How to install Mac OS X on a regular PC. Installing MacOS X on PC. From theory to practice
Hackintosh(or OSx86) is a project related to the launch operating system macOS on personal computers with x86 microprocessors.
This trend began in 2005, when Apple officially announced a complete transition from the PowerPC platform to x86. In fact, since that time, Macs at the hardware level have ceased to differ from most Windows computers.
Entire communities of hackers are working to adapt and optimize their own builds of macOS, which can be installed on computers with suitable components.
Initially, the list of supported hardware was quite meager, but Apple time began using various components, including their support in the system, and developers learned to launch popular modules using so-called kexts (analogous to a driver).
What was Hackintosh like at its inception?
About ten years ago, I myself was closely interested in this topic, tried and experimented with installing macOS on an old home system.
I had to do a point-by-point upgrade, burn different assemblies onto double-layer DVDs, and spend hours selecting kexts for installed components PC.
The impression left is twofold. On the one hand, Apple's operating system seemed like a mouthful fresh air after continuous operation with Windows. Easy and pleasant interface, application in the form of a single file without the need for installation, no system registry and, as a result, harmful viruses.
On the other hand, to work comfortably, I had to go through one system assembly after another for several days in a row, regularly experiment and deal with emerging problems.
At that time, my hardware did not allow me to achieve stable operation macOS. I was lucky to see real Mac and the way the operating system worked on my system unit did not stand up to criticism.
What has changed today
Now that I have a suitable filling in hand, I decided to return to the hackintosh topic again. Before that, I worked for more than five years MacBook Pro And Mac mini , have studied macOS well and already know how the system should ideally work.
Collect today system unit For Hackintosh it's not a problem at all. There are dozens of suitable components for each position, and you can even find the perfect components that Apple uses in the Mac mini, iMac and Mac Pro.
Enthusiasts from all over the world have long been collecting desktop computers for Hackintosh and get greater performance for the cost of a Mac or a similar computer that is several times cheaper.
Things are a little different with laptops.
Why hackintosh on a laptop?
Users who are trying to run macOS on laptops can be divided into two groups.
Some need an operating room Apple system for development. It is impossible to write applications for macOS or iOS from Windows, and working on a virtual machine has many limitations.
Others just want to get laptop with macOS for work cheaper than MacBook.
The former are less limited in choosing a model, because they can easily survive the failure of one or more components. For example, problems with the webcam or card reader will not worry you much writing application for iOS programmer.
For the latter, for comfortable work, they must carefully choose a laptop on which they can run all the hardware without exception.
There is no third option given here. There is no talk of any serious work with graphics or video editing on a laptop with a Hackintosh. Run normally discrete video card not yet possible.
All existing options have too many nuances and shortcomings. Hackintosh for graphics or video - only stationary.
Otherwise, you can get suitable analogues MacBook/MacBook Air/MacBook Pro 13″.
What to look for
If you are choosing a laptop for trouble-free running of macOS, experts recommend choosing the ASUS Vivobook X-series or ACER Swift 3.
Both models are almost ideal for installing a Hackintosh; you can flexibly choose the parameters to suit your needs. Judge for yourself: you can get such a laptop for 67 thousand.
It will clearly outperform the basic 13-inch model for 90 thousand and will even compete with the most charged 13-inch model for 140 thousand rubles.
In this case, the user will have a full set of ports and there will be no dispute touchpad. And don’t forget about discrete graphics, which will work great under Windows, for example, for games or video editing.
If you choose a model for development, and be prepared for the fact that some components will not start, then you can choose either a stylish ultrabook or a powerful gaming machine.
In fact, all that matters is the presence suitable processor, everything else is solvable (almost).
What may not start
Video card
I already talked about discrete graphics above. It's better not to count on it when working with Hackintosh. Either immediately select a model with integrated graphics only, or completely disable discrete card for macOS.
The third option promises long hours of dancing with a tambourine and rather illusory prospects.
Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
This module is at risk. With a high degree of probability you will have to either buy an external USB unit or change the internal board.
This is not difficult to do; suitable modules are sold on the same AliExpress and change in 10-15 minutes. Moreover, after installing such a block, it will almost always be possible to launch all the pogrom features like Handoff, Continuity, etc.
Card reader
It is quite problematic to replace a memory card receiver, and the chances of running the original one are about 50/50. If this is one of the main requirements, it is better to immediately select a model with a 100% suitable block.
Type-C and HDMI
Another place for potential problems to arise. Modules may have a specific connection scheme, which will make them impossible to work on macOS.
For example, an image via HDMI on laptops with discrete graphics can be output through powerful card, and that, in turn, may not start in Hackintosh.
Touchpad
Of course, even the most suitable laptops for Hackintosh will not be able to achieve the clarity and smoothness of the touchpad as on the MacBook. The touchpad will either just work or refuse to start at all.
In any case, you should be prepared to use the Magic Mouse or Apple Trackpad.
Webcam
Problems here arise quite rarely, but it happens that the connection method does not allow the module to work in macOS.
