macOS boot.efi developer's thread

[iMattux]

Hey Matt

Attached are your log and my log files. I've edited out the entries tagged as unknown (they tend to be font entries). It makes the log files a bit easier to read. The logs are pretty similar except if you look at mine at around line 222 you will see differences (you will see the reference to pikify.pkg). Your log contains no similar reference.

Let us double/triple check things....

Can you (using Finder) open /Volumes/Install OS X El Capitan
You should just see the app Install OS X El Capitan
Right-click the app and choose Show Package Contents
double-click the Contents and SharedSupport folders
You should see the InstallESD.dmg disk image here, double-click it to open/mount it (you can click the Skip button to speed things up a bit)
You should now have the disk image mounted as OS X Install ESD (usually shows on the desktop unless you've turned that off in the Finder preferences)
Double-click to open the mounted image
You should now see a Packages folder AND the BaseSystem.dmg (because I don't hide the BaseSystem image after I modify it)
go into the Packages folder and confirm that the pikify.pkg file and the OSInstall.collection file are present.

View attachment 599556

Let me know what you find...

A picture is worth a thousand words:

I show hidden files all the time and prefer column view. The drives that are involved are up top, you can disregard the drives on the lower portion of the Desktop. Everything is it's proper place... How the hell does my install log have no mention of "pikify"?

 

[OGNerd]

So we have two people experiencing similar issues. Are there any similarities with your MacPro setups?

I'm running a MacPro1,1, modded to a MacPro2,1 with 2x XEON E5345 Quad Core CPUs, 32G of RAM, and an
ATI Radeon HD 5770 with modded BIOS+EFI firmware (now with boot screens). My boot drive is a 4Tb Seagate hybrid drive, and I have 3 further 2Tb HDDs (not much room left in my chassis!). It's one of the reasons why I'm so grateful to the guys here and over at the Netkas forums for helping me keep this thing running with the most up to date OS. It's still a great machine.

Graphics cards are a known source of trouble. What are you guys running in your rigs?

My basic machine profile is as follows -

Model Name: Mac Pro
Model Type: 8-core
Model Identifier: MacPro2,1
Board Identifier: Mac-F42C88C8
Processor Name: Quad-Core Intel Xeon CPU X5365
Processor Model: Clovertown
Processor Speed: 3 GHz
Number of Processors: 2
Total Number of Cores: 8
Memory Size: 32 GB 667 MHz DDR2 FB-DIMM
Graphics Model: AMD Radeon HD 7950 3072 MB
Boot ROM Version: MP21.007F.B06
System SMC Version: 1.15f3

My primary El Capitan boot drive is a 1TB SSD in a PCIe slot, but I also boot from Yosemite or Mavericks partitions on a 1TB fusion drive, as well as Carbon Copy clones of the three on partitions of a 2TB spinner. I also have a 2TB spinner dedicated to TimeMachine, and another 2TB spinner for shared data.

16GB flash media created by CREATEINSTALLMEDIA and DISK MAKER X 5 both failed with an Essentials.pkg extraction error. I was only able to successfully install 10.11 on my MP 2,1 via Target Disk mode from a supported MBP 8,2.

 

[iMattux]

So we have two people experiencing similar issues. Are there any similarities with your MacPro setups?

I'm running a MacPro1,1, modded to a MacPro2,1 with 2x XEON E5345 Quad Core CPUs, 32G of RAM, and an
ATI Radeon HD 5770 with modded BIOS+EFI firmware (now with boot screens). My boot drive is a 4Tb Seagate hybrid drive, and I have 3 further 2Tb HDDs (not much room left in my chassis!). It's one of the reasons why I'm so grateful to the guys here and over at the Netkas forums for helping me keep this thing running with the most up to date OS. It's still a great machine.

Graphics cards are a known source of trouble. What are you guys running in your rigs?

MacPro1,1 =>2,1, stock Xeon5150's, 8G of RAM, Gigabyte Radeon HD7950 3GB factory overclocked, flashed for bootscreens, Cinebench =35.8fps, it's working fine. A ridiculous collection of hard drives... lol

The super fantastic news is that after a few weeks of struggling with kernel panics, I am finally stable. It was my RAM. I suspect the OEM 4x512 MB DIMMs were the problem, but I don't care to prove it at the moment.

