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How to Build Your Own Hackintosh

Roberto Baldwin — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 11:30:00 -0500

OS X is out there. You’ve seen it in coffee shops, on TV, in the laps of hipsters at the local taqueria. There‘s no shame in wondering what all the fuss is about. Hell, it’s healthy to mix it up a little bit. If only the idea of sending Steve Jobs and the rest of Apple, Inc. thousands of your hard-earned dollars didn’t send you into a cold sweat that only a game of Left4Dead can cure. Still, OS X is the subject of many glowing reviews. Even hardcore PC users are singing its praises. If you have the itch to try out OS X, but you’re not down with shelling out the cash for a new Mac, we have one word for you: Hackintosh.

When Apple announced the move to Intel processors for its computer lineup, the search was on for a practical way to install OS X on non-Apple hardware. Over the years, the best way to achieve this feat was to patch a retail version of the OS X install from Apple. Users would scour the Internet for the patches—always hoping that what they downloaded was indeed the correct patch, and not some virus or trojan horse ready to wreck havoc on their PCs.

But these days the quest for OS X needn’t be so perilous. Read on to see how an inventive little USB device can let you easily dual boot OS X on non-Apple hardware, using a legitimate copy of OS X.

The Heart of the Hackintosh

The EFI-X USB dongle ultimately makes our Hackintosh possible, but your other PC components matter as well

EFI-X USB Dongle

The EFI-X dongle ($235, http://efixna.com) is the Hackintosh builder’s dream. The device, which plugs into a motherboard’s USB port, works by creating a full EFI environment inside a tiny USB microcomputer. EFI, or Extensible Firmware Interface, was created by Intel to replace the aging BIOS on PCs. Apple’s Unix-based Macs use EFI instead of BIOS. The EFI-X gives users the ability to run EFI-based and BIOS-based operating systems on one machine.

The module contains the hardware drivers of all the equipment on its hardware list. The EFI-X bootloader screen gives you the option to pick which operating system you would like to load at startup. Once you have OS X installed on your machine, the EFI-X must be connected to your machine at all times. If you want to build two Hackintosh systems, you need to purchase two EFI-X dongles.

The EFI-X isn’t without its drawbacks. You can’t just throw any hardware in a tower and start playing with iChat and Final Cut Pro. You need to be sure you use only hardware that has pre-installed drivers on the EFI-X. EFI-X has a complete list of compatible hardware on its site; below we tell you the parts we chose.

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo

Like the current Macs on the market, the EFI-X works with Intel Core 2 processors. AMD fanboys can complain about Intel’s market share, its lack of innovation, and aggressive plots to remove all its competitors until the cows come home—it’s not going to change the fact that you can’t build a Hackintosh with an AMD CPU. In our machine we used a 2.67GHz Intel Core 2 Duo.

Motherboard: DFI P45

Because the EFI-X comes with pre-installed drivers for hardware, the list of compatible motherboards is necessarily limited. EFI-X supports Gigabyte P35, P45, and X48 chipset boards, with support for Gigabyte X58 boards reportedly coming soon. Or you can choose from one of two DFI P45 chipset motherboards. We went with DFI’s LanParty DK P45-T2RS Plus ($160 street, www.dfi.com.tw).

Videocard: GeForce 9800 GTX

To help you see all your beautiful OS X goodness on screen, ATI and Nvidia cards are supported by the EFI-X. While EFI-X supports the ATI Radeon HD 3870 and Radeon HD 2600 XT cards, ATI knows that Apple is best buds with Nvidia and cautions that ongoing support of these cards is uncertain. Compatible Nvidia cards include the 7000, 8800, and 9800 series graphic cards. We went with a two-year-old PNY XLR8 GeForce 9800 GTX ($140 street, www.nvidia.com) because it’s cheap and readily available.

Storage: Seagate 1.5TB

We initially started our project with a SATA hard drive and an IDE optical drive. The EFI-X kept hanging on the OS X install disc, so we switched over to a SATA optical drive and that solved the problem. In order to build a multi-OS machine you’ll need a SATA HDD for each OS. We installed OS X Leopard on a 1.5TB drive and Windows Vista on a 1.5TB drive. If we plan on adding another OS, we’ll have to throw another SATA drive in our rig. Partitions and Apple’s Boot Camp don’t work with the EFI-X device.