For example, I encountered the following problem: the camera in macOS stopped working after replacement Wi-Fi module. It turned out that new block For wireless transmission data has a couple of additional contacts and, when loading, intercepts part of the signal, preventing the camera from starting.
The solution is trivial - carefully seal the excess contacts with tape.
Once again, I repeat that the problems described in this section can be avoided if you choose a device specifically for your hackintosh wisely.
What will work
Everything else will work without problems.
The keyboard starts (even with digital block), the buttons clearly work to adjust brightness and volume. You can even turn on the backlight and smoothly adjust it using the function buttons.
On my ASUS in Windows with branded drivers There are only 4 gradations of key backlighting, and in a Hackintosh the glow can be changed within 10 positions.
The system can correctly fall asleep and wake up, and reliably display the battery charge (there are problems with this on some models).
The display, processor and storage work great. On the latter, you need to enable TRIM.
Software features include iCloud, iMessage, FaceTime, Handoff. AirDrop works with minor interruptions (but who really uses it?). Of course, there is no problem downloading applications from Mac App Store and exchange of program data via the cloud.
Even system updates can be installed without problems. It is recommended that you take your time with security updates only. It’s better to wait a couple of days after the release for a reaction on thematic forums.
The main thing I was afraid of from my past experience was poor system performance. It turns out that all this is far in the past.
Now my ASUS perfectly passes itself off as a MacBook, in everyday tasks there are differences from the original Apple laptop not visible at all. The only one serious drawback can be considered the absence of a magnificent Apple touchpad.
How to install hackintosh on a regular laptop
The main difficulty that discourages many from installing Hackintosh is the need to spend a long time studying sites and forums, dealing with images and kexts.
The installation process itself looks something like this:
1. We will need blank flash drive 8 GB or more, a bootloader, and the operating system image itself (you’ll have to look for it yourself).
2. When macOS is deployed to the flash drive, the first most difficult process will begin. We need to get the system to run on our hardware. To do this, you will have to constantly add patches and fixes to the bootloader.
Everything you need can be found in one of the largest hackintosh communities
You cannot write code for iPhone on PC. Apple party politics. Although the iPhone SDK is classic GCC, I don’t know of cases where it was written on a PC. But you can still install the iPhone SDK on a jailbroken device, write and run code directly on the phone/tablet.
There are rumors that installing MacOS on a regular PC is "difficult and uneasy".
In fact, it all depends on luck :) On luck and on hardware.
In my case, installing MacOS X was a little more complicated Windows installations 7.
There are a lot of installation paths. I will describe the simplest and most straightforward one. Complex options are not for me. If something doesn’t work out, it doesn’t mean that you can’t install MacOS. Perhaps it is possible, but in more complicated ways. For laptops you can search ready-made images boot disks (modified by craftsmen).
The latest line of Macs is just a regular PC. An ordinary PC with a slightly modified bios. And MacOS only has drivers for a limited set of devices that come with Macs.
There is no need to reflash the bios (although this is one of the possible ways). I now have MacOS X, Win XP, Win 7 running on one hardware. But I’ll have to look for the firewood (written by craftsmen, even in the source code).
Briefly: "Download a special boot disk, reboot from it, insert the original MacOS X DVD, install it, update it, search for and install drivers. That's it."
0. Setting up bios
Optional, but desirable part.
1. Set the SATA controller to AHCI mode (I have always had it as AHCI).
2. Turn ACPI on (some people advise, on the contrary, turn it off).
3. Switch HPET (timer) to 64-bit mode (I didn’t find one like that).
4. Turn off all processor cores except one (I haven’t found one like this).
5. Turn off SpeedStep.
Everything works for me regardless of the ACPI and SpeedStep settings.
1. Is it worth visiting at all?
Burn .iso to CD-RW. We boot from it, if a disk selection menu appears - hurray, your PC is now almost a Mac. If it doesn’t work, try another .iso. I downloaded the very first one, for regular hardware: empireEFIv1085.iso.
If all .isos do not work, you can try older versions of EmpireEFI. If nothing suits you, then the simple option is not for you. There are a lot of complicated installation options left ( Google, forum and wiki to help), or buy Mac-compatible hardware (list), or buy a PC with MacOS already configured and installed (there are companies that do this), or find those who will supply MacOS, or still buy a real Mac ( having overpaid twice).
2. You need a regular MacOS X installation DVD
Now your PC is almost a Mac. You can insert the MacOS X boot DVD and install it.
For iPhone SDK 4.0, version 10.6 or older is required. I installed 10.6.3, auto update updated it to 10.6.4.
Where can I get such a disk?
1. From a friend of a poppy grower.
2. Buy in a store.
3. Download the image from the Internet and burn it to DVD-R DL (double layer) which is 8Gb.
4. Download the image from the Internet and make a bootable USB flash drive.
If you know a poppy grower with bootable DVD- this is the most best way. It will help you install and configure MacOS.
