Last time I told you about assembling the PC from the list of parts provided by Tonymacx86. I have worked on and torn apart Macs and PCs before, but this was the first one I ever built. There was some starts and stops, but I eventually got it all together, and followed the instructions for installing the operating system.
Did it work?
As a matter of fact, it did!
Well…it did eventually.
After I had assembled the computer, I went through the instructions for UniBeast which is the hack or patch that makes the Mac Os function on the pile of PC parts. I flubbed a step, and it didn’t take. The day was getting away from me, and I decided to call it a day. Before I did, I launched Ubuntu on this new system from a USB thumb drive. It worked great and reassured me that the parts were functioning, but it was quitting time. I put it aside planning on looking at it with fresh eyes.
I took it to my friend Dan to have a look figuring two heads were better than one. Dan has been working on electronics since he was a kid working on crystal radio kits and the like. It was a skill set that eventually took him to Vietnam where he worked on generators in the army. He knows his way around chips and wires so he took a peek. It seems I had it all put together properly although we never did figure out where that little speaker attached.
Tonymacx86 warns that it may be a frustrating process but encourages you to keep fighting the good fight. I reviewed the material on the website, and, most importantly, I printed the pertinent pages. I took my time and kept my patience starting from the beginning, installing the system and performing the post-installation with UniBeast. When I build another one, I’ll provide more specifics of the install. For now, all I can say is read the booklets that came with your motherboard and read and reread the instructions at Tonymacx86. Do your homework, and don’t get frustrated! It will work. It worked for me as you can see from this quickie video I shot.
It seems really responsive. It thinks it’s a Mac Pro from 2008.
NEXT TIME: I’ll share my impressions of the CustoMac Mini!
