| Hackintosh How-To | Compatible Systems | Community Support | Hackintosh Videos |
Hackintosh.com links to everything you need to build a Hackintosh and get OS X "Mountain Lion" or "Lion" as well as earlier versions of Mac OS X running on an unsupported computer -- instructions, step-by-step "how to" guides, and tutorials -- in addition to 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, a tool to lookup Macs by serial number, an installable Mac specs app 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 OS X 10.8 "Mountain Lion," OS X 10.7 "Lion," Mac OS X 10.6 "Snow Leopard" and Mac OS X 10.5 "Leopard" on self-built systems, netbooks, and more. Also see the Hackintosh video tutorials, below.
Quality Hackintosh tutorials for OS X 10.8 "Mountain Lion" include:
Install OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion - A complete OS X 10.8 "Mountain Lion" Hackintosh installation guide from the legendary tonymacx86 using the site's Unibeast installation tool. The site covers the OS X 10.8.1, 10.8.2, 10.8.3, and 10.8.4 updates and has hardware recommendations for building your own system, too.
Install OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion with myHack - An installation guide for OS X 10.8 "Mountain Lion" using the sophisticated myHack app, which has more features than Unibeast and may be of interest accordingly.
Upgrade to OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion from OS X 10.7 Lion - A well-written tutorial to upgrade a Hackintosh running OS X 10.7 "Lion" to OS X 10.8 "Mountain Lion" from the excellent Bassheadtech. The same blogger covers upgrading to OS X 10.8.1 as well as how to switch from BIOS to UEFI on a compatible Gigabyte board.
Install OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion with Unibeast - If the "official" tutorial from tonymacx86 wasn't enough, this one from MacBreaker may help. The same site also covers how to install both the iATKOS and Niresh distros of OS X "Mountain Lion" as well as how to install OS X "Mountain Lion" in Virtualbox with Hackboot.
Budget Hackintosh Project - A detailed ten page tutorial that covers hardware selection and construction for an inexpensive "Ivy Bridge" Hackintosh compatible with OS X 10.8 "Mountain Lion" from BenchmarkReviews. The same author also provides a four page tutorial that covers OS X Mountain Lion software installation.
Build an OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion Hackintosh - Originally written for Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard and subsequently updated to cover OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion and "Ivy Bridge" motherboards, this twelve page Hackintosh tutorial from NoFilmSchool is geared toward amateur filmmakers. It covers hardware selection and assembly in addition to OS X installation.
HP ProBook 4530 Hackintosh - An interesting article from Sonic State about OS X 10.8 "Mountain Lion" installation on an HP ProBook 4530 from the perspective of a professional musician -- and "old school" Mac and Amiga user -- interested in backwards compatibility. Significant coverage of emulation environments, too.
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 the OS X "Mountain Lion" software. Recently updated to cover OS X 10.8.4.
Create a Bootable OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion USB Drive - A detailed ArsTechnica piece to create a bootable OS X 10.8 "Mountain Lion" USB flash drive for a Hackintosh (or a Mac) using the helpful Lion DiskMaker app.
Fusion Drive Setup for a Hackintosh - A tutorial from MacBreaker that covers the process of configuring a Fusion Drive on a "Mountain Lion" Hackintosh system.
Adding an SSD to a Hackintosh with a Hard Drive - A useful walkthrough from Bassheadtech that explains how to install an SSD in an OS X 10.8 "Mountain Lion" Hackintosh that already has a hard drive to significantly enhance performance.
Note that just like its predecessor, OS X 10.8 "Mountain 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 OS X 10.7 "Lion" still may be of interest for compatibility with additional hardware, if nothing else:
Install OS X 10.7 Lion via Download - The quintessential tutorial to install the download version of OS X 10.7 "Lion" on a PC with compatible hardware using xMove and Multibeast from tonymacx86. The same site also covers upgrading a Hackintosh to OS X Lion 10.7.1, 10.7.2, 10.7.3, 10.7.4, and 10.7.5.
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 using the xMove software tool, 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.
Installing Lion with Kakewalk - A walkthrough from MacBreaker that covers OS X "Lion" installation using Kakewalk on a supported Gigabyte-based Hackintosh. The site offers a "Lion" walkthrough for Unibeast, too.
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.
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.
OS X Lion on Acer 523h & D257 Netbooks - A short post that explains how to install OS X 10.7 "Lion" on these netbooks from myMacNetbook.
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 "iOS-ification" that OS X Lion brought to the platform:
Snow Leopard on Hackintosh (Second Method) - An excellent guide to installing Mac OS X 10.6 "Snow Leopard" from Bassheadtech. The same blogger 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 site 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.
Ivy Bridge Snow Leopard Hackintosh - From MacBreaker, an "experimental" guide to installing Mac OS X 10.6 "Snow Leopard" on an "Ivy Bridge" Hackintosh with the iBoot Ivy Bridge software tool. The same site also provides a guide to install the operating system on an older "Sandy Bridge" system.
Sandy Bridge Snow Leopard Hackintosh - A six page guide to installing Mac OS X 10.6 "Snow Leopard" on a custom-built "Sandy Bridge" Hackintosh from RegHardware. Uses the iBoot Legacy and Multibeast applications.
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 "Snow Leopard" desktop Hackintosh from Lifehacker.
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 and a a list of kexts that also may be helpful.
Install Snow Leopard in VMWare - A guide to install Mac OS X 10.6 "Snow Leopard" in VMWARE for Windows 7, also from iHackintosh.
Snow Leopard on a Dell Mini 9, Dell Mini v10, HP Mini 1000 and HP Mini 110-3710 - Detailed and easy-to-follow guides from myMacNetbook.com, an InsanelyMac spin-off.
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 Dell Mini 10v - An older walkthrough from the Gizmodo blog for the "ultimate Snow Leopard netbook".
There are a variety of Mac OS X 10.5 "Leopard" Hackintosh tutorials that still can be useful for those creating a Hackintosh with more vintage 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 10.5 "Leopard" courtesy of the well-respected OSNews website.
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 install OS X on 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 install Windows on any old PC and expect it to work like 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 tonymacx86 (registration required).
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. The same site also has recommended computer builds that may be of interest.
OSx86.net - A database of official and unofficial Mac OS X drivers from the Dutch Hackintosh community.
Hackintosh Compatible Notebooks - A listing of select notebooks from HP, Lenovo, Acer, and ASUS that are mostly compatible with OS X 10.8 "Mountain Lion" courtesy of MacBreaker.
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 | InfiniteMac |
| Tonymacx86 | myHack | Kakewalk | iATKOS |
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 OS X 10.8 "Mountain Lion," 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 quite useful to ascertain how any version of OS X performs when installed on a netbook with largely compatible hardware.
This video -- from YouTube's Duncan33303 -- covers needed hardware as well as how to install OS X 10.8 "Mountain Lion" using commonly available software tools.
This video -- from Aibal Tech Report -- provides hardware recommendations, how to install OS X 10.7 "Lion" with third-party software hacks, 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 the iBoot and MultiBeast applications. 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.