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

[rthpjm]

I thought I am missing something that should be displayed... By the way, what happens when I press Command-R at boot and there is 2 Recovery OS partitions? I thought that at least one should boot, but neither 10.7.5, nor 10.11.4 recovery partitions boot

Hello Andreaux,

You might want to give my RRHD a try see post #1607
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Hi there,

How can I tell if SIP is really disabled? I am unfortunately unable to boot into the Recovery partition (I don't know why), but I tried booting the installer disk and issued the csrutil disable command...
Now if I boot normally and issue a csrutil status command, I get this:

bash-3.2# csrutil status

System Integrity Protection status: enabled (Custom Configuration).

Configuration:
Apple Internal: disabled
Kext Signing: disabled
Filesystem Protections: disabled
Debugging Restrictions: disabled
DTrace Restrictions: disabled
NVRAM Protections: disabled

This is an unsupported configuration, likely to break in the future and leave your machine in an unknown state.

Is this how it's supposed to look like?

Any advice welcome.

Cheers,

Andreaux

That's weird!
It says "enabled" and then lists everything as disabled!

What version of the OS were you booted into when you ran that command?

You typically have to be booted from the recovery partition (of 10.11.x) to make changes to the SIP configuration. This is because the kernel (SIP) protects both system files and the NVRAM. SIP's configuration is held in NVRAM, therefore to make changes you need a recovery partition (or strictly speaking something that will allow you to change the NVRAM).

I know Pike had some early versions of the boot.efi files for 10.11 that might cause the SIP configuration to behave as you have reported. Do you have the "latest" boot.efi files installed on El Capitan?
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I think CaptainPike works in a similar way to Boot64 so may be causing the "custom" status. My understanding is that SIP is disabled on the boot.efi files so they can be replaced automatically if / when the OS update tries to change them. There are ways to be able to boot into recovery - look for posts by rthpjm - but as others have noted, it doesn't matter that much as you probably have an earlier OS you can boot into to make any changes to things such as boot.efi files.

For clarity. BOOT64 relies on some modifications to the SIP compatibility bundle (strictly speaking the Sandbox extension compatibility bundle), and yes it does try to maintain those changes too for when Apple updates the files.

Neither BOOT64 nor capitanpikefix interact with csrutil. This has to be done when running a kernel that allows modification of the NVRAM (e.g. the one in the recovery partition)....

For capitanpikefix to work, SIP must be disabled.
For BOOT64 to work, the Sandbox compatibility bundle must be correct, and then SIP can either be enabled or disabled. (I have a feeling that Apple may have changed things with 10.11.3 or 10.11.4 that will stop BOOT64 from working with SIP enabled - it will work if SIP is disabled. I'm still investigating!)

As a simple rule:
If in doubt, disable SIP first!

 

[sweetspud]

Hi guys!

I haven't checked-in in quite some time. I realize this is a bit lazy... I'm wondering if someone might be kind enough to direct me to the absolute latest ElCap install procedure. I am currently running 10.10.5 on my MP 1,1 tweaked to 2,1.

Much thanks in advance!!

 

[Ant3000]

Post 1390 is a good source of info - pay close attention to Ram and how it is configured if installing with a USB installer. 12gb is required and no 512s or use Target Disk.

 

[sweetspud]

Post 1390 is a good source of info - pay close attention to Ram and how it is configured if installing with a USB installer. 12gb is required and no 512s or use Target Disk.

Thanks very much!

 

[sOwL]

Sorry if this has been asked before, this thread got really big.

What would the procedure be for marginal updates? Would I have to re-patch files? Would it fail? Trying to figure if I should bother with keeping the system up to date or just leave it at 10.11 and call it a day. This machine is a server so apart from security updates and software compatibility I don't really care.

Edit: Meh, it's been a while and I'm forgetting things. Supposedly the pikify I'm using can survive updates. I hope this functionality doesn't break in the future!

 

[Ant3000]

Have a look at post 2226 at top of this page - it is a case of trying to keep up with what Apple decides to do with each update. Some of the incremental updates from 10.11 to 10.11.4 have been fine but some appear to have changed the boot.efi files so what did work for one update may not work on the next update. Using Boot64 it seemed to work OK for me up to 10.11.4 but I have now just done a fresh install onto a SSD using 10.11.4 as the starting point. Big thread but reading it gives a great overview of how this stuff works and how smart some people are in making this work for us.

 

[sOwL]

Have a look at post 2226 at top of this page - it is a case of trying to keep up with what Apple decides to do with each update. Some of the incremental updates from 10.11 to 10.11.4 have been fine but some appear to have changed the boot.efi files so what did work for one update may not work on the next update. Using Boot64 it seemed to work OK for me up to 10.11.4 but I have now just done a fresh install onto a SSD using 10.11.4 as the starting point. Big thread but reading it gives a great overview of how this stuff works and how smart some people are in making this work for us.

