Apple tree doesn't desire yous to install macOS on a PC, simply that doesn't hateful it tin can't be done. Numerous tools will help y'all create an installer that will permit to install any version of macOS from Snowfall Leopard onwards on a non-Apple PC. Doing so will result in what's fondly known as a Hackintosh.

Before we beginning, note that Apple'due south licence for macOS expressly forbids it being installed on anything other than a Mac, and then if you choose to practice it, don't say we didn't warn you. (For data and advice about Apple'south rules for using macOS, read Should you agree to Apple's terms and weather condition?)

And if you're interested in the reverse process - getting Microsoft's software on Apple's hardware, in other words - check out our guide to installing Windows on a Mac.

What you'll need to run macOS on a PC

Earlier you showtime, there are a few things you lot'll need. Firstly, yous'll demand a compatible PC.

The general rule is you'll need a automobile with a 64bit Intel processor. You'll also need a separate hard drive on which to install macOS, one which has never had Windows installed on information technology. If you want to run more than than just the basic Os, you should have at least 50GB of free space on the bulldoze.

How to install macOS on a PC: tonymacx86

In order to create the macOS installer, yous'll need a Mac on which to download it from the App Store. Any Mac capable of running Mojave, the latest version of macOS, volition exercise. And if you're non certain if your Mac is capable or not, check our guides to identifying your Mac or checking its specs.

Finally, y'all'll need a tool to create the installer, and a USB stick to put it on. Make sure it'due south 8GB or bigger. If you're using a recent MacBook, MacBook Pro or MacBook Air, you'll need a USB-C flash drive (which you can get from Amazon or PC Globe, among other retailers).

One of the near popular installer cosmos tools is Unibeast. It's a free Mac app that creates an installer for macOS on a USB stick which is capable of being installed on an Intel PC. You'll need to register on tonymacx86.com to download information technology, simply once you lot've done that you're ready to go.

How to create the macOS installer

Contempo versions of macOS used to exist easily accessible on the Mac App Shop. Non any more. Search "Loftier Sierra", for example, and information technology won't turn upwards. Instead, click here for Loftier Sierra. To download macOS Mojave, click hither.

When you lot start downloading, System Preferences' Software Update will launch and testify the progress of the download. Expect for it to finish.

When information technology's finished, if you're downloading High Sierra on a Mac running Mojave, you can quit System Preferences and look for the High Sierra installer in your Applications binder. If you're downloading Mojave, download another version on a Mac that hasn't yet been upgraded to Mojave, otherwise it will just update your current version.

1. Get to tonymacx86.com, annals and download Unibeast. When it'south downloaded, install it as you would whatever other app.

How to install macOS on a PC: Disk Utility

2. Plug in the USB drive on which you lot want to install macOS and launch Disk Utility.

If the USB bulldoze currently has more than than 1 partition, click on the Partition tab and use the minus sign to reduce it to one partition occupying the fully capacity of the drive. Give the Sectionalization a name, make sure the format is Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and click 'Utilize'.

3. If the Scheme is set to GUID Partition Map, skip to step four. If non, click the Erase tab, alter information technology and printing Erase.

How to install macOS on a PC: Unibeast

four. Launch Unibeast and, in the first window, select the USB drive you just formatted as the destination for the installer. Click Proceed and step through the pages of the app until yous come to the one that asks y'all to cull the Os yous want to install. Click on Mojave or High Sierra, depending on which you want to install.

v. On the adjacent page, you'll exist asked to cull between ii kick modes, UEFI and Legacy. In about cases, you should choose UEFI. The exceptions are PCs that have an older motherboard that uses BIOS and not UEFI. If yours does, cull Legacy.

6. Once you've chosen the boot mode, you'll be asked to specify your PC's graphics card. If you have a PC with a recent Intel CPU, yous tin skip this step. It's only necessary for PCs with graphics cards which aren't compatible with macOS. If yours does, cull the option which best describes your graphics carte du jour.

