In this article, I will cover three Operating System (OS) for the Raspberry Pi (RPi), preferably the RPi 4. These Operating Systems are not truly MacOS or Windows 10, but a desktop with the look and feel of a Mac or Windows system. The look of a Mac or Windows is truly ‘screen deep'.
All of the Operating Systems covered in this article are based on the Raspbian Buster OS. Do note that this OS is 32-bit, but these options are extremely elegant.
The Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 comes in two main flavors: one with built-in eMMC storage, and one without it. If you opt for a Compute Module 4 with built-in eMMC storage, and you want to write a new OS image to the Compute Module, or manually edit files on the boot volume, you can do that just the same as you would a microSD card—but you. On this tutorial I show you how to run Mac OS 9 on your Raspberry PI, I have also included a compiled version of pearpc if you feel adventurous enought to ru.
- Twister OS for Raspberry Pi 4 & Twister UI for Additional Hardware. Enjoy the same experience on all supported devices.
- Twister is best installed on a Raspberry Pi 4, although it can run on the Raspberry Pi 3B+. You'll need a larger than usual microSD card-32GB is a good option. Install Twister OS on Your Pi's SD Card To install Twister OS, first head to the site and download the ISO.
Anyone that has a Raspberry Pi system has most likely installed and used Raspbian. The OS is the ‘default' OS that comes with the Raspberry Pi if an SD card came with the board. It is the first download on the RaspberryPi.org website's Download page (here). It is now called 'Raspberry Pi OS' instead of Raspbian.
The three Operating Systems are as follows:
- iRaspbian - MacOS Desktop
- Raspbian X Night Hawk - Windows 10
- Twister OS - MacOS/Win95-XP-10 (switchable)
Let's look at these in a little more detail.
NOTE: Be aware that these OS images are being removed from the Internet. The Twister OS has a Home Page and hopefully, it remains available for download. If you want these images, you should find and download them as soon as you can.
iRaspbian
The OS has the appearance of MacOS, as shown in Figure 1. Everything from the startup sound to the desktop is straight MacOS. The desktop appears as a Mac system and feels like it. The iRaspbian OS can make it look like your Raspberry Pi is a very tiny Apple system.
FIGURE 1
The desktop has a very smooth feel to it. Everything does appear to be just like a Mac system until you run an application. Say, for instance, you start ‘Finder' you will see that the apps listed are Linux apps and not Mac apps. This is why I say the Apple portion is only ‘screen deep'.
To use the iRaspbian OS you need to download it first. Here are a few places to find it for direct download:
It is possible to download the image as a Torrent. You can perform a search on your favorite Torrent site or get the Torrent file at:
- https://archive.org/download/raspbianx/iRASPBIAN.xz - the Torrent download contains both iRaspbian and Raspbian X Night Hawk images
The image may take a while to ‘burn' to the SD Card, but once it is done, you can put it in the Raspberry Pi and boot from it.
Once the OS is loaded, you will be asked to log into the system. The Username has already defaulted to 'pi' and the password is 'raspberry'.
After the desktop is loaded, you need to connect to your WiFi or use a direct connection. Be sure to set your time zone as well as the time and date. If needed, you can adjust your display settings for the monitor.
At this point, you are running what appears to be a MacOS system.
Raspbian X Night Hawk
The OS has the appearance of Windows 10 as shown in Figure 2. After the desktop background is changed to another image on the SD Card it looks more like Windows as seen in Figure 3. The desktop appears as a Mac system and feels like it.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 3
Just like iRaspbian, the desktop has a very smooth feel to it. The response time is very nice. Everything does appear to be just like a Windows system until you run an application. All of the Microsoft labeled apps are Linux apps.
For the Raspbian X Night Hawk OS, you can find it at:
It is possible to download the image as a Torrent. You can perform a search on your favorite Torrent site or get the Torrent file at:
- https://archive.org/download/raspbianx/iRASPBIAN.xz - the Torrent download contains both iRaspbian and Raspbian X Night Hawk images
The image could some time to ‘burn'. Wait for it to finish and place the SD Card in the Raspberry Pi and boot it.
After the OS is started you will be asked to log into the system. The Username already defaults to 'pi' and the password is 'raspberry'. My logon screen was only about a fourth of the whole screen size. You will need to adjust the monitor size once the system starts.
After the desktop is loaded you need to connect to your WiFi or use a direct connection. Be sure to set your time zone as well as the time and date.
At this point, you are running what appears to be a Windows 10 system.
Twister OS
The Twister OS is a lot easier to find at TwisterOS.com. I downloaded version 1.5 and version 1.6 was just released as I was writing this article.
Click the 'Downloads' link at the top of the screen. Once the 'Downloads' page opens you can select which version you wish to download. I would suggest downloading the newest version.
The ‘TwisterOS' file is a ZIP file which you need to extract and then use BalenaEtcher to ‘burn' the ‘xz' image to an SD Card. Once done, you can insert the SD Card into the RPi 4 and boot it. You will then see a screen similar to Figure 4. The screen is the ‘Twister OS' Desktop which is set by default.
FIGURE 4
You should see an icon on the screen called ‘ThemeTwister' If you double click the icon you will be presented with the options as shown in Figure 5.
FIGURE 5
Initially, you need to press ENTER to be able to choose the Theme you want to use. Then, you are presented with the Theme choices:
FIGURE 6
FIGURE 7
FIGURE 8
FIGURE 9
NOTE: Do not confuse Raspbian95 with the Virtual Machine that is included in some of these systems. It is only a visual similarity and the programs you execute are those of Linux and not Windows.
Running these systems over a while may cause some people concern about their Raspberry Pi 4 overheating. If you have concerns then read on.
Checking Temperature
To check the CPU temperature you can run the command 'cat /sys/class/thermal/thermal_zone0/temp'. The value that is given you needs to be divided by 1000 to get the proper temperature. The value given is given in Celsius and you may need to convert it to Fahrenheit.
To verify on an RPi4 or another system you can run the command 'cat /sys/class/thermal/thermal_zone0/type' which should come back with a result of 'x86_pkg_temp'. The type shows that the specified zone is the proper zone. To find the number of zones you can run the command 'ls /sys/class/thermal/thermal_zone*' You should see 'zone0' to a higher value. Any of these could be the CPU on another system. The CPU will vary zone by the system.
If you want to check the Graphical Processor Unit (GPU) then use the command ‘vcgencmd measure_temp'. The value is in Celsius.
NOTE: The GPU command is specific to Raspbian.
Values 82 and above, in Celsius, are getting too hot; where values 100 and above are critical.
Conclusion
For some people, these Operating Systems can be a fun way to 'run' an OS that that reminds them of another system, but still be using Linux.
If you have a Raspberry Pi 4 and want to try something a little different, then definitely give these a whirl. You may be amazed at how smoothly the system runs.
Twister OS
The Twister OS is a lot easier to find at TwisterOS.com. I downloaded version 1.5 and version 1.6 was just released as I was writing this article.
Click the 'Downloads' link at the top of the screen. Once the 'Downloads' page opens you can select which version you wish to download. I would suggest downloading the newest version.
The ‘TwisterOS' file is a ZIP file which you need to extract and then use BalenaEtcher to ‘burn' the ‘xz' image to an SD Card. Once done, you can insert the SD Card into the RPi 4 and boot it. You will then see a screen similar to Figure 4. The screen is the ‘Twister OS' Desktop which is set by default.
Raspberry Pi 4 Software Download
FIGURE 4
You should see an icon on the screen called ‘ThemeTwister' If you double click the icon you will be presented with the options as shown in Figure 5.
FIGURE 5
Initially, you need to press ENTER to be able to choose the Theme you want to use. Then, you are presented with the Theme choices:
- RaspbianX FIGURE 6
- Nighthawk - FIGURE 2 (after you change the wallpaper)
- iRaspbian - FIGURE 1
- iRaspbian - Dark - FIGURE 7
- Raspbian95 - FIGURE 8
- Raspbian XP
- Twister OS - FIGURE 5
FIGURE 6
FIGURE 7
FIGURE 8
FIGURE 9
Install Mac Os On Raspberry Pi 4
As with iRaspbian, the screens look identical to the specific OS it is imitating. Intro sounds for iRaspbian and RaspbianXP are the same as the original Operating Systems.NOTE: Do not confuse Raspbian95 with the Virtual Machine that is included in some of these systems. It is only a visual similarity and the programs you execute are those of Linux and not Windows.
Running these systems over a while may cause some people concern about their Raspberry Pi 4 overheating. If you have concerns then read on.
Checking Temperature
To check the CPU temperature you can run the command 'cat /sys/class/thermal/thermal_zone0/temp'. The value that is given you needs to be divided by 1000 to get the proper temperature. The value given is given in Celsius and you may need to convert it to Fahrenheit.
To verify on an RPi4 or another system you can run the command 'cat /sys/class/thermal/thermal_zone0/type' which should come back with a result of 'x86_pkg_temp'. The type shows that the specified zone is the proper zone. To find the number of zones you can run the command 'ls /sys/class/thermal/thermal_zone*' You should see 'zone0' to a higher value. Any of these could be the CPU on another system. The CPU will vary zone by the system.
If you want to check the Graphical Processor Unit (GPU) then use the command ‘vcgencmd measure_temp'. The value is in Celsius.
NOTE: The GPU command is specific to Raspbian.
Values 82 and above, in Celsius, are getting too hot; where values 100 and above are critical.
Conclusion
For some people, these Operating Systems can be a fun way to 'run' an OS that that reminds them of another system, but still be using Linux.
If you have a Raspberry Pi 4 and want to try something a little different, then definitely give these a whirl. You may be amazed at how smoothly the system runs.
Raspberry Pi Imager is the recommended option for most users to write images to SD cards.
Determine SD device
- Insert the SD card in the slot or connect the SD card reader with the SD card inside.
Command Line
diskutil listExample (the SD card is /dev/disk2 - your disk and partition list may vary):
Graphical / Disk Utility
- From the Apple menu, choose 'System Report', then click on 'More info..'.
- Click on 'USB' (or 'Card Reader' if you are using a built-in SD card reader), then search for your SD card in the upper right section of the window. Click on it, then search for the BSD name in the lower right section.It is in the form
diskN(for example,disk4).Record this name. - using Disk Utility, unmount the partition.Do not eject it.
Copy the image
Command Line
Note: The use of the dd tool can overwrite any partition of your machine.If you specify the wrong device in the instructions, you could overwrite your primary Mac OS partition!
The disk must be unmounted before copying the image
Copy the image Mac lippenstift velvet teddy.
Replace
Nwith the number that you noted before. Note therdisk('raw disk')instead ofdisk, this speeds up the copying.This can take more than 15 minutes, depending on the image file size.Check the progress by pressing Ctrl+T.
If the command reports
dd: /dev/rdiskN: Resource busy, you need to unmount the volume firstsudo diskutil unmountDisk /dev/diskN.If the command reports
dd: bs: illegal numeric value, change the block sizebs=1mtobs=1M.If the command reports
dd: /dev/rdiskN: Operation not permitted, go toSystem Preferences->Security & Privacy->Privacy->Files and Folders->Give Removable Volumes access to Terminal. Audio file format converter mac.If the command reports
dd: /dev/rdiskN: Permission denied, the partition table of the SD card is being protected against being overwritten by Mac OS. Erase the SD card's partition table using this command:That command will also set the permissions on the device to allow writing.Now issue the
ddcommand again.
Eject
After the dd command finishes, eject the card:
