Manual for Hackintosh on EeePC 1005HAB

Owners Guide for Hackintosh EeePC 1005HA

I'm working on an owners manual for the hackintosh EeePC. I thought it might be helpful. Actually, I had NOTHING better to do while commuting on the subway (That's right... I wrote it on my Eee PC while riding the NY subway. Try that with a macbook!!). If anyone has anything to add, please comment. I will add it to the manual, or correct whatever isn't accurate.
Thanks for your help.

Startup/Shutdown/Sleep:

Startup: Push the metal button above the Delete key to start netbook. You can do simply do nothing, and the computer will boot. This is the normal way to startup.

Custom Startup Options:  If you would like to startup with any custom options, hit any key when prompted, then tap the arrow keys (up/down) to select from startup options. Hit the "Enter" key to boot.

More startup options:

When you are prompted, tap any key to enter the startup-options selection screen. At this point, you can simply start typing. You will see your typing appear at the lower part of the screen. You can type as many startup prompts as you like, each separated by a space.

Common things to type: 

-v -f       -v starts up in Verbose mode. You will see all the startup codes appear on the screen the netbook boots (it looks like DOS).  -f forces the boot process to ignore and rebuild all system "caches". If your computer hangs on boot, try typing "-v -f" (without quotes). This is useful when troubleshooting. You can read the final error which prevented the computer from booting, and take steps to fix it.

Sleep:

To sleep the netbook: Type "Fn F1" (the blue Zz key). This will sleep the Netbook. You will see the blue indicator light flash on and off when sleeping. Tap any key to wake the computer from sleep. (The trackpad will not wake the computer. Lifting the lid will not wake the computer. This is consistent with an Apple MacBook Pro.

How the Lid works:

Closing the Lid on the Netbook turns off the backlight. It does NOT sleep the computer. If you want to put away your computer, you should sleep it first (Fn F1), then close the lid. Alternatively, you can set the preferences in Energy Saver to sleep the computer after a short period of inactivity. Then you can simply close the lid and the netbook will sleep after the assigned time in the Energy Saver preference pane. If sleep does not function properly, try checking ALL the checkboxes in the Energy Saver Preference Pane ("Put the hard disk(s) to sleep…" etc.).

Please read the section explaining the Energy Saver preferences.

Sound: 

Sound was fixed using the VoodooHDA kext. The Internal speaker, the Speaker Output Jack, the Internal Mic (top of the lid) and the Mic Input Jack works. There is also a Preference Pane for VoodooHDA which can be installed (by double clicking the file). The preference pane can be used to boost the volume of the internal speaker, by increasing the PCM slider. The Internal Mic can be turned-on by increasing the "Recording Level" and "Mic" slider. Plugging in speakers or headphones turns off the internal speaker.

The program "Spark" can be used to assign Function keys to Sound Up/Down/Mute. 

Function keys:

The following Function Keys (Blue keys) work in combination with the Fn key:

Fn + F1: Sleep

Fn + F5: Decrease Backlight brightness

Fn + F6: Increase Backlight brightness

Fn + F7: Toggle Backlight On/Off (same as opening/closing lid) [Note: with DSDT, the Fn-F7 does not function. Also, closing the lid with DSDT enables full sleep.]

Numerical Keypad: Fn key in combination with the Blue Keypad Numbered keys.

Fn + arrow keys: gives you "Home", "PgUp", "PgDn", "End".

External Display: 

The external monitor jack (VGA) works in Dual-Display mode. Do NOT activate MIRRORING. It will not work, and causes problems if accidentally activated. Simply plug in an external display (analog VGA) to enter dual-display mode. You can further adjust the settings in the "Displays" Preference Pane.

USB:

The USB jacks all work, at USB2 speed. The left-side USB jack (nearest the Power plug) has extra power for an external hard-drive. The other USB jacks do not.

Customizing:

Spark:

The application Spark can be used to customize keyboard shortcuts and F keys.

Scale Screen: 

Because of the small display on Netbooks, some applications or menus might not fit entirely on the screen. You might not be able to access certain items in menus. There are applications and scripts that will shrink the screen. These scripts can be a great workaround to reach important items. Be aware that they cause strange text-rendering errors and glitches. The scripts reduce the size of applications, so be sure to return them to 100% after you do what you need to do. Basically, once you activate the scripts to scale the screen, every application afterwords is reduced. The application "statusBar" makes a pull-down menu to select the amount of scaling.

Another workaround to the small display size is to plug in an external display.

Unmount_Windows:

If you dual-boot with Windows, you might want to eject the Windows partition while using Snow Leopard. This script will eject a disk, as long as it is named "Windows".  You can rename your Windows partition to "Windows", while in Windows OS (Mac OS won't let you rename a Windows disk). 

To make your Windows partition automatically eject at boot, drag the application into  System Preferences—> Accounts—> Login Items. It will eject the Windows partition every time you boot.

Maintenance: 

Any time you change any Kexts or other System Files, you should Rebuild the Extensions and Kext Cache. The Terminal Program "Pfix" was installed by the MyHack. It takes a while to run, but it gives a very thorough fix. 

To run Pfix, open a Terminal Window and type “pfix”. Follow instructions (usually type 1 then hit Enter key). Pfix takes a while. Be patient. When it is done, it will tell you to restart. It is a stable program that rarely crashes. If it seems to stall, just wait.

Cleaning the EeePC:

My EeePC is a fingerprint magnet. The best way I’ve found to clean the outside of the lid is with a damp cloth or paper towel. If you have an Eee with the rubberish coating, wet the back of the lid with a damp cloth, then wipe it with a dry one. You will be surprised when it returns to like new looking. The palmrest can also be cleaned with a cloth or paper towel, not as wet as when cleaning the lid. The display can also be wiped with a damp cloth, followed by a dry one. Please keep your Eee clean. A clean netbook is a happy one.    :-)

Wait a minute…. IS THIS LEGAL?!?

