[chrisfitz]

Hello all

I have searched, and researched, and have finally decided to take the plunge into the hackintosh world.

I have a few questions, and a couple of confirmations on info that I think I have gotten.

-From what I have seen, the only way I can get 2gb of RAM direct from Dell is to order the 10vn, through the Small Business section, which come with Linux, no big deal. Is there any other build available that I can get 2gb, I have seen the videos of the install, and it scares me to take the whole thing apart for an extra gig.

-What USB drive would you suggest for the install process, I heard the faster the better, any suggestions on make and size?

-Has anyone streamed MLB's live baseball on a 10v?

Any other tips, suggestions, answers, etc. are greatly welcomed.

Thanks

[tchariya]

For USB drive, you need at least a 16gb one to be safe for OSX image.
As for Class, the faster the better....but it doesn't need to go beyond class 4.

[achmeingott]

Originally Posted by chrisfitz

Hello all

I have searched, and researched, and have finally decided to take the plunge into the hackintosh world.

I have a few questions, and a couple of confirmations on info that I think I have gotten.

-From what I have seen, the only way I can get 2gb of RAM direct from Dell is to order the 10vn, through the Small Business section, which come with Linux, no big deal. Is there any other build available that I can get 2gb, I have seen the videos of the install, and it scares me to take the whole thing apart for an extra gig.

-What USB drive would you suggest for the install process, I heard the faster the better, any suggestions on make and size?

-Has anyone streamed MLB's live baseball on a 10v?

Any other tips, suggestions, answers, etc. are greatly welcomed.

Thanks

the only way to purchase a 2 gig machine is to purchase one with ubuntu on it from dell. which is fine if you want to just put osx on it, but if you intend to dual-boot, i'd buy the machine with the os you want to dual-boot osx with. (you might check a dual-boot guide before you decided you want to, there are quite a few steps to it) but don't be intimidated by the ram upgrade videos...i was, but as long as you take your time, follow a video guide step by step and be careful, it's actually pretty painless.

as far as video goes, some sites are better than others. it tends to choke up a little when streaming really demanding hd videos. it handles youtube quality like a champ though.

[Aguas]

The brand of USB drive matters as well. I tried Sony and an older Tiger Direct and had no luck. Sandisk Cruzer and Cruzer Micro worked for me.

[browndogfred0215]

USB: You'd be fine with just an 8gb USB stick. Like Aguas, I've been using a Sandisk Cruzer for my "hackintosh" projects.....works like a champ.

MEMORY: When it really boils down to is, 1gb will be plenty for running OSX on a netbook....the additional memory isn't going to give you much noticable performance boosts. Not to mention, your Mini 10v will run a bit hotter with the additional memory from what I've read. Feel free to comb the forum for more info, but don't expect too much from that additional gig of memory.....but if ya go for it, follow a video, it looks gnarly but isn't that bad. I took mine apart just to check it out....haha.

VIDEO: achmeingott said it best in my opinion. For the most part, video is fine but there are some times when the mini 10v gets choppy with the playback.

Thats my 2 cents.

Good luck. This site is excellent and provides a wealth of info to help you if you run into any issues.

Cheers.

[chrisfitz]

Thanks for the replies, the memory was the big hangup for me, but then again my Mac Mini only shipped with 1gb, until I upped the RAM, and I was doing much more intensive stuff on it, ripping CDs, DVDs, Photos stuff, etc. But if I go with a windows version, then I can get the N wifi card, which is a plus.

I would use the machine mostly as a getaway machine, getaway from the kids, getaway from the wife (who has a home day care business), to search for a job, I was recently laid off, so I would be doing mostly, web surfing for jobs, iWork (Pages, Numbers), and MS Office application work.

Thanks for the answer on the USB drives, I heard that can make or break the whole thing.

Please correct me if I am wrong, but from what I have read and researched, all the main features work, cam, audio, wifi, etc. Does it support multitouch trackpad?

Thanks again for the help.

[Montala]

Hi Chrisfitz, and erlcome to the Forum!

Another make of USB drive which I have used successfully is the Lexar Jumpdrive Firefly, which were also a bit cheaper than some of the others... and I only used an 8GB one for the Snow Leopard image... but I did use TransMac for the transfer, which a lot of members have used successfully.

I can confirm also that (at least in my case) all the features you mentioned worked straight away, as does Skype, which I use quite a bit.

Not really sure about the multitouch trackpad though, as I use a Bluetooth mouse virtually all the time now, so I try and steer well clear of the trackpad!

[Slothtyper]

Originally Posted by browndogfred0215

MEMORY: When it really boils down to is, 1gb will be plenty for running OSX on a netbook....the additional memory isn't going to give you much noticable performance boosts.

VIDEO: achmeingott said it best in my opinion. For the most part, video is fine but there are some times when the mini 10v gets choppy with the playback.

Disregard this first statement and you won′t be bothered by the second.

[achmeingott]

multitouch does work, webcam works, the built in card reader works, wifi works, sound works, even the volume and brightness buttons work. the trackpad takes a little getting used to, but these guys have worked miracles on the trackpad drivers. after a few days you won't mind it at all. when you run netbookinstaller it automatically ties all the little loose ends and your machine will be at 100% functionality.

[chrisfitz]

Thanks again for all the info, now is the hard part of waiting for refub deal, though at $249, I might just do it, and not wait for the tax return...

One final question (for now), if I had an extra external USB hard drive, can I format that instead of getting a USB stick?