Introduction
I like free. Do you like free? Sometimes free means you get what you pay for. Not this though. I had my book on Amazon for a while, and while I typically earned enough for a Pay-per-View or two per month, I felt it was necessary to give back as other Hackintosh communities do. Therefore I've decided to leave my book up on Amazon but advise not to buy it as all that information and more will be found here.
My last real Mac purchase was a Mac Mini in 2008. It had 2 GB of RAM, 64 MB of graphics memory, a Core2Duo processor, and had the ability to run OS X and Windows on the same drive. A few years later I was at a secondhand store and found a Galaxy-brand 8800GT 512 MB graphics card for only $15. I was blown away by the price, especially since I thought my Mac Mini was fairly new and capable of playing newer games (sans the library of titles also available on PC. As a gamer I wanted to have that power, but didn't want to spend hundreds of dollars more on a separate Windows machine. It was months later that a coworker and a nicely-timed article on Lifehacker.com that spurned my interest in a Hackintosh.
See, I was never exposed to the ins and outs of PC hardware. I knew only Apple components from having worked on my all-in-one Mac Classic from 1994 all the way up to G4 models and beyond. But I never had experience with Northbridge and Southbridge, never knew anything about SATA ports, never knew there was a difference between Dual Core processors and Core2Duo processors, never knew what to look for when it came to power supplies, and more. Because of the desire to save money on parts, stay up-to-date with hardware, and the desire to expand my gaming library; both the article and coworker introduced me to concepts, terms, and peripherals I had no knowledge about but was now very curious to discover.
I made mistakes along the way including buying the wrong processor. I spent days on eBay and general computing sites trying to learn all I needed to know to get a Hackintosh system up and running. The desire was starting to distract me from work and other duties. Finally one fateful day I assembled the PC, booted using a DVD, saw the Apple logo on my screen and landed to the desktop. That was a game-changer for me. I was never going to buy a real Mac ever again!
Over the years I've built various systems to keep up with the times, even diving in to taking older PC laptops and turning them into Hackbooks. I figured I could make a successful side gig doing that, but my credit card statement shows otherwise. Thanks to helpful communities such as InsanelyMac.com, the Hackintosh subreddit on Reddit (www.reddit.com/r/hackintosh), and various individuals in the hobby; I've learned so much and enjoy sharing the same knowledge with those new to the hobby and experienced users. To this day I'm still continuing my knowledge of Hackintosh-related subjects and technologies and am always eager to learn more.
My last real Mac purchase was a Mac Mini in 2008. It had 2 GB of RAM, 64 MB of graphics memory, a Core2Duo processor, and had the ability to run OS X and Windows on the same drive. A few years later I was at a secondhand store and found a Galaxy-brand 8800GT 512 MB graphics card for only $15. I was blown away by the price, especially since I thought my Mac Mini was fairly new and capable of playing newer games (sans the library of titles also available on PC. As a gamer I wanted to have that power, but didn't want to spend hundreds of dollars more on a separate Windows machine. It was months later that a coworker and a nicely-timed article on Lifehacker.com that spurned my interest in a Hackintosh.
See, I was never exposed to the ins and outs of PC hardware. I knew only Apple components from having worked on my all-in-one Mac Classic from 1994 all the way up to G4 models and beyond. But I never had experience with Northbridge and Southbridge, never knew anything about SATA ports, never knew there was a difference between Dual Core processors and Core2Duo processors, never knew what to look for when it came to power supplies, and more. Because of the desire to save money on parts, stay up-to-date with hardware, and the desire to expand my gaming library; both the article and coworker introduced me to concepts, terms, and peripherals I had no knowledge about but was now very curious to discover.
I made mistakes along the way including buying the wrong processor. I spent days on eBay and general computing sites trying to learn all I needed to know to get a Hackintosh system up and running. The desire was starting to distract me from work and other duties. Finally one fateful day I assembled the PC, booted using a DVD, saw the Apple logo on my screen and landed to the desktop. That was a game-changer for me. I was never going to buy a real Mac ever again!
Over the years I've built various systems to keep up with the times, even diving in to taking older PC laptops and turning them into Hackbooks. I figured I could make a successful side gig doing that, but my credit card statement shows otherwise. Thanks to helpful communities such as InsanelyMac.com, the Hackintosh subreddit on Reddit (www.reddit.com/r/hackintosh), and various individuals in the hobby; I've learned so much and enjoy sharing the same knowledge with those new to the hobby and experienced users. To this day I'm still continuing my knowledge of Hackintosh-related subjects and technologies and am always eager to learn more.
Who Could Value From This Book
I noticed a good number of computer-related sites provided answers worded in a way suggesting that the person asking the question or needing help already has a well-rounded understanding of how things work, and this irritates me slightly. On the other hand, it makes a bit of sense. When working with computer hardware and software, (or any specialized subject really), there has to be some common ground--a lowest common denominator. Some forums have users that are quick to dismiss the question of those not in the know and harshly redirect them elsewhere. So to assist those new to the technologies and terms of building a Hackintosh, I wrote this from a very basic standpoint whereas the user may have little to no knowledge of PC desktop and laptop components. Hey, I tell people that we all came into this world not knowing anything, that we only know what we're exposed to, and nobody should make others feel bad or dumb for not knowing something. So if you've built desktop computers and/or repaired laptops to the degree of replacing their motherboard, you'll probably find some of the writing and examples is far below your own knowledge. Otherwise you may pick up a few helpful hints and techniques when assembling a PC from the ground up, techniques you may have never been aware of or practiced, tips for better cooling, or tricks that may assist you with your next build.
A large portion of the book (now site, in this case) is dedicated to actually building a PC from scratch, while the majority of it focuses on how to install MacOS and getting it stabilized. So even if you get frustrated trying to get MacOS to run on your Windows-based hardware, at least you'll have the know-how when it comes to assembling a PC.
A large portion of the book (now site, in this case) is dedicated to actually building a PC from scratch, while the majority of it focuses on how to install MacOS and getting it stabilized. So even if you get frustrated trying to get MacOS to run on your Windows-based hardware, at least you'll have the know-how when it comes to assembling a PC.