How to use Multibeast 6: a comprehensive guide for Mavericks

Recently, tonymacx86 released Multibeast 6, a version of Multibeast customized specifically for OS X Mavericks, Apple's newest version of Mac OS X. Unlike previous versions of Multibeast, which were really just glorified installer packages, Multibeast 6 has been recoded as a standalone OS X application. The selection layout has been drastically revamped, and all Mountain Lion-specific options have been removed. Unsure what to do? This guide is here to help. 

Multibeast, by tonymacx86, is a essentially an installer bundled with a lot of kext files for Hackintoshes. When you're setting up Mac OS X, it can be a huge time saver. By using Multibeast, you don't have to find, download, and install every single kext file that your Hackintosh needs, one by one. Multibeast has it all. However, the problem with Multibeast's all-in-one method is that there are simply too many options to make sense of. In this guide, I'm going to explain the function of several important options in Multibeast.

NOTE: You have to register on tonymacx86.com to download Multibeast and related apps. After installing anything in Multibeast, you should reboot your Hackintosh to see if the changes worked.



Quick Start -> Easybeast/UserDSDT/DSDT-Free

These options are the cornerstone of the tonymacx86 method; installing any of these three options will enable Mac OS X to boot from the hard drive of your Hackintosh, without any extra assistance.

UserDSDT is the best option if your motherboard has a DSDT file available. DSDT files are configuration files that customize Mac OS X to work with your specific motherboard. If your motherboard has a DSDT file available in the DSDT section of tonymacx86, use it. (You can also create your own DSDT file with MaciASL, although this is usually unnecessary.) To install UserDSDT on Mac OS X this way, you first have to download the appropriate DSDT file onto your Hackintosh. Then you open Multibeast, and select the UserDSDT option; Multibeast will ask you to select your DSDT file, and you'll be good to go.

When installing UserDSDT with a DSDT file, make sure that your motherboard has the right BIOS version, or the DSDT file won't work. For example, a DSDT file for version F4 won't work if your motherboard has version F1. Read this to learn how to update your BIOS version.

DSDT Free is the best option if you have a newer Gigabyte-brand motherboard that uses UEFI instead of BIOS. For these motherboards, you don't need a DSDT file. You can just install DSDT Free in Multibeast without doing anything else beforehand. If you have a non-Gigabyte motherboard that uses UEFI, it's the same deal, except that you will have to install a patched version of your motherboard BIOS in addition to DSDT Free.

Easybeast is similar to UserDSDT, except it tries to remove the need for a DSDT file by installing some extra kext files. If your motherboard doesn't have a DSDT file available for it and isn't a motherboard with UEFI, try installing Easybeast instead. Easybeast will break sleep mode and speedstepping (CPU power management).

Drivers -> Audio

All of the motherboards recommended by tonymacx86 use Realtek Audio. To enable sound on these motherboards, you'll want to install the Realtek ALC8xx kexts. Luckily, the Realtek ALC8xx section of Multibeast 5 is pretty straightforward.

All you need to know is the audio codec of your motherboard. You can find your audio codec by Googling the model of your motherboard. The first Google result will be the motherboard's official product page. The audio codec is usually found under the "Specifications" section, or some other similarly-named section. For example, my Hackintosh has a Gigabyte GA-P67A-D3-B3 motherboard. According to the official product page, this motherboard uses the Realtek 889 codec.

Once you've found your audio codec, choose the corresponding option in Multibeast. Each codec as two different possible setups: one for Hackintoshes that use a DSDT file, and one for Hackintoshes that don't. On my own Hackintosh, I used a DSDT file, so I would choose ALC889 under the "With DSDT" section to enable audio.

If you have a motherboard that doesn't use the Realtek audio codec (or it has an unsupported codec version), you'll have to go with the VoodooHDA kexts. VoodooHDA enables sound for a wide variety of motherboards, but it's not very reliable. Install just one of the versions and reboot to see if it works well for you. If not, remove the kext by going to /System/Library/Extensions in your hard drive and deleting VoodooHDA.kext. Then try another version.

Drivers -> Disk

Almost all hard drives should work with Mac OS X by default, but you still might encounter glitches here and there. These kexts fix hard drive-related problems.

For example, on some Hackintoshes, your hard drives will show up as orange external drives on your desktop. Install IOAHCI Block Storage Injector to fix that (this kext should be unnecessary on Hackintoshes that use UserDSDT or DSDT Free).

You can also install TRIM Enabler to enable TRIM in Mac OS X, which is a critical feature for SSD drives.

Drivers -> Graphics

These days, many graphics cards work out of the box in Mac OS X, without the need for extra drivers. As a result, there isn't much to see in the Graphics section of Multibeast. Check out our graphics card guide for more details.

Right now, the only thing in this section is the Intel Graphics Patch for Mixed Configurations. Intel's 2nd-generation "Sandy Bridge" processors are compatible with their 3rd-generation "Ivy Bridge" motherboards. The same is true the other way around: Ivy Bridge processors are also compatible with Sandy Bridge motherboards. However, building your Hackintosh with these mixed configurations prevents your processor's integrated graphics from working properly in Mac OS X. You need to install this patch to fix the problem.

