iM 4,1-14,4 2011 iMac Graphics Card Upgrade

[xibuh]

Hi! I have a problem. I changed Hd6970M to WX4150. macOS Ventura is OK, but Windows on 2nd drive don't work. OCLP boot loader see Windows, but it can't boot. Just black screen. Can anybody help me?

 

[Dead_Logo]

Has anybody solved 300mhz problem on m6100?Or who may know why is this problem appears?

 

[ChrizLoud]

Has someone with K4100 GPU with black screens after WINDOWS boot tried using agdpmod=vit9696 in boot-args?
If it works it would be awesome if it was added automaticly with OCLP if it sees Nvida GPU or does it have any downsides?

I just tried this and it did not help. Still several minutes black screen 50% of the time. Also there is no Brightness control.

 

[tokoskel]

Hello all,

Specs for my system:
iMac 27” Mid 2011
2x 500GB SSD + Optical drive
- Windows 10 (UEFI) on SSD#1 and High Sierra on SSD#2 behind optical drive
20GB Memory
i5 processor
AMD 6770 HD 512MB

Recently installed Windows 10, which was not that straightforward. For example Intel graphics driver causing crashes, sounds not working etc. but got that sorted at the end.

The HDD fan sounds horrible, so I need to take my iMac apart anyway when replacing the fan. So I thought why not upgrade the system at the same time and get more recent macOS installed. I have had the iMac open couple of times when installing SSDs so that part should be ok.

Here’s what I have ordered:
- New fans
- i7 2600 3.4GHz Processor
- AMD WX4130 green Dell 1.1v GPU
- 2x8GB SODIMM memory to max out to 32GB
- 20x20x0.5mm copper shims for the GPU as well as thermal paste/putty for the CPU/GPU+VRAM

So here’s my plan at the moment:

1. Read the EEPROM on the GPU and Flash a new VBIOS
I have CH431a EEPROM programmer, modified for 3.3V SPI. I have read that the clip does not really hold properly to WX4130 EEPROM, but I’m going to try anyway. Soldering etc. is not a problem. I could also get a replacement EEPROM chip and just swap it after flashing.
2. Create Big Sur USB install disk with OpenCore legacy patcher
3. I was thinking upgrading the CPU and GPU at the same go (not sure is that a good idea(?)) Memory upgrade should be straightforward.
4. As I understood the 6770 HD is the same form factor as the WX4130 so the original X-clamp should fit after removing the new one (?)
5. Boot to High Sierra (might need to plug in an external display to miniDP?)
6. Build OpenCore to USB Big Sur install disk
7. Reboot to the USB drive to install Big Sur
8. Build OpenCore legacy patcher to the macOS SSD
9. Boot to Windows 10 and update graphics drivers

Questions: Which VBIOS should I use? As I understood there are 3 versions; GOP, EG2, and EG. Since I’m dual booting to Windows/macOS, should I use the EG VBIOS then from GitHub to get the EFI boot screen? There is also the ALT version in Github, not sure what that is?

I’m new to OpenCore and don’t have experience with it. Browsing the thread I got little conflicting information at what point should I install the OpenCore and new macOS? Before the GPU upgrade, or after it?

I was thinking installing Big Sur over the old High Sierra installation. Is that a good idea? Or should I format the whole SSD drive and start with clean install? And should I go directly to e.g. Ventura?

Anything else I’m missing? Anything I should do to the Windows 10 installation? Should it boot right away after GPU upgrade? I wish not to reinstall it, it was quite painful the first time..

Thanks!

 

[howardc64]

Hello all,

Specs for my system:
iMac 27” Mid 2011
2x 500GB SSD + Optical drive
- Windows 10 (UEFI) on SSD#1 and High Sierra on SSD#2 behind optical drive
20GB Memory
i5 processor
AMD 6770 HD 512MB

Recently installed Windows 10, which was not that straightforward. For example Intel graphics driver causing crashes, sounds not working etc. but got that sorted at the end.

The HDD fan sounds horrible, so I need to take my iMac apart anyway when replacing the fan. So I thought why not upgrade the system at the same time and get more recent macOS installed. I have had the iMac open couple of times when installing SSDs so that part should be ok.

