OS X on a PC

mathew

Hi all,

I have a Dell PC.. just under a year old... 1gb of ram, 3ghz 64bit Intel processor, graphics and sound card etc etc.
I was wondering if it is possible to install Mac OS X onto a second hard drive/partition etc to run it as a dual boot type idea with widows XP.. I've heard from places that it may not be possible, but havnt got a definitave answer... i dont have the money to buy a mac but would consider buying os x if i can install it on my current pc. Does anyone have any idea??

Thanks for any help!

DubTony

You'll need an emulator, or a hack

This article informs about a hack

http://www.wired.com/news/mac/0,2125,68501,00.html
Here's a google result for "Mac OSX on a PC"

http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=Mac+OSX+on+a+PC&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

SouperComputer

It's possible, but also illegal (even if you own a copy of OSX ) and unsupported. To get the disk to boot on a non-efi (IE non mac) machine required illeagal modification of Apple's code.

To use OS X properly you will need supported NIC's sound and graphics cards.

Forget emulation, it is not practcial unless you plan running OS 8.1!

More info here.

ZENER

I'm not for a moment condoning illegal activities but there are plenty of torrents containing OSX86 for both Intel and AMD CPUs if you search.

I have one myself although I don't own a machine capable of running it so haven't tried it yet. I have seen it work on a mates P4 machine - looks good !

ZEN

smcelhinney

.. Pear PC.

Its a PowerPC emulator for Unix and Windows. http://pearpc.sourceforge.net/

I used to use it, and its slightly buggy, requires a good bit of knowledge, and obviously, universal binaries wont run on it.

But other than that

condra

no way man, what you want is osx running natively on a computer.

As far as I know it works better with its own dedicated harddrive rather than a partition.

as a fan of osx and not a huge fan of apple the company, im very interested in this. Id LOVE to get OSX flying on a 500 euro machine, wouldnt we all?

Im downloading the torrent right now. Might give it a try some time.

Its definatly possible, but it seems the majority of people run into problems...
http://wiki.osx86project.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

condra

you gotta love that

Nature Boy

Seeing that pic of mac on a dell gives me the creeps.

I hope Apple don't allow it to happen (legally )

Mac should run on Apple hardware, nuff said

K.O.Kiki

womoma wrote:

you gotta love that

ZOMG Illegality police!! :eek:

... Windows still manages to both suck & blow...

Dr_Teeth

It isn't 'illegal', you're not going to be arrested for doing this ffs.

Urban Weigl

It is illegal. But like Dr_Teeth says, you probably won't get arrested. Just like you probably won't get arrested for stealing Microsoft Windows or Office. At least it's very unlikely.

K.O.Kiki

Dr_Teeth wrote:

It isn't 'illegal', you're not going to be arrested for doing this ffs.

You're right - you can't be arrested for showing a ('Shopped) pic of a Dell running OS X

condra

Nature Boy wrote:

Seeing that pic of mac on a dell gives me the creeps.

why?

do you love osx or do you love apple the company?

Nature Boy wrote:

I hope Apple don't allow it to happen (legally )

Theres not much they can do now, the software is all over the internet, all you need is a bit of knowhow and welcome to osx.

Nature Boy wrote:

Mac should run on Apple hardware, nuff said

"Nuff said" doesnt convince me.

I understand people preferring OSX to windows. It makes perfect sense to me. But pledging allegance to Apple seems a bit sad to me. No offence.
.

Nature Boy

I don't love apple the company, I just think they're hardware looks better than Dell's. OS X doesn't look good on that Dell machine shown above.

Jeez, sorry

Goodshape

What's wrong with Apple the company?

Started using one of the new Mac Books recently and hardware, software, presentation, pretty much everything is leagues ahead of any PC lap-top I've ever used. It's deadly quiet, beautiful to look at and a simple joy to use.

Now the laptop's not mine (setting it up for a friend) and I don't think I'd personally give up the added freedom that a PC offers just yet, but I can't deny that this is a seriously sexy piece of kit.

