Installing Mac OS X El Capitan 10.11.x with this pikify3.1 method is a
two-step process
Step 1: Use the attached script and files, to build an installer volume, typically a USB memory stick, or a small disk partition.
Step 2: You will then boot off the installer, to run the installation process.
DO NOT be tempted to simply double-click the Install Mac OS X El Capitan on the install volume, you will be wasting your time. It will not work. You must reboot your MacPro and select the Install Mac OS X El Capitan volume from the boot chooser screen...
Once the installer finishes, you will have a working copy of El Capitan with no need to manually change the boot.efi files.
I keep forgetting to mention that this method also builds the Recovery Partition (Recovery HD) too!
Optional step: You can then choose to install the updated version of pikeyosfix now called CapitanPikeFix, or my Boot64 (both do pretty much the same thing), to allow you to run the Apple updates from either the App Store or from the DMG downloads. See the next post #1391...
READ ALL THE CAVEATS - memory, backup, fresh install, migration assistant, etc...
Use this if you have not yet installed El Capitan and you only have your Mac Pro available.
This is the installer (starting point) if you only have your Mac Pro to work with...
==============================================================
INSTRUCTIONS
Download the zip file attached to this post.
Unzip it.
You should have a folder named pikify3.1
In that folder should be a number of files, the script is
createpikeinstallmedia. Keep all the files in one location. Some people have tried to use just the script on its own without the accompanying files and then come back for help because it didn't work. You can move the pikify3.1 folder wherever you please, just keep the contents of the folder together.
If you are not familiar with the Terminal and the command line, take a look at post #1569 it will probably help you.
Pre-requisites:
- Your running OS must be Lion (10.7) or better. I have tested Snow Leopard and the Apple createinstallmedia tool fails (Snow Leopard is just too old).
- As per Peter's guide, you will need a volume that can be overwritten by the installer
- This could be a USB memory stick
- A small disk partition from one of your hard drives (not the disk that you intend to use for El Capitan)
- You need to be able to boot from this volume
- The installer volume needs to be at least 8GB
- Your copy of 'Install OS X El Capitan.app' should be located in your /Applications folder
- The pikify3.1 folder contains both the black and grey variants of the boot.efi file. When unzipped the boot.efi file is the grey one, if you want to change to the black background variant, simply copy the black one over the boot.efi before you start. e.g.
Code:
cp -f boot_black_3_1.efi boot.efi
- It appears that MacPro1,1 and 2,1 need a lot of memory to achieve a successful install by this method. A minimum of 12GB seems to be required...
Usage:
- Open a terminal window
- Change directory to the pikify3.1 folder from the zip file. Let us assume that you downloaded the zip file to your Downloads folder and unzipped it there. (If you have put the pikify3.1 folder somewhere else, please alter the path to suit your location)
- Change [InstallerVolumeName] to the name of the USB memory stick or your small disk partition. For example if you are using a USB memory stick and it shows on the desktop with the name Untitled, then replace [InstallerVolumeName] with Untitled so that the path reads /Volumes/Untitled
- You need to run the script as the root user
Code:
sudo -s
[your password]
./createpikeinstallmedia /Volumes/[InstallerVolumeName]
Code:
sudo ./createpikeinstallmedia /Volumes/[InstallerVolumeName]
[your password]
- OR (optionally switch to the black background variant before you start)
Code:
sudo -s
[your password]
cp -f boot_black_3_1.efi boot.efi
./createpikeinstallmedia /Volumes/[InstallerVolumeName]
Be patient, the script will take some time to run through to completion, especially if your installer volume is a USB memory stick!
Once the script completes it will print
### DONE PIKIFYING ### and you should have an installer volume named '
Install OS X El Capitan'
After you build your pikify3.1 USB memory stick, but before you attempt to boot from it, try ejecting it, physically unplug it, wait a few seconds, then re-plug it in allowing it to mount.
- Reboot your MacPro with the newly created install media (partition or USB stick) attached
- Hold the ALT key down immediately after the startup chime to enter the boot chooser
- Choose the Install OS X El Capitan volume
- For those people with graphics cards that don't show the boot screens
- If you are using a USB stick (and it's the only one attached), immediately after the startup chime, hold down the C key. If your USB memory stick has an access indicator (blinking LED) you can visually confirm it is booting. Be patient, it takes about a minute before the screen shows anything. OR....
- Get to the boot chooser as above then press the left-arrow key once, followed by the return/enter key. (Removable media generally shows up last in the horizontal list, pressing the left arrow key takes you from the automatic first entry and wraps the highlight round to the other end of the list, which is usually where the USB stick is presented). OR....
- If you're using a small disk partition, get to the boot chooser as above then press the right-arrow key once, followed by the return/enter key). If you have just your main disk and the installer volume this should work. If you have more than just those two, experiment pressing the arrow key more than once until you find the installer volume! OR....
- OR, consider getting hold of a DVI-vga adaptor. You should be able to find one of your DVI ports that will send out a VGA signal (to a VGA connected monitor) and show you the boot screen.
- Your machine should boot into the Installer, run the installer
- You may need to click the Reboot button at the end of the install (for some reason, the 10 second countdown doesn't seem to automatically start)
- Your machine should reboot into the new El Capitan Installation and begin the OS X setup procedure.
I made a video! I hope you like it...
I used my iPhone for the second half, apologies for the moire patterns.
I decided to start from my MacPro running 10.7.x Lion, since this is the last officially supported version.
The only difficulty for people is to get hold of a copy of Apple's "Install Mac OS X El Capitan" app. I recommend using a newer "supported" Mac and then copying it to the MacPro....
One of the steps in the video shows me formatting my hard disk drive, do not do this step if you have data on your hard disk (unless you have a backup and are prepared to wipe the drive)
If you are upgrading I would suggest a clean install of El Capitan onto a spare disk, then use the Apple Migration Assistant to migrate your previous system and user files.
If you are brave and want to try an in-place upgrade,
make sure you backup your current system first...
======================== UPDATE ================================
The original Apple BaseSystem.dmg appears to be missing a number of fonts. This causes the installer log file to fill up with thousands of unnecessary lines complaining about the missing fonts. I've updated the installer creation script to fix the missing fonts. It just makes the log file smaller and easier to read and follow.
See pikify3.1.v2.zip in the attachments...
==================== ANOTHER UPDATE =============================
I figured out how to set up El Capitan so that we can make it survive an Apple update. See my post at post
#1391
I've modified the pikify3.1 set so that steps 1 - 4 of the process below (post 1391) are already in place. You still need to choose to install Boot64 or CapitanPikeFix (see below).
I'll leave v2 here in case anyone is paranoid, and doesn't want the slight lowering of SIP's security blanket!
==================== Version 5 ===================================
V5 includes some mods to the SIP exclusion paths file
==================== Version 7 ===================================
(includes version 6, which added support for home-baked fusion drives)
V7 adds error checking and a bit of an explanation to start
==================== Version 8 ===================================
V8 adds a check to ensure there is a copy of the Apple Install OS X El Capitan application located in the Applications folder!
==================== Version 9 ===================================
All previous versions would first write the Install media, and then modify that content. If the Install media is a USB memory stick, all those operations are slow due to the USB bus speed.
V9 attempts to speed up the operations. It will modify the /Applications/Install OS X El Capitan.app on the hard disk first (faster), and then write the contents to the USB memory stick. There is only one write across the USB bus.
Plus, the modifications are left in place. The script will detect if the copy of Install Mac OS X El Capitan has already been modified, giving you the option to reset to the Apple version, or to continue. If you choose to continue it will skip the modifications (because they're already present) and simply write a new copy to your USB memory stick (or installer partition)
It should be quicker
==================== Version 10 ==================================
Version 10 adds a check to see if the InstallESD.dmg and/or the BaseSystem.dmg are already mounted, if so it tries to detach them.
WARNING: It seems some people have tried V10 and it has caused problems.
==================== Version 11 ==================================
Version 11 fixes the issues with v9/v10. Basically I made an error in design when I created v9/v10. The resulting files were too big to fit onto an 8GB memory stick. Sorry folks!!
If you downloaded v9 or v10, please rapidly place them in their new home (the trash can), and re-download V11, it will now work much better
==================== Version 12 ==================================
Version 12 saves the unmodified software in a format that makes it easier to restore. Also adds more checks. The biggest change is that the disk images are now mounted on specific mount points so that my script doesn't conflict with the default mount points.
++++++++++++++++ MD5 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
MD5 (pikify3.1.v2.zip) = 80333eda8eecc3094f06d175bdba0a64
MD5 (pikify3.1.v12.zip) = 170873c7029f611da798d07647766522
