11/21/2014

CommonbootoptionsforChimera,Chameleon,Unibeast,Niresh,andmore

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IfyourHackintoshcan'tboot,changingyourbootoptionswithbootflagsmaybeyourlastchanceatgettingMacOSXto
start.Ifyoudon'tknow,"bootflags"areoptionsthatchangethewaythatyourbootloader(theprogramthatbootsMacOS
X)runsatstartup.ReadpastthebreakforlistofcommonbootflagsforiBoot,Unibeast,Chimera,Chameleon,andmore.
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LASTUPDATEDON:October27,2014

v
Themotherofallbootflags.Enteringvintothebootloaderturnsonverbosemode,whichisabsolutelycriticalforfixingany
Hackintoshissue.VerbosemodedisplayseverysingleprocessthattakesplaceduringyourbootupofMacOSX.Itcanbe
ratherintimidating,asitwilldisplayhundredsoflinesofcommandsduringthebootupprocess.However,ifyourHackintosh
isn'tbooting,thenverbosemodeshouldfreezeattheexactpointwherethebootupprocessistrippingup.Takeaphotoof
whatverbosemodesayswhenthebootupfreezes.YoucanthenpostthatphotoonaHackintoshforumtolookforhelp,or
trytousetheresultsofverbosemodetoguesswhatyourproblemisbyyourself.

x
Turnsonsafemode.MacOSXinsafemodeignoresallkextfilesandbootsettingsexceptthosewhichareabsolutely
necessarytobootingthesystem.Safemodeisusefulifyou'retryingtoruntheMacOSXinstalleronaPCthat'snotfully
compatiblewithMacOSX.Also,ifyouaccidentallyinstalledakextfilethat'smessingupyourHackintosh,bootinginto
safemodemayworkaroundtheproblem.Insafemode,youcanthenremovetheoffendingkextfrom/Extra/Extensionsin
yourmainharddrive(ifyou'rerunningMacOSXSnowLeopard),or/System/Library/Extensions(ifyou'rerunningMacOS
XLion,MountainLion,orMavericks).

http://www.macbreaker.com/2012/01/listofcommonhackintoshbootflags_29.html

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Commonbootoptionsfor
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11/21/2014

CommonbootoptionsforChimera,Chameleon,Unibeast,Niresh,andmore

F
Ifyou'veenteredsomeextrabootflagsintoorg.Chameleon.boot.plist,butthey'remessingupyourHackintosh'sbootloader,
entertheFbootflagtoignorethem.

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f
IgnoreskextcachesduringbootuponMacOSXSnowLeopard.Ifyoudidnotinstallakextproperly(usuallybecauseyou
forgottorunSystemUtilitiesinMultibeastafterinstallinganewkext),yourkextcachewillbedamaged,andMacOSX
mightbecomeunbootableunlessyouusethisbootflag.ThekextcachewasreplacedbythekernelcacheinMacOSX
Lion,sotheoretically,thefbootflagshouldnolongerworkhowever,thisbootflagcanstillhelpsomeHackintoshesboot
(forreasonsunknown).

ALLPOSTS
2014(8)
2013(19)
2012(103)
12/3001/06(1)

UseKernelCache=Yes

12/2312/30(3)

MacOSXLion,MountainLion,andMaverickscanusethekernelcachetoinstallkexts,allowingMacOSXtobootfaster.
However,thekernelcacheisturnedoffbydefault,andyouhavetoenableitbyusingthebootflag"UseKernelCache=Yes"
(withoutquotationmarks).InstallingEasybeast,UserDSDT,or"DSDTFreeInstallation"withMultibeastwillautomatically
turnthekernelcacheonforyou.IfMacOSXisbootingextremelyslowlyonyourHackintosh,thekernelcachemightbe
malfunctioning.Inaddition,somelaptopshavetroublewiththekernelcachefeature.Inthesecases,youcanturnthecache
offwith"UseKernelCache=No"(withoutquotationmarks).Turningoffthekernelcacheisequivalenttousingthe"f"
bootflaginSnowLeopard.

