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

[Sandleford]

I tried to install el capitan on the mac pro 1,1s drive on another machine that supports it then add the boot.efi files. I had it all booting and the recovery partition but it was crashing every two minutes. Was thinking maybe because its got 5gb ram but saw that was only for the make installer script?

Is there a number of things that would cause that? Should I wait for more work to be done on the el capitan boot.efis?

Crashed the most on messing with the App Store updates section.

Maybe improper permissions on the boot.efi on recovery partition? The app store update was for the recovery partition. Did not worry about it because it was booting without doing alterations to to ownership. At one point, don't recall where, I changed the ownership in terminal but it did not reflect in the get info.

Tried with and without sip on but gave up and went back to yosemite because its real stable.

 

[rthpjm]

openssl md5 boot.efi /Users/lysanderlenihan/Downloads/boot.efi

boot.efi: No such file or directory

MD5(/Users/lysanderlenihan/Downloads/boot.efi)= 036476dc081da904f50736eb56acbcfa

Hello Sandleford,

You have too many boot.efis on your command line. You are asking to md5 hash two files; boot.efi in "this directory" and /Users/lysanderlenihan/Downloads/boot.efi. The first one failed because there was no boot.efi file in "this directory" (the one you were in when you ran the command).

I suspect you were following some instructions to compare what was installed against the file you downloaded. In which case you needed:

cd /System/Library/CoreServices
openssl md5 boot.efi /Users/lysanderlenihan/Downloads/boot.efi

By changing directory to a folder that does contain a boot.efi file, it will show you the md5 hash for both files (and therefore you can compare them)

Or

openssl md5 /System/Library/CoreServices/boot.efi /Users/lysanderlenihan/Downloads/boot.efi

would do the same thing.

BTW, Mac OS X has a convenient shorthand command md5 (you can omit the openssl prefix)

 

[rthpjm]

I tried to install el capitan on the mac pro 1,1s drive on another machine that supports it then add the boot.efi files. I had it all booting and the recovery partition but it was crashing every two minutes. Was thinking maybe because its got 5gb ram but saw that was only for the make installer script?

Is there a number of things that would cause that? Should I wait for more work to be done on the el capitan boot.efis?

Crashed the most on messing with the App Store updates section.

Maybe improper permissions on the boot.efi on recovery partition? The app store update was for the recovery partition. Did not worry about it because it was booting without doing alterations to to ownership. At one point, don't recall where, I changed the ownership in terminal but it did not reflect in the get info.

Tried with and without sip on but gave up and went back to yosemite because its real stable.

Most users who have reported crashes/kernel panics like yours have found the issue to be related to bad RAM. We are not yet sure why, but we think it "could" be related to 512MB RAM sticks. Users who purchased 2GB RAM sticks and replaced their 512MB ones have reported stability. True, this usually takes their total RAM up to 16GB (because they've usually purchased 8 sticks and replaced all RAM in all RAM slots). OR it could be just the need for a higher overall RAM configuration. Like I said we are not sure....

See the posts from #846 onwards in the developer's thread there are some references to cheap RAM

 

[Sandleford]

Well you know, can't really have "too much" ram.

Thanks so much for working on this everybody

Will play with taking out the 512s and after order some. Any suggestions for good prices good ram? Yea, good price and good? You know what I mean

 

[mossman1120]

openssl md5 boot.efi /Users/lysanderlenihan/Downloads/boot.efi

boot.efi: No such file or directory

MD5(/Users/lysanderlenihan/Downloads/boot.efi)= 036476dc081da904f50736eb56acbcfa

I see the issue. The openssl md5 is the command to calculate the md5 hash. The two parameters after are the files you are asking it to hash with the first being boot.fi and the second being /Users/lysanderlenihan/Downloads/boot.efi. The command you want to run is openssl md5 /Users/lysanderlenihan/Downloads/boot.efi

 

[mossman1120]

Since I am going to be installing some more RAM in my machine before I upgrade to El Capitan I was thinking about upgrading the processors to two X5356. I have heard that one should upgrade their firmware with a tool for this site. I wanted to see if anyone here could provide me with some of their wisdom.

1. Has anyone else upgraded their processors?
2. Does it make much difference?
3. Do you need to upgrade the firmware?
   1. I tried to make an account but it seems the activation email system is down does anyone know how to contact someone there about that?

Thanks again.

 

[chackett]

Since I am going to be installing some more RAM in my machine before I upgrade to El Capitan I was thinking about upgrading the processors to two X5356. I have heard that one should upgrade their firmware with a tool for this site. I wanted to see if anyone here could provide me with some of their wisdom.

1. Has anyone else upgraded their processors?
2. Does it make much difference?
3. Do you need to upgrade the firmware?
   1. I tried to make an account but it seems the activation email system is down does anyone know how to contact someone there about that?

