The Hackintosh Thread

[Zaap]

Video issues like you're describing sound like classic video driver problems to me, especially the black QuickTime glitches which I recall seeing with some video card I once used that wasn't actually supported. Video caard choice for a proper Hack is just as specific as mobo choice or else there will be problems. I didn't think SLI setups worked *at all* with OSX, but then I've never looked into it.

Unfortunately I don't think fixing audio will help the video issues if it is a video driver issue.

If audio is too problematic, I'd recommend stopping the madness and just going with USB audio- driverless, plug and play, no hassle and often sounds better than onboard audio anyway.

I know you seem pretty set on Clover, but if there is a tonymac solution for your specific hardware, I'd look into it. I personally don't see where Clover is doing all that much for you or making anything actually more 'vanilla' than a multibeast setup.

 

[destrekor]

Video issues like you're describing sound like classic video driver problems to me, especially the black QuickTime glitches which I recall seeing with some video card I once used that wasn't actually supported. Video caard choice for a proper Hack is just as specific as mobo choice or else there will be problems. I didn't think SLI setups worked *at all* with OSX, but then I've never looked into it.

Unfortunately I don't think fixing audio will help the video issues if it is a video driver issue.

If audio is too problematic, I'd recommend stopping the madness and just going with USB audio- driverless, plug and play, no hassle and often sounds better than onboard audio anyway.

I know you seem pretty set on Clover, but if there is a tonymac solution for your specific hardware, I'd look into it. I personally don't see where Clover is doing all that much for you or making anything actually more 'vanilla' than a multibeast setup.

Well in the past, I just had to add a line in AGPM and have the unofficial Nvidia drivers, and video worked great. I didn't get video issues and the system never froze. I even had GPU acceleration in Photoshop (which, I think I still do in Yosemite...)
I've done everything I had done in Mavericks, I think, but so far the fix has eluded me.

Regarding SLI - the use of SLI for increased computing resources is not supported; cards in SLI can be made to work for general everyday purposes. Not sure if monitors strung across both cards would work, I haven't tried that since Mountain Lion days when I gave up very early in the hunt for a stable system... and frankly, can't remember how the triple monitor setup fared (at the time).

I've been looking into a USB audio solution, but I'm aiming for one that's actually good so it is my Windows audio solution as well. I've put some time into researching it, but objective reviews of USB audio seem hit and miss, and tough to come by. Perhaps I've not put nearly enough effort in my searches, but I wasn't ready to spend anything before.

 

[Tr4nd]

Are there any build a Hackintosh services for you? The biggest crux if have is finding an OSX install to make the boot drive from.

I do remember seeing people selling pre-build Hackintoshs and selling them on the net.

 

[el-Capitan]

Hi. Quick question. Are the AMD 290 and 290X supported? (i know that my current 6950 is not)

 

[darth maul]

I saw on TonyMacx86 that a few people have the 290 working, but not the 290x. I think that the 280 AND the 280x work, but double check that to make sure....

 

[SKORPI0]

I want to upgrade to a r90 290x and perhaps Yosemite with my current system (see sig). Is video card supported with the latest OS X?

Sorry, looks like it's been asked in previous postings.

Unsuccessful install of Yosemite using Unibeast.
http://www.tonymacx86.com/445-unibeast-install-os-x-yosemite-any-supported-intel-based-pc.html

Will be trying Clover at a later time.
http://www.tonymacx86.com/yosemite-desktop-guides/144426-how-install-os-x-yosemite-using-clover.html

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Finally sat down today and finished the Hackintosh setup I started in the springtime. Wiped the boot drive and started fresh with Clover and Yosemite.

HDMI audio, Ethernet, Wifi, and iGPU all recognized and working. Bluetooth is recognized but hangs immediately when I try to connect to something. (I'll probably just get a USB dongle for it.)

Updated from 10.10 to 10.10.1 with no hiccoughs.

I Declare Victory!

 

[Kaido]

Finally sat down today and finished the Hackintosh setup I started in the springtime. Wiped the boot drive and started fresh with Clover and Yosemite.

HDMI audio, Ethernet, Wifi, and iGPU all recognized and working. Bluetooth is recognized but hangs immediately when I try to connect to something. (I'll probably just get a USB dongle for it.)

Updated from 10.10 to 10.10.1 with no hiccoughs.

I Declare Victory!

Nice, congrats!! I feel like I've been neglecting this thread lately...mine's been working without a hiccup forever now. The installation process is beyond easy too thanks to Tonymac's great installation system, provided you buy the right base equipment (mobo, GPU, etc.).

I would like to sit down over the holidays & tinker with the Clover bootloader a bit, it's been awhile since I've played with it & it looks like it's been coming along nicely:

http://sourceforge.net/projects/cloverefiboot/

http://www.tonymacx86.com/yosemite-desktop-guides/144426-how-install-os-x-yosemite-using-clover.html

 

[Zaap]

I Declare Victory!

