Resolved GTX 980 Ti + MacOS Mojave on 2009 MacPro 4,1(Flashed to 5,1)

[wxsabi]

Hello all,

I apologize in advance if this has been asked in another thread but I can't find one that matches my setup.

I have a 2009 MacPro 4,1 that has had the firmware flashed to become a 5,1 and allow the install of High Sierra. I was using it with the stock Nvidia GT 210 and then with a GTX 1050 Ti and it was working fine with the Nvidia web drivers on 10.13.X.

Now, I got a GTX 980 Ti that has been flashed to show the boot screen on MacPro's and I'm trying to install Mac OS Mojave and it won't install because it says that the card is not Metal compatible, which, I can understand. So I decided to install High Sierra again and once I did, I installed the Nvidia web drivers(387.10.10.10.40.105) and once I rebooted I found out that MacOS High Sierra 10.13.6 will not switch to the new driver even though the installer was successful and I can even see the Nvidia driver manager in my top bar. Here's what I've tried:

1. Reinstall High Sierra from scratch with the GT 210, install Web drivers, swap to the GTX 980 Ti

2. Same as #1 but I fellback to the GTX 1050 Ti, and now, not boot screen and no OS either :-(

I checked on a few forums for a solution but apparently everyone else but me built a hackintosh and their solutions don't really apply to an actual Mac(This is me speculating as I'm not well versed in the art of hackintoshing)

Anyways, I'm now set on getting the following done:

1. Install Mac OS mojave with this card(even if the drivers don't work fine initially)

2. Find a way to get the drivers to work unless I really have to wait for an official release from Nvidia(I think it can be done as some people have claimed to do it with Nvidia cards older than mine)

If anyone has any idea on how to point me in the right direction I would greatly appreciate it. Please don't suggest buying a Radeon, that's not what I want to do and it's not the point of asking for help on this forum.

Thanks,

 

[abdyfranco]

There is no Nvidia WebDrivers for Mojave yet.

 

[bookemdano]

There is no Nvidia WebDrivers for Mojave yet.

His problem is actually about HS though.

@wxsabi, have you tried a PRAM reset? Even if you have, try it again. That is where that driver preference is saved.

 

[sbarton]

You might try a PRAM reset

 

[h9826790]

His problem is actually about HS though.

@wxsabi, have you tried a PRAM reset? Even if you have, try it again. That is where that driver preference is saved.

But his title said Mojave.

Even though his trouble about can't activate web driver is at HS level, but his target still Mojave. If there is no driver for that yet. TBH, no need to rush.

Anyway, if I read correctly, this is what OP actually request

I'm now set on getting the following done:

1. Install Mac OS Mojave with this card(even if the drivers don't work fine initially)

2. Find a way to get the drivers to work unless I really have to wait for an official release from Nvidia(I think it can be done as some people have claimed to do it with Nvidia cards older than mine)

Which means he want to install Mojave, and make the driver to work properly in Mojave even no official release from Nvidia.

I believe at this point. "There is no Nvidia WebDrivers for Mojave yet." is really the best answer. I didn't see anyone can make those Nvidia card really work properly in Mojave yet.

Anyway, for his "unable to active web driver issue", disable both SIP and Gatekeeper should make his life easier. Especially if that's just a temporary setup for "making the Mojave installer to run".

 

[wxsabi]

Hello all,

I would say you're all correct

anyways, I understand I can't work with Mojave yet due to lack of drivers. So your answer for MacOS HS is what has got me up and running again. Here's what I did:

1. Reset the NVRAM by booting with CMD+OPT+P+R pressed.

2. Completely reformatted my hard drive and installed a fresh copy of High Sierra while using the graphics card that came with the mac, the Nvidia GT120

3. With High Sierra up and running, I installed the Nvidia Web Driver 387.10.10.10.40.105 because that one matched my Mac OS build version.

4. Once the driver was installed successfully, I shut down completely and replaced the GT 210 with the 980 Ti.

5. Reboot and voila, my 4 monitors work beautifully with the Nvidia drivers and my 980 Ti.


Hope this helps anyone.

Thanks,
Wxsabi