Over the past three weeks, I have spent considerable time trying to get Apple’s latest Mac OS X offering (Mavericks) working on non-apple hardware. Mainly because Apple had released it for free (are you coming to the show, Microsoft?) and my old Snow Leopard OS X computer was starting to get… well, long in the tooth 
As I said, three weeks. Obviously I wasn’t working on it for three weeks night and day, but I did spend a fair amount of time to get to the configuration I am using to write this very post. Not much of this post actually pertains to the fact that I installed Mac OS X Mavericks on a Toshiba Laptop, it’s more that I couldn’t find many posts that mentioned any type of PC or laptop, so I figured there had to be others like me out there, possibly with a Toshiba laptop, trying to install Mac OS X Mavericks on it.
Warning!
The following is my journey. It comes with absolutely no warranty of any kind and I do not accept any responsibility at all, regardless of you following my instructions to the letter or not, if this results negatively for you in some way. Back up all data and proceed at your own risk.
Installation Media
To get the installation media from Apple, you need an existing Mac with at least Mac OS X 10.6 and AppStore installed. My 10.3 SL, was not going to cut it. Why couldn’t I update? My 10.3 SL machine, has an Intel atom processor that is no longer supported in newer releases of Mac OS X. I tried anyway, it failed. Thankfully, I was able to restore from a Time Machine backup. Use Time Machine! It’s awesome!
I ended up a little off course, but to get Apple OS X Mavericks, I downloaded a VMWare Virtual Machine image with Mac OS X Mavericks already installed. Your adventure with VMWare Workstation and OSX Mavericks, starts here: http://www.souldevteam.net/blog/2013/10/06/os-x-mavericks-10-9-retail-vmware-image-release-notes-links/. There is a video on the blog post, Watch It And Pay Attention!
You will also need VMWare Workstation. The 30 day trial is completely unrestricted and works perfectly fine. I am running VMWare Workstation 10.0.1 at the time of writing. You’ll see in the video (and downloaded files) that earlier versions of VMWare Workstation are also supported. Your adventure with VMWare Workstation, starts here: https://my.vmware.com/web/vmware/info/slug/desktop_end_user_computing/vmware_workstation/10_0.
Note: You must use VMWare Workstation for Windows, on Windows. VMware Workstation will need to be patched (unlocked), to be able to run Mac OS X Mavericks. The patch that accompanies the VMWare Workstation image is designed for Windows, not for Linux. Sorry, Linux users. If you’re clever enough, you might be able to get it to work on Linux. I haven’t look into this at all. Let me know if you are successful.
Once you have VMWare Workstation installed with your Mac OS X Mavericks virtual machine running, use the AppStore to download Mac OS X Mavericks 10.9, for free!
Of course, if you have access to an actual Mac or a Hackintosh with Mac OS X 10.6 or higher, you are home free. Install the AppStore if you haven’t done so already and download Mac OS X Mavericks, for free!
Note: To download Mac OS X Mavericks, you will need to be signed into an Apple account. Just an FYI. It’s no big deal. An account is free and you don’t need to have a credit card or any payment options set up to download Mac OS X Mavericks. It’s free, really!
Once you have Mac OS X Mavericks downloaded, don’t install it. It looks like an App, and may try to install itself (even though you may be on Mac OS X Mavericks already). If it does, just cancel the install.
Installing Mac OS X Mavericks
Note: If you have the option to install on a completely separate HDD with no other data or operating systems on it, use that. Seriously. If you haven’t done anything like this before. Save yourself the trouble of possibly rendering your personal computer, useless. Perhaps even go out and buy another HDD just for this exercise. Disconnect and remove your known good working HDD with Windows or Linux (or whatever other OS) on it and put it somewhere safe. Make the risk of losing data as minimal as possible.
Do Not Try to Install on an External Drive, USB or eSATA, it Won’t Work!
The next thing you need, is an 8GB USB Drive. Mac OS X Mavericks is 5GB+ in size and does not come in ISO format. If you have a dual layer burner and want to convert the App Format version of Mac OS X Mavericks to ISO, your adventure starts here: http://forums.appleinsider.com/t/159955/howto-create-bootable-mavericks-iso.
Note: It is very unlikely that you will be able to install Mac OS X Mavericks from the newly burnt DVD you have just made, unless you are trying to install it on a genuine Mac. Even then, you may have troubles, but it should work. If you just want to convert the installer to USB format, also for a genuine Mac only, your short adventure starts here: http://www.marekbell.com/how-to-create-a-bootable-installation-for-os-x-mavericks-10-9-and-above/. Again, this USB installer will only work on a genuine Mac.
