How to buy (by downloading) full OS-X Mountain Lion without owning a Mac

[khung]

I want to build a Hackintosh system but I have never own a Mac. I went to the Apple App store and found that Mountain Lion can ONLY be purchased through direct download from the App store BUT you need to have a Mac and go to the iTune to buy and download. I have iTune on my Windows 7 PC but can't download Mountain Lion because iTune sensed it wasn't running on a Mac. It's chicken and egg problem. Your suggestion is welcome. Thanks.

 

[nobodynose]

I want to build a Hackintosh system but I have never own a Mac. I went to the Apple App store and found that Mountain Lion can ONLY be purchased through direct download from the App store BUT you need to have a Mac and go to the iTune to buy and download. I have iTune on my Windows 7 PC but can't download Mountain Lion because iTune sensed it wasn't running on a Mac. It's chicken and egg problem. Your suggestion is welcome. Thanks.

You cannot download Mountain Lion without using a Mac (or Hackintosh) running OS X 10.6.6 or higher. If you cannot get access to one (perhaps through a friend or at a school/library?) the next best option is to purchase a Snow Leopard retail install DVD from Apple, install that first and then download Mountain Lion from there.

 

[Koalaman]

+1 to the library idea, that's how I did my first one.

 

[mildj84ns]

You need to download OS X from App Store, not from iTunes, for which you'll need supported Mac or Hackintosh running 10.6.6 or higher.

 

[JeffPhoto]

Building off of this question, because I'm in a similar situation except that I do own a Mac currently, but would like to build a hackintosh...

As I write this OS X Mavericks was introduced earlier this week, and should be available this fall for purchase. If I use my Mac (currently running Lion, haven't yet upgraded to Mountain Lion) to purchase OS X Mavericks is it possible to buy two copies (1 for the existing Mac and the second for my about-to-be-built Hackintosh) via the app store? Or would I always have one (either my Mac or my Hack) locked out of the most current OS?

That is, does the app store limit your purchases of Operating System updates to the number of Macs you have on your account with them?

I haven't figured out whether Apple supports this whole Hackintosh thing and views it as a charming niche of like minded enthusiasts, or a bunch of troublesome meddlers who should just buy authentic Macs. It seems to me that this app store distribution method of theirs could be used to choke out any "Hackintoshers."

 

[nobodynose]

Building off of this question, because I'm in a similar situation except that I do own a Mac currently, but would like to build a hackintosh...

As I write this OS X Mavericks was introduced earlier this week, and should be available this fall for purchase. If I use my Mac (currently running Lion, haven't yet upgraded to Mountain Lion) to purchase OS X Mavericks is it possible to buy two copies (1 for the existing Mac and the second for my about-to-be-built Hackintosh) via the app store? Or would I always have one (either my Mac or my Hack) locked out of the most current OS?

That is, does the app store limit your purchases of Operating System updates to the number of Macs you have on your account with them?

I haven't figured out whether Apple supports this whole Hackintosh thing and views it as a charming niche of like minded enthusiasts, or a bunch of troublesome meddlers who should just buy authentic Macs. It seems to me that this app store distribution method of theirs could be used to choke out any "Hackintoshers."

I'm fairly certain the EULA license agreement for Mac OS X (setting aside the technicality about running it on Apple hardware) does not limit the number of machines you can run it on within a household.

 

[trs96]

I'm fairly certain the EULA license agreement for Mac OS X (setting aside the technicality about running it on Apple hardware) does not limit the number of machines you can run it on within a household.

Yes, that is correct. Here's what it says on the Apple website. All Macs that you own are eligible to be upgraded.

 

[trs96]

Building off of this question, because I'm in a similar situation except that I do own a Mac currently, but would like to build a hackintosh...
I haven't figured out whether Apple supports this whole Hackintosh thing and views it as a charming niche of like minded enthusiasts, or a bunch of troublesome meddlers who should just buy authentic Macs. It seems to me that this app store distribution method of theirs could be used to choke out any "Hackintoshers."

A Eula is a license agreement not a law. No one that I've ever heard of, has built a CustoMac for personal use and been either fined or thrown in jail. It's main purpose is to keep other PC makers from selling computers with OS X pre installed. They would drastically damage Apple's sale of Macs because they would retail at about half the cost of "real" Macs. That's why Apple went after PsyStar so aggressively and is in continual lawsuits with Samsung over patent infringements. The iPhone has brought hundreds of millions of people into the Apple ecosystem. If they buy a Samsung Galaxy and really like it they may never use iOS or a Mac or iPad.

 

[JeffPhoto]

Excellent. I didn't want to be caught in any conundrums because the end goal would be both my existing iMac and the soon-to-be added Hackintosh on OS X Mavericks at the same time. I don't object to paying twice for the OS if that's what they want, just wasn't sure about the mechanics of the install and licensing procedure when I put in that authorization key a second time.

I'd hate to get the thing built only to find out I have no OS for it because I already installed it on the iMac and not able to install another copy of it on the new Hackintosh!

You've eased my concerns. Thanks tremendously for the quick replies on this!

 

[nobodynose]

Excellent. I didn't want to be caught in any conundrums because the end goal would be both my existing iMac and the soon-to-be added Hackintosh on OS X Mavericks at the same time. I don't object to paying twice for the OS if that's what they want, just wasn't sure about the mechanics of the install and licensing procedure when I put in that authorization key a second time.

Just to be clear, there has never been a license authorization key on Mac OS X that I'm aware of. That said, Apple could change their minds at any time, though I doubt that will happen.