If the “department for combating crimes in the sphere of high technology" - buy the official disc. Installing MacOS on a PC violates the Apple license, but this license is not valid in the Russian Federation, because violates the laws of the Russian Federation (specifically, Article 1280 of the Civil Code). This license also violates laws and is not valid in Europe, but not in the USA.
You can download the image, for example, from here.
It is in Mac .dmg format.
This format for Windows can write (and convert to .iso): PowerISO, UltraISO.
You can simply convert to .iso using dmg2img.
You need to write to a two-layer DVD-R DL disc, at the minimum possible speed and with a recording check. If the installer cannot read anything from the disk, he will write to you that you can throw the disk out the window.
To make a bootable USB flash drive, you already need installed MacOS(even one running under VMWare will do) and a flash drive 8Gb or larger.
3. Where will we put it?
How to put MacOS on one physical disk without erasing it already installed Windows- I don't know. Paragon Partition Manager can create MacOS partitions on the same disk with Windows; the MacOS installer even sees this partition, but refuses to install it on it. He wants a GUID for the entire disk, but refuses to install it on the MBR.
But you can install MacOS, and then Windows (using BootCamp).
I did it simply - I bought it new disk especially for MacOS.
4. Installation
We boot from the EmpireEFI CD, when the disk selection menu appears, remove the CD and insert the MacOS DVD (or bootable USB flash drive), select the disk from which the installation will take place. That's all.
For advanced installation diagnostics: in the disk selection menu, press Tab (which will switch to text mode), select the disk (up/down arrows) and type "-v".
If you see a language selection menu, then you're lucky the second time :)
If usb keyboard or the mouse does not work, then try removing and inserting them until they work. This only happened to me once, all other times everything worked without problems.
Switch languages: Win+Space.
The installation is no different from installing on a Mac.
When prompted to select a disk where to install, go to the menu (which is at the top): Utilities -> Disk Utility, select the disk, go to the Erase tab, set Format as Mac OS Extended (Journaled), and click on Erase. After formatting, we exit the utility and see that a new disk has appeared suitable for installation.
MacOS will take up 7 GB of disk space.
5. After installation
After installation it worked immediately for me network card and the Internet. Updating the system to 10.6.4 via the Internet was successful (apple -> Software Update), it downloaded more than a gigabyte. If the driver for the network card does not work, you can always configure it later.
I disabled all sleep modes (System Preferences -> Energy Saver). I have them disabled in Windows, and they wrote on the forums that there could be problems: either it won’t fall asleep, or it won’t wake up. I didn’t even try it myself. Restart and Shut Down- they work.
MacOS will not boot on its own. To boot, you must first boot from the EmpireEFI CD and select the drive where you installed MacOS. To boot ourselves, we need myHack or Chameleon, both of which are on the EmpireEFI (Empire EFI/Post-Installation) CD. First, install myHack; if MacOS will not load, install Chameleon. And don’t forget to set the first boot disk with MacOS in bios.
If MacOS does not boot (wrong bootloader or driver does not fit), you can always boot from the EmpireEFI CD.
I have a new myHack, downloaded from the Internet, but it doesn’t work. Chameleon - got up, the old myHack with CD Empire - also got up, stopped on it, because... it boots MacOS without any extra clicks.
MyHack and Chameleon prompt you to select a boot disk at startup - this way you can boot into Windows (if you have one). You can also select the boot disk when you start the computer using Shift+F8 (my bios can do this).
6. Drivers
Drivers in MacOS have the extension .kext
The main (system) drivers are here: /System/Library/Extensions/
Drivers for PC: /Extra/Extensions/
A basic set of drivers is on the EmpireEFI CD: /EmpireEFI/Extra/Preboot.dmg/Extra/Exten sions/
Copy all these .kext to /Extra/Extensions/
Information about hardware as MacOS sees it: Apple -> About This Mac -> More Info.
If the network card does not work, you can search for drivers under Windows. MacOS can read NTFS and FAT drives. My MacOS sees all WinXP and Win7 disks in read-only mode. You can also download the drivers onto a flash drive.
Place the drivers in /Extra/Extensions. Sometimes you need to put the driver in /System/Library/Extensions, replacing the system one (this is written in the driver description). Sometimes you need to erase the system driver.
After changes in drivers, you need to update the driver cache.
This is easy to do using pfix. We launch it, it will ask for the password for the system and the disk number where the system is located. It works for a long time, about 15 minutes. If the system has an empty password, pfix does not understand this; it needs at least a 1-letter password (change the password here: System Preferences -> Accounts).
The driver for NVidia installed right away, I tried the first one I came across: NVEnabler 64.kext
After updating the driver cache and rebooting, the mode changed from 1024x768 to 1920x1080 and new modes appeared in System Preferences -> Displays.
I didn't find a driver for my mother. Everything worked as is, except for the sound. I read on the forums what I need for my mother universal driver sound VoodooHDA.kext. Tried it different drivers: either there was no sound, then volume did not work, then volume worked, but there was noise at maximum. This driver worked with a bang when the system AppleHDA.kext was erased.
