SUMMARY
Since this was such a pain to get working, and since I got patient help, I am creating a step-by-step summary of how to get Mac OS X Lion installed on a recent 1156 Gigabyte motherboard, specifically the GA-Z77N-WIFI with an Intel i7-3770K processor, 16GB RAM and no additional video card.
My intent is to make these instructions simple enough that a complete novice, which is what I am, can do it.
However: BE ADVISED: This is NOT an easy install, it requires Terminal skills, patience, a lot of time and SHOULD NOT BE ATTEMPTED UNLESS YOU ABSOLUTELY NEED OS X LION on a Gigabyte motherboard. You should generally consider Lion to be NOT installable on a GA-Z77 series mobo. Do not pass Go, instead proceed directly to the MOUNTAIN LION install if you can.
Hardware
I based my hardware build on the
Tonymacx86 April 2013 Buyers Guide CustoMac Mini Deluxe:
http://www.tonymacx86.com/344-building-customac-buyer-s-guide-april-2013.html#mini_deluxe
I chose to swap out the supplied WiFi/Bluetooth card (which only does Bluetooth under Mac OS) for the Atheros card as recommended in the build. I need WiFi, and I can add Bluetooth later with a USB plug.
Everything else is as per the build recommendation:
CPU: Intel Corei7-3770K
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-Z77N-WIFI
RAM: Corsair 16GB 1600Mhz DDR3
Case: Bitfenix Prodigy
PSU: Corsair 750 Watt Modular
SSD: Corsair 120 GB
HD: Western Digital 1GB + Western Digital 3 GB
Keyboard & Mouse: old Mac wired USB items I had lying around
Monitor: DELL reject from the recycle pile
My total came to around $1,100 with tax.
I picked the Prodigy case because it's the closest (and cutest!) PC case to a scaled-down Mac Pro case I could find.
My original intent was to build a replacement for my Mac Pro (I had pretty much given up on a new one being announced) but now Apple have announced their Chimney Pro I intend to make a kick-ass Plex media server instead, so I won't need the video card. The Bitfenix Prodigy has room for 5 traditional HDs and 5 SSDs, and the PCIe slot I was originally going to stuff a GT 680 card into will now be used for an eSATA port multiplier card.
But that's all for later: first get it up and running.
Build advice: if this is your first PC build, take it slow and be confident that everything will fit. Just don't plug the split USB cable from the front panel into both the USB 3 AND USB 2 sockets on the motherboard - it won't boot (blush). Other than that it's pretty straightforward. The shop I bought my hardware from (http://memoryexpress.com) offer a service where if you buy a mobo, ram and cpu at the same time they'll install and test them for you. That made it pretty easy.
Software
This part took me from Mid-April to Mid-June to figure out and get running, so that's why I'm writing this: to save other people time. Speaking of which, if nothing goes wrong this whole process should take about 3 hours (not 8 weeks ~= 50 hrs! which it took me).
Prepare the USB stick
Start as per the instructions given on UniBeast: Install Mac OS X Lion Using an All-In-One Bootable USB Drive :
http://tonymacx86.blogspot.ca/2011/10/unibeast-install-mac-os-x-lion-using.html
I'll leave out the pictures (I recommend you follow along with the original post the first time) but here's the steps just so everything is in one place:
You will need a Mac, an 8 GB or larger USB drive, and a purchased copy of Mac OS X Lion (either from the App store or on a USB stick). As of the time of writing the latest version is 10.7.5 from the Apple Store.
Using the Mac:
1. Insert USB drive
2. Open /Applications/Utilities/Disk Utility
3. Highlight USB drive in left column
4. Click Partition tab
5. Click Current and choose 1 Partition
6. Click Options...
7. Choose Master Boot Record
8. Under Name: type USB (You can rename it later) [I called it Unibea7t to remind me it's OS 10.7.x]
9. Under Format: choose Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
10. Click Apply then Partition
11. If using the
Install Mac OS X Lion Application, it must be in /Applications folder.
12. If using the
Mac OS X Lion USB Thumb Drive, make sure it's plugged in and mounted.
13. Download and run
UniBeast http://www.tonymacx86.com/downloads.php?do=cat&id=3
14. Click
Continue,
Continue,
Continue, Agree
15. At
Destination Select, choose
USB and click
Continue [the pictures in the Guide are out of date, but similar enough that it doesn't matter]
16. If using the
Mac App Store "Install Mac OS X Lion" App choose that option.
17. If using the
Apple Store "OS X Lion USB Thumb Drive" choose that option.
