In Mac OS, kext files are "kernel extension" files.
Kext files are usually device drivers used by peripheral devices. They are primarily found in the /System/Library/Extensions folder.
Some well-known kext files that you may encounter while setting up your SL VM includes:
- AppleIntelCPUPowerManagement.kext
As its name says, this kext file is for CPU power management, using Intel CPU's SpeedStep technology. I know that if we are installing Mac OS X on PC (not using VM software), the PC needs to have High Precision Event Timer (HPET) available. However, kernel panic will occur during boot up.
Searching the changelog of VirtualBox v3.2.0, we can see that there is an item called "Added support for virtual high precision event timer (HPET)". Need to find out more about this.
- NullCPUPowerManagement.kext
Installing this kext file will turn off the CPU power management function. At this moment, we have to install this kext file in our VM (unless you boot up your VM by using the EmpireEFI disc).
- fakesmc.kext
This is an open source kext files released by Nekas. It emulates SMC (System Management Control) device, removing the need for a decrypter kext, as the information required for the "Don't Steal Mac OS X.kex" to decrypt necessary files is provided through SMC emulation.- Note: this fakesmc.kext is no longer required under VM 3.2.x. See this article for more information.
- Note: this fakesmc.kext is no longer required under VM 3.2.x. See this article for more information.
- AppleAC97Audio.kext
This is the VirtualBox ICH AC97 Audio Driver for Mac OS X 10.5.x/10.6.x released by OmegaX. At this moment, this audio driver is working great for some people. However, there are reported cases saying the there are interruptions for the audio. There are also cases where there is only sound in one of the audio channel.