Awesome, Dave!

And yes, Blutooth can definitely be tricky. From what I've researched if you want foolproof BT the best way is to adapt actual BT hardware from a real Mac. There's a bit of hardware hackery involved adapting a MacBook dongle to a mobo internal USB header- but its not difficult.

For example here: http://electronicsfun.net/archives/497
(I have no idea if that's the latest hardware for it or not).

Have fun with your Hack!

 

[destrekor]

So I've been having some difficulty all around, as anyone who has followed my posts here should know. Recently, the 10.10.1 update broke the system, I couldn't get it to boot. I did something stupid: I booted into the backup, updated Clover Configuration but pointed it to the main drive, not the Backup drive, in hopes updating the main EFI partition might solve the issue. Well, no, that just made things worse. D: Woopsie. Now I have no bootable EFI (well, the backup might have one that boots, didn't know which HD drive it was on the boot menu)
Before y'all say restore the backup, well, it's now older with Mavericks. I forgot to run a full backup before updating to the 10.10.1. I also have Time Machine going.

Now, something I do have in mind: starting over, completely. I do want to get documents back, and I don't know how the Mac transfer works, but if I can get app data and settings to transfer, that would be awesome.
But sound never worked, and the GTX 560 Ti wasn't really that compatible it seemed. I get SLI doesn't work, but power management might not have existed for one card. It seems to maybe be a 560 Ti issue, and not a SLI issue. I won't get SLI computing power and gaming performance, but frankly, I'm not even worried about gaming. The SLI is for gaming on Windows.

Now, nothing is critical right now, so I might just not even bother with all of this until I am ready to buy two things (or three): two new GPUs (perhaps one), and a USB DAC/soundcard. I'm trying to figure out which one is actually good, because for sake of my sanity, it needs to replace my soundcard entirely. I'll miss a dedicated PCI/PCI-e soundcard, but I figure a good one should be good enough. By the time I have a good dedicated set of desktop monitors, if I ever do, then I'll have a better solution all around.

I'm looking into getting a GTX 970 SLI setup (driving good visuals across a Surround setup requires a bit of oomph), so with that and audio changing, if I am going to start over entirely, I should wait instead of messing with kexts and having to change them some more, I think that might be why my setup was still not perfect prior to the recent meltdown.

I've been trying to make do on slightly unsupported hardware (Asus P8Z68 Deluxe), and trying like hell to "go vanilla" and work with Clover. If updates aren't perfectly smooth, is there even a point to vanilla? Should I just start looking into TonyMac's software UniBeast and MultiBeast? Can MultiBeast be of use with Clover, or is it really a package deal?
Do I really lose anything by going with TonyMac's route? Is TimeMachine still useful, and can I still boot into fully-functional backups if things go wrong?

 

[Kaido]

I've been trying to make do on slightly unsupported hardware (Asus P8Z68 Deluxe), and trying like hell to "go vanilla" and work with Clover. If updates aren't perfectly smooth, is there even a point to vanilla? Should I just start looking into TonyMac's software UniBeast and MultiBeast? Can MultiBeast be of use with Clover, or is it really a package deal?
Do I really lose anything by going with TonyMac's route? Is TimeMachine still useful, and can I still boot into fully-functional backups if things go wrong?

I've played with everything, and I like TonyMac's system the best because (1) it works, and (2) someone else does all the work. You buy supported hardware, he gives you the software (for free!). You can get crazy vanilla with custom DSDT edits, using a separate USB boot stick, and so on, but it just depends on how you want to setup & maintain your system.

Right now we have one (shared) computer in the house right now (Hackintosh), which has a 500-gig boot SSD (ML + Tonymac) & a 4TB data drive (these days, I use a Chromebook most of the time). Setup was cake, and it's been rock solid for I don't know how many years now. It never crashes or has problems. I need to update to Yosemite at some point, but we're locked into a lot of specific software versions for efficient workflow (mainly photos - Lightroom, Photoshop, etc.), so I haven't upgraded in awhile.

I wish I was still active in the game, but my Hackintosh has been so stable for so many years now that I just haven't needed to upgrade it yet

 

[DigDog]

Finally sat down today and finished the Hackintosh setup I started in the springtime. Wiped the boot drive and started fresh with Clover and Yosemite.



I Declare Victory!

are you on Z97 by any chance?

i'm trying a build now, managed to get yosemite running but as soon as i shut it down it crashes completely and won't reboot.

gonna put up a "help" thread/post tomorrow .. now i'm done - 14 hours of non stop installs and boot flags.

-v -s npci=0x2000 GraphicsEnabler=Yes etc

 

[vailr]

@DigDog: try "kext-dev-mode=1".
I've found that using that boot argument after any OSX point update, will enable booting to desktop. Then subsequent system re-boots can somehow proceed without requiring any boot arguments.

