It’s been a few hours since the Internet exploded over the Psystar Rebel_EFI bootloader and we tried it out on a few machines in the office and originally thought it failed. However, I let the boot screen run for a bit without touching the keyboard on an HP TouchSmart we had here and it suddenly dropped into the OS X install screen. A quick format using Disk Utility and I was, amazingly, in business. The touchscreen even worked!
UPDATE – Video after the jump.
The video is arguably pretty boring but it’s essentially proof of life.
First, download the software. MIRROR Burn the ISO to a CD ROM, boot it in the CD ROM drive, and select verbose in the set-up so you can watch it run. Just let it churn away and assume that it’s crashed if it takes longer than an hour to enter into the OS X install screen. We’ll report back on how our new Hackintosh(ii) run as we try this trick on multiple machines.
Here are the instructions again:
1. Download the Rebel EFI file, available here.
2. Burn the file to a CD.
3. Insert the Rebel EFI disc into your CD drive.
4. Start or restart your computer.
5. As computer boots up select, Boot Options or Boot Menu Key
**Boot Options or Boot Menu Key differ by motherboard manufacturer.
6. Select CD ROM
7. After CD loads press enter to run the CD
8. When prompted, Eject the CD and it will ask for the Snow Leopard DVD
9. Insert the Snow Leopard DVD
10. Select Main Language
11. Click Continue, if you want to continue with the installation of Snow Leopard.
12. Click Agree, if you agree.
13. Select the disk that you want to install Snow Leopard on.
a. If no disk shows, Click on Utilities on the tool bar, then select Disk Utilities.
b. On the left you should see your hard drive.
c. If not, a disk is not connected or cannot be read by your computer.
d. After selecting your hard drive click on Partition.
e. Under Volume Scheme, click current and select 1 partition.
f. Under Volume Information, name your hard drive.
g. Format: Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
h. At the bottom of the window Click on the Options Button.
i. Select the GUID Partition Table
j. Click OK
k. Click Apply
l. Click Partition
m. Quit Disk Utilities
14. Select the disk that you want to install Snow Leopard on.
15. Click Install.
16. When Installation completes. restart the computer
17. As the computer starts up, insert the Rebel EFI CD
18. As computer boots up select Boot Options or Boot Menu Key
**Boot Options or Boot Menu Key differ by motherboard manufacturer.
19. Select CD ROM
20. Once CD loads you will see both the Hard Disk and the Rebel EFI CD
21. Use the arrow keys to highlight the Hard Drive
22. Press Enter to boot Hard drive.
23. Launch the Rebel EFI application from the CD.
24. Follow the on-screen authentication procedure.
25. Click Continue
26. Select your Keyboard
27. Click Continue
28. Select, Do not transfer my information now.
29. Click Continue
30. If, you have and Apple ID enter it now
31. If not, Click Continue
32. Enter your Registration Information
33. Click Continue
34. Create your Account Information
35. Click Continue
36. Select Time Zone
37. Click Continue
38. Click Done
Thanks god you put the instruction for after OS X starts. Its so confusing at that point.
how easy is it to dual boot with Win7 or XP?
Awesome! Thanks so much.
So whats the difference between this and the chameleon bootloader.
I don’t know yet. Trying to figure it out.
Chameleon bootloader seems to be for the clued this one claims it’s new and is charging clueless people money for it, had Mr. Biggs tried Chameleon he would probably have claimed success a while ago.
Incidentally, Snow Leopard doesn’t want to install onto an MBR partition, but if you did what I did, installing into a GUID-partitioned USB disk, booted from there, and copied the installation onto an MBR disk, it boots fine.
Holy Holy Holy!!! This reminds me of the DRM deal when the Linux guys wore the private encryption key on their shirts to the court hearing. Psystar just went gorilla! Now Apple should do what they should have done in the 80’s and just license their OS for use on lowly PC’s. They could make a few BILLION a year off that…
I have to agree with Dan below. Controlling the hardware and the software is part of what makes mac different, and in my opinion, better. It’s part wonderful industrial design and part “not lowest common denominator hardware”. Seems to be working so far. (It’s what makes Apple what it is: a consumer electronics company. Dell is a computer company, in a race to the bottom. A race in which Dell is currently struggling.)
“This reminds me of the DRM deal when the Linux guys wore the private encryption key on their shirts to the court hearing.”
I…. haven’t heard of that, details?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AACS_encryption_key_controversy
Oh, I remember that.
Caused quite an uproar at Digg.
But then how will Apple computers which they rely on as their centre-piece of business be any different to any other computer, other than being a really expensive?
And that is why that will never happen.