I pulled them and the add'l 2GB from OWC out and replaced them with 4x2GB matched DIMMS.
After shuffling them around, I'm rock solid. I'll be throwing another 16GB on top and I'll be very happy to stop tinkering with my computer and start using it. Then maybe I'll swap in faster CPU's and an SSD or two. Or maybe a used 3.1 on eBay...

DGWilson - I strongly recommend you get the RAM I linked. It did the trick for me.

I'll try running the script again tmrw and see if we can track something down.

Cheers

 

[PeterHolbrook]

It was my RAM.

Of course it was. I'm glad you solved your issue.

 

[dgwilson]

DGWilson - I strongly recommend you get the RAM I linked. It did the trick for me.

Ordered. On slow boat to New Zealand. ETA was after 24 Nov.
I did swap RAM between the two x machines that I have so that there are only 1GB DIMMs in the machine ... it totals 6GB.

- David

 

[TimeFire]

It's true: it's the RAM.

Problem solved for me too.

Bought 8 of these: http://www.ebay.com/itm/161781548424

Probably the cheapest here in Europe, but they work.

I hope dgwilson will finally fix it with new RAM.

Thanks everyone for the help. I wish Pike all the best and I hope he'll get better.

In the end, like everyone says: sorry for my bad english.

 

[Inspector42]

Hi Inspector42, I'm glad you were able to use my script. I like your rsync idea!

Here is a new script and accompanying files. This one is based around Apple's createinstallmedia script.

The unique feature of this script is that it builds an installer which will pre-patch the resulting El Capitan volume. What this means is that the installer can be run, and then the reboot will work without any further modification. You have a working installation of El Capitan directly from the installer.
...
Enjoy...

I can report that this worked flawlessly on my MacPro, even the restart countdown started without interaction.
The installer was created on a HD partition and OS X installed on another wiped HD partition.
Many thanks to Pike, Peter, Mike, rthpjm and all the other contributors for making this work.

My thoughts go to Pike and his family. I hope he will fully recover.

 

[666sheep]

Hi Inspector42, I'm glad you were able to use my script. I like your rsync idea!

Here is a new script and accompanying files. This one is based around Apple's createinstallmedia script.

The unique feature of this script is that it builds an installer which will pre-patch the resulting El Capitan volume. What this means is that the installer can be run, and then the reboot will work without any further modification. You have a working installation of El Capitan directly from the installer.

Download the zip file.
Unzip it.
You should have a folder named pikify3.1
In that folder should be a number of files, the script is createpikeinstallmedia

I tried this today. What a weird result I got

Installer building went OK, my 2006 booted normally off of it.
Installation process went fine as well, but after the restart it booted straight to recovery partition.
On OS partition I saw only "private" folder, but 9GB of drive space were used.
I put the SSD in 2009 and all was the same. No trace of System, Library etc folders.
Anyone here got similar experience?

I built the Installer thumb drive on 10.8.5, on a MP 2009. El Capitan installer app was pure 10.11 (not the 10.11.1).

P.S. I'm suspecting some RAM issue, because after reinstalling with classical (another compatible Mac) method I got a few KP's when updating to 10.11.1 from AppStore.
New RAM is on the way, so I'll re-test this in a few days.

P.S.2: CapitanPikeFix which I posted in installation thread works like it should. With SIP disabled of course.

 

[PeterHolbrook]

CapitanPikeFix which I posted in installation thread works like it should. With SIP disabled of course.

"CapitanPike" sounds funny. Considering Pike lives in Spain, perhaps it should be CapitánPike. In any case, I hope everyone using this particular launch daemon is conscious that, by running a SIP-less El Capitan, you are running an operating system with no more safety than Yosemite. If that is so (and it is), why upgrade from Yosemite at all?

 

[currymac]

I downloaded pikify3.1.zip and successfully created an installer thumb drive. It successfully boots my MacPro 1,1. First I attempted to update the perfectly functional Yosemite OS that's running on an SSD in a PCI card. It gets to about 2 minutes remaining but then the computer reboots before completing the install. The computer reboots to the thumb drive and asks to start the install as if nothing happened. In case this was because I was trying to update, I installed a 1TB hard drive, booted into the installer, formatted the drive and tried an install. I ended up with the same result. Any ideas would be appreciated. Also, if I remove the SSD and upgrade it to El Capitan on my Macbook Pro, what do I have to do before I put it back in my Mac Pro?

