installing Mac OS X on a windows PC?

Question

how do I install mac os x on an x86 machine? I've heard its possible, but I don't know how and I'd like to do it. Any good websites that give advise and how to or anything?

Answer 1

Here it is and Good Luck with the adventure...............

Although running Mac OS natively on PC hardware is not possible, there is another option--running Mac OS X on an emulator. In this article, I will show you how to install and run Mac OS X Panther on your PC using PearPC, a free, architecture-independent PowerPC platform that runs on PCs. To check out PearPC's features, go to the PearPC-PowerPC Architecture Emulator web site.

Here are the steps you'll take to use PearPC to install Mac OS X:

Download the PearPC PowerPC Architecture Emulator.
Obtain hard disk images for use with PearPC.
Obtain images of your client OS installation disk.
Configure PearPC to use the hard disk image and the OS images.
Downloading PearPC
Download the PearPC PowerPC Architecture Emulator. Once it's downloaded, extract its content to a folder, say, [Desktop]:\PearPC. This is the folder that is going to contain all of the files you'll see in the next couple of sections.

Note: [Desktop] refers to the path of my Windows desktop; that is, C:\Documents and Settings\Wei-Meng Lee\Desktop\.

Hard disk images
To install Mac OS X on the emulator, you need a hard disk image. You can download preformatted hard disk images from http://pearpc.net/downloads.php. Two disk sizes are available: 3GB and 6GB. If you plan to install the full Mac OS X, then use the 6GB image. If you have limited disk space on your hard drive, use the smaller, 3GB image. Be aware that the default install of Mac OS X takes up a little more than 3GB, and so you need to unselect certain components during installation if you use the 3GB image.

The disk images come in two formats: BZ2 and RAR. I used the 6GB RAR disk images. You need to uncompress the disk image before you can use it. To uncompress the RAR image, I used WinRAR from http://www.rarlab.com/download.htm. Uncompress the image and save it in the [Desktop]:\PearPC folder.

Making images of your client OS
To install Mac OS X on your hard disk image, you need to make copies of your Mac OS X installation disk in ISO format. You can use Nero or any other disk utility to save CDs or DVDs in ISO format. In my case, I have saved the images in the C:\PearPC folder. I have named the first disk Panther1.iso.

Note: You need to purchase Mac OS X in order to run Mac OS X in PearPC.

Configuring PearPC
Once you've taken the previous steps, you're ready for the final step: configuring PearPC to use the all the relevant disk images. To do it, you need to create a configuration file. You can find the instructions on how to create one manually at http://pearpc.net/guides.php?guides_id=2. Or you can download a Windows application that does all the hard work for you. In my case, I used the PearPC Control Panel to help me manage my Mac OS X emulation.

Launch PearPC Control Panel and click on the Create New Configuration File icon. You will see the first screen as shown in Figure 1. Click on Continue to proceed to the next step.

Answer 2

First off... why would you want to??? Secondly, a standard OS X installation will not run on x86 hardware without an emulator. Which means... Install Windows XP (Pro would be best), install the emulator software and start it, install OS X withing the emulator. The emulator basically creates a curtain between OS X and the hardware, so it can fool it into thinking everything is as it should be. It then makes all the translations that are needed between the two platforms. It is not very stable or reliable.

There are some new x86 machines that are designed to run OS X, but they are not true x86s. And the version of OS X that they run is a hybrid. Again... not very stable or reliable.

Answer 3

Although running Mac OS natively on PC hardware is not possible, there is another option--running Mac OS X on an emulator..Using PearPC, a free, architecture-independent PowerPC platform that runs on PCs. To check out PearPC's features, go to the PearPC-PowerPC Architecture Emulator web site. Here are the steps you'll take to use PearPC to install Mac OS X: 1. Download the PearPC PowerPC Architecture Emulator. 2. Obtain hard disk images for use with PearPC. 3. Obtain images of your client OS installation disk. 4. Configure PearPC to use the hard disk image and the OS images. Before installing PearPC and using Mac OS X, you need to keep several things in mind: 1. You need a license to run Mac OS X. That is, you need to buy a copy of Mac OS X. 2. The installation process takes time. Don't install Mac OS X on a slow machine; Also, make sure you have lots of free hard disk space. The hard disk image itself takes up 6GB, and the additional installation disk images are going to take up a few more gigabytes. 3. Even though the installation process is painfully slow, once the system is installed it is actually quite responsive. While you won't be able to fully experience Mac OS X as if you were using a real Mac, the emulation provides a good way for you to try out Mac OS X before you head to the nearest Apple shop to get the latest iMac.

Answer 4

It can be done but it is not by any means an easy task.
It is also a violation of the Mac OSX EULA.
And there is also the problem that it becomes very unstable.
If you can't afford a Mac then you would be much better off just buying a copy of Linspire 5.0 and setting it up to run like a Mac.
Linspire Linux is just as easy to work with as Mac OSX.

Answer 5

Very hard and very pointless to be honest. Just buy a mac and shove windows on it- that way you arent doing anything naughty. You also have the satisfaction of knowing you have the security of a mac with the compatibility of windows :D

Answer 6

just go and ask the people at your local apple store. They will give you a very strange look.