It Takes Two to Tango

Your Hackintosh will be a dual-boot machine, meaning it will run both Windows and OS X. We recommend installing whatever flavor of Windows you prefer before beginning your journey into the world of Mac. We attempted several OS install scenarios and found the path of “regular Windows install, followed by Hackintosh” yielded the best results. We installed Windows Vista in our machine, against the warning of Justin Long.

Now, even if you hate Apple, Inc. with all your heart and soul, you need to purchase a retail copy of OS X ($130, www.apple.com) for every machine you install it on. If you plan on making Macs and/or Hackintoshes a family affair, you can purchase a family pack for $200 for use on five machines. Apple doesn’t require validation codes or a call in to their HQ for verification. Please don’t abuse Apple’s trusting nature.

Building the Hackintosh

Follow these steps to get OS X up and running on your PC

Before we begin, we need to chat about the law and EULAs. Installing OS X on non-Apple hardware, while probably not technically illegal, does violate Apple’s End User License Agreement (EULA). Will Apple hunt you down and kidnap your pets until you remove OS X from your Hackintosh? It’s unlikely.

Apple isn’t too concerned with the little guy tinkering with his computer, and will have a pretty challenging time tracking you down if you go out and purchase a legal copy of OS X for your project. On the other hand, if you want to base a business around building Hackintoshes, expect a visit from Apple’s crack team of lawyers.

With that out of the way, let’s start building. We’ll give you specific instructions for the DFI board we used; if you’re using a different (but compatible) motherboard, you’ll need to adapt our instructions for your hardware.

1. Install the EFI-X Dongle

The EFI-X dongle is the secret sauce that makes OS X think your awesome PC is a craptacular, but Apple-approved Mac. Think of the EFI-X module as Clark Kent’s glasses—when they’re on, no one has a clue that he’s Superman. Installation is simple, you just need to plug the EFI-X into a vacant USB header on your motherboard. The dongle comes with an extension cable if you have trouble squeezing the device in between the other components on your rig. Make sure to avoid plugging the dongle into the FireWire header—that would torch your $250 device.

2. Configure the BIOS

Next up, we need to adjust BIOS settings to work with the EFI-X device and the OS X installer. Rather than list a series of options and the correct settings, we’re going to just show the appropriate BIOS screens, with everything set to the correct settings, and we’ll note anything you need to tweak on sub-screens. But, before you can do that, you’ll need to enter the BIOS by mashing the Del key as your PC boots.

Standard CMOS Features

Enter the Standard CMOS Features screen. Navigate to Halt On, press Enter, and select All, But Keyboard. Press Enter to accept your bold new setting and then Esc to return to the Main BIOS screen.

Integrated Peripherals

Navigate to the Integrated Peripherals option, and then to the OnChip IDE Device screen. For SATA Mode, choose IDE. The EFI-X doesn’t support RAID. AHCI should be turned off during the install process. You can turn it back on after you’ve finished the install. Press Enter to save your settings.

Next, navigate to LEGACY Mode Support, select Enabled and press Enter to save your setting. For the Onboard JMB363 option, select Native IDE and press Enter.

Press Esc to return to the Integrated Peripherals main screen.

USB Devices

While still in the Integrated Peripherals screen, navigate to the USB Device Setting page and hit Enter. Make sure the controllers and functions are all enabled. Navigate to USB Mass Storage Device Boot Settings.

You should see the EFiX Booting Device 1.0 option. Select it and press Enter. Select the HDD Mode option and press Enter to save your setting.

Advanced BIOS Settings

From the main BIOS screen navigate to the Advanced BIOS Settings option and press Enter. Select Hard Disk Boot Priority. Move the USB-HDD0 : EFiX Booting Device to the top of the list by selecting it and pressing the plus (+) button until it’s on the top of the heap. Smack Esc to return to the Advanced BIOS Settings main screen.

