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Is there a way to install Lion on a Mac Mini 1,1 C2D upgraded?


zillo
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Lion on Unsupported Core 2 Duo  

7 members have voted

  1. 1. If there is no way to install Lion on your unsuppoted C2D...

    • I'll buy a new Mac to run Lion.
      2
    • I'll build a Hackintosh to run Lion.
      3
    • I'll stick to old Mac and Snow Leopard.
      2
    • Abandon the Apple platform forever.
      0


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I have a late 2006 Mac Mini 1.83GHz (mini 1,1) that later I upgraded to a Merom 2.33GHz. It is a Core 2 Duo 64bit processor.

 

I tried to install Lion (retail) but I get the unsupported hardware message. There are many instructions on the net but none worked out for me.

 

One way is to have another Mac, supported by Lion, and use the target disk mode to connect by a FireWire cable. Unfortunately I don't have 2 Macs.

 

Please, send ideas to help me and others in this situation.

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  • 3 weeks later...
You can't install Lion on your Mac without hacking the installer.

 

yes. OSINSTALL.MPKG - the "distribution" file needs to be edited. ( Extract it with "flat package editor" , then open the file in Textedit ).

 

There is a script embedded inside the distribution file, it checks the CPU to be a Core2Duo and checks the 64bit capabilities.

 

This alone would be no problem, any Core2Duo will simply pass that, BUT

 

Apple has included some Macintosh Model IDs that are simply blocked out from installation. Obviously this section needs to be removed from the script. Who wonders which Macs are blocked out ? All first gen Intel macs ..

So upgrading the cpu is ok, but the ID is the problem.

 

( another check inside the file is of course for 2GB of RAM = 2*1024MB physical ).

 

It can be done, but be very careful when doctoring with the script file. One bad entry in the logic of the script and install will be broken.

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About your poll: Lion is a much better OS than Snow Leopard, IMO (not so much because of the extra features, but because it has been optimized a lot). In my MacBook Pro SL would run slow, use a lot of resources, and as a consequence the CPU was almost always too hot. With Lion my Mac feels like a totally different machine, quiet, fast, cool...

So yes, Lion is worth buying a new Mac or building a new Hackintosh.

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