How to install macOS on a PC: Unibeast

7. When you click Continue, Unibeast will begin installing on your USB stick. It can accept up to an hr, so yous'll demand to be patient. In the meantime, y'all tin become your PC ready by unplugging all USB devices and removing any internal difficult drives other than the one on which you want to install macOS.

When it's finished, download Multibeast and drag it on to the USB installer. Multibeast allows yous to configure the installation on your PC.

8. If your PC has integrated and detached graphics cards, remove the detached i. Finally, connect your monitor to your PC's DVI port if it has one. This tends to work ameliorate than HDMI or VGA.

9. You'll likewise need to gear up the PC motherboard's BIOS or UEFI. If your PC has a Gigabyte motherboard with BIOS, follow this guide. If it has a Gigabyte motherboard with UEFI, use this guide. If y'all haven't got a Gigabyte-branded motherboard, follow the guide at step 5 here.

How to install macOS on a PC: Unibeast

How to install macOS on the PC

You're now ready to brainstorm the installation. Let'southward proceed:

10. Plug in the USB stick on which you lot installed Unibeast and restart your PC. It should now boot into Unibeast and give yous the option of which bulldoze to install from. Use your PC's arrow keys to navigate to 'External' and press 'Enter.' The macOS installer should now start.

11. When information technology comes to selecting the drive on to which you want to install macOS, there may exist no options to cull from.

If that's the case, click the Utilities menu and, when Deejay Utility opens, choose the hard drive you want to install macOS on and click the Erase tab. Make certain Mac Os Extended (Journaled) is selected and the Scheme is prepare to GUID Sectionalisation Map, and then click Erase. When the bulldoze has erased, quit Disk Utility and the drive should be available to select from the installer.

12. Select the drive and step through the installer until macOS starts installing itself. After one-half an hour or so, it will terminate. When it'due south done, restart your PC, with the USB drive still plugged in. This time, the Unibeast boot carte will display the macOS kicking disk. Select it and your PC will boot into macOS.

One time it's installed, launch Multibeast and configure your settings.

Installing macOS on a PC is a hack, hence the name Hackintosh. As such, it's not officially supported past anyone. The guide higher up will work in most cases, if it doesn't, yous tin notice help here.

Creating an installer in Terminal

If y'all want more control over configurations and settings, you can create a USB installer manually using Terminal, and use Clover as the bootloader. Follow steps 1-3 above, to gear up your USB flash drive. Then launch Terminal.

1. In a Terminal window, type:

sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Mojave.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --book /Volumes/MyVolume

Replace "MyVolume" with the proper name of your USB flash drive. If you're installing High Sierra, replace "Mojave.app" with "High\ Sierra.app".

two. Press Return.

3. When prompted, blazon your administrator name and password.

4. When prompted, blazon 'y' to confirm you want to erase the drive.

five. When it's done, quit Concluding.

six. Download Clover.

7. Install Clover EFI (or Legacy for BIOS systems), selecting your USB installer as the target.

8. When it's done, navigate to /EFI/CLOVER/kexts/Other/ on the USB drive and download and add FkeSMC.kext.

You tin at present follow the instructions for Unibeast from step ten above to install macOS on your PC.

What about running macOS in a virtual machine?

The above method isn't the only way to run macOS on a Windows PC, but information technology is the nigh straightforward and the almost probable to be successful. You lot could, technically, install macOS using virtual auto software such equally VMWare Fusion or the gratuitous VirtualBox.

Even so, to do that, you'd demand a peculiarly created virtual image of the macOS version yous desire to install. And you'd need a trusted source to download it from. And once you've done it, the process isn't any more unproblematic than using the process above. In fact, in some ways it'south more complicated.

If you lot really want to utilize VirtualBox to run macOS on a PC, you can find more details hither. Nosotros tin't vouch for the virtual prototype linked to on that site, nor whether the process works. Given the potential pitfalls, information technology'south not a solution we'd recommend.