Thread: [GUIDE] Kakewalking Lion OSX on Gigabyte Z68X-UD Mobo's

With this guide I've managed to run a clean install of Lion onto a new Hackintosh build. No Snow Leopard and no optical media required. The original guide can be found at TonyMacX86 forums. I've added some info here & there & keeping it here for my own backup (in case something went very wrong in the future)

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First of all;

My Newly Build Rig:
CPU: Intel Core i7 2600K
Mobo: Gigabyte Z68X-UD4-B3 (Bios F7)
GPU: Gigabyte HD 6870 OC
RAM: 8Gb Kingston DDR3 (= CL9, CL8 RAM is better) (for this install, please only insert 4Gb RAM, you can add more after the install)
PSU: Corsair TXV2 650W
SSD: OCZ Vertex 3 120Gb (for install purpose I only attached this SSD, no other SSD/HDD attached)
CASE: Fractal Design Define XL Black Pearl

What you need to complete this guide succesfully;
* More or less the same specs as me...
* Empty USB stick - I used one of 8Gb (doesn't need to be preformatted to HFS+, but it's never useless to do so)
* Working Mac (from you/friend - used for kakewalking & to download Lion via the AppStore on your AppleID)
* Kakewalk ~ You'll find that here...
* MultiBeast 3.8 ~ you'll need to register for that one @ TonyMacx86
* Your Mobo's DSDT ~ make sure you'll have this first, you can find DSDTs also @ TonyMacx86
* Patience young padawan! If at first you don't succeed, try again... This was my 16th attempt at Hackintoshing...

*skipped the fluff of the original guide ~ basicly saying how stupid it was to first install SnowLeopard to get to Lion*

Do you have a similar build - read on! I don't know how other mobo's will react on the kexts that will be used later on in this guide, so if you're using anything else than my specs - proceed at your own risk... Other Gigabyte Z68X Mobo's should be fine though...

After I put the hardware for my rig together, first thing i did was flash the bios to version F7. Used the Qflash utility to do so. Once that was done i made the usual bios changes.

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Qflash -->
Be warned - this applies only to Gigabyte Z68XUD* Mobo's that I know of...
If you've never even heard of BIOS or flashing, please don't read on - you could seriously damage your pc... Bios Flashing is never without any risk.
Don't come crying to me if anything goes wrong & your mobo won't boot or anything... This is at your own risk!!
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So if you're still with me - read on...
Qflash is a nifty utility for flashing your mobo, but you'll need a thing or two first...
* a working pc
* empty usb stick
* an internet connection

1. Download the latest BIOS version from the Gigabyte Servers, I had the option to download F7 or F8, but since there was no DSDT for F8, I took F7.
2. Format your USB-stick to FAT32.
3. Put your BIOS file you've just downloaded into the USB's root, don't put it into some folder orso...
4. Put the USB in the machine that you want to flash, power on! - quickly press the END-key on your keyboard. (to enter the Qflash utility)
5. It's sort of easy from now on, just follow the instructions on screen - point the utility towards the correct file - et voila!
6. Make sure that after the flashing, you put all your BIOS settings back in place, it's just been flashed remember... eg, HPET=64bit
7. It is done! You've succesfully flashed your BIOS, now that wasn't so hard was it?
<-- Qflash
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Make sure that;
You're only using 4Gb RAM - less is no problem, more is.
Only one graphic card is placed in the first PCIe slot, no other pci peripherals.
Monitor connected to the first DVI port(upper one in my case).
That the only usb devices were my mouse+kb and OSX Lion boot stick.
Only one HDD/SSD which would serve as the installation drive was connected.

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Quick troubleshooting:
BIOS;
* make sure the bios version matches that of the DSDT.
* load optimized defaults (make sure this is the first step, otherwise it'll undo any previous change you made).
* set "Sata Control Mode" to AHCI.
* set "HPET" to 64-bit mode.
* set "1st Boot Priority" to USB-HDD.
* in "HDD Boot Priority" make sure the usb stick is right on top.

RIG;
* disconnect any unnecessary usb/sata devices(leaving only the usbstick/kb+mouse/install drive).
* use only up to 4Gb of RAM.
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Working:
Audio (ALC8xxHDA & AppleHDA Rollback).
Video (working OOB).
Networking (Realtek Gigabit Ethernet 2.0.6).
USB 3.0 (NEC/Renesas).
Firewire (working OOB).

To Be Tested:
eSata.

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UPDATE #1:
Problem: Some external HDDs that were NTFS formatted wouldn't show up in finder and in some cases Disk Utility too. (on the other hand, an external HDD that had 2 partitions, one NTFS and one HFS, showed up just fine, which at first i thought was a kext related issue).
Solution: Installed Paragon NTFS for Mac and everything shows up fine.

UPDATE #2: Geekbench & USB 3.0
USB 3.0: Copied a 3.5GB mov to an external HDD. Had write speeds between 60-70MBs/sec.
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Geekbench:
Basic 32bit version, cpu/gpu/memory @ stock speeds.



Kakewalking

Creating a bootable usb stick with the Lion installer:
(On your/friends Mac, after you've purchased Lion from the App Store using your apple ID)

1. Plugin a usb stick (be sure to remember it's name).

2. Open Kakewalk and click install to usb.

3. Click on browse and select the Lion Installer.

4. Select the usb stick from the drop down menu.

5. Click the Create button and wait for it to install.

6. Once its complete click on Yes.

7. Choose your motherboard or one most similar to it (I selected the Gigabyte Z68MX-UD2H-B3, since it was the closest match at the time).

