Forums | MacLife

I think the hardest part about building a hackintosh is understanding exactly what problem you're trying to solve.  You can't really even know what question to ask until you have some basic understanding of the problem.  Unfortunately, I've yet to come accross a site that explains it well.  The purpose of this thread, therefore, is to explain the problem.  It is NOT a tutorial.  It is NOT instruction of any kind.  It's an overview of the problem at hand, and the best tools which aim to solve that problem -- nothing more...  This thread WON'T teach you how to build a hackintosh, but it WILL help you to ask the right questions, and find the right answers.

The Golden Rule: Vanilla is the only RIGHT way to go -- Hacked Installation Discs are WRONG, and should be abolished

What is a Hacked installation disc, and why is it bad?
Two words: Kext Hell. (I don't believe this term has been used before.  I'm officially coining it now).  Hacked installation discs typically overwrite Apple's kexts with the required patched kexts.  The problem is, when it comes time to run Software Update, the update will overwrite the patched versions with Apple originals, rendering the system useless.  Savvy users will often back up their extensions folders beforehand, try to locate all of the patched extensions (which are usually highlighted), run the update, and then copy the required kexts back.  That's not so bad.  Other users might download hacked updates.  The problem there is that each machine may require a different set of patched kexts, and certain kexts are patched differently.  So most machines will end up "over-patched" to some extent.  So, for example, you may end up with a different SMBIOS kext, which will make System Profiler report incorrect information.  Meanwhile, a subsequent official update may only partially overwrite these kexts, leading to condition I will describe as "version bashing" (another term I've just invented).

Apart from kext hell, the guys who make these hacked installation discs tend to get carried away, aimlessly modifying parts of the OS for the pure fun of it.  They all seem to modify "About This Mac" graphics, or they'll replace some of the Apple-supplied background images.  That's not too bad..  But sometimes it's not always aesthetic, and the modifications often lead to idiosyncrasies.  Kalyway, either by purpose or incident, stopped the creation of .DS_Store files, which meant that window settings aren't remembered at all.  iAtkos, on the other hand, decided to completely remove the dictionaries and several other utilities.  So, for example, there would be a question mark in place of the dictionary widget.

So what is a Vanilla installation?
A vanilla installation avoids both these problems.  Software updates work without issue, and the OS hasn't been modified in any way.  Just like a real Mac.

A vanilla install means exactly that.  None of the system files are touched.  Patched kexts (modified versions of Apple-supplied kexts) are loaded by the bootloader from a separate folder on your drive (called "Extra"), overriding the Apple-supplied versions.  There are also various third-party kexts --kexts which are not provided by Apple.  These include things like drivers, enablers, disablers, dsmos...  Third party kexts can safely be installed to the Extensions folder, as they will never be overwritten by Apple updates. 

I emphasize this distinction, as it is often overlooked.  Some third-party kexts won't load properly from Extra.  If you find yourself in this situation, then simply install it to S/L/E instead.  Only patched kexts need to be loaded from E/E.

Are hacked installation discs easier to get going?
Yes, but they're only useful for their utility -- They should NEVER be used for a primary installation.  For example, I installed a hacked disc to my host drive, which facilitated my vanilla installation to my target drive.

What is BOOT-132?
Boot-132 is a bootloader that works like the Chameleon bootloader used in my installation.  All necessary kexts are loaded from an "Extra" folder on the CD.  When BOOT-132 is run from a CD, it is capable of booting both a Retail Leopard disc, as well as the subsequently installed OS off the hard drive.  When BOOT-132 is run from a USB stick, it is only capable of booting a hard drive.  So on the right hardware, you could theoretically add a second CD drive and keep the BOOT-132 disc in there at all times -- In theory, you would be able to install from the CD, boot from the installation, and update, just ilke a real Mac.  Naturally this isn't practical.

For this reason, Boot 132 is generally only used to boot the retail DVD and install the OS, at which point a boot loader (such as Chameleon) is then installed on the target drive.

Can I pick just any ol' hardware?
No, no, no ... a thousand times, NO!!  You really need to buy hardware that is known to work with OS X.  For a desktop build, the first step is to look for a compatible motherboard on the osx86project wiki.  But more often than not, the wiki assumes a hacked install (not vanilla) --So most claims of "fully working without patching" are, therefore, false.  You need to make sure that everything works in with a VANILLA install.  So, after you've found a motherboard you like, the next step is to pull up the spec sheet for the board, and jot down each chipset (audio, LAN, HD controller...).  Then google "site:insanelymac.com <chipset name>" to find out how well each chipset is supported.  You want to pick things that either work out of the box, or with a third-party kext, or with a patched kext that can be loaded from the Extra folder.  In the case where a patched kext is required, it is absolutely essential that it can be loaded from Extra (third-party kexts can safely be installed to S/L/E).

It's also worthwhile to check out people's experiences with the specific board you've chosen.  But again, keep in mind that 90% of the posters will assume a hacked installation --that's not what you want.  You need to make sure it works with Vanilla!

For laptops, things are a bit more tricky.  You apply the same basic methodology as you would for a desktop build.  However, you obviously don't have the same freedom in terms of component selection.  So finding a compatible laptop is much more difficult than it is for desktops --In the end, you may decide to make some compromises.  For example, my Aspire One netbook shipped with a non-working network card.  I knew this beforehand, and swapped it out for a working one for about $10.

What are S/L/E and E/E ??
S/L/E : Shorthand for /System/Library/Extensions
E/E : Shorthand for /Extra/Extensions

Last edited by Mr. T (2009-09-01 10:16 pm)