Sidecar is that spiffy new feature that allows you to extend your Mac desktop to an iPad. It’s cool but only officially supports the following devices;
Once you're done with the 'Customize' page, install Mavericks. This will take at least 30 minutes. Boot into Mac OS X. Once the installation finishes, remove your Niresh USB drive, and restart your computer. At the boot screen, you'll see an icon for the hard drive where you installed Mavericks. Yosemite / Mavericks / Mountain Lion on Unsupported Mac. This page is dedicated to Sfott, this “little” piece of code I did to automate the creation of USB key with the boot.efi from Tiamo’s of MacRumors. This script aims to prepare a USB or disc media for Unsupported 32bit based Macs that are not eligibles for Mavericks or Mountain Lion.
- Any 27-inch iMac from Late 2015 or newer
- Any iMac Pro
- All MacBook Pros since 2016
- 2018 MacBook Air
- Early 2016 12-inch MacBook (or newer of course)
- 2018 Mac mini
- 2019 Mac Pro
Here’s the thing, those limitations are set based on performance of the machine. The /System/Library/PreferencePanes/Sidecar.prefPane actually shows support for a couple of keys that allow you to use Sidecar even if your device isn’t one of these. Buyer beware though, if you end up with performance issues then run the same commands swapping out true with false and reboot.
In this video, we're going to install Mountain Lion (OS X 10.8) on an unsupported Core 2 Duo MacBook. This guide applies to the MacBook 2,1 through 4,1 and c. Update January 2 2015Go to for more information.
First, we’ll set the AllowAllDevices key in the com.apple.sidecar.display defaults domain too true. This will enable the preference for all computers that can run macOS Catalina (otherwise you won’t have the Sidecar.prefPane and supporting frameworks).
defaults write com.apple.sidecar.display AllowAllDevices -bool true
Install Mavericks On Unsupported Mac
The preference pane was hidden, so we’ll go ahead and unhide it (I’ve found this optional with a reboot, but I’m not patient enough to reboot these days!). To do this we’ll write the hasShownPref key into the same defaults domain as the last command and set it to true:
defaults write com.apple.sidecar.display hasShownPref -bool true
After a reboot the preference pane should appear as usual, but you can open it manually in the meantime using a simple open command followed by the path to the .prefPane:
Download Os X Mavericks 10.9.0
open /System/Library/PreferencePanes/Sidecar.prefPane
This doesn’t allow you to use any old iPad though. Sidecar supports the following iPads:
How To Install Mavericks On Unsupported Mac
- iPad Air (3rd generation)
- iPad mini (5th generation)
- iPad (6tth and 7th generation)
- iPad Pro 12.9-inch (1st and 2nd generation)
- iPad Pro 10.5-inch
- iPad Pro 9.7-inch
If you want to use an unsupported iPad, check out https://github.com/pookjw/SidecarPatcher.
To then use AirPlay:
Os X 10.9 Mavericks Download
- Click on the AirPlay icon in the menu bar on your Mac or that Sidecar Preference Pane (Sidecar.prefPane).
- Click on the iPad.
- Drag a window to the iPad.
You can also mirror instead. In that case just click on the button to mirror. You should then have the “Move to <NAME OF IPAD> iPad” option when you click on the green jelly (the green circle in the top left corner of the title bar). That button is your buddy. As is the sidebar you see on the iPad. There you have options to show the dock, show a keyboard, undo, etc.
If all this causes performance issues on an older unsupported computer, run this command to undo it (or just delete the keys):
defaults write com.apple.sidecar.display AllowAllDevices -bool false
; defaults write com.apple.sidecar.display hasShownPref -bool false
Any other tips on Sidebar, or if you figured out how to use any old iPad, feel free to comment!
This update includes:
How To Install Mavericks On Unsupported Macs
Fixes adfly URL issues- Improves some error messages (makes them more explicit)
Fixes some minor UI issues/glitches
Fixes log files not appearing!
Add some verbosity to the install process (for logs)
Download Os X Mavericks Installer
MacPostFactor v2.0
This version is huge! It features many improvements everywhere! Anyway, in this version, you'll find:
Other Features in Previous Versions:
Mavericks On Unsupported Mac
OS X El Capitan support- Ability to use a smaller Recovery (≈ 600MB instead of 5GB)with no compromises on available features
Bluetooth Audio FIX on 32bit ML Hack- Better MacPostFactor UI and UX
New Preferences Window- New Customise button- Search again for Install OS X _ _ _.app by a click of a button
Nicer interface- Nicer switching animations- Better MacPostFactor App
Better code organization
Snow Leopard Compatibility (BETA)
Contributors now working! Donate to figure on the list!
Ability to change the USB name when erasing it
New feature: 'One click install'
Really fixes Paypal donation link
Fixes USB space check (total space instead of left space)
Fixes ton of other minor bugs
Reduces the energy footprint when creating USB Installers
Better OSXHackers Preview boot logo
Better logs in case of error
OS X Mav+ kernels are now stored online (reduces MacPostFactor's size and allows MLforAll to add a new kernel without updating the MacPostFactor app itself)
Improved the Hacking Process
No more Error Code 3- Use of kernelcache whenever possible
Fixes USB installers not booting
Improved MacPostFactor 'side-apps' (recovery apps)
Better MacPostFactor Services Init- Better OS X Manager with SIP management support
MUCH BETTER 'MacPostFactor OS X Installer” (active progress bar.. support for ML and Mav...)
'About MCPF.app' and 'Dock Glass Effect Manager.app' replaced by 'MacPostFactor Utilities.app' that also adds new tweaks!