Here’s what I have ordered:
- New fans
- i7 2600 3.4GHz Processor
- AMD WX4130 green Dell 1.1v GPU
- 2x8GB SODIMM memory to max out to 32GB
- 20x20x0.5mm copper shims for the GPU as well as thermal paste/putty for the CPU/GPU+VRAM

So here’s my plan at the moment:

1. Read the EEPROM on the GPU and Flash a new VBIOS
I have CH431a EEPROM programmer, modified for 3.3V SPI. I have read that the clip does not really hold properly to WX4130 EEPROM, but I’m going to try anyway. Soldering etc. is not a problem. I could also get a replacement EEPROM chip and just swap it after flashing.
2. Create Big Sur USB install disk with OpenCore legacy patcher
3. I was thinking upgrading the CPU and GPU at the same go (not sure is that a good idea(?)) Memory upgrade should be straightforward.
4. As I understood the 6770 HD is the same form factor as the WX4130 so the original X-clamp should fit after removing the new one (?)
5. Boot to High Sierra (might need to plug in an external display to miniDP?)
6. Build OpenCore to USB Big Sur install disk
7. Reboot to the USB drive to install Big Sur
8. Build OpenCore legacy patcher to the macOS SSD
9. Boot to Windows 10 and update graphics drivers

Questions: Which VBIOS should I use? As I understood there are 3 versions; GOP, EG2, and EG. Since I’m dual booting to Windows/macOS, should I use the EG VBIOS then from GitHub to get the EFI boot screen? There is also the ALT version in Github, not sure what that is?

I’m new to OpenCore and don’t have experience with it. Browsing the thread I got little conflicting information at what point should I install the OpenCore and new macOS? Before the GPU upgrade, or after it?

I was thinking installing Big Sur over the old High Sierra installation. Is that a good idea? Or should I format the whole SSD drive and start with clean install? And should I go directly to e.g. Ventura?

Anything else I’m missing? Anything I should do to the Windows 10 installation? Should it boot right away after GPU upgrade? I wish not to reinstall it, it was quite painful the first time..

Thanks!

A lot of upgrade steps, maybe good to do it in steps : +WX4130+OCLP then Win10 after. My recent experience on 2x iMac 12,2+HD 6770 -> WX4130. Info is overlayed on my 11,1+M5100 install experience.

iMac+Metal GPU - 12,x

Main Info Source All the info is gleamed from the big macrumor's thread post #1. Be sure to consult the following sections. No way to link to these sections so perhaps open 2 browser windows to read side by side this site and these sections Spoiler: 2 Working AMD Graphics Cards Spoiler: AMD GCN v4

sites.google.com

Note I assume

• Clean install to blank SSD. Simpler and no worries on preserving data if something goes wrong.
• I wrote the can't CH341A clip the EEPROM on WX4130 on post #1 and the 3.3v mods (Did flash 2x M4000 with CH341A clip). Just use the easy GRML method. Although understandable to want to pre-flash on 12,x. any GPU re-install require pulling logic board.

I used AMD 6770 HD bracket for WX4130 install. Perfect.

Haven't done Win dual boot yet but I also gather EG* vBIOS AND logic board bootrom flash are required? No experience on this so someone else can chime in Again, probably good to do it in multiple steps as you are staring without OCLP experience.

BTW, good job on pre-install research! Gathered a lot of good info

 

[Stefanox2410]

** NVIDIA Quadro K3000M Mac Edition ROM by @stephle **
Genuine Native Boot Screen & Brightness Control
​

View attachment 1740925

@stephle put together the following ROM for the NVIDIA Quadro K3000M which will allow:
Genuine native brightness control
Genuine ‘gray’ early-boot screen

Pre-installation Requirements:

iMac12,2 - (27-inch Mid 2011) Mac-942B59F58194171B (Tested machine)
- BootROM: 87.0.0.0.0. Please use High Sierra to update your BootROM to latest version.
or
iMac11,3 - (27-inch Mid 2010) Mac-F2238BAE (Tested machine)
- BootROM: 99.0.0.0.0. Please use High Sierra to update your BootROM to latest version.
or
iMac 11,1 - (27-inch Late 2009, core i CPU, only) Mac-F2268DAE (Tested machine)
- BootROM: 63.0.0.0.0. Please use High Sierra to update your BootROM to latest version.

- GPU variant: N14E-Q1-A2
- VRAM type: Hynix H5GQ1H24BFR T2C 322A, Samsung

@stephle made sure that the rom will report the correct size of vram this time: 2048MB.

View attachment 1740926​

I've tested several cards on my iMac Late 2009 and Mid 2010 and iMac 2011 systems since November 2020. But there have been cards not running well on 2011 systems and other cards with different memory types not running at all. This sounds familiar, right?

