A Failed Experience of Installing Hackintosh#
Recently, the WeChat Mini Program University Developer Contest has started again. I eagerly opened the WeChat Developer Tools that have been sitting idle on my computer for a long time. Since I didn't have a good idea at the moment, I continued to tinker with my blog mini program. I remembered a bug in the WeChat Developer Tools before, where there was an error when generating a QR code for previewing the mini program on a phone after compiling it on a Mac. This error didn't occur on Windows. After some investigation, I found a few lines of problematic code and resolved the issue.
I started working on adding comment moderation functionality to the mini program. After two busy days, I finally finished writing the functions and added Tencent Cloud Development Kit to my mini program. I also replaced the API for obtaining user information. The process was quite agonizing, but the sense of accomplishment after completion made me feel that the frustration of the past two days was worth it. The blog mini program has been updated and is now live. Feel free to give it a try~
Back to the main topic, during the use of Hackintosh, I found it more convenient. The optimization and aesthetics of Mac really appealed to me more than Windows. However, the screen of my laptop is too small, and in order to achieve better display effects, I scaled up the Hackintosh, which made coding very cramped. So, I thought about buying a monitor. I looked through the BenQ monitors that I had been eyeing before. The price for a 1980*1080 resolution monitor was around 1000 yuan. Suddenly, I thought about buying a 2k monitor. After searching around, I found the 2770qz that has been released for a while, which seemed great with its narrow bezels, intelligent dimming, and eye protection mode. Finally, I placed an order on Xianyu (a second-hand trading platform) for one, which cost me 1500 yuan. It was a bit expensive, but the seller seemed reliable. Fortunately, everything was normal when I received and used it, and there were no issues.
At this point, a problem arose. My Hackintosh couldn't use the HDMI interface. People in the group said that I needed a Type-C to HDMI adapter to connect an external monitor. Alright, I spent money again to buy an adapter. While waiting for the adapter to arrive, I chatted in the group and found out that someone was already using Big Sur (the latest 11th generation Mac system) and there were ready-made EFI files (the core boot files for Hackintosh). I was tempted, but a frustrating experience was just about to begin.
Since I had experience installing Hackintosh before, I easily prepared a USB installation disk and encountered mysterious problems during the installation process. In the end, I somehow lost the boot for Windows as well :@(sweat). I couldn't find a method to fix the boot online, and I remembered encountering the same situation during my previous Hackintosh installation. Alright, just like last time, I'll reinstall Windows :@(frown). But then, another problem arose.
I used the Windows official tool to create a Windows installation USB, but it kept giving me an error when it came to selecting a disk ("We couldn't create a new partition or locate an existing one"). There wasn't a clear explanation online (I have to complain again about those tutorials that randomly modify files). Using a Windows PE (Preinstallation Environment) didn't work either. I started to doubt my life choices, even though I had installed Windows dozens of times before.
Finally, I figured out the problem from a tutorial on Bilibili about installing Windows using a Windows PE.
If you encounter an error message saying "We couldn't create a new partition or locate an existing one" after selecting a disk, it is because there is a conflict between the partitions of the main disk and the auxiliary disk. The solution is to delete all the partitions on the auxiliary disk, install the system, and then partition the auxiliary disk after entering the system. If you have data on the auxiliary disk and don't want to delete the partitions, then disconnect the auxiliary disk first before installing, and you won't encounter the error.
I used the most effective method, which was to open my laptop, remove the two hard drives that were not used for installing Windows, and only keep the system drive. I entered the installation interface again, and everything went smoothly :@(thumbs up).
A Summary in the Comment Section:#
Regarding 4K alignment, if you use the partition tool provided by Microsoft, it will automatically align to 4K without any operation required from you. When using a partition tool in Windows PE, selecting alignment to a multiple of this sector means aligning to 4K. The values 2048 and 4096 are both 4K alignments, and it doesn't have to be 4096.
When converting between MBR and GUID partition styles using a partition tool, if it prompts that the professional version is required, it means that there are partitions on your disk. To convert using the free version, you must delete all the partitions on the disk.
If you encounter an error message saying "We couldn't create a new partition or locate an existing one" after selecting a disk, it is because there is a conflict between the partitions of the main disk and the auxiliary disk. The solution is to delete all the partitions on the auxiliary disk, install the system, and then partition the auxiliary disk after entering the system. If you have data on the auxiliary disk and don't want to delete the partitions, then disconnect the auxiliary disk first before installing, and you won't encounter the error.
Some people have also reported that after installing the system, they can only see one C drive. This may be due to a bug in disk drive letter assignment. Open "My Computer," right-click "Manage," go to "Disk Management," delete all the drives after the D drive, and then create a new simple volume. Just input the capacity and click next blindly, and it will be displayed again.
If you encounter freezing, blue screen, errors, or can't enter Windows PE, can't load the system, or the progress bar doesn't move during the installation process, first try remaking the Windows PE and redownloading the installation package. If it still doesn't work, try changing the USB drive. Remember not to use low-quality USB drives that can't even be named properly. The installation process involves a lot of data changes, and a poor-quality USB drive can't guarantee data integrity.
Several Q&A#
Why does the WeChat Mini Program compile without errors but show an error when generating the preview QR code?#
Solution: Generally, this is caused by the wxss file's stylesheet code not being standardized. I also found a few lines of code that were causing errors but seemed normal. I mentioned this in the WeChat Developer Community. (mp://H8WTsreTFNnfFBE) Copy the link and open it in WeChat to see.
When installing Windows, why does it prompt "We couldn't create a new partition or locate an existing one" when selecting a disk?#
Solution: If the partition format (GPT or MBR) of the corresponding hard drive is not the issue, it is likely a mysterious interference between multiple hard drives in the computer. Try removing the hard drive that is not used for installing the system and try again. In most cases, the error will disappear.
How to convert a hard drive to the GPT (GUID) partition format?#
Solution: In Windows PE, use DiskGenius to delete all partitions on the hard drive, save the changes, and then right-click the hard drive to convert it to the GPT format. Video demonstration
How to use the wx.getUserInfo() interface?#
Solution: Click here to go to the experience post on the Yangzhi Forum