| Hackintosh How-To | Compatible Systems | Community Support | Hackintosh Videos |
Hackintosh.com provides links to everything you need to build your own Hackintosh and get Mac OS X 10.7 "Lion" or Mac OS X 10.6 "Snow Leopard" running on an unsupported computer -- instructions, step-by-step "how to" guides, and tutorials -- as well as installation videos, lists of compatible computers and parts, and communities for support.
Also interested in Mac hacks, tweaks, and themes as well as Mac and Hackintosh case mods? Visit MacHacks.com.
For Mac specs, prices, answers, side-by-side Mac comparison, tools to lookup Macs by serial number and sort Macs by tech criteria, and much more, see EveryMac.com, too. For iPod, iPhone and iPad specs and more, hit Everyi.com.
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Hackintosh Instructions & Tutorials
Helpful individuals across the Internet have written a number of step-by-step "how to" guides, tutorials, and general advice on installing Mac OS X 10.7 "Lion," Mac OS X 10.6 "Snow Leopard" and Mac OS X 10.5 "Leopard" on self-built systems, Dell and HP Mini netbooks, and more. Also see the Hackintosh video tutorials, below.
Good Hackintosh tutorials for Mac OS X 10.7 "Lion" include:
Modified OS X 10.7.3 Kernel for Ivy Bridge CPUs - Although Apple does not yet support the Intel "Ivy Bridge" processors, this "BridgeHelper" kernel modification from MacMan makes it possible for a Hackintosh. Please note that this kernel mod is highly experimental.
Install OS X 10.7 Lion via Download - The quintessential tutorial to install the download version of Mac OS X 10.7 "Lion" on a PC with compatible hardware using the xMove and Multibeast tools from the legendary tonymacx86. The same site also covers upgrading a Hackintosh to OS X Lion 10.7.1, 10.7.2, and 10.7.3.
Install OS X 10.7 Lion via Apple Thumb Drive - A simple tutorial to install OS X Lion from the retail Apple USB thumb drive on a Hackintosh, also from tonymacx86.
Install OS X 10.7 Lion via All-In-One Bootable USB Drive - A detailed tutorial to install OS X Lion from a bootable USB drive using the UniBeast tool, yet again from tonymacx86.
Buying Lion on a Hackintosh - A short, but vital, post on upgrading a Mac OS X 10.6 "Snow Leopard" Hackintosh to Mac OS X 10.7 "Lion" via the App Store from the always excellent Bassheadtech.
Building a Hackintosh Mini ITX Server - A helpful post on building a "Hackintosh" Mac mini running Mac OS X 10.7 "Lion" Server. Also from Bassheadtech.
Lion on the Hackintosh - An insightful and detailed post from photographer Thomas Pindelski. Covers OS X 10.7 "Lion" installation, workarounds, limitations, benchmarks and more.
Always Up-to-Date Hackintosh Guide - A noble effort to write an "always up-to-date" guide to building a Hackintosh from Lifehacker. Covers hardware selection and construction as well as installing OS X Snow Leopard and Lion. Recently updated to cover UniBeast and OS X 10.7.3, too.
Note that Mac OS X 10.7 "Lion" does not support "Rosetta" and cannot run older Mac OS X software written for the PowerPC processor. Those who need older software should instead consider Mac OS X 10.6 "Snow Leopard."
Hackintosh tutorials for Mac OS X 10.6 "Snow Leopard" also can be useful for those who need their Hackintosh to be compatible with software written for the PowerPC processor or simply who do not like the changes that OS X Lion has brought to the platform:
Snow Leopard on Hackintosh (Second Method) - An excellent, up-to-date guide to installing Mac OS X 10.6 "Snow Leopard" from Bassheadtech. The same site also offers an older step-by-step guide to upgrading a Hackintosh to Mac OS X 10.6 "Snow Leopard" from Mac OS X 10.5.8 "Leopard". Bassheadtech likewise covers upgrading a Hackintosh to Mac OS X 10.6.3, 10.6.4, 10.6.5, 10.6.6, 10.6.7 and 10.6.8.