Thanks again.

If you routinely run apps that require multiple cores (like, for example, editing video or running number-crunching programs like any of the BOINC projects), then it's definitely worthwhile. If you don't, then you'll get a small boost from the higher clock rate but you won't notice that much of a difference. That being said, the best cpu's you can get for these old machines (x5365s) are relatively cheap now, so I'd say go for it. I did and I don't regret it (but I also perform both of the activities I mentioned above). You have to upgrade your firmware to 2,1 to get your system to recognize the new cpus (and perhaps for them to even run, I'm not sure about that). The script to do so should be readily available on the internet.

 

[mossman1120]

If you routinely run apps that require multiple cores (like, for example, editing video or running number-crunching programs like any of the BOINC projects), then it's definitely worthwhile. If you don't, then you'll get a small boost from the higher clock rate but you won't notice that much of a difference. That being said, the best cpu's you can get for these old machines (x5365s) are relatively cheap now, so I'd say go for it. I did and I don't regret it (but I also perform both of the activities I mentioned above). You have to upgrade your firmware to 2,1 to get your system to recognize the new cpus (and perhaps for them to even run, I'm not sure about that). The script to do so should be readily available on the internet.

Thanks for information. I just pulled the trigger on two x5365 SLAED as they seemed like the best bang for the buck. I am trying to get the updater from netkas but I haven't received my activation email yet. Fingers crossed that will come soon.

I am guessing you grabbed that utility, upgraded, replaced CPUs, reset PRAM / NVRAM, and restarted twice? How is the heat / fans?

 

[rthpjm]

Hello everyone,

If you have been using my Boot64 package to allow seamless upgrades to El Capitan (10.11.1 and 10.11.2), then be aware that I found the 10.11.2 update caused Boot64.v2 an issue. I believe that I have fixed the issue, and Boot64.v3.mpkg.zip is now posted back at #1391

However, those of you that have been using Boot64, and have already upgraded to 10.11.2 might wish to check if your system is working well with Boot64.

To check:
On your normal working El Capitan partition, open a Terminal and type

sudo -s
[your password]
touch /System/Library/CoreServices/boot.efi

If you get a response 'Operation not permitted', then we need to fix it. Sorry!

To fix it:

• Download and install Boot64.v3.mpkg.zip from post #1391
• Boot from the Recovery Partition
• Once in the Recovery HD, open a Terminal from the Utilities menu

• csrutil disable

• Reboot back to your normal working El Capitan partition

sudo -s
[your password]
/usr/libexec/rootless-init
exit

• Reboot back into your Recovery HD
• Once in the Recovery HD, open a Terminal from the Utilities menu
  

• csrutil enable

• Reboot back to your normal working El Capitan partition

You can test that the fix has worked by re-running the check code above again. This time there should be no message returned after the touch command is executed.

 

[rthpjm]

Thanks for information. I just pulled the trigger on two x5365 SLAED as they seemed like the best bang for the buck. I am trying to get the updater from netkas but I haven't received my activation email yet. Fingers crossed that will come soon.

I am guessing you grabbed that utility, upgraded, replaced CPUs, reset PRAM / NVRAM, and restarted twice? How is the heat / fans?

I put E5345s in mine. I went from 2 x dual core to 2 x quad core, a total of 8 cores. Yes I updated my firmware using the tool from the netkas forum, so my original 1,1 now reports itself as a 2,1 and sees the XEON processors okay.

It has been rock solid. The fans are 'normal', occasionally they decide to ramp up to full speed (usually on wake), but after a few seconds they return to low speed/normal. I figured it just blows some of the dust out on those occasions

 

[charlan7]

Question for rthpjm: (SIP is disable) and if I have the com.capitan.pike.plist installed in the launchdaemons folder... is this ok ? (OS 10.11.2)

 

[Ant3000]

Since I am going to be installing some more RAM in my machine before I upgrade to El Capitan I was thinking about upgrading the processors to two X5356. I have heard that one should upgrade their firmware with a tool for this site. I wanted to see if anyone here could provide me with some of their wisdom.

1. Has anyone else upgraded their processors?
2. Does it make much difference?
3. Do you need to upgrade the firmware?
   1. I tried to make an account but it seems the activation email system is down does anyone know how to contact someone there about that?

Thanks again.

Hi, I upgraded my 1.1 about 6 months ago - this video was really helpful and shows all the steps needed as well as the tools and materials required (cleaner, thermal paste etc).

I ran the firmware update from netkas but some articles I read said it wasn't absolutely necessary but just ensured the cpus were listed correctly in "about this Mac" but this may be dependent on the firmware you are currently running. I found it quite straightforward - removing the fan cover was the trickiest bit. As noted by others, improvements will depend on what software you are running but I did notice a general improvement in performance and geek bench scores about doubled. I also installed an SSD as a boot drive which improved things even more - or certainly feels like it does.
I also installed a temp monitor to check temp of everything before and after installation to make sure everything looked OK. Made a few adjustments with SMC Fan Control to keep temps down over the summer but only tiny changes were made.