Drivers -> Miscellaneous/System

The Miscellaneous and System sections contain kexts that fix random issues in Mac OS X. In Multibeast 6, the difference between these two sections is very unclear, so I've included explanations for both sections.

NullCPUPowerManagement (NCPM) fixes boot errors caused by Apple's CPU power management service. These errors happen on Hackintoshes that aren't using UserDSDT or DSDT Free. Installing NCPM breaks sleep mode and speed-stepping (CPU power management). This kext is installed by default when you run Easybeast.

The FakeSMC Plugins are a set of plugins that enable system-monitoring apps to read your Hackintosh's CPU temperature and GPU temperature.

Installing USB 3.0 - Universal enables USB 3.0 support on Hackintoshes. In the past, USB 3.0 was a rather hit-and-miss feature for Hackintoshes: it worked for some people, and caused booting errors for others. Support has gotten better over time, however. These days, you can usually expect USB 3.0 to work as long as you install these drivers.

If you're using an older mouse or keyboard that doesn't connect to your Hackintosh with a USB port, install PS/2 Keyboard/Mice.

Patched Apple Intel CPU Power Management is an alternative to NullCPUPowerManagement. It does the same thing as NCPM, except it doesn't break sleep mode or speed-stepping. However, these patches are version-specific, so every time you update Mac OS X, you'll have to install a new version of the patch.

Mac OS X Lion 10.7.4 removed support for X58 motherboards, making Hackintoshes that use these motherboards unable to boot without help in Mountain Lion, even after installing UserDSDT, DSDT Free, or Easybeast. 10.6.8 Rollback for ASUS X58 System fixes these booting problems.

Also, many non-Gigabyte motherboards encountered booting problems in OS X Mountain Lion version 10.8.2 due to driver incompatibilities. If your Hackintosh cannot boot normally after updating Mac OS X, boot into OS X with the help of your Unibeast USB drive (or whatever installer USB drive you used), and install 10.8.1 Rollback.

Drivers -> Network

These kexts should enable connecting to the internet on your Hackintosh, via an Ethernet cord. To find out which kext you need to install, you need to know what ethernet controller your motherboard has.

Different manufacturers use different controllers; check what controller your motherboard uses by Googling its name (or model number) to find the official manufacturer webpage for it. Most manufacturers list the ethernet controller of a motherboard under the "Specifications" section of its official page.

If your motherboard uses the Realtek 8100 series of Ethernet controllers, try installing Realtek - AppleRTL8169Ethernet first. If that doesn't work, try installing Lnx2Mac's Realtek driver instead, which works better for some people. Meanwhile, Shailua's ethernet kext works on motherboards with an Atheros AR8100 series ethernet controller, and hnak's ethernet kext works on motherboards with an Intel 82500 series ethernet controller.

Customization -> Boot Options

Most of the options in this section make edits to org.Chameleon.boot.plist, a settings file that configures how your Hackintosh boots. If you want, you can also make all of these changes manually. Check out our list of common boot options for more details.

Installing 1080p will tell Mac OS X to display the Apple bootscreen at 1920x1080 resolution during start up. This feature is not supported on all graphics cards (to enable it on unsupported NVIDIA cards, read our guide on editing VESA resolutions). In addition, this feature only works once you enable full graphics support on your Hackintosh.

If you want your Hackintosh to let your choose your own hard drive at the bootscreen instead of just automatically loading Mac OS X, you can install Instant Menu to fix that.

Customization -> System Definitions

System Definitions pretend that your Hackintosh is a real Mac. The Mac Pro (3,1) system definition is installed by default with UserDSDT, DSDT Free, and Easybeast.

Occasionally, a certain System Definition will make your Hackintosh run a lot slower than it should. Geekbench is a good benchmark to compare your Hackintosh against other Hackintoshes and Macs (the free trial lasts forever). If you feel that your Geekbench score is unusually slow compared to Hackintoshes or Macs with similar hardware, try installing a different System Definition.

Generally, any system definition will work. The only exceptions are the the Mac Pro (4,1) and Mac Pro (5,1) system definitions, which cause booting problems. If you insist on installing either of these two system definitions, be sure to remove AppleTyMCEDriver.kext and AppleGraphicsPowerManagement.kext from /System/Library/Extensions beforehand (the system definitions mess up these two kexts).

If you want to enable the built-in HD3000 graphics of your Intel Sandy Bridge processor, the built-in HD4000 graphics of your Intel Ivy Bridge processor, or AirPlay mirroring, then you should install the Mac mini system definition.

Build -> Install

Once you have selected the appropriate options for your Hackintosh, click on the "Build" tab. This page will list all of the options that you have selected. Click on the "Install" button to began the installation-- most of the time, the installation will take a few minutes to complete.

Remember, Multibeast does not allow you to uninstall options. If you want to uninstall any of the kexts from Multibeast, you will have to manually remove them from /System/Library/Extensions in your hard drive. As a corollary, you do not have to reinstall your previously-installed options every time you run Multibeast-- since Multibeast cannot uninstall anything, its effect is cumulative.

RELATED: How to use Multibeast 5: a comprehensive guide for Mountain Lion