12/0212/09(1)
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10/0710/14(1)
09/2309/30(1)
09/1609/23(1)

PCIRootUID=1

09/0909/16(1)

SomeHackintosheswillonlybootwhentheir"PCIRootID"issetto0.ThisusuallyhappenswithHackintoshesthatusea
AMDRadeongraphicscard.Othertimes,aHackintoshwillonlybootwhenits"PCIRootID"issetto1.Insomecases,
thebootflag"PCIRootUID=1"willalsofixMacAppStoreverificationerrors.

08/2609/02(1)

GraphicsEnabler=No

07/2908/05(1)

ThisturnsGraphicsEnableroff/on(youcanset"No"to"Yes").GraphicsEnablerisafeaturethathelpsMacOSXwork
betterwithcertaingraphicscards.Thesedays,UnibeastturnsoffGraphicsEnablerbydefault,sincegraphicscardsfrom
NVIDIA's600and700seriesnolongerrequireGraphicsEnablertoworkwithMacOSX.However,mostothergraphics
cardsstillrequireGraphicsEnablertobeturnedononthesegraphicscards,turningthefeatureoffwillbreakDVDPlayer,
aswellasGeekbench,mostgames,mostvideoeditors,andcertainotherapps.

IGPEnabler=Yes
ThisturnsIGPEnableron/off(youcanset"Yes"to"No").IGPEnablerisafeaturesimilartoGraphicsEnablerthathelps
MacOSXworkbetterwithyourintegratedgraphics.WhileGraphicsEnablerwillalreadydothisnormally,ifyouneedto
turnoffGraphicsEnablerforsomereasonbutwanttokeepyourintegratedgraphicsworking,usethisbootflag.
Specifically,thisbootflagcanbeusefulifyouwanttouseanNVIDIA600or700seriescardinconjunctionwithyour
integratedgraphics(e.g.whenrunningAirPlayMirroring).

darkwake=0
TheDarkWakefeatureinMacOSXLion,MountainLion,andMavericksallowsyoutowakeupcertainpartsofyourMac
fromsleep,whileleavingotherpartsinsleepmode.Unfortunately,thisfeatureoftenmessesupsleeponHackintoshes.
Enterthisbootflagtoturnitoff(enterdarkwake=1toturniton,ifturningitoffdoesn'tdothetrick).Additionally,ifyour
verbosebootupisfreezingatabunchofcommandsthatmention"SleepEnabler.kext",enteringdarkwake=0shouldbeable
totemporarilyturnSleepEnabler.kextoff.(OnceyoubootintoOSX,besuretoremoveSleepEnabler.kextcompletelyby
deletingitfromeither/Extra/Extensionsor/System/Library/Extensionsinyourharddrive.)

npci=0x2000
npci=0x3000

08/1208/19(2)
08/0508/12(1)

07/2207/29(3)
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02/2603/04(3)

IfyourverbosemodebootupofMacOSXLionorMountainisfreezingat[PCIConfigurationBegin],enterthenpci=0x3000
bootflagtofixit.ThisflagisappliedbydefaultwhenyouinstallEasybeast,UserDSDT,or"DSDTFreeInstallation"with
Multibeast.Thebootflagnpci=0x2000doesthesamething,exceptthatitusuallyonlyworksforLion.

02/1902/26(2)

dart=0

01/2902/05(9)

DisablestheVTdvirtualizationtechnologybuiltintocertainIntelprocessors.ForHackintoshes,VTdisprettyuseless
virtuallynoMacOSXapplicationsuseit(virtualizationappslikeVirtualboxtendtousethealternativeVTxtechnology
instead),andcertainHackintoshmotherboardshavebeenknowntocrashinMacOSXwhenVTdisenabled.

cpus=1
LimitsMacOSXtousingonecoreofyourCPU.ThisbootflagisoftennecessarytolaunchtheMacOSXSnowLeopard
installationDVDonaHackintoshwithanunsupportedprocessor(ahem,AMDprocessors).InOSXMountainLionand
Mavericks,youmayalsohavetousethisbootflagifyourcomputerusesahighendIntelprocessoronLGA2011.

busratio=20
The20isreplacedwithyourCPU'sbusratio.Thisbootflagisusuallyusedwhenyou'reinstallingMacOSXSnowLeopard
onaprocessorthat'snotsupported(onceagain,AMDprocessors).SnowLeopardsupportsmoreprocessorsthanitused
to,sothisbootflagisn'tascommonasbefore.Youcanfindalistofbusratiosfor2010modelIntelprocessorshere.You
canalsofindyourbusratiomanually.

