My friend visit me yesterday after long time. He came with Macbook Pro and ask about a few unix command that he think I knew . In fact I never touch Mac OS system but I realized its not far from FreeBSD when we talk about terminal 🙂

He told me that he decide to buy a Mac after struggle with hackintosh and due to lack of knowledge he admit that the process is not easy and he gave up. He want to document the process but he don’t have time. His brother seem attracted with the challenge and will continue the journey.

Apple OS X not allowed installed on non Apple hardware . For software license agreement click here.

I see it as challenge too and I prefer to collect all required information as part of preparation for Windows OS user and  Laptop with intensive use.

Mental Preparation

Quick googling give me a fact that the process is not easy. Many people try to install it with great hope. Everything will be smooth and easy as Windows OS installation (only Next and choose Yes). In fact even after successful installation you’ll get another problem with wifi, touchpad and many more.

If you have working system using El Capitan then no need to rush for upgrade to Sierra unless you have strong reason ( Its a common to see too if something working well with Windows 7 not work with Windows 8 or Windows 10).

Time Preparation

Install fresh operating system (Windows or Linux Desktop) is easier for single OS. If you want dual booting system its more difficult since you need to learn about booting process (BIOS, UEFI etc). Time and patient needed also increased more for non familiar OS such Mac OS X.

If you busy then you will need to do it in free time and non stressful moment like weekend.

Hardware Preparation

Laptop is not same as PC where you can design it as you want. One component that I think I will need is 2nd hard drive for the following reasons :

• my existing 750 GB hard drive almost full with os iso files (various linux distro).
• SSD getting cheaper now. Adding HDD Caddy to replace Optical drive (CDROM) is perfect option.
• I can use Optical Drive as external using sata optical drive usb cable.
• I can experiment with hackintosh with this 2nd drive . When its fail I can retry it anytime without worry.

Knowing Laptop Specification

Know my laptop specification is the essential part. If I get stuck I can get help by supplying the information.

Information about CPU, Chipset etc.

To get those information I use CPU-Z  program (freeware) from CPUID.

The result is shown in this pictures :

CPU

Caches

Mainboard

Memory

SPD

I have 2 different memory installed (8GB in total); from Hyundai and Kingston.

Graphics

I have 2 devices; NVIDIA GeForce 840M and Intel (R) HD graphics family.

Information about Wifi

Device manager give this information:

Broadcom

Exact series of Broadcom : BCM43142

Information about LAN adapter

I use Realtek PCle FE

More Information

So far with the help from cpu-z and device manager I got general information about my laptop. I also use help from HP Support Assistant ( I use HP Laptop).

Combine the information for more from device manager, cpu-z and hp support assistant.

Will My Laptop Work / Compatible for Hackintosh?

Well, before I download everything I’ll do preliminary research based on my laptop specification. If you need driver in Windows OS to get a Wifi Card working then in Mac OS X term you need suitable ‘Kext’ file. Kext stand for Kernel Extension.

If you want your Laptop work well with Hackintosh then you need many Kext to enable your wifi, sound, touch pad, ethernet and more.

For my laptop wifi specification case I search for “BCM43142 hackintosh” to get sad result (I must replace with compatible hardware). Best recommended hardware is BCM94352HMB or BCM94360HMB (supported natively). In case for ‘need wifi only’ then use AR5BHB92 .

to be continue …