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Installing from USB flash/key/thumb drive...using Windows only tools


Gruffy
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i think that this is a easy method but i'm trying this......now

 

You will need...

  • A computer which can boot from a USB flash drive (pretty much all computers made in the last four years)

A USB flash drive, at least as big as the installer image you want to install. Aim for 8GB - this gives you some "wiggle room". Also, get the fastest drive you can afford - if you're trying to get OSX86 to work on new hardware, you may need to install several times. The time difference between installing from a slow USB drive and a fast one can be over an hour.

The OSX86 install DVD image of your choice. I'm using iPC as it is reported to have one of the widest ranges of driver kexts of any OSX86 distro, but there are also the better-known iAtkosiDenebKalyway(Google search), Leo4All, and MsiWindOSX (Google search) versions to choose from.

A copy of DD for windows (scroll down to "downloads for dd family") - a guide to using DD is also provided at the Intel software website.

A computer running Windows (as you need to use diskpart)

A couple of hours free, and some patience.

 

How to...

  • Download the DD for Windows application

Download your OSX86 image. If it's zipped up in ZIP or RAR formats, extract it

To make your command-line life easier, copy the dd.exe and the OSX86 ISO images into your c:\temp directory (assuming c:\ is the local hard drive you're storing files on). Again, for simplicity you might want to rename the ISO to something simple, like "osx86.iso"

Insert your USB flash drive

Click "Start", right-click "My computer" and click "Manage". Enter your administrator credentials if prompted

In the computer management application, locate the "disk management" option in the left pane

WARNING: this process will completely erase your USB flash drive

In disk management, locate your USB flash drive. Right-click the drive and select "format". Format the drive as FAT32.

Vista/Windows 7: click "Start", type "command" and, when "Command Prompt" appears in the search results, right click and "Run as administrator"

Windows XP: click "Start", "Run", type "cmd" and press enter

WARNING: dd can seriously break your computer. Follow these instructions carefully and, if you have any doubts, stop what you're doing and get help

Select the drive your copy of dd and the OSX86 image are on (in this case C:) by typing "c:" and pressing enter

Type "cd \temp" to get to the folder containing dd.exe and the OSX86 image

Type "dd --list" to get a list of the drives on your computer

Locate your USB drive - it will be listed as "Removeable media", for example:

\\.\Volume{519788if-8c49-11db-a58-00c045000001}\ link to \\?\DeviceHarddisk1DP(1)0-0+7\ removeable media Mounted on \\.\e:

  • Dump the ISO image to your USB drive: the following command assumes the USB drive is at "\\.\e:" and the source ISO image is in the current directory, and called "OSX86.iso":

    • dd if=osx86.iso of=\\.\e:

The command can take anything up to an hour to complete, and won't show any progress indicators. Don't assume it has crashed though - if necessary, be prepared to leave it overnight. If your command prompt hasn't moved past the following after six hours, the process may have failed.

C:\temp>dd if=osx86.iso of=\\.\e: rawwrite dd for windows version 0.5. Written by John Newbigin <jn@it.swin.edu.au> This program is covered by the GPL. See copying.txt for details _

  • Once the process completes, you need to change the partition's type marker.

Type "diskpart"

WARNING: diskpart can seriously break your computer. Use carefully and don't be afraid to ask for help instead of guessing

Type "list disk" and find your USB drive (you will usually have to identify it by size)

Type "select disk x" where x is the number of your USB drive

Type "select partition 1" to select the OSX86 installer partition

Type "set id=af" to set the partition ID to the correct type - this is needed to allow the USB drive to boot.

Type "exit" and "exit" again to leave the command prompt

Reboot your computer and attempt to boot from the USB drive. Good luck!

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