You need to install the latest version of the AppleBacklightFixup.kext provided on the first post and the OpenCore distributions. If this does not work you might have a different machine, your panel ID can be found by going to System Preferences > Displays > Color > Open Profile > mmod

As stated previously these cards are based on a WSON flash package and therefore are much more difficult to recover from a bad flash. Please take precautions and verify flashing before rebooting.

View attachment 1740927
​

"insanely great!"
-Steve Jobs

good morning to all developers! I'm going a bit crazy with a k3000, flashed on imac 2009 with STEP bios, always black screen, tried again on imac 2011 no boot and it heats up. flashed the Nikkey rom again on 2009, with the same problem for 2009. put on 2011, it works! the first time it turns on and everything works, if I turn it off then it doesn't turn on again, after maybe 10 clicks or reconnecting the power several times, instead it always starts immediately without a display! very strange, installed big sur and sometimes it remains blocked.freeze., power supply and motherboard are ok, I have tried several, it seems more like an incompatibility problem with the rom, I await your opinion. With Bluetooth disconnected it seems to work. but the magic mouse is very important

 

[zoran]

Is it worth buying a preflashed GPU, so i would not have the vbios flashing procedure to do since my iMac is not working? Are there downsides to purchasing a preflashed GPU... maybe the bios thats been used is not good enough?

 

[zoran]

I was told that its not possible, to upgrade the GPU on a mid 2010 iMac, have a boot switcher and working brightness control without experiencing any issues? Is that true, has anyone managed that?

 

[marx767]

My Imac is 27 MID-2011
I install Ventura by OCLP, my graphic gard is GTX860M by Nikey22, Ventura runs pretty well.
but as I installed the window 10, the GTX 860m driver can't be found, It always shows "Microsoft basic Dispaly"
I try different N's drivers, it didn't work, How could i Fix this problem, Many Thks.

 

[Stefanox2410]

** NVIDIA Geforce GTX880M Mac Edition ROM **
** NVIDIA Geforce GTX870M Mac Edition ROM **
** NVIDIA Geforce GTX860M Mac Edition ROM **
Genuine Native Boot Screen & Brightness Control​

View attachment 942200

Pre-installation Requirements:
- iMac12,2 (27-inch Mid 2011) Mac-942B59F58194171B (Tested machine)
- BootROM: 87.0.0.0.0. Please use High Sierra to update your BootROM to latest version.
- One of the following GPUs:

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M
N15E-GX-A2, MXM-B (3.0)
8GB VRAM

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 870M
N15E-GT-A2, MXM-B (3.0)
non-functional cards/original_ROMs:
80.04.EF.00.A2 (MSI)
80.04.F7.00.0C (MSI)

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M
Kepler (GK104) N15P-GX-B-A2
Base ROMs:
80.04.F5.00.06
80.04.E8.00.0D
80.04.E9.00.03
Maxwell (GM107) N15P-GX-A1? - non-function with MacOS; cannot trust sources with GPU Variant
Base ROMs:
82.07.24.00.19
82.07.34.00.03
82.07.34.00.08
82.07.49.00.05

The GTX880M is the first 8GB VRAM card to work in our machines! I now have as much vram as system ram. I'm happy to report that macOS sees all the ram. It is boosting fully even at base clock speeds. When I purchased this card, the rivets were very long and kept too much of the GPU away from the heatsink surface. It was thermal throttling early as it sensed an overheat situation. When I removed the rivets, and used screws to secure it, I was able to get a much tighter seal and the card boosted properly.

Tested on a 2011 iMac using High Sierra 10.13.6. Please feel free to test on other MacOS versions, I will update this post as necessary with success/failures.

• These ROMs do not require a 3rd party bootloader like OpenCore.
• They will require a modification of the base AppleIntelPanelA/ApplePanels/F10Ta007 brightness stepping.
• The frame-buffer depth issues remains for now, and can be temporarily corrected by entering a sleep cycle.

