Running OSX on your production PC

decklyn · Post by **decklyn** » Sun Feb 01, 2009 4:54 pm

Hey - was running vista x64 but had some problems.
I just wanted to report that I installed OSX on my PC (I did not select components intentionally for this task). I managed to take what I had and get it working 100% on OSX. I'm now running logic on my hackintosh. Overall, this is easier than running vista and I saved $1000 or so I"m estimating vs buying a mac out of the box.

Here are the chronicles and a couple screen shots as well as some discussion.

http://www.torontojungle.com/forum/show ... hp?t=44555

DZA · Post by **DZA** » Sun Feb 01, 2009 5:13 pm

i was thinking off doing this but my pc spec is shit

blunt-dmo · Post by **blunt-dmo** » Sun Feb 01, 2009 5:14 pm

The_Dza88 wrote:i was thinking off doing this but my pc spec is shit

even more reason to do it, mac os uses less resource than windows

deadly · Post by **deadly** » Sun Feb 01, 2009 9:28 pm

I'm considering doing this.

How difficult was it?
What guide did you use?

Cheers.

decklyn · Post by **decklyn** » Sun Feb 01, 2009 10:33 pm

7.5/10 on the difficulty scale.
Your hardware needs to be compatable.
You need to be very resourceful - you will run into problems, but someone else out there has run into the same problem and has documented the fix. You need to be able to find that documentation and follow the steps. I would say expect a solid 5-10 hours of troubleshooting and hope for the best. Now that it's up and running, I'm have less difficulties getting audio environments up and running than I did with vista x64

Issues I had:
1. Couldn't finish installation as installer reported keyboard was not recognized. OSX kept reverting to the keyboard identier.
Solution: Don't use mouse when going through the identification screens - use tab and space.
2. Couldn't mount usb storage devices
Solution: kext didn't match Kernel - had to update system kext.
3. Onboard sound didn't work
Solution: Had to install some kext files.
4. Video didn't work with acceleration.
Solution: Had to find some different drivers

It's running 100% now. I'm trying to learn Logic Pro 8

decklyn · Post by **decklyn** » Mon Feb 02, 2009 4:54 am

Spent some time with logic 8 - this is way more stable than running cubase sx 3 on any windows environment.

A+

collige · Post by **collige** » Mon Feb 02, 2009 5:12 am

Congrats! One piece of mac advice:
Got to System Preferences -> Expose & Spaces -> Expose
and activate the bottom two screen corners for "all windows". Then move your mouse to either of those corners. Best application switching ever!

wolf hood · Post by **wolf hood** » Mon Feb 02, 2009 11:46 am

woah nice work, i wasn't aware you could even run osx on a pc

fiziks · Post by **fiziks** » Mon Feb 02, 2009 3:46 pm

Been preaching these to people for ages. I've been running a hackintosh for about a year now and it's solid as shit. I did buy an official Apple macbook just recently though. Getting the hardware right is the main thing. Gigabyte boards seem to be the best for doing this. insanelymac.com is a great place to start.

deadly_habit · Post by **deadly_habit** » Mon Feb 02, 2009 5:10 pm

Wolf Hood wrote:woah nice work, i wasn't aware you could even run osx on a pc

yea google hackintosh
im stoked for windows 7 atm
debating seeing how well it will run on my current box once i build my new one

tokensunrise · Post by **tokensunrise** » Mon Feb 02, 2009 11:45 pm

nice work OP. ive been following the developments of this technique for about 16 months now. just waiting to find the most stable hardware/x86 disk combo before attempting this myself. keep us up to date on any bugs, glitches, or anything that arise. nice work.

decklyn · Post by **decklyn** » Tue Feb 03, 2009 12:41 am

This is without a doubt the most stable production environment I've run in my 11 years writing music on a PC.

This is my first dubstepforum post - I have absolutely every function up and running 100% on my hackintosh.

Internet, Sound, 3d Accelerated Video, USB Device Mounting. Not one application has crashed. Logic is 100% stable. I can even get drivers for my soundcard, which are not developed for 64 bit windows yet!!

OSX > Windows!!

Absolutely awesome. I cannot tell you how happy I am with OSX on my PC.

(Safari sucks though.)

decklyn · Post by **decklyn** » Tue Feb 03, 2009 12:45 am

collige wrote:Congrats! One piece of mac advice:
Got to System Preferences -> Expose & Spaces -> Expose
and activate the bottom two screen corners for "all windows". Then move your mouse to either of those corners. Best application switching ever!