Apple makes money on each computer they sell. Why would they want to do what Microsoft is doing? Their strategy is working. Anyone hear their most recent numbers? Maybe we should learn from them, and not “teach” them ;)
Of course because Microsoft isn’t making any money :-S
I have a Mac and a few PC, and I would love to have OSX on my Quad Core triple monitor setup. I wouldn’t be able to afford that setup on a Mac.
So the option then is to not have OS X on your Quad Core setup. This generation of parasites actually believe that they should be entitled to have anything.
If you can’t afford it, then you shouldn’t have it.
I’d love to have a Ferrari F430, but I don’t steal one and think I’m entitled to one just because I want one. I accept that I can’t have everything.
“So the option then is to not have OS X on your Quad Core setup. This generation of parasites actually believe that they should be entitled to have anything.”
And then of course, there are those who think every big corporation is in the right and anybody who complains is a spoiled brat when in reality they are just completely ignorant.
“I’d love to have a Ferrari F430, but I don’t steal one and think I’m entitled to one just because I want one.”
COMPLETELY incorrect analogy. You aren’t stealing MACOSX or ANYTHING by legally purchasing a disk, and don’t even think of bringing up the EULA, that trash is a joke that no court considers a valid legally binding contract, it alone breaks sever OTHER laws when attempting to call itself a contract.
If you want a more accurate analogy, its like buying a Ferrari then being told you can only drive it on special Ferrari roads, which only take you to 10% of the places normal roads can take you.
No, both our analogies are incorrect, because I wasn’t making a perfectly comparable analogy, I was making it to accentuate the moral of the story:
“If you can’t afford it, then you shouldn’t have it.”
That’s it. The analogy was for effect, not for exact comparison.
If you can’t afford Adobe Photoshop, you shouldn’t have it. If you can’t afford a Fender guitar, you shouldn’t have one. If you can’t afford a Ferrari, you shouldn’t have it.
But the Parasite Generation feel like they’re entitled to anything that is easily available through the internet, even though it is not theirs to take. You can claim infinite copies and whatever, but in the end it is not yours to take.
It is the exact MENTALITY of a thief. May not be the exact mechanics of a thief, but it is the exact same mentality. You see, a thief also takes things because he can, not because he should.
The problem is that you CAN afford the ferrari motor (which actually is a pretty generic motor most likely and not limited by a single brand, but lets say they would have their own motor), but ain’t allowed to put any other mechanics around it except other ferrari parts. Of course it would make sense if you ain’t allowed to claim that what you have built is a ferrari, but for a custom built car its perfectly alright. (In essence this analogy would make more sense when we would take a more generic brand, as mac isn’t *that* much better than linux and windows. ).
To get out of the analogy, Yannick L Desjardins in this case for example can both afford the hardware for a quad core setup and the software – a normal mac disc – , but for some obscure reason he isn’t allowed to install mac on his quad core setup. Of course I know the various arguments why its better for apple this way – though I don’t really agree with them – but more importantly the situation itself makes no sense at all.
I do belive what Apple dose, forcing you to buy an Apple made Mac PC to run an Apple made OS is illeagle and unfair monopoly, just as microsoft was guilty of unfair business practices by giving away programs others were trying to sell.
“If you can’t afford it, then you shouldn’t have it.”
That is one of the most ridiculus things I have ever heard.
The homeless can’t afford homes, does that mean they shoulden’t have homes?
Because if we all “learn” from apple.
All computers will be 1000 dollars+.
While also lacking features and options.
I downloaded it. 7.6 MB. Is that it? (The PC I’m on doesn’t have a burner.)
This looks great. Will I be able to run the iPhone SDK on my PC with this?
http://www.freestuffgiveaway.co.uk
Could someone enlighten me?
When I boot from the CD that was made from the ISO, what should I do on the psystar bootscreen?
It counts down from 5 in the top right corner.
If I don’t do anything it just loads Vista.
If I press spacebar the screen is just paused.
If I press enter it just loads Vista.
So around step 6 or 7 it fails for me.
Any comments would be appreciated!
When the CD loads, you get options to choose from at the bootom. Choose Mac or else if defsults to booting windows.
Hhmm strange I don’t see that option.
On my PC I get the following when booting from the CD:
1 – Top left corner a BootLoader logo and version number
2 – Top right corner a counter that counts down from 5
3 – Bottom left corner a line saying there are 4 boot devices (no names or types mentioned)
I have the same exact problem. I’ve tried it dozens of times, searching for answers and trying all sorts of keys to load the cd option. I even just tried restarting with Mac install disc, but no good. I sent a message to support a while ago but no help yet.
As far as I can tell the cd just isn’t loading.
Clicking escape allows me to select a boot option, but it only shows Windows hd0,0, which doesn’t help. I even tried using 9f to manually select dvd drive.
Man thats awesome I was suprised that even the touch screen worked now that a true geek way of doing stuff.
