Hackintosh

[MickMcGeough]

Anyone else tried this?

I just installed Snow Leopard on a Gateway 7805u laptop and I'm shocked at how easy it is. Took a bit of tinkering and a bit of reading but I've hard a harder time getting XP installed on new laptops than this.

My biggest gripe with Macbooks has always been the ridiculously out-of-proportion cost compared to PC laptops. The 7805u has got more horsepower than a top-end Macbook Pro at about a third of the price.

Highly recommended to anyone curious about using a Mac but scared of the price tag.

[DownhillGoat]

Hrm. I'm going to have to look into this. I was looking at a Macbook but also need an option to run a video input.

Do you have a good walkthrough for the install?

Also, where did you get the laptop from and what was the price?

[photon]

Just keep in mind for this thread that discussing what it is is ok, linking to downloads or where to download things isn't.

[FanIn80]

Which install source did you use? I'd like to dual boot my Dell.

Edit: Yeah just the name is all I need. No links.

[MickMcGeough]

Originally Posted by photon

Just keep in mind for this thread that discussing what it is is ok, linking to downloads or where to download things isn't.

Nothing illegal, that I know of. The method I used requires an unaltered retail Snow Leopard Install DVD.

To get started, I used the "myHack" method. Basically, you copy your legitimately purchased Snow Leopard Install DVD to a USB stick, then execute myHack on it, which adds a couple of kernel extensions (drivers, basically), and the Chamelon bootloader.

That's seriously it as far as OS installation, then it's just a matter of finding the right kexts for your hardware and tinkering. VoodooProjects.org has a ton of very useful kexts, for my hardware I didn't need anything else except those.

The only thing that didn't work was my wifi (Intel 5100 N). I picked up a Belkin USB 802.11n dongle from memex for $25 and now I'm good to go.

http://osx86.sojugarden.com/
http://voodooprojects.org/

ETA: Tons of info at http://www.insanelymac.com/ for this, too.

[MickMcGeough]

Originally Posted by kunkstyle

Hrm. I'm going to have to look into this. I was looking at a Macbook but also need an option to run a video input.

Do you have a good walkthrough for the install?

Also, where did you get the laptop from and what was the price?

Got the laptop from TigerDirect for $899. Silly price for this machine (and I bought it about 9 months ago). 4GB ram, 9800 GTS 1GB discrete, 2x2.4Ghz C2D, 320GB 7200rpm HDD, firewire, esata, HDMI.

[photon]

Originally Posted by MickMcGeough

Nothing illegal, that I know of. The method I used requires an unaltered retail Snow Leopard Install DVD.

Running OSX on non-mac hardware violates their EULA so they would consider it illegal, if that would actually stand up in court or not is another question, but you have to violate the agreement you make by using the software to use the software.

[DownhillGoat]

Originally Posted by MickMcGeough

Got the laptop from TigerDirect for $899

They appear to no longer carry it.

[sclitheroe]

Originally Posted by MickMcGeough

That's seriously it as far as OS installation, then it's just a matter of finding the right kexts for your hardware and tinkering. VoodooProjects.org has a ton of very useful kexts, for my hardware I didn't need anything else except those.

The only thing that didn't work was my wifi (Intel 5100 N). I picked up a Belkin USB 802.11n dongle from memex for $25 and now I'm good to go.

Hahaha... It works great, except for the pieces that don’t work, that got fixed by sticking more pieces into the side of the laptop

Carry on, you noble savage, subverting the very pillars of modern computing, dancing on the razor edge of the fine red line that separates PC and Mac camps. A true cyber nomad, you refuse to pitch your tent in either.

[MickMcGeough]

Originally Posted by sclitheroe

Hahaha... It works great, except for the pieces that don’t work, that got fixed by sticking more pieces into the side of the laptop

Carry on, you noble savage, subverting the very pillars of modern computing, dancing on the razor edge of the fine red line that separates PC and Mac camps. A true cyber nomad, you refuse to pitch your tent in either.

Hahaha nice.

Actually - from all the non-windows OSes I've tinkered with, having only one unsupported piece of hardware is a dream.

[photon]

Yeah when I got my netbook I made sure and chose a model that would do this, though I haven't actually done it yet.

[sclitheroe]

Originally Posted by MickMcGeough

Hahaha nice.

Actually - from all the non-windows OSes I've tinkered with, having only one unsupported piece of hardware is a dream.

Just bugging you...

I’m unfortunately past the point in time where I could spend lots of time on quixotic computer projects like the Hackintosh - I need a machine that works, because I barely have enough time for everything as is.

I’d like to check out eComstation some time (the successor to OS/2), as a big OS/2 fan back in the day, but that’s even more quixotic than hackintosh, so I stay far away.

[sureLoss]

I was able to do this easily on my dell mini 10v with a $29 snow leopard update disk and a boot loader.

All you have to do is make sure your hardware is supported or their are drivers for the hardware you plan to use.