How to Install MacOS on any Intel PC or Laptop

This guide will help with installing MacOS on almost any hardware. It will act as a cheatsheet for the video tutorial posted below.

Video Guide

This is the most comprehensive step-by-step video guide available for installing MacOS on Windows or Linux PC in 2022.

Getting Started

In this Hackintosh installation, we are using OpenCore bootloader. We have the following hardware specifications:

Processor: 3rd gen Intel Core i3 3220 (Ivy bridge series)

Motherboard: Intel DH77EB (H77 series)

Dedicated Graphics: Nvidia GTX 1050Ti 4GB

USB Keyboard and Mouse

This guide will work on most hardware with  10th gen Intel processors or below. But you have to do some tweaks according to your hardware. The full documentation we'll follow is here: https://dortania.github.io/

Why OpenCore

OpenCore is a custom bootloader for Hackintosh which can spoof Apple hardware to load and install MacOS. There are other bootloaders as well like Clover, Chameleon, etc. But OpenCore is the latest and most compatible bootloader. It requires minimal changes to boot MacOS and gives native performance. Also, OpenCore has a very comprehensive guide at https://dortania.github.io/ which we like about it.

Hardware Requirements

Processor: Any  10th gen or below Intel processor. (As after 10th gen apple shifted to Apple silicon M1 chips). Some AMD processors can technically work but require more tinkering.

Motherboard: Intel/Gigabyte/Asus motherboard (others may work you need to test)

Better compatibility for Desktop (cuz easily upgradable) than Laptops

Integrated GPU: Intel  HD Graphics of Haswell and later generation will  work

Dedicated GPU: AMD GPUs support latest MacOS; Older Nvidia GPU support for older version of MacOS up to High Sierra using Nvidia webdrivers. 

Spare SSD: It is recommended to install MacOS on a spare SSD or HDD as it may mess with other partitions if installed in the same disk where you have other OS and data. If you are installing MacOS on your working HDD or SSD it is recommended to backup all your important data.

More info on hardware requirements here: https://dortania.github.io/OpenCore-Install-Guide/macos-limits.html

Files and Projects you need to download

Here is a list of all the files and GitHub projects that are used for OpenCore.

• Download the portable version of Rufus: https://rufus.ie/en/
• OpenCore GitHub (Base Project) - https://github.com/acidanthera/OpenCorePkg/releases
• All Drivers, Kexts, and SSDTs - https://dortania.github.io/OpenCore-Install-Guide/ktext.html
• ProperTree (config.plist editing) - https://github.com/corpnewt/ProperTree
• SSDTTime (DSDT Dump and SSDT creation) - https://github.com/corpnewt/SSDTTime
• GenSMBIOS (Generate Serial and UUID) - https://github.com/corpnewt/GenSMBIOS

Steps to follow

Checklist for https://dortania.github.io/OpenCore-Desktop-Guide

1. Check Hardware Compatibility: Find out which Processor, Motherboard and GPU are there in your PC.
2. Download All Projects and Files linked above.
3. Install Python if not already installed.
4. Format and prepare USB as Mac installer
5. Add OpenCore to USB
6. Download MacOS Recovery and transfer to the USB
7. Delete all files that your system doesn’t need
8. Add required Drivers and Kext Files
9. Do a DSDT dump followed by creating SSDT files for your computer and transfer the SSDTs to the USB. (DO NOT USE PREBUILT!)
10. Build config.plist and configure required parameters in the config.plist file according to your computers specifications
11. Config.plist sanity check.
12. Boot to Installer! Note: This will probably fail the first couple times, it is very important to follow the config.plist guide and full auditing enabled.

Post Install

Download Clover Configurator to mount EFI required to enable MacOS booting without USB.

If using Nvidia Graphics card then install Nvidia Web drivers: https://github.com/Benjamin-Dobell/nvidia-update

Troubleshooting

Check out https://dortania.github.io/OpenCore-Install-Guide/troubleshooting/troubleshooting.html for various OpenCore issues.

OpenCore USB Bootloader not loading

If this happens and you're trying to install on older hardware like Ivy-bridge or below,  then try the following method:

- Replace (Your-USB)/EFI/OC/Drivers/HfsPlus.efi with HfsPlusLegacy.efi.

- Then load config.plist in ProperTree and make an OC Snapshot and save.

Bootloader loads but doesn't show entry for MacOS Installer

This happens because in newer version of OpenCore HideAuxiliary is enabled by default, to see the installer simply press the spacebar.

Alternatively you can set the config.plist >  Misc > Boot > HideAuxiliary to False.

Useful Resources

OpenCore Configurator: https://mackie100projects.altervista.org/opencore-configurator/

Olarila: Forum | EFIs

tonymacx86: https://www.tonymacx86.com/

Insanely Mac: https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/files/