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

[F1Mac]

Put Pike's efi (v3.2) in the usual places and reboot. At that point you should be able to download the installer. What I'm struggling with is what to do after that; haven't worked up the energy to re-read the entire thread to find out. Just running the installer doesn't work.

That's because the installer replaces the boot.efi with Apple's - AFAIK there's still no way to change that. So you have to manually put Pike's boot.efi back into place after the installation (which is why I keep a 10.9.5 partition on my MacPro, makes it much easier to replace the file on El Capitan that way), otherwise the Mac is not able to boot. (btw it's version 3.1, not 3.2).

 

[donjames]

You have to put his latest boot.efi in /System/Library/CoreServices and /usr/standalone/i386.

Thanks. I will try that and see what happens.

Don James

 

[chackett]

That's because the installer replaces the boot.efi with Apple's - AFAIK there's still no way to change that. So you have to manually put Pike's boot.efi back into place after the installation (which is why I keep a 10.9.5 partition on my MacPro, makes it much easier to replace the file on El Capitan that way), otherwise the Mac is not able to boot. (btw it's version 3.1, not 3.2).

Whoops, right you are, 3.1; sorry for the typo. What I'm struggling with is getting the install to go. The installer creates the "Install OS X" (or whatever it's named - I'm at work right now and can't look) folder, reboots, and then hangs with the Apple logo displayed. When I try replacing the boot.efi in the Install OS X folder with Pike's version, I can't boot off of the installer folder. It shows up in the boot manager window, but the boot fails (loads off of one of the other bootable drives I have on my machine).

 

[F1Mac]

Whoops, right you are, 3.1; sorry for the typo. What I'm struggling with is getting the install to go. The installer creates the "Install OS X" (or whatever it's named - I'm at work right now and can't look) folder, reboots, and then hangs with the Apple logo displayed. When I try replacing the boot.efi in the Install OS X folder with Pike's version, I can't boot off of the installer folder. It shows up in the boot manager window, but the boot fails (loads off of one of the other bootable drives I have on my machine).

Don't touch the installer, just make sure you have boot.efi v3.1 in your CoreServices and i386 folders. The App Store will see the MacPro as compatible, thus allowing the download *and* installation. BUT, upon restart, your Mac will hang because the OS X installer will have overwritten the boot.efi. That's when you have to put Pike's into place.

[edit]When I installed 10.11 last month I used Hennessie's Yosemite guide (that I simply applied to the El Capitan installation) and an older version of the boot.efi - However I used Boot.efi 3.1 for the 10.11.1 update and I was able to do it directly from the App Store - but again, boot.efi has to be replaced manually.

 

[chackett]

Don't touch the installer, just make sure you have boot.efi v3.1 in your CoreServices and i386 folders. The App Store will see the MacPro as compatible, thus allowing the download *and* installation. BUT, upon restart, your Mac will hang because the OS X installer will have overwritten the boot.efi. That's when you have to put Pike's into place.

[edit]When I installed 10.11 last month I used Hennessie's Yosemite guide (that I simply applied to the El Capitan installation) and an older version of the boot.efi - However I used Boot.efi 3.1 for the 10.11.1 update and I was able to do it directly from the App Store - but again, boot.efi has to be replaced manually.

I'll try again tonight and pay more attention to what's happening, but I think it's more complicated than that.

I too was able to download updates for Yosemite from the App store, with manual re-installs of the boot.efi if it they were overwritten (I was running a Fusion drive at the time and PikeYoseFix didn't work), after installing Yosemite from a USB stick prepared using the Hennessie procedure. I think the initial install and the update process are different. Perhaps I'll try making the USB installer using Hennessie's guide, but I keep hearing that that shouldn't be necessary anymore.

 

[Pike R. Alpha]

Could someone please upload the stock bootbase.efi file? I messed up mine and now have no way of getting a new one.

You can't (re) download the El Capitan installer form the App Store?

