Filed under: Software, Hacks, How-tos
Install Front Row (with Bonjour) on any Mac
So
the new Mac minis are cool, and Front Row leveraging Bonjour is just plain smart. But what about the rest of us who
can't afford to go out and buy yet another shiny new Apple product?Behold: instructions for installing the latest version of Front Row (with Bonjour support) on just about any Mac that can run 10.4.5 and iLife '06. A friend of mine turned me onto these instructions, and along with his Salling Clicker-enabled mobile phone, he has a pretty nice Front Row remote setup going on his 12" PowerBook. From the instructions it sounds like the setup is pretty simple, but as usual: this isn't exactly supported or even condoned by Apple (and is illegal since you're basically stealing Front Row and putting it on a non-Front Row Mac), so you're kinda on your own in case something doesn't go as planned.
With all that said, enjoy (if you dare) the latest version of Bonjour-enabled Front Row for the rest of us.
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
D3LM3L said 1:13PM on 3-05-2006
That method actually has some VERY major bug(s).
Many people (including me) got non-functional menubars, and to fix that, you ahve to reinstall 10.4.5 using the combo updater.
If you're installing Front Row for the first time, install Front Row 1.0.1 first from his method (http://www.andrewescobar.com/archive/2005/11/30/Frontrow), and then install Front Row 1.2.1 using the Front Row 1.2.1.pkg INSIDE of the .mpkg you get from Apple.com using Pacifist, without any cracks.
If you're installing FR 1.2.1 on top of 1.0.1, then simply install it using Pacifist and THAT'S IT. Do NOT apply any cracks if you already have it working.
Good luck people, I hope I saved you a crashing menubar.
Reply
Mahalis said 1:24PM on 3-05-2006
Is it really illegal to download an official update from Apple's website? They make it freely available, and the "This version of Front Row requires a Mac with built-in IR receiver" thing is just a compatibility warning. There's no law against downloading updates that won't work, and if you happen to be able to get them working, lucky you.
Reply
Mitch Greenfield said 1:27PM on 3-05-2006
I installed this hack on Friday on a 12" PB and Mac MIni with no problems. Front Row is great! I have a Griffin Remote and its working well
Reply
Bjorgvin said 1:28PM on 3-05-2006
Be very careful with that update. It took away my menubar, so I had to re-install "Bezel" frameworks and restart.
I don't recommend installing this
Reply
Jumi said 1:41PM on 3-05-2006
I'll add to the disappearing menu items lament. Fixable, but nbot worth the hassle. stay away for now.
Reply
Jeff Barlow said 1:46PM on 3-05-2006
If Apple'd just make Front Available for free and encourage people to buy the remote, it would solve most of these problems.
Reply
Steve said 1:50PM on 3-05-2006
Totally agree with Jeff, even turns it into a money spinner for Apple.
Reply
singermornings said 1:50PM on 3-05-2006
Worked fine for me on a 1.67 PB.
Reply
bryan said 1:58PM on 3-05-2006
i had to install 10.4.5 again after trying this, but it worked the second time by foolowing the instructions but restarting not logging out
Reply
dalton said 2:00PM on 3-05-2006
It worked for me without the crashing menubar, thankfully. I put it on my G5 iMac and G4 iBook (both 10.4.5), and both work just fine. Front Row seems to perform better in the newer version.
I have installed older versions in the past, though, so maybe that's why I was in the clear?
Reply
Anna said 2:02PM on 3-05-2006
I installed this on top of the original FrontRow hack on my powerbook 1.67GHz, and it works great. I tried it on my husband's G4 which didn't have the original FrontRow. I just copied the FR app from from powerbook over to his Applications folder, then did the install. Works wonderfully. We're now mulling over the possibilities, like getting a new Mac mini as a media server connected to the living room plasma TV. Then we can access all the programs from the other computers. Now if we can only get the damned DVR functionality going....
Reply
gs said 2:47PM on 3-05-2006
I just tried on a G5 but keep getting a popup:
'Application SystemUIServer quit unexpectedly"
EXC_BAD_INSTRUCTION (0x0002)
0x00000002
Thread 0 Crashed:
0 BSRemoteControlFeatureAvailable + 140
1 0x1000 + 7556
2 0x1000 + 6544
3 0x1000 + 4920
So it's looking for an ir to read from, which ain't here...
Reply
Q said 3:02PM on 3-05-2006
All these people who lost their memory bars seem to share one thing in common judging by this thread as well as ones relating to pacifist... That being that the posters did not follow the directions step for step. I performed this operation on more than one mac and haven't seen any problems. I guess lesson learned if you had to re-install via the combo update, maybe next time RTFM.
Reply
Ben said 3:05PM on 3-05-2006
I tried this on my BRAND NEW iBook G4 and it removed my menu bar and didn't work. I followed the instructions exactly, and am very peeved. I'm downloading the 10.4.5 combo update to try to remedy, but DONT' DOWNLOAD THIS.
Reply
Ryan said 3:24PM on 3-05-2006
This broke my menu bar. I followed the instructions to the letter, and I lost Spotlight completely. Installing the combo update didn't work, and I had to reinstall the entire OS to get Spotlight back. Don't do it!
Reply
Tomm said 3:40PM on 3-05-2006
Like many, many people, I had the same problem with losing my menu applets. I installed this a few days ago when there was no fix for it, and I was very stuck. Anyway, the problem arises if you have already got a patched version of Frontrow on your computer. So be very careful if you do.
However, you certainly don't have to install OS X. There is a relatively easy fix. It took me a while to find, but only a few minutes to execute. If anyone runs into trouble, go here:
http://voice.firefallpro.com/
Download the zip, and follow the instructions to the letter. That worked for me (The combo update thing from Apple.com didn't). You can then re-install the frontrow hack as per the instructions, if you're not already totally pissed off at the hack.
Reply
Shane said 3:42PM on 3-05-2006
Bonjour is great. I just wish the shared music was combined with the standard library, rather then having to select 'Shared Music'
Shane
Reply
Tommy said 4:20PM on 3-05-2006
WHAT A WASTE OF TIME... DO NOT USE... WILL MESS YOUR MENUBAR AMONG OTHER THINGS UPS
Reply
TC said 4:34PM on 3-05-2006
You lot dont know what you are doing! This is fine and wont kill your machine. I ran it on my powerbook, no probs at all. Ran it on my mac mini, but rushed it and lost the menubar icons like otehres have stated. I think its because I ran teh crack twice and then front row wouldnt work. But it is v easy to remedy without any bother. Its just two files that need replacing and then you run the front row patch again.
Worked fine for me. I have now done this on all 5 macs in our house and everyone is running fine.
Anybody know how to get a 3rd party ir port to work with an apple remote?
Reply
Reg said 5:44PM on 3-05-2006
Having done this when Front Row first appeared last year, and having now got an iMac Core Duo with it built-in, I can say the genuine experience is MUCH better than the hacked one.
1) the Apple Remote (infrared) works much better than a Bluetooth phone + Salling Clicker
2) the real thing is more responsive
3) continuous button scrolling works properly
4) the Apple Remote can be used to put the computer to sleep AND wake it again
5) you don't need to constantly worry about it breaking after a system update and needing half an hour of repatching, etc
Reply