Is it possible to run Mac OS X on a PC?

Penwin · Dec 30, 2009

Now before you have a go at me about piracy, I already know about the Psystar lawsuit. I'm also not a pirate. I have an authentic copy of OSX Leopard, and I'd just like to know if there's a way to install it on an harddrive of a PC. I have a PC with two SATA harddrives (240GB and 1TB). At the moment, I'm using the former to run Windows XP and the latter for storage. I was wondering though; is it possible for me to install Mac OS X on the 1TB harddrive? The reason is that there are many programs for OSX which I would like to use, but don't work on Windows. I read somewhere that it's possible with dual core processors (I have an Intel Core 2 Duo), but I've looked around and couldn't find much. Do I have to format a partition of the harddrive into a special format so that it can run OSX?

Any help would be much appreciated, thanks.

KoolStar · Dec 30, 2009

Technically Yes, but Legally No.

pcs are junk · Dec 30, 2009

private message me, ill give u some more info.

Surely · Dec 30, 2009

pcs are junk said:
private message me, ill give u some more info.

newbies can't PM.

OP, try google, it is your friend.

pcs are junk · Dec 30, 2009

oh....lol sucks for him then..

Buzz Bumble · Dec 30, 2009

It makes no difference whether you've got "an authentic copy of OSX Leopard" or not ...

you are NOT allowed to install any version of the Mac OS
on non-Apple hardware

It's very simple and spelled out in the Mac OS license agreement. Breaking that agreement basically does make you a pirate. It's the exact reason the morons at Psystar are in trouble.

Mike Macintosh · Dec 30, 2009

KoolStar said:
Technically Yes, but Legally No.

yep, well put, while you can run OSx on a Windows based machine, it's not legal to do so, and alot of process in which to do so, not to mention I have heard it runs a little shotty.

Penwin · Dec 30, 2009

Alright, well is it possible/legal to run Mac programs on Linux then?

Also the program I'm looking to run is also for Mac OS 9, is there an emulator for OS9 that can be run on other operating systems?

EDIT: I don't actually need to install the operating system, as stated is illegal in the license agreement. I just need to run certain programs that only work on Mac OS.

Buzz Bumble · Dec 30, 2009

If you need to run a Mac OS application (X, or 9), then you need a Mac to run it on. There is no legal way to run a Mac OS application under Windows.

All of the emulators require an image of the Macs ROM to work, and it is not legal to make that image (even if you own the Mac).

njean777 · Dec 30, 2009

yes you can install it, try looking up x86project on google, also dont worry about what these people are saying, apple is not gonna come to your house and place a lawsuit on you. They have more important things to deal with.

fishmoose · Dec 31, 2009

njean777 said:
also dont worry about what these people are saying, apple is not gonna come to your house and place a lawsuit on you. They have more important things to deal with.

But, but what about the Ninjas?

maflynn · Dec 31, 2009

Penwin said:
Alright, well is it possible/legal to run Mac programs on Linux then?

No just like you cannot execute programs that are compiled for OSX on windows. You need the operating system. Technically speaking you can run OSX on a PC, like how you can run windows on a pc. You will be breaking the law/EULA. Since Linux is an OS, its impossible for it to natively execute OSX programs.

pcs are junk · Dec 31, 2009

u need an intel processor to do it anyway. go to this link, its what i used for my hackintosh, oh and btw, it requires alot of hard work to find the right kexts, so if ur doing it on a laptop, u need a wireless mouse and keyboard.

http://prasys.co.cc/2009/09/install-snow-leopard-on-a-pcs-the-easy-way/

oh also, try not to get caught...i heard some guy got sued $2500 for doing this.

Shake 'n' Bake · Dec 31, 2009

Or you could get an iMac G3 or G4 with OS 9 from eBay for $40-$100.

GreatDrok · Dec 31, 2009

Penwin said:
Alright, well is it possible/legal to run Mac programs on Linux then?

No, completely different operating systems.

Also the program I'm looking to run is also for Mac OS 9, is there an emulator for OS9 that can be run on other operating systems?

Leopard won't run OS 9 apps, you need a PPC Mac with Tiger and Classic installed to do that.

EDIT: I don't actually need to install the operating system, as stated is illegal in the license agreement. I just need to run certain programs that only work on Mac OS.

Since you state you need Mac OS 9 you could install SheepShaver but you will need a copy of Mac OS 9.0.4 or earlier and run it on a Linux machine. In the end though you might do better to try and find an old PPC Mac with a G3 or G4 processor.