 

[666sheep]

Peter: to each its own I guess.
Someone finds SIP as a bless, someone as PITA.
El Capitan fortunately provides some more than only this POS

 

[PeterHolbrook]

It gets to about 2 minutes remaining but then the computer reboots before completing the install. The computer reboots to the thumb drive and asks to start the install as if nothing happened. In case this was because I was trying to update, I installed a 1TB hard drive, booted into the installer, formatted the drive and tried an install. I ended up with the same result. Any ideas would be appreciated.

Two or three people have commented having mystifying unsuccessful installation attempts such as yours. In the end, everything boiled down to bad RAM. I suggest that you check yours.

 

[currymac]

Two or three people have commented having mystifying unsuccessful installation attempts such as yours. In the end, everything boiled down to bad RAM. I suggest that you check yours.

Well, the computer worked perfectly with Yosemite, and the RAM is brand new from OWC.

 

[rthpjm]

I downloaded pikify3.1.zip and successfully created an installer thumb drive. It successfully boots my MacPro 1,1. First I attempted to update the perfectly functional Yosemite OS that's running on an SSD in a PCI card. It gets to about 2 minutes remaining but then the computer reboots before completing the install. The computer reboots to the thumb drive and asks to start the install as if nothing happened. In case this was because I was trying to update, I installed a 1TB hard drive, booted into the installer, formatted the drive and tried an install. I ended up with the same result. Any ideas would be appreciated.

Hello currymac,

Can you take a look in the /Volumes/[your_target_install_disk(your 1TB drive)]/private/var/log/ please? In that folder you should find the file install.log. Post a copy of it here and I'll take a look. If you're using the Finder, open the disk then press the key combination [shift][cmd]g, a panel will open, type var, hit the [Go] button, then open the log folder.
If it is not there, try to re-run the installer, whilst the installer is running open the log viewer (from the menus or press [cmd]L). There's a save icon top right of the log window, try to save the log just before the reboot.

Also, if I remove the SSD and upgrade it to El Capitan on my Macbook Pro, what do I have to do before I put it back in my Mac Pro?

If you do this, then you will need to replace the two boot.efi files located at /Volumes/[your_disk]/System/Library/CoreServices/boot.efi and /Volumes/[your_disk]/usr/standalone/i386/boot.efi before you put it back into your Mac.
You should probably bless the disk too, from the terminal run:

sudo bless --folder "/Volumes/[your_disk]/System/Library/CoreServices" --file "/Volumes/[your_disk]/System/Library/CoreServices/boot.efi"
[your password]

There is more to do if you want the accompanying Recovery HD to work too....

 

[currymac]

Hello currymac,

Can you take a look in the /Volumes/[your_target_install_disk(your 1TB drive)]/private/var/log/ please? In that folder you should find the file install.log. Post a copy of it here and I'll take a look. If you're using the Finder, open the disk then press the key combination [shift][cmd]g, a panel will open, type var, hit the [Go] button, then open the log folder.
If it is not there, try to re-run the installer, whilst the installer is running open the log viewer (from the menus or press [cmd]L). There's a save icon top right of the log window, try to save the log just before the reboot.



If you do this, then you will need to replace the two boot.efi files located at /Volumes/[your_disk]/System/Library/CoreServices/boot.efi and /Volumes/[your_disk]/usr/standalone/i386/boot.efi before you put it back into your Mac.
You should probably bless the disk too, from the terminal run:

sudo bless --folder "/Volumes/[your_disk]/System/Library/CoreServices" --file "/Volumes/[your_disk]/System/Library/CoreServices/boot.efi"
[your password]

There is more to do if you want the accompanying Recovery HD to work too....