AMD support? GTX260 support?
nothing, that’s what they use.
truly american to take some open source and charge a couple hundred for free stuff.
Meanwhile, how is this news? Hackintoshing has been around for years. I have 1 netbook, and 2 desktops like these, all with varying hardware.
Apple’s OS is designed to only run on specific hardware, I can’t imagine the headaches trying to find drivers for all your PC crap. I guess it’s sort of a fun thing to do but using Snow Leopard on your DELL as your main machine?? I dont think so..
So you’re saying that on top of childish ads, overpriced computers with missing features, and an elitist “our os is best” attitude, Apple had crappy hardware support as well?
That’s pretty pathetic.
I mean, they can’t even get a USB keyboard right! MY GAMING CONSOLES HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH A USB KEYBOARD yet my Mac Mini does, ever since I upgraded to Snow Leopard my keyboard got shot to hell.
YOu didn’t get it did you? Does your Apple USB keyboard not work properly?
No, I got it, I was just pointing out what a ridiculous point it was to make.
any details on what hardware is supported? Does it have to strictly comply with the vanilla kernel?
FWIW, I had to use a PS2 keyboard in order to select any of the options presented when booting from the CD, prior to booting into OS X.
I had the same problem but I had no PS2 keyboard so I looked into setup and enabled USB keyboard and mouse support. That helped a lot.
Otherwise I see a shutdown screen any time I want to install it on my Aspire 1 or PC.
I’ve tried over a dozen times and I cant get past the grey apple logo. Any suggestions?
I installed it,works fine apart audio e driver video. I suppose that now i have to set their program to install the missing kexts and bootloader to hardrive. When is the authcode going to be leaked?
I have an authcode (no, I won’t post or share it) and still can’t set up the machine (and it’s a PsyStar machine).
The program errored out when attempting to set up an account and won’t even accept the auth code when I try a second time.
I’m sure they’ll sort it out but it isn’t ready for the masses yet (IMO).
If you don’t mind me asking, why did you purchase the bootloader without testing the trial to see if it would work first?
I don’t mind. I own a psystar machine that ran Leo fine.
The trial only gets you to a marginally functional desktop (which is essentially where I am now, given the inability to authenticate the app) and I wanted to do a full install because the HW is basically compatible.
For others, you can also look at the various hacky sites to see what HW configs are working with other install methods.
In theory, if it’s working elsewhere, this should work too, just much simpler to install (in theory…)
Tried installing Snow Leopard using Rebel efi a dozen of time since last night. Failed each time. Was able to get through all the way till the end, and OS X prompts me, “Install Failed. Mac OS X could not be installed on your computer. The installer could not start up the computer from disk ‘Your HDD Name Here’. Try selecting your disk using Startup Disk utility. Click Restart to restart your computer and try installing again.” Grr…any ideas how I can get this thing to work???
The install failed error is common. Mine did the same but I could boot from the EFI CD and the SL install had apparently completed.
Right, I was able to boot SL from EFI CD after the install failed error. I went through the SL setup, entered my country/preferred language, Apple ID, etc. And then now what? Wifi not working, Screen Resolution stuck at 1024×768, no sound, no trackpad, no ethernet….What do I need to do next to get the rest of the Hardware working? Thank you in advance!
have the same on my lenovo 3000 v200
unfortunately the authentication code from psystar did not work. sucks, i paid 50 dollar for that!
So, does this software tell me hardware compatibility BEFORE I install OS X? All the screenshots I’ve seen of it’s hardware checking app make it look like it’s running on OS X…which kinda sounds like a conflict of interest here.
Not as far as I can tell.
The app itself is installed (theoretically) after SL is installed. At this point, it looks like the DL link for the full activation (paid) version has been pulled (link doesn’t work).
Hopefully they’re working out some bugs.
For HW compatibility you’re probably best off checking the usual places. I doubt they got an installer to work where other’s haven’t.
(Their app is primarily a simplified process using a single installer for the various files etc that you’d normally do individually)
Why not just install Ubuntu and be done with it. It will at least work on your hardware and not leave you with a half-functional, but essentially crippled machine. With Ubuntu you’ll never have to see Microsoft Windows again which is your goal I presume, since you;re willing to risk having a disabled machine in order to get off of it.
“Why not just install Ubuntu and be done with it. It will at least work on your hardware and not leave you with a half-functional, but essentially crippled machine”
*snerk*
The last thing that comes to mind when I tried Ubuntu on ANY of my machines is “compatible with my hardware”
This looks like a great way to waste a lot of time. I once spent a great deal of time trying to get OS X to work on my PC, even though I built that PC to be as close as possible to the specs of a Mac Pro. There were still graphical glitches and big programs like Final Cut Pro didn’t work all that well.