 

[donjames]

Don't touch the installer, just make sure you have boot.efi v3.1 in your CoreServices and i386 folders. The App Store will see the MacPro as compatible, thus allowing the download *and* installation. BUT, upon restart, your Mac will hang because the OS X installer will have overwritten the boot.efi. That's when you have to put Pike's into place.

[edit]When I installed 10.11 last month I used Hennessie's Yosemite guide (that I simply applied to the El Capitan installation) and an older version of the boot.efi - However I used Boot.efi 3.1 for the 10.11.1 update and I was able to do it directly from the App Store - but again, boot.efi has to be replaced manually.

Hi Morpheo,

I am still having trouble installing El Capitan. I have Yosemite installed on my macpro1,1. I replaced the boot.efi in my running Yosemite with Pike's boot.efi. I did not replace the boot.efi in the installer. I then rebooted my Mac and tried to update to El Capitan. Got the message that said El Capitan can't be installed on this machine.

What am I doing wrong?

Thanks,

Don James

 

[Pike R. Alpha]

Hi Morpheo,

I am still having trouble installing El Capitan. I have Yosemite installed on my macpro1,1. I replaced the boot.efi in my running Yosemite with Pike's boot.efi. I did not replace the boot.efi in the installer. I then rebooted my Mac and tried to update to El Capitan. Got the message that said El Capitan can't be installed on this machine.

What am I doing wrong?

Thanks,

Don James

You only get that error when you are not using the correct copy of boot.efi (perhaps a launch daemon is resorting the wrong file).

 

[donjames]

You only get that error when you are not using the correct copy of boot.efi (perhaps a launch daemon is resorting the wrong file).

I downloaded a copy of boot.efi right before and installed it into Yosemite, so I'm pretty sure that I have the latest boot.efi.

How do I check if the launch daemon is restoring the wrong file?

Thanks,

Don James

 

[chackett]

Don't touch the installer, just make sure you have boot.efi v3.1 in your CoreServices and i386 folders. The App Store will see the MacPro as compatible, thus allowing the download *and* installation. BUT, upon restart, your Mac will hang because the OS X installer will have overwritten the boot.efi. That's when you have to put Pike's into place.

OK tried again. Launched the installer from the Applications folder on my Yosemite boot drive. It ran for about 30 seconds and then restarted. Held down the option key and booted on to a clone Yosemite disk and checked the drive I was trying to upgrade. The Pike boot.efi's were still in /usr/standalone/i386 and System/Library/CoreServices. Two new folders (OS X Install Data, and Payloads) were in the root directory. The Install Data folder had the wrong (Apple) boot.efi. I tried replacing it with the 3.1 Pike version, but when I rebooted I got a kernel panic.

I'm clearly doing something wrong; for now I'm going to go with installing from a supported computer and then replacing the boot.efi files. At least I know that will work.

 

[Pike R. Alpha]

I downloaded a copy of boot.efi right before and installed it into Yosemite, so I'm pretty sure that I have the latest boot.efi.

How do I check if the launch daemon is restoring the wrong file?

Thanks,

Don James

Hi Don,

That is easy. Just check the checksums with openssl md5 boot.efi or openssl sha1 boot.efi from a terminal window, and what you get should be the same as what can be found on the official download page. If they don't match, then the file is wrong/restored by com.pike.yosefix.plist (locate com.pike.yosefix.plist) and when found, then remove (rm) it. After that the new download should be done after which you can copy the file to the target locations.

 

[Pike R. Alpha]

OK tried again. Launched the installer from the Applications folder on my Yosemite boot drive. It ran for about 30 seconds and then restarted. Held down the option key and booted on to a clone Yosemite disk and checked the drive I was trying to upgrade. The Pike boot.efi's were still in /usr/standalone/i386 and System/Library/CoreServices. Two new folders (OS X Install Data, and Payloads) were in the root directory. The Install Data folder had the wrong (Apple) boot.efi. I tried replacing it with the 3.1 Pike version, but when I rebooted I got a kernel panic.

