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Difficult to find instructions to transfer from Microsoft to OSX?


JuanVBueno

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Just some logic.

 

I am not sure why to make a MAC I need a MAC. 

 

Seems that if I want to hack a pc and make it a Mac I don't have/own access to a MAC or a MAC store apps.    ....and seems that is where all the software is available for download.

 

Most instructions are to make it using a MAC OSX ------ I DONT HAVE ACCESS TO A MAC.

 

I has been browsing through a lot non reliable places downloading one iso or dmg in every single place that i could possible found, around the web and when i got all together nothing works because something is not as described.

 

I still think that is not a comprehensive guide or How to for people that want to transfer form Microsoft to Mac,.. or is not clear why all this is so complicated.

 

To Move to OSX a Microsoft guy need to know:

 

1. Is my laptop or hardware is capable to do the OSX job ( That is clear in this site )

2. How to modify BIOS (it is not so clear)

3. How to create the USB or CD install using Windows (that is not clear at all)

4. When install CD/USB is in progress how to format the Hard dive and install the OXS (I am not sure if the instructions are right because i dint have the opportunity to get to that point)

 

I know that a Dell D620 or D630 (own) are compatible but after that all is a mystery just because  own a Microsoft Windows system and I don't have access to a Mac OSX.

 

Did somebody knows were to get reliable instruction and downloads for a Windows OLD-GUY interested to test your OSX World?

 

Juan

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I'm on same boat.

Sorry but I really dont get this site. By most guides here, it looks like you have to buy Mac, to be able convert your Dell from Win/Linux to Mac OS :) but why should I do that? I will put my Dell to trash after I will be able to buy Mac sometime :)))

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There are many reasons why a Hack or a Mac is the recommended intermediary step to create a OS X installer.

  • A PC cannot natively boot an OS X media, it needs a special bootloader for that. Today, the 2 main ones are Chameleon and Clover.
  • Apple does not ship bootable OS X media any more; I think last time they shipped DVDs was for Snow Leopard. When Lion came out, Apple initially offered it on USB keys, then it was a downloadable dmg image only.
  • With a bootable DVD or USB key, you could use DVD-based boot loader/vanilla installers such as Nawcom modCD. Nobody makes that anymore, especially as kernels sometimes have to be patched to boot the targeted system (e.g.: some Haswell laptops).
  • Even if such tools existed, the trouble is that a PC can't simply boot the OS X installation application to install OS X. It does not work that way unfortunately, that'd be too easy... As a result, making a bootable OS X installer is not just a simple matter of restoring that OS X install application dmg image to a bootable HDD or USB key.
  • First, the OS X installer media has to be formatted to the OS X format. You can't do that from Windows.
  • Then, packages or sub-images have to be retrieved from deep inside the installation package and mounted for restoration to the installer media. Then additional packages and hidden files have to be extracted and copied, etc. It's not exactly like a fly-through installation.
  • There are no readily-available tools to do all this with sufficient ease from within Windows.
  • As an alternative to a real Mac or an existing Hackintosh, virtual machines are often a much better alternative.

 

All newcomers to the Hackintosh world have trouble understanding these matters initially, it's perfectly normal. Why would anyone need a Mac or a Hack to build a Hack? It does not make easy sense... However they understand this much better after a few OS X installations once they get more familiar with the internals of the installation process and of OS X.

 

In the early days and for several years, distros attempted to support Mac OS X installation through a directly bootable DVD or media. However, this was considered piracy since they actually contained illegal (i.e. not paid for) copies of the OS X software and often also included uncontrolled additional stuff (drivers or patches or apps) that would work only on some systems, not others. That's why distros, despite their claimed generic status, often caused more trouble than good. Distros somehow got a bad name because users can't fully control the installation and do not necessarily know what's actually installed. In the Hackintosh world, it's very important to know and control that.

 

With the advent of Mavericks, the piracy aspect has gone somehow (OS X is now free) and only one or two distros remain today. They aim to be as vanilla as possible but I don't know how well they can be considered vanilla these days. I don't use distros, haven't since Leopard 10.5. All my Snow Leopard, Lion, Mountain Lion, Mavericks and Yosemite installations have been vanilla.

 

Look at it this way: newcomers (newbies) love distros because things look easy, experienced hackintoshers do not (for reasons stated above) and prefer fully controlled vanilla installations by far and large.

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[...]

 

I know that a Dell D620 or D630 (own) are compatible but after that all is a mystery just because  own a Microsoft Windows system and I don't have access to a Mac OSX.
 
Did somebody knows were to get reliable instruction and downloads for a Windows OLD-GUY interested to test your OSX World?
 
Juan

 

In your particular case, I know some ways to install OS X on your D630 without needing a Mac or a Hack.

 

I'll give you details of a legitimate method that does not involve distros and piracy but requires you possess a retail Mac OS X installation media. It basically consists of good old Nawcom's modCD + Snow Leopard retail DVD 10.6/10.6.3/10.6.8. SL 10.6.8 could still be purchased from Apple not that long ago, I posted a thread about it: https://osxlatitude.com/index.php?/topic/5561-buying-older-mac-os-x-versions

At less than $20/20€, not much hesitation to be had, it's less than a poor man's spending on a basic saturday night...

 

Nawcom's modCD comes as an ISO image you can restore to a bootable CD. You can make such a CD from Windows. The CD provides a Chameleon-based bootable Snow Leopard installer. Once booted, the installer will expect a media with the Snow Leopard installation app. Eject the modCD, insert the Snow Leopard DVD, press F5, select the newly inserted SL media and proceed with Mac OS X installation.

 

This particular SL installation does not have to be fully tuned therafter; the idea is that it serves as a temporary base for you to create full vanilla USB installers with tools like myHack for instance. You would then be able to re-create a fully vanilla installation on another partition of the HDD and that installation could be Lion or Mountain Lion or Mavericks (whatever your D630 model actually supports).

 

You'll have probably understood that your temp installation will become that (infamous) pre-requisite Mac or Hack that'll become eligible to full deletion once you made a subsequent fully tuned OS X installation. If you're happy with SL, you can of course keep that modCD installation and tune it up.

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it is not our "sites" fault or any other site's that apple is different then the other OS's. you need to be able to interact with it's file system.

 

Yes I understand that this is not your sites fault. But thats not what Im talking about.

What Im talking about is, why not make instalation images of OSX for X86 compatible with most often used notebooks without need to be modified by BFU before installation itself. Is that so complicated? Insert into installation image most drivers, and load them after HW profile detection?

 

Or other way, when someone sucessfully installed OSX on for example dell latitude 630, why not share this whole instalation image for other dell users, so they dont have to do all that crazy stuff around :)

 

Im just asking, I dont know how exactly OSX hacking works and what problems you have to solve.

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yes i think it is very complicated as that would be piracy... and unless your paying for the lawyers to battle apple we will not provide that. go to your favorite torrent site and take a chance downloading crap just to be a cheap ass.

now for the second part of your query that is the point of the boot pack. 

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