My Hackintosh Named “Sirius”

My Hackintosh : Sirius

I recently converted the Ubuntu 10.10 workstation that I have in my art studio into a Hackintosh that I called Sirius.

I thought I would share the ingredients, the recipe and my experience. (Caveat Emptor: I take no responsibility for anything that might happen to you, your hardware, your data or your health as a result of the information describe herein.)

Consider yourself warned!

Ingredients:

* Motherboard: Asus P5GC-MX1333
* Processor: Dual-Pentium E2200 2.2 Ghz
* Memory: 1 Gig DDR2 Ram (yes I know that’s not enough, just too lazy to buy more)
* Graphics: Built-in Intel GMA950 type graphics (does not work very well ….) Replaced with MSI NVidia 8400GS that I found in my home Ubuntu Server
* Sound: Built-in — not sure what chipset — (does not work at first…) Fixed by using VoodooHDA
* Ethernet: Built-in Ethernet (does not work….) Replaced with TP-Link RTL8169 based card
* HardDrive: 500 Gig SATA HD
* CD: LG HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GSA-4167B (Parallel IDE …) Seems: to work great, but have only tried to read.  No writing tried yet.
* Keyboard: Apple USB keyboard.
* Mouse: Microsoft Comfort Optical Mouse 3000
* Display: HP w2207h 22inch LCD 1680×1050 with 90′ rotation. (1050×1680 portrait orientation)

What I did:

– I READ A LOT OF STUFF ABOUT HACKINTOSHES!  This installation, is not really difficult.  But if you don’t know what your doing, it’s going to be painful.
– I read: http://tonymacx86.blogspot.com/2010/04/iboot-multibeast-install-mac-os-x-on.html
– I reread: http://tonymacx86.blogspot.com/2010/04/iboot-multibeast-install-mac-os-x-on.html
– I re-reread: http://tonymacx86.blogspot.com/2010/04/iboot-multibeast-install-mac-os-x-on.html
– I figured I understood: http://tonymacx86.blogspot.com/2010/04/iboot-multibeast-install-mac-os-x-on.html so I proceeded on.
– The NVidia card was not installed when I installed Snow Leopard.  I used the on-motherboard video at first, not because I knew better, but just because that’s what happened.
– Boot iBoot.
– Install Vanilla Store Bought SnowLeopard.  Don’t be a pirate!
– Run Multibeast (just like they say at tonymacx86.blogspot.com) – I must admit that Multibeast had my stymied at first…  I was not really sure how the hell it worked.  I finally did the EasyBeast thing then proceeded from there.
– Run Fix Permissions using Disk Utility
– Reboot
– Installed RTL8169 based ethernet card.
-Downloaded and installed 10.6.6 Combo Update.

At this point, if I remember well, what I had was a working system, named Sirius, but without ability to change resolution, and without sound.

Then I installed the NVidia 8400GS card, after a local hackintosher suggested it, and upon restart I had a great working graphics setup.  I can change resolutions and screen rotation.

Then I used Multibeast to install the VoodooHDA driver to get sound enabled. (Remember to run Fix Permissions after.. not sure if you REALLY HAVE to do it, or if I’m just too cautious.)

Ok now, Sirius is a working Hackintosh, with networking, graphics and sound. Updated to 10.6.6.

I cloned the main disk to another that I keep just for that purpose.

What does not work:

* Sleep –  It goes to sleep (except the fans) but I am unable to wake it.

What I have not done:
Since this machine that I am building is a secondary machine, (my main system is a MacPro in my office, and this machine will be used just to display subject photographs for my paintings/drawings.
* I have not tested the USB speed.
* I have not tested audio-in.
* I have not tested CD/DVD burning.
* I have not plugged in an iPod etc.

Quirks:

* Sometimes, like on when I start it up after a day or 2 of down time, the system will crash while it’s booting. (Grey Apple screen).  I just hit the reset button and then it reboots and comes up ok.
* I have to plug in the display via plain old VGA (there are both VGA and DVI on the card), because when I connected it via a DVI-HDMI combo, turning the display off would cause the Hackintosh to crash. Bad. 😦

Cost:

Total cost for the system: (all prices are approximate, as I built this thing using scavenged parts I had from other other systems etc.)

Motherboard: $100
Processor: $90
HD: $50
NVidia8400GS: $40
Memory: $30
DVD-Drive: $30
Case+Pwr: $70
Ethernet: $10
For a total: $410

Conclusion:

I think that tonymacx86.blogspot.com and http://www.tonymacx86.com are probably the greatest places to find info on installing SnowLeopard on vanilla hardware.

Thanks to all those who built the web site and software.

All in all this machine works great for the light tasks that I have for it in my art studio (ie light image manipulation, file transfers to/from server and internet radio – I listen to ClassicFM a lot.)  I figure it’s about like having a MacMini.

That’s my experience so far.  I hope yours goes as well. Good luck.
Michael Longval
mlongval at gmail dot com

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