iBoot + MultiBeast: Install Mac OS X on any Intel-based PC

Any OSx86 installation guide can seem daunting at first glance, especially when trying to remember cryptic terminal commands and sorting through volumes of misinformation on the web.  This guide requires no coding, terminal work, or Mac experience of any kind.  You will not need access to a Mac.  In fact, it's easier and faster for me to install Snow Leopard with fully working components on my system than it is to install Windows 7.  And more fun.

The iBoot + MultiBeast method is designed and tested for any desktop or laptop running the latest line of Intel processors, the Core i3/i5/i7s.  I have had reports of success with older machines as well including CoreDuo, Core2Duo, and even Pentium 4.  However, AMD processors are not supported.

YOU WILL NEED

• A computer running an Intel Processor
• A blank CD
• A Mac OS X Snow Leopard Retail DVD
• To leave any fear of your computer at the door.
• Patience and humility- it may not work out perfectly the first time- but with enough tenacity and grit, you'll reach the promised land.  It's easy to get frustrated, but don't give up!  There are a community of users with similar hardware in the tonymacx86 Forum to provide support if you get stuck.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

• Use only 1 graphics card in the 1st PCIe slot with 1 monitor plugged in.
• Remove any hard drives besides the blank drive being used for OS X.
• Remove any USB peripherals besides keyboard and mouse.
• Remove any PCI cards besides graphics- they may not be Mac compatible.
• It's best to use an empty hard drive- you will have to partition and format the drive. 
• Always back up any of your important data.

STEP 1: BIOS SETTINGS
You will need to set your BIOS to ACHI mode and your Boot Priority to boot from CD-ROM first.  This is the most important step, and one many people overlook.  Make sure your bios settings match these.  It's not difficult- the only thing I did on my Gigabyte board besides setting Boot Priority to CD/DVD first was set Optimized Defaults, change SATA to AHCI mode, and set HPET to 64-bit mode.

STEP 2: INSTALL MAC OS X 
In order to boot the Mac OS X Retail DVD, you'll need to download and burn iBoot.  For desktops and laptops using unsupported Intel CPUs and graphics, a legacy version of iBoot can be downloaded here. If you have an Ivy Bridge or Haswell system, you can’t use the default iBoot. Use iBoot Ivy Bridge or iBoot Haswell.

1. Download iBoot
2. Burn the image to CD
3. Place iBoot in CD/DVD drive
4. Restart computer
5. At boot prompt, eject iBoot
   
   
   
   
   
6. Insert your Mac OS X Snow Leopard Retail DVD and press F5
7. When you see the screen below, press enter to begin the boot process

8. When you get to the installation screen, open Utilities/Disk Utility.  NOTE: If you cannot get to the installation screen, retry from Step 4, type PCIRootUID=1 before hitting enter. If that doesn't work then try PCIRootUID=1 -x or just -x which will enter Mac OS X Safe Mode and will allow you to proceed. For some graphics cards, use GraphicsEnabler=No boot flag to proceed. 
9. Partition your hard drive to GUID Partition Table
10. Format your hard drive to Mac OS Extended (Journaled).   NOTE: The bootloader can only boot from a disk or partition of 1 TB or less.  Partition larger drives.
11. For the purposes of this guide, name it Snow Leopard.  You can rename it later.
12. Close Disk Utility
13. When the installer asks you where to install, choose Snow Leopard
14. Choose Customize‚ and uncheck additional options.  This will hasten the install process.  You can always install this stuff later.
15. Restart computer.
16. Place iBoot back in drive.
17. When you get to the boot selection screen, choose your new Snow Leopard installation.

18. View the super-cool Mac OS X Snow Leopard Welcome Video, and set up your computer!

STEP 3: UPDATE TO 10.6.8
If you have a Sandy Bridge system, please follow these specialized instructions to update to 10.6.8.

1. Open Finder and navigate to your Snow Leopard drive.
2. Download the Mac OS X 10.6.8 Combo Update
3. Download MultiBeast
4. Open MultiBeast- don't run it yet, just leave it open.  Set up windows as shown.

5. Mount MacOSXUpdCombo10.6.8.dmg
6. Install MacOSXUpdCombo10.6.8.pkg
7. Upon completion, the installer will ask you to reboot.  DO NOT REBOOT.
8. Switch to the already open MultiBeast.  If it closes, just re-open it.

STEP 4: MULTIBEAST

MultiBeast is an all-in-one post-installation tool designed to enable boot from hard drive, and install support for Audio, Network, and Graphics. It contains two different complete post-installation solutions: EasyBeast and UserDSDT.  In addition it includes System Utilities to rebuild caches and repair permissions and a collection of drivers, boot loaders, boot time config files and handy software.