SouperComputer

Id LOVE to get OSX flying on a 500 euro machine, wouldnt we all?

You can its called the Mac Mini

Anyway, all you need is a CPU that supports SSE2 (Basically any P4\Celeron chip, AMD 64. No Athlon XP though or Sempron ), after that just check the hardware list on osx86.org and select your NIC\Graphics\Sound accordingly.

PEARPC was quite an acheivement, but was soon rendered pointless as soon as apple released an OS X port to run on x86. Some would argue it was rendered pointless by its lack of peformance, but I digress.

@goodshape, bear in mind that you can run Windows applications on OS X using
Parallels Desktop

condra

I just think they're hardware looks better than Dell's. OS X doesn't look good on that Dell machine shown above.

I agree that Apples hardware looks fab, but Im not too concerned with the appearance of my kit.
Regardless I dont think that little Dell box looks that bad.
I used to own a g5 and though they look slick enough, theyre huge and heavy.

Goodshape- I agree Apple do make great hardware, not just aesthetically, but in terms of quality. Second to none in my opinion.

But Im not bummed out by people having the option to run osx on non-apple hardware. Im chuffed about it, personally.

SouperComputer makes a good point about the mac mini. Theyre f**king kool.

Still, Id be interested to see someone create something which stands up against a g5 powermac or Mac Pro in terms of performance. I wonder how much cheaper it could be done than buying from apple.

Im surprised OSX86 hasnt been met with a warmer welcome from mac fans.

Nature Boy

I think part of the uniqueness of using a mac is using a machine made by the same people that wrote the OS. That's removed if OSX is run on PCs too. But i guess Apple will eventually suppport it cos it'll make them money

Dr_Teeth

Urban Weigl wrote:

It is illegal. But like Dr_Teeth says, you probably won't get arrested. Just like you probably won't get arrested for stealing Microsoft Windows or Office. At least it's very unlikely.

You are not committing a criminal offence if you install MacOS X on a PC, therefore it is not illegal. If Apple found out they could decide to try to sue you, but that's a completely different thing.

You can't compare this to 'stealing' software either, assuming you actually bought your copy of MacOS X.

K.O.Kiki

Nature Boy wrote:

I think part of the uniqueness of using a mac is using a machine made by the same people that wrote the OS. That's removed if OSX is run on PCs too. But i guess Apple will eventually suppport it cos it'll make them money

They tried it in the 90's. They lost lots of money. Apple's Mac division makes its money in hardware sales. Etc.
In closing: Apple will not sell OSX for "generic" x86 machines. EVER. Learn & accept.

Sad Professor

Besides if Apple did allow OS X on other pcs we'd just end up with same compatibility and driver nightmare that is Windows. Apple's whole reputation rests on being easy and reliable to use. It's partially because Apple makes/controls all the hardware that OS X is as good as it is.

condra

Apple will not sell OSX for "generic" x86 machines. EVER.

not even if their sales drop dramatically because eventually OSX on PC becomes huge because of people installing it on non-apple hardware?

Im just speculating here.

Learn & accept.

YES SIR!

SouperComputer

Dr_Teeth wrote:

You are not committing a criminal offence if you install MacOS X on a PC, therefore it is not illegal. If Apple found out they could decide to try to sue you, but that's a completely different thing.

You can't compare this to 'stealing' software either, assuming you actually bought your copy of MacOS X.

Wrong, OS X86 will not install on a PC with a BIOS. It will only install on a machine with EFI that matches with the bootcode on the OS X installation disk.

To enable the disk to boot on a generic\BIOS-based PC requires ILLEGAL modification of Apple's code. It does not matter if you own the OS or not.

Now we all know that Apple are not going to come knocking on your door if you put OS X on your generic PC, but bear in mind that what your are doing is, technically speaking, illegal.

K.O.Kiki wrote:

They tried it in the 90's. They lost lots of money. Apple's Mac division makes its money in hardware sales. Etc.
In closing: Apple will not sell OSX for "generic" x86 machines. EVER. Learn & accept.