Navigate to the First Boot Device. Select CDROM from the list of boot devices. Press Enter to save your setting. Change the Second Boot Device to Hard Disk using the same method. Press Esc to return to the glory of the main BIOS screen.

Power Management

Navigate to the Power Management Setup screen. Go to ACPI Function, select Enabled and press Enter to save your choice.
Navigate to ACPI Suspend Type, Select S3(STR), and press Enter. Press Esc to return to the main BIOS screen.

Navigate to Save & Exit Setup and press Enter. The machine will now reboot with all your new BIOS settings. It’s almost go-time with your Hackintosh.

3. The EFI-X Bootloader

When your machine reboots, you should see “EFIX V1 Loading Please Wait” on the screen. If you don’t see this text on your screen, you’ve totally screwed up. Don’t go blaming us—just reboot, begin mashing the Del key to enter the BIOS, and double-check your settings.

If you do see the “EFIX V1 Loading…” text, way to go. The EFI-X Bootloader screen will appear. You will be presented with what looks like trash cans from the future. Don’t be alarmed if the trash cans have an X or Window icon on them. Even if you haven’t installed an OS on your drives yet, the EFI-X recognizes the format of the SATA drives attached to the rig. You may see two Windows choices; don’t worry. Once you reformat one of the drives to Mac OS Extended (Journaled), it’ll have X on it. For now, just ignore those glowing trash cans with company logos and choose the trash can with DVD on it to access your OS X install disc. Press Enter.

4. Installing and Configuring OS X

If all goes to plan, you should see a startup screen. It’s different from the usual OS X startup screen. Don’t worry, that’s the EFI-X startup screen. As long as it doesn’t hang, you’re doing fine. While installing, if your SATA drive is formatted FAT, you’re going to have to reformat it to Mac OS Extended (Journaled). Don’t worry, the OS X installer is pretty much idiot-proof; it will warn you if the drive is formatted incorrectly. If it is formatted FAT, select Options, and a drop-down menu will appear with Mac OS Extended (Journaled) already selected. Click Erase. Be careful not to nuke your Windows.

You’ll get a green arrow on your hard drive signifying it’s ready for OS X. You will also be warned that your data will be erased on that drive. Make sure you don’t have anything on that drive you’ll need later, like your vast database of Caprica Six images or your banking information. Click Continue.

Now take a deep breath. You’re about to do something that’s a little crazy. Click Install on the next screen, and away we go. You have about 30 to 45 minutes while the installer does its magic, so go grab a bite to eat or wash your hands to get all that icky OS X install pixie dust off of them.

After you’ve installed OS X, you have to fill out the Apple setup/registration form. Whatever name you choose at this point will be the name of your user account on your Mac. Entering “Amanda Huginkis” will definitely come back to haunt you here. You’ll also be prompted for a password and information regarding your network. OS X takes all the information you enter to configure your computer’s settings. Even the registration page information will be used to identify you in the OS X Address Book app. Just do what Mac users have been doing forever: once the setup asks for you to actually register, choose the Register Later option. Steve already knows too much about us.

Your desktop will now shine brightly with the glimmer of the Leopard desktop image. Take it in. It’s OK, no one is going to hurt you. Leopard is your friend.

5. Updating OS X

Now, the moment of truth—updating OS X on your Hackintosh. Remember, Hackintoshes with patched kernels are unable to be updated. It’s their Kryptonite. But the EFI-X allows you to update your Hackintosh because it’s fooling OS X into believing it’s a legit Mac. We recommend applying all the updates available, as there are some significant fixes between 10.5 and 10.5.6. You can apply updates by choosing the Apple Menu in the upper-left corner of the menu bar. Choose Software Update. A window will pop up with the available updates Apple thinks you need. Click Install.

OS X Leopard downloads updates and then asks to be restarted so it can install updates without interruption from applications and processes. When you click Restart, the computer will display a light-blue screen and will begin the installation process. Don’t worry, this is normal. The machine will restart once it’s finished installing. You may have to do this a few times to get all the updates available.