Here is the install.log

 

[rthpjm]

Here is the install.log

Hello currymac,

Everything looks fine until you got to near the end of the installation process, then this happened:

Nov 14 05:55:09 Mac-Pro OSInstaller[469]: PackageKit: update_dyld_shared_cache - root /Volumes/El Capitan/.OSInstallSandboxPath/Root
Nov 14 05:55:35 Mac-Pro OSInstaller[469]: update_dyld_shared_cache(548,0x10472c000) malloc: *** error for object 0x7f81338568b8: incorrect checksum for freed object - object was probably modified after being freed.
Nov 14 05:55:35 Mac-Pro OSInstaller[469]: *** set a breakpoint in malloc_error_break to debug
Nov 14 05:55:35 Mac-Pro OSInstaller[469]: update_dyld_shared_cache exited with 6 Nov 14 05:55:35 Mac-Pro OSInstaller[469]: PackageKit: Triggering XPC service cache rebuild on next boot

malloc is memory allocation. Sad to say but this looks like yet another memory issue. You'll need to check your RAM. Since you say the RAM is new, double check that it is installed okay (make sure the RAM sticks are properly seated and locked in). If that all seems to be okay, check the pairings, make sure you follow the recommended slot installation sequences, etc... Failing all else, eject all but two sticks, try again. Add two more sticks, repeat - the goal is to see if you can identify a problematic pair of memory sticks...

I have a theory as to why the installer is highlighting RAM issues, I think it may be because the installer loads it's OS into RAM-disk, and hence will probably exercise a good deal more of your RAM than is usual.... (Just a theory mind you...!)

 

[mikeboss]

there are some very good news over at Pike's blog. it appears that everything's going to be alright in the end. what a relief...

 

[PeterHolbrook]

there are some very good news over at Pike's blog. it appears that everything's going to be alright in the end. what a relief...

That's very good news indeed, Mike. Thank you for telling us.

 

[javirnat]

That's very good news indeed, Mike. Thank you for telling us.

-------------------------------
I feel very happy with these news , I hope Pike.R Alfa. can go back home as soon as possible .
And he could be with us in these forums too.
I have missed him.
sorry for my bad english.

 

[F1Mac]

there are some very good news over at Pike's blog. it appears that everything's going to be alright in the end. what a relief...

wow. Thanks for the update! Now Pike get back to work goddammit! Vacation's over

...Awesome news.

 

[dgwilson]

Ordered. On slow boat to New Zealand. ETA was after 24 Nov.
I did swap RAM between the two x machines that I have so that there are only 1GB DIMMs in the machine ... it totals 6GB.

- David

RAM Received.
I have achieved a successful installation.

What's interesting is that I received 16GB of RAM - two packages.
As I have two machines my idea was to install 8GB in each machine. So In Machine #1 - I removed all of the existing RAM and installed 2 x 2GB on Riser A, and 2 x 2GB on Riser B.
- Installation of El Capitan failed ... usual story Essentials.pkg

So Then I installed the remaining RAM (all the new stuff).
4 x 4GB on Riser A, and 4 x 4GB on Riser B.
- Installation of El Capitan successful


I used the new magic installer creater as well... so nothing to do after the install either!


I would be interested in someone else trying the installation on a machine with 8GB of RAM - do we have to have > xxGB to achieve the successful install?

- David

 

[donjames]

Hi Inspector42, I'm glad you were able to use my script. I like your rsync idea!

Here is a new script and accompanying files. This one is based around Apple's createinstallmedia script.

The unique feature of this script is that it builds an installer which will pre-patch the resulting El Capitan volume. What this means is that the installer can be run, and then the reboot will work without any further modification. You have a working installation of El Capitan directly from the installer.

Download the zip file.
Unzip it.
You should have a folder named pikify3.1
In that folder should be a number of files, the script is createpikeinstallmedia

Pre-requisites:

• As per Peter's guide, you will need a volume that can be overwritten by the installer
  • This could be a USB memory stick
  • A small disk partition from one of your hard drives (not the disk that you intend to use for El Capitan)
    • You need to be able to boot from this volume
• The installer volume needs to be at least 8GB
• Your copy of 'Install OS X El Capitan.app' should be located in your /Applications folder

Usage:

• Open a terminal window
• Change directory to the pikify3.1 folder from the zip file
• You need to run the script as the root user
  • sudo -s
  • [your password]
  • ./createpikeinstallmedia /Volumes/[InstallerVolumeName]
• or
  • sudo ./createpikeinstallmedia /Volumes/[InstallerVolumeName]
  • [your password]

Once the script competes you should have an installer volume named 'Install OS X El Capitan'

• Reboot your machine
• Hold the ALT key down immediately after the startup chime to enter the boot chooser
• Choose the Install OS X El Capitan volume

Your machine should boot into the Installer, run the installer
You may need to click the Reboot button at the end of the install (for some reason, the 10 second countdown doesn't seem to automatically start)

Your machine should reboot into the new El Capitan Installation and begin the OS X setup procedure.

