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

[NoSmokingBandit]

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.

You dont understand what you are talking about. Using a software as it is not intended to be used does not make one a pirate. If the OP had copied his 10.6 disc instead of buying one from Apple he would then be a pirate. THE EULA IS NOT THE LAW and cannot be enforced as such. Breaking the EULA simply frees Apple from all obligations to support that product.
For example, its against the eula to create offensive levels in LittleBigPlanet (a ps3 game with a comprehensive level editor, in care you arent a gamer). Do people still make offensive levels? Of course. Is that illegal? Of course not. If MediaMolecule (the LBP developers) decided a user-made level is offensive they take it off the public server and tell the creater that he/she has been warned and may lose access to the LBP server if they continue. No law was broken, just the EULA. So if i make a LBP level with a giant penis in it i wont have the police knocking on my door.
Just like OSX's eula. If i install it on my pc i have not broken any law, nor have i become a "pirate" by any means. I simply used the software against the creators intention, which does nothing more than release them of their contract to support osx on my machine.


Penwin:
If you gain access to PMs (idk how many posts that is) send me a message and i'll point you in the right direction.

 

[Yamcha]

A friend of mine told me :

The EULA merely states that you must install the software on "Apple-labeled hardware." This is sufficiently vague, and no courts have yet ruled on the issue, as Apple has not brought it up. The legality of installing a legally purchased retail copy of Mac OS X on a "regular" PC is undetermined, and has not been ruled on.

I've discussed this issue and issues like this with a variety of IP lawyers, and the "Apple-labeled hardware" clause is, according to them, too vague and difficult to defend in court. Apple would have a hard time trying to pin down what exactly "Apple-labeled" is.

If you purchase a third-party HDD for a Mac Pro and install OS X on it, is that breaking the EULA? What hardware must it be installed on? The HDD? The CPU? The RAM?

 

[Dan73]

*Loves all the pointless bickering in the thread*

Watch out... Apple might even sue you!

 

[Yamcha]

I'm not worried, Apple cannot do anything about it , Unless I start selling PC's with OSX installed..

 

[GreatDrok]

On and on it goes - yes you can install OS X on a PC although you would be breaking the license agreement. However, the OP was wanting to run an OS 9 app which no Intel version of OS X will run. He needs to get a PPC machine old enough to support Tiger + Classic to have a decent chance of running this app and even then it is possible that it won't run under Classic and he would need to get a Mac which can fully boot OS 9 or run OS 9.0.4 or earlier under SheepShaver.

 

[Maserati7200]

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).

Software developers wanting to see if their apps work in older releases without having to boot in to them.

 

[Buzz Bumble]

I'm not worried, Apple cannot do anything about it , Unless I start selling PC's with OSX installed..

Apple can do something about it ... the fact that it's not worth their time and effort to do so doesn't actually make it any more "right" for you to illegally break the agreement you "signed" when installing the software.

And yes, despite the blathering nonsense of some twit above who simply wants to do what they want no matter what (typical greedy, selfish, idiot), breaking that agreement does indeed make you just as bad as a pirate scum.

 

[cjmillsnun]

. THE EULA IS NOT THE LAW and cannot be enforced as such. Breaking the EULA simply frees Apple from all obligations to support that product.

From a former hackintosher, this is BS.

1. The EULA is a CONTRACT that you agree to. Contracts are protected by LAW. It may not be CRIMINAL law, but civil law is LAW. Apple can come after you for damages should they wish to.

2. To make OS X work on a PC you need to do things (emulate Apple's firmware at a software level and disable a check in a KEXT) to even get it to boot.

So you can forget the EULA, and try the DMCA..... The DMCA is CRIMINAL law, and CAN be enforced as such (you can go to jail)

You're creating a derivative copy on the hackintosh HD, with things like the attached, which all break the DMCA, as they are modified copies of Apple kexts.

For those in the EU, we have the EU Copyright Directive which has the same provisions in it as the DMCA.

 

[kate-willbury]

Apple can do something about it ... the fact that it's not worth their time and effort to do so doesn't actually make it any more "right" for you to illegally break the agreement you "signed" when installing the software.

And yes, despite the blathering nonsense of some twit above who simply wants to do what they want no matter what (typical greedy, selfish, idiot), breaking that agreement does indeed make you just as bad as a pirate scum.

don't listen to these pathetic jealous idiots who didn't know any better and wasted their money on a 'real' mac.

if you know the requirements, yes you can install mac osx on a 'normal' pc with no problems at all.