Hey, thanks for your reply. Yeah I've been reading further about this and trying to decide if I should scratch my update itch or just let it be. I think I'll go for 10.11.4 and stay with it until there is more information on it. It's more important for this machine to be reliable 24/7 than constantly having to troubleshoot updates that won't bring much benefits to the table for such a use case.

Edit: Though non-incremental updates like security patches should be fine, right?

 

[Ant3000]

Hi, I know what you mean about updates - my Mac is used for work and need to keep it running smoothly so not jumped in too soon with updates. 11.4 is the current OS (except the 11.5 beta) so is as far as you can go anyway. I think some updates changed the .efi files while some did not, so having them taken care of with the scripts created by rthpjm and others seem like a good option but you can always do it manually via Terminal - details also on this thread. I think the patches are OK but as I used Boot64 it is difficult to say if any protection from changes was necessary.
You could always do a clean install of 10.11.4 on a free HD or SSD and migrate over your data when you are happy it is working - that is what I did, so my working system wasn't jeopardised at all.

 

[sOwL]

Hi, I know what you mean about updates - my Mac is used for work and need to keep it running smoothly so not jumped in too soon with updates. 11.4 is the current OS (except the 11.5 beta) so is as far as you can go anyway. I think some updates changed the .efi files while some did not, so having them taken care of with the scripts created by rthpjm and others seem like a good option but you can always do it manually via Terminal - details also on this thread. I think the patches are OK but as I used Boot64 it is difficult to say if any protection from changes was necessary.
You could always do a clean install of 10.11.4 on a free HD or SSD and migrate over your data when you are happy it is working - that is what I did, so my working system wasn't jeopardised at all.

I don't think this would be an option - using this machine as a server for multiple purposes and the amount of configuration I went through was insane... I'm more of the "always keep a working config backed up" guy so I can always go back to it if things go south. I used 10.11.3 as my starting point so I guess It's one simple upgrade I could try. I'll take a look at Boot64, haven't installed any scripts after upgrading.

 

[drkheure]

I decided to buy new memory after all and give it another try. Also because I plan to change windows7 ( steam games ) into windows 10. ( directx12 )
I also plan this summer to buy either an nvidia 1070 or 1060. Or would that be a bad idea ( newest nvidia card ) I am currently running with a 650ti. Was always on the lookout for a 960, but never that impressed by price/performance. For 150 euros, I would buy it immediately, but price was always well over 200.

 

[Parsuto]

Excuse me a question, this topic has many pages and DO read all takes a long time, I wonder if a mac pro 1.1 2006 has 32-bit install and we el capitan with the system that we know, but then always run 32-bit and not to 64-bit right?
then FCPX will not work right?
thank you

 

[F1Mac]

Excuse me a question, this topic has many pages and DO read all takes a long time, I wonder if a mac pro 1.1 2006 has 32-bit install and we el capitan with the system that we know, but then always run 32-bit and not to 64-bit right?
then FCPX will not work right?
thank you

The Mac Pro 1,1 is fully capable of running 64 bit applications, in fact you've been running them for years, even before Moutain Lion. It's just the EFI bios, for some reason, that was limited to 32 bit. What Tiamo, Pike and the rest of the courageous gang that made it possible did is fool the OS X installer and make it think our venerable machines were compatible. Thanks to their invaluable time and effort (and the proper graphic card), they are.

You'll have absolutely no problem running FCPX on a 1,1. FCPX is just another 64 bit application, like every other one sitting in your Applications folder.

 

[rthpjm]

Excuse me a question, this topic has many pages and DO read all takes a long time, I wonder if a mac pro 1.1 2006 has 32-bit install and we el capitan with the system that we know, but then always run 32-bit and not to 64-bit right?
then FCPX will not work right?
thank you

Hello Parsuto,

MacPros have Xeon processors. Even the 1,1 model is a fully capable 64-bit machine.

The references to 32-bit are describing the EFI boot environment (in PC terms the BIOS). It's the firmware that is responsible for initializing the hardware and performing the initial boot. It then hands over to the operating system (Mac OS X).

EFI Boot environment = 32-bit
Machine CPUs = 64-bit
Mac OS X = 64-bit
For completeness
Windows (via Boot Camp) =32 or 64-bit, your choice

Therefore, the efforts here concentrate on the ability to get our old Macs to boot.
The EFI firmware will effectively load and execute the initialisation from the Mac OS X distribution file known as 'boot.efi'.
Apple no longer supports the MacPro 1,1 and 2,1, and therefore only distributes boot.efi files that are for a 64-bit EFI architecture. Community contributors Tiamo and Pike developed a boot.efi file that "thunks" (emulates) the 64-bit function calls, mapping them to work with a 32-bit EFI environment. This allows us to boot our old Macs.

