2011 iMac - Not Supported by Work - Any Options?

[LarryJoe33]

Hello, out iMac is used to remote into work using MS Remote Desktop and I am sure a few other protocols. We got a note that on 12/5, we will not be able to log into work on this machine because the OS is at end of life. I am pretty sure I am running High Sierra. The machine runs fine for what we do with it. Any solutions? I am pretty sure this machine can't run unsupported OS's? Looks like we may be buying a new Mac, reluctantly.

Thanks

 

[Fishrrman]

After ten years, it's time for something new...

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

Hello, out iMac is used to remote into work using MS Remote Desktop and I am sure a few other protocols. We got a note that on 12/5, we will not be able to log into work on this machine because the OS is at end of life. I am pretty sure I am running High Sierra. The machine runs fine for what we do with it. Any solutions? I am pretty sure this machine can't run unsupported OS's? Looks like we may be buying a new Mac, reluctantly.

Thanks

Your machine can run Windows 10 or some Linus Distros, which are still supported.

 

[ImDanTheBoxMan]

You can use a tool called OpenCore Legacy Patcher to upgrade your iMac to MacOS Big Sur or Monterey.

The GPUs in the 2010 and 2011 models need patched to work and due to the patches being relatively new there are still some graphical bugs (mainly to do with transparency from personal experience) but as long as you don't mind the list of issues they have on their site you should give it a go!

My iMac 2010 is running Big Sur currently and seems to be very stable.

Couple other things I will mention, first is make sure to backup ANY sensitive data because this could have bugs with 2011 (I only personally use 2010 but I wouldn't worry, GPU architecture is Terascale 2 on both so patches should work the same and data loss would surprise me) and second thing is that DRM protected stuff (Netflix etc) aren't likely to work, not looked into ways around them yet but this patcher effectively turns your iMac into a hackintosh (except it is legal and all apple services still work etc) and this is a very common issue with hackintoshes so I wouldn't doubt for a second someone has gotten around it, DRM protected content is only effected in safari from my experience and chrome works fine for me.

I am not going to personally tell you if you should/shouldn't do this to your iMac but depending on your technical ability you can make that decision yourself. Any questions I can give a hand with I will and good luck using your iMac again for remote desktop if you choose to go down this route!

Not sure if I am allowed to post links here (new to the forum) but I can say that if you google "dortania oclp" the first link that comes up for me is the correct one, its a github site.

Hope this helps!

 

[Clix Pix]

I gather your workplace does not provide employees with machines to use specifically for work? I don't find it surprising that, hey, they aren't going to continue supporting people's personal machines which are ten years old and which are still using an old OS (and the employee -- i.e., you, isn't even sure what that OS even IS?) . Duh......!!!! I'm surprised that this has been allowed to go as long as it has.

 

[LarryJoe33]

You can use a tool called OpenCore Legacy Patcher to upgrade your iMac to MacOS Big Sur or Monterey.

The GPUs in the 2010 and 2011 models need patched to work and due to the patches being relatively new there are still some graphical bugs (mainly to do with transparency from personal experience) but as long as you don't mind the list of issues they have on their site you should give it a go!

My iMac 2010 is running Big Sur currently and seems to be very stable.

Couple other things I will mention, first is make sure to backup ANY sensitive data because this could have bugs with 2011 (I only personally use 2010 but I wouldn't worry, GPU architecture is Terascale 2 on both so patches should work the same and data loss would surprise me) and second thing is that DRM protected stuff (Netflix etc) aren't likely to work, not looked into ways around them yet but this patcher effectively turns your iMac into a hackintosh (except it is legal and all apple services still work etc) and this is a very common issue with hackintoshes so I wouldn't doubt for a second someone has gotten around it, DRM protected content is only effected in safari from my experience and chrome works fine for me.

I am not going to personally tell you if you should/shouldn't do this to your iMac but depending on your technical ability you can make that decision yourself. Any questions I can give a hand with I will and good luck using your iMac again for remote desktop if you choose to go down this route!

Not sure if I am allowed to post links here (new to the forum) but I can say that if you google "dortania oclp" the first link that comes up for me is the correct one, its a github site.

Hope this helps!

This does help immensely. Truth be told, it’s my girlfriends machine. I have a 2011 MacBook Pro running the last easy unsupported OS Dosdude supported. My girlfriend has a desktop in the office and employees use their home machines to work from home. She was 100% office before COVID. Her company is issuing all employees windows laptops and two monitors for home use in two months. However, they are shutting down her iMac on 12/5, so I’m looking for a three month bridge. The question is, will they know the OS is hacked and shut it down anyway?

I’m tempted to buy a new MacBook Pro, but the reality is I just don’t do much computing at home anymore. My iPhone is my quick hitter. The other reality is she doesn’t even use the iMac OS. She logs into the work Windows environment even for personal use.

I’ll look up this tomorrow. I honestly didn’t think the iMac she has can run unsupported OS’s.

 

[ADGrant]

The other reality is she doesn’t even use the iMac OS. She logs into the work Windows environment even for personal use.