Note: When you are at the end of the USB creation process, wait an additional 10-15 minutes before disconnecting the USB drive. The prompt will indicate it is finished, but Mac OS X is not!
You can of course use the ISO created above to do your own install of Mac OS X Mavericks in VMWare Workstation. (you can even use the USB drive too) If you do, after you have installed VMWare Tools, you can use this display driver found here: http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/188962-vmware-svga-ii-display-driver-for-os-x-v125/ to make the graphics nice and spiffy. You do not need a ‘Hackintosh’ version of the install media to install Mac OS X Mavericks in a patched / unlocked VMWare Workstation.
I have not tried installing a Hackintosh version of the install media in an unpatch / locked version of VMware Workstation. Theory suggest it should work. Try at your own risk.
For those with an 8GB USB drive, the adventure continues here: http://www.tonymacx86.com/374-unibeast-install-os-x-mavericks-any-supported-intel-based-pc.html
The above guide will help you create a bootable USB drive with the Mac OS X Mavericks installation media on it, using a well known tool called UniBeast. Be patient and take your time. Read through the whole guide first (it’s not that long actually).
Note: When you are at the end of the USB creation process, wait an additional 10-15 minutes before disconnecting the USB drive. The UniBeast application will indicate it is finished, but Mac OS X is not! Also, just drag the compressed ‘zip file’ for MultiBeast onto the USB drive. You can always unzip it later. I encountered problems after the installation of Mac OS X Mavericks was finished when I dragged the MultiBeast binary directly on to the USB drive. The zip file seems to get ignored. Just my experience.
The guide explains some boot flags you may need to use when booting from the USB drive into the installation, and into your new Mac OS X Mavericks installation. Here is what I used when I was installing (you may have to use others, as well as the ones I used):
-f GraphicsEnabler=Yes
The ‘-f” forces the installer to generate a new kernel cache, even though it will anyway, since it is a new installation.
‘GraphicsEnabler=Yes’ made the graphics work (for me). Otherwise, you end up with a blank screen. Kind of annoying, really.
After the installation is complete, reboot and use the USB drive (as per the instructions in the guide) to boot your new Mac OS X Mavericks installation. Be sure to use the same boot flags again.
-f GraphicsEnabler=Yes
Once you have booted your new installation of Mac OS X Mavericks from the USB drive, open the USB, copy the MultiBeast zip file to the desktop, unzip and run the MultiBeast binary. MultiBeast has the option to load an existing profile from a file. I’ve attached mine here: toshiba.mb You can use it as a template if you wish, or even just go with my selection and see how you fair (it’s actually quite generic). Worst case scenario it breaks everything, you can re-install and start again.
MultiBeast will give you the option to boot your new installation with the ‘GraphicsEnabler=Yes’ automatically (you’ll need to tick / enable it, if it’s not already ticked / enabled). Make sure you select this option so that you don’t have to keep typing it at startup. If you select the VoodooHDA sound card driver (you most likely will, and this may apply to the other sound card drivers as well), and it gives you an error about it not being installed correctly, make sure that when you reboot the immediate next time after MultiBeast is complete (and be sure that you do), use the ‘-f’ boot flag. Even if you don’t get any errors, boot with ‘-f’ to force the system to rebuild the kernel cache on start up and load all the new drivers you just selected in MultiBeast.
Note: If you go back to MultiBeast later to try other drivers (and you will), remember three things.
- You don’t have to select everything or load a full profile every time. You can just make one change in MutliBeast, at a time. This is good idea if you are troubleshooting the functionality of something, and faster too!
- Yes, you must reboot each time you make changes with MultiBeast. There are commands to re-load all the drivers, but I found they only worked sometimes. Mac OS X Mavericks reboots pretty quickly on modern hardware.
- After making changes in MultiBeast, use the ‘-f’ flag to make sure the kernel cache is regenerated, otherwise the new drivers you may have just installed, may not actually work, and will look like they don’t work, when in fact they do.
There is some additional software and tools I used as well.
- My WiFi didn’t work out the box (My LAN did). I used this Kext (kernel extension, like a driver) to get it working (after a reboot with ‘-f’ of course). 3929-IO80211Family.kext.zip. I installed with a Utility called KextBeast. This driver ‘should’ work for just about any Intel based Atheros Wifi Adapter.