 

[Kaido]

Oh snap...Tonymac added Broadwell CPU support with support for integrated Intel HD 5300, 5500, and 6000 graphics:

http://www.tonymacx86.com/announcements/162115-chimera-4-1-update.html

As of OS X 10.10.3, Broadwell CPU and graphics are now supported, which means the new BRIX mini computers from Gigabyte are supported: (GB-BXi5H-5200 tested successfully!)

http://www.tonymacx86.com/yosemite-...ts-intel-hd-5500-graphics-broadwell-brix.html

Oooooh...I roll these out literally weekly & always have a couple lying around my shop, definitely going to have to play with this! Only one snag:

The only issue with this little box is the m.2 slot Intel BT/WIFI card, which unlike mPCIe slots has no existing alternate to swap in. We're thinking that a Broadcom version will come along soon, but for now the Realtek ethernet is the only method of networking.

However, I just installed an 802.11ac USB adapter for a friend who had a failed mPCIe Wifi adapter in a unibody Macbook, so if you DO need wireless, it's less than thirty bucks to add it in: (still uses that Realtek-esqe scanner app, but it works fine)

http://www.amazon.com/Edimax-EW-7711MAC-Adapter-Performance-10-7~10-10/dp/B00LGN8HWS/

Nice nice nice! If you're not doing anything that requires a heavy-duty GPU, this would be a fantastic DIY Mac Mini...the one they tested is the i5-5200U model, which starts at $380 for the barebones. Add up to 16gb RAM (DDR3L 1.35v), up to 1TB mSATA SSD, and up to a 1TB 2.5" HDD or SSD. Basic mSATA pricing for reference:

120gb: $80
250gb: $130
500gb: $230
1TB: $450

I'm currently using the 250gb Evo 850 line from Samsung with excellent results:

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-850-mSATA-2-Inch-MZ-M5E250BW/dp/B00TGIVTP2/

My go-to RAM kit is the Crucial 16-gig (2x8gb 1.35v) for $105:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008LTBJFW/

Basic RAM pricing:

4GB: $31
8GB: $54
16GB: $105

So on the low-end, you could get a base i5 Broadwell BRIX for $380, 4GB of RAM for $31, and a 250gb for $130, bringing you up to a total of $541 (or add $30 for a wireless card for $571). For comparison, the base Mac Mini starts at $499, but only comes with a 1.4ghz CPU & no SSD (goes all the way up to $1500, depending on what hardware you add). Granted, you get official support with a Mini (and the pricing IS fairly competitive), but it's cool to see this stuff being supported!

 

[vailr]

Only the Intel NUCs offer Intel HD 6000, such as the one reviewed by Anandtech:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/9166/intel-nuc5i7ryh-broadwellu-iris-nuc-review
Note: Intel included the "Samsung SM951 Series MZ-VPV256 256 GB M.2 NVMe SSD" with the review unit, which is not available yet for retail purchase. OSX may not be able to run on NVMe SSDs, due to lack of a driver. The AHCI version of the Samsung SM951 should work.
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-SM951-256GB-AHCI-MZHPV256HDGL-00000/dp/B00VELD92U

HD 6000 NUCs at Newegg:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA24G2NU4801
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856102096

 

[dave_the_nerd]

are you on Z97 by any chance?

i'm trying a build now, managed to get yosemite running but as soon as i shut it down it crashes completely and won't reboot.

gonna put up a "help" thread/post tomorrow .. now i'm done - 14 hours of non stop installs and boot flags.

-v -s npci=0x2000 GraphicsEnabler=Yes etc

Nah, H81. Gigabyte GA-H81TN, or as I like to call it the "Gigabyte Hatin'."

 

[gregulator]

Kaido (or others), been a long time since I built my hack, and I don't use it anymore, but I now need it again for iOS development. I was just going to get a mac mini, but the pricing and non-upgradeability is silly. So I am thinking about just doing another hackintosh from scratch. Is the best way still to just follow Tonymac hardware guide? I don't need a fancy video card and that is where it seems like the most issues arise. So just a mac mini build from his hardware list and go (following his instructions of course). Thanks!

 

[jji7skyline]

Kaido (or others), been a long time since I built my hack, and I don't use it anymore, but I now need it again for iOS development. I was just going to get a mac mini, but the pricing and non-upgradeability is silly. So I am thinking about just doing another hackintosh from scratch. Is the best way still to just follow Tonymac hardware guide? I don't need a fancy video card and that is where it seems like the most issues arise. So just a mac mini build from his hardware list and go (following his instructions of course). Thanks!

Tonymacx86 guides are great for beginners, but if you have some experience with hackintoshing, I suggest you do some research into the Clover bootloader. It's generally better in every way compared to the more standard method of Chameleon or Chimera (Unibeast).