Nighthawk4 · Dec 31, 2009

To be honest, chances are you wouldn't find the right drivers anyway.

Incidentally, AFAIK you can't run MAC OS in a VM either, even on another Mac (not sure why you would want to run it on another Mac). I have seen attempts at running the old pre-Intel OS virtually in an emulator on Leopard, but I didn't find it very useful. However, I don't think you can setup a virtual copy of OS X.

maflynn · Dec 31, 2009

Technically speaking you can, but its a real PITA and the performance of such is so bad, its not worth it. Plus stability was a major issue.

I had it up on linux, just to see if it would work, but I quickly came to the conclusion that the performance was so bad, it wasn't even worth playing with it.

KingYaba · Dec 31, 2009

Nope never you can't do it never heard of such a thing. Mac on a PC? get out of here!

pcs are junk · Dec 31, 2009

KingYaba said:
Nope never you can't do it never heard of such a thing. Mac on a PC? get out of here!

um..yes u can do it...ive done it....where have you been all this time? dont u read any articles about hacking? i like to hack into my own stuff because i like the challenge. if i get caught big whoop theyre not gonna sue me, kill me, arrest me, and even if they did something like that, i can say, well i like the challenge and was just trying to see if i could discover a security flaw that allows you to do this, and if i did, i would report it to you immediately. boom, done ur out of trouble.

old-wiz · Dec 31, 2009

pcs are junk said:
um..yes u can do it...ive done it....where have you been all this time? dont u read any articles about hacking? i like to hack into my own stuff because i like the challenge. if i get caught big whoop theyre not gonna sue me, kill me, arrest me, and even if they did something like that, i can say, well i like the challenge and was just trying to see if i could discover a security flaw that allows you to do this, and if i did, i would report it to you immediately. boom, done ur out of trouble.

obviously you don't recognize sarcasm.

shadowbird423 · Dec 31, 2009

Ignore these guys, they are just trying to give you a hard time. Email your system specs to this address and I will tell you if its possible: shadowbird423@gmail.com
(any attempts to spam will end badly for the spammer...)

Dan73 · Dec 31, 2009

Well ignoring everyone else:

Yes it is possible! But a difference is that Windows uses ancient BIOS and OS X use EFI to boot so...

either you buy a motherboard that supports EFI or you have to set up your motherboard to, I suppose emulate it.

I tried for about a whole hour on my PC and its a bit harder than it sounds, but with some time put in you can get it to work.

And to everyone else do you really care that much? Really?

wlh99 · Dec 31, 2009

Nighthawk4 said:
To be honest, chances are you wouldn't find the right drivers anyway.

Incidentally, AFAIK you can't run MAC OS in a VM either, even on another Mac (not sure why you would want to run it on another Mac). I have seen attempts at running the old pre-Intel OS virtually in an emulator on Leopard, but I didn't find it very useful. However, I don't think you can setup a virtual copy of OS X.

I think apple revised the licence to allow it on server installs. It's very useful to have a multiple processor server host several virtual servers. That way you can have multiple configurations (even different OS's) running on the network at the same time on one machine.

Think about an 8 core mac with fusion and 4 virtual servers. No services other than fusion are running on the host OS. An exchange server on windows 2008, a sql server on Tiger, an active directory server on windows 2008, and a web server on Leopard.

Now you have only one physical machine (with reduced hardware and maintaince costs). And, you can upgrade the tiger os to Leopard without interupting services on the other machine.

There are also benifits in disaster recovery. It's a broad topic, but very well used in IT right now to reduce costs and improve reliabilty.

pcs are junk · Dec 31, 2009

shadowbird423 said:
Ignore these guys, they are just trying to give you a hard time. Email your system specs to this address and I will tell you if its possible: shadowbird423@gmail.com
(any attempts to spam will end badly for the spammer...)

hmm...is this a threat? should i report this to the authorities? i think hes telling us hes a hacker and is going to hack us. i better use my phone and my computer to google the number!

Yamcha · Jan 1, 2010

Yes it is, I'm running Snow Leopard Retail (Vanilla) on my PC.. Runs just like a Mac would.. I can do updates and such without any issues..

But it also depends on your hardware.. I have Core i5 750 and using a P55 chipset which is exactly what the 27" imacs use..

Cost me $1200CAD with the monitor, and it performs faster then the most expensive iMac out there

Is it possible to run Mac OS X on a PC?

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