I have only tested this script as a clean install onto an erased destination disk. I don't know if it will work for an upgrade.
If you are upgrading I would suggest a clean install of El Capitan onto a spare disk, then use the Apple Migration Assistant to migrate your previous system and user files.
If you are brave and want to try an in-place upgrade, make sure you backup your current system first...

Detail:

I created an additional package (pikify.pkg) which handles the post-install modification of the boot.efi files on the destination volume. The script puts pikify.pkg into the InstallESD.dmg, along with OSInstall.collection.
OSInstall.collection overrides the default behaviour of the Installer Assistant, it calls the default OSInstall.mpkg and appends pikify.pkg to the install chain.

In effect I'm running the exact same installation as an unmodified Apple install with the addition of my pikify.pkg.

Because the default behaviour has been overridden, there are a few differences:

• An unmodified Apple installer will open with the /System/Installation/CDIS/OS X Utilities.app
  • The modified installer goes straight into the Installer
• An unmodified Apple installer will automatically reboot 10 seconds after the installation completes
  • The modified installer doesn't, you will have to click the Reboot button

I've included both versions (black and grey) of Pike's 3.1 boot.efi file. If you want to change the colour, overwrite the boot.efi file in the pikify3.1 folder with the coloured version of your choice. The zip file unpacks with the grey version in place.

Enjoy...

Hi,

I successfully installed El Capitan on my Macpro1,1 using your script. When I first tried, I had only 6 gigabytes of ram and got the Essentials.pkg error message. I increased the ram to 12 gigabytes and the install went flawlessly.

Thanks for all of your hard work.

Thanks to Pike for all of his hard work.

Sincerely,

donjames

 

[donjames]

RAM Received.
I have achieved a successful installation.

What's interesting is that I received 16GB of RAM - two packages.
As I have two machines my idea was to install 8GB in each machine. So In Machine #1 - I removed all of the existing RAM and installed 2 x 2GB on Riser A, and 2 x 2GB on Riser B.
- Installation of El Capitan failed ... usual story Essentials.pkg

So Then I installed the remaining RAM (all the new stuff).
4 x 4GB on Riser A, and 4 x 4GB on Riser B.
- Installation of El Capitan successful


I used the new magic installer creater as well... so nothing to do after the install either!


I would be interested in someone else trying the installation on a machine with 8GB of RAM - do we have to have > xxGB to achieve the successful install?

- David

Hi,

I did a successful install with 12 GB of ram. Could not install with 6 GB ram.

Don

 

[dgwilson]

RAM Received.
I have achieved a successful installation.

What's interesting is that I received 16GB of RAM - two packages.
As I have two machines my idea was to install 8GB in each machine. So In Machine #1 - I removed all of the existing RAM and installed 2 x 2GB on Riser A, and 2 x 2GB on Riser B.
- Installation of El Capitan failed ... usual story Essentials.pkg

So Then I installed the remaining RAM (all the new stuff).
4 x 4GB on Riser A, and 4 x 4GB on Riser B.
- Installation of El Capitan successful


I used the new magic installer creater as well... so nothing to do after the install either!


I would be interested in someone else trying the installation on a machine with 8GB of RAM - do we have to have > xxGB to achieve the successful install?

- David

Time for another update.

Short story - Fusion Drive creation and OS Installation with 16GB RAM, and using "pikify3.1" to create the installer = SUCCESS!

Slightly longer story....
1. After the first successful OS install this morning to a HDD I recreated my Fusion drive - refer output below
2. OS Install HDD was still attached from previous successful install.
3. Reboot machine with Option key, select Install media (HDD)
4. Boots with Apple logo - and basically even after 1 hour the after the progress line eventually completed - it had not gone any further
5. rince and repeat step 4 - no change in result
6. Reboot to El Capitan - previously installed earlier in the day
7. destroy fusion drive
8. Reboot machine with Option key, select Install media (HDD)
9. Boots with Apple logo - and basically even after 1 hour the after the progress line eventually completed - it had not gone any further

[Bugger]

10. disconnect install media - install in MacBook Pro - recreate install media using "pikify3.1"
11. Recreate Fusion Frive
12. Reboot machine with Option key, select Install media (HDD)
13. Boot success - install OS - success.