I'm clearly doing something wrong; for now I'm going to go with installing from a supported computer and then replacing the boot.efi files. At least I know that will work.

Please. We need a picture of the KP, or nobody here would be able to help you.

 

[chackett]

Please. We need a picture of the KP, or nobody here would be able to help you.

Thanks, but it wasn't the usual KP (with a grayed-out screen covered with lines of text). It was the usual Apple logo boot-up screen with a continuous line of text displayed (wrapped around on the screen multiple times). Which started in the middle of a word. So I'm not sure how useful the info would have been.

 

[donjames]

Hi Don,

That is easy. Just check the checksums with openssl md5 boot.efi or openssl sha1 boot.efi from a terminal window, and what you get should be the same as what can be found on the official download page. If they don't match, then the file is wrong/restored by com.pike.yosefix.plist (locate com.pike.yosefix.plist) and when found, then remove (rm) it. After that the new download should be done after which you can copy the file to the target locations.

Dang! I totally forgot about the pikeyosefix! I'll bet that is causing the problem!
Okay. I will delete com.pike.yosefix.plist and get back to you.

[edit]

Sure enough. I got an incorrect checksum for boot.efi.

I deleted com.pike.yosefix.plist, replaced boot.efi with the correct ones and rebooted.

Guess what! The boot.efi had been replaced and com.pike.yosefix.plist was in my Mac again.

Question: How can I permanently delete com.pike.yosefix.plist?



Thanks,

Don James

 

[VAGDesign]

A small reminder to all.

Donating some money to Pike through his website, feels good. Not only for him, but for you too! Makes him feel some kind of gratitude for all his hard work. Gives him courage for the future projects he is working/will work next for all of us.

So, to all of you and me, a small reminder is to head over here http://piker-alpha.github.io/macosxbootloader/ and give whatever you can/want/feel for his weekly/monthly/annually stock of "tea" he consumes while coding

Thanks again Pike and to all the team involved!
VAG

 

[donjames]

A small reminder to all.

Donating some money to Pike through his website, feels good. Not only for him, but for you too! Makes him feel some kind of gratitude for all his hard work. Gives him courage for the future projects he is working/will work next for all of us.

So, to all of you and me, a small reminder is to head over here http://piker-alpha.github.io/macosxbootloader/ and give whatever you can/want/feel for his weekly/monthly/annually stock of "tea" he consumes while coding

Thanks again Pike and to all the team involved!
VAG

I donated yesterday.

Don James

 

[kbmoney]

Question: How can I permanently delete com.pike.yosefix.plist?

Hey Don,

If you did not get an answer yet look under /Library/LaunchDaemons/ (This is not the hidden Users Library folder). You should find the file com.pike.yosefix.plist delete it or move it out of that folder.

Kerry

 

[nsotiriou]

Same config (MP1,1 with 8800GT) and same issues... Continuous kernel panics. Did you have these issues on Yosemite too?

I have the same problem. Mac Pro 1.1 with 5gig Ram and 5770 graphic card. I thing that the problem is the Ram because the MBP I am using for installation has 8gig of Ram. Any suggestions?

 

[nsotiriou]

I just wanted to come back here to give you guys a short update: After upgrading my MacPro1,1 from Mavericks (SFOTT) to El Capitan, I got kernel panics and the machine crashed after a few minutes each time I started it. Folllowing Pike's suggestion, I switched the RAM Modules (2x2GB) with some other ones I took out of some old, decomissioned Dell Servers. Now it has 8x1GB Modules and it's been up for 2 days no without kernel panics!! Awesome!
After switching the RAM, I also upgraded to 10.11.1 using Piker's Boot.efi 3.0, everything working, even iMessage, iCloud, etc.