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arch=i386
ForcesMacOSXtobootinto32bitmode.Sometimes,yourCPUorgraphicscardwon'tbefullysupportedinOSXunless
youbootinto32bitmode.UnlikeinWindows,bootingthe32bitkernelforMacOSXdoesnotlimityourtotalamountof

http://www.macbreaker.com/2012/01/listofcommonhackintoshbootflags_29.html

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11/21/2014

CommonbootoptionsforChimera,Chameleon,Unibeast,Niresh,andmore

RAMto4GB,andyoucanstillrun64bitapplications.However,singleapplicationscannotuseupmorethan4GBof
RAM,sothisisadisadvantageifyoudoprofessionalvideoediting,orsomethingelsethattakesupalotofRAM.

arch=x86_64
AllowsMacOSXtobootinto64bitmode.MacOSXSnowLeopard(andallversionsbeyondit)willbootinto64bitmode
bydefault.Nowadays,thisbootflagismainlyusedonAMDHackintoshes,wherechoosingbetween32bitmodeand64bit
modeisactuallyimportant.

legacy
Forcesthe"userland"ofMacOSXtobootinto32bitmode.MacOSXisdividedintotwoparts:the"kernel",whereOSX
communicateswithyourcomputer'shardware,andthe"userland",whereeverythingelseruns.Bootflagslike"arch=i386"
and"arch=x86_64"affectthekernel,butwhenrunningMacOSXLionwithcertainmodifiedkernels,AMDHackintoshes
oftenneeda32bituserlandinadditiontoa32bitkernel.Inthiscase,youneedtouse"legacy"atthesametimeas
"arch=i386"(bothwithoutquotationmarks).

force64
Forcesthe"userland"ofMacOSXtobootinto64bitmode.MacOSXisdividedintotwoparts:the"kernel",whereOSX
communicateswithyourcomputer'shardware,andthe"userland",whereeverythingelseruns.Bootflagslike"arch=i386"
and"arch=x86_64"affectthekernel,butwhenrunningMacOSXSnowLeopard,AMDHackintoshesoftenneeda32bit
kernelanda64bituserland.Inthiscase,youneedtouse"force64"atthesametimeas"arch=i386"(bothwithout
quotationmarks).

nossse3bit
EnablesSSSE3emulationforAMDHackintoshes.EversinceMacOSXLion,MacOSXhasrequiredtheSSSE3
instructionsettorunproperly.However,AMDdidn'taddSSSE3totheirprocessorsuntil2011,meaningthatonlyAMD
processorswitha"FX"intheirmodelnumber(e.g.FX4100)nativelysupporttheinstructionsneededbyMacOSX.Ifyour
computerusesanolderAMDprocessor(i.e.anythingfromtheAthlonorPhenomlines),youmayhavetousethisbootflag
toenable"emulation"oftheinstructionsinstead.

mach_kernel
/System/Library/Kernels/kernel
Locatesthekernel("mach_kernel"),animportantbootfileforMacOSX.IfyourHackintosh'sverbosemodesaysthatit
can'tfindmach_kernelforsomereason,enteringthisbootflagwillhelpthebootloaderfindit.Thekerneliseitherfoundat
theverybaseoftheOSXfilesystem,orin/System/Library/Kernels/kernelifyou'reusingOSXYosemite.Ifyouactually
movedthekernelsomewhereelseinyourharddrive,change"mach_kernel"towhereverthekernelislocated.Forexample,
ifthekernelisintheExtrafolderofyourmainharddrive,enterthebootflag"/Extra/mach_kernel"(withoutquotation
marks).Ifyourkernelisnamedsomethingdifferent,youcanchangethebootflagaccordingly.Forexample,ifyourkernelis
named"cheesecake"insteadof"mach_kernel",enterthebootflag"cheesecake"(withoutquotationmarks)instead.
SEEALSO:HowtousebootflagsonyourHackintosh

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