Hackintosh on the HP TM2

In 2006 Apple began their transition to Intel x86 processors. Since the first Intel computers (the macbook and macbook pro) and their subsequent operating systems ( OSX 10.4) were released hackers worldwide have been wondering if running the OSX operating system on a PC was possible. It was, and, in 2008 I produced my first video tutorial showing the steps involved in installing OSX 10.4.6 onto an Acer Laptop.

A lot has changed on the Hackintosh scene, and after recently purchasing an HP TM2 tablet Laptop I was curious to see if running OSX on it was possible. It is, and, by following these simple steps you too can be running your vary own OSX tablet.



The first step is to get a hold of a compatible disc image. After experimenting with various ISOs I've determined that the most stable (for the TM2 at least) is the iAtkos V. 7 distribution. This image is a modified Mac OSX 10.5.7 kernel that includes driver support for most of the TM2's on-board hardware.

Now the TM2 being a netbook of sorts doesn’t have an optical drive. I used an external USB DVD drive to install OSX as it was the easiest, however, you can use a USB thumb drive to install OSX, see http://tm2osx.info for more information on how to prepare that.


Once you have your bootable thumb drive or DVD go ahead and tell your BIOS to boot from it. Make sure you start the OS with the "cpus=1" flag or the system will kernel panic. After the OS starts you should be presented with the select language screen. Choose English, or your language of choice, and start the installation. Accept the license agreement at the next screen and select your OSX partition. If you have not already partitioned your hard drive you need to do that now. Select Disk utility from the Utilities menu in the menu bar and create as many partitions as you need. Make sure you select "Master Boot Record" under "Options" and ensure the filesystem is "Mac OS Extended." Note that partitioning your drive will destroy all data on it so you MUST make a backup before you install.


After selecting your hard drive, continue to the next screen and click "customize." Install the following patches to get Mac OSX running on the TM2:

Chameleon boot loader
Apple PS2 Drivers
USB Drivers
Realtek R1000 Ethernet Drivers
Disabler
AHCI Driver
Laptop Battery
Voodoo HDA Audio

At this point you can go ahead and install the system - it should take about 30 min.


Once OSX is done installing the computer will reboot. When it starts up again you need to make sure you start it with the "cpus=1" flag again. If everything installed OK you should be presented with a series of prompts which will set up the OS. At this point you should be presented with your desktop but you will notice that the resolution will be a little off. Download and unzip the "Extras" package from http://tm2osx.info and install the GMAX3100 kexts (there should be 2 of them). Finally replace com.apple.boot.plist, found in /library/preferences/extensions/SystemConfiguration/ with the one in the "Extras" folder. Reboot and, if everything went well, your computer should start up with the proper resolution and without you having to enter "cpus=1" every time.

You should now have a partially functional hackintosh computer. Wireless is not yet working but you should have Ethernet connectivity, webcam, USB Ports, audio, and the SD reader. The touchscreen works with the pen but it is poorly calibrated. To get wireless Internet working you will need to purchase a USB adaptor.

It is possible to update the operating system to 10.5.8 ( the latest version) but you can't do the update right from the apple server. I will make a post detailing the steps I followed in the near future. Until then enjoy your hackintosh tablet!

Welcome

Welcome to INET Online's Technology blog.  I hope to use this blog to supplement the various YouTube videos that I produce for my website.

Check out my youtube account at www.youtube.com/christopherve7alb and my website at www.ve7alb.ca