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Building a Mac

J

Jagurfish

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 1, 2008
2
0
This doesn't pertain specifically to Mac Pros or Power Macs, but I couldn't find a better place for this.

Is it possible to build a Mac from scratch, like a PC? I've looked everywhere and I can't seem to find what proprietary hardware, if any, Apple still uses. I use a macbook right now and I'm wondering if it's as simple as booting with the Leopard install disc.

On a similar note, is it possible to use boot camp on a separate internal drive rather than partitioning an existing one formatting for OS X?
 
Jagurfish said:
Is it possible to build a Mac from scratch, like a PC?
Click to expand...

Yes you can, but you do need to be careful of the components you use. The two links Umbongo provided in Reply 1 can help you in that area.

I use a macbook right now and I'm wondering if it's as simple as booting with the Leopard install disc.
Click to expand...

You must have the retail edition of Leopard - the kind you buy at the Apple Store. You cannot use the restore DVD that came with your MacBook as that version of Leopard is specific to the MacBook and will not install on other Mac models, to say nothing of a "Hackintosh". :)

On a similar note, is it possible to use boot camp on a separate internal drive rather than partitioning an existing one formatting for OS X?
Click to expand...

Yes it is. There are threads about doing it here and in the Windows on the Mac forum.
 
I'm a bit confused here. How would I use a retail version of Leopard without a processor with TPM? Does the computer from the Hackintosh thread use one?
 
Jagurfish said:
I'm a bit confused here. How would I use a retail version of Leopard without a processor with TPM? Does the computer from the Hackintosh thread use one?
Click to expand...

Having never built a Hackintosh, I cannot say. I believe TPM is actually in the systemboard, not the CPU, which may be why certain systemboards are proven to work for a Hackintosh. There also might be code modification going on to defeat the TPM check.

But I do know from experience that the restore CDs that ship with Apple Macs only work for that model of Mac. I have a MacBook Pro and a MacBook. I cannot use the MacBook restore CD on my MacBook Pro and vice-versa. When I try, I get a kernel panic very early in the install stage.
 
According to Wikipedia Apple has not had the TPM chip installed on any Macintosh systems after the first Core Duo models. You'd have to have an *ahem* modified version of Leopard or Tiger to run anyhow, and you can Google that, or read about it in the sites linked to by Umbongo. Everything you'd need to know and do to put together a Hackintosh we can't really talk about here.
 
Hackintoshes are illegal and violate Apple's End-User License agreement.

Umbongo, you can get into some serious trouble for posting those links.
 
pwn247 said:
Hackintoshes are illegal and violate Apple's End-User License agreement.

Umbongo, you can get into some serious trouble for posting those links.
Click to expand...

Don't start another one of these... It's illegal to SELL Hackintoshes. It's illegal to make one without Leopard. All you have to do is buy a retail copy of Leopard and you can do what you want as long as you don't sell it.
 
pwn247 said:
Hackintoshes are illegal

*snip*
Click to expand...

No, they're not.

*snip*

and violate Apple's End-User License agreement.

*snip*
Click to expand...

...which has never been tested in court and would quite likely be deemed an illegal contract if it ever was.

*snip*

Umbongo, you can get into some serious trouble for posting those links.
Click to expand...

No he can't.

A self-righteous newbie like you, who posts lies and disinformation, can get added to numerous ignore lists, though...
 
While it does violate Apple's EULA, Apple has yet to enforce it on an individual and even should their case against Psystar uphold that EULA in a legal forum, Apple is still not going to enforce it on an individual because it is not worth their time or money.

And the moderators have ruled that discussing Hackintoshes is a legitimate topic for this forum.
 
pwn247 said:
Hackintoshes are illegal and violate Apple's End-User License agreement.

Umbongo, you can get into some serious trouble for posting those links.
Click to expand...
Who died and made you arn? :p

But yes, we can discuss them, but we're not allowed, for example, to provide links to the files necessary to download.
 
CWallace said:
Having never built a Hackintosh, I cannot say. I believe TPM is actually in the systemboard, not the CPU, which may be why certain systemboards are proven to work for a Hackintosh. There also might be code modification going on to defeat the TPM check.

But I do know from experience that the restore CDs that ship with Apple Macs only work for that model of Mac. I have a MacBook Pro and a MacBook. I cannot use the MacBook restore CD on my MacBook Pro and vice-versa. When I try, I get a kernel panic very early in the install stage.
Click to expand...

The Developer Transition Kit machines apparently had some TPM hardware, but Apple does not use TPM. An executive summary on the subject, from a more detailed article.
 
Mackilroy said:
Who died and made you arn? :p

But yes, we can discuss them, but we're not allowed, for example, to provide links to the files necessary to download.
Click to expand...

exactly. discuss away. no huge details or links to downloads, but discussion is fine. :)

i'll admit i've been tempted to build my own... but then laziness strikes again.
 
Hackintoshes use EFI emulation to allow the install and boot of Leopard. the Vanilla kernel (Apple's Mac OS X kernel) is used and other kernels have also been developed. drivers are written for certain hardware which is listed on the OSX86 wiki. the patched Leopard install images/DVDs contain the emulated EFI, the OS X installer and the drivers which you can select to install to suit your hardware.
 
Hackintoshes can be a pain if you dont have the right hardware.... be very very VERY sure that your video card will work... seriously... dont even start building one till your sure the video will take. Insanelymac has a very helpful forum.

Yeah, i learned the hard way... i tinkered with it for a few months on my "doze" beast before giving up and getting an old G4 power mac... lol Tried 3 different video cards, reinstalled the thing like 15 times... ugh.

But dont let me discourage you... just do your homework. Some video cards work right off the bat, others need lots of tinkering, and others still wont work at all (yet).

But, It's worth it if it works!
 
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