As previous, these roms should bring back:

⦁ Genuine native brightness control
⦁ Genuine ‘gray’ early-boot screen (stage 1 & 2 progress bar)
⦁ Genuine macOS bootloader compliance

Post-installation Requirements:
Brightness Control Stepping Mod:
-Turn computer on, hold down Command(⌘)-R
-Choose Utilities > Terminal
-Enter:csrutil disable
-MacOS Catalina: requires you to make root writeable: sudo mount -uw /
-Reboot
-Download and open 'Kext Utility v2.6.6'

-Navigate to S/L/E (System/Library/Extensions)
-Copy "AppleBacklight.kext" to Desktop
-Edit: AppleBacklight.kext/Contents/Info.plist
-Scroll down to: IOKitPersonalities > AppleIntelPanelA > ApplePanels
-There you find several Apple LCD profiles.
-For the iMac 2011 27" machine locate:

<key>F10Ta007</key>
<data>
ABEABgALABQAHAAnADMAPwBOAFwAZwBzAIEAkQClAL8A2wD/
</data>

-Change the <data> section to:
ABEAAgA3AF8AigCzAOsBJAFnAakB1AIJAlQCogL4A00DlgRpBGk=

-Drag your modded kext into Kext Utility, allow it correct permissions
-"Applebacklight.kext.bak" folder will be created
-Reboot

The above data pattern will allow for a wider span of steppings for the brightness control and utilizes more of the capacity of the HD3000. If you have a different machine, your panel ID can be found by going to System Preferences > Displays > Color > Open Profile > mmod

Caveats post-install/Bugs:
-16bit resolution glitch of UGA_DRAW_PROTOCOL - temporary solution: activate a sleep cycle and return, this should now clear the issue.

**UPDATE**
9-4-2020: please note the 870M_6GB_UGA.rom is experimental and in testing phases for those interested and have the card.
5-3-2021: I've removed 870M_Clevo_BR.rom because it is not functional and replaced it with GTX870M_V1.rom, appreciate @jimac2011 for testing.

"insanely great!"
-Steve Jobs

View attachment 940773 View attachment 940774

Good morning i try to flash this 880m and not work,

 

[ElpassoUA]

Hi all. I have problem with Imac 21,5 mid 2011 and quadro k2100m gpu. I install new graphics card to imac and flash bios, named Quadro_Beta1.2 by @Nick [D]vB. Imac load windows 11 correctly, but screen is black. It is noticeable that screen hase desktop picture and mouse pointer. External monitor via mini display port working properly. Also i try other available rom's, but result is the same - screen is black. Gpu have samsung Ram and Imac worked under windows 11 only. No Mac OS installed. If anyone know how to activate screen backlight, please advice. Many thanks.

 

[tokoskel]

Hello all,

Specs for my system:
iMac 27” Mid 2011
2x 500GB SSD + Optical drive
- Windows 10 (UEFI) on SSD#1 and High Sierra on SSD#2 behind optical drive
20GB Memory
i5 processor
AMD 6770 HD 512MB

Recently installed Windows 10, which was not that straightforward. For example Intel graphics driver causing crashes, sounds not working etc. but got that sorted at the end.

The HDD fan sounds horrible, so I need to take my iMac apart anyway when replacing the fan. So I thought why not upgrade the system at the same time and get more recent macOS installed. I have had the iMac open couple of times when installing SSDs so that part should be ok.

Here’s what I have ordered:
- New fans
- i7 2600 3.4GHz Processor
- AMD WX4130 green Dell 1.1v GPU
- 2x8GB SODIMM memory to max out to 32GB
- 20x20x0.5mm copper shims for the GPU as well as thermal paste/putty for the CPU/GPU+VRAM

So here’s my plan at the moment:

1. Read the EEPROM on the GPU and Flash a new VBIOS
I have CH431a EEPROM programmer, modified for 3.3V SPI. I have read that the clip does not really hold properly to WX4130 EEPROM, but I’m going to try anyway. Soldering etc. is not a problem. I could also get a replacement EEPROM chip and just swap it after flashing.
2. Create Big Sur USB install disk with OpenCore legacy patcher
3. I was thinking upgrading the CPU and GPU at the same go (not sure is that a good idea(?)) Memory upgrade should be straightforward.
4. As I understood the 6770 HD is the same form factor as the WX4130 so the original X-clamp should fit after removing the new one (?)
5. Boot to High Sierra (might need to plug in an external display to miniDP?)
6. Build OpenCore to USB Big Sur install disk
7. Reboot to the USB drive to install Big Sur
8. Build OpenCore legacy patcher to the macOS SSD
9. Boot to Windows 10 and update graphics drivers

Questions: Which VBIOS should I use? As I understood there are 3 versions; GOP, EG2, and EG. Since I’m dual booting to Windows/macOS, should I use the EG VBIOS then from GitHub to get the EFI boot screen? There is also the ALT version in Github, not sure what that is?

I’m new to OpenCore and don’t have experience with it. Browsing the thread I got little conflicting information at what point should I install the OpenCore and new macOS? Before the GPU upgrade, or after it?

