Update to HP Mini 311 Hackintosh

The brilliant guys (theproto et. al) from the HP Mini 311 Darwin Project at insanelymac have posted a new release named "HF4". You could burn the .ISO to a blank CD, or alternatively, for a more environmentally friendly solution, put it in USB stick.

What you need: (1) BootMyISO, (2) USB flashdrive - any size would do since the .ISO is only around 5 MB in size, and (3) HP Mini 311 Darwin Project current HF4 release
* This is done on a Windows PC

What to do:
1) Plugin your USB stick and run BootMyISO. Just follow the on screen instructions.

2) Access your USB flashdrive and put the HF4 .ISO in it. "HPM311DP_1109CHF4.iso".

3) Look for the "menu.lst" file and edit. Take out all the "#" comment before the lines in the "Test ISO" section. Then replace the name of the .ISO referred to in the file with "HPM311DP_1109CHF4.iso" and save the file. You can rename "Test ISO" to the name you prefer.

(I suggest using Notepad++ for a more intuitive, easier on the eyes editing).

You should now have a bootable USB stick with the release ISO to boot your retail Snow Leopard Install DVD with for your HP Mini 311 and continue with the installation as per usual procedure in the how-to guide.

EDIT: BootMyISO is now MultiBootISO. It's basically the same principle. Here's MultiBootISO's menu.lst file:

There are additional find and map parameters (--set-root, --mem) but it's essentially the same.

AirLife 100

HP's smartbook which runs on Android over SnapDragon technology is a promising machine. Personally I'm liking the build - I'm guessing it's about the same form factor as the HP Mini 1000 (not the Mini 110) as you can see from the hinge design and edge to edge glass LCD panel, also the profile seems as thin as that of the Mini 1000.

An interesting addition is the touch screen that's installed. And since the machine is based on Android, an OS that's essentially browser-centric, the old trackpad with buttons flanking its right and left sides instead of sitting below the trackpad surface like on most notebooks and netbooks, is redesigned with internet browsing in mind. The right button is divided into two: top part becomes a "Home" button and the bottom part resembles an "Back" key for going back to a webpage previously visited. The left button is now divided as well for left and right click. Good thing perhaps as you no longer have to traverse the trackpad surface to get to the other button for right click like before.

Visiting Hackintosh Shrines

image is actually for NetbookInstaller

And I meant "cyber shrines". Those links at the left sidebar, "Stuff to read" list, aren't merely there just to make this blog enticing according to a rule (I forgot which number it was) for blogging: "Readers love links. Link to other blogs and sites you find interesting." Not the exact words but works to an effect like that.
While that may probably be true - I, as a reader love links a lot - I look at my "Stuff to read" list as resources for the beginning hackintosher like me.

Remember this post about dual-booting Snow Leopard and Windows XP via Boot Camp Assistant on GPT (GUID Partition Table) formatted hard drive? I did that on my HP Mini 1000 and then forgot it almost completely so when I next tried to do it again, I was literally and utterly at lost when the Windows XP install process couldn't move beyond copying install files onto the designated partition.

Being the noob that I am, I resigned it all to the randomness of the whole hackintoshing exercise. But as it turns out, I was the random one - random whims of trying this and that and not documenting stuff to stay on top of the overwhelming surge of resources or lack thereof. The truth is, there's no such thing as "randomness" in the straightforward science of computing; it's clear and precise definition of 0's and 1's and it was only my addled brains that lacked the faculties to process what's laid before me to absorb.

It was no random thing that I'd been able to dual boot Snow Leo and Win XP on a GPT formatted hard drive. It was something called "gptsync".

What gptsync basically does is create a hybrid partition table from a GPT partition; that is MBR + GPT. I've forgotten that I used a USB installer which I'd made by restoring Snow Leopard Retail DVD on it and then making it bootable via NetbookBootMaker. Using this medium, I proceeded with the steps of installing Snow Leo on my then functioning HP Mini 1001TU and one of the steps in that process was to setup my partitions.

In short, I formatted my drive with gptsync feature from NetbookBootMaker. I was using gptsync all along and I never knew until now when I visited this "hackintosh shrine".