... so that was weird.

- David

Davids-Mac-Pro:~ dgwilson$ diskutil list
/dev/disk0 (internal, physical):
  #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
  0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *128.0 GB   disk0
  1:                        EFI EFI                     209.7 MB   disk0s1
  2:                  Apple_HFS SSD                     127.7 GB   disk0s2
/dev/disk1 (internal, physical):
  #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
  0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *250.1 GB   disk1
  1:                        EFI EFI                     209.7 MB   disk1s1
  2:                  Apple_HFS MacPro09                249.2 GB   disk1s2
  3:                 Apple_Boot Recovery HD             650.0 MB   disk1s3
/dev/disk2 (internal, physical):
  #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
  0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *1.5 TB     disk2
  1:                        EFI EFI                     209.7 MB   disk2s1
  2:                  Apple_HFS Spare1.5TB              1.4 TB     disk2s2
/dev/disk3 (internal, physical):
  #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
  0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *1.5 TB     disk3
  1:                        EFI EFI                     209.7 MB   disk3s1
  2:                  Apple_HFS HDD                     1.5 TB     disk3s2
/dev/disk4 (internal, physical):
  #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
  0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *1.5 TB     disk4
  1:                        EFI EFI                     209.7 MB   disk4s1
  2:                  Apple_HFS ElTestO                 1.5 TB     disk4s2
  3:                 Apple_Boot Recovery HD             650.0 MB   disk4s3
Davids-Mac-Pro:~ dgwilson$ diskutil cs create Fusion /dev/disk0 /dev/disk3
Started CoreStorage operation
Unmounting disk0
Repartitioning disk0
Unmounting disk
Creating the partition map
Rediscovering disk0
Adding disk0s2 to Logical Volume Group
Unmounting disk3
Repartitioning disk3
Unmounting disk
Creating the partition map
Rediscovering disk3
Adding disk3s2 to Logical Volume Group
Creating Core Storage Logical Volume Group
Switching disk0s2 to Core Storage
Switching disk3s2 to Core Storage
Waiting for Logical Volume Group to appear
Discovered new Logical Volume Group "094AF142-64BE-45F2-BB5F-68B71CD82DF3"
Core Storage LVG UUID: 094AF142-64BE-45F2-BB5F-68B71CD82DF3
Finished CoreStorage operation
Davids-Mac-Pro:~ dgwilson$ diskutil cs createVolume 094AF142-64BE-45F2-BB5F-68B71CD82DF3 jhfs+ FusionHD 100%
Started CoreStorage operation
Waiting for Logical Volume to appear
Formatting file system for Logical Volume
Initialized /dev/rdisk5 as a 1 TB case-insensitive HFS Plus volume with a 131072k journal
Mounting disk
Core Storage LV UUID: C39C355A-0FC2-49BF-AA0B-E56132F1CFCB
Core Storage disk: disk5
Finished CoreStorage operation
Davids-Mac-Pro:~ dgwilson$ diskutil cs list
CoreStorage logical volume groups (1 found)
|
+-- Logical Volume Group 094AF142-64BE-45F2-BB5F-68B71CD82DF3
    =========================================================
    Name:         Fusion
    Status:       Online
    Size:         1627649638400 B (1.6 TB)
    Free Space:   24576 B (24.6 KB)
    |
    +-< Physical Volume 3A6E7C8B-7939-4CA3-AF0F-3C3807A097D2
    |   ----------------------------------------------------
    |   Index:    0
    |   Disk:     disk0s2
    |   Status:   Online
    |   Size:     127691702272 B (127.7 GB)
    |
    +-< Physical Volume 44A03319-128E-4060-9681-2307A2C54242
    |   ----------------------------------------------------
    |   Index:    1
    |   Disk:     disk3s2
    |   Status:   Online
    |   Size:     1499957936128 B (1.5 TB)
    |
    +-> Logical Volume Family 67FA2BEC-71DE-402E-A08B-AD3849972307
        ----------------------------------------------------------
        Encryption Type:         None
        |
        +-> Logical Volume C39C355A-0FC2-49BF-AA0B-E56132F1CFCB
            ---------------------------------------------------
            Disk:                  disk5
            Status:                Online
            Size (Total):          1621757657088 B (1.6 TB)
            Revertible:            No
            LV Name:               FusionHD
            Volume Name:           FusionHD
            Content Hint:          Apple_HFS
            LVG Type:              Fusion, Sparse
Davids-Mac-Pro:~ dgwilson$ diskutil list
/dev/disk0 (internal, physical):
  #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
  0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *128.0 GB   disk0
  1:                        EFI EFI                     209.7 MB   disk0s1
  2:          Apple_CoreStorage Fusion                  127.7 GB   disk0s2
  3:                 Apple_Boot Boot OS X               134.2 MB   disk0s3
/dev/disk1 (internal, physical):
  #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
  0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *250.1 GB   disk1
  1:                        EFI EFI                     209.7 MB   disk1s1
  2:                  Apple_HFS MacPro09                249.2 GB   disk1s2
  3:                 Apple_Boot Recovery HD             650.0 MB   disk1s3
/dev/disk2 (internal, physical):
  #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
  0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *1.5 TB     disk2
  1:                        EFI EFI                     209.7 MB   disk2s1
  2:                  Apple_HFS Spare1.5TB              1.4 TB     disk2s2
/dev/disk3 (internal, physical):
  #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
  0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *1.5 TB     disk3
  1:                        EFI EFI                     209.7 MB   disk3s1
  2:          Apple_CoreStorage Fusion                  1.5 TB     disk3s2
  3:                 Apple_Boot Boot OS X               134.2 MB   disk3s3
/dev/disk4 (internal, physical):
  #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
  0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *1.5 TB     disk4
  1:                        EFI EFI                     209.7 MB   disk4s1
  2:                  Apple_HFS ElTestO                 1.5 TB     disk4s2
  3:                 Apple_Boot Recovery HD             650.0 MB   disk4s3
/dev/disk5 (internal, virtual):
  #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
  0:                  Apple_HFS FusionHD               +1.6 TB     disk5
                                Logical Volume on disk0s2, disk3s2
                                C39C355A-0FC2-49BF-AA0B-E56132F1CFCB
                                Unencrypted Fusion Drive

