I did a long time ago. It was fairly easy as I new what ISO build I was wanting to use and what hardware it was compatible with. Drivers were pre-installed on the disk for the supported hardware. I had to do a tiny bit of tweaking and select the drivers I wanted to install but there wasnt much to it. I had it up and running in a couple hours. The trick is just to find exactly which hardware has full compatibility and buy that, dont buy stuff with only partial compatibility or things that need drivers to be compiled for it.
built several laptops and pc's. My personal favorite was a dell 1525 i did a few years back. That thing was ROCK SOLID stable. you couldeven update it right off the apple servers. It was so good, I bought a second one used so I could do it again and both my girlfriend and I used them regularly. Wore them out, actually. The reason it worked so well, is that it was basically a mac pro with a dell badge. -and around 1000 less price tag. Way to go, Apple. My experience leads me to the following advice: Research the drivers. Research them some more. Oh, and while it can be made to work, I strongly recommend staying away from AMD CPUs for your hackintosh build. Too many compromises and workarounds if you go AMD, for my taste. I have not done a build with the latest version of OSX, but it looks fairly straightforward. Snow leopard was my last build. I say go for it, and post questions as they come up. the osx86 and insanelymac.com wiki are going to be you bible. check there and post her your experience and questions. Id be happy to help.
I have been considering getting my current computer to try an get it to dual boot OsX and Windows 7 which I have seen people have success with it using my components. I am mostly asking out of concern of if it is possible I can brick it or will I always be able to reformat and do a fresh install of Windows if it doesn't work out. I was wondering how deep the programs/ editing goes when switching it over to OSx. (Sorry if it may be unclear, I just wrote it and am leaving for work without rereading it. I will fix it later if it is.)
It is *possible* you can completely mess up your Windows install as you will have to do some MBR stuff to get a new bootloader in there that will load OSX. From what I remember I think you had to install OSX so that its bootloader is first and from there you can choose to load OSX or not and then if you chose not to it loads into the Windows bootloader. It may be different now days though and depend on which OSx86 disk you choose to use. But if you mess it up then you may be able to fix it and be fine as your data wouldnt really be gone, just the part that allows you to boot into Windows. SO if you could find a way to fix that then youd be back ok.
I wouldnt worry about your drive. Use a different one to get started and use the following steps if you just cant lose your info. My favorite method was to use an old blank hard drive to experiment with configurations until I got it right. Trust me, its a good idea. Once you figure out the install and it is stable and finalized, then I use the mac backup utility on the install disk and make an image of the entire hard drive on some external or secondary hard drive I have laying around. Then, run the installer again on the drive with Windows and an extra partition to hold the Mac stuff. Rather than installing the actual operating system from scratch, you install the bootloader and use the image recovery utility and copy all the files from the backup image you just labored on that other drive. -Instant install that works every time. And you have a backup for when/if things go very wrong. As long as you dont totally bone your MBR you'll be fine. Even then, it should just be a windows install disk repair tool fix away from just fine. I've only lost a Windows install once from a corrupt MBR. The windows automatic repair tool has just always fixed the problem by itself, except once- and that was because the MBR was just dead. Also, forget about using the software that allow you to run windows virtually within OSx. I have yet to see windows work on a hackintosh. It has to do with how hackintosh makes emulates on a PC. It just will not work. It cant work by virtue of the way it functions. But, dual booting is fine. The Chameleon bootloader was my favorite bootloader for OSx86 and it has a fantastic utility for choosing you operating system. When you have quint boot, then you are a badass. Choose to boot Leopard, the Leopard backup partition, Windows 7, XP, or Linux just for the hell of it. Your first step will be to read about how the install process works. Read it and reread it for the version you are most interested in. Then, the second step is to go over each component of your computer and make sure there is a driver written for mac on the OSx86 wiki. Once you have confirmed all components are compatible or replaced them with parts that are, then you are ready to move forward. keep posting questions as they come up!
oh it might be helpful to post your configuration. The more detail the better. I'm most interested in: Exact motherboard model - chipset and such make a big difference to builds. processor video card sound card (onboard or otherwise,) ditto for network card wireless card any major peripherals that may require drivers that arent normally mac compatible. And dont worry if this is cheapo extra gear lying around. No Shame. Thats the whole point of a hackintosh. Making an effectively identical computer in functionality to a WAY overpriced Mac Pro. The cheaper the better, in fact.
I don't really have a problem with the fact that the OS X Lion install might mess up my Windows 7 install. I just want to be sure that it will not turn my computer into a brick by rendering it useless if something fails. I have listed the components below that I want to use and I do realize that some of them may not be on the compatibility list, but I have been looking around for days and have come across multiple people whom have successfully used these components (Motherboard & RevoDrive). I also would prefer if I could use both of the video cards, but it is not a big deal if I can't. I also have a spare HDD in my computer which I don't use for anything currently that I can pretty much just screw around with to test it out on first. Motherboard: Asus P6X58D Premium Chipset: Intel X58 / ICH10R CPU: Intel Core i7 950 GPU (1): EVGA GeForce GTX 570 2.5GB GPU (2): PNY GeForce GTX 460 1GB Sound Card: On-board Network Card: On-board Wireless Card: N/A SSD - OcZ RevoDrive 120GB Also I only plan on dual booting, I have no interest in using virtual machine.
cool, all good stuff here. Its gonna be a beast when its done! Im pretty confident you wont have any issues- but I have heard that Nvidia has gotten slightly more glitchy on hackintosh with Lion. (I have never installed Lion, yet... So I cant confirm that.) Back up your stuff and get to installing! Ps - I have a recording project I am currently working on that could use some software that really only works on macs to be more successful... This thread reminded me just how much fun I had making this all work and has inspired me to go ahead and do another hackintosh, as well. Mine's going to be Lion install with some pretty ancient leftover parts I had laying around. Im using a G41 MSI barebones slim PC motherboard-- that may or may not work on mac at all,-- a left over geForce 210 and an e6750 Core2Duo.... this oughta be interesting... Onboard everything means a realtek 888 model audio, Intel Pro/1000 networking ICH7 chipset, and no wireless. My first attempt will be to use an iAtkos v7 distro to get Leo running. Then, Im going to use the UniBeast Tonymac method of getting Lion up and running. I think this has officially become a trhead of two.. I'd be shocked if anyone else here could interpret that last paragraph besides you and I, blades!! Let me know how your install progresses, and I will do the same.
