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Dell E7440 and E7240 Hackintosh

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Re: Dell E7440 and E7240 Hackintosh

#31

Post by wtallis »

neilv wrote: post #29
yumraj wrote: post #18

The one issue I've always had with Hackintosh, is that while the main OS is from Apple it invariably requires using some 3rd party bootloaders, kexts and other files. And, this to me always raises the issue of security and whether they contain, or can contain, any backdoors/malwares. Part of it could be my paranioa, but I never got a good answer to satisfy me.

Most of the alternative Android distros/builds (other than for devices supported by LineageOS at the moment) have similar provenance problems, in my experience with many devices: XDA-developers usually told me to just download and run/install these binaries from some strange file-sharing site. Not only is that highly questionable practice, but it seems to relieve much of the demand for more reasonable solutions. Whic…

This tends to also apply to OpenWRT vs almost all other third-party router firmware distributions. But at least for router distros, some of the maintainers of custom builds earn a fairly solid reputation and eventually build a project that approaches the degree of organization that's typical for desktop Linux distros. I think phone OS distros have to change targets too often the really get there.

Re: Dell E7440 and E7240 Hackintosh

#32

Post by neilv »

wtallis wrote: post #31
neilv wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most of the alternative Android distros/builds (other than for devices supported by LineageOS at the moment) have similar provenance problems, in my experience with many devices: XDA-developers usually told me to just download and run/install these binaries from some strange file-sharing site. Not only is that highly questionable practice, but it seems to relieve much of the demand for more reasonable solutions. Whic…

This tends to also apply to OpenWRT vs almost all other third-party router firmware distributions. But at least for router distros, some of the maintainers of custom builds earn a fairly solid reputation and eventually build a project that approaches the degree of organization that's typical for desktop Linux distros. I think phone OS distros have to change targets too often the really get there.

Good point. The Linux ecosystem is much more amenable to that than chasing whatever Android does. Also, the popular home router hardware is more amenable than most handhelds (which often locked bootloaders, signed images, and lots of unsustainable closed drivers).

Re: Dell E7440 and E7240 Hackintosh

#33

Post by yumraj »

wtallis wrote: post #31
neilv wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most of the alternative Android distros/builds (other than for devices supported by LineageOS at the moment) have similar provenance problems, in my experience with many devices: XDA-developers usually told me to just download and run/install these binaries from some strange file-sharing site. Not only is that highly questionable practice, but it seems to relieve much of the demand for more reasonable solutions. Whic…

This tends to also apply to OpenWRT vs almost all other third-party router firmware distributions. But at least for router distros, some of the maintainers of custom builds earn a fairly solid reputation and eventually build a project that approaches the degree of organization that's typical for desktop Linux distros. I think phone OS distros have to change targets too often the really get there.

For my DD-WRT build I struggled in a similar way, since a compromised router can do a lot of damage. In the end it seemed "kong" had a good reputation and decided to get his/her build, but it wasn't an easy decision.

Re: Dell E7440 and E7240 Hackintosh

#34

Post by sys_64738 »

The finicky bits of a Hackintosh were always the trackpad support, wifi card, and longevity of the battery. I tried a hackintosh for a year but it felt like I was always tinkering with the config like you do/did with Linux installs.

Re: Dell E7440 and E7240 Hackintosh

#35

Post by miles »

t34543 wrote: post #6
yborg wrote: post #5

Nice packaged solution, if your problem is that you need to run macOS on a five year old midrange Dell notebook. If you are just looking for a cheap macOS solution, 2012 Minis seems to go for around $250 on eBay ...

The next macOS release will probably be incompatible with 2012 minis.

It's compatible:

https://www.macrumors.com/2019/06/03/macos-catalina-compatib...

Re: Dell E7440 and E7240 Hackintosh

#36

Post by [deleted] »

the8472 wrote: post #23
yumraj wrote: post #18

The one issue I've always had with Hackintosh, is that while the main OS is from Apple it invariably requires using some 3rd party bootloaders, kexts and other files. And, this to me always raises the issue of security and whether they contain, or can contain, any backdoors/malwares. Part of it could be my paranioa, but I never got a good answer to satisfy me.

How is that all that different from any other software you download? With 100s of dependencies any one of them could be malicious and just wait for the next privilege escalation attack and achieve the same persistence level as a malicious kernel module.

[deleted]

Re: Dell E7440 and E7240 Hackintosh

#37

Post by wolph »

McAtNite wrote: post #22
wolph wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You've obviously never tried an apple laptop. Over the years nearly all of the components of my 2012 mbp retina have been replaced several times. The only things that are still original are the ssd and the bottom plate. Motherboard issues within a year, weak hinges, battery failing within 2 years, power cables failing every 9 months. In all my years of using laptops (15 years before I got the apple) I've never had a…

For sake of comparison I also have a retina 2012 MPB, and it’s been rock solid. Aside from one OS reinstall for AFS I’ve never had any issues.

Glad to hear that there are people not plagued with the issues I've had. Perhaps I've been very unlucky but even though I've loved using the laptop, the amount of hardware issues I've had made me want to go back to my thinkpads before.

Not saying thinkpads are perfect, but at least they mostly favor quality over design.

Re: Dell E7440 and E7240 Hackintosh

#38

Post by jki275 »

p1necone wrote: post #30
mlevental wrote: post #2

hubris https://i.imgur.com/z3E3rLY.png The problem with all of these builds is you're damning yourself to working on top shifting sands and either committing yourself to rooting around in Mac OS plumbing (which I'm sure isn't documented well or even wholly exposed) or hoping the community patches things.

I'll take that over the absurd amount of money I'd have to otherwise pay for a mac system. All so that they will graciously allow me to to develop software for their other, totally unrelated mobile OS.

OSX/MacOS and iOS are the same operating system.

They look different because they have different gui layers, but are otherwise the same.

Re: Dell E7440 and E7240 Hackintosh

#39

Post by diffeomorphism »

tinus_hn wrote: post #9
t34543 wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The next macOS release will probably be incompatible with 2012 minis.

All MacOS releases are incompatible with all Dell laptops.

Dumb question, but can you force the install of newer than supported macOS versions on unsupported apple hardware? Otherwise, these laptops seem more compatible, just not officially blessed to be so.

Re: Dell E7440 and E7240 Hackintosh

#40

Post by liquid9 »

diffeomorphism wrote: post #39
tinus_hn wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All MacOS releases are incompatible with all Dell laptops.

Dumb question, but can you force the install of newer than supported macOS versions on unsupported apple hardware? Otherwise, these laptops seem more compatible, just not officially blessed to be so.

Yup you can, just need to make an installer drive. There's a tool for macOS that does this for you.
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