Archive for the ‘Guide’ Category

The Intel Atom CPU Hackintosh Netbook and Snow Leopard 10.6.2 Fix

By Victor Goh | Published: November 15th, 2009

Can I Really Update My Hackintosh Netbook to Snow Leopard 10.6.2?

Yes, you can according to the instructions over at *NEW* NetbookInstaller .8.3 RC4 [testing]. You can now update your hackintosh netbook to Snow Leopard 10.6.2, but make sure you do it according to the steps given.

What If I Accidentally Updated to 10.6.2 and Killed My Hackintosh Netbook?

If you did, you can attempt to resuscitate it using the steps from http://www.mydellmini.com/forum/general-mac-os-x-discussion/15050-osx-10-6-2-a-2.html#post117830.

Disclaimer: I haven’t performed either of the above operations, so I can’t actually guarantee anything.

I’ll be attempting to update my Dell Mini 10v hackintosh to Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.2 tonight. Will report back with my results after my attempt.

You Better Not Update Your Hackintosh Netbook to Snow Leopard 10.6.2

By Victor Goh | Published: November 3rd, 2009

Intel Atom No More for the Hackintosh

It looks more or less certain that the Snow Leopard 10.6.2 update is not compatible with hackintosh netbooks with a Intel Atom CPU. OSXDaily, AppleInsider, MacRumors, OSNews and Stellarola has reported on this.

I am left with 3 choices when the Snow Leopard 10.6.2 update comes out.

  1. Don’t update. Stay with 10.6.1
  2. Try to update and keep the 10.6.1 kernel or use a modified Snow Leopard kernel.
  3. Time to try out Jolicloud or Moblin.

I think, I’ll go with the first choice. Don’t update until the early adopters finds a way to easily upgrade to Snow Leopard 10.6.2 with a modified or older kernel.

The third choice, hmmm… maybe one day I’ll try those two Linux netbook distros just for fun. I can always restore my Snow Leopard 10.6.1 backup using Time Machine after trying out Jolicloud or Moblin.

Installing Mac OS X Snow Leopard on the MSI Wind

By Victor Goh | Published: October 27th, 2009

The MSI Wind is one of the earliest netbook that got hackintoshed into running Mac OS X. The MSIWind.net discussion forums used to have detailed guides on how to install Mac OS X on the MSI Wind, but MSIWind.net seems to have gone offline. If you’re a MSI Wind owner who wants Snow Leopard on your netbook, all is not lost. You can find a guide on installing Snow Leopard on the MSI Wind over at InsanelyMac.

To install Mac OS X Snow Leopard on the MSI Wind require 5 things:

  1. MSI Wind netbook.
  2. Mac OS X Snow Leopard Retail Disk.
  3. USB Flash drive with at least 8GB.
  4. MSI Wind Snow Leopard installer and kext files.
  5. A Mac computer to create the USB Installer.

You can buy the first 3 items, download item 4 and borrow item 5.

Here’s a youtube video of Snow Leopard on the MSI Wind.

Dell Mini 10v Hackintosh

If you’re a Dell Mini 10v owner standing on the edge, looking into the turbulent waters of installing Snow Leopard on your netbook, I have good news for you. Gizmodo has come up with a step-by-step guide with lots of hand-holding to help you leap into the world of hackintosh laptops.

You only need 3 big steps to install Snow Leopard 10.6.1 on the Dell Mini 10v hackintosh.

  1. Prepare a USB Flash Drive with Mac OS X Retail and Netbook BootMaker.
  2. Install OS X.
  3. Run Software Update to get Mac OS X 10.6.1 or above.

If this is your first hackintosh installation, you probably need mini-steps instead of 3 big steps. There are 19 steps in all in the Gizmodo guide, get it from Gizmodo: How to hackintosh a Dell Mini 10v into the Ultimate Snow Leopard netbook.

The conclusion at the end of the guide:

You’ve got yourself a fully-functioning, beautifully small Snow Leopard netbook, which’ll do 90% of what a 13-inch MacBook can, at 70% the size and about 25% of the cost. Mine’s close to perfect: With an extended battery, I’m pushing 7 hours of battery life with Wi-Fi, which makes my MacBook pro look like a LOSER. And tiny extra bit of size over the Mini 9 means the keyboard is just large enough to work on, meaning this thing isn’t just a toy—it’s a decent investment. This from a guy with banana fingers.
Performance is acceptable, meaning you can run regular apps like iTunes, Firefox—and even Photoshop in a bind. It’s not noticeably slow during normal use, though it’ll choke on higher-res Flash video (no YouTube HD, but SD works fine). As with any notebook, this pretty much can’t be your main machine. But it’s a brilliant extra portable machine, for toilet browsing, travel, class notes and the like.

You’ve got yourself a fully-functioning, beautifully small Snow Leopard netbook, which’ll do 90% of what a 13-inch MacBook can, at 70% the size and about 25% of the cost. Mine’s close to perfect: With an extended battery, I’m pushing 7 hours of battery life with Wi-Fi, which makes my MacBook pro look like a LOSER. And tiny extra bit of size over the Mini 9 means the keyboard is just large enough to work on, meaning this thing isn’t just a toy—it’s a decent investment. This from a guy with banana fingers.

Performance is acceptable, meaning you can run regular apps like iTunes, Firefox—and even Photoshop in a bind. It’s not noticeably slow during normal use, though it’ll choke on higher-res Flash video (no YouTube HD, but SD works fine). As with any notebook, this pretty much can’t be your main machine. But it’s a brilliant extra portable machine, for toilet browsing, travel, class notes and the like.

If I had this guide when I was installing my hackintosh Dell Mini 10v, I would have saved myself from the mistakes I made. If anyone wants to learn to install Mac OS X on their Dell Mini 10v, this is the go-to guide.

S10 Snow Leopard Enabler

The Lenovo S10 is a good choice for a laptop/netbook if you want to install Mac OS X Snow Leopard on it. The S10 Snow Leopard Enabler makes the installing Snow Leopard on the Lenovo S10 so easy. Just  7 steps and you’re done. No messing around with kext files and stuff after the installation.

The 7 Steps to installing Snow Leopard on a Lenovo S10

  1. Update your Lenovo S10 firmware to 14CN94WW or later.
  2. Format the Lenovo S10 hard drive.
  3. Restore Snow Leopard DVD to a USB thumb drive.
  4. Install the S10 Snow Leopard Enabler on the USB thumb drive.
  5. Install Snow Leopard using the S10 Snow Leopard enabled USB thumb drive.
  6. Boot the newly installed Snow Leopard S10 Lenovo hackintosh.
  7. Run software update to update to 10.6.1 and above.

Success Stories

Here are a couple of Lenovo S10 owners who setup their hackintosh laptop with Snow Leopard Enabler.

LAN and internal mic is not working on both installation. You can use a headset or external mic with the mic input jack.

Check out our Lenovo S10 Hackintosh page for more links, photos and videos of Mac OS X on the Lenovo S10.