← Back to Blog

Guide to Install MacOS Mojave on a Hackintosh PC

28 May 2020

This post provides a comprehensive guide on how I installed macOS Mojave on my PC. I have listed the hardware specifications of my Hackintosh, followed by the entire process I followed to install macOS on my PC.

Specifications

UnitComponent
MotherboardAsus Z170 Gaming Pro
RAMCorsair Vengeance 8GB LPX DDR4
iGPUIntel HD530
PSUCorsair VS550, 550W
ProcessorIntel Core i5-6600k (Skylake)
HDD/SSDKingston 120GB SSD + 1TB Seagate HDD
CaseCorsair Spec-01 (ATX) Mid Tower Cabinet

Links I referenced for a vanilla installation:

  1. https://hackintosh.gitbook.io/-r-hackintosh-vanilla-desktop-guide/
  2. https://hackintosher.com/guides/guide-to-fresh-installing-macos-mojave-on-a-hackintosh-10-14/
  3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fA9AotXqkqA

Making a Bootable USB

Step 1: Downloading the macOS

This step requires a minimum 16GB USB drive. The entire process of creating a bootable USB is simpler with access to another iMac or MacBook. Otherwise, use this link to create a bootable USB without an iMac or a Macbook.

  • Download Apple's official macOS Mojave installer from the App Store.
  • After downloading, plug in the USB drive and format it using Disk Utility. Ensure you choose GUID Partition Map for the scheme. Leave the format as Mac OS Extended (Journaled). Then click Erase.
  • Open Terminal, paste the command shown below, and follow the on-screen instructions. This process can take up to 30 minutes.
sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Mojave.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume

Step 2: Installing the bootloader

  • Download the Clover EFI bootloader here and install it onto the USB installer disk's EFI Boot Partition.
  • Before proceeding with the installation, click Customize and complete the following steps:
    • CHECK Clover for UEFI booting utility
    • CHECK Install clover in the ESP
    • Under UEFI Drivers
      • Recommended Drivers
        • UNCHECK AudioDxe
        • CHECK DataHubDxe
        • CHECK FSInject
        • CHECK SMCHelper
      • File System Drivers
        • CHECK ApfsDriverLoader
        • CHECK VBoxHfs
      • FireVault 2 UEFI Drivers
        • CHECK AppleImageCodec
        • CHECK AppleKeyAggregator
        • CHECK AppleKeyFeeder
        • CHECK AppleUITheme
        • CHECK FirmwareVolume
      • Additional Drivers
        • CHECK PartitionDxe

Click Install and wait until the installation is complete. The final step is to add kernel extension files (kexts) to the EFI partition on the USB installer device.

Step 3: Adding config.plist for Skylake

  • Download Clover Configurator and mount the EFI partition of the USB installer.
  • Open Clover Configurator and mount the EFI partition of the USB installer, if it isn't mounted already. Navigate to EFI → CLOVER and open the config.plist file using Clover Configurator.
  • Go to the Kexts Installer section, click the OS version drop-down in the top right corner, and select Others.
  • Select Lilu, WhateverGreen, FakeSMC, IntelMausiEthernet, USBInjectAll, and then download them. While downloading the kexts, a drop-down menu will appear. Check all the sensors and click Install.
  • Quit Clover Configurator and delete the config.plist file.
  • The config.plist file can be configured manually depending on your hardware, but I downloaded a preconfigured config.plist file from this website. Download the config.plist and paste it into the same folder it was in before.
  • Open the config.plist file using Clover Configurator, navigate to the SMBIOS section, and select the relevant model based on your hardware by clicking the button on the right edge of the window. This will automatically populate all the required fields.
  • Ensure the verbose argument is checked in the Boot section, then close the configurator. Your USB installer is now ready.

Installing macOS Mojave

Step 1: BIOS settings

I use an ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming motherboard; its BIOS interface may differ slightly from other motherboards. Ensure your BIOS is up-to-date and load optimized defaults.

  • Disable the serial port in the Serial Port Configuration.
  • Disable Fast Boot and CSM Support.
  • Set the SATA Mode Selection to AHCI.
  • Set the XMP profile for memory.
  • Disable Intel Virtualization Technology.
  • Enable VT-d.
  • For graphics settings, if a dedicated GPU is used, change the Primary Display setting to PCIE and enable iGPU Multi-Monitor. If no dedicated GPU is present, change the Primary Display setting to CPU Graphics and disable iGPU Multi-Monitor.
  • Set DVMT Pre-Allocated memory to 64M.
  • Enable IOAPIC 24-119 Entries.
  • Enable Legacy USB Support.
  • Enable XHCI Handoff.
  • Set Secure Boot OS Type to Other OS.

Save these settings and plug in your USB installer device. Boot from the Install macOS Mojave partition. Since we enabled the verbose argument, it will display all debug messages. After booting, go to Disk Utility, choose the disk for installing macOS, and select GUID Partition Map. Click Erase, then wait until the process is complete. Close Disk Utility, select Install macOS, click Continue, and follow the on-screen instructions.

  • The installation will reboot the machine twice; ensure you choose the Mojave installation disk, not the USB installer, during reboots.

Step 2: Post-installation

  • At this point, the machine can only boot with the USB drive plugged into the system. The bootloader must be copied to the Mojave disk to enable booting without the USB.
  • Install Clover on the Hackintosh now and configure it exactly as you did for the USB installer device.
  • Open the EFI partition of the Mojave disk and delete the EFI folder. Copy the EFI folder from the USB installer to the Mojave EFI partition. Your Hackintosh should now be able to boot without the USB installer device. Congratulations!

Some issues I ran into

Issue 1

Pre-installation Boot Issue

Start FinalizeBootStruct
Start RandomSeed
End RandomSeed
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

This issue was due to memory misconfiguration. Enabling AptioMemoryFix in the partition, along with Kernel Support CPU Lapic, Kernel PM, and Apple RTC Patch, resolved it.

Issue 2

Pre-installation Boot Issue

apfs_module_start:1689: load: com.apple.filesystems.apfs. ... (dd/mm/yyyy)

I resolved this issue by placing SSDT-EC.aml in /EFI/CLOVER/ACPI/patched.

Issue 3

Pre-installation Boot Issue

Still waiting for root device

This error occurred because I was using a USB 3.0 port for installation. Plugging the USB drive into a USB 2.0 port resolved the issue.

Issue 4

Post-installation Issue: Audio Not Working

  • This was solved by following this guide.
  • My audio codec is Asus S1220A.

Existing issues

The PC will not wake after entering sleep mode. This is a minor issue, attributed to the integrated graphics (HD 530). It can be solved by adding a dedicated GPU. The only simple workaround is to disable sleep mode.

Aside from these, everything else works flawlessly!

First successful installation of Hackintosh (macOS Mojave) First successful installation of macOS Mojave on a Hackintosh