Install Mac OS X Snow Leopard on an Intel PC - Straightforward instructions using the iBoot and MultiBeast tools from tonymacx86. The same blogger also helps one upgrade a Hackintosh to Mac OS X 10.6.3, 10.6.4, 10.6.5, 10.6.6, 10.6.7 and finally 10.6.8 with useful blog posts.
Sandy Bridge Hackintosh - A six page, up-to-date guide to installing Mac OS X 10.6 "Snow Leopard" on a custom-built "Sandy Bridge" system from RegHardware. Uses the iBoot Legacy and Multibeast applications.
NoFilmSchool Hackintosh - A step-by-step seventeen page Hackintosh tutorial geared toward amateur filmmakers from NoFilmSchool. Covers hardware selection and assembly in addition to Mac OS X installation using the Kakewalk application (as well as the iBoot and MultiBeast tools from the above tonymacx86).
Turning PC into Apple Macintosh - An insightful evaluation of a personal experience building a Hackintosh and a comparison of the resulting Hackintosh to a Mac Pro from BenchmarkReviews.
Build a Hackintosh Mini - A guide to building a US$600 desktop Hackintosh from the Lifehacker blog.
Snow Leopard on an AMD PC - An older Mac OS X 10.6 "Snow Leopard" installation process on a Hackintosh as well as custom details related to using an AMD-based system from iHackintosh. The same site offers a useful more general walkthrough, a list of kexts, and more.
Snow Leopard on a Dell Mini 9, Dell Mini v10, and HP Mini 1000 (or Compaq Mini 700) - Detailed and easy-to-follow guides from myMacNetbook.com, an InsanelyMac spin-off.
Snow Leopard on a Dell Mini 10v - An older walkthrough from the Gizmodo blog for the "ultimate Snow Leopard netbook".
Snow Leopard on an Acer Aspire One ZG5 - Another great walkthrough for Snow Leopard on this largely compatible netbook courtesy of Bassheadtech.
Snow Leopard on a Toshiba Mini NB205 - A short and straightforward walkthrough from Hackintosh Central. The same site also covers the Dell Mini 9.
OS X Netbooks Guide - A collection of guides and tips geared toward installing Mac OS X 10.6 "Snow Leopard" on netbooks from MechDrew.
SuperMaX Review - Not a tutorial per se, but a useful review with benchmark testing of a high-end, and now defunct, "SuperMaX" Hackintosh from the ancient MacInTouch.
There are a variety of Mac OS X 10.5 "Leopard" Hackintosh tutorials that still can be useful for those creating a Hackintosh with older hardware, or just for "historical" interest, too:
Hackintosh In-Depth - a fantastically comprehensive nine part guide covering Hackintosh building, Mac OS X 10.5 "Leopard" installation, and more from Bassheadtech.
Dell Mini 9 Netbook - A step-by-step Hackintosh installation walkthrough for the Dell Mini 9 from Gizmodo. Don't miss the installation and usability videos below as well.
Dell Vostro A90 Netbook - A brief blog post from Hack a Day covering the Hackintosh process on this essentially rebadged Dell Mini 9. See the below videos too.
MSI Wind Netbook - A step-by-step Hackintosh installation guide for the MSI Wind from the Gear Diary blog.
Acer Aspire One (A150X) - A helpful posting from Fernando Colaço's "general purpose useless blog" with installation directions and limitations of the Acer netbook.
Sony Vaio P Netbook - A collection of forum posts documenting the struggle of getting Mac OS X to run on the ultraslim Sony netbook.
MSI Wind Nettop - A rather useful guide from the self-described "Useless Ninjas" website. Covers installing a DVD drive as well as Mac OS X on the extremely cheap nettop PC.
Guide to Creating a Hackintosh - Hardware selection and Mac OS X installation info from Techware Labs.
Install a Retail Mac OS X Leopard DVD on a PC - A step-by-step installation guide from the MeNoob blog.