Now that your Hackintosh is updated to the most recent Apple goodness, it’s time to check out the specs of your new machine. Go to the Apple in the top-left of the menu bar and select About This Mac in the drop-down. You’ll see the processor and the amount of RAM in your rig. For even more information, click More Info.... The System Profiler will give you all the information you need about your machine. If your machine is giving you any problems, this is a good place to see which startup items are causing issues or to make sure your USB Device Tree is recognizing a device. Most peripherals are plug-and-play with OS X, but not all. A quick Internet search will usually find the drivers you need. Just like with a PC, but with an added touch of smugness.

The Care and Feeding of Your Hackintosh

Now that you’ve entered the strange and exciting new world of OS X, here are a few tips to a happy OS X experience

Disk Utility

If your machine is acting wonky, check out the Disk Utility, found in Applications > Utilities. From there you can repair disk
permissions and repair disks that have are having issues. If you’re curious about how you defrag within OS X, not to worry—OS X defrags drives overnight.

Installing Apps

Many applications are just drag-and-drop. Yes, it sounds crazy, but all you have to do is drop the app into the Applications folder and, bam, it’s installed.

Right Click

There’s a rumor out there that OS X doesn’t have right-click capability. But actually, OS X has had the ability to use a two-button mouse since its inception. Just plug in your favorite two-button mouse and carry on.

Terminal

OS X is a Unix-based system. If you feel like messing around with the innards of OS X, go to Applications > Utilities, where you’ll find the Terminal app. Brush up on your Unix commands and start tinkering.

Keyboard Shortcuts

If you’re using a Windows keyboard with OS X, you’ll use the Windows key (the one with the Windows logo) instead of the Ctrl key as the basis for your keyboard shortcuts. For example, Windows+S to save. All the most common functions such as copy, cut, paste, new, print, etc., use the same letter as in Windows (C, X, V, N, P, respectively). If you have a Mac keyboard lying around, you’ll be using the Cmd key for keyboard shortcuts.

System Preferences

It’s the OS X version of the Control Panel in Windows. In System Preferences you’ll find Networking, Security, Accounts, and other preferences for OS X. When in doubt, you can use the search field in the upper-left corner to find what you’re looking for.

"RussianMac" to Enter Dubiously-Lucrative Mac Ripoff Market

Andy Salisbury — Wed, 27 May 2009 17:00:34 -0500

RussianMac is the latest company ballsy enough to tempt fate, and enter the fake Mac market.

On their site, they state that all of their machines come with a full version of Mac OS X Leopard pre-installed. They also state that the operating system will be able to receive automatic updates from Apple once everything has been installed. However, Apple has been able to dominate the Mac market because the OS X End User License Agreement (EULA), which clearly states that no one may install their software on hardware that hasn’t been sold by Apple. This clause has successfully shut down the entire Mac clone market.

But, in a twist, RussianMac claims that since they have bought the OS directly from Apple, they’re not in violation of the EULA (though, they are yet to explain how they’ve installed it on Apple’s hardware). It should be noted that the German company PearC was able to use that defense in order to sell machines in Germany, so perhaps this defense could work in Russia as well?

Image Credit: RussianMac

Psystar Scores Rare Win in Legal Battle against Apple

Pulkit Chandna — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 18:32:38 -0600

Legally besieged Mac clone maker Psystar has registered its first legal victory against Apple. U.S District Court Judge William Alsup has given the permission necessary for Psystar to continue its countersuit. The judge lent his assent to those revisions to the countersuit that had been suggested by Psystar after its antitrust charges against Apple were dismissed in November 2008.

Now Apple will have to defend itself against charges pertaining to copyright misuse. “Moreover, if established, misuse would bar enforcement (for the period of misuse) not only as to defendants who are actually party to the challenged license but also as to potential defendants not themselves injured by the misuse who may have similar interests,” Alsup said on Friday. The court’s latest fiat has rekindled Psystar’s hopes of surviving its legal ordeal upon which its actual survival hinges.

