Warning: Please follow these instructions at your own risk. I am not responsible for any damage or information loss that could result from following this guide. Also, note that installing OS X on PC is illegal. Please buy a real Mac if you're satisfied with your Hackintosh. This guide is for evaluation purposes only.
If you have an older Mac and you would like to load Mac OS X 10.11 El Capitan on it, it can be a challenge to find and download it from the Mac App Store.In. The first method is termed as an upgrade install, also known as the default method. The second method is known as a clean install. Mac OS X El Capitan 10.11 DMG Install and Download. Upgrade install-Follow to below steps-Visit the Mac App Store. El capitan 10.11 free download - Apple Mac OS X El Capitan, and many more programs.
Requirements
- An Intel-based PC with UEFI bios
- A USB flash drive with at least 16GB capacity
- A dedicated hard drive (SSD highly recommended)
- A computer running OS X (10.9 or later) for preparing the installation USB flash drive
I chose to avoid the UniBeast installer (by Tonymacx86) because of its commercialized nature, as described here. Here is a vanilla guide to installing El Capitan on your PC!
Preparing the USB Installation Drive
First things first. We need to prepare a USB thumb drive that will contain the installation files as well as the bootloader and custom kexts for our specific Hackintosh build.
Download El Capitan from the Mac App Store
Head over to your existing OS X environment running 10.9 or later and open the Mac App Store.
Search for 'El Capitan' and click Download. The download is completely free if you're running OS X 10.9+.
Wait for the download to finish (this could take some time).
Format the USB Drive
Open Disk Utility in Applications/Utilities and locate your USB device. Make sure you've backed up anything important on that drive as it will be erased forever.
Select it, and then on the right, click the partition tab.
- Click Curent Layout and change it to 1 Partition.
- Set the Name to USB.
- Set the Format to Mac OS Extended (Journaled).
- Click Options and select GUID Partition Table.
Click Apply to format the drive.
Copy the Installation Files to the USB Drive
Now that we've downloaded the installation files from the Mac App Store and formatted our USB drive, let's copy the installation files to it.
Run the following command in the Terminal (Applications/Utilities):
The command will run a script inside the Install OS X El Capitan application that will copy the installation files to the USB drive.
This process takes about 15 minutes. Go out for a quick run, or a hamburger, or both. When you come back, it should have finished.
Installing a Bootloader
If you tried to boot from the USB drive as is after the previous step on a PC, it wouldn't work. We need a bootloader that makes it possible to boot OS X on x86 and x86_64 PCs.
There are 3 popular bootloaders to choose from.
- Clover
- Chameleon
- Chimera
I went with Clover as it seems to be the most popular choice among other El Capitan installers, mostly for the following reasons:
Clover is an open-source EFI-based bootloader created on Apr 4, 2011. It has a totally different approach from Chameleon and Chimera. It can emulate the EFI portion present on real Macs and boot the OS from there instead of using the regular legacy BIOS approach used by Chameleon and Chimera. For many, Clover is considered the next-gen bootloader and soon it will become the only choice since BIOS in being replaced by UEFI in every new motherboard. One big feature of Clover is that iMessage, iCloud, the Mac App Store works along with Find My Mac, Back To My Mac and FileVault since Clover can use the EFI partition. (Read more)
Install Clover on Your USB Drive
Installing Clover on your USB drive is relatively easy. It involves running an installation wizard and selecting some options.
Download the latest Clover installer from here.
- Run the installer.
- Click Continue twice.
- Click Change Install Location and set it to your formatted USB drive.
- Click Customize and check the following options:
- [x] Install for UEFI booting only
- [x] Install Clover in the ESP
- [ ] Drivers64UEFI
- [x] OsxAptioFixDrv-64 - fixes memory map created by AMI Aptio EFI. Booting OS X is impossible otherwise.
- Click Install and wait for the installation to finish. It shouldn't take more than a minute.
Copy Essential Kexts to the USB Drive
Next, we'll need to copy some kexts (kernal extensions, similar to drivers on Windows) to the USB drive.
- FakeSMC.kext - open source SMC device driver/emulator developed by netkas. Tricks OS X into thinking it's installed on Apple hardware. Absolutely required for Hackintosh installation.
- NullCPUPowerManagement.kext - disables AppleIntelCPUPowerManagement.kext which may cause kernel panics when you try to boot from the USB drive. It's optional, copy it only if you get an AppleIntelCPUPowerManagement-related kernel panic.
- ApplePS2Controller.kext and AppleACPIPS2Nub.kext - adds support for PS2 devices (such as PS2 keyboard/mouse). They're optional, copy them only if you still use PS2 devices.
El Capitan Os X
Download these files from here and copy them to the EFI mounted volume at /EFI/Clover/kexts/10.11/.
Now that the installation USB drive is ready, let's install OS X El Capitan!
Boot from the USB Drive
Restart your computer and boot from the USB drive (Press Esc/F8/Del to access the boot selection menu).
Use the arrow keys to select Boot OS X Install from Install OS X El Capitan (It should be selected by default). Press the spacebar and select Boot Mac OS X in verbose mode. Verbose mode means that you'll be able to see exactly what's going on under the hood as OS X attempts to boot up its installer. You'll be able to see the exact error message if booting fails.
Press Enter and cross your fingers. Clover will now boot the installer from your USB drive. This could take some time, in my case, it takes around 5 minutes (Don't worry -- the startup time is around 5 seconds after installing on an SSD).
Did it fail?
It's more than likely that the boot will fail. Don't panic (ha-ha), as kernel panics usually mean that you forgot to copy an essential kext to the EFI partition. Look up the exact error you're getting before the boot log comes to an end and search Google for a solution.
Once you find an additional kext that your system needs, you'd attempt to copy it to the EFI volume, only to discover that it's gone! Not to worry, it's just unmounted and hidden. Follow this guide to mount the hidden partition, and then, follow the Copy Essential Kexts section above to copy it to the USB drive's EFI partition.
Format the Target Hard Drive
Once the installation wizard boots, the next step is to prepare the hard drive that you want to install OS X on.
Click Continue, followed by Disk Utility.
Select the target drive to install to (not the USB drive!) and click the Erase button. Make sure to back up anything important on that drive, as it will be deleted forever.
- Set the Name to El Capitan.
- Set the Format to OS X Extended (Journaled).
- Set the Scheme to GUID Partition Map.
Click Erase to format the drive.
Install OS X to the Target Drive
Exit the Disk Utility and click Install OS X.
Click Show All Disks and select the drive you just formatted to install OS X on it. Finally, click Install.
The process takes about 25 minutes. Be patient. For me, it hung at the end ('1 second remaining') for around 5 minutes. Don't be tempted to reset or cancel the installation.
When that's done, the system will reboot. Make sure to boot from the USB device again, and select Boot OS X Install from Install OS X El Capitan once again, in verbose mode. The installation is a two-part process that continues once you re-boot into the USB drive.
Finally, after about 25 more minutes, OS X El Capitan should be successfully installed on the target drive.
Boot into El Capitan via the USB Device
After the second reboot, boot from the USB device once again, but this time, select Boot OS X from El Capitan, and select verbose mode.
Press Enter and cross your fingers again. If all goes well, you'll be presented with the setup wizard:
Take a minute to set up your new Hackintosh. Once you're done, there are a few things you need to do to finish off the installation.
Reinstall Clover on the Hackintosh Drive
In the previous step, we used Clover on our USB drive to boot our Hackintosh. This is fine, but most of us aren't going to keep that USB drive plugged in forever. Let's make it possible to boot El Capitan independently by reinstalling Clover on it.
Go back up to the Install Clover on Your USB Drive section and follow the steps again, but this time, select your El Capitan volume instead of the USB drive.
Once again, copy the essential kexts to the EFI partition that shows up after installing Clover.
Finally, make sure to add Clover EFI boot options which is possible by pressing Clover Boot Options in the Clover boot window (if there are 2 boot options -- find the one for your SATA drive). I literally spent 3 hours figuring out why Clover would not boot when I disconnected the USB drive before I figured out that I need to manually add the EFI boot options.
Now you'll be able to boot directly from the El Capitan hard drive, as it should be!
Audio and Networking
If you're lucky, audio and networking will work right out of the box. If not, you're on your own from here. You'll need to research your exact hardware (by using System Information in Applications/Utilities) and searching Google to find the right kext or installer to make it work on El Capitan.
Clover Themes
The default Clover theme is pretty ugly (no offense). Check out this theme database to improve Clover's appearance.
This is YosemiteLogin by xenatt:
El Capitan Installer App Store
Enjoy!
That's it! Enjoy your new Hackintosh, and if you absolutely love it, consider buying a Mac!
Cannot Connect To App Store El Capitan
Contents
- 2. El Capitan Features
- 3. El Capitan Download & Install
- 4. OS X 10.11 Problems
- 5. Mac OS X 10.11 Tips
- 6. Software for OS X 10.11
- 7. Compare OS
A sixth major software update to OS X El Capitan 10.11 since its September 2015 debut is now available for public consumption as a free-of-charge release on the Mac App Store. To apply the update, launch the Mac App Store on your computer and click the Purchased tab: OS X El Capitan 10.11.6 should be sitting there, waiting for you to download it.
- Now, launch the Mac App Store, go to the El Capitan page or Purchased tab and download OS X El Capitan from there. MAS will now download it from the local server at a high speed. Once downloaded, you may proceed with the installation by clicking on Continue when the setup launches.
- In case you have OS X Snow Leopard or Lion, but want to upgrade to macOS High Sierra, follow the steps below: To download Mac OS X El Capitan from the App Store, follow the link: Download OS X El Capitan. On the El Capitan, click the Download button. Next, a file Install OS X El Capitan will download into the Applications folder.
