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Install Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard on Haswell Based PCs

tonymacx86

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haswelllegacyiboot.png
For those of you looking to run Snow Leopard on Haswell CPUs, know that official kernel support and CPU support is not in the OS at all. As a matter of fact, the 2nd gen Sandy Bridge CPUs were only supported starting with 10.6.8. Users have had mixed results using the (now ancient) iBoot Legacy for a fresh install, as shown in the Simplest Mac OS X Installation Guide. So we made a new boot CD just for Haswell CPUs called iBoot Haswell.

Use the default iBoot + MultiBeast guide, but simply substitute iBoot Haswell for the default iBoot. With this boot CD, I was able to achieve the following without access to a computer running OS X.

1. Install 10.6 Snow Leopard
2. Update to 10.6.8 Snow Leopard
3. Download Mountain Lion 10.8 from App Store
4. Create UniBeast USB to install Mountain Lion 10.8

All without doing any post-installation- just booting directly from iBoot Haswell. The ultimate goal being Mountain Lion. :thumbup:

iBoot for Haswell 1.0.0 is now available in tonymacx86 Downloads.

Credits:
Legacy kernel - posted by stinga11 on osx86.net- created using the Legacy kernel source originally created by naw com, qoopz and kaitek.

Leave your results here- we'll be working on this some more. :thumbup:
 
Hi Tony,

Thank you very much for your kind consideration for those who may need Snow Leopard installed on Haswell to deal with different situations. I have tried iBoot Haswell, but hanged in the language choosing phase. Both the keyboard and mouse were plugged in different USB port (either USB 3 or USB 2), but got no luck. Not sure if my system is not compatible. Hope there would be somebody could help.


MB: Gigabyte GA-H87M-D3H
CPU: i5-4430
Display: HD4600
 

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Very interesting. This could allow people that want a wicked fast system but who still have a dependence upon a few PowerPC apps to actually retain use of those apps while still having a modern OS that they can boot to when not using PPC apps. It also allows people to retain use of Snow Leopard, which is the last Apple OS to not feel like an iOS wannabe.

This will also allow me to transfer my current Mac Pro's settings as well, making the transition seamless.

I'm impressed, to say the least.

I have a question for ya - is there a way to move a clone of Snow Leopard over to a Hackie and make that installation Haswell compatible? I know it's a long shot, but for those of us with real Macs in addition to our shiny new Hackwells it would mean less muss and fuss with regard to setting things back up again (like USB Overdrive, SwitchResX, etc).
 
I have a question for ya - is there a way to move a clone of Snow Leopard over to a Hackie and make that installation Haswell compatible?).

Unfortunately, the answer is no. Sandy Bridge Hardware was the last to have support in the SL Kernel.
 
Unfortunately, the answer is no. Sandy Bridge Hardware was the last to have support in the SL Kernel.

I was thinking more along the lines of would this lead to a means of enabling a cloned 10.6.8 install that was put into a Hackie. Obviously 10.6.8 alone does not allow booting on a Haswell system (otherwise we wouldn't need iBoot Haswell or such).

From what I read of the OP, and correct me if I'm wrong on this, one has to boot the iBoot Haswell CD (or from a USB stick if they choose I guess) each time they boot/reboot in order to be able to then run 10.6.8? Is this correct?
 
I was thinking more along the lines of would this lead to a means of enabling a cloned 10.6.8 install that was put into a Hackie. Obviously 10.6.8 alone does not allow booting on a Haswell system (otherwise we wouldn't need iBoot Haswell or such).

From what I read of the OP, and correct me if I'm wrong on this, one has to boot the iBoot Haswell CD (or from a USB stick if they choose I guess) each time they boot/reboot in order to be able to then run 10.6.8? Is this correct?

Correct, but this is a stopgap measure and RAM is limited to 4GB, so if you have more it is inaccessible.
iBoot Haswell is a work-around measure to allow someone who has no access to a Mac or PC-Mac to install OS X by installing SL first just to get to the app store to download the latest 10.x.x from the app store and install that.
It is not meant as a permanent boot solution.

Re-read the first two sentences of the original post.
 
Re-read the first two sentences of the original post.

I did. The wording was vague and did not specify this was a stopgap measure (like your post to me did). Hence my question. The line of thinking I had was if somebody could get SL running enough to download and install an update, it could be run as a normal OS. But since you've confirmed that iBoot is necessary to reach the SL OS each time, it becomes less convenient than most would like and thus while it technically could be possible, wouldn't be feasible.

At least users have the option now to use a retail SL disc and the 10.6.8 v1.1 Combo Updater to get to where they need to be.

I'll add a note that some might not be aware of though, which should be put into the OP:

Special Note: If you downloaded your 10.6.8 v1.1 Combo Updater prior to July 12, 2013 you will need to redownload it as the original installer's Security Certificate has expired and will give you a message stating that this is the case. If you downloaded your Combo Updater on or after July 12, 2013 you have an up to date Certificate and can proceed normally.

The above applies to those who already have access to the Combo updater. Those who download it after using iBoot Haswell can ignore this notice.
 
I just installed 10.6 on my haswell system from the retail disc but i have to use the -x safe mode to boot. Does anyone know how to then install the 10.6.8 update in safe mode?

Since USB drives and discs don't appear to mount i cant install the file i have already downloaded and the network doesn't work on my system with 10.6.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
I just installed 10.6 on my haswell system from the retail disc but i have to use the -x safe mode to boot. Does anyone know how to then install the 10.6.8 update in safe mode?

Since USB drives and discs don't appear to mount i cant install the file i have already downloaded and the network doesn't work on my system with 10.6.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.


I'm having the same issue. Tried burning a DVD of the combo update, for some reason that is not being read. I assume we need to run multibeast and the combo update to get network interface working but, have no way to get either of them.
 
Made some progress, fortunately I had a mac computer which I was able to install an HD, download combo update/ multibeast on that, transfer HD to this new build to install. Continued following the snow leopard guide and finished installation however, when starting I'm stuck at the apple logo boot screen. I do not get any loading circle or errors, it is frozen.

Possibly video errors? using safe mode or the GraphicsEnabler=NO option does not get me past apple logo loading screen.
 
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