Image Credit: Gizmodo

Network Firm Files Lawsuit against Microsoft, Apple and Google Over Thumbnails

Pulkit Chandna — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 14:09:40 -0600

Cygnus Systems, a Michigan-based networking firm, has filed a lawsuit against Microsoft, Apple, and Google, for the alleged infringement of a patent that it owns. The patent in question pertains to the use of thumbnails in operating systems. Cygnus has issues with the use of thumbnails in Vista, OS X, Google Chrome, Microsoft Internet Explorer 8, Safari and the Apple iPhone.

According to papers filed in a U.S District Court in Arizona, the patent pertains to "methods and systems for accessing one or more computer files via a graphical icon, wherein the graphical icon includes an image of a selected portion or portions of one or more computer files." The patent was awarded to the company as recently as March, 2008.

If it is able to make its case successfully, a windfall awaits Cygnus as it has two of the leading operating systems, three of the major web browsers and the insanely popular iPhone in its crosshairs.

Greenpeace Unimpressed by "World's Greenest Family of Notebooks"

Pulkit Chandna — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 17:32:15 -0600

Apple is finding it extremely difficult to avoid being in Greenpeace’s cross hairs. Nearly a year ago, Greenpeace branded the iPhone as “toxic”. Now, the organization has flayed Apple’s pompous claim that its Macbook line of notebooks are the greenest there are.

The Macbook range of notebooks scored a highly disappointing 4.3 out of a possible 10 points on the organization’s green index. Greenpeace did laud Apple, though very frugally, for doing away with bromide flame-retardants and other toxic plastics. But it clearly believes that Apple should take more steps to substantiate its towering claims.

Greenpeace has put the ball in Apple’s court by asking it “to commit to phasing out additional substances with timelines, improve its policy on chemicals and its reporting on chemicals management.”

Psystar Shipping Mac Clone with Blu-ray, 9800GT

Pulkit Chandna — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 20:33:43 -0500

Psystar, a leading Mac clone manufacturer, has stolen a march on Apple by launching the very first OS X-compatible PCs outfitted with Blu-ray drives and GeForce 9800GT graphics cards. Psystar president Rudy Pedraza lampooned Apple, in a press release, for having still not embraced Blu-ray despite the fact that it has already won the HD format war.

He heavily extolled Blu-ray, which he believes is a huge asset for media editing professionals and enterprises - a demographic that Psystar can now serve.

Psystar is certainly trying its best to get under the skin of Apple whose patience must be wearing thin. Around a fortnight ago, Apple and Psystar agreed to an “Alternative Dispute Resolution”. Prior to that, in July, Apple had slapped a lawsuit against Psystar. The latter soon returned the favor by filing a lawsuit of its own against Apple.

Microsoft (Quietly) Launches PC Advisor Repair Utility. Going After Apple Next?

Will Smith — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 10:00:00 -0500

This weekend, Microsoft quietly rolled out a preview release of the Microsoft PC Advisor to select members of the Windows Feedback Program. (Members of the Windows Feedback Program agree to let Microsoft monitor their machines closely, and Microsoft uses that data to determine what types of problems real users experience.) The invitation to try out the PC Advisor made some intriguing promises—the app will monitor our PC for problems and give solutions in real time and it will monitor system settings for potential pitfalls. The survey that preceded our download was even more interesting, it hinted that Microsoft's ultimate goal for the new app is complete Apple domination.

Before we get into the nitty gritty of how PC Advisor works, it’s worth talking about the signup process. Before we could download and install the app, we had to fill out a brief, ten-minute survey. That’s not unusual in and of itself, but the questions we were asked were definitely non-standard. In addition to the typical “What kind of computer do you have?” and “What’s your expertise level?” questions that usually precede entry into Microsoft software betas, this survey asked a bevy of questions about our Linux and OS X predilections. Questions included “How many Apple computers do we own?” “How likely we are to recommend PCs running Windows, OS X, and Linux?” and “How do Windows and OS X make you feel?” Additionally, the PC Advisor preview only works with Vista. It seems like the PC Advisor may be part of Microsoft’s master plan to improve PC users’ confidence in Windows as a platform.