And for reference... Here is what the disks look like after the OS install - see the Fusion drive now has a RecoveryHD.

diskutil list
/dev/disk0 (internal, physical):
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *128.0 GB   disk0
   1:                        EFI EFI                     209.7 MB   disk0s1
   2:          Apple_CoreStorage Fusion                  127.7 GB   disk0s2
   3:                 Apple_Boot Boot OS X               134.2 MB   disk0s3
/dev/disk1 (internal, physical):
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *250.1 GB   disk1
   1:                        EFI EFI                     209.7 MB   disk1s1
   2:                  Apple_HFS MacPro09                249.2 GB   disk1s2
   3:                 Apple_Boot Recovery HD             650.0 MB   disk1s3
/dev/disk2 (internal, physical):
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *1.5 TB     disk2
   1:                        EFI EFI                     209.7 MB   disk2s1
   2:                  Apple_HFS Spare1.5TB              1.4 TB     disk2s2
/dev/disk3 (internal, physical):
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *1.5 TB     disk3
   1:                        EFI EFI                     209.7 MB   disk3s1
   2:          Apple_CoreStorage Fusion                  1.5 TB     disk3s2
   3:                 Apple_Boot Recovery HD             650.0 MB   disk3s3
/dev/disk4 (internal, physical):
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *1.5 TB     disk4
   1:                        EFI EFI                     209.7 MB   disk4s1
   2:                  Apple_HFS ElTestO                 1.5 TB     disk4s2
   3:                 Apple_Boot Recovery HD             650.0 MB   disk4s3
/dev/disk5 (internal, virtual):
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:                  Apple_HFS FusionHD               +1.6 TB     disk5
                                 Logical Volume on disk0s2, disk3s2
                                 84A2C986-1E84-4DDE-A430-342EAA77D696
                                 Unencrypted Fusion Drive
/dev/disk6 (external, physical):
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *500.1 GB   disk6
   1:                        EFI EFI                     209.7 MB   disk6s1
   2:                  Apple_HFS Install OS X El Capitan 499.8 GB   disk6s2

 

[666sheep]

Two or three people have commented having mystifying unsuccessful installation attempts such as yours. In the end, everything boiled down to bad RAM. I suggest that you check yours.

Yep, my issue was RAM related as well.
Installed the OS from that same USB installer again and all went OK.
rthpjm: great work!