Install Aperture 2.0 on unsupported Macs

Mar 14, '08 07:30:00AM

Contributed by: liyang

I own a 12" PowerBook with a GeForce FX Go5200 graphics card. For whatever reason that I've yet to discover, Apple has declared the GeForce FX Go5200 'bad' as far as Aperture 2.0 is concerned, and attempting to install it results in the message: "Your video card does not meet the minimum requirements to run this software." By the time I figured this out, a copy of Aperture 2 was already enroute to my house...

Of course, there's always a workaround. The following instructions apply to the retail version, and should let you install Aperture on any type of Mac, not just the 12" PowerBook. I doubt Apple will provide support in this case, though. I'll leave it to you to figure out how to do the same for the downloadable trial.

Here's how I installed the retail version on my 12" PowerBook:

  1. Insert the DVD.
  2. Open Terminal.app, and type at the prompt:
    $ mkdir -p /tmp/aperture
    $ cp -r /Volumes/Aperture/{Aperture.mpkg,Packages} /tmp/aperture/
    $ open /tmp/aperture
    You should see Finder pop-up with the contents of /tmp/aperture
  3. Control-click on ApertureTrial.mpkg, select Show Package Contents from the pop-up menu, and navigate into the Contents folder.
  4. Open Aperture.dist using TextEdit.app.
  5. Search for this line:
    <installation-check script='installationCheck()'/>
    Insert a pair of <!-- and --> (HTML comment markers) in the appropriate places:
    <!--<installation-check script='installationCheck()'/>-->
  6. Save the file and close the editor.
  7. Go back to /tmp/aperture in the Finder, and double-click on Aperture.mpkg. It should install just fine.
After the installation is complete, you can remove the install files by typing the following into Terminal: rm -rf /tmp/aperture.

[robg adds: This hint is based on this blog post by the hint submitter. I have modified the formatting somewhat, and added some clarifying details to the pre-instructional text of the hint. I have not tested this one (but would be curious to know how well Aperture 2 runs on a 12" PowerBook).]

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Mac OS X Hints
http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=20080308153412349