MP 1,1-5,1 High Sierra and Bootcamp on NVME

[jaapaap79]

Hello, I’m running High Sierra on my MP 5,1 as it has an Nvidia 1080 graphics card so can’t use Mojave.

The MacOS X installation is on a NVME drive running on a Syba PEX40129.

Now I would also like to install Windows 10 on this machine so that I can dual boot and use either OS when required.

I tried running Bootcamp and it seems not willing to run because I’m booting from an “external” drive.

Does anyone know a work-around for this?

If I add an extra SSD in the internal slot, would it work or would that require reinstalling High Sierra on that drive first? Could I then still use the NVME on the Syba for Windows 10?

 

[tsialex]

Hello, I’m running High Sierra on my MP 5,1 as it has an Nvidia 1080 graphics card so can’t use Mojave.

The MacOS X installation is on a NVME drive running on a Syba PEX40129.

Now I would also like to install Windows 10 on this machine so that I can dual boot and use either OS when required.

I tried running Bootcamp and it seems not willing to run because I’m booting from an “external” drive.

Does anyone know a work-around for this?

If I add an extra SSD in the internal slot, would it work or would that require reinstalling High Sierra on that drive first? Could I then still use the NVME on the Syba for Windows 10?

First thing, Windows to be run from NVMe drives needs to be installed from UEFI. BootCamp is a CSM/Legacy/BIOS Windows install. So, you can't run BootCamp with a NVMe drive - nothing to do with external or internal.

But things are not so easy as just installing Windows 10 via UEFI - since MacPro5,1 is EFI, predating UEFI ~4 years and not UEFI compatible, you have to overcome the Windows SecureBoot and the signing of the Mac Pro firmware with OpenCore. This is crucial, you will brick your Mac Pro with a Windows UEFI install over time.

You can learn about and install OpenCore following the first post of the thread below:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/opencore-on-the-mac-pro.2207814/

For most people, it's more simple/sane/safe to just use a dedicated SATA SSD for Windows and continue to use BootCamp.

 

[jaapaap79]

First thing, Windows to be run from NVMe drives needs to be installed from UEFI. BootCamp is a CSM/Legacy/BIOS Windows install. So, you can't run BootCamp with a NVMe drive - nothing to do with external or internal.

But things are not so easy as just installing Windows 10 via UEFI - since MacPro5,1 is EFI, predating UEFI ~4 years and not UEFI compatible, you have to overcome the Windows SecureBoot and the signing of the Mac Pro firmware with OpenCore. This is crucial, you will brick your Mac Pro with a Windows UEFI install over time.

You can learn about and install OpenCore following the first post of the thread below:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/opencore-on-the-mac-pro.2207814/

For most people, it's more simple/sane/safe to just use a dedicated SATA SSD for Windows and continue to use BootCamp.

Thanks for the reply. This is super helpful.

I was hoping it would be possible to install Windows on a separate SATA SSD using Bootcamp and then clone the Mac OS X installation to the NVME.

Let me read up on OpenCore to see if it’s compatible with the Nvidia graphics card and then decide the best path forward.

 

[tsialex]

I was hoping it would be possible to install Windows on a separate SATA SSD using Bootcamp and then clone the Mac OS X installation to the NVME.

Nope, NVMe is only supported by UEFI Windows installs - no workarounds.

 

[jaapaap79]

So I tried installing OC through OCLP and on reboot I get the boot menu (hurray!), but whichever disk I pick to boot from I just get a circle in the middle of screen and after half a minute my machine turns off.

Is there some incompatibility with the Nvidia card, installing OC on NVME or even with High Sierra?

 

[tsialex]

So I tried installing OC through OCLP and on reboot I get the boot menu (hurray!), but whichever disk I pick to boot from I just get a circle in the middle of screen and after half a minute my machine turns off.

Is there some incompatibility with the Nvidia card, installing OC on NVME or even with High Sierra?

OCLP officially supports only Big Sur and Monterey, earlier releases are not tested. I don't know about OCLP and Pascal GPUs, it's better to ask directly on OCLP Discord. I bet that your config is one that no one ever tested.

For NVMe support you need BootROM 144.0.0.0.0, not all NVMe blades are compatible with Macs, even less are Mac Pro compatible, check if your blade is one tested, see the list of supported ones on first post of the stickie thread:

PCIe SSDs - NVMe & AHCI

This is a general info thread for blade SSDs that can be used in the Mac Pro. This is a WikiPost so anyone with the proper credentials may edit it. NVMe SSDs can be used as a boot drive in the MP5,1 and MP6,1 with the latest firmware installed (beginning with version 140.0.0.0.0 for MP5,1 and...

forums.macrumors.com

 

[jaapaap79]

OCLP officially supports only Big Sur and Monterey, earlier releases are not tested. I don't know about OCLP and Pascal GPUs, it's better to ask directly on OCLP Discord. I bet that your config is one that no one ever tested.

For NVMe support you need BootROM 144.0.0.0.0, not all NVMe blades are compatible with Macs, even less are Mac Pro compatible, check if your blade is one tested, see the list of supported ones on first post of the stickie thread:

PCIe SSDs - NVMe & AHCI

This is a general info thread for blade SSDs that can be used in the Mac Pro. This is a WikiPost so anyone with the proper credentials may edit it. NVMe SSDs can be used as a boot drive in the MP5,1 and MP6,1 with the latest firmware installed (beginning with version 140.0.0.0.0 for MP5,1 and...

forums.macrumors.com

Thanks. Yes, my blade is on the list and it booted fine before I installed OC.

Will reach out to the OCLP directly.