OK. Here we go…. First of all, I am NOT a lawyer, so don’t hold me to this. I have done a reasonable amount of research. This is what I have found:

To make a long story short…. It is illegal to install Snow Leopard on non-Apple Hardware. You are violating Apple’s licensing agreement when you INSTALL Snow Leopard on non-Apple hardware. 

So… Will you go to jail? Absolutely not.

When you install Snow Leopard on a PC, you are liable to Apple for the FULL amount of the DAMAGES. Which is $29.99. The cost of the Operating System disk. That is it.

That is not a misprint. Hackintosh is less than a $30 crime. Apple has NO interest in paying their lawyers to try to sue you for $30.

So, Hackintosh is a $30 crime that will never be enforced. In a nutshell, installing Snow Leopard on a PC for your personal use is perfectly OK. You will not be prosecuted or harassed for it. 

Can I sell my Hackintosh?

Yes, and NO. If you sell a PC with Snow Leopard installed, it is not legal. You are liable to Apple for the full amount of the DAMAGES. Which is now the full price of the OS, plus all PROFITS. So, if you sell a netbook with Snow Leopard installed for $300, you would be liable for the full damages to Apple. Which would be the price of the netbook. Which would be $300 in this example. So, as you can see, it is legal and unenforceable to install Hackintosh, but if you sell a Hackintosh, that is a much larger crime.

In a nutshell, it is OK to install Hackintosh on a PC, but NOT OK to SELL a PC with Hackintosh “pre-installed”. Do you get it yet?

But, here is the catch. It is perfectly legal to sell a “compatible” computer, along with instructions how to hackintosh it. Of course, that is legal (freedom of speech, duh). You can even include the Kexts, Bootloaders, and any files needed to hackintosh. That is perfectly legal. The only thing that is illegal is the actual act of installation. And that is only a $30 crime. Making sense yet? OK? Here is where it gets strange. It is legal to sell a Thumb-Drive with Snow Leopard modified into a Hackintosh Installer, as long as it is a “separate” sale. In other works, you cannot include a Thumb-Drive installer along with your hackintosh. But, you are allowed OFFER to “ADD” a thumb-drive to the deal for an extra charge. Usually $50 for the thumb drive. You can even combine the two deals in one sale. That is legal. As strange as it sounds.

Once again, it is OK to install Hackintosh, and it is OK to sell a “compatible” PC, along with the installation kit, instructions, and any necessary files. You CANNOT sell a PC with Snow Leopard pre-installed. Everything else is legal.

Can I charge money to install Hackintosh on someone else’s PC?

YES!!! The person who pays you to do this installation is committing the illegal act. Once again, it is a $30 (unenforceable) crime. The person charging money to install Hackintosh has commited NO crime.

Can I use a Hackintosh at work? I wouldn’t. Once again, you are liable to Apple for the full damages, including your profit. In other words, Apple could own your company if they wanted to. As I said, I would NOT use a Hackintosh to make profit at work. If you are in business, buy a real Mac. That is the same reason the large agencies are careful about Font licenses. They don’t want Adobe to sue them. Adobe has “Font Police”, who have been known to look on company computers for illegally installed fonts. The same applies to Hackintosh. Don’t use them at work to make profit. You could be liable for a huge amount of damages. Talk to your lawyer about this.

What if it breaks?

You did an update, installed a program, or did absolutely nothing…. and it won’t boot!!

What do you do?!?

First thing: DON’T PANIC!

…Relax. 

If it hackintoshed once, you should be able to easily make it work again.

Your first action should be the terminal application PFIX. If you can manage to get it to boot, and it still isn’t working right, try running PFIX in the terminal. PFIX can fix most problems.

However, If it won’t boot, then you can use the Thumb-Drive to make it boot. Once there, you can run PFIX. Then restart.

If it still isn’t working properly, you can redo the hackintosh. Run “MyHack”, then replace the mach_kernel, and the Kext files (same as you did when you did your original installation). After that (and anytime you move or change any kexts) you should run “PFIX” and restart.

If that still doesn’t work, you can restore your system from the “Time Machine” back-up that you hopefully made. After you restore, you would need to use the Thumb-Drive to boot, then redo the hackintosh as above (replace the mach_kernel, kexts and run PFIX).

If that still doesn’t work, then I am sorry. You might have to wipe the hard drive and re-install Snow Leopard. I have never had to do that. Hopefully you won’t have to either.

Shopping for an EeePC to hackintosh.

The EeePC Hackintosh I own is an Asus EeePC 1005 HAB. It came with a 250 GB hard drive, Intel Atom N270 CPU, and a 3-cell battery. I have swapped out the WIFI card with the Dell 1510 “N” card (which I “rebranded” by flashing the ROM to the manufacturer code of an Apple Airport Extreme card). The WIFI card that is pre-installed will work, however the Dell 1510 (Broadcom 4322) works better. I also upgraded to RAM to a 2 GB Corsair chip.

You don’t need this exact EeePC. 

The following should also work:

1005HA, 1005HAB, 1008HA, 901HA, 1001HA.

As long as it has either a N270 or N280 CPU, and Intel 950 graphics, you should be able to hackintosh it with my kit. You can use the original 1GB RAM chip, or upgrade to a 2 GB chip. You can upgrade your hard drive also. I have seen a Hackintosh EeePC with an SSD install. It was very fast, and hackintoshed fine.

Any battery will do. Mine came with the 3-cell, which will give you 2-3 hours life. I bought an aftermarket 9-Cell battery which gives over 7 hours battery life. The 6-cell battery is another decent option (4-5 hours).