EFiX to offer USB stick that lets you install OS X on any PC

Filed under: OS Updates, Hardware, Macintosh, Apple, Commercial

EFiX to offer USB stick that lets you install OS X on any PC

by Brad Linder Jun 13th 2008

Been thinking about trying to install OS X on your non-Macintosh PC, but don't feel like hacking a bunch of configuration files to get the system up and running? In another week or two, you may not have to. EFiX plans to release a bootable USB stick that is purported to have software that will let you install OS X on any PC with an Intel CPU, as long as you have a retail installation DVD.

Keep in mind, even though you will need to buy a legal copy of OS X to use this method, installing OS X on a non-Apple machine is still a violation of Apple's terms of use.

It's not entirely clear how the EFiX USB stick works, but it does appear to work -- under some circumstances at least. OSx86 contributor netkas got his hands on an early version and shot the video above showing what happens when he used the stick with an OS X restore disc and his Macbook. You won't be able to get your hands on one until the developers begin selling the USB sticks on June 23rd.

[via Hack A Day]

Tags: efix, mac, os-x, osx86

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Brad Isaac said 5:31PM on 6-13-2008

When people first came out with hacking OSX onto the PC I gave it a shot to try building my Laptop as a dual boot. Got to the final install point and It required installing a second hard drive. I didn't feel like buying a new drive or risking a repartition so I ditched the project.

Do you think this would require the additional hardware?

Moi said 6:21AM on 6-14-2008

I think its going to be the same thing, the only deference that i believe is that you dont have to download those hard to get DVD of osx86.
When i got it running i had to format the hole hard drive, install mac with a left over partition and then install XP or whatever.

Brad Isaac said 12:41PM on 6-14-2008

Oh, ok. Yes, you hit the nail on the head. I didn't feel like formatting a whole hard drive for OSX then installing XP on the back end. Thanks

zephroelectro said 6:23AM on 6-14-2008

Their site makes it seem as though this only works on INTEL PCs. So this is not new. I think this article is badly labeled as it will not work on all PCs.

Brad Linder said 6:24AM on 6-14-2008

Good point, I've updated the post to reflect that. But this is still new, since it makes it easy for non-hackers to install OS X on non-Apple hardware. At least in theory.

nameless2k said 5:42AM on 6-15-2008

it seems this EFiX thing will be released in different versions. see here: http://news.metaparadigma.de/?p=288

zephroelectro said 12:48PM on 6-15-2008

@ Brad Linder
Awesome. That's better now =)

I wonder if they will get this working on AMD processors eventually?

I mean that would be pretty awesome..I really don't want to do any hacking of any sort just to try OS X on a PC.

Brad Linder said 12:52PM on 6-15-2008

I doubt it. It only became practical to install OS X on a PC when Apple started using Intel processors instead of PowerPC. Porting OS X to run an entirely different CPU would take much more work. In a perfect world, one day Apple would realize there are people out there who want to run the OS on non-Apple hardware. But not only would the company potentially lose money by selling OS X for generic PCs, but they'd also lose the tight control they have over the software/hardware ecosystem which is one of the ways Apple can pretty much guarantee that everything will work right out of the box, which is one of the company's main selling points.

Kris Johnson said 3:13PM on 6-18-2008

That's pretty darn cool, I must say! I love OS X. We'll definitely want to hear if someone has used this! Keep us posted!

Also some great PC tips/tricks here to (http://www.pcauthorities.com)

bugmenot said 10:39AM on 7-14-2008

It does not work with all hardare though, I found a hardware compatibility list at the following URL: http://efi-x.wikidot.com/hardware-compatibility-list !

All of it is hardware that works perfectly with OSx86, so I am probably going to build a new Hackintosh with an Intel Quad Core Kit. Hehe.

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