Hackintosh 10.5.5 Retail Rig - Starting at $305

[mohkahn]

Dangit, I only have 3 days and 12 hours! Oye...

Take it easy and do put oil food, rest, and whatever you Cyborg guys need to work so hard..

I can't say for others, but I sure can wait for a lot longer, despite being very eager for the final release.

so again, health comes first. you won't be of any use to us, if u are not functioning at your full cyborg mental capacity now would you?

 

[mosslack]

Originally posted by: Zaap

Originally posted by: mosslack
Anyway, I did some reading and found out that Vista x64 will install on a GPT disk, so I thought I would give that a try. Setup the disk again, same scheme except for having the EFI partition as number 1, installed Vista first, worked fine, then installed OS X, but Darwin didn't overwrite the Vista bootloader and now unless I use the boot 132 CD it will always boot up in Vista. This was all last night, I haven't done much with it today.

Edit: I did try to install Chameleon again, but got the same results. Looks like it's just meant to be that I can't dual boot off a single drive!

Hmm... okay it must be that retail OSX /Boot-132 can't install to an MBR disk for whatever reason. I know the 'distro' versions of OSX work on MBR, and it's odd since the OSX installer says to use MBR for installing to disks with Windows.

I've only been installing Windows on a separate disk lately.

One thing to keep in mind- as long as you do have Vista and OSX installed on the same drive, you can hack Vista's bootloader to boot OSX; try EasyBCD or the Chain 0 method.

Zaap, where are u buddy? I finally got an install of Vista and Leopard on the same disk and downloaded EasyBCD. Told it to add another OS and chose generic OSx86 PC. When it tried to boot it gave a chain error, but it was late last night and I gave up and went to bed. I originally installed Vista on the first partition, but that would not work because once I cloned Leopard to the second partition, Vista would no longer boot. So I recreated the partitions and installed Vista on the 2nd one this time. That worked. Used SD to copy my good Leo install to the 1st partition and went back into Vista and installed EasyBCD. It will boot Vista but I get the chain error when trying to boot Leo. BTW, I DID NOT run Chameleon after cloning the Leo install over to the first partition, should I have done that?

Edit: I went ahead and installed Chameleon and it works now. A bit of a clumsy menu system though, if I choose Leopard it goes to the Darwin bootloader where I have to press a key to get Leopard to boot. Otherwise it defaults back to Vista. Still not bad, it works. I can always tweak things.

 

[Zaap]

Originally posted by: mosslack
Edit: I went ahead and installed Chameleon and it works now. A bit of a clumsy menu system though, if I choose Leopard it goes to the Darwin bootloader where I have to press a key to get Leopard to boot. Otherwise it defaults back to Vista. Still not bad, it works. I can always tweak things.

Nice! Glad that you got it working.

All I can say is, discard my original attempt at a tutorial- the rules seem to be different for a retail install vs. distro. If you have time to document your exact process, it would be awesome to have a definitive guide.

I don't know if there's any way around going to the Darwin bootloader to boot OSX. That's always how I've had multi-boot machines function. (If there is another way, I'd love to know about it).

Just curious, so by "defaulting back to Vista", I'm assuming you mean that Vista is the default item on the Darwin boot list, and you have to arrow down to select OSX? And Vista also boots fine from Darwin?

I'm still trying to figure out if there's a way to change the boot order in Darwin after the fact, as it would be nice to be able to always set OSX as the default item. In my experience with installs on the same hard drive, Darwin has defaulted to whichever OS is on the 'first' or primary partition.

 

[Kaido]

The Universal Installer (aka 1-Click) is completed. All you need now is a Leopard DVD and the Universal OSx86 Installer application. You can install directly from your existing Mac desktop using this tool, right from the Leopard DVD or a mounted image file. If you don't have a Mac, you can simply burn the BootCD as a temporary bootloader until you've got Leopard installed, then use the Universal Installer. Couldn't be easier (really!)

 

[Zaap]

Originally posted by: Kaido
Couldn't be easier (really!)

You say that...

... and then you always turn around and make it easier!

But seriously, nice job! I can't wait to try out your new methods on a round of upcoming builds for friends. (Waiting impatiently for the LA computer show this weekend and a chance to snap up a few more cheap P35-DS3L mobos from one of the vendors. It's amazing how many of those actually are still floating around out there!)

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: Zaap

Originally posted by: Kaido
Couldn't be easier (really!)

You say that...

... and then you always turn around and make it easier!