On the other hand, it's hard to beat a Mac Mini spec-for-spec with a PC iirc, might be worth going for a 'real' Mac so that you have stability on your side, especially for work.

Just as an example of what hackintoshing can be like, I've had to reinstall OSX 3 times since I built this new rig two weeks ago. The OSX installation kept getting corrupted beyond repair. Turns out it was the OCZ Arc 100 240GB SSD. Seems to be running fine on my WD Blue 1TB. Oh well, I guess I'll put windows on the SSD.

 

[destrekor]

Tonymacx86 guides are great for beginners, but if you have some experience with hackintoshing, I suggest you do some research into the Clover bootloader. It's generally better in every way compared to the more standard method of Chameleon or Chimera (Unibeast).

On the other hand, it's hard to beat a Mac Mini spec-for-spec with a PC iirc, might be worth going for a 'real' Mac so that you have stability on your side, especially for work.

Just as an example of what hackintoshing can be like, I've had to reinstall OSX 3 times since I built this new rig two weeks ago. The OSX installation kept getting corrupted beyond repair. Turns out it was the OCZ Arc 100 240GB SSD. Seems to be running fine on my WD Blue 1TB. Oh well, I guess I'll put windows on the SSD.

I've enjoyed working within the Clover bootloader on my rig. Has a wealth of power, and patching on the fly is a wonderful approach.

Since moving to a USB audio solution, it has been that much better.


That said, I've had one spot of difficult as of late, and I cannot seem to find a single soul on the internet who has knowledge of a way forward.

HPET - I am confident I need it disabled on my system. With my previous Nvidia configuration in Windows, it seemed best to have HPET enabled in both Windows and BIOS. As my system stands with AMD GPUs, I have the smoothest game performance with HPET disabled in both Windows and BIOS.
However, it seems OS X absolutely loathes a disabled HPET, and suffers KPs soon after booting.

I doubt anyone has any idea here, but I haven't asked yet, so might as well.

 

[slag]

Installed Yosemite on my new dell Inspiron 15, 7548. Seems to work pretty well, touch screen, webcam, everything except the battery. Any suggestions on how to get the battery stats working, charging info, etc?

 

[Kaido]

Installed Yosemite on my new dell Inspiron 15, 7548. Seems to work pretty well, touch screen, webcam, everything except the battery. Any suggestions on how to get the battery stats working, charging info, etc?

Not sure if this would work without a natively-recognized driver, but try Coconut Battery:

http://www.coconut-flavour.com/coconutbattery/

 

[slag]

Tonymacx86 guides are great for beginners, but if you have some experience with hackintoshing, I suggest you do some research into the Clover bootloader. It's generally better in every way compared to the more standard method of Chameleon or Chimera (Unibeast).

On the other hand, it's hard to beat a Mac Mini spec-for-spec with a PC iirc, might be worth going for a 'real' Mac so that you have stability on your side, especially for work.

Just as an example of what hackintoshing can be like, I've had to reinstall OSX 3 times since I built this new rig two weeks ago. The OSX installation kept getting corrupted beyond repair. Turns out it was the OCZ Arc 100 240GB SSD. Seems to be running fine on my WD Blue 1TB. Oh well, I guess I'll put windows on the SSD.

I'm usiong an OCZ ARC 100 240 SSD as well and have had some freezing, but cannot attribute that to the SSD at this time. How can you tell if you are having corruption issues?

 

[slag]

Not sure if this would work without a natively-recognized driver, but try Coconut Battery:

http://www.coconut-flavour.com/coconutbattery/

didn't work, but thank you.

 

[SKORPI0]

Installed 10.11 El Capitan preview on a 2009 SFF computer (Acer Veriton X480G) bought for $30 refurbished.
Followed instructions from this site - How to Install OS X El Capitan on PC/Hackintosh/Mac.

Added a low profile video card (NVidia GT430) since built in video was not fast enough. As expected audio via HDMI didn't work.
Not sure if a regular speaker would work since I didn't have a spare. Used a wireless keyboard and mouse via USB.

Use as a media player & internet. Computer works okay with Windows 8.1.

 

[Kaido]

Building a CustoMac: Buyer's Guide September 2015:

http://www.tonymacx86.com/building-customac-buyers-guide-september-2015.html

f you're building a CustoMac, 4th generation Intel Core i Haswell CPUs + Intel 9 Series motherboards are the current recommendation. In addition to updating links, this month we've added the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950 graphics card, Z97 motherboards with USB 3.1, USB 3.1 PCIe expansion cards, and a few new USB 3.1 accessories.

Intel Skylake CPUs and 100 Series Motherboards Buyer's Guide:

http://www.tonymacx86.com/buying-ad...pus-100-series-motherboards-buyers-guide.html