HowtoinstallMacOSXonaPC

ApplemaynotwantyoutoinstallOSXonaPC,butitcanbedone.Here'show...
byKennyHemphill|23Dec15
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JustbecauseAppledoesntwantyoutoinstallOSXonaPC,doesntmeanitcantbedone.Thereare
numeroustoolsavailabletohelpyoucreateaninstallerthatwillallowtoinstallanyversionofOSXfrom
SnowLeopardonwardsonanonApplePC.
Beforewestart,weshouldtellyouthatAppleslicenceforOSXexpresslyforbidsitbeinginstalledon
anythingotherthanaMac,soifyouchoosetodoit,dontsaywedidntwarnyou.
Read:OSX10.11ElCapitanvsWindows10comparisonreview&TenreasonswhyMacsarebetterthan
PCs

Whatyou'llneedtorunOSXonaPC
Beforeyoustart,thereareafewthingsyoullneed.Firstly,youllneedacompatiblePC,thegeneralruleis
youllneedamachinewitha64bitIntelprocessor.Youllalsoneedaseparateharddriveonwhichtoinstall
OSX,onewhichhasneverhadWindowsinstalledonit.IfyouwanttorunmorethanjustthebasicOS,you
shouldhaveatleast50GBoffreespaceonthedrive.

InordertocreatetheOSXinstaller,youllneedaMaconwhichtodownloaditfromtheAppStore.AnyMac

InordertocreatetheOSXinstaller,youllneedaMaconwhichtodownloaditfromtheAppStore.AnyMac
capableofrunningElCapitanwilldo.And,finally,youllneedatooltocreatetheinstaller,andaUSBstickon
whichtoputit.Makesureits8GBorbigger.OneofthemostpopularinstallercreationtoolsisUnibeast.Its
afreeMacappthatcreatesaninstallerforOSXonaUSBstickwhichiscapableofbeinginstalledonan
IntelPC.Youllneedtoregisterontonymacx.comtodownloadit,butonceyouvedonethatyourereadyto
go.
Readnext:WhichMacdoIhave:Howtoidentifymodel,yearandserialnumberandHowtocheckyour
Mac'stechspecs

HowtocreatetheOSXInstallerandinstallonaPC
1.OnyourMac,gototheAppStore,searchforElCapitan,anddownloadit.Whenitsfinished,itwill
automaticallylaunchtheinstaller.Whenitdoesthis,pressCommandqtoquit.Checkthattheinstallerisin
yourApplicationsfolder.
2.Gototonymacx.com,registeranddownloadUnibeast.Whenitsdownloaded,installitasyouwouldany
otherapp.

3.PlugintheUSBdriveonwhichyouwanttoinstallOSXandlaunchDiskUtility.ClickonthePartitiontab
andleavethepartitionsettingatonepartitionoccupyingthefullycapacityofthedrive.ThePartitionshould
beMacOSExtended(Journaled).Givethepartitionaname.Clickonoptionsandmakesurethepartition
schemeissettoGUIDPartitionTable.Whenyoureready,clickApplytostartformattingthedrive.

4.LaunchUnibeastand,inthefirstwindow,selecttheUSBdriveyoujustformattedasthedestinationfor
theinstaller.ClickContinueandstepthroughthepagesoftheappuntilyoucometotheonethatasksyouto
choosetheOSyouwanttoinstall.ClickonElCapitan.
5.Onthenextpage,youllbeaskedtochoosebetweentwobootmodes,UEFIandLegacy.Inmostcases,
youshouldchooseUEFI.TheexceptionPCsthathaveamotherboardthatusesBIOSandnotUEFI.If
yoursdoes,chooseLegacy.
6.Onceyouvechosenthebootmode,youllbeaskedtospecifyyourPCsgraphicscard.IfyouhaveaPC
witharecentIntelCPU,youcanskipthisstep.ItsonlynecessaryforPCswithgraphicscardswhicharent
compatiblewithOSX.Ifyoursdoes,choosetheoptionwhichbestdescribesyourgraphicscard.

7.WhenyouclickContinue,UnibeastwillbegininstallingonyourUSBstick.Itcantakeuptoanhour,so
youllneedtobepatient.InthemeantimeyoucangetyourPCreadybyunpluggingallUSBdevicesand
removinganyinternalharddrivesotherthantheoneonwhichyouwanttoinstallOSX.IfyourPChas
integratedanddiscretegraphicscards,removethediscreteone.Finally,connectyourmonitortoyourPCs
DVIportifithasone.ThistendstoworkbetterthanHDMIorVGA.
8.YoullalsoneedtosetupthePCmotherboardsBIOSorUEFI.IfyourPChasaGigabytemotherboard
withBIOS,followthis guide.IfithasaGigabytemotherboardwithUEFI,usethis guide.Ifyoudonthavea
Gigabytebrandedmotherboard,followtheguideatstep5here.

9.Yourenowreadytobegintheinstallation.PlugintheUSBstickonwhichyouinstalledUnibeastand
restartyourPC.ItshouldnowbootintoUnibeastandgiveyoutheoptionofwhichdrivetoinstallfrom.Use
yourPCsarrowkeystonavigatetoExternalandpressEnter.TheElCapitaninstallershouldnowstart.
10.WhenitcomestoselectingthedriveontowhichyouwanttoinstallElCapitan,theremaybenooptions
tochoosefrom.Ifthatsthecase,clicktheUtilitiesmenuand,whenDiskUtilityopens,choosethehard
driveyouwanttoinstallElCapitanonandclicktheErasetab.MakesureMacOSExtended(Journaled)is
selectedandtheSchemeissettoGUIDPartitionMap,thenclickErase.Whenthedrivehaserased,quit
DiskUtilityandthedriveshouldbeavailabletoselectfromtheinstaller.
11.SelectthedriveandstepthroughtheinstalleruntilElCapitanstartsinstallingitself.Afterhalfandhouror
so,itwillfinish.Whenitsdone,restartyourPC,withtheUSBdrivestillpluggedin.Thistime,theUnibeast
bootmenuwilldisplaytheElCapitanbootdisk.SelectitandyourPCsillbootintoOSX.
AlthoughyourenowrunningOSXonyourPC,yourworkisnotyetdone.Whilethesoftwarewillwork,
anythingthatrequireaccesstohardware,likewifiandsound,wont.Youllneedtouseatoolcalled
MultibeasttoconfigureyourPC.Youcanfindmoreaboutthathereandhowtouseithere.
InstallingOSXonaPCisahack,hencethenameHackintosh.Assuch,itsnotofficiallysupportedby
anyone.Theguideabovewillworkinmostcases,ifitdoesnt,youcanfindhelphere.

WhataboutrunningOSXinavirtualmachine?
TheabovemethodisnttheonlywaytorunOSXonaWindowsPC,butitisthemoststraightforwardand
themostlikelytobesuccessful.Youcould,technically,installOSXasavirtualmachineusinganapplike
VMWareFusionorthefreeVirtualBox .Buttodothat,youdneedapiratedandhackedversionofOSX,
andyoudneedtofindaTorrenttodownloaditfrom.Andonceyouvedonethat,theprocessisntanymore
simplethanusingtheprocessabove.GiventhepotentialpitfallsofTorrentingapirateddistributionofOSX,
itsnotasolutionwedrecommend.
Readnext:
HowtoinstallWindowsonaMac
Parallels,VMware,VirtualBoxorBootCamp:BestvirtualisationtoolforMac

Tags:
MacSoftware

,
OSX

,
ElCapitan

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