Choose one of the following options directly following a fresh installation and update:  

EasyBeast is a DSDT-free solution for any Core/Core2/Core i system. It installs all of the essentials to allow your system to boot from the hard drive. Audio, Graphics and Network will have to be enabled separately.  

UserDSDT is a bare-minimum solution for those who have their own pre-edited DSDT. Place your DSDT.aml on the desktop before install. Audio, Graphics and Network will have to be enabled separately.  HINT: Check the DSDT Database for a pre-edited DSDT.

1. Run MultiBeast.
2. If you have a custom DSDT that's been edited, place the file on your desktop and choose UserDSDT.
3. All others select EasyBeast 
4. Select System Utilities.
5. Optionally, you may install further drivers via Advanced Options to enable ethernet, sound, graphics, etc...  Be sure to read the documentation provided about each installation option.  NOTE: EasyBeast, and UserDSDT install the bootloader by default, so you'll not need to check that option.     
MultiBeast Demo Videos 
6. Install to Snow Leopard- it should take about 4 minutes to run scripts.
7. Eject iBoot.
8. Reboot- from your new Snow Leopard installation drive.

If your drive doesn't boot on its own, and you get an error referencing boot0, fix it using the methods listed here.

Congratulations!  You're done!!

Your PC is now fully operational, while running the latest version of Mac OS X Snow Leopard!  And you have a nice Boot CD to get into your system in case things go awry.  Boot your system from iBoot if you have issues.  You may run MultiBeast as often as you like.

If you can't boot, try typing -x at the boot prompt to enter safe mode, or just boot with iBoot.  When you get to the desktop, you can make all of the changes you need to.  The best way to start fresh is delete whatever you're trying to get rid of- including the whole /Extra folder, as most kexts are installed there.  Then you can re-run MultiBeast.  As long as you rebuild caches and repair permissions after you're done, you can do just about anything you want to /Extra/Extensions and /System/Library/Extensions.  Anything can be tweaked and enabled upon subsequent uses of MultiBeast.

If you've had success using iBoot + MultiBeast, consider a contribution to help keep the sites going.  We're constantly updating and tweaking our tools to help you.

Thanks in advance!

-tonymacx86 & MacMan

For our most current workarounds and solutions for issues such as USB and audio, check out the Mac OS X 10.6.3 Update,  Mac OS X 10.6.4 Update,  Mac OS X 10.6.5 Update, Mac OS X 10.6.6 Update, Mac OS X 10.6.7 Update, and Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update articles. Good luck, and see you on the forum!

Related Posts: Dual Boot Windows 7 and OS X Snow Leopard

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10.6.3: The Aftermath

EDIT: 10.6.3 is now recommended- just make sure you are aware of the issues and solutions.

So it's been over a week since Apple's release of Mac OS X 10.6.3.  Results have been mixed.  Some have reported success and no apparent difficulties, while others have had to reinstall from scratch. 

Right now 10.6.2 is the safe choice.  We already know what it takes to get it working, and everything does work.  If you need to rely on your machine to get work done, you might stick with a tried and true version of the OS that we've all been running for a long time.  You can pretty much know that 10.6.2 will be as solid as it ever was. 

Long term 10.6.3 is the better choice.  There are some significant changes and fixes to the OS, and many users have logged better benchmarks than 10.6.2.  However, there are no new features, and most users will not notice any difference whatsoever.

If you do decide to update, make sure that you know that some of the best current solutions for some issues are to roll back kexts to previous versions.  Caution!  Doing this can destabilize the system and cause issues with applications. Or alternately, nothing will happen- and the kexts may turn out to be perfectly compatible.  I've noticed no issues so far with mixing kext versions.  But obviously this is an unsavory long-term solution. 

Testing the update is strongly encouraged!  A good way to do this is set up 2 drives or 2 partitions, and do 2 separate installs.  One for 10.6.2 and one for 10.6.3.  Any information that you can gather about your particular system and updating should be posted in the forum.  It will help us come up with more vanilla solutions.  Just make sure that you're using a fresh unmodified system as a basis for your testing. 

For the very latest workarounds and solutions, check out the bottom part of the Mac OS X 10.6.3 Update post.  Good luck! 

-tonymacx86

PS: I haven't forgotten about the new guide!  It should be out by the weekend.  By the middle of next week.  We're testing some new kexts- gotta make this perfect. ;)

For discussions on this and other topics, register today at tonymacx86.com!