As I didn't have any problems with my RAM or kernel-panics running Mavericks, something else came to my mind: Mavericks was installed directly to the MacPro using SFOTT, while for the El Cap installation I used a El-Cap compatible MacBookPro to install it to the MacPro via Firewire Target Mode. This MacBookPro has 8GB of RAM, while the MacPro only had 4GB. Now, as I upgraded the MacPro to 8GB everything runs fine..
Could this difference in RAM capacity between the MacBook and the MacPro have caused the Issue? Is the Software "customized" to the Hardware during installation?

Is it possible? I have the same panic crashes... I still waiting for the clean direct install on my Mac Pro.

 

[dcloud45]

ok am back at it. am running el cap with no problems .. i did this a month ago now am getting a software update from apple store. anyone install this update? if so how?

 

[dcloud45]

boot.efi v3.0 has been released and can be downloaded from http://piker-alpha.github.io/macosxbootloader/

hey pike .

Thank you so much, we all appreciate this. Just to confirm for those who already have 10.11. We simply switch out the 3 boot efi files in our 10.11 drive again and we're good?

so your saying just the same thing we did in the begging. it all went find for me when upgrade from yosemite to el cap . just replace all 3 files. so i can do the same thing with the current update i should be good to go?

 

[bunts]

Dang! I totally forgot about the pikeyosefix! I'll bet that is causing the problem!
Okay. I will delete com.pike.yosefix.plist and get back to you.

[edit]

Sure enough. I got an incorrect checksum for boot.efi.

I deleted com.pike.yosefix.plist, replaced boot.efi with the correct ones and rebooted.

Guess what! The boot.efi had been replaced and com.pike.yosefix.plist was in my Mac again.

Question: How can I permanently delete com.pike.yosefix.plist?



Thanks,

Don James

Hi Don,

Just wondering how you're getting on with this now? I've come up against the same problems as you, following the same path as you. I tried deleting 'com.pike.yosefix.plist' from LaunchDaemons and made sure I had the latest boot.efi in the right locations.

My issue is even after doing this and rebooting, The App Store still won't allow my Mac to download the installer due to incompatibility. I check the checksums after changing everything and rebooting and they both match those on Pike's site.

Not sure where to go from here, so was wondering your experience as you seem to be in a similar position, having similar problems.

 

[FireArse]

I seem to recall an issue on Yosemite with Mac Pro 1,1 / 2,1 and Little Snitch.

Can anyone verify whether this is ok with the latest boot.efi & Little Snitch 3?

FireArse

 

[Obibob]

hey pike .

so your saying just the same thing we did in the begging. it all went find for me when upgrade from yosemite to el cap . just replace all 3 files. so i can do the same thing with the current update i should be good to go?

It's safe to update directly from the App Store, assuming you can replace the boot.efi afterwards. Here's what I did:
1/updated via App Store followed by automatic reboot
2/knowing the boot.efi files got overwritten I set start up drive to Mavericks partition as I don't have a MAC GRAPHIC CARD(El Capitan update process finished, rebooted to mavericks)
3/replaced boot.efi in CoreServices and i386 (Recovery HD stays untouched with 10.11.1)
4/selected my El Capitan partition in startup disk
5/reboot
6/update finished like nothing happened
simple only took me a week of reading tar to all

 

[MacRumourNic]

Hi everyone. Just like to say thanks to Pike R. Alpha for all the work you've done to keep our old mac pros running, I really appreciate it! I donated after the yosefix came out and will donate again soon.

I have been running Yosemite with pikesyosefix installed on an SSD in my MacPro 1,1 (flashed to 2,1) for ages now and it works beautifully. I'm now trying to update to El Capitan and have cloned my Yosemite disk to another drive and I am testing with that. I have downloaded the Macosxbootloader 3.1 and installed it to the System/Library/Core Services folder and the other i386 folder. I have removed com.pike.yosefix.plist from the launch daemons folder. When I restart the machine, app store still refuses to install because my machine is incompatible. I checked the boot.efi files with sha1 and md5 and they are both still the correct versions. I am running with the grey version and an 8800gt and 32Gb ram.

Anybody got any ideas why this is not working ?

Thanks in advance