iDeneb is an OSX86 distribution, targeted to install Apple Mac OS X on non-apple hardware. Since OS X runs in Intel machines since Apple switched to Intel CPU’s, hackers have been trying to install OS X on non-apple hardware.
Since Apple ofcourse only builds drivers for their own hardware, the success-factor of the installation is dependent on your hardware. I’ve managed to install iDeneb on my old workstation:
- GigaByte 8KNXP Motherboard
- Intel Pentium 4 3.2 Ghz (Northwood)
- 1GB DDR400 RAM
- nVidia Geforce 6800GT 256MB
- WD Raptor 74GB
To play some games, I also would like to dual boot Windows XP. Read on to learn how to do this.
Be aware! By following this guide, you will format your (primary) hard disk, thus losing all your data! Backup your important stuff first.
So, first download iDeneb. Search your favorite non-private torrent tracker and you will find something, at the time of writing version 1.4 (OS X 10.5.6) is the latest. Burn the ISO to a DVD and boot it. After a few minutes, select your language, and voila, there is the installer. If nothing happens, or your computer reports errors or something, you’re unlucky. Go and check out the OS X 86 Wiki for more information.
First, we’re going to partition your hard disk. To prevent data loss, I’ve chosen to dedicate a hard disk to this installation, I recommend you to the same.
Click “Utilities” –> “Disk Utility”. Your disk(s) will apear on the screen. Delete all current partitions (if applicable) from the hard drive where iDeneb is going to be installed. Create two fresh partitions; one FAT (for Windows) and one Mac OS Journaled (for OS X). Label the partitions (something like “Windows” and “Leopard”), apply changes, and now cancel the installer and reboot your system. Pop in your Windows XP CD and install Windows XP on the FAT partition. It’s a good thing to reformat the FAT partition to NTFS!
Once you’ve booted your nice and shiny Windows XP installation, download chain0. From the chain0 wiki:
chain0 is a file located in /usr/standalone/i386 containing the x86 bootsector for Darwin. If you copy it over to the root of your Windows system partition (usually C:), it can be used to boot Mac OS X through Windows XP’s boot selector by adding a line to boot.ini:
C:\chain0="Mac OS X86"chain0 will locate the HFS+ partition and will proceed to boot from it.
Ideal! So, copy the chain0 file to C:\, and modify your boot.ini. Append the line ” C:\chain0=”Mac OS X86″ ” to it, save boot.ini, pop in your iDeneb DVD, and reboot your computer, booting the iDeneb DVD.
Once the iDeneb installer has loaded again, things get exciting. At this point, you have to select some crucial components and / or patches to make your iDeneb installation work on your computer. So, click “Continue”, select the “Leopard” partition as installation target, and click “Customize”. In this screen, select the patches you need. In my case, using my hardware, I had to select this stuff:
iDeneb Essential System (doh)
ACPI Kext 10.5.6 (or my system would complain about some ACPI kext is missing)
PS2Fix Keyboard (I have a PS2 keyboard)
AC97 Audio (for my AC’97 onboard sound card)
ICHx Fixed (for my ICH5 SouthBridge, without this I’d get the famous “Still waiting for root device” errors)
Kernel 9.5.0 Voodoo (for my P4 CPU, which does not understand SSE3)
Seatbel fix (must have with the Voodoo kernel)
NVInject –> 256MB (for my 6800GT)
Again, if you have different hardware, above options are different for your system! Check out each option and read it carefully in that case.
Once you’re done selecting the patches and stuff, it’s time to install. Click “Install” and voila, there it goes. Installation can take a while, especially if you do not cancel the disk verification process. Be patient!
After a while, the installer reports “Install Succeeded”. Your system will reboot. Be sure to eject your iDeneb DVD during the POST process of your BIOS or something, or boot your HDD via a key, or whatever, just don’t boot the iDeneb DVD.
If everything has gone well, you’ll get a nice Microsoft boot loader, with the options “Windows XP” and “Mac OS X 86″. Great! Select Mac OS X 86 and enjoy your Leopard installation. Select Windows XP and play your favorite game.
Awesome! Thanks to all contributers of this project, and thanks to the community. I’m running OS X on my PC now.
