Installing MacOSX X86 (Hackintosh) 10.4.x on a ThinkPad T43

Overview

There are several "distributions" of Mac OS X 10.4 Hacked for generic x86 computers,

This overview is based on Ver. 10.4.4 with a few patches from 10.4.5.

The reason I used this version, is that this is the version that supports the wireless network, and that's the most important issue for me, as most of the other issues can be resolved/fixed if you've got Internet Connection.

Worked right 'out of the box' Installation

• 1024x768 Resolution
• Hibernate and Standby
• UltraNav (3rd button scroll doesn't work yet)
• WLAN (Atheros, IBM 11a/b/g Wireless LAN Mini PCI Adapter II Only, Intel 2200/2915/3945 Won't work!)
• Audio
• Audio Keys
• Bluetooth
• DVD-RW (burning discs)

Easily Fixed / Resolved

• 1400x1050 Resolution. (can be easily set to default to any screen supported resolution with very little editing, but requires restart to actually change res.)!
• ATI 3D Acceleration (Mobility Radeon X300, Core Image & Quartz Extreme a.k.a CI&QE - Enabled with a little tearing)
• Battery Management
• Broadcom Network 1GbE

Untested

• Modem
• IrDA

Not Working / No Fix

• Finger Print Module
• Embedded Security Module

Installation

This specific guide will not discuss installing multiple OS, So if you want some help about that, refer to the page I offered

ATTENTION!

!!! BACKUP YOUR SYSTEM BEFORE YOU BEGIN !!!

!!! To be ULTIMATELY SAFE : Use a different Harddrive  !!!

First thing is to "Obtain" an Installation Media DVD with the proper patches. Sorry, I can't guide you through this process, as there is no 'free floating' ISO image download like the various Linux distos., but since you're here, it seems you know what you're doing (and as I gathered, the average Mac OS X users doesn't), here's what we need :

We will be needing an image patched with these patches : Intel_SSE2,Anti_TPM, CPU_ID.

NOTE!

It is also possible to run the OS in a virtual machine within another OS such as Linux or MS-Windows, but I shall not get into that here

hereforth I'll just assume you've got the right media, and made yourself a DVD copy, so let's get started :

Step 1 : Disk Partitioning

Mac OS X can natively access and modify Windows Network Shares and Unix Shares, but only read local shares.

If you want to share files between two or more OS on the same system, you'll need to setup a FAT32 partition for that matter. Again, this is not discussed here. as we are setting a single OS, so we will continue as planned.

Before we begin installation we have to setup the partition on the harddrive.

While we can do it from within the Mac OS X Installation LiveDVD, it doesn't work every time, as it produces B% Error (for not activating the Partition) so we'll use the method that works for sure.

NOTE!

This part assumes basic knowledge in Linux shell commands and fdisk

I've found out that having a Gentoo Minimal LiveCD is very handy, but any LiveCD will do.

Fire up the power, and insert the a linux LiveCD/DVD media you prepared into the drive.

when it's up, open up a terminal and sudo (if not on Gentoo LiveCD).

open up fdisk to create and setup the partition we want :

# fdisk /dev/sda
n
p
1
Enter
Enter
a
t
AF
w
# shutdown -r now

That's it, We're done.

What did we just do ? We opened fdisk for edit of (s)csi (d)isk (a), as the disk is recognized as a SATA disk due to SATA->PATA Bridge. if you're using an UltraBay disk drive, change accordingly.

We now created the (n)ew partition, as (p)rimary partition, the (1)st, and used the entire disk space (Enter twice), then we set the partition (a)ctive, and change its (t)ype to (AF), which is Macintosh Journaled HFS+ File System. Finally we (w)rite the changes to disk.

Now insert the Mac OS X DVD media you prepared into the drive, and boot from it.

You'll be greeted with the Darwin/x86 Boot loader prompt, and a countdown timer,

you can let it run out, and get the default startup (Apple) screen, without knowing what is going on behind the scene, or press the F8 key to enter boot time options(switches):

I'd recommand adding the following switches :

• -v Enables Verbose mode
• "Graphics Mode"="XRESxYRESxBPP"
  • XRES is X Resolution i.e. 800,1024,1280,1400,1600 etc.
  • YRES is Y Resolution i.e. 600,768,1024,1050,1200 etc.
  • BPP is the color depth (Bit Per Pixel) i.e. 8,16,24,32.

Boot: -v "Graphics Mode"="1400x1050x32"

The OS X Installation Media is actually a LiveCD of Mac OS X, so after running all the hardware detection etc. you'll get to the initial Setup Language screen.

Choose the language you want, and click the arrow to continue.

You'll be presented with the Install Mac OS X Screen.

Step 2 : Installation

Before you press the Continue Button, Open up the Disk Utilities application from the menu above, and make sure that you see the destination drive, and Mac OS X partition we need.

Now that we verified it's OK, continue with the Installation Wizard until you get to the Customize Screen,

Click the Customize button and add whatever you need,

I usually remove all unneeded language translations, and unneeded printers settings, to save space, and add X system, and the needed patches : Intel_SSE2, Anti_TPM, and kext_removal (of IOPCCard...).

Then proceed with the process, (you could skip the Disc Image Verification to save time).

After Installation is done (about 20-40 minutes), you will be prompted to restart the computer. Do so, and remove the Install Disc from the drive while the computer is rebooting.

When the OS is loaded, you will see the second part of the Install Wizard.

Follow through the process, choosing your Country, Network Settings, Apple ID (if you have or want one), etc.

When you're done, you will finally be presented with the OS X desktop.

Step 3 : Tweaking

So, If you're here then everything went OK, and you are finally seeing the OS X desktop.

First, we'll want to properly

Set the Display Resolution

as in the boot options, we would want to make sure that the resolution we choose is working OK, so we'll try using that resolution with the boot option switch, prior to making it permanent.

restart the computer and at the Darwin/x86 boot prompt type :

boot: "Graphics Mode"="ResXxResYxBPP"

as explained above.

if the display is correct, we'll set it permanent now, by opening the Terminal (the OS X shell), and sudo (using the password we created in the install process).

$sudo [-s -i]
password:
#cd /Library/Preferences/System Configuration
#nano -w com.apple.Boot.plist

add the switch inside the <switch></switch> clause, so it would be <switch>Graphics Mode</switch>, and the clause below it to be <string>ResXxResYxBPP</string>. when finished, save the file and exit.