Since the time I bought my first computer I have been running a Windows OS. However, I do like to experiment with other operating systems. In the old days I used to dedicate a machine to trying out new operating systems or if I was really brave I would dual-boot my PC. Nowadays I use virtualization software like Virtual PC and VMWare Workstation to get the job done.
Most of the time when I am not using Windows I am tinkering around with the latest RedHat or Ubuntu distribution. I have always wanted to experiment with the Mac OS but until recently it was not a possibility. Believe it or not, the folks at the OSx86 Project have produced an ISO file that will allow you to install MAC OS X on a PC. The installation on VMWare can be a little tricky but here are a few tips that should help you get it running:
- Make sure that you disable floppy, serial and parallel ports from the BIOS of the VM. This can be done by hitting F2 when your VM is booting.
- Remove the floppy drive from the VM and make sure you use an IDE disk drive.
- You will need to manually edit your VMWare configuration (.vmx) file to include a few key settings:
guestOS = "darwin"
scsi0.present = "FALSE"
paevm="true"
floppy0.present = "FALSE"
- Finally, if you reboot after the install and you end up with an "operating system not found" error or get stuck on a gray screen with the apple logo then you may need to specify some boot options. It is possible that the VM is confused about which disk to boot from. For example at the boot prompt you may need to enter this command to boot from the hard disk:
rd=disk0s2
Of course, rdisk0s2 could be a different value. If you are unsure about which disk the OS installed to then you can boot from the DVD and use the Disk Utility to find out what the name of the disk is that you installed OS X to.
A more detailed tutorial can be found on the PCWiz Computer website.
