Can Hackintosh automatically adjust to hardware changes?

[macorange]

Hello, I have questions about changing hardware of a Hackintosh system. If I make the following changes, will Mac OS in Hackintosh adjusts itself automatically without the user going through re-installation of the OS?

1. If I change the RAM
2. I change the GPU
3. If I install Mac OS on a SSD (SATA III or NVMe m.2) and later move it to a new computer with different CPU and motherboard.
4. If I change the CPU and/or the motherboard

Thanks.

 

[c4nsis]

1. yeah, no adjustments needed.
2. You have to make sure you're running the correct drivers. If you upgrade from a Nvidia 1060 to a 1080, they share the same drivers, no adjustments needed. But always check for dependencies before switching! If it's compatible, if it needs kexts etc.
3. I see where this is going. You want to upgrade your PC and just plug and play your old SSD. A new hardware setup will usually need different kexts. PC might not boot. If you installed all your kexts into Clover I recommend you getting a thumb drive, install Clover on it and try booting into your SSD with it. Since there are no kexts it should be vanilla. From that point you can install needed kexts with Multibeast or manually and if all works just replace your SSD-Clover with your USB-Clover.
4. see above.

 

[macorange]

Thanks.

On a real Mac, we can use Carbon Copy Cloner or Time Machine to clone the drive of the old computer and save the image to an external drive. Then, just use it on the new machine during setup. All the settings, programs and data get installed on the new computer automatically in the initial setup of the new machine. So, we cannot use such simple method on the Hackintosh?

How should I do the first time when I move from my old "real" Mac to a self-built Hackintosh? How do I move or copy everything to the Hackintosh?

 

[Jamesbond007]

Hello, I have questions about changing hardware of a Hackintosh system. If I make the following changes, will Mac OS in Hackintosh adjusts itself automatically without the user going through re-installation of the OS?

1. If I change the RAM
2. I change the GPU
3. If I install Mac OS on a SSD (SATA III or NVMe m.2) and later move it to a new computer with different CPU and motherboard.
4. If I change the CPU and/or the motherboard

Thanks.

(3) / (4) You have to make sure the OS installed supports the new hardware.

I did several motherboard replacements in the past myself. Examples :

H67 --> P67 (Same Sandy Bridge family)
Mountain Lion / Mavericks / Yosemite / El Capitan all continue to run after replacement.
P67 --> Z270 (Sandy Bridge to Kaby Lake)
Sierra continues to run after replacement. Note that Kaby Lake is only supported by MacOS Sierra 10.12.6 or later.

Some adjustments may need to be made. My P67 motherboard uses a Legacy BIOS but the Z270 motherboard uses UEFI.

 

[pastrychef]

Hello, I have questions about changing hardware of a Hackintosh system. If I make the following changes, will Mac OS in Hackintosh adjusts itself automatically without the user going through re-installation of the OS?

1. If I change the RAM
2. I change the GPU
3. If I install Mac OS on a SSD (SATA III or NVMe m.2) and later move it to a new computer with different CPU and motherboard.
4. If I change the CPU and/or the motherboard

Thanks.

I've done all of that without doing a clean install. As a matter of fact, it's been over a decade since I've done a clean install.

Went from MacPro1,1 to MacPro3,1 to MacPro5,1 to Z170 has w/i7-6700K to i7-7700K to Z370 w/i7-8700K. Never did a clean install.

 

[Midphase]

1. If I change the RAM
2. I change the GPU
3. If I install Mac OS on a SSD (SATA III or NVMe m.2) and later move it to a new computer with different CPU and motherboard.
4. If I change the CPU and/or the motherboard

Just to add my $.02.

1. So changing RAM has no impact, although from time to time I have had issues with Apps which might use the RAM configuration as part of their copy protection/computer ID setup. For instance, some plugins, particularly audio might need to be re-authorized.

2. GPU it depends. For instance, let's say you have a 1060 and you want to upgrade to a 1080ti. In that case there shouldn't be any change since you're already using the Nvidia Web drivers. However if you were using just the built-in graphics or were using a 770 which works fine with the OS X native Nvidia drivers, and then upgrading to a 10xx series, then you would need to add the Nvidia Web Drivers to get the new GPU to work properly.

3 and 4. Once again it depends. You're coming from a 6700k with High Sierra installed, you can probably put in an 8700k with no adjustments. Same thing for the motherboard, if you're using a UEFI gigabyte 170 and upgrading to a 370 chances are you should be fine (after you re-adjust your BIOS settings). But if you're coming from a 170 and going to an x299 with a completely different architecture and CPU (say an i9), then you might run into issues, particularly since those motherboards and CPU's need the new iMac Pro version of the OS.

 

[kheewabrar]

Hello, I have questions about changing hardware of a Hackintosh system. If I make the following changes, will Mac OS in Hackintosh adjusts itself automatically without the user going through re-installation of the OS?

1. If I change the RAM
2. I change the GPU
3. If I install Mac OS on a SSD (SATA III or NVMe m.2) and later move it to a new computer with different CPU and motherboard.
4. If I change the CPU and/or the motherboard

Thanks.

in my case motherboard dead gigabyte ga-z68ma
which motherboard i can change with my system boot without clean installing

 

[dr.floyd]

1. yeah, no adjustments needed.
2. You have to make sure you're running the correct drivers. If you upgrade from a Nvidia 1060 to a 1080, they share the same drivers, no adjustments needed. But always check for dependencies before switching! If it's compatible, if it needs kexts etc.
3. I see where this is going. You want to upgrade your PC and just plug and play your old SSD. A new hardware setup will usually need different kexts. PC might not boot. If you installed all your kexts into Clover I recommend you getting a thumb drive, install Clover on it and try booting into your SSD with it. Since there are no kexts it should be vanilla. From that point you can install needed kexts with Multibeast or manually and if all works just replace your SSD-Clover with your USB-Clover.
4. see above.

Hello c4nsis,

I've got a build not too different from yours. So maybe you could spread some knowledge over my newbbie ignorance.

I just replaced my MoBo Gigabyte Z270X Ultra Gaming after failing. I replaced it with the exact same one. Although since replacement nor the old internal High Sierra installation nor the installer from USB will boot.

I believe I've made the necessary steps on BIOS settings but maybe I'm forgetting something ....

Please help !!!!!

 

[matinski]

I'm so glad I found this thread. Because ever time I've upgrade my MB I did a fresh install. I've been putting off upgrading my Z170 MB for this reason.

 

[hatemjaber]

Just out of curiosity...

Will going from a Gigabyte Z370N-Wifi to a Gigabyte Z390 Wifi work without further configuration other than the BIOS? I looked around and it seems that the configuration mostly depends on the chipset and mb series more than anything else. I know that GPU's are either native or not, that's not a concern at this moment. I just want to go from an i7 to an i9 and I want to go from an ITX to an MATX.

If anyone can chime in who may have experienced swapping out mb/cpu without a fresh install please let me know.

Thank you!