I was thinking installing Big Sur over the old High Sierra installation. Is that a good idea? Or should I format the whole SSD drive and start with clean install? And should I go directly to e.g. Ventura?

Anything else I’m missing? Anything I should do to the Windows 10 installation? Should it boot right away after GPU upgrade? I wish not to reinstall it, it was quite painful the first time..

Thanks!

Update on the progress:
- Installed OCLP and MacOS Sonoma with the old 6770HD GPU in place. I tried the update over the old High Sierra first but there were some bluetooth problems etc. so I wiped the whole MacOS SSD and did a clean install at the end.
- Once I did clean install I lost Windows 11 from the bootpicker for some reason (?)
- Reinstalled Windows 11 to the second SSD
- I had recorded the device IDs for the Intel HD graphics before Windows reinstallation so that I could prevent the driver loading for it and causing crashes (https://zzq.org/?p=39) Note: don't connect to the internet before you have changed the driver install policy! Anyway since I had the IDs available before install, I could prevent the bootloop and the install was quite smooth this time
- Sound and brightness control works in Windows straight away after installing bootcamp drivers! No special tricks needed
- Did PRAM reset at some point, that might have helped with the bluetooth problem I had

Now I have OCLP bootpicker showing at startup and I can select Windows 11 or Sonoma. Everything seems to be working at the moment.

While I'm waiting for my WX4130 to arrive, I'm wondering what is the proper sequence for OCLP patching vs GPU installation?

Option 1.
- Revert patching for OCLP on the main SSD with Sonoma (as I understood the patching I have now for the 6770HD has also disabled newer AMD GPU drivers and I need to revert that)
- Shutdown
- Install new GPU with the correct VBIOS
- Hope that I get bootpicker and I can boot to Sonoma
- Run pathing with GOP injection and AMD Polaris Override
- Reboot and hopefully everything is ok?

Option 2.
- Same as 1. but after revert patching and reboot, run patching with GOP injection and AMD polaris override before GPU install

Option 3.
- Install GPU
- Use USB OCLP installer to boot. Maybe with the GOP Injection and AMD polaris override patched to the USB installer already.
- With USB installer I could try different OCLP options easily and just create new USB installer on another computer and try with which options it will boot.
- But not sure do I get the boot picker before I have patched everything correctly for the GPU? And if I don't get the bootpicker how I can select the USB to boot? By disconnecting both SSDs first and hoping it will default to USB boot?

 

[howardc64]

Update on the progress:
- Installed OCLP and MacOS Sonoma with the old 6770HD GPU in place. I tried the update over the old High Sierra first but there were some bluetooth problems etc. so I wiped the whole MacOS SSD and did a clean install at the end.
- Once I did clean install I lost Windows 11 from the bootpicker for some reason (?)
- Reinstalled Windows 11 to the second SSD
- I had recorded the device IDs for the Intel HD graphics before Windows reinstallation so that I could prevent the driver loading for it and causing crashes (https://zzq.org/?p=39) Note: don't connect to the internet before you have changed the driver install policy! Anyway since I had the IDs available before install, I could prevent the bootloop and the install was quite smooth this time
- Sound and brightness control works in Windows straight away after installing bootcamp drivers! No special tricks needed
- Did PRAM reset at some point, that might have helped with the bluetooth problem I had

Now I have OCLP bootpicker showing at startup and I can select Windows 11 or Sonoma. Everything seems to be working at the moment.

While I'm waiting for my WX4130 to arrive, I'm wondering what is the proper sequence for OCLP patching vs GPU installation?

Option 1.
- Revert patching for OCLP on the main SSD with Sonoma (as I understood the patching I have now for the 6770HD has also disabled newer AMD GPU drivers and I need to revert that)
- Shutdown
- Install new GPU with the correct VBIOS
- Hope that I get bootpicker and I can boot to Sonoma
- Run pathing with GOP injection and AMD Polaris Override
- Reboot and hopefully everything is ok?

Option 2.
- Same as 1. but after revert patching and reboot, run patching with GOP injection and AMD polaris override before GPU install

Option 3.
- Install GPU
- Use USB OCLP installer to boot. Maybe with the GOP Injection and AMD polaris override patched to the USB installer already.
- With USB installer I could try different OCLP options easily and just create new USB installer on another computer and try with which options it will boot.
- But not sure do I get the boot picker before I have patched everything correctly for the GPU? And if I don't get the bootpicker how I can select the USB to boot? By disconnecting both SSDs first and hoping it will default to USB boot?

