Note: If you’re looking for a guide or how to install OSX on intel PC hardware, sorry you’re on the wrong page. The net is overflowing with information on this topic, there’s no point adding one more.

This post will lessen your sleepless nights over kernel panics and will make installing Maverick on your Intel PC a bit more enjoyable than frustrating.

You should NOT:

1. Forget to check OSX hardware compatibility list (HCL). OSX is quite unforgiving with hardware – processor, motherboard, video cards, sound cards, WIFI cards and recently with bluetooth dongles. Sometimes, buying a “compatible” but a bit expensive peripheral pays off better than hacking kexts. Unless you’re into hacking kexts and not installing OSX primarily.
2. Jump at an installation method just because it is popular. Unibeast-Multibeast installation method by Tony Mac is a lot easy and popular, it’s a shame though it didn’t work for my rig. I got the boot:0 error. Myhack method fixed that and a few more kinks (like trashing off some useless kexts off the vanilla maverick installation app).
3. Cheap out on your USB installation drive. Choose a Hi speed 8G (or more) USB drive  to install OSX on your rig. Faster USB drive means faster installation and will save your hours off the waiting! The usual 15 minutes on a high speed quality USB is equivalent to an hour or more in a cheapo USB.
4. Snub the Solid State Drive! Of all the investments you will make on your PC parts,SSD (as a primary OSX drive) will do wonders on your boot up time and app run time!
5. Stick those WIFI cards, Bluetooth dongles and sound card into your rig’s slots just because it works flawlessly with windoze. Apple has this habit of nipping out hardware unceremoniously off its HCL . Read, read and read some more. If you still chose to put them inside your rig, make sure you have the right kexts (drivers) and the right method to install it.
6. Complicate your installation by adding all those hard drives while installing a Maverick. Plug in your primary OSX drive only and install first on that drive. Add you’re other drives later. On the other hand, do not install OSX Maverick using a bluetooth keyboard, trackpad or mouse. If your bluetooth won’t work, I don’t know how will you can proceed with your OSX installation.
7. Push your luck! find a compatible video card and don’t complain to apple your VC is not supported.
8. Forgot the UEFI, or bios boot program settings. Set your IDE/drive state to “AHCI” or “enhanced” and OS to “plug and play”. If you have virtualization, turn it off!
9. Shun off the boot flags or the boot commands. Some peripherals will work with addition of boot flags. If you’re stuck with kernel panics, the boot flags will help you troubleshoot and identify the culprit, which is usually an incompatible hardware.
10. Forget installing your bootloader during Multibeast post installation. Sounds really crazy but yes I made this mistake many times before. The boot error on restart is just awful to say at least. So make sure you have a bootloader installed on your target disk!

I know this is neither exhaustive nor a finished list of don’ts. It will never be. However, taking these warnings saves you half of the installation frustrations than when you don’t heed it. Of course thats just approximate, but if you want to risk precious time, go ahead try your luck. 🙂

[dropcap1]A[/dropcap1]bout two weeks ago, my old Macbook Pro (a 15 inch Intel Core 2 Duo 2.2 Ghz unibody circa 2008) suddenly heaved signs of distress. The LCD screen showed color distortions on boot up.  The hard drive is warm to touch. Shutting down the unit and then restarting allowed me to boot and then log in. After about 4 cycles of restarting, my mac screen went blank and I couldn’t boot anymore, even if my hard drive is churning active! What the? All of a sudden?

I felt stunned. I was a firm believer Macs are indestructible breed of PCs. Thus, I never searched  for “bugs” on my model of Mac when I bought it. A universally stupid presumption!

I searched  the net  for a diagnosis to this kind of mac problem. An Apple article implied that a defective GPU packaging possibly toasted my MBP’s logic board.  The culprit is a batch of  NVIDIA 8600GM GPU soldered to the logic board of an MBP similar to and  manufactured at the same time as my MBP.

Allegedly, such “defective” GPU melts on average, warm temperatures  (other non-defective GPUs do not) and possibly short circuit the MBP’s logic board. If an MBP shows video distortion like what’s described in this article, manufactured around this year (late 2007-2008), and has this specific GPU, Apple offers an extended replacement program.

I called up Apple support (thru their toll free hotline) and the personnel instructed me to bring my MBP to the nearest apple authorized service provider (AASP). Should my MBP “pass” the diagnostic tests made by the techs at this AASP, my MBP would be repaired at no cost. Heaven knows how stringent these diagnostic criteria could be. But I don’t have any other choice either. The outlook of me shelling some 20-30K for logic board repairs is out of the equation.

The tech at this AASP performed a series of tests on my MBP as per instruction of Apple. His preliminary diagnosis was lethal, something that might not be just limited to my MBP’s GPU. It’s a logic board problem. Logic board repair or replacement outside of its warranty period is expensive, not to mention impractical. You might be better off buying a new, faster and higher valued mac than replace a an old MBP’s logic board. Worst, logic board replacement will not be covered by the GPU recall’s extended warranty or trade in. The GPU recall extended warranty and trade in program covers only up to 3 years from the date of purchase. My MBP is 4 years old. Bad news, but I’m not giving up just yet.

I called back the tech at AASP and explained  why the logic board possibly got affected. I’m no better techie than the tech at the AASP but you don’t need to be a genius to understand the logic behind this logic board problem.  If the GPU is soldered  to the logic board, and is defective , melts at high temperatures, chances are, it short circuited and destroyed the logic board too.

If this is the case, my MBP qualifies for Apple’s Extended Warranty program because the defective GPU toasted the logic board. The tech was helpful enough to refer back again my “case” to Apple. He gave case number and asked me to call Apple support and talk about my concern. After several discussions with Apple’s customer support and them interviewing me several times, plus the shuffling between me and the tech at AASP, Apple made me one surprising decision.

They’re going to make an exception in my case and replace my logic board with a new one. They’ll send a new logic board to the AASP and then the AASP will do the repairs, all at no cost to me.

I was speechless. Replacement at no cost. A new logic board meant an almost new MBP. Hence, I have a “new” Mac Book now. 🙂