Mac OS on PC (not quite Hackintosh) - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: @rt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 15, 2018, 09:41:22 am
content: Hi Guys,I have an understanding of the basic plot with Hackintosh, but wondering if anyone has tried using a HDD with Mac OS pre-installed (pulled from actual Mac hardware)?Mine was set up with dual boot to Windows 7, and had to hold down the Alt key to select the Mac OS partition.On an ordinary PC, it boots straight to the Windows 7 partition, and everything is fine with that, but the Mac OS partition is invisible.Holding down the Alt key is probably a thing recognised by Mac hardware BIOS, but the PC just reports a stuck key at startup.Is there any way to give the pre-installed Mac OS a go?Cheers.

author: PointyOintment
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 25, 2018, 04:24:54 pm
content: As somebody who's never tried to run macOS on non-Apple hardware, only read about it a tiny bit, I think you would at the very least need to install a kernel extension or two, because apparently that's what makes it work. The hard drive formatting/partition table might need to be different too.

author: Ampera
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 25, 2018, 05:03:30 pm
content: I'd say looking here is a bad idea, as there are surely buckets of information on this exact topic, understanding how to install OS/X on true PC compatible hardware.

author: TheNewLab
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 27, 2018, 10:22:57 am
content: Needs a GRUB partition. a a version of a dual boot program.Which program depends upon with MacOS version, and whether you are switching between Mac and Windows or Linux.Go to Ubuntu Site, find dual booting, then back track to the dual boot apps for MacsAlthough a virtual box allows running more than one OS at the same time, I prefer dual booting and use Mac, Linux, and Windows with Mac skins. Dual booting is also how I introduce Mac and Windows users to a flavor of Linux

author: timothyaag
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: August 27, 2018, 07:49:03 pm
content: You could put Clover or some other bootloader on a USB, which should present a menu to select the MacOS partition, if you just wanted to get in. I bought a prebuilt PC that was considered "Very Compatible" with MacOS and it still needed some BIOS settings changed and kexts to work so good luck to you.Oh, also that partition being invisible in Windows isn't surprising. Windows doesn't care about Linux or Mac file system formats and doesn't bother supporting them out of the box.

author: edy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 27, 2018, 10:33:11 pm
content: Quote from: @rt on August 15, 2018, 09:41:22 amI'm sure there is a lot more going on there besides just an Alt-key press. There are major differences in how a Mac boots a Bootcamp'd MacOS/Win dual-booted HDD on a Mac, and how all other PC's handle the drive. You can't just stick a drive from a Mac into a PC and expect it to work. For one, MacOS detects the hardware and there are a number of serial numbers embedded in the system which are only known to Mac.... Even when you virtualize a MacOS you have to trick it. I'm sure Hackintoshes use special software together with the standard MacOS install to get the boot process going and patch things along the way to successfully get the machine up and running (aka "kexts").