Thanks - I also am using the multiple desktops.
I was very happy to see that OSx comes with a desktop manager built in.

Also logic has all of these views which make producing fast and easy. I've repurposed one of my displays every

Just running 1 monitor now as logic makes it so easy to flip views around. <3

viralcode · Post by **viralcode** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 12:02 pm

i just bought the new macbook pro 15" with shit loads of upgraded specs... got a massive discount on it through university too...

it arrived yest, and honestly.. its just superior build quality. So small, compact and unique.

Its completely perfect and sits on my desk well with my oxygen 8 and MPD 24.

Well worth the cash.... it has so much power and its all been engineered perfectly!

i would much rather spend £1500 on this than have a cluttered up desktop with a massive screen etc. My new mac is portable, i brought it round to my mates last night in my rucksack to produce some tunes! Before i would never have been able to do that!

Fuck the hassle, save the extra and buy yourself some quality!

caeraphym · Post by **caeraphym** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 12:18 pm

^^^I don't understand how mac users can continue to type what with their keyboards so obviously full of wank juice and all

£1500 on a notebook? You been mugged pal, spend it on a fuck off decent self build you marketing muppet.

/thinly veiled jealousy over and out.

viralcode · Post by **viralcode** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 12:38 pm

Caeraphym wrote:^^^I don't understand how mac users can continue to type what with their keyboards so obviously full of wank juice and all

£1500 on a notebook? You been mugged pal, spend it on a fuck off decent self build you marketing muppet.

/thinly veiled jealousy over and out.

i would rather spend £1500 on a top of the range mac than try to build my own laptop. Fair enough the prices are FAR too high, but tell me any brand that can truly rival a mac?

Before i got this i had a 17" hp which was pure shite from the day i bought it... that cost me £900 inc vat. I wanted a laptop which was highly spec'd and portable. NO other company could ever satisfy that at this moment in time. Just get over the price. You are paying for sheer quality. I know i could have bought a complete monster desktop set up with £1500 but tbh i don't have the time to do that. I wanted a laptop and if you can prove to me that their is any other company out there that is as good, show me!

P.S. My keyboard is fresh as fresh! Been holding my excitement in all day! hahahahahah

daft cunt · Post by **daft cunt** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 1:12 pm

1500 GBP for sthg that comes with a 15" widescreen is beyond what I can understand, but each to their own I guess.
Personaly I can't get over the price thinking I could have a quad-core + 4 go ram + 21" monitor for less than the half.
Do I need a portable? Possibly. For 800 GBP more? Actually not.

Anyway, thanks Decklyn for the hint. It seems all the components of my pc are compatible so I'm gonna try this very soon

daft cunt · Post by **daft cunt** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 1:19 pm

Oh and Decklyn what method should be use to format the HDD? Is it the usual Windows methods and does OS X use its own?

Mad_EP · Post by **Mad_EP** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 3:14 pm

Personally, I don't care what anyone uses- Mac or PC, or what they paid for it.

The only thing that annoys me are those people who blag on about all Mac users being marketing-influenced sheep. I have been using Apples since 1982 - longer than many of the people on this board have even been alive.

They've served me very well over the past 27 years. I upgraded my laptop recently.. but my desktop: 450mhz G4 has been run HARD for 8 years, and it still runs smooth and fast. I only use it now for any leftover projects still in OS9- but it still runs as well as when I first got it (even after shipping it overseas and receiving some outer damage). That kind of performance and reliability is what earns my loyalty- not some stupid TV advert.

viralcode · Post by **viralcode** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 3:16 pm

mad ep wrote:Personally, I don't care what anyone uses- Mac or PC, or what they paid for it.

The only thing that annoys me are those people who blag on about all Mac users being marketing-influenced sheep. I have been using Apples since 1982 - longer than many of the people on this board have even been alive.

They've served me very well over the past 27 years. I upgraded my laptop recently.. but my desktop: 450mhz G4 has been run HARD for 8 years, and it still runs smooth and fast. I only use it now for any leftover projects still in OS9- but it still runs as well as when I first got it (even after shipping it overseas and receiving some outer damage). That kind of performance and reliability is what earns my loyalty- not some stupid TV advert.

you could not have said it any better! cheers!

Running OSX on your production PC

Running OSX on your production PC

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