That is a very unwise thing for her to do. She should her own Mac or PC for any personal use.

 

[Clix Pix]

That is a very unwise thing for her to do. She should her own Mac or PC for any personal use.

If all she's doing is using Windows anyway, she should just buy a Windows machine in the first place. They're cheap enough....... And, yeah, not too smart to be putting her personal stuff on an employer's network.

 

[ImDanTheBoxMan]

This does help immensely. Truth be told, it’s my girlfriends machine. I have a 2011 MacBook Pro running the last easy unsupported OS Dosdude supported. My girlfriend has a desktop in the office and employees use their home machines to work from home. She was 100% office before COVID. Her company is issuing all employees windows laptops and two monitors for home use in two months. However, they are shutting down her iMac on 12/5, so I’m looking for a three month bridge. The question is, will they know the OS is hacked and shut it down anyway?

I’m tempted to buy a new MacBook Pro, but the reality is I just don’t do much computing at home anymore. My iPhone is my quick hitter. The other reality is she doesn’t even use the iMac OS. She logs into the work Windows environment even for personal use.

I’ll look up this tomorrow. I honestly didn’t think the iMac she has can run unsupported OS’s.

I would highly doubt that any remote desktop software would detect a machine as being on opencore. The dosdude patch is more likely to be undetectable however but I don't know how well the opencore gpu patches work on it (it has an experimental option for catalina in the settings somewhere). The reason behind dosdude's patch working better is because (correct me if I'm wrong) his patch edits the operating system to make it work around your machine however the opencore legacy patcher patches your system to work with the os. If the machine has been added to a whitelist for the office I would recommend the dosdude patcher to be on the safe side of things but post install the opencore patcher hides the hacks quite well, the only proof of it being hacked I have seen is when it came up with welcome to your new iMac Pro (which it defo isn't ?). The chances of any software scanning the hardware is low unless the software needs to change depending on the machine. I have been chipping away at trying to get my old first gen air to run 10.11 (support stopped at 10.7) and it works the same way as the opencore patcher (I just built clover instead from scratch) however a few years ago I also messed about with 10.9 which I was able to edit without the os noticing, so I simply added the Model of mac and Board ID to the plist files that determine which machines are allowed to run the OS, which is what I assume dosdude's patcher does, then somehow makes it look legit again (required due to SIP I think which was introduced in 10.11). Either way, through the editing the os way, the machine doesn't know, neither does the os and if it were to ask if it was supported etc the os would go and look at the edited supported machines file, see that the board id of the machine is in the file then respond yes, everything is good to go. Once again, up to you to try it, maybe worth giving it a bash on a separate partition on the hard drive, that way things can go back to the way they were on high sierra before hand if it all goes to pot. Hope this helps!

 

[LarryJoe33]

I would highly doubt that any remote desktop software would detect a machine as being on opencore. The dosdude patch is more likely to be undetectable however but I don't know how well the opencore gpu patches work on it (it has an experimental option for catalina in the settings somewhere). The reason behind dosdude's patch working better is because (correct me if I'm wrong) his patch edits the operating system to make it work around your machine however the opencore legacy patcher patches your system to work with the os. If the machine has been added to a whitelist for the office I would recommend the dosdude patcher to be on the safe side of things but post install the opencore patcher hides the hacks quite well, the only proof of it being hacked I have seen is when it came up with welcome to your new iMac Pro (which it defo isn't ?). The chances of any software scanning the hardware is low unless the software needs to change depending on the machine. I have been chipping away at trying to get my old first gen air to run 10.11 (support stopped at 10.7) and it works the same way as the opencore patcher (I just built clover instead from scratch) however a few years ago I also messed about with 10.9 which I was able to edit without the os noticing, so I simply added the Model of mac and Board ID to the plist files that determine which machines are allowed to run the OS, which is what I assume dosdude's patcher does, then somehow makes it look legit again (required due to SIP I think which was introduced in 10.11). Either way, through the editing the os way, the machine doesn't know, neither does the os and if it were to ask if it was supported etc the os would go and look at the edited supported machines file, see that the board id of the machine is in the file then respond yes, everything is good to go. Once again, up to you to try it, maybe worth giving it a bash on a separate partition on the hard drive, that way things can go back to the way they were on high sierra before hand if it all goes to pot. Hope this helps!

Perfect and yes, it does help. The deadline got pushed to the end of January. I am sure a lot of employees are bitching, even ones that can update the OS but don't want to be forced too. I now have a few months, but I think I will update to Catalina using Dosdudes installer. I'll do this when she is on vacation at the end of January so she won't be in a bind if I mess it up. I'll clone her setup first.

 

[ImDanTheBoxMan]

Perfect and yes, it does help. The deadline got pushed to the end of January. I am sure a lot of employees are bitching, even ones that can update the OS but don't want to be forced too. I now have a few months, but I think I will update to Catalina using Dosdudes installer. I'll do this when she is on vacation at the end of January so she won't be in a bind if I mess it up. I'll clone her setup first.

Sounds great! Glad I could help and I hope all goes well for you!