utilities menu and choose Disk Utility. 3b - Select the internal hard drive and press Partition to reformat the hard drive for use in Snow Leopard. 3c - However you decide to partition your hard drive, the first partition needs to be for Snow Leopard and must be formatted as Mac OS Extended (Journaled). 3d - Be sure to click the Options button and select the GUID Partition Table and then press Apply. Close Disk Utility after the drive has been partitioned. Step 4 - Once back at the Installer, follow the prompts and be sure to choose the Snow Leopard partition you just setup as the location to install OS X. 4a - After doing this, click the Customize button and select which options you want or don't want to install. 4b - Click Install when you are finished and sit back and wait for the system to be installed. It is normal with this install for the time to go down to a certain point, (7-11 minutes remaining is common) and just stop there. As long as the

progress bar is very near the end and has stopped moving, it is safe to go ahead and reboot. 4c - You will have to manually press and hold the power button when the screen goes dark as the system is not yet setup to shutdown and restart. Step 5 - Power up the Asus 1201N, again hitting ESC and choosing the USB flash drive. 5a - This time when the gui boot menu appears, press the space bar and then cursor over to select the hard drive you just installed Snow Leopard onto and press Enter. 5b - Once the opening video plays, just follow the prompts to finish setting up Snow Leopard. Step 6 - Once at the desktop, the first order of business is to move all of the current files in /Extra folder to the trash. You will have to enter your password for this operation. Step 7 - Run the 1201N installer package v4 which was in the install files you just downloaded. Make sure the target is your newly prepared Snow Leopard hard drive. (Be sure to substitute the correct DSDT.AML file for your installed memory size in the /Extra folder.) Step 8 - Install and run Kext Utility, also included with the install files. Step 9 - Install the 10.6.4 combo update which you can transfer over on a flash drive. Reboot when prompted. At this point, the basic system install is complete. You can now download any minor updates you wish, or continue with the Optional Installs below.
** VERY SPECIAL NOTE - THE FOLLOWING UPDATES ARE ONLY FOR THOSE WHO HAVE USED MY GUIDE & FILES (above) TO INSTALL SNOW LEOPARD ** (Your results may vary if you did not use my guide to install Snow Leopard on your 1201N - You have been warned!)

For those who are currently at 10.6.2, here is the update to 10.6.3:

1. Remove SleepEnabler.kext from the /Extra/Extensions folder.

2. Run kext utility 3. Apply 10.6.3 update 4. Reboot 5. Download the 10.6.3 version of SleepEnabler.kext here and install it in the /Extra/Extensions folder. Be sure to run Kext Utility to rebuild the kext cache and repair permissions after the kext has been installed. For those currently at 10.6.3, here is the update procedure for 10.6.4:
1. Copy the com.apple.Boot.plist file from the /Extra folder to the desktop and open the file on the desktop. 1a. Find the section which reads: <key>Kernel Flags</key> <string>arch=i386</string> And add this "pmVersion=20" to the second line, so it will look like this: <key>Kernel Flags</key> <string>arch=i386 pmVersion=20</string> Note: Be sure to include a space between "arch=i386" and "pmVersion=20" or else the command switch will not work. 1b. Save the file and then copy it from the desktop back to the /Extra folder. You have to type in your password for this and agree to replace the current file. 2. Run the delta update to 10.6.4 using software update or running the update file from the desktop. Reboot when prompted. 3. If you experience any KP on the restart, you may need to remove VoodooHDA.kext from the /S/L/E folder. You can boot via a backup and remove

the file that way. Once you have rebooted into the newly updated 10.6.4 partition, you can simply reinstall VoodooHDA.kext using Kext Utility.

OPTIONAL INSTALLS
SOUND: To get sound working, drag the AppleHDA.kext to the Kext Utility icon to install it. Next drag the IOAudioFamily.kext to the Kext Utility icon to install it. Restart once these two kext have been installed. ETHERNET: To enable the onboard ethernet connector, drag the AtherosL1cEthernet.kext to the Kext Utility icon to install it. Reboot. 3GB or 4GB RAM: For users who wish to upgrade the system RAM to 3 or 4 Gb, the DSDT.AML file (Located in the /Extra folder), needs to be replaced with the one included with the install files. Just delete the one which is currently in the /Extra folder and put the 3 or 4 Gb version in it's place. Shutdown, install the new RAM chips, Reboot. Asus HotKeys kext: To install this kext, simply copy it to the /Extra/Extensions folder and then run Kext Utility. Reboot. BlueTooth Fix: To install this kext (BroadcomUSB270injector.kext), simply drag it to the Kext Utility icon. Reboot when finished. This allows you to turn the BT on and off.

<+> SPECIAL NOTE: IF YOUR TRACKPAD AND/OR KEYBOARD DOES NOT WORK, YOU NEED TO RUN KEXT UTILITY TO FIX IT <+> Additional information
Here is a disassemble guide for a Eee PC 1201N which can be used for those who want to change the hard drive and/or PCI-e wlan card. This guide is fully illustrated and annotated. Thanks to vince22, here are 4 photos of the inside of the 1201N. Click on each thumbnail to view full-sized image:

And thanks to Peter Haas, we have these as well:

Keyboard removed >

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