Tri-Boot Hackintosh, Vista, Linux Box: A Comprehensive Guide

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Tri-Boot Hackintosh, Vista, Linux Box: A Comprehensive Guide

By EAN ⋅ March 17, 2008 ⋅

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So you’ve probably seen several of these guides to help you install OS X 10.5.2 on your computer. However, the goal of this guide is different. Far too many “how-tos” start with an already assembled computer–but not this one. I want to help you get your computer up and running, starting with just a pile of parts lying on a table.

Not only that, but what we’re looking for here is rock solid stability. What good is a computer if it crashes all the time? The target here is to build a triple booting computer that can stand up to weeks of use without requiring a reboot.

hackintoshuptime

Is a tri-boot build practical? Not really. Is it challenging? Somewhat. Is it a good way to kill a weekend where you’ve got nothing else to do? Definitely.

The guide is broken into five parts: the parts, the build, the installation, the boot loader, and frequently asked questions. You can use the table of contents at the bottom of each post to navigate.

Disclaimer: A couple of things to point out. I do not condone software piracy. If you want a real Mac, go to an Apple store and purchase one. Furthermore, buy a legal copy of Vista (or XP). Building a Hackintosh was done only for the purpose of this guide, as I already own several other Macs. In other words–I just wanted to see just how easy it had become and share my experience with all of my readers.

Before you begin, you’ll need to acquire the collection of operating systems that you will be installing.

Windows Vista (whatever flavor you want)
Kalyway Leopard 10.5.1 intel SSE2 and SSE3
Any Linux distro you’ve been wanting to try (I gave Linux Mint a shot, but I also recommend Ubuntu and openSUSE)

Burn the Kalyway Leopard image to a DVD and the Linux distro to a CD (or DVD). Hopefully you actually *bought* Vista. You’re done with the prep work.

And without any further ado, the table of contents: