2006/2007 Mac Pro (1,1/2,1) and OS X El Capitan

[svenmullet]

Applying a Combo Update will always overwrite the Pike versions of the boot.efi files.

If you started from scratch with a brand new install of El Capitan, installing CapitanPikeFix or Boot64 before applying a Combo Update will automate the process of putting the Pike versions back.

Yeah, I installed CapitanPikeFix before and after re-installing 10.11, I figured I'd be good. It either didn't work, or I installed it wrong... I recall something about rebooting and running it again? Don't recall doing that, and it's been so long since I had to mess with the internals of this thing that i've forgotten most of how to get this stuff working
This is why I get so angry when Apple does this to me. Just freaking leave us alone already!

 

[rthpjm]

Yeah, I installed CapitanPikeFix before and after re-installing 10.11, I figured I'd be good. It either didn't work, or I installed it wrong... I recall something about rebooting and running it again? Don't recall doing that, and it's been so long since I had to mess with the internals of this thing that i've forgotten most of how to get this stuff working
This is why I get so angry when Apple does this to me. Just freaking leave us alone already!

If you choose to use CapitanPikeFix, then you must turn off SIP. It only works with SIP disabled.

That’s probably where your recollection of needing a reboot comes from...

 

[Mr. Zarniwoop]

Just a note that the first post of this thread was updated to include information on rthpjm's Pike install App and links around the recent security update issues.

If something else should be updated, let me know.

I've moved on from my 2006 Mac Pro so no longer actively keeping up-to-date with recent developments. Hard to believe that computer lasted me from 2006-2018 and I'd still be using it today if it ran High Sierra!

 

[christophercarr86]

I have a Mac Pro 2,1 and been running 10.11.6 for 13 months, with no problems thanks to everyone's help on here! I am now trying to install an application from Universal Audio ( https://www.uaudio.com/ox/app ) (I know that is says it requires Sierra or High Sierra, but Universal Audio confirms that it works on El Capitan. I have also tried it on my MBP that is a supported El Cap computer and it works fine.)

However, unfortunately when I try to install this app on my 2,1 running 10.11.6 I get an error when I try to install. "OX quit unexpectedly".

Is there anything with my setup that would be preventing this install ?
Possibly SIP being disabled ?

I have a copy of the OSX Problem Report Log as well if that would be beneficial to see the whole thing ?? I can upload it.

This part that says "Crashed Thread" seems concerning...?

System Integrity Protection: disabled

Crashed Thread: 0 Juce Message Thread Dispatch queue: com.apple.main-thread

Exception Type: EXC_BAD_INSTRUCTION (SIGILL)
Exception Codes: 0x0000000000000001, 0x0000000000000000
Exception Note: EXC_CORPSE_NOTIFY

Thread 0 Crashed:: Juce Message Thread Dispatch queue: com.apple.main-thread
0 com.uaudio. OX 0x0000000107cb6608 0x107bce000 + 951816
1 com.uaudio. OX 0x0000000107cb55c8 0x107bce000 + 947656
2 com.uaudio. OX 0x0000000107caa2cd 0x107bce000 + 901837
3 com.uaudio. OX 0x0000000107d07fb9 0x107bce000 + 1286073
4 com.uaudio. OX 0x0000000107cd1721 0x107bce000 + 1062689
5 com.uaudio. OX 0x0000000107cd83eb 0x107bce000 + 1090539
6 com.uaudio. OX 0x0000000107bdc3b3 0x107bce000 + 58291
7 com.uaudio. OX 0x0000000107bd5030 0x107bce000 + 28720
8 com.uaudio. OX 0x0000000107c3cc96 0x107bce000 + 453782
9 com.uaudio. OX 0x0000000107d0f2bb 0x107bce000 + 1315515
10 com.uaudio. OX 0x0000000107c3cb3d 0x107bce000 + 453437
11 com.uaudio. OX 0x0000000107c3cae3 0x107bce000 + 453347
12 libdyld.dylib 0x00007fff8c0d95ad start + 1


Really hoping someone on this forum is able to help!

Thanks in advance guys,
Chris

 

[SuperMatt]

I know this isn’t strictly related to El Capitan on original Mac Pros but here’s an article on using 64GB of RAM on a 1,1 or 2,1.

http://lowendmac.com/2018/mac-pro-21-64gb-of-ram/

 

[christophercarr86]

I have already used pikify3.1.v12 & captainpikefix_black_pkg.zip and is working well.
Am I able to enable SIP again temporarily ??
Or can I installed Boot64 instead even though the captainpikefix has already been installed ?

 

[macbwizard]

Salvaged my install by replacing the kernel file after being stuck in a reboot loop on a 2,1. Thanks so much for the guidance! Guess this thing is nearing end of life

 

[Argyboy]

Salvaged my install by replacing the kernel file after being stuck in a reboot loop on a 2,1. Thanks so much for the guidance! Guess this thing is nearing end of life

Absolutely not. Just be careful about installing OS security updates in future! Application updates (Safari and iTunes) should still be fine to install.

I'm planning on keeping my 2,1 going for at least another couple of years on El Capitan.

 

[doalwa]

Wow, this thread saved me. Thankfully I was able to get my Mac Pro 1.1 booting again by simply copying over the kernel file from the 2017-005 update.

I guess the writing is finally on the wall for us Mac Pro 1.1 users. Having to manually fiddle around with system files doesn't bode well for the future. Oh well, I'll try to keep my machine going for as long as possible.

 

[jbarley]

Guess this thing is nearing end of life

I guess the writing is finally on the wall for us Mac Pro 1.1 users.

Enough with all the "doom-n-gloom" these tough ole birds will still be able to do everything they do so well today, next year and following years after that.
So we have to hack them now and then, and tinker with the hardware a bit, that's what keeps them interesting, at least that's how I choose to see it.

 

[christophercarr86]

I got an interesting challenge for you guys! Can anyone successfully install this app on their hacked version of 10.11.6 ?
https://www.uaudio.com/ox/app

Every time I try, it will download OK, copy to the applications folder, but will not open from the applications folder to run.
Obviously Apple and Universal Audio will not support it because of our configuration.

It says the requirement is OSX Sierra, but I successfully installed it on my Macbook Pro running El Capitan so that is not the issue.

PLEASE HELP!

 

[Unclaimed]

Can someone please share me their el capitan installer? i never download it from the app store. i try downloading some from torrent but when i ran the installation it say

"This copy of the Install OS X El Capitan application can't be verified. It may have been corrupted or tampered with during downloading.

Delete this copy of the application, and go to the Purchases page of the Mac App Store to download a new copy."

then i have to cancel the installation, please help.

I'm having the same issue.

 

[AL1630]

Try setting your system clock back to 1/1/2016. The installer may need to think it's the most current version of macOS.

 

[rthpjm]

I'm having the same issue.

If the Install OS X El Capitan app has been pre-modified, then it will not run directly. It will fail the consistency checks. The App is signed by Apple, then someone has modified it, and thus breaks the signing integrity.

Please read page 1 post 1 of this thread. Then maybe read my posts on page 56 (see my signature)

 

[macbwizard]

Is anyone having issues with the Photos.app? Photos taken with my iPhone 8 are blurry when synced through iCloud. I think it might have to do with the new codec that the iPhone is using? Any tips?

 

[rkanaga]

Well I've finally gone to the dark side and bought a 2013 Mac Pro as I need to maintain the latest OS security patches for my work files. I have one problem though. I have some music software (Logic etc) that won't run on High Sierra. I don't really want to pay £199 to upgrade it. I've got a clone of my old El Capitan HD, but of course that has the modified Boot Efi and won't boot on the new Mac Pro (!) Can anyone let me have a copy of the original El Capitan Boot Efi so that I can modify it back! (somewhat ironic I know, I should have kept a copy.)

I can't install a fresh copy of El Capitan as the El Cap installer won't run on High Sierra.

Many thanks

Robin


(PS the trusty 1,1 is going to server heaven will still be put to use!)

 

[rthpjm]

Well I've finally gone to the dark side and bought a 2013 Mac Pro as I need to maintain the latest OS security patches for my work files. I have one problem though. I have some music software (Logic etc) that won't run on High Sierra. I don't really want to pay £199 to upgrade it. I've got a clone of my old El Capitan HD, but of course that has the modified Boot Efi and won't boot on the new Mac Pro (!) Can anyone let me have a copy of the original El Capitan Boot Efi so that I can modify it back! (somewhat ironic I know, I should have kept a copy.)

I can't install a fresh copy of El Capitan as the El Cap installer won't run on High Sierra.

Many thanks

Robin


(PS the trusty 1,1 is going to server heaven will still be put to use!)

Hello rkanaga,

If you have a copy of the unmodified Apple version of ‘Install OS X El Capitan.app’, then you can get a copy of the boot.efi from there.

It’s probably easiest to do this from the Terminal rather than the Finder. This is because some folders and files have the hidden flag turned on which means the Finder will not show them.

cd ~
open /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ El\ Capitan.app/Contents/SharedSupport/InstallESD.dmg
open /Volumes/OS\ X\ Install\ ESD/BaseSystem.dmg
cp /Volumes/OS\ X\ Base\ System/System/Library/CoreServices/boot.efi ~
diskutil eject /Volumes/OS\ X\ Base\ System
diskutil eject /Volumes/OS\ X\ Install\ ESD

That should put a copy of the unmodified boot.efi into your home folder (~).

Copy that to your old disk in the two usual locations.
You might need to elevate your privileges (sudo -s) to perform the copy at this point, and you might need to be booted off another partition (which I'm am assuming)

P.S. You can do this from your nMP, just put the 'Install OS X El Capitan' app into the Applications folder of the nMP (or put it at some other path and amend the first open command to suit).

 

[RobertJB]

Hello Members,

I have made the jump to El Capitan 10.11.6.
The first installation works just fine.
Run the Boot64 and run the update of 10.11.6.
Now the problem starts. The system keeps rebooting (boot screen with Apple logo. for a second the progress indicator) and then a reboot.

I have followed the instructions from post-1390 and 1391 and the youtube Pikifi Version 14.

What did I do wrong?
Is it just re-installing the Boot.efi the make the system boot correctly?

 

[jbarley]

Sounds like you've run afoul of the dreaded Security update 2018-001 boot loop problem.
Lots of info on this issue in this thread starting back around post#3860.
Good luck...

 

[RobertJB]

Sounds like you've run afoul of the dreaded Security update 2018-001 boot loop problem.
Lots of info on this issue in this thread starting back around post#3860.
Good luck...

Jbarley,

thanks for pointing this out to me.
The installation I did was a clean install would it not be easier to do a new install and run all the updates with the exception of the 2018-001 Security update.
Or should I boot in my Lion version and use terminal to re-fit some files?

thanks,

 

[rkanaga]

Hello rkanaga,

If you have a copy of the unmodified Apple version of ‘Install OS X El Capitan.app’, then you can get a copy of the boot.efi from there.

It’s probably easiest to do this from the Terminal rather than the Finder. This is because some folders and files have the hidden flag turned on which means the Finder will not show them.

cd ~
open /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ El\ Capitan.app/Contents/SharedSupport/InstallESD.dmg
open /Volumes/OS\ X\ Install\ ESD/BaseSystem.dmg
cp /Volumes/OS\ X\ Base\ System/System/Library/CoreServices/boot.efi ~
diskutil eject /Volumes/OS\ X\ Base\ System
diskutil eject /Volumes/OS\ X\ Install\ ESD

That should put a copy of the unmodified boot.efi into your home folder (~).

Copy that to your old disk in the two usual locations.
You might need to elevate your privileges (sudo -s) to perform the copy at this point, and you might need to be booted off another partition (which I'm am assuming)

P.S. You can do this from your nMP, just put the 'Install OS X El Capitan' app into the Applications folder of the nMP (or put it at some other path and amend the first open command to suit).

Got it

Thank you so much

Robin

 

[jbarley]

Jbarley,

thanks for pointing this out to me.
The installation I did was a clean install would it not be easier to do a new install and run all the updates with the exception of the 2018-001 Security update.
Or should I boot in my Lion version and use terminal to re-fit some files?

thanks,

That's the path I would choose, when done just Right-Click on the 2018-001 update and select "Hide" and you're good to go.

 

[nailujw]

Hi, I wonder if I can install on an external USB disk this way, and use this as a base image to clone onto 1,1 and 2,1 macs pros?

Even Newer:
The Pikify App.

Please treat the App as initial Alpha code. It's a bit rough, but it works. I might find the time to give the app a bit more polish, it could really do with some more error checking, there's no help file, etc...

Version 1.0 had a bug which took me while to track down.
Version 1.1 would not run correctly on Snow Leopard 10.6. Turns out I was using a method for 10.7 or higher!
Version 1.2 fixes the 10.6 usage
Versions 1.3 through 1.7 weren't released
Version 1.8 contains many fixes and better progress visuals

The current stable release is version 1.8 (build 7)

The App is not signed, therefore you may need to right-click on the app and select Open the first time you run it. This forces Gatekeeper to allow the app.


The same conditions apply:

• You must have a unmodified copy of the Apple 'Install OS X El Capitan' app in your Applications folder.
  • See https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT206886 if you are having difficulty finding a copy of El Capitan.
• If you are running from a MacPro, you must have 12Gb of RAM or more.

Notes: The app is designed to run from Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard or later;
Tested on:

• 10.6 Snow Leopard
• 10.7 Lion
• 10.11 El Capitan
  • If you are going to use this app from El Capitan, be aware that SIP prevents the bless command from setting the boot partition. There are two workarounds:
    1. Reboot and hold the ALT key down, select the Pike Installer
    2. Reboot into the Recovery HD, turn off SIP, reboot back into El Capitan and run the App again...

USAGE:

It's an app, double-click it (or right-click and choose 'Open' if you get a unsigned/unknown developer warning). The rest should be self-explanatory...

​

NEW for 2017:

Version 14 marks a shift in technique. With V14 the installation process is much simpler, becomes a single pass, does not require an intermediate installer volume (USB memory stick), and does not require the use of the EFI boot selector (which should be a great help to those people with graphics cards that do not show boot screens).

NO USB!

Also note: I have tested V14 on Snow Leopard 10.6.8. It will work (even though the video says "Lion 10.7.x or higher" as the starting point.

See https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT206886 if you are having difficulty finding a copy of El Capitan.

12Gb or more of RAM is required

I made a video

To use v14, pass the path to your target disk. Let's say you want to install El Capitan onto the Macintosh HD disk....

sudo ./createpikeinstallmedia /Volumes/Macintosh\ HD
[your password]

============== Previous Versions ===========================

Are now retired....

V14 can build on a USB stick, then you can install from there...

==================== 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.

==================== Version 13 ==================================
Not released

==================== Version 14 ==================================
Version 14 is a major change in strategy. With this version you no longer need an intermediate installation media (USB memory stick). Version 14 emulates the way Apple is currently performing the installation. With version 14 you target the disk you want to install El Capitan onto (not the USB memory stick). New users should use v14. If you encounter any issues, please post an entry on this thread.

One really big advantage to V14 is that it will reboot directly into the installer. This should be a great boon for those people with graphics cards that do NOT show boot screens. There's no more need to guess how to boot into the installer.

The only exception is using El Capitan to install another copy of El Capitan. If SIP is active, then the bless command is not allowed to change the boot device settings (setBoot). This is a security feature and should be applauded, but it means with SIP enabled, you must reboot and manually select the installer...



++++++++++++++++ MD5 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

MD5 (pikify3.1.v14.zip) = e7b1699c8db8335c2331e1e8b247efa8
MD5 (PikifyApp-1-8.tar.zip) = 6ed325dd851b1baf681173621334db3f

 

[Lewis M]

Thanks to the great work here I have 10.11 on my 1,1

I also pulled some 3ghz X5365 chips from a dead 2,1 and dropped them in...
Running all fine.
Processors not recognised in About this Mac.
Geekbench is around 8000

I’m wondering if I need to do this firmware update to get full performance from my 1,1 mac?? (Updating the firmware to 2,1)
http://forum.netkas.org/index.php/topic,1094.0.html
BUT...
...does anyone know if this will break my Pikified OS?

Thanks very much

 

[rthpjm]

Thanks to the great work here I have 10.11 on my 1,1

I also pulled some 3ghz X5365 chips from a dead 2,1 and dropped them in...
Running all fine.
Processors not recognised in About this Mac.
Geekbench is around 8000

I’m wondering if I need to do this firmware update to get full performance from my 1,1 mac?? (Updating the firmware to 2,1)
http://forum.netkas.org/index.php/topic,1094.0.html
BUT...
...does anyone know if this will break my Pikified OS?

Thanks very much

The firmware update is a good idea. It will not break your pikified OS installation.

Others might know more, but as far as I know there is no real performance enhancement, but it will identify your newer chipset correctly. Most users who put newer CPUs into their 1,1 choose to install that firmware update making the machine into a 2,1 (including myself).
[doublepost=1522141882][/doublepost]

Hi, I wonder if I can install on an external USB disk this way, and use this as a base image to clone onto 1,1 and 2,1 macs pros?

Sort of “yes”, and sort of “no”.

The Pikify tool builds a “read-only” bootable Install image. The image is intended (by Apple) to be written to optical media such as a DVD. We choose to write it to a USB device instead. (The “no” part)

When you boot from this device it will go into the Installer. You can choose the same USB device as the install target for the full Mac OS El Capitan. When you complete the installation your machine might boot from the USB into the full Mac OS X El Capitan. I am hesitant because I have not tried this combination, and because the early Mac Pros sometimes have difficulty booting from a USB device (remember the installer is intended to boot from a non-writable media which usually means a legacy boot sequence, whereas the full Mac OS is intended to boot from writable disk with HFS+ and EFI. Apple obviously preferred fast bus speed for the OS, mainly the PCI bus or FireWire.) (The “yes” part)

Try it, report back and let everyone here know how successful you were.