 

[Max(IT)]

From a former hackintosher, this is BS.

1. The EULA is a CONTRACT that you agree to. Contracts are protected by LAW. It may not be CRIMINAL law, but civil law is LAW. Apple can come after you for damages should they wish to.

2. To make OS X work on a PC you need to do things (emulate Apple's firmware at a software level and disable a check in a KEXT) to even get it to boot.

So you can forget the EULA, and try the DMCA..... The DMCA is CRIMINAL law, and CAN be enforced as such (you can go to jail)

You're creating a derivative copy on the hackintosh HD, with things like the attached, which all break the DMCA, as they are modified copies of Apple kexts.

For those in the EU, we have the EU Copyright Directive which has the same provisions in it as the DMCA.

Absolutely correct.
But they are going to keep making hackintosh, because they feel safe behind a monitor, knowing that Apple has no time to find all the people breaking the EULA worldwide.
Sad but true

 

[VPrime]

With all legal issues put aside.....
As long as you have the proper hardware it is very easy.

I am currently running snow leopard on a "PC".
My hardware is quite compatible
Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P motherboard
Intel Q6600 Quad core cpu @ 2.4ghz
Nvidia 8800GTS Video card.

Everything works as perfect as my real macs. And the install was a breeze..Because my motherboard is quite common to use with a "Hackintosh", there are packages you can run to make every thing run with no effort.
Here is a guide that explains everything for the right hardware.
http://lifehacker.com/5360150/install-snow-leopard-on-your-hackintosh-pc-no-hacking-required

 

[macrem]

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

Legally Maybe, but technically No.

 

[Yamcha]

Apple can do something about it ... the fact that it's not worth their time and effort to do so doesn't actually make it any more "right" for you to illegally break the agreement you "signed" when installing the software.

And yes, despite the blathering nonsense of some twit above who simply wants to do what they want no matter what (typical greedy, selfish, idiot), breaking that agreement does indeed make you just as bad as a pirate scum.

I could careless.. And fact is nobody can do anything about it unless I publicly advertise to Apple that I'm using Snow Leopard on PC.. Even then like you mentioned it wouldn't be worth there time..

And anyway currently, it is NOT illegal to install a retail, legally purchased OS X on a PC. There is no basis for calling it illegal.

 

[roadbloc]

Yes it is. You will have to build a Hackintosh. I strongly advise you do not do this however, because it is illegal.

By all means, do it, just don't complain when you cannot upgrade/update OS because Apple have dropped hardware support and/or put restrictions in the OS code.

 

[Yamcha]

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.

You don't know much about Mac hardware, fact is Mac uses the same hardware PC does.. For example the latest and greatest iMac uses Core i5 750 processor and a P55 chipset.. aswell as a HD4850 video card, which is the exact same hardware I am using... So technically it is Apple hardware

 

[cjmillsnun]

I could careless.. And fact is nobody can do anything about it unless I publicly advertise to Apple that I'm using Snow Leopard on PC.. Even then like you mentioned it wouldn't be worth there time..

And anyway currently, it is NOT illegal to install a retail, legally purchased OS X on a PC. There is no basis for calling it illegal.

I explained it above, you are creating a derived work to overcome technical restrictions placed by the manufacturer. That is a violation of the DMCA.

 

[cjmillsnun]

You don't know much about Mac hardware, fact is Mac uses the same hardware PC does.. For example the latest and greatest iMac uses Core i5 750 processor and a P55 chipset.. aswell as a HD4850 video card, which is the exact same hardware I am using... So technically it is Apple hardware

It isn't the same hardware. There is no SMC or EFI in the PC.

 

[Yamcha]

It isn't the same hardware. There is no SMC or EFI in the PC.

Yes, but you can use a EFI Booter, for example a DVD which does not modify OSX at all, or you can also use EFI-X that plug into usb...

 

[cjmillsnun]

Yes, but you can use a EFI Booter, for example a DVD which does not modify OSX at all, or you can also use EFI-X that plug into usb...

The EFI booter does modify MAC OS X, did you not see my attachment with the FAKESMC.KEXT and others that are MODIFIED Apple KEXTS that have been renamed.

The EFI-X and EFI Booter are again done to circumvent Apple code in OSX that prevent the system booting.

I'm not overly concerned with the EULA, Apple won't sue over that. But overcoming the technical restrictions BY WHATEVER MEANS breaks the DMCA.

 

[Yamcha]

The EFI booter does modify MAC OS X, did you not see my attachment with the FAKESMC.KEXT and others that are MODIFIED Apple KEXTS that have been renamed.

The EFI-X and EFI Booter are again done to circumvent Apple code in OSX that prevent the system booting.

I'm not overly concerned with the EULA, Apple won't sue over that. But overcoming the technical restrictions BY WHATEVER MEANS breaks the DMCA.

No it doesn't modify Mac OSX =/ I've installed OSX on my PC myself.. EFI is only used to boot into OSX.. There are OSX 10.6 distributions which have modified drivers and I'm aware of that but I'm talking about installing a Retail copy of Snow Leopard, as long as you use the same hardware apple does you don't have to modify OSX at all.. because its the same hardware..

There are people that modify OSX and install EFI boot loader that way you don't have to use DVD or EFI-X or USB booter.. but when it comes to dvd or usb booting it does not modify OSX at all

 

[Yamcha]

From the license agreement:

3. Transfer. You may not rent, lease, lend or sublicense the Apple Software. You may, however, make a one-time permanent transfer of all of your license rights to the Apple Software to another party, provided that: (a) the transfer must include all of the Apple Software, including all its component parts, original media, printed materials and this License;
This seems to me to mean that you may legally transfer the software to a PC, but you cannot legally alter the software in order to make it work on that PC, since the component that checks to see if it's running on a Mac must be included.

The EULA merely states that you must install the software on "Apple-labeled hardware." This is sufficiently vague, and no courts have yet ruled on the issue, as Apple has not brought it up. The legality of installing a legally purchased retail copy of Mac OS X on a "regular" PC is undetermined, and has not been ruled on.

 

[Max(IT)]

From the license agreement:

3. Transfer. You may not rent, lease, lend or sublicense the Apple Software. You may, however, make a one-time permanent transfer of all of your license rights to the Apple Software to another party, provided that: (a) the transfer must include all of the Apple Software, including all its component parts, original media, printed materials and this License;
This seems to me to mean that you may legally transfer the software to a PC, but you cannot legally alter the software in order to make it work on that PC, since the component that checks to see if it's running on a Mac must be included.

Which part of "you cannot install, use or run this software on any non-Apple-branded computer" you don't understand

 

[illy123]

Possible, very easy, cheap, and stable. Google OSX86.

If you are concerned about the legal aspect then google whether violating apple's EULA is breaking the law.

However; hacked distros such as iATKOS, Kalyway, iPC, etc are definitely illegal for obvious reasons - and so is pirating the retail OSX DVD.

 

[Yamcha]

Which part of "you cannot install, use or run this software on any non-Apple-branded computer" you don't understand

Apple branded hardware is too vague, and the thing is EULA's hardly stand up in court..

 

[Yamcha]

Quoting from a friend ...

The EULA merely states that you must install the software on "Apple-labeled hardware." This is sufficiently vague, and no courts have yet ruled on the issue, as Apple has not brought it up. The legality of installing a legally purchased retail copy of Mac OS X on a "regular" PC is undetermined, and has not been ruled on.

A hacked distro is completely illegal, since it is tampering and there is a history of case precedent against such behavior, making it clearly a violation.

I don't think you have a basic understanding of IP law. I've discussed this issue and issues like this with a variety of IP lawyers, and the "Apple-labeled hardware" clause is, according to them, too vague and difficult to defend in court. Apple would have a hard time trying to pin down what exactly "Apple-labeled" is.

If you purchase a third-party HDD for a Mac Pro and install OS X on it, is that breaking the EULA? What hardware must it be installed on? The HDD? The CPU? The RAM?

As you see, Apple's clause is likely indefensible in a court of law that requires very particular definitions.

A distro is completely illegal for a number of reasons. It is absolutely NOT the property of whoever hacked it. It's akin to taking a copyrighted Hollywood movie, and then editing a few scenes out and claiming it's now not copyrighted content.

Currently, it is NOT illegal to install a retail, legally purchased OS X on a PC. There is no basis for calling it illegal.