Sounds like good progress!

Do option 2 IF WX4130 already flashed vBIOS correctly.

However, while this is logical (unload 6770HD drivers, build OC correctly for WX4130 prior to shutdown) I've tried this without 100% success swapping between M4000 & M5100 GPU. I even unloaded the drivers, rebooted to make sure no acceleration, make sure OC is correct (M4000/M5100 is same setting) and reboot after changing GPU but still encountered problems. If encounter problems, may need clean install.

If WX4130 require flashing vBIOS, then disconnect SSDs so iMac boot from GRML USB stick to flash.

My WX4130 install experience in my signature link.

 

[Doktorjanew]

Hello, guys. I have an iMac 2011 27". My specs are i7, 32GB RAM, Radeon WX3200. This video card has an HP brand and is for HP Z2 Mini G4 G5. I did resistor mods, flashed VBIOS from GitHub, and reinstalled OpenCore and the operating system. Everything works perfectly, and I upgraded to Sonoma. However, I have a problem: the external monitor doesn't work in any port. Before switching the video card, the external monitor worked without any problems with Radeon 6770M, and now it works with a MacBook Pro. Any idea how I can resolve this problem?

 

[howardc64]

iMac 12,1 + nVidia K610M + macOS Big Sur success
Attempted AMD M4000 + macOS Sonoma (5% of sleep/wake encountered problems)

Identical Process as prior 11,x+M5100 install here

vBIOS

Flashed vBIOS link from post #1 with a 3.3v modified CH341A clip. BootROM chip is 3.3v Winbond 25X20CLM16 Saved original ROM size identical to nikey22 vBIOS so no size padding adjustment effort required.

Brightness worked fine post install, didn't need to do the tweaks in the vBIOS link. I guess everything integrated into OCLP now.

GPU Install

Checked the heatsink clearance carefully and no shim was required. In fact a couple of voltage regulator had thermal pad on it from prior usage that didn't touch the heatsink so had to use thicker layer of K5 Pro thermal paste to bridge the gap

SSD Install

Jumpered pin 6+7 of SATA power supply header ( link ) to eliminate high fan spin from lacking thermal sensor inside SSD.

Logic Board Install

21.5 iMacs are quite tight and tricky. I encountered 3 problems (rip cable from logic board standing stud, knock off USB board components, knock off cable routing guide) and would guess likely common

https://sites.google.com/view/imac-metal-gpu/imac-hw-tips#h.nd734s60o4qg

OC Setting



macOS + 20min Valley Benchmark Thermal Test



AMD M4000 Effort

As of OCLP 1.4.0n macOS 14.3.1, sleep/wake issue noted in Post #1 is still present. However, the failure frequency was 5% (1 out of 20 sleep/wake cycles) in my 2 days of testing running with Samsung EVO 850 SSD.

PMed @madvinegar and he has similar results on 12,x + GCN v1-3. He noted GCN v1-3 cards improved quite a bit with latest OCLP + Sonoma/Ventura including faster Geekbench GPU scores from Monterey.

Anyway, if you disable sleep, will run quite well. If not, may have to live with daily reboot+PRAM resets.

 

[dorninko]

Hi all, I have another problem: I installed Parallels on many upgraded iMacs 12,2 without problems. But on my recent project (iMac 11,3 with M6100) I get an error:

Unable to load the Parallels driver​

I searched the internet and tried all the suggested solutions without success. Could the graphic card be the problem?

Any suggestions are appreciated,

 

[dorninko]

Hello, guys. I have an iMac 2011 27". My specs are i7, 32GB RAM, Radeon WX3200. This video card has an HP brand and is for HP Z2 Mini G4 G5. I did resistor mods, flashed VBIOS from GitHub, and reinstalled OpenCore and the operating system. Everything works perfectly, and I upgraded to Sonoma. However, I have a problem: the external monitor doesn't work in any port. Before switching the video card, the external monitor worked without any problems with Radeon 6770M, and now it works with a MacBook Pro. Any idea how I can resolve this problem?

Do you use an adapter between MiniDP and Monitor? I had a similar issue, there are different adapters active and passive. Maybe you need another adapter?