 

[Mjsais]

I must have missed a step somewhere. I'm currently running 10.10 on my macpro 1,1 with no problems. In preparation to installing 10.11, I replaced the boot.efi.pike file used by pikeyosefix with version 3.1 (my intent was to upgrade to Capitan using the AppStore). Yosemite booted but I'm now experiencing Keychain errors. Any idea what I screwed up?

 

[rthpjm]

Question for rthpjm: (SIP is disable) and if I have the com.capitan.pike.plist installed in the launchdaemons folder... is this ok ? (OS 10.11.2)

Hello Charlan7

Yes. I have been talking with 666sheep about CapitanPikeFix. At the moment CapitanPikeFix assumes that SIP has been disabled. In effect it behaves exactly like pikeYosFix on Yosemite. It requires SIP to be off.

My Boot64 daemon will work with SIP enabled (so long as you follow the initial steps in my earlier post).

 

[rthpjm]

I must have missed a step somewhere. I'm currently running 10.10 on my macpro 1,1 with no problems. In preparation to installing 10.11, I replaced the boot.efi.pike file used by pikeyosefix with version 3.1 (my intent was to upgrade to Capitan using the AppStore). Yosemite booted but I'm now experiencing Keychain errors. Any idea what I screwed up?

Hello Mjsais,

I cannot tell exactly, but please remember Pike's version 3 boot.efi is intended for use with El Capitan (and SIP). Version 3 was developed and tested on El Capitan. If you still have a copy of the older efi file, perhaps you should go back to using that whilst still on Yosemite? If nothing else it will prove that the issue is mixing Pike's V3.1 efi file with Yosemite...

 

[leoiv]

Since I am going to be installing some more RAM in my machine before I upgrade to El Capitan I was thinking about upgrading the processors to two X5356. I have heard that one should upgrade their firmware with a tool for this site. I wanted to see if anyone here could provide me with some of their wisdom.

1. Has anyone else upgraded their processors?
2. Does it make much difference?
3. Do you need to upgrade the firmware?
   1. I tried to make an account but it seems the activation email system is down does anyone know how to contact someone there about that?

Thanks again.

Done months ago: everything ok (2 x 2.66 dual-core-->2 x 3.0 quad-core)

You can spot the difference, like chackett said, only for apps that require multiple cores like editing video etc.
Anyway here's a simple test i did before and after:

Here's the firmware upgrade utility i used (netkas' one):
https://nekaka.com/d/KYmhxJnD1x

And here's a guide:
http://retrocosm.net/2012/05/25/mac-pro-11-processor-upgrade/

 

[Jayson A]

Hi all! I called Apple Support and gave them the Customer Code to activate iMessage and they were able to unblock my Mac, however, I still cannot log in. Messages.app keeps giving me the same error with the same customer code. Is this one of those things that may take a few hours?

The support guy said that my Mac is unblocked on his end, but it's still not letting me log into iMessage. Please let me know if anyone else has called Apple Support and got iMessage working.

Thank you!

Edit: I just tried 2 of my OLDER Apple IDs and the BOTH WORK. However, the new Apple ID I have (the one I use on everything else) still will not work in iMessage. What is the deal with that? Why do I have no issues with the other 2 Apple IDs?

Here's the kicker, I never called and got those other Apple IDs activated for this machine.

 

[Rustynova]

Hi all! I called Apple Support and gave them the Customer Code to activate iMessage and they were able to unblock my Mac, however, I still cannot log in. Messages.app keeps giving me the same error with the same customer code. Is this one of those things that may take a few hours?

The support guy said that my Mac is unblocked on his end, but it's still not letting me log into iMessage. Please let me know if anyone else has called Apple Support and got iMessage working.

Thank you!

Edit: I just tried 2 of my OLDER Apple IDs and the BOTH WORK. However, the new Apple ID I have (the one I use on everything else) still will not work in iMessage. What is the deal with that? Why do I have no issues with the other 2 Apple IDs?

Here's the kicker, I never called and got those other Apple IDs activated for this machine.

I had a similar problem. When I upgraded to El Capitan I lost iMessage and Handoff capabilities. I tried all of the logging off and back on scenarios, etc. Didn't get the Customer Code to activate like I did on Yosemite. Called Apple Support and spent weeks going back and forth, new fresh install on different drive, etc. Same problem. Sent numerous test reports to them. To make a long story short, they finally concluded there was something wrong with the account on the server end. They finally fixed it and now iMessage works and Handoff. With your older ID's working and this one not, I would conclude it is on the server end. Hopefully they'll keep working on it until they can find it like they did for me. I was quite surprised that they spent the time they did knowing it was a 2006 Mac Pro.