Building a Hackintosh Apple Can't Sue You For - Choosing hardware and how to install Mac OS X from OSNews.
For Hackintosh "case mod" tutorials -- which cover hardware construction and modification rather than software installation -- be sure to also see MacHacks.com. In addition to collections of Macintosh and Hackintosh case mods, MacHacks.com covers Mac OS X hacks, tweaks, and themes as well.
Hackintosh Compatible Computers, Parts & Drivers Listings
You can't just shove a Mac OS X DVD into any old PC and expect it to work like it does on a Mac. Let's face it, given the vast assortment of configurations, you can't put a Windows DVD into any old PC and expect it to work like Mac OS X does on a Mac. Fortunately, many have experimented with Mac OS X on a wide variety of PC hardware and have shared their findings with the world.
The following listings of Hackintosh compatible computers, parts, motherboards and drivers (kexts) should be helpful:
OSx86 Project - The original wiki that lists desktop and notebook computers, as well as parts, that are compatible with a variety of versions of Mac OS X.
DSDT Database - A database of "Differentiated System Description Tables" to make many motherboards from Asrock, ASUS, EVGA, Gigabyte, Intel and MSI "aware" of Mac OS X. In turn, this is promised to make it possible for the operating system to "utilize more of your hardware" -- from the excellent tonymacx86.
Kakewalk Compatible Motherboards - A list of motherboards compatible with the Kakewalk software application designed to make it easy to install Mac OS X on select systems.
OSx86.net - A database of official and unofficial Mac OS X drivers from the Dutch Hackintosh community.
Mac OS X Netbook Compatibility Chart - A Mac OS X 10.6 "Snow Leopard" compatibility chart of dozens of netbooks from myMacNetbook.com, a spin off of InsanelyMac.
Hackintosh Support Communities
There are a number of vibrant and active communities that focus on helping one another to configure, build, and troubleshoot Hackintosh systems. Notable Hackintosh communities such as the following may be useful to you:
| Hackint0sh.org | Hackintosh.org | InsanelyMac | Tonymacx86 Forums |
| Kakewalk Forums | AppleCentral Hacks | InfiniteMac | AquaMac |
Before posting a message in any of these forums, it always is good form to first search and see whether or not your question has been addressed previously. Those who do not do so can expect to be dismissed as "noobs" or ignored.
Hackintosh Installation & Usability Videos
The following videos demonstrate the installation process of Mac OS X 10.7 "Lion," Mac OS X 10.6 "Snow Leopard" and Mac OS X 10.5 "Leopard" on PC hardware. Although the Mac OS X 10.5 "Leopard" videos are rather vintage, they still can be useful to ascertain how any version of Mac OS X performs when installed on a netbook with largely compatible hardware.
This video -- from Aibal Tech Report -- provides hardware recommendations, how to install Mac OS X 10.7 "Lion" with tonymacx86 tools, and tips to manage a Hackintosh for improved reliability and performance.
This video -- from videographer Matthew Mintun -- recommends hardware for those interested in a high-performance Hackintosh tower and covers the Mac OS X 10.6 "Snow Leopard" installation process with iBoot and MultiBeast from tonymacx86. The author also provides a companion blog post that can be helpful as well.
The Dell Mini 9 was regarded widely as one of the first netbooks that was ideal for a Hackintosh as it was both easy to perform the transformation and the hardware was highly compatible as well.
Although this model has been discontinued, these videos -- from Michael Smith and Andy Ihnatko, respectively -- provide a well-produced demonstration of the general installation process of Mac OS X 10.5 "Leopard" on a netbook and an in-depth look at the compatibility and usability of the operating system on the same 'book.
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Please note that Apple does not support Mac OS X on non-Apple hardware and installing Mac OS X on non-Apple hardware may be illegal in your country. Hackintosh.com, and the author thereof, shall not be held responsible or liable, under any circumstances, for any damages resulting from the use or inability to use the linked information. Hackintosh.com is not approved by or affiliated with Apple, Inc.