[How To] Install Mac OS X Snow Leopard "Retail Version" on a PC

[mg100796]

The moment you've all be waiting for! Time to find out how to install OS X on your PC. First off, your going to have to find a distribution to install, and download my package here. (If you already have any installation skip to Phase 2)

Phase 1

For this tutorial, I'm going to use iDeneb v1.3 10.5.5. In your BIOS set your HD mode from IDE to ACHI. Also, if you have any uneccassary CPU features, you will need to disable them in your. ie: HT (Hyper-Threading) or multiple cores. Now set your boot device to the DVD drive, then save and reboot. I would suggest booting with the flag "-v". If it freezes somewhere post the last few lines in your comment. Once you successfully boot to the DVD goto Utilitys->Disk Utility, and add a parition. We'll name it "Leopard". Now format your Leopard partition to Apple Journaled (Extended). When you finish that up you can click through untill you get the screen withe install button. STOP!!!!! You HAVE to click customize. Then select the packages accordingly. Unless you know EXACTLY which ones you need I suggest checking all the chipsets (execpt the test one), and if you have an SSE3 compatible processor select the SSE3 kernal, otherwise leave it default. Don't select any graphics cards or audio driver just yet. Now, your good to install! Sit back, grab a cup of coffee and wait for it to finish (It should take 8-20 mins). Once it installs successfully, reboot and take the disc out of your drive. If you have more than one core and you didn't previously disable the other cores you need to also use the "CPUS=1" boot flag. If not then just use "-v -x". Again if it freezes remember to post the last few lines in the comments.

Phase 2

Now put your Snow Leopard disc into the DVD drive and open up disc utilities. Click on the disc and restore it to a partition. We'll call this one "install". It needs to be at least 8GBs. Once finished with that open finder and navigate to your install volume. Press Command+Shift+G and type "/Volumes/{Your install volume}/system/installations/packages/ then scroll down and find OSInstall.mpkg make sure it's extension is .MPKG. Go through the installation and change the destination to where you want to install Snow Leopard. We'll use the partition "Snow Leopard". Once you get it all installed, don't restart quiet yet. Download the package here. Now, you will need to install Charmeleon RC 2 on your Leopard partition and on your Snow Leopard partition. Then install the Snow Leopard package for charmeleon on your Snow Leopard partition. Now, your going to need an EFI string to make your graphics card work. Open up OSx86 tools and click on the Add EFI/Boot Flags strings button, then GFX. If you don't find you model in the pull down, chose custom and enter in your info. When it shows that huge hex code, copy it and in finder navigate to the Extra folder in you Snow Leopard volume and open the com.apple.Boot.plist. Paste your hex code into the device properties <string><\string> tag. Now open up the DSTS patcher from the pack of files you downloaded earlier. Select Darwin, check "apply to", and then select your Snow Leopard partition. Finally, depending on your specs, your going to install your kext files. There's a great place to find kext files at http://cid-8b65993ef55cf014.skydrive.live....rd?view=details. Once you download them, move them into the Extra/Extensions folder in your Snow Leopard volume, and then drag that folder over the KextsUtility you downloaded earlier. Ok! You reading to save everything and reboot. Cross your fingers and boot up to the HD with Snow Leopard on it. Now type the boot flags "-x32" (Loads the 32 bit kernal) and "-v". If that doesn't work add "-x" to boot into safe mode. Once your in, goto the About This Mac page and click "More Info". If you get kernal panic, ie: verbose mode showing on the desktop or the infamous "You must restart this mac" in 50 diffrent languages, your going to need to restart, and then log in as quickly as you can. Goto /System/Library and drag onto the KextUtility, then restart. Again, log in as you quickly as you can, and navigate to your Extra folder. Drag your extension folder onto the KextUtility, once it finishes restart. Now boot with the flags "-x32 -s -v". In single user mode type the following:

 

/sbin/fsck -fy
/sbin/mnt (or mount if it fails) -uw /
kextcache -v 1 -t -m /System/Library/Caches/com.apple.kext.caches/Startup/Extensions.mkext /System/Library/Extensions/

 

 

Now you should boot up with no kernal panics!

 

I just want to let you guys know that you can't expect to get it right the first time. I have spent about a week, none-stop, working on getting this installed, given, I didn't have this wonderful guide I still went through A LOT of trial and error. Just don't forget, Google is your friend.

 

Read the whole story on building my computer and installing iDeneb/Snow Leopard. (Part I, Part II, and Part II Continued)

Thanks for reading!!

[mg100796]

If you have an IDE DVD drive and Snow Leopard isn't recognizing it, use this JMicron package and install it. (If you have a JMicron controller)

JMicronATA.pkg.zip

[Striker_]

hi, im a noob at this stuff but im learning

 

can you just clarify one thing for me

 

 

Is there any danger of damaging my windows partion?