 

[s_e_a_n_s]

I’ve seen sometimes grml linux fails to get dhcp IP from router. You can try to blindly type from wired usb keyboard the following command:

ifconfig eth0 x.x.x.x up

Change the x’s by the ip address you want the imac to have. Also try several times if not working at first try after making sure usb boot is working (an usb stick with a led indicating access also helps)

Thanks @m0bil, as this saved me on my iMac 12,2 (and I suspect may be the cause of others' GRML issues)

For me:

• Immediately before GPU swap GRML booting / SSH access worked perfectly
• After GPU swap the device just didn't connect to network (with the exact same grml usb stick/router/network cable/etc).

The issue was GRML failing to get an IP via DHCP. Blind entering the commands above corrected this. It took an embarrassing amount of time to figure out what ultimately was a simple issue.

To add to @m0bil's guidance above:

1. Press <return> a few times before entering any commands to proceed past the GRML landing message / prompt
   
   <return>
   <return>
   ifconfig eth0 x.x.x.x up
2. Without DHCP your router may not show your device (won't be in DHCP client list - mine wasn't even in the active client list). Use "ping x.x.x.x" or just try SSH to verify connectivity.

A few other tips which were helpful for me...

• If 'ifconfig eth0 x.x.x.x up' command works the device will be immediately accessible on the network - no delays, plugging and unplugging of ethernet cables required, etc.
• GRML's 'grml-network' command may allow you to set a static IP to avoid any need for blind command entry. Boot to GRML (either before your GPU swap or, like me, after on a different machine) and run 'grml-network' - this has DHCP and persistence options.
• For me, "signs of life" were key, as initially I had no idea what was going on behind the blank display.
  • Use a kill-a-watt (or similar) to watch iMac power consumption for clues about booting process. When GRML was fully loaded my device would move from variable 45-65-watts power usage to a steady 35-watts or so).
  • The keyboard caps-lock light did not work with the older GRML image circulating on this thread - don't expect it to.
  • Try booting with macOS flash drive. With the macOS flash drive my mac appears on the network (hostname iMac) and the keyboard capslock light worked (this was my precious first sign the device was booting/running).
  • In GRML, try 'shutdown now' - if (after some delay - like ~1-min for me) your iMac shuts down (power consumption goes to zero) you know GRML was running and you were on the command line.
  • Make a 2nd GRML USB stick and run it in parallel on other machine - this is really helpful for getting the exact keystrokes for blind command entry

I am now successfully running Sonoma 14.3.1 on my iMac 27" 12,2 w/ WX4130 GPU.

My other (non)issue was a blank-screen hang for Sonoma and Ventura installs. The work around is to force-reboot into safe-mode (hold left-shift when selecting drive). After doing that once the install proceeded smoothly.

Thanks all.

 

[TheQuentincc]

Hi, I just read the first page, so to resume for an iMac 12.1 (mid 2011 - I5 2400S), it's either stock 6750/6770M or WX3200/4130/4150/5500XT or Kepler ?
I'm looking for the cheapeast option, I got the iMac for free and the current 6750M is dead (it chimes and only 2/4 debug LED are lit which mean issue with dGPU).
I wanna get Monterey running with enough acceleration to use it as a secondary daily (mainly web browser/video acceleration).
My only option (for cheap) seems to be Kepler cards then ? The requirement for Ventura/Sonona is WX3200/4130/4150/5500XT ?
Thanks all

 

[howardc64]

Hi, I just read the first page, so to resume for an iMac 12.1 (mid 2011 - I5 2400S), it's either stock 6750/6770M or WX3200/4130/4150/5500XT or Kepler ?
I'm looking for the cheapeast option, I got the iMac for free and the current 6750M is dead (it chimes and only 2/4 debug LED are lit which mean issue with dGPU).
I wanna get Monterey running with enough acceleration to use it as a secondary daily (mainly web browser/video acceleration).
My only option (for cheap) seems to be Kepler cards then ? The requirement for Ventura/Sonona is WX3200/4130/4150/5500XT ?
Thanks all

• Just installed the cheapest Kepler K610M on a 12,1 on post #21665 on OCLP Big Sur. Not sure if how much problem going to Monterey (post #1 says some problems)
• Stock non metal GPU can run Big Sur fine but need to tweak a couple of items to avoid UI visual problems
• Cheap AMD M4000 (GCN v1-3) will get you to Sonoma if can tolerate some sleep/wake issues
• GCN 4 will get to Sonoma running good enough as daily driver for most people.