- A cool piece of software called ‘SystemInfo’ was helpful in identifying my laptop hardware to find drivers / kexts. SystemInfo.zip.
- Another cool piece of software called ‘DPCIManger’ is also very useful. You can use it to identify hardware, rebuild the kernel cache, repair permissions and install kexts. DPCIManger.zip.
- Safari is the Internet Explorer of Mac OS X. Be sure to get Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox.Yes, I know Chrome and Safari are alike, but Chrome is so much better!
Final Words
Use Mac OS X Time Machine to take backups of your new (and hopefully working) Mac OS X Mavericks installation. Try to make sure the backups are at least stored on a different partition, if not, a different disk. If you do totally ruin your installation with something simple like a broken kext or some other minor seeming change, you can use Time Machine (via the installation USB) to restore your system back to the way it was before you broke it. Trust me, you’ll be glad you used it! Restoring from Time Machine is way faster than re-installing everything over and over again!
VoodooHDA installs its own preference panel. It doesn’t really need tweaking, but in some cases you might. Apparently some users need to enable to the ‘Use SSE2′ option. My laptop has an HDMI Sound Device (input and output) so I initially thought VoodooHDA didn’t work, because I couldn’t hear anything. Make sure you select the Analogue speaker, if you have a similar hardware configuration.
I was not able to get the Bluetooth working at the time of writing. DPCIManager can see my device, but apparently Mac OS X Mavericks can not (even though there is a series of Bluetooth kexts loaded). If I figure this out in the future, I’ll post an update.
I’m using a standard Logitech wireless mouse, no additional drivers required. Works fine.
Looking for that funky ‘magnifying’ affect on the dock icons? Click the Apple menu –> Dock –> Turn Magnification On
Under System Preferences –> Network, you can change all sorts of networking settings, including the host name.
I’m not sure how to change it yet, but my ‘ALT’ key is the ‘CTRL’ key. It’s taking a little getting used to. My ‘Windows’ key doesn’t do anything and none of the ‘Function – FN’ keys work at all 
My Laptop has a number pad, and regardless of Numlock being on or off, it always types numbers.
There is no issue installing automatic updates via Apple Updater or AppStore. UniBeast and MultiBeast do not modify the Mac OS X Mavericks core operating system, so there is absolutely no harm in installing updates that come directly from Apple. Always use caution though. Make sure your Time Machine backups are up to date, just in case
Last but not least: The default root password (it’s no capital secret) on all Apple products (as far as I am aware, I could be wrong) is ‘alpine’ (no quotes, lowercase). If you need to change the root password, open a command prompt and type:
# sudo passwd
You’ll be prompted for your password first, enter it, and then set the new root password (make sure it is different to your login password). By default, your new Mac OS X Mavericks installation won’t have a network firewall enabled, so you may want to change the root password sooner rather than later 
The Following Websites Deserve a Hand:
http://forums.appleinsider.com/
Without the helpful communities above, I would not have gotten as far as writing this post, let alone using Mac OS X Mavericks!
Please feel free to leave your comments, questions and feedback below.
Update: 15-12-2013: I hadn’t mentioned earlier that I was not able to get the Laptop Battery status working. Which I wasn’t. It soon made using the laptop ‘untethered’ from a power source, a little bit risky. In the mean time, I simply ran the laptop on power all the time, since I didn’t really it need to move it around much. Tonight, I did a quick search on TonyMacx86 for ‘Mavericks Battery’ and found this link:
https://code.google.com/p/os-x-acpi-battery-driver/downloads/list
Simply download and install the Kext (You can use DPCI Manager) and you’re away, no need to reboot! Make sure your Time Machine backups are up to date, just in case The battery status is quite accurate and even allows you to see the percentage of battery remaining and which applications are draining your battery in real time. Neat!
I haven’t search further regarding Bluetooth, that will be my next issue to solve.
Update: 24-12-2013: I downloaded and installed the Mac OS X Mavericks 10.9.1 update directly from the Apple App Store today and installed it (I made sure my time machine back ups were up to date first). No issues at all. I Simply ran the update from the App Store, it installed automatically and the system rebooted. Startup was a little longer, as I expected. I restarted again and the boot time was faster again. So far so good!