Once the machine is booted it is running in a full 64-bit mode. I cannot comment on Final Cut Pro, I don't own or use it. Others may be able to answer this directly, but I can see no reason why it will not work, it should work. You might want to maximize your machine RAM to be as effective as possible.....

 

[Parsuto]

I realized thanks to all

 

[owbp]

I made this video on Final Cut Pro X (10.2.3) with my 1,1 (it still had dual X5150 and AMD HD6850 when i did it) and it was working like a champ. Now, with HD7950 , it just flies!

Don't worry about 64bit apps, as rthpjm said, the only problem with this machine is booting into 64bit OS X, nothing else.

 

[Parsuto]

thanks

 

[bobdenaut]

Hello guys, big thank you for your efforts!
I just managed to install El Capitan on my MacPro2.1:

Now, I have a few questions (problems) and I don't know what to do...

1. I tried to install CapitanPikeFix_black.pkg but il failed.
2. I can not boot into recovery (I did copied the modified boot.ef over the recovery
3. Is it safe to upgrade the OS live from Apple?
4. I have a new video card "zotac nvidia gtx 750 ti". Can anyone drop me a few lines in order to make it working? (I haven't installed anything like nvidia web driver)

Thank you!

 

[owbp]

1. Didn't use fix script since Yosemite, sorry.
2. If you look at the post #2161 you'll see that i have the same problem.
3. It will delete boot.efi files, so you'll have to have another OS X (small partition with OS X) to replace them.
4. Install nVidia web driver with your 7300 GT, check that you want to use it (on the toolbar). During restart, shut down your Mac, put 750 in and boot with it. It should work, minus boot screens.

 

[bobdenaut]

3. It will delete boot.efi files, so you'll have to have another OS X (small partition with OS X) to replace them.

Ok, I have another HD with Lion. I will try.

4. Install nVidia web driver with your 7300 GT, check that you want to use it (on the toolbar). During restart, shut down your Mac, put 750 in and boot with it. It should work, minus boot screens.

What? restart and kill Mac to swap video cards?
What version of nvidia webdriver should I install?

Thanks

 

[bobdenaut]

Ok, I didn't know I must kill my macpro during the boot process, now I've got the gtx 750 ti working
Looking for the solution for the next problems )

 

[bobdenaut]

Hello again, can you please explain what should I do here? (see attached)

Thank you!

 

[owbp]

Ok, I didn't know I must kill my macpro during the boot process, now I've got the gtx 750 ti working

Sorry, you don't have to if you're keeping both cards in your Mac, but i assumed you don't have GTX750 installed yet.

Hello again, can you please explain what should I do here? (see attached)
View attachment 631217
Thank you!

Well, usually, graphics will perform best in x16 lane slot. So you'll want to remove it to first slot and choose 1st or 2nd option (with x16 in pci1).
If your x16 slot doesn't work for some reason (but you didn't say so) then keep it at x8 lane, not in x1 like it is now.

 

[bobdenaut]

Sorry, you don't have to if you're keeping both cards in your Mac, but i assumed you don't have GTX750 installed yet.


Well, usually, graphics will perform best in x16 lane slot. So you'll want to remove it to first slot and choose 1st or 2nd option (with x16 in pci1).
If your x16 slot doesn't work for some reason (but you didn't say so) then keep it at x8 lane, not in x1 like it is now.
View attachment 631232

Thank you for your explanations

My card is in 3rd slot because it doesn't work in 1st for some reason.
What should I do? Try 2nd or something?

 

[owbp]

Does it work in first slot if it is set to x8 lane?
I would use third setting (Three x8 Lane + One x1 Lane) and then pout it in first, second or fourth slot.
There isn't much difference between x16 and x8 slots.


P.S. App is in the System/Library/CoreServices/ and is called Expansion Slot Utility

 

[bobdenaut]

Does it work in first slot if it is set to x8 lane?
I would use third setting (Three x8 Lane + One x1 Lane) and then pout it in first, second or fourth slot.
There isn't much difference between x16 and x8 slots.
View attachment 631233 View attachment 631234

P.S. App is in the System/Library/CoreServices/ and is called Expansion Slot Utility

In first slot it even doesn't light up the monitor ))
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Does it work in first slot if it is set to x8 lane?
I would use third setting (Three x8 Lane + One x1 Lane) and then pout it in first, second or fourth slot.
There isn't much difference between x16 and x8 slots.
View attachment 631233 View attachment 631234

P.S. App is in the System/Library/CoreServices/ and is called Expansion Slot Utility