On to the software. The invitation email we received said that the Microsoft PC Advisor will:

Monitor your PC for problems and give you solutions in real-time to fix them.
Keep your PC running smoothly with important software and driver updates
Optimize your Windows experience with useful tips and tutorials
Optimize your PC by monitoring and updating settings

To these points, the PC Advisor includes five main sections: PC Checkup, Toolbox, Offers, Tutorials, and Online Help. We’ll go over each one separately.

PC Checkup

The centerpiece of the PC Advisor app is the PC Checkup tool. It scans for common (and not so common) problems. We tested the Checkup tool on three machines, and most of the “problems” it found weren’t really problems—disabling UAC is the solution to a problem and switching the power profile doesn’t impact game performance on most desktop machines. Other suggestions were to empty the temporary Internet files (Firefox is the primary browser, so this is a non-tip), enable the Phishing filter in IE (ditto), and turn the Windows Firewall. It didn’t find the simple fix for a game crash that’s plagued us recently—our videocard drivers were two revisions out of date. After we manually updated them from Nvidia’s website, our crashes disappeared. While we do appreciate the app pointing out that the shortcut for the Disk Cleanup Wizard points to the wrong version on our install of 64-bit Vista, this isn’t a problem that keeps us up at night.

When you choose to fix a problem that the PC Checkup tool finds, you click the Fix button, the app downloads the fix from the Internet, and automatically applies it, without any additional input from the user. Don’t want to install an update? Simple enough—click the trashcan icon, and you won’t be bothered again.

The user experience is a definite improvement over some of the repair tools built into Vista, but the actual fixes are of pretty low value. It bodes well for the future of helpdesk staff and PC repairmen everywhere, but we’ve never actually seen a PC repair application that will solve anything more than the most insignificant problems. We wouldn’t expect a simple mass-market application to troubleshoot overclocking problems, but we do expect it to notify us that our drivers are out of date.

Toolbox

Every nerd loves digging into a Toolbox, right? We usually do, but not in this case. The PC Advisor’s toolbox is nothing more than a list of shortcuts to convenient and frequently accessed areas of your PC’s Control Panel. We didn’t have enough ways to access the Display settings Control Panel, did we? Hopefully, the relatively useless links here are simply a placeholder for something more useful.

Offers

As of Sunday afternoon, there aren’t any offers. We’re not sure exactly what kind of offers we’d expect in an app like this, but we’ll report back when something pops up.

Tutorials

The tutorials section seems to be another interface to expose users to content that’s already hidden on their PCs. The tutorials here cover everything from updating Firewall settings to removing redeye using Windows Photo Gallery. Most of these tutorials are also found by going through the traditional help menus in the relevant apps.

Online Help

Another placeholder, but the online help section contains but a single link to the support.microsoft.com.

The Upshot

Like we said in the beginning, the sole reason to install this app is the PC Checkup tool. The rest of the menu options are either pointers to existing applications, control panels, or help content, or mere placeholders. While the PC Checkup functionality could deliver some interesting functionality, especially if it develops the ability to suss out real PC problems, right now it just offers the kind of non-fixes for non-problems that all other “PC Repair” utilities we’ve tested do. Of course, for eligible testers, this app is free—most of those apps cost $30-$50 and do the exact same thing: nothing.

Editor's Note: We added "(Quietly)" to the headline, because we were concerned that readers might inadvertently believe that this is a public release of a new application, instead of a "Preview" release for members of the Windows Experience Project.

Open Tech Enters the Legally Perilous Mac-Clone Market

Pulkit Chandna — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 14:35:23 -0500

OS X has remained an Apple fiefdom and any attempts at liberating the OS have been frowned upon by the company. Earlier this month, Apple initiated legal proceedings against Psystar that sells a Mac-clone. However, the law suit seems to have had very little deterrent value as yet another manufacturer has announced plans to launch its own Mac-clone, though, with a difference – not an endorsement.

Open Tech Inc. has announced the Open Tech Home and the Open Tech XT open PCs that will easily allow users to run OS X. The similarity between Psystar’s outright Mac-clone and Open Tech’s upcoming PCs ends here as the latter’s offerings won’t come with OS X pre-installed, instead, users will have to install it on their own using a meticulously crafted set of instructions. Open Tech believes that this move will shield it from any legal action.