I eventually went out and just purchased a MacBook Pro. That is a very nicely built machine. I am cheap and still think Apple doesn’t overcharge for their machines. People that can do proper R&D and design don’t come cheap.
Just try coding a proper OS that rarely ever crashes and you’ll see how hard it is. I am sure Apple sells OS X at a loss for the folks who buy Apple hardware. An IBM Thinkpad laptop with the magnesium shell would’ve cost me the same and I wouldn’t have been able to get a GeForce 8600GT gaming video card and proper Firewire ports.
As far as hardware support is concerned, people need to understand the politics of this industry before they post nonsense.
I was involved with driver development on the Linux OS side for a bit and you almost have to walk on water to get hardware specs from device manufacturers. Either that or you have to be as big as Microsoft. ATI, Nvidia and myriad other manufacturers are the ones holding up progress.
It’s not like there aren’t a bunch of programmers who are skilled enough to write proper drivers for just about anything. Even they are not skilled enough to code drivers fast enough without proper hardware specifications. If you really want to help, demand that hardware manufacturers provide specs so that operating systems other than those built by Microsoft can have drivers.
funny, almost all my hackintosh boxes run video games and video software perfectly.
The community support is fantastic… i really doubt FCP would mess up one of my boxes.
Did you have core vid accelerated?
Has anyone tried to make this work in a vmware virtual machine?
That would be awesome!
Can someone help me? I’m trying to install OS X using this program but it never gets past “Please insert the Mac OS X DVD” message. I waited for an hour and nothing happened — I’m trying again, but so far nothing is happening again.
After I insert the OS X DVD, do I need to press a key or something?
if you can’t figure out how to do it for free, (IE the OSX86 scene)
then don’t do it, your not worthy. Contributing to the lawyer fund for Pystar is disgusting.
DON’T USE THIS PRODUCT.
ripping off open-source and selling it not only hurts the OS community, in this situation it hurts apple, and every idiot that buys this. Even when you buy it, your going to have to be tech savvy enough to troubleshoot it.
Actually, I tried to use Chameleon, and was immediately (and I mean immediately) turned off by the lack of documentation that wasn’t for Unix l33t types, e.g. there was no guide that I could find to give a person not sure of how to proceed an inkling of what to do first. Same old crap from people who know it all already, and the #1 reason why Linux/Unix will never catch on (’cept for Mac OS X). Just saying… Every once in a while I find Unix users who know they have bad attitudes about anyone with less knowledge than them, but it’s a rare thing.
On the other hand, the Psystar thing is working for me. Since I’m just installing it to check it out, it’s fine for me.
Hackintoshing is a real pain. the difference between chameleon and rebel efi needs better explanation and documentation for the both needs to grow. These sites are a start. but we need more.
osx86project.org
http://thinkpadius.com/?q=hackintosh/hackintosh-rebel-efi
HI,
Has anyone had luck with AMD processors, dual core, 64bit?
Thanks!
HS
AMD processors are not now, nor will they ever be supported by Rebel EFI.
As for multiple cores… I’m running OS X on a Core 2 Quad 2.5GHz, works fine.
Awwwwwww…I needed that…thanks!!!
I get to the point where it asks me to insert the OS X disc, but once I do, it stalls at “please wait while the Mac OS X disc is loaded…”
Any suggestions on how to get past this point???
In the lower left hand corner of the Psystar screen there is a number corresponding to the number of installed drives. Depress that number on the keyboard, in my case “1″ and a sub menu will appear under the icon, select verbose and hit enter. The boot loader installs really fast and it may appear that nothing has happened, but it has. If you are using a Gigabyte MB tweek the BIOS per Psystar instructions!!!!!! I used a PS2 keyboard but a usb keyboard may be sufficient for that. IF you have a botched MacOS install it looks like it is necessary to erase the HD and start over, or so it appears from my experience. Psystar does have a note about the MacOS install failure which is totally correct and the OS has actually installed correctly. If after a botched install you get a gray screen it will be necessary to run the Ubuntu live CD to clear the graphic card, at least that worked for me. If you get a MacOS startup that you were not expecting when following the instructions let it continue, inserting the Rebel EFI CD during start up appears ok. The Psystar authentication process may take a few tries. Be sure to click on the Psystar splash screen icon labeled “Install” so that you can download and install Apple updates without other problems happening.
There is a Rebel EFI wiki that lists a hardware compatibility list (mobo, CPU, VC): http://wiki.psystar.com/index.php/Rebel_EFI_Wiki
I had a Psystar computer running Leopard, which I backed up regularly on Time Machine and when Snow Leopard asked if I wanted to pull the data from that, I said yes. It seemed to copy all necessary drivers (except sound card?) with it… So if you’re one of the people who has a Psystar but wants Rebel EFI… It looks like you may not have to pay for it…