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Installing Mac OS X on an Intel PC?

M

musicmutt

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 16, 2010
2
0
Hi Friends This subject may have been covered before so please bear with me I am one of those unfortunates out of work and simply cannot afford a new Pc (£900) so to the next option I have purchased these DVD's that are new,sealed and complete with codes which I believe are unused, the disc's are >> Mac OSX 10.5.6 install and application disc's dated 2009<< I have no idea to the program name that is used to describe this system i.e snow/tiger/leopard or whatever but I'm sure someone out there knows.
Now to my question I'm wondering if this can be installed onto my Intel based PC to replace my Windows Vista format as I am Tee'd off with it please keep any answers simple as I am not that Pc literate so any simplified terms will have to be explained in plain English I am only asking as the all reports/info I have read/found seem seem to contradict each other as to whether or not these can be installed to the PC base unit I am using therefore any info that would help me would be more than welcome, be it good or bad ,,,,, many thanks for taking the time to read this post ,,, best regards Tony Musicmutt
 
miles01110 said:
If you're not PC literate you're not going to be able to install OS X on anything other than an Apple machine. In addition you won't be able to install from iMac restore discs unless you have the exact model they shipped with.
Click to expand...

Thanks friend any help on how to do this would be welcome as I have to learn :(
 
musicmutt said:
Thanks friend any help on how to do this would be welcome as I have to learn :(
Click to expand...
You're not going to have any success even getting Mac OS X (Leopard, in your case) to boot on anything other than the exact model of Mac those discs came with... even if you got a retail Mac OS X install disc, you STILL won't be able to get it to work. There are multiple barriers that prevent installation of Mac OS X on non-Apple hardware, and there's no easy way around any of them - which appears to be what you're trying to do.
 
wrldwzrd89 said:
You're not going to have any success even getting Mac OS X (Leopard, in your case) to boot on anything other than the exact model of Mac those discs came with... even if you got a retail Mac OS X install disc, you STILL won't be able to get it to work. There are multiple barriers that prevent installation of Mac OS X on non-Apple hardware, and there's no easy way around any of them - which appears to be what you're trying to do.
Click to expand...
Not true at all.

http://tonymacx86.blogspot.com/2010/04/iboot-multibeast-install-mac-os-x-on.html

I used this method yesterday, took 30 minutes, and everything worked out of the box. Good luck OP! :)
 
To OP:

If you can't install both Windows and Mac OS without blinking, and work with hardware and software comfortably, you shouldn't be trying to run a hackintosh. Don't even try it. You can upgrade to W7, you can downgrade to XP, you can re-install Vista, whatever, but if you can't afford a Mac, don't get a Mac.
 
BiggAW said:
To OP:

If you can't install both Windows and Mac OS without blinking, and work with hardware and software comfortably, you shouldn't be trying to run a hackintosh. Don't even try it. You can upgrade to W7, you can downgrade to XP, you can re-install Vista, whatever, but if you can't afford a Mac, don't get a Mac.
Click to expand...

Agreed 100%.

A hackintosh project is a confusing process and it is very, VERY easy for even a pro to break your system. I have been running a hackintosh since late '07, and it is one of the most frustrating thing I have ever done with my PC.

If you want a computer with a stable OS, stick with Windows. If you want to have fun, experiment, and learn about how operating systems work (patience is also a prerequisite) then try making a hackintosh. Remember, no one is going to physically walk you through the process, you must at least have a grasp of computer literacy.
 
q64ceo said:
Agreed 100%.

A hackintosh project is a confusing process and it is very, VERY easy for even a pro to break your system. I have been running a hackintosh since late '07, and it is one of the most frustrating thing I have ever done with my PC.
Click to expand...
Agreed, I built an core i7-930 system with an eye towards turning it into an hackintosh at some point. After using windows for a month or two, I really missed OSX, so I accelerated my schedule and proceeded to make it into a hackintosh. Here's what I found.

Motherboard you choice will dictate how painful a process is. Many gigabyte motherboards are very compatible so they don't need many custom kexts. I have an asus motherboard and initially thought it was compatible. It took a long time for me to find a process that would work.

Videocard. You need to choose wisely for this, and generally speaking most older nvidia will work better then the newer ones because apple typically only uses the prior generation of graphic cards in their macs.

Custom Kexts/bootloaders, because you're altering the base level OS, through custom kexts and using a custom bootloader, any OS update has a high degree of probability of messnig it up. Apple released an graphics update yesterday. I'm holding off on applying it until I hear that its safe, plus I'll have an image backup of my drive to undo it, if need be.

All in all, building a core i7-930 and turning it into a hackintosh was a great (but frustrating) experience. Now I have to be more careful how the system is updated, so in the end, will I do this again - probably not, I'd rather get a mac and not deal with some of the hassles. Still it was a great learning experience and one that I don't regret.
 
Agreed with every sentiment above.

If you aren't a top notch pro in both hardware and software both Win & Mac... don't even attempt a Hackintosh.

Can it be cheaper / faster than a traditional Mac? Moreso than you ever imagined.

Can it be a huge nightmare at the drop of a hat? Moreso than you ever imagined.

I've built 4 now... and pretty much have the process down stone cold flat.

There is a definite art to it.

The absolute #1 thing you have to do is pick your PC components correctly.

Otherwise you are doomed to failure no matter what you do.

Even then... I've been running mine for almost a year... and it's flat out a monster. For about $600. Almost 500 in XBENCH, Almost 13K in Geekbench, and the thing just slices through anything like lighting through butter.

However, I had to completely rebuild the bastard today, as a matter of fact, after installing the latest RETAIL nVIDIA GTX285 Video Card Drivers for OSX from their website... exactly for my machine. Should have worked just fine... but completely rendered the entire machine useless.

6 hours later, and much cussing until then, I am back fat and happy slicing through butter with a lightning bolt.

Apple is really great at making the experience one of *mostly* painless computing. You will not get that experience using a hackintosh.

:apple:
 
Try Ubuntu Gnu/Linux if you want to get away from windows without buying new hardware.

Delete the task bar and install a program called Docky to make it look somewhat like OS X if you like that appearance.

Ubuntu is free and almost all of it's software is free. The software is available to install via the Ubuntu Software Center or Synaptic.
 
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