But seriously, nice job! I can't wait to try out your new methods on a round of upcoming builds for friends. (Waiting impatiently for the LA computer show this weekend and a chance to snap up a few more cheap P35-DS3L mobos from one of the vendors. It's amazing how many of those actually are still floating around out there!)

Well, there are various methods of installing, but my guide will only focus on two - installation from the actual DVD itself and installing everything from the desktop of an existing Mac to a bare SATA drive. There's really no point in anything else now thanks to PCWiz's Universal Installer (aka 1-Click) app.

 

[albert1028]

Originally posted by: Zaap

Originally posted by: Kaido
Couldn't be easier (really!)

You say that...

... and then you always turn around and make it easier!

But seriously, nice job! I can't wait to try out your new methods on a round of upcoming builds for friends. (Waiting impatiently for the LA computer show this weekend and a chance to snap up a few more cheap P35-DS3L mobos from one of the vendors. It's amazing how many of those actually are still floating around out there!)

Hey Zaap,

Is the LA Computer Fair worth going to? I didn't realize there was. It's the one in Pomona right?

Thanks.

 

[mosslack]

Originally posted by: Zaap

Originally posted by: mosslack
Edit: I went ahead and installed Chameleon and it works now. A bit of a clumsy menu system though, if I choose Leopard it goes to the Darwin bootloader where I have to press a key to get Leopard to boot. Otherwise it defaults back to Vista. Still not bad, it works. I can always tweak things.

Nice! Glad that you got it working.

All I can say is, discard my original attempt at a tutorial- the rules seem to be different for a retail install vs. distro. If you have time to document your exact process, it would be awesome to have a definitive guide.

I don't know if there's any way around going to the Darwin bootloader to boot OSX. That's always how I've had multi-boot machines function. (If there is another way, I'd love to know about it).

Just curious, so by "defaulting back to Vista", I'm assuming you mean that Vista is the default item on the Darwin boot list, and you have to arrow down to select OSX? And Vista also boots fine from Darwin?

I'm still trying to figure out if there's a way to change the boot order in Darwin after the fact, as it would be nice to be able to always set OSX as the default item. In my experience with installs on the same hard drive, Darwin has defaulted to whichever OS is on the 'first' or primary partition.

Yep, if you don't press a key at the Darwin screen it will default to Vista, which takes you back to the Vista bootloader again. So to boot up Leopard you have to hit a key and then select Leopard from the Darwin menu. Like you I think Darwin always defaults to the first bootable partition. They hacked the Vista bootloader, why can't someone do that to Darwin as well?

I plan on doing some more experiments with this and I will post my results. Obviously nothing fancy like Kaido, but if it helps a few others along the path it will be worth it.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: mosslack
Yep, if you don't press a key at the Darwin screen it will default to Vista, which takes you back to the Vista bootloader again. So to boot up Leopard you have to hit a key and then select Leopard from the Darwin menu. Like you I think Darwin always defaults to the first bootable partition. They hacked the Vista bootloader, why can't someone do that to Darwin as well?

I plan on doing some more experiments with this and I will post my results. Obviously nothing fancy like Kaido, but if it helps a few others along the path it will be worth it.

Go for it...my dual-booting section is pretty skimpy right now, don't have time to flesh it out if I'm going to release it on Saturday. Waaaaaaaaaay too many things to test lol.

 

[randomlinh]

woot, I think I'm stable now.. ha. After some lostness, Kaidio pointed me in the right direction... and it's all seemingly working so far. Only the CPU string is off, but I haven't bothered to look. I'm about to test my FW card. My MSI bluetooth dongle even works, heh

I don't know why, but the first boot did not boot for me. I rebooted, and then everything was kosher. ran the 1 click installer again tho on the hackintosh, and then the combo update.. and then sound. but so far, so good.

 

[leglez]

Anyone using This dvd burner on their hack? About to build a new one and ordering tomorrow and that is cheaper and a little faster than the Lite-On.

 

[jreezee]

Can you convert an existing hackintosh to work like an Apple Time Capsule? I recently bought a Macbook Pro (2.5GHZ, 4GB, 320 GB HD) and loving it. My hackintosh has almost the same specs as yours (Q6600 @ 3GHZ, 8GB RAM, 8600GT 512MB). Would it be a waste to use this as a time capsule/wireless backup device? Anyone interested in buying it? I'd prefer to sell local (send me a PM if you are in the MD area).

 

[Zaap]

Originally posted by: albert1028
Hey Zaap,
Is the LA Computer Fair worth going to? I didn't realize there was. It's the one in Pomona right?