- MacOS High Sierra 10.13 (App Store link) macOS Sierra 10.12 (Direct DMG download link) OS X El Capitan 10.11 (Direct dmg download link) OS X Yosemite 10.10 (Direct download link) New versions of MacOS installers are typically available through the Mac App Store, accessed through a computer that is compatible with the latest Mac system software.
- Official OS X El Capitan Installer from the Mac App Store.Un-archive the zip archive and you will get the app Installer. A bootable ISO or bootable USB can be.
Mac OS X El Capitan can be downloaded directly from the Apple website. The Beta version of the OS is available but the final version will be made available towards the Autumn season of 2015 as speculated by many Apple users. You can use your older Mac OS with the new El Capitan, all you have to do is to create a different partition for the new El Capitan if you have the Yosemite already installed. There are few steps you should consider in downloading the latest El Capitan and these are as follow.
Part 1. Preparing Mac Device for the Installation of Mac OS X El Capitan
Both Mavericks and Yosemite are easier to download and install on Mac devices, however, this is not the case with Mac OS X El Capitan. Just before you install the new Mac OS X El Capitan, you must perform few tasks to ensure that your Mac will be ready for the installation of the software:
El Capitan Os X Download
- Check Your Mac - Check whether your Mac will be able to run the new OS X 10.11. Apple has provided a list of the Mac supported by the new Mac OS X El Capitan and if you are already running the Mavericks or Yosemite, the same lists may also apply to the El Capitan. You can also check this list on the “Will your Mac run Mac OS X” article on Apple website.
- Create Enough Space - Check that your Mac has sufficient RAM to run the software. You wouldn’t run into any hitches if your Mac device is listed on the acceptable Mac devices for Mac OS X El Capitan. Apple recommend that you have a minimum RAM of 2G, however, a minimum of 4G space of RAM is highly recommended. You will also need to delete some unnecessary files to create more space for the installation of El Capitan.
- Check Hard Drive Space - Make sure you have sufficient hard drive space for the installation of Mac OS X El Capitan. Yosemite will normally require a Hard drive space of up to 5GB , but the new El Capitan will require between 15g and 20gb of space on your hard drive for successful download and installation.
- Register - Register to access the Mac Apple store. You need to upgrade your Mac and get access to Mac Apple store for a small fee in order to get the most out of your Mac OS X El Capitan.
- Updates - Make sure your third party Apps are updated before installing Mac OS X El Capitan. You can simply launch App store and click on “Updates” on the tool bar if you want to update the apps you bought from Apple store. For other third party apps, you may need some manual updates from manufacturer websites to complete such updates.
- Backup Your Mac - Perform a backup before downloading and installing Mac OS X El Capitan- you need to protect your important documents and files, thus you may have to back them up somewhere before starting the download and installation process.
Part 2. Installing Mac OS X El Capitan Safely on Your Mac Device
You can install or upgrade to Mac OS X El Capitan as a dual boot partition. You may be able to download a test version if you register for the OS X Seed program from Apple, and you can also provide a feedback to Apple in order for the company to update the software before it is finally released. You can follow these instructions to install the Beta version of Mac OS X El Capitan. It is strictly recommended that you perform a backup before you begin this process. It is important you keep in mind that Mac OS X El Capitan is still in a Beta format, thus , not all your apps or programs will work on it.
- Visit the Apple Beta software program page and log unto the page using your Apple ID. Simply click on “Enroll your Mac”.
- Click on the download link that shows up, and enter the personal redemption code given to you.
- Open the downloaded Mac OS X El Capitan software and preview the file in the Applications folder. Click “Continue” and then select “Agree”.
- Click on “Install” and then enter your admin password. You're all set!
Part 3. Installing Mac OS X El Capitan Safely on an External Drive
You don’t have to install Mac OS X El Capitan on your Mac device, you can also install it on an external hard drive, most especially when you want to access the OS quickly. You can consider Thunderbolt drives which are similar to the internal drives on Mac, or you can simply use the USB 3.0 external drive if you don’t have the Thunderbolt on your Mac. You will have to format an external drive before installing Mac OS X El Capitan, this will help to install the Mac OS X El Capitan safely on the hard drive and at the same time the configuration of your device will not be changed.
Step 1. Launch Disk UtilityConnect the external drive to your Mac device and make sure it is detected. Launch the Disk Utility tool ( go to “Utilities” and you will find it there). Choose the drive- it is located at the side bar.
Step 2. PartitionSimply click on “Partition”. Make sure the partition layout reads “1 partition”. Name the partition. You can use a name like “Mac OS X El Capitan”. Click on “Options” and ensure that the Guide partition table is chosen, and then click on “Ok”.
Step 3. OptionsClick “Apply'. Open the preview file from your Mac’s application folder. Click on “Continue”. Click on the “Agree” button.
Step 4. OpenClick on “Show all disks”. Simply highlight the “External Hard Drive” on which you have just install the Mac OS X El Capitan
Step 5. InstallOs X El Capitan Mac App Store Downloads
Mac Os X El Capitan Apple Store
Click on “Install”, and enter the admin password.