18. If using a laptop, choose
Laptop Support in addition to one of the above options.
19. Click
Continue
20. Enter password and click
Install
The process will take about 10-15
[more like 30-45] minutes, depending on system and drive speed, but will show hours. Do not unplug or stop during this time.
Now
this part is not mentioned in the Guide, but came to light during the creation of this thread: Download
Bridge Helper 4.0.1 and run it against the USB installer you just created:
http://www.tonymacx86.com/downloads.php?do=cat&id=9
Tip: Download
MultiBeast - Lion 4.7.0 and
Bridge Helper 5.0.0 while you're on a fast Mac and copy them onto the installer USB drive: there should be room, and networking on the target PC will be s-l-o-w until optimized drivers are installed.
http://www.tonymacx86.com/downloads.php?do=cat&id=3
Also, download the Mac OS X Combo Update 10.7.5 while you're at it. If it fits, put that on the USB drive too, or onto a spare if you have one lying around:
http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1582
Install Mac OS X Lion
You're almost done! All you need to do is boot from the USB drive and install! Your hard drive should be set in BIOS to AHCI mode. For recommended BIOS settings and screenshots, check out iBoot + MultiBeast. [As a modern mobo, the Z77H defaults should be fine]
On with the provided intructions:
1. If you have a Gigabyte motherboard press F12 to choose boot device.
2. Choose USB
3. At Chimera Boot Screen, choose USB
4. When you arrive at the Installer, choose language.
5. In the top menubar choose Utilities, and open Disk Utility
6. Highlight your target hard drive for the Lion installation in left column.
7. Click Partition tab
8. Click Current and choose 1 Partition
9. Click Options...
10. Choose GUID Partition Method
11. Under Name: type Lion (You can rename it later)
12. Under Format: choose Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
13. Click Apply then Partition
14. Close Disk Utility
15. When the installer asks you where to install, choose Lion
From here THIS IS DIFFERENT from the install Guide
1. Reboot to the Chimera USB installer. You should now have a choice of USB or Lion
2. Choose USB and wait until you get to the Installer, choose language.
3. In the top menubar choose Terminal. We are going to use it to delete the mach_kernel on the new install
4. Type
Code:
rm /Volumes/Lion/mach_kernel
If that makes you nervous,
,
for a list, then
. Do another
to confirm mach_kernel is gone
5. Select
Restart from the Apple menu and reboot to the Chimera interface
6. This time choose
Lion to boot. You will get a "not found" error and quickly go back to the Chimera interface
7. Choose
USB to boot, and it should quickly take you to the new user interface
8. Click through, filling it out as you prefer, create a new user (remember the password!) (I usually make my first user Admin -MyLastName-) and it will take you to the desktop.
9. Find
BridgeHelper 5.0.0 on your USB drive (or download it from Tonymacx86) and run it. This should put mach_kernel back where it belongs.
10. Select
About This Mac... from the Apple menu. If it says 10.7.5 you're fine, otherwise find the combo update you downloaded earlier and run it (or re-download it).
11. Go to Apple's site and download and install the latest version of
Java. As of this writing it was Java SE 6 version 1.6.0_45:
http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1572
12: Find
MultiBeast - Lion 4.7.0 on your USB drive (or download it from Tonymacx86) and run it.
The results are finally this:
From a cold restart I get the Gigabyte splash screen followed by a Chimera splash screen. A progress bar counts down backwards from right to left, then it goes to the Mac spash screen with a progress spinner. In a short while it boots to the Mac desktop.
I have not tested any further than that. I know WiFi, Ethernet, and the hack all run, and it boots. No idea of benchmarks or power management or audio. Because my intent is to install Mountain Lion, I'n not going to do any testing, I'm just going to move on.
Remember my advice: don't even bother with this - go straight to a Mountain Lion install unless you absolutely cannot. Or just buy a real Mac.
I wish I had been able to run ML. I'll never get back the 50 hours it took to get this running, and it would have been MUCH cheaper just to bite the bullet and buy the Mountain Lion USB stick (my Mac hardware is too old to run ML so the Mac App Store wouldn't let me buy it - that's why I decided to start with Lion, so I could get an install that would let me buy Mountain Lion; the wrong decision in retrospect). USA Federal Minimum wage (I earn more and I'm not in the USA, but it's the lowest in the developed world so I'm picking it here as the baseline example) is $7.25. I should have put the $362.50 + $1,100 hardware toward an actual Macintosh instead of what I did do. Unless your time is free, I would recommend you do the same.