Yes, in Pomona. Yes, I'd say it's definitely worth going to. It's definitely not what it used to be- used to be packed with tons more vendors, and it took up two entire pavilions of the Pomona Fairplex, and it was held every other weekend.

Now it barely fills one pavilion, and is held sporadically. The vendor selection isn't what it used to be, but it's still a good source of bargains, and finding stuff that's not going to be sold anywhere else because it was the latest/greatest maybe a year ago, but not now. (Hence, last show I found someone still selling the P35-DS3L and P35-DS4).

I also love getting stuff that saves on shipping costs online- computer cases, hard drives, enclosures, blank media, monitors, and every type of peripheral under the sun. Pay with cash, and there's no sales tax either.

For things you barely think of getting, until you're about to pay too much for them somewhere else, it's really great- USB and monitor cables, all manner of adapters, cheap as dirt wireless cards, point devices, cheap inkjet cartridges, flash drives, MP3 players, etc. etc.

Since it's the last show before Christmas, it'll probably be pretty packed.

It's well worth checking out- if you're at all a computer geek you'll enjoy it. (By tickets online if you go, saves a few bucks- and park on a residential street near the fair to avoid the Fairplex parking prices.)

 

[albert1028]

Originally posted by: Zaap

Originally posted by: albert1028
Hey Zaap,
Is the LA Computer Fair worth going to? I didn't realize there was. It's the one in Pomona right?

Yes, in Pomona. Yes, I'd say it's definitely worth going to. It's definitely not what it used to be- used to be packed with tons more vendors, and it took up two entire pavilions of the Pomona Fairplex, and it was held every other weekend.

Now it barely fills one pavilion, and is held sporadically. The vendor selection isn't what it used to be, but it's still a good source of bargains, and finding stuff that's not going to be sold anywhere else because it was the latest/greatest maybe a year ago, but not now. (Hence, last show I found someone still selling the P35-DS3L and P35-DS4).

I also love getting stuff that saves on shipping costs online- computer cases, hard drives, enclosures, blank media, monitors, and every type of peripheral under the sun. Pay with cash, and there's no sales tax either.

For things you barely think of getting, until you're about to pay too much for them somewhere else, it's really great- USB and monitor cables, all manner of adapters, cheap as dirt wireless cards, point devices, cheap inkjet cartridges, flash drives, MP3 players, etc. etc.

Since it's the last show before Christmas, it'll probably be pretty packed.

It's well worth checking out- if you're at all a computer geek you'll enjoy it. (By tickets online if you go, saves a few bucks- and park on a residential street near the fair to avoid the Fairplex parking prices.)

Sweeet! Thanks Zaap. Mother is in town this weekend, so i'm not sure if i can escape for a few hours. haha.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: randomlinh
woot, I think I'm stable now.. ha. After some lostness, Kaidio pointed me in the right direction... and it's all seemingly working so far. Only the CPU string is off, but I haven't bothered to look. I'm about to test my FW card. My MSI bluetooth dongle even works, heh

There's a patcher app for that. I have a newer version I'll be including in the final version that even lets you change that Apple logo in About this Mac

 

[Kaido]

Developer Tools are done, video time!

 

[randomlinh]

Originally posted by: Kaido

Originally posted by: randomlinh
woot, I think I'm stable now.. ha. After some lostness, Kaidio pointed me in the right direction... and it's all seemingly working so far. Only the CPU string is off, but I haven't bothered to look. I'm about to test my FW card. My MSI bluetooth dongle even works, heh

There's a patcher app for that. I have a newer version I'll be including in the final version that even lets you change that Apple logo in About this Mac

Yeah, I saw it mentioned somewhere, but at this point, it's a low priority, I need to move all my data over so I can hand over my imac to my mom, she keeps asking me when she'll get it, ha.

 

[Kaido]

Sneak Peek at the Universal OSx86 Installer
Sneak Peek at Fetch
Sneak Peek at DSDT Patcher GUI
Sneak Peek at Mkext Tool
Sneak Peek at the Leopard Soup 2.0 TOC

All coming out tomorrow

 

[randomlinh]

nice.

 

[mohkahn]

Originally posted by: Kaido
Sneak Peek at the Universal OSx86 Installer
Sneak Peek at Fetch
Sneak Peek at DSDT Patcher GUI
Sneak Peek at Mkext Tool
Sneak Peek at the Leopard Soup 2.0 TOC

All coming out tomorrow

Dang, dang, dang.... you know man,, it's not difficult to wait for this thing,
but it becomes tortuous when you give such dandy sneak previews and make
us dribble..

you are Dracula... can't wait for the sun to come up in your country.. I
hope wait will finally be over for me tonight.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: mohkahn
Dang, dang, dang.... you know man,, it's not difficult to wait for this thing,
but it becomes tortuous when you give such dandy sneak previews and make
us dribble..

you are Dracula... can't wait for the sun to come up in your country.. I
hope wait will finally be over for me tonight.