All above info in my signature link

 

[mchlr]

Hi, I just read the first page, so to resume for an iMac 12.1 (mid 2011 - I5 2400S), it's either stock 6750/6770M or WX3200/4130/4150/5500XT or Kepler ?
I'm looking for the cheapeast option, I got the iMac for free and the current 6750M is dead (it chimes and only 2/4 debug LED are lit which mean issue with dGPU).
I wanna get Monterey running with enough acceleration to use it as a secondary daily (mainly web browser/video acceleration).
My only option (for cheap) seems to be Kepler cards then ? The requirement for Ventura/Sonona is WX3200/4130/4150/5500XT ?
Thanks all

I installed a firepro M5100. I haven't really any compatibility issues with it once setup. Sleep and brightness both work.
Windows 11 runs fine as well with dual boot

 

[TheQuentincc]

• Just installed the cheapest Kepler K610M on a 12,1 on post #21665 on OCLP Big Sur. Not sure if how much problem going to Monterey (post #1 says some problems)
• Stock non metal GPU can run Big Sur fine but need to tweak a couple of items to avoid UI visual problems
• Cheap AMD M4000 (GCN v1-3) will get you to Sonoma if can tolerate some sleep/wake issues
• GCN 4 will get to Sonoma running good enough as daily driver for most people.

All above info in my signature link

I installed a firepro M5100. I haven't really any compatibility issues with it once setup. Sleep and brightness both work.
Windows 11 runs fine as well with dual boot

Thanks for both your answer, the sleep issue with GCN is bad for me, I'd like for it to be working. The first page seems to prone an issue regarding wake delays/time for the card to be active, is there a way to add delay when waking up from sleep for the card to be fully functionnal ? Could the issue be related to installed memory/memory support on the card ?

 

[howardc64]

I installed a firepro M5100. I haven't really any compatibility issues with it once setup. Sleep and brightness both work.
Windows 11 runs fine as well with dual boot

Interesting your install ( link ) on 12,x with GCN v1 didn't hit the sleep/wake issue. How did you install your "usual OS" mentioned in the link which showed pic of Sonoma?

My 12,x with GCN v1 M4000 had a 5% sleep not waking up requiring PRAM reset failure. Backed off to Kepler K610M + Big Sur since iMac is intended for elderly mother.

 

[howardc64]

Thanks for both your answer, the sleep issue with GCN is bad for me, I'd like for it to be working. The first page seems to prone an issue regarding wake delays/time for the card to be active, is there a way to add delay when waking up from sleep for the card to be fully functionnal ? Could the issue be related to installed memory/memory support on the card ?

@5-10% sleep/wake failure frequency, I thought I avoided the issue at first until encountered it. PMed with dev @Ausdauersportler and sounds like quite a few people spent quite a bit of effort without success. Failure frequency is low enough that its easy to make a false conclusion until 1-2 days of heavier usage.

Its a highly desirable configuration as everyone knows (2011 iMacs + lowest cost Sonoma compat metal GCN v1-3) Hence the prior solution search effort. So unfortunately no solution yet

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

Please ignore my below post, the issue was caused by premature GOP vBIOS.
After I downloaded and used the EnableGOP vBIOS made by @Ausdauersportler from his Github page, my iMac now can boot from USB and I can install Monterey normally with boot-screen. It just feel like a native Mac card.
Sorry for my below post.

My situations:

iMac 2009 (iMac 11,1, 27" A1312, core i7-870, edP GPU)
Firepro M6100 (flashed, Red Dell card)
Runs fine in High Sierra (Opencore 1,4 pre-install, but no OC boot screen, it gets to High Sierra desktop pretty fast)

Issue: I can't boot the Monterey USB Installer (OCLP pre-installed) while the High Sierra disk is still inside.

The Monterey SATA Installer (OCLP pre-installed) will boot with artefacts. I booted it and install to a external USB box with SSD disk inside. But after 20min, the screen went black, I left it cooked for another hour, then full screen artefact and nothing else.
I power-off the machine and examine the USB SSD disk on another iMac, it's half done only. I installed OLCP on the EFI volume of it.

I removed the Monterey SATA Installer and put the half-cooked SSD inside the iMac on SATA interface and boot it up. But the screen went black and I couldn't see anything to know what's running.

I removed the internal SSD, plug in the GRML USB. The iMac booted and I managed to flashed the Overclocked version of vBIOS made by Nickey.
After this, I put a Windows SSD inside the iMac, booted up and still got black screen.

As the previous High Sierra SSD was formatted in the previous steps, I'm now trying to clone the High Sierra volume from another iMac to see whether it still boot-up with the new vBIOS.

If not, I'll try the third vBIOS made by @Ausdauersportler to see.

If you have any suggestions for my situation, please share. Thank you!.