Like they would never use intel chips, even though EVERY release of OSX was built for both x86 and PPC?

Apple is a business, business is about profit. As soon as it is profitable to release OSX then it will be done. Im sure it will be on limted terms, but to say it will never happen is closed-minded to say the least. IMO its only a matter of time.

As Jobs has said many times "Apple is about the OS"

greglo23

i have OS X 10.4.8 running on both my AMD desktop and my Intel laptop and it runs great. it depends what hardware you have as to how well it will run but its a great learning experience. for more info go here http://www.insanelymac.com/

cornbb

I use a Mac Mini at work and a Dell laptop at home. I'd love to be able to use OSX on my laptop but sadly apple will never support this. I'd like to get a Mac Mini, they're probably the best value for money Macs around, but the fact that they're not user servicable turns me off a lot. I know some of you won't agree with me, but from my experience Mac hardware is generally overpriced and not quite reliable enough for the price you pay. It is pretty, but that doesn't come into the equation in my books.

condra

greglo23 - nice one mate

Urban Weigl

cornbb wrote:

I use a Mac Mini at work and a Dell laptop at home. I'd love to be able to use OSX on my laptop but sadly apple will never support this. I'd like to get a Mac Mini, they're probably the best value for money Macs around, but the fact that they're not user servicable turns me off a lot. I know some of you won't agree with me, but from my experience Mac hardware is generally overpriced and not quite reliable enough for the price you pay. It is pretty, but that doesn't come into the equation in my books.

The Mac mini is user serviceable, you can crack it open in about a minute (even I managed). From there, you can access the hard drive, memory, and even replace the chip to the latest Core 2 Duo or whatever takes your fancy.

mathew

SouperComputer wrote:

Now we all know that Apple are not going to come knocking on your door if you put OS X on your generic PC, but bear in mind that what your are doing is, technically speaking, illegal.

Infairness so is copying a CD for a friend.... or, as once was the trend, taping songs from the radio.......

K.O.Kiki

mathew wrote:

Infairness so is copying a CD for a friend.... or, as once was the trend, taping songs from the radio.......

The legalities of that are still being disputed (in favour of consumers, yay!); but the license agreement for OS X (probably?) has a clause prohibiting code modification (for work on "generic" x86 machines).

rogue-entity

The user licence for OS X expressly states that the software is licenced for installation and use on Apple hardware only IIRC. Basically, you cannot legally install it on a non-apple machine as it voids the licence, making it illegal. Not withstanding any modification to copyrighted code.

Also, IIRC, part of MacOS X for Intel is coded for PPC, and its decoded by Rosetta which only works on the newer CPUs and there is some part that relies on a "message" that is decrypted by the TPM chips on the new Intel Macs, without this "message" Rosetta will not run either. It is this message that they decoded and extracted to allow OS X Intel to run on bog-standard PCs (I could be wrong, but thats what i remember hearing).

Dell are willing to sell and support OS X on their PC's if Apple will licence it to them. I suspect they will do so eventually as Apple have to start selling cheaper low-end machines to make money, or sell the OS to make money, not enough people are buying there relatively high-end gear for cost reasons. Selling OS X, even if its a modified PC-friendly version, will give them an alternative way of making money, they could probably have some features only operate on the mac editions as a way of tempting people to switch over.. or they may not. Steve is notoriously tight-lipped about what his future plans are. I like OS X a lot, and I like my macbook pro, a lot.

K.O.Kiki

GO-OD... :rolleyes:
Apple thrive on their perception of being a quality manufacturer. Apart from the iPod, their money comes from the medium-to-high-end market (€1200-2000), not the "cheap" low-end -- hell, the Mac mini isn't cheap, it's just a screen-and-mouse/keyboard-less education-iMac!

Last thing Apple want is another clone war...
Besides, why support OLD technology now? Screw BIOS; Apple's all about EFI now! Roughly Drafted is a good blog to read.

philologos

K.O.Kiki wrote:

... Windows still manages to both suck & blow...

use Linux