I'll definitely let you know how it ends up, but it might be a little bit because I am going away this weekend to visit my brother. He is the one I will be getting OS X Lion from because he has a MacBook Pro since he is majoring in Digital Media. I don't really have much to backup anyway though, since I have 4TBs in my computer that house most of my stuff while I boot off the OcZ RevoDrive. What do you think I should install the operating systems to... both on the OcZ RevoDrive 120GB or one on the SSD & one on a HDD? (I really want to put both on the OcZ RevoDrive 120GB and I don't see how there could be a problem with that, but I figured I would ask for input.) I am wondering because when people have been discussing the dual booting some people suggested these steps... 1. Install Operating System 1 on HDD (1) 2. Remove HDD (1) 3. Install Operating System 2 on HDD (2) 4. Reattach HDD (1) Also, others would suggest installing one operating system first because of possible conflictions. Do you think it really matters which one is installed first? I am pretty sure I have seen people suggesting to install it one over the other in both scenarios with OS X Lion / Windows 7 and Windows 7 / OS X Lion. (I could have gotten that wrong, but I will be continuing looking stuff up about it for like another week until I do it anyways because I will be out of town.)
I used iAtkos when I did mine for fun a few years back. It must have come a long way though cause I think the version I used was S3 or something. I dont think that would work very well, but I could be wrong. I think if you do it that way then youll have to select your boot device in the bios to change which OS you load. It would be easier if you can set it up to just choose which one in the bootloader
I don't want to do it that way anyways I just figured it was worth mentioning since a couple people I have seen suggested that. It seems like a "quick solution" to getting dual boot working properly, but seems like it would end up being a more pain in the ass in the end. I want to get both the OS on the RevoDrive by partitioning it, but I just want to verify that and if either of you knew if it would matter as to which OS I installed first? (I have seen mixed opinions about that part.)
I dont know which way works better now, but when I did it years ago I had Windows installed first then installed OSX and the Chameleon bootloader. At boot, you choose OSX or Windows and when you choose Windows it continued on to the Windows bootloader which autoloads the Windows install since as far as it was concerned there were no other installations to choose from. But, it could be different now days. Sounds like mwhays knows a bit more on this subject so go with what he says
not necessary in my experience. I just put the different os's on different partitions on the same drive. Works just fine for me in the past.
http://tonymacx86.com/ has some decent Guides for hardware as well as tools that makes setting the thing up rather smooth. I used a Mackintosh for BSD related stuff for years than my employer bought me the real thing. best guide for dule booting with a hackentosh can be found here http://tonymacx86.blogspot.com/2009/11/dual-boot-windows-7-and-os-x-snow.html enjoy the process it can be a challenge and somewhat rewarding when you pull it off.
My preference has been to get the Mac install working first. I like having the Chameleon bootloader run the show. But, This is all out the window with snow leopard and Lion. Im working on getting Lion up and running myself. There is a bit of a learning curve with the newer boot cd method of install. Im hoping to have it up and running by morning. I will report my results and share my experience.
Okay. I will report back with my results as well in about a week for the reason I stated in a previous post. Thanks for all advice and everything as well.
So, my project was an epic fail. Turns out the MSI Hetis just wont do it. I mean just will not install. So, in typical fashion. I've cobbled together a few parts- and then bought all the parts needed to make a whole new computer. I have several socket 775 cpus laying about so I went with that as the architecture. My mother board gets here in a day or two, and i will post build results. I bought an ASUS p5G41t motherboard. - this was real f'ing painful... I actually bought a 775 socket motherboard... I've been throwing those away... ugh. I've got 4x2gb ddr3 sticks laying around. also, I had a q9550 processor laying around. - It actually is extraordinary for rendering and processing audio effects: this build's primary task. I bought a 500w PSU - some cheap thing from Microcenter that is actually really good and extremely quiet. I bought another Antec Kuhler closed loop water cooler. I bought another 4u rackmount case to put all this shit in. I had a couple of 500gb hard drives that will make up the storage end. I bought a fanless HD 6770 I bought a few Enermax batwing case fans- that I absolutely adore. DBs/air flow = these are the best fans Ive ever used. This is all compatible stuff for a vanilla snow leopard install. should work out just fine. oh... and for the copyright people Ive been seeing pop up on the forum lately: I bought a copy of Snow Leopard and Lion for the build.
success! First try with the new motherboard. works like a boss. 10.6.8 Snow leopard with a completely vanilla install with a bootloader! I was pretty surprised at how easy the snow leopard install was. I used the iBoot cd - retail Snow Leopard dvd - and then multibeast patching suite to get the whole thing stable. took two restarts to have a fully functioning mac. Oh, I didnt get the onboard sound working because i didnt try. Im using an external firewire soundcard from Focusrite. It works fine, too! Now to decide if i want Lion....
so fanless ATI was a bust... or explosion... whatevs -defecto card. back to the gt 210 and crappy fullscreen video. I'll pick up an NVIDIA sometime or other. Im really curious hows your is going twinblade. Hackintoshing, yet?