So, you want to try out Mac without having to get into the Apple business, or don't have the cash? You're going to like this alternative.

This pretty straightforward guide will teach you how to create a fully working Mac OS X Leopard system (including hardware) for around $350 US, which is nothing. And it looks pretty nice as well:


First, get this torrent. This alone is already interesting.

Quote:I built a hackintosh with Leopard. How? I will show you.

First thing to do is get the parts. For this project I used a shuttle barebones system system because of the size.

Here are the specs:

Shuttle SD30G2 - $174.99
Intel Celeron E1200 - $59.99
1GB DDR2 667 Memory - $19.99
250GB 7,200 RPM SATA Hard Drive - $69.99
*ahem* Super Drive - $29.99

Wee are not getting a video card because the motherboard that comes with the Shuttle has a built-in Intel GMA950 which is the same graphics that the previous rev. of MacBooks used and therefore are supported by Leopard out of the box anyways.

Great, build it. If you have never built a computer before, it is pretty straight foward. The Shuttle comes with a guide anyways not to mention all the guides available on the internet.

Once you have it built it is time to install Leopard. You will need the Kalyway Leopard DVD to install it. Get it through this torrent would be the easiest option. Burn it to a DVD with ISO Recorder or a program of your choice. You will also need a few drivers for the ethernet and sound. I have packaged them together. Download here. You can put those files on a CD, flash drive, or external hard drive.

Now wee are all set. Boot the Shuttle up and put the Leopard DVD you burned in. I didn’t have to change any big setting in the BIOS, however you might want to set the date and time and stuff by pressing the delete key when the Shuttle logo comes up. Otherwise, boot from the DVD. It will show a text message that says “Loading Darwin” for a few minutes if you burnt the DVD correctly. It will then turn to a gray screen. It takes a while to boot the DVD so be patient while this boots. Select the language of your choice when it comes up. Next, go to the utilities menu and go to disk utility. Create a new partition by clicking on your hard drive on the left, then going to the partition tab. Select 1 partition and name it “Leopard.” You can actually name this anything you want, it is what the hard drive icon on your desktop will be labeled, just make sure it is ONE word and contains NO SPACES. There is a glitch where if it is more than one word, the OS will not boot. Also, go to options and make sure GUID is checked. Make sure the format is ‘Mac OS Extended (Journaled).’ Now apply it. Once it is done, close out of the disk utility. Pass through the next couple screens click Agree, and then on the next screen click the ‘Customize’ button. A screen like this will pop up.



Follow those settings, and let ‘er install!

Assuming the install went ok, it should restart when it is finished. When it turns on, take the DVD out and let it boot from the HD. It should boot Leopard! This first boot takes a little longer than usual and has some set-up that it has you do. Do what it asks in then it will take you to your brand new desktop. Lets waste no time! You may notice your internet isn’t working, either is the sound, and the resolution is a little funky too.

Let’s fix the resolution first. Go to the settings icon (It’s the one on the dock that has a bunch of gears), and go to ‘displays.’ Change the resolution to the max. Now it should look better.

Put in the flash drive/cd/external hard drive and look at the files. First lets install the audio patch. Unzip the AppleHDAPatcher now drag the text file ALC888-a.txt ontop of that crazy icon. It should patch the sound. Now wee will fix the ethernet. Spotlight ‘kext’ and you should see ‘kextHelper’ come up. Open it. Drag the skge.kext to the white box in the KextHelper, it should add it in, type in you’re password and click ‘Easy Install’ or what ever it says. It should pop a message up saying to cross your fingers and restart. Restart. Once you are booted back in, got to the settings again and this time click network. Configure the stuff there. DNS servers seems to frustrate a lot of people, so in there put 4.2.2.1. Its a public DNS server that most people tend to like. You can also put your gateway which is usually something like 192.168.1.1.

That was easy, wasn’t it? Your system should now work 100%! If something doesn’t work, or I missed something, write a comment!

Another helpful resource is the InsanelyMac Forums. They are usually quick to get back, and have tons of drivers if you are building something different than the specs I used.

Happy Mac-ing!

- Source: [WildWobby]
^_^ click the link for the original, some more hyperlinks.

(This post was last modified: 03/02/2008 06:46 PM by Ge64.)

nice dude...haven tlooked up the leo x86 disks since the first round which was a pita to install cause oyu needed a tiger install to run a post install..Im getting this otherways besides torrent ;)

dude you can do this for 200 quid just by building my pc lol. But urs might have the exact parts needed

seems quite cool

Hmm, I know squat about celeron processors, what speed is that?  How does it stack up with an official Mac?  And great find, I'm gonna have to try this, possibly with a beefier processor, add more ram, maybe add a graphics card, if I can find one that will play nice.

*edit*
Nevermind, found listings, they seem to hit about 1.6.  Ehh, it'll get the job done, if you just want to play with a Mac.

(This post was last modified: 04/02/2008 11:27 AM by games like a grrl.)

this is awesome dude i might do it someday soon, I'm gonna have a whole bunch of cash for a ps3 & maybe a wii, gh3 adn rock band, and a desk for my mini, i i have leftover cash I'll definitely do this its awesome

i skimmed through it real fast it looks way awesome, i will definitely do this if i have the extra cash this is ASWESOME!!!! a fully working mac for less the reg price, i might go with a core 2 duo processor if i do do it though, i want better processing speed and might, I'm happy with the core 2 duo that my mini has so i'd probably do the same thing

(This post was last modified: 04/02/2008 01:51 PM by beaner2k6.)

The main problem is the hardware support in Leopard. Cause macs are sold as complete systems, Mac OS doesn't (need to) have drivers for other things like motherboards, graphics cards, etc. That's why this solution is good cause the graphics processor is the same as the macbook, and therefore works, and it's tested. If you want to add another graphics card, make sure it's one you can find in a Mac Pro or something so you know it works with Mac :)

Processor and ram should still work as long as it's from the same series, but will likely work anyway. Especially ram. Same goes for harddrive, dvd drives etc, there's no restrictions there.

I might build this myself if I can sell my stuff that I'm selling... I'll use it as a storage tank probably cause my macbook really runs out fast :P I'll post if I do, but I think someone else might have money faster (beaner?)

Ge64 Wrote:The main problem is the hardware support in Leopard. Cause macs are sold as complete systems, Mac OS doesn't (need to) have drivers for other things like motherboards, graphics cards, etc. That's why this solution is good cause the graphics processor is the same as the macbook, and therefore works, and it's tested. If you want to add another graphics card, make sure it's one you can find in a Mac Pro or something so you know it works with Mac :)

Processor and ram should still work as long as it's from the same series, but will likely work anyway. Especially ram. Same goes for harddrive, dvd drives etc, there's no restrictions there.

I might build this myself if I can sell my stuff that I'm selling... I'll use it as a storage tank probably cause my macbook really runs out fast :P I'll post if I do, but I think someone else might have money faster (beaner?)

yeah I'm gonna have an excess of cash on the 18th, like 1200$ and then maybe some extra cahs saved up if i don't pay much for bill like 1500$ and that should be enough for a ps3, gh3, rock band, gta4, mgs4, all obviously when they come out so the money will be saved for that purpose, excluding tax and shipping for somethings that will probably in the worst case scenario run me about another 100$ bucks totaling out to like 1020$ and then the rest if any I'll spend it on building a mac, it'd be cool to have a network of 2 macs in my house :)

(This post was last modified: 04/02/2008 10:47 PM by beaner2k6.)