WelcomeWEFreedomWindsorEssexCounty-ActionCommunicationsRalliesResourcesSocialEventsWednesdayNightMeetings-ActivismAgoraAgorismCanadaCommonLawCommunityDataCentersDataCentresDoocracyFarmersMarketIntroductionsNaturalLawNewslettersOntarioOrganizingOutreachProjexProjexWikiRalliesResistanceAnalysisSoireesSoiréesWikiSpooksWindsorElectionsTop Subs
5
tech - - (+5|-1)
Notes about my hackintosh setup(self)
5 commentsbyLarrySwinger

I wrote in chat that I'm using a hackintoshed Thinkpad X220 currently and @xoenix showed interest. It works for my purposes but there are a few caveats.

Firstly, wifi doesn't work on this device. I don't care about that because I tether the connection from my phone. This is already what I normally do on my PC (so that I don't have to run an ethernet cable to the router). I take my phone with me normally; the only extra item required on the go is a USB-cable.

Secondly, while minor updates work as expected, major updates will render your system unbootable unless you reconfigure the bootloader. But that process is so cumbersome that you might as well reinstall. And I hate reinstalling, so I just stick to the older version until nothing is supported anymore. I'm still on High Sierra and it has run its course.

To be clear, updating from version 10.12 to 10.13 or from 12 to 13 causes issues, but not installing any updates for 10.12 including security updates. It will reboot into some hidden part of the system and install the updates from there, just like on a regular Apple device. It's actually quite impressive.

Thirdly, Filevault isn't supported on this device. What I do instead is create an encrypted Sparsebundle using the built in Disk Utility. This is an image you can mount and which can contain your private files. So normally an image is a single file, and macOS supports this as well, it's called a Sparse disk image. But if you put everything on it, it becomes clumsy. If it exceeds 4 GB in size, it can no longer be put on FAT 32 filesystems and you can't transport it on normally configured USB sticks. There are concerns about data loss during a power outage. A Sparsebundle functions like a regular disk, but instead of a file, it's a directory with lots of 4 kb files that contain the actual (encrypted) data. MacOS has a cool way of making directories appear as files that you can double click, it does the same for applications: those are all self-contained directories that open the app when you double click them. So too with Sparsebundles. From the perspective of the user it's simply a file that contains your data.

If you happen to own an X220, you can follow this guide to install macOS Ventura on it. If you use a tower PC with an Intel CPU, your hardware may likewise be already supported, lookup "[motherboard model] hackintosh". Otherwise you may need to order dedicated hardware.

Comment preview

[-]x0x70(0|0)

Very cool. I want to do the opposite. I want to put Linux onto apple phones.

parentlinkreply
[-]LarrySwinger0(0|0)

How to put Linux on an iPhone

  1. Open the case and gut it from its motherboard.
  2. Replace with the motherboard of a Pinephone and connect to the screen.
  3. This doesn't work. Replace the screen with the one where you yanked the Pinephone motherboard from.
  4. Linux running on (p)i(ne)Phone.
parentlinkreply
[-]beenPoisoned0(0|0)

Did you ever wonder if you should install FreeBSD like a real man?

parentlinkreply
[-]LarrySwinger1(+1|0)

Yes, I have. I've decided that GNU/Linux works better for my purposes because of appimages and flatpaks = wider software availability / more ease of installing them. I like that FreeBSD has native ZFS support and distinction between base / extra. But I'll still pick GNU/Linux over it. And hackintosh on systems that support that.

parentlinkreply
[-]RoofPig-2(+1|-3)

I did the opposite. I had linux on my old Macbook Air and it didn't really suit me. I didn't like the lack of a number pad or the second mouse button. I wiped it and put MacOS on it and gave it to my wife who isn't a huge computer user but had only had Windows PCs. She did not like MacOS at all so I tried Mint on it and she liked it much better. As I recall, I had to jump through a few hoops to get the webcam working but other than that it was pretty straightforward.

parentlinkreply