Hardware Can you install macOS X on Linux or Windows legally?

[DoggaDude]

Hello, I wanted to see if you can install macOS on Windows and/or Linux in the most LEGAL way possible. I have a legal copy of macOS X 10.6, 10.7, and 10.8. I am planning to install Mountain Lion on this laptop I got with very old specs of 2GB of RAM, 2.16 GhZ Intel Duo 2 with Windows Vista installed...Or at least it used to be installed, until I installed Ubuntu. I have a copy of Windows 10 and Ubuntu Linux.

Many thanks.

 

[Mythical]

Not without breaking the tos of macos

 

[DinohScene]

Google Hackintosh.

And no, if you want to legally install Mac OS, you'll have to get an actual Mac.
Not to mention that you need to have hardware which is roughly the same as the supported hardware in OS X.

 

[FAST6191]

Has anybody ever been sued for making a hackintosh for personal use, or indeed one for their own commercial use? I could see someone selling them be troubled but eh.

Anyway it is just terms of service you would be breaching so if you have a copy then yeah legally it is probably tricky but ethically who is being hurt by doing it?

Quite why you would want to do it is a different matter entirely -- my usual policy on OSX is if I am going to cripple my software choices I am certainly not going to pay for the privilege, and every time I try anything on OSX I usually find myself having to pay to do things that are free on other systems (want to read NTFS? Oh look you get to pay for a layer despite nice open source things being available for every file system under the sun on Windows and Linux). Maybe it has programs you want though, quite what they might be I am not sure but eh.

 

[strawpoll-legend]

If you have a legal copy of macOS, it should be okay for you to install it through a virtual machine. Virtual Box is free to use, and I believe it has macOS support. You can try Hackintosh, but that's against Apple's terms of service. A Hackintosh will run better than a virtual machine, but a virtual machine is the only option where you're not breaking some kind of rule. Weigh your options and decide which is more important.

 

[Pleng]

Is MacOS on a VM actually a viable option these days? Last time I tried it it was so buggy as to be unusable.

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

Apple doesn't officially endorse VMs, either. The only way to use Mac OS completely "by the books" is by using a Mac.

@Pleng, using a VM actually works quite well...so long as you have an extra GPU to passthrough to get native 3d acceleration and you're willing to tinker a ton. The LinusTechTips channel actually has a few videos on doing exactly that, which looks to perform well enough, but I imagine just throwing something together in a VM is probably still laggy.

But since the OP is using a rather potato laptop, I wouldn't suggest a VM at all...you'd have better luck using Linux instead of Mac OS, TBH.

If you're hell-bent on installing macos to that laptop though, Google around for "LaptopModel Hackintosh" and see if it's possible to do/if there's a guide. In most cases, you'll have to give up something or other (usually WiFi is hit or miss and will require a different adapter, some old iGPUs also don't have proper drivers for 3d acceleration so that can be hit or miss).

Alternatively, you could browse thrift stores and see if you can find an old MacBook or something if you want to use macos without paying way too much for a modern one. I've picked up various MacBooks from 2006-2009 for like $10-20 each. Shoved 6gb of RAM in my 2009 one, and with it's C2D and Nvidia 9400m it made a pretty decent laptop despite being 11 years old.

 

[DoggaDude]

@Tom Bombadildo Yes I would LOVE to get an old Mac!

#1 Problem: COVID19

#2 It seems no one In my City ever owned a old Mac. I never see Macs, I only see 3rd Party cheap looking iPod Nano speakers, shelves of Windows Vista laptops, and iPhone cases.

#3 I would buy old Macs online, but there's none nearby ever, and most top results are stupidly high. the #1 result for old macs Is a macMini. I used to have a macMini, and got rid of that thing the very next day.

 

[DoggaDude]

Also, I need to have access to another Mac to Hackintosh...