8. Select the usb stick from the drop down menu (kakewalk would be pre-selected anyways) and click Start Installation.

9. After it's done, download the DSDT for your motherboard and rename it to DSDT.

10. Copy the DSDT and navigate to the "Extra" folder on the usb stick. Overwrite the existing one with the file that you copied.

Thats pretty much it for this process and you should have a bootable OS X Lion usb stick.

Note: Once OSX is installed, the machine will reboot. When you come across the kakewalk loading screen (an hdd icon with a loading bar), press any key on the keyboard. This will list the devices available to boot from. Select your HDD/SSD.


MultiBeast:

1. Download and copy Multibeast and your motherboards' DSDT to the desktop. (I like to install the DSDT once again just to be safe).



2. Run Multibeast. Select User DSDT and System Utilities.
(the DSDT file needs to be placed on the desktop. System Utilities needs to be checked every time you make any changes).



3. Once it's complete, restart the machine and boot from the HDD/SSD.
(If you haven't already unplugged the kakewalk usb stick, you can do so before rebooting. Keep it aside in case you need to reinstall the OS).

4. After you boot into OSX, run Multibeast and install the kexts one at a time (either Audio/Sata/Networking/ USB3.0), restart the machine and continue the process (this lets you isolate any problems such as kernel panics, to a particular kext).

Here's a list of everything I installed using Multibeast: (Remember to go one at a time and always select system utilities).
!!AGAIN - THESE KEXTS WORK FOR MY MOBO - DOESN´T MEAN THEY WORK FOR YOURS TOO - Z68X-UD* MOBO´S SHOULD BE FINE THOUGH - PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK!!



Hope your installation goes well and you too have a full functioning hackintosh. Mine's lightning fast!!
Original Credit for this guide goes to an4rchyst @ TonyMacx86 - I've only added some info from my experience...

Hi great guide about NTFS HD not showing in mac you can use ( PARAGON NTFS ) program when you install it you can see any NTF HD
did you test the computer with photoshop or 3d program to see stable or not ?

i want to Build new Rig:
CPU: Intel Core i7 2600K
Mobo: Gigabyte Z68X-UD5
GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 560 1024 MB
RAM: Corsair Vengeance Blue 16 GB PC3-12800 1600mHz DDR3 240-Pin SDRAM Dual Channel

about GPU i want to use Geforce so want to know if it's ok ? or not - Because i see some people use AMD GBU i don't know why .

Yes - Paragon - indeed! I should've updated that part, as I've installed that right after this post...

Anyway been working with Photoshop without any probs at all...

The GTX 560 should be ok - check this thread -> tonymacx86 Forum &bull; View topic - GTX 560Ti Support?

One question though - why do you want to buy the UD5 mobo? any specific reasons? if no - it's almost identical to the UD4 board.

EDIT; TonyMacx86 links' not working... Just subscribe to their forums and perform a search - plenty of info there on that card...

your question very good ? why realy i don't know
After you ask me i change my mind and i take same your motherboard cheaper and i think same specification
my machine amd the problem Hackintosh work on INTEL is better
Today I order from AMAZON

Any idea of the UD4 mobo works with the default video card that comes with the board?

I keep getting stuck with a acpi_smc_platformplugin timed out error. I dont really understand why i get that.

Originally Posted by aquitaine

Any idea of the UD4 mobo works with the default video card that comes with the board?

I keep getting stuck with a acpi_smc_platformplugin timed out error. I dont really understand why i get that.

Haven’t really tried the onboard video card, but according to your error – it seems that’s where your problem lies… just try disabling the onboard vga in bios-settings…

That is ofcourse if you have another video card plugged in ofcourse!

Hi
My Newly Build Hackintosh:
CPU: Intel Core i7 2600K
Mobo: Gigabyte Z68X-UD4 (Bios F2)
GPU: Gigabyte HD 6950 1GB
RAM: Corsair Vengeance Blue 16 GB DDR3 SDRAM Dual Channel Memory Kit CMZ16GX3M4A1600C9B
Mouse and keyboard : original mac

1- I do the same steps you do
2- i install just one stick memory 4GB
3- when i finish the Build machine i start install the system from flash it's working some text on screen finely the gray screen appear the first gray screen before the apple logo appear and the computer stop on this gray screen without any action without any message i wait for 5 minute but nothing I restart the computer again and same.

can you give any solution for this and i do all your steps

thank you

So I found out that you’re probably working on a Z68XP‎-UD4 mobo instead of a Z68X-UD4… As you say you’ve got bios version F2, there’s no such thing on a Z68X-UD4…
So make sure you get the correct DSDT for that mobo, also that mobo has an onboard GPU – you should disable it if you want to get a correct install.
I don’t know for sure where it’s located in the BIOS, but it should say something like Onboard VGA & I think standard it’s on “Auto”, change it to “disabled”. That should take care of it… Hopefully…

thank you for replay
My Mobo Z68XP-UD4 not Z68X this my mistake
and Onboard VGA I disabled already
now i will update my BIOS to the last ver. F4 and i will try again and i will download DSDT F4
so if work i will tell you

thank you again

One thing my brother also forgot was to change the boot sequence, after the install you should boot from your hdd not from the flash drive...

Also when you boot, you see the red apple from multibeast? When you see it, just type -v, that way you boot in verbose mode... Normally it'll tell you what's wrong then & give you an error message as to where it "hangs"...