Update: 31-05-2014: A day ago I downloaded and installed the Mac OS X Mavericks 10.9.3 update directly from the Apple App Store (I was on holidays during the release of the 10.9.2 update and didn’t want to mess up my OS while I was away). I’m very glad I took time machine backups before I applied the update as it didn’t go so well. My OS just kept booting directly to a kernel panic. I now had a couple of problems ahead of me.
- My laptop keyboard had decided to stop responding during post boot up a couple of months ago. I had to connect a USB keyboard to get into the BIOS and disable the system password (I use my laptop for secure work related activities)
- As measure to resolve the kernel panic caused by installing the 10.9.3 update, I went into the BIOS and disabled the legacy USB support. Now I couldn’t even operate the laptop with a USB keyboard, except for turning it on and off.
- I needed to restore my time machine backups, but had no way of interacting with the laptop and due to issue 2, I couldn’t boot from USB.
How did I solve these?
- Starting the laptop without the battery connected (I thought maybe this would flush the BIOS) made the laptop keyboard work again. I had no idea this would work and it have just been a fluke.
- With the laptop keyboard working again, I was able to enter the BIOS and re-enable the legacy USB support.
- With the legacy USB support enabled, I was able to boot from the installation USB.
It had been a while since I had used the installation USB, so I had to come back to this very post, to remind myself to start the installer with the following boot options: -f GraphicsEnabler=Yes
Once the installer was started, I used the ‘Restore Backup’ utility to restore the time machine backup I had taken before applying the update. The restore broke the chimera bootloader, so I could only boot into the OS using the USB installer. I solved this by using MultiBeast to re-install just the boot loader (I didn’t choose any other options). I then restarted and booted into the OS with the -f option to regenerate the kernel cache from scratch (I missed it the first time around after the restore, and noticed a few things weren’t working, that were before).
Afterwards, everything was back to normal again. As per my instructions above, I did have to configure the audio again and bluetooth still doesn’t work. Everything else is fine!
Update 10-08-2014: So Mavericks 10.9.4 came out a few days ago. Since my last attempt at updating Mavericks past 10.9.1, I’ve had no luck. I tried updating to 10.9.2 (with the intention of going to 10.9.3 and so on) but that didn’t work either. Thankfully I was always able to rollback my failed attempts with TimeMachine. Today, I went back to the http://www.tonymacx86.com/ website to have a look at the current versions of MultiBeast and Unibeast. The latest version of Unibeast (4.0.2 at the time of writing) indicated support for upgrading the OS, which got me thinking.
I followed the installation guide to create a new USB installer using the latest version of UniBeast and the latest version of MultiBeast. After backing everything up (I decided to test out Carbon Copy Cloner and SuperDuper), I booted from the USB drive. I didn’t see an option for upgrading anywhere, so (after some hesitation) I just followed the prompts and installed to the same location where Mavericks already existed. Less than an hour later, (after booting with -f the first time around, as per the instructions) I was running Mavericks 10.9.4 with all my data and settings intact! I still had my original MultiBeast profile (linked above), so I loaded it into the latest version of MultiBeast instead of manually selecting everything. A few drivers and things were updated in MultiBeast since I had created my profile file. I noticed that the Chimera Bootloader had been updated to 3.0.1.
I suspect I needed to simply update the Chimera bootloader in the first place, and then I would have been successful with the 10.9.2 and so on, updates. This is not confirmed though.
There were a couple of thing I had to fix. After running through MultiBeast, my sound and Wifi still weren’t working. I fixed Wifi the same way I did before. I used the latest version of KextBeast to install the existing Kext I already had (the same one is linked above). After rebooting (I forgot to do -f but it loaded anyway, awesome!), my Wifi was back. Now for sound. After attempting to re-isntall just VoodooHDA 2.8.4 with MultiBeast, I tried installing different versions of VoodooHDA using different versions of MultiBeast. I kept getting an error indicating there was a problem with the Kext being installed incorrectly. I did some searching and discovered it might be a permission issue, that should have been solved in the current version of MultiBeast :-/ Being 2:50 AM in the morning, I went to Google and mashed the keyboard for VoodoHDA – I got the website where it comes from and downloaded the latest version from Sourceforge. Once downloaded, I ran the package installer and a few moments later VoodooHDA 2.8.6 was installed. After a reboot with -f, sound was working again!
At this stage, bluetooth still doesn’t work (nor have I tried to fix it), ALT is still CTRL and the Windows key and Function FN keys still don’t work. Everything else is fine!