[mg100796]

hi, im a noob at this stuff but im learning

 

can you just clarify one thing for me

 

 

Is there any danger of damaging my windows partion?

 

when your install ANY new OS there is always some risk. If you want to go about doing this, I would back up all your files. If you have it, I suggest using "Norton Ghost" it creates a back-up of your HD so, if, you do mess up the partitions, you can restore it again. If you are one of those people aren't very computer savvy(ie: never heard of linux, do know much about working at the command line, or never installed an OS before(or don't know what OS means)) then, I suggest you check out this link. If you have any more questions just reply to this post.

[Striker_]

when your install ANY new OS there is always some risk. If you want to go about doing this, I would back up all your files. If you have it, I suggest using "Norton Ghost" it creates a back-up of your HD so, if, you do mess up the partitions, you can restore it again. If you are one of those people aren't very computer savvy(ie: never heard of linux, do know much about working at the command line, or never installed an OS before(or don't know what OS means)) then, I suggest you check out this link. If you have any more questions just reply to this post.

 

Im pretty up with computers just never tryed this sort of thing before.

 

Im good with windows, not mac, and especially not mac on pc

[mg100796]

yeah, first time installation is always the hardest. It take a while to know all the kexts you need and fixes, but once you've got them it's (can't say it's a breeze), but a lot easier.

[Striker_]

hey,

 

 

I cant get past the initial part with the apple logo and the spinning thing

 

I booted with -v flag and im getting the error

 

IOTAcontroller device blocking bus

 

could it be because I odnt have patched bios?

[mg100796]

hey,

 

 

I cant get past the initial part with the apple logo and the spinning thing

 

I booted with -v flag and im getting the error

 

IOTAcontroller device blocking bus

 

could it be because I odnt have patched bios?

 

 

I don't think that you would need to patch your BIOS, but I don't know your specs. Would you mind posting them? (Or even better. Add it to your signature)

 

P.S. try booting into safe mode (-v -x)

[mg100796]

bump...

[zaraki]

hi, im a newat this stuff but im learning n done reading much

 

can you help me with the installation guide?

 

i already have the retail snow installation disk but it won't boot like in the tutorials...

already set the hdd to AHCI n the bios already set to default...

the main question is do i really need a mac platform to done this b4 doing this installation?

i have seen many guide using usb hdd to boot the installation....

 

here my pc spec

processor : E8400

motherboard : DFI-DK-P45-T2RS

ram : KINGSTON HYPER-X 800MHz

graphic : SAPPHIRE HD4870 512

hdd : WD 160GB caviar blue sata (just for this purpose)

cdrom : PIONEER sata

mouse n keyboard ps2

[Striker_]

hey

 

 

My specs are

 

processor : Intel E8500 @ 3.16Ghz

motherboard : Asus p5q pro

ram : KINGSTON HYPER-X 800MHz

graphic : XFX GTX 280

hdd :1TB samsung spin point

DVD: Sony DVD-RW

Mouse: razer lacheis

keyboard: razer lycosa

PSU: corsair 750w TX series

 

 

This is really annoying me now lol

 

any ideas?

[mg100796]

hi, im a newat this stuff but im learning n done reading much

 

can you help me with the installation guide?

 

i already have the retail snow installation disk but it won't boot like in the tutorials...

already set the hdd to AHCI n the bios already set to default...

the main question is do i really need a mac platform to done this b4 doing this installation?

i have seen many guide using usb hdd to boot the installation....

 

here my pc spec

processor : E8400

motherboard : DFI-DK-P45-T2RS

ram : KINGSTON HYPER-X 800MHz

graphic : SAPPHIRE HD4870 512

hdd : WD 160GB caviar blue sata (just for this purpose)

cdrom : PIONEER sata

mouse n keyboard ps2

 

You need some sort of Mac to do this tutorial, a Genuine Mac or an OSx86 would be fine to. Try boot with the flags -x -v and post the last few lines (if it freezes).

 

 

hey

 

 

My specs are

 

processor : Intel E8500 @ 3.16Ghz

motherboard : Asus p5q pro

ram : KINGSTON HYPER-X 800MHz

graphic : XFX GTX 280

hdd :1TB samsung spin point

DVD: Sony DVD-RW

Mouse: razer lacheis

keyboard: razer lycosa

PSU: corsair 750w TX series

 

 

This is really annoying me now lol

 

any ideas?

 

Try unplugging all your extra peripherals (ie: dvd drives, extra HDs, if you have a simple graphics card try using that) also make sure you have the correct kexts installed (The ones I attached were the ones I used)

[mg100796]

bump...

[ArcticPro]

Any chance you have gotten (or know how to) get software raid working to be able to boot the OS off of the raid?

