Distros are pirated copies of Mac OS X that have been modified to work with a PC. If you don't have any qualms with the legal issues regarding distros, they're actually the most convenient way to set up a Hackintosh. If you're interested in installing Mac OS X on your PC with a distro, then you'll have two main options: Niresh, and iAtkos ML2. iAtkos is the far more popular choice of the two. However, there are a few reasons why you may want to use Niresh instead.
- Niresh works with regular DVDs. iAtkos only works with the less common (and more expensive) dual-layer DVDs and Bluray discs, because the iAtkos installer is slightly too large to fit on a regular DVDs.
- Niresh is distributed as an "ISO" file. The ISO format is a standard DVD image format that works on just about everything. Meanwhile, iAtkos is distributed as a "DMG" file, which is a proprietary "disk image" format made by Apple. DMG files are rather difficult to work with, since they don't work with Windows by default. To set up iAtkos on Windows, you have to use special software like Transmac.
- Niresh supports AMD and Intel Atom. Normally, computers that use AMD or Intel Atom processors are unsupported by in Mac OS X. However, Niresh includes experimental "patched" kernels that may allow Mac OS X to work with these processors regardless.
- On the other hand, iAtkos offers a few key advantages over Niresh. Most notably, iAtkos includes built-in support for installation on RAID volumes and MBR partitions.
Requirements:
- An existing Windows computer/Mac/Hackintosh: This is the computer where you will download and set up Niresh. Either Windows or Mac OS X will work. Make sure your computer has a DVD/Bluray burner (just about every DVD/Bluray drive nowadays can act as a burner, too).
- A Hackintosh-compatible computer with an empty hard drive: This is the computer where you will install OS X Mountain Lion. It can be the same computer as the one mentioned in the previous point. If your computer already has Mac OS X Lion installed, Niresh will just update Lion to Mountain Lion normally, without deleting any of your apps or files.
- However, not every computer will work with Mac OS X. Be sure to read the Hackintosh compatibility guide very carefully, to check whether or not your computer qualifies. Also, Mac OS X needs its own hard drive-- a minimum of 10 GB of space is required, but at least 50 GB of space is recommended. As far as we know, Niresh will not work on a hard drive where Windows is already installed.
- Niresh 10.8.2 (Free): Niresh is a "distro" of OS X Mountain Lion that has been modified to work with PCs. I won't go into details, but you can download it from just about any bittorrent website by using a bittorrent client (it's a little less than 5 GB in size).
- A DVD: In this guide, you will write Niresh onto a DVD, and boot your computer from Niresh to install Mac OS X. Any empty DVD will work.
- Multibeast (Free): Multibeast is a collection of kext files that your Hackintosh will need to run properly, after the initial installation. Be sure to download the newest version 5 of Multibeast, not the older versions 3 or 4 (which are for Snow Leopard and Lion, respectively).