 

[chackett]

It has been rock solid. The fans are 'normal', occasionally they decide to ramp up to full speed (usually on wake), but after a few seconds they return to low speed/normal. I figured it just blows some of the dust out on those occasions

Same thing here. No increase in fan speeds during normal operation. It's a PITA getting the cover off of the cpus to replace them, but other than that it was pretty straightforward.

 

[artooks]

Hi All,

I am asked to update to Mac OSX 10.11.2 I am already using my mac pro 2,1 with boot.efi but for updates how should I do it can I install it with no problem ?

 

[Jayson A]

I had a similar problem. When I upgraded to El Capitan I lost iMessage and Handoff capabilities. I tried all of the logging off and back on scenarios, etc. Didn't get the Customer Code to activate like I did on Yosemite. Called Apple Support and spent weeks going back and forth, new fresh install on different drive, etc. Same problem. Sent numerous test reports to them. To make a long story short, they finally concluded there was something wrong with the account on the server end. They finally fixed it and now iMessage works and Handoff. With your older ID's working and this one not, I would conclude it is on the server end. Hopefully they'll keep working on it until they can find it like they did for me. I was quite surprised that they spent the time they did knowing it was a 2006 Mac Pro.

Weird. I'm still able to log into iMessage on my Mac Pro at work (2012 model) and it's also weird that my other Apple IDs can log in with no problems (even though I've never called to get those IDs working).

I guess I could just use one of my old IDs just for iMessage.

 

[bulgakov]

I had no trouble doing the lazy man's way to install. one thing though even without upgrade I had a hd go south as directory size limit changed and only half drive was available and would not reformat.. Anyone had this problem? I also have an external that suddenly when I went to do install said it was not mac extended journal but it was ... even said so in disk tools... Another strange thing ram size is reported two gigs under... with el capitan and yosemite. Could get one to come up with swapping but not another machine. Read thread and did not see this...

 

[rytrunkie]

Done! Thanks!

 

[Tmonster]

Im trying to figure out how to get the system to boot off the usb drive on my mac pro 1 1. Followed the guide for pikify stuff, and i have i boot usb drive with "Install OS X El Capitan" on it, but when i plug it in and boot up my pc i get "no bootable devices found, insert boot disc."
Saw required ram amount, is it only the amount of ram, or also the type. I have 24 gb of Server Ram out of an HP G5 along with two 4 core xeons cpu's out of the G5. I have gotten windows 7 up and running in 64 bit so i know it works for that, but now that windows 10 is out i figured i would upgrade.
I also have a gtx 750 ti with vga adapter on the DVI.
I did my setup on a cruddy I Mac and currently dont have a mac HDD in my Mac Pro so that could be the problem.
This whole thing kinda lacks a end all guide from step 1 to step ___, but figured some stuff out from my Hackintosh Knowledge

Thanks

 

[rthpjm]

Im trying to figure out how to get the system to boot off the usb drive on my mac pro 1 1. Followed the guide for pikify stuff, and i have i boot usb drive with "Install OS X El Capitan" on it, but when i plug it in and boot up my pc i get "no bootable devices found, insert boot disc."
Saw required ram amount, is it only the amount of ram, or also the type. I have 24 gb of Server Ram out of an HP G5 along with two 4 core xeons cpu's out of the G5. I have gotten windows 7 up and running in 64 bit so i know it works for that, but now that windows 10 is out i figured i would upgrade.
I also have a gtx 750 ti with vga adapter on the DVI.
I did my setup on a cruddy I Mac and currently dont have a mac HDD in my Mac Pro so that could be the problem.

Thanks

You mention both a PC and a cruddy Mac. Which one are you trying to install onto? (I'm guessing probably not the Mac since you say there is no HDD in it!).

These installers are typically formatted with Journaled HFS+ file systems, out of the box PC's with standard BIOS or EFI won't have HFS+ drivers and therefore won't recognise the disk as formatted. When you say "boot up my PC" did you mean PC or did you mean the Mac Pro? If you meant the PC then you need the Hackintosh forums, not this one. This forum is for owners of the first 2 generations of Intel-based Mac Pros (and some of the early Intel-based MacBooks), the common feature being that these models of Macs have 32-bit EFI implementations in firmware (later models switched to 64-bit EFI implementations in firmware. Apple is now only supporting the 64-bit EFI models with their OS releases).

Try looking for Chameleon and/or rEFIt/Clover if you are targeting a PC.

If you are booting from the Mac Pro, wait for the startup chime, then hold down the Alt (aka Option) key as soon as you hear the chime. You should be presented with the 'Boot picker', the volume entitled 'Install OS X El Capitan' should be shown, select that.