I'm so tired haha...it's almost 11pm here and it's been a crazy busy week. I nailed the last two bugs tonight and I'm finalizing the guide. It might be released at midnight tomorrow, no promises lol.

 

[mosslack]

A quick and easy way to dual boot Leopard and Vista on the same HD. First off this has only been tested on a GA-P35-DS3L with the Retail install of Leopard and Vista Ultimate x64 because that is what I have available. Be sure to read through entirely before attempting so you catch all of the hints I thought of while I was typing. That said, here goes:

1. When setting up the HD to install Leopard, setup at least 2 partitions. Setup the first partition for Leopard, formatted as Mac OS Extended (Journaled). Under options, be sure Guid Partition Table is selected. The second partition will be used for the Vista install and should be formatted as DOS for now. It's a good idea to name the partition VISTA so it will be easier to spot when you are actually installing Vista. Optional: Setup a third partition for shared data between the two operating systems. If you do this be sure to format the common partition as DOS so it can be used by both systems.

2. Install Leopard, using Kaido's guide of course. After Leopard is installed, updated and bootable, insert the Vista DVD into the optical drive and restart the computer.

3. Once Vista has loaded it's files and you have selected your language, etc., you have to choose where to install Vista. Highlight the partition you setup earlier and reformat the drive as NTFS so that Vista can be installed. Once reformatted select NEXT to install Vista. Sit back and relax or have a snack while Vista installs, it ain't quick.

4. Once Vista has been installed and it has checked your computer's performance, etc., you can use Internet Explorer to downloaded EASYBCD. Just Google for EASYBCD and it should be the first link. After EASYBCD is installed, run it to setup the dual boot.

5. Vista will be the only OS shown when you start the program, so you will need to add your install of Leopard to the boot menu. Select Add/Remove Entries under the EasyBCD Toolbox for this. Under Add an Entry, click on Mac and click the pull down menu and select Generic x86 PC. Change the name to whatever you wish to use and finally click Add Entry. You should see the name you chose in the Manage Existing Entries window above. Click Save.

6. Next select Change Settings from the EasyBCD ToolBox. Under Global Settings, select your Default OS and the Bootloader Timeout. Click Save Settings. That's about it.

The way I did it was to choose Leopard as my default OS and set the timeout to 5 seconds. So when my system boots it goes to the Vista bootloader and Leopard is highlighted. After the 5 seconds is up, control is transferred to the Darwin bootloader and there is another 5 second pause before Leopard starts up. If this is too long for you adjust the timeout in EasyBCD and/or for the Darwin bootloader.

Be sure to use a HD of sufficient space. Vista requires about 30 Gb minimum and I wouldn't recommend any less than that for Leopard. About the minimum drive size I would recommend if using the shared data partition is 80 Gb. Leopard (30 GB), Vista (30 Gb), Data (20 Gb).

Hope you find this useful...

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: mosslack
A quick and easy way to dual boot Leopard and Vista on the same HD. First off this has only been tested on a GA-P35-DS3L with the Retail install of Leopard and Vista Ultimate x64 because that is what I have available. Be sure to read through entirely before attempting so you catch all of the hints I thought of while I was typing. That said, here goes:

Hope you find this useful...

Awesome thanks! My current dual-boot section is super skimpy and only has instructions for dual-booting using two drives (the easy way, with the Gigabyte boot selector). I've been half-heartedly pursuing it because there are so many good ways that work and everyone's situation is different. The Chameleon Team has recently broken the 64K barrier and has teamed up with the Voodoo Kernel Team, which means we will see some good things coming from the bootloader developers soon, one of which I hope is a better, more customizable bootloader for multi-booting. So, it's on my to-do list, with the hopes that the bootloader devs pop out a new one soon

 

[randomlinh]

30GB for vista? that seems a bit insane... unless you're talking about a full suite of apps too

 

[SpandexAssasin]

I was just about to ask about dual-booting with 2 drives. From the time it took me to log in, Kaito had answered my question

What is the big advantage anyway to using 2 drives instead of partitioning? I've read it's easier/better but my smallest hdd I have is 250gb and it sucks if I have to dedicate the entire hdd to vista alone. Oh well I guess...