[mg100796]

Any chance you have gotten (or know how to) get software raid working to be able to boot the OS off of the raid?

 

I don't really know how to do it or even thought about it... Anyone else have any experience with RAID on SL?

[macman12]

Very good topic

Thanks for your effort

ps:sometimes kp in the middle of os after booting means spotlight it always did this to me

[mg100796]

bump...

[chelman]

When you write "retail", do you mean the $29 upgrade version?

[mg100796]

When you write "retail", do you mean the $29 upgrade version?

 

Yes. Apple says that it's just an upgrade, but technically it's the full version, just cheaper.

[crossie]

hey,

 

another osx86 newb here...

 

I've been running JaS 10.4.8 on my old system (P4 3GHz) - and now want to move to my newer windows system (but running on snow leo, for final cut n stuff...)

 

first off, my system data:

 

Quadcore Q6600 2.4 Ghz, 2 GB RAM (will upgrade to 8 GB later), IDE DVD-R / CDRW drive, nvidia geforce 8600 GT, mainboard is an asus P5N

harddisk will be a 80GB usb external drive, or one of the IDE drives I have now (but I read somewhere that you'll need a SATA drive.)

 

 

will this install work somehow? I've been reading through a lot osx86 sites and forums now, but never really found a similar install.

 

things I organized:

 

iDeneb 10.5.7

snow leopard retail version

 

I'm a bit confused - you say I'll need a working mac somehow... but will the iDeneb distribution do, or do you actually need a second computer?

 

thanks in advance!!

[jinxcase000]

hey, thanks for this easy guide mg10079! I got all the way thru it and went to boot up my SL partition, and instead of getting that kernel panic in the actual OS, im getting it immediatly when the code starts to show, like it shows the kernel 10.0.0 and locks the boot... i tried all the command line switches that i can, but its the same every time.. any advice? this is prolly my first post, i dont like to ask questions much.. i save them for when im complete outta ideas

[mg100796]

bump..

[Ev3nth0rizi0n]

Hey guys, thanks so much for all the software you've provided and in extension, the makers of said software. i have had some success so far but am running into a problem, i have iPC 10.5.6 PPF5 final running on an old lenovo (A55 series 8705JU) and i'm trying to install snow leopard but everything i have tried so far has resulted in kernal panic, i plan on transfering the hard drive to an Asus P5Q SE PLUS after snow leopard is successfully installed. from what i understand the Charmelon bootloader will boot on any motherboard as long as OS X is already installed (please tell me if this is incorrect) i would appreciate any help given, thanks in advance

 

My stats now are

 

Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 FSB 266 @ 1.86 Ghz

 

1 Gb stock DDR2 677 Mhz RAM (proprietary brand from lenovo)

 

320 Gb WD Caviar Blue HDD

 

stock lenovo motherboard (computer model A55 8705JU) which works with iPC

 

 

 

My stats after i have everything settled in my new computer

 

Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 (Planning on overclocking to 2.0 Ghz)

 

ASUS P5Q SE PLUS motherboard

 

3 Gb RAM, 2x1Gb Caviar 1056 Mhz, 1x1Gb stock Lenovo 677Mhz

 

320 Gb WD Caviar blue HDD

[nikhilgupta65]

Help me please. I installed iDeneb and everything went fine. After, I took out the installation dvd. It booted the hard drive that I installed iDeneb on and I put CPUS=1 -v -x. Pressed Enter, script came running down the screen, then my computer rebooted. I did it again, and it rebooted. If I don't type any boot flags, it just shows a white screen real quick and then it reboots. It doesn't take me to any loading menu or the desktop or anything. The computer just continues to reboot over and over again until I change the boot device priority to my other hard drive to boot Windows. Do you know the problem?

 

Btw, I have other hard drives and installed iDeneb on a separate internal hard drive that isn't being used. I have 3 hard drives, one for windows, one for stuff that i download, and the other for Mac. Is that maybe the problem?

 

My Specs:

 

Processor: Intel Core i7

Video Card: Nvidia Geforce 250 GTS

Motherboard: Asus P6T (Don't know model number)

RAM: GSkillz 6 GB DDR3

HDD: Maxtor 6L200P0 ATA 189 GB

[Geekboy3]

Hi there,

Attempting this install, and having issues. I have the iDeneb 1.4 10.5.6, and as soon as it attempts to boot from the DVD, I get a panic.

Have done all combinations of cpus=1, -v and -x.

 

Hardware is a stock Toshiba Satellite L355d-S7815

AMD Turion x2 1.9GHz

4GB RAM

250GB HDD

whatever stock mobo is.

dvd/rw

 

HDD is a blank drive.

 

what parts of the panic do you want me to type out here?