Mac mini 2012, Intel HD4000, VLC and woe.

[m0u5t@ff@]

I thought I was winning, turns out I was losing.

I picked up a second-hand Mac mini (late 2012) (Macmini6,2) and shoehorned macOS Mojave 10.14 onto it by way of Dosdude’s patcher.

More on THAT here @

macOS 10.14 Mojave on Unsupported Macs Thread

macOS 10.14 Mojave on Unsupported Macs Machine Support Video Card Support Pre-Metal AMD video cards (Radeon HD 6xxx series and older without acceleration, Radeon HD 4xxx series and older with acceleration.) Pre-Metal Nvidia video cards (GeForce 5xx series and older, i.e...

forums.macrumors.com

Also here @

macOS Mojave Patcher

Hooked up some peripherals to it thinking at the time that THIS would be the perfect little machine for my Mother to use.
For her to traverse the internet, stream content and watch her movies/video content with.

Until I began to run into the issue of her wanting to use VLC Media Player. For her various video files that are in
a wide variety of formats.
I didn’t even think for a moment that the Graphics Card would be an issue, for her specific needs that is.

More on the Intel 4000 HD issue here @

SOLVED: Intel HD Graphics Card Upgradability? - Mac Mini Late 2012

The Mini's graphics can't be upgraded (internally or externally). The Intel HD4000 services is part of the processor chip set. Unlike other systems there is no I/O services to install an alternate graphics board within the system. The Thunderbolt port can drive an external monitor via...

www.ifixit.com

also here @

Is there a way to get non-Metal graphics cards to work with MacOS Mojave? If so, how?

Answer (1 of 2): Yes. Mojave includes a fallback for safe mode where graphics acceleration is disabled. You can use this fallback in day-to-day use with a patcher such as macOS Mojave Patcher.

www.quora.com

More here too, sort of, @

and @

As I scoured the internet for a solution, I as to discover that Open GL Acceleration is not supported on this type of Mac mini.
That the Graphics Card is integrated into the computer itself, hence it is not upgradeable.
Apart from myself buying and connecting an external GPU to the Mac Mini 2012. Where to go from here ?

I could just pickup another more-recent-not-so-vintage Mac mini here @

https://eshop.macsales.com/configure-my-mac/UAEG4H67XX2XXXC
(although I don't think I could shoehorn Mojave onto it, I might not need to)

or ?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[m0u5t@ff@]

I also discovered today an app "ElMedia Player" which the Pro version is a good alternative to VLC on this Macmini6,2

 

[Boyd01]

I picked up a second-hand Mac mini (late 2012) (Macmini6,2) and shoehorned macOS Mojave 10.14 onto it by way of Dosdude’s patcher.

I'm confused by this. The 2012 Mini natively supports Mojave (also Catalina), so no "shoehorning" should be needed.

macOS Mojave - Technical Specifications - Apple Support

support.apple.com

I have that same Mini (2012 2.6 ghz quad core i7) and used it heavily with Final Cut Pro and other software for video for a number of years (now it has been relegated to a file server). I think I used VLC on it, but not sure. Anyway, while the HD4000 is certainly showing its age, it should still be capable of playing most video formats. Maybe you need an older version of VLC or another app? Or maybe your "shoehorn" of Mojave is causing problems?

Why did you choose MacOS Mojave? Catalina is newer and works without patching. But neither of these are supported with security updates anymore, maybe not such a good idea for your mother to "traverse the internet", especially if she's doing online shopping or banking.

 

[m0u5t@ff@]

@Boyd01 Thank you for taking the time to respond.

"The 2012 Mini natively supports Mojave (also Catalina), so no "shoehorning" should be needed."
- I cannot recall why I chose to do this at the time, either.

"I have that same Mini (2012 2.6 ghz quad core i7) and used it heavily with Final Cut Pro...."
- Separate issue for me. I could never get FCP 10.3.4 to run on it though, maybe I should try an earlier version, such as what you had suggested. Upon launching FCPX, on screen message is always : "Graphics configuration not supported" "This graphics configuration does not support hardware acceleration....."

"now it has been relegated to a file server"
- Good idea. You mean to say, that it is a repository for Data over a connected or wireless network.

"Maybe you need an older version of VLC or another app?"
- Attempted earlier version of VLC. To no success. Installed alternative app. That works just like VLC.

"Or maybe your "shoehorn" of Mojave is causing problems?"
- Could be. I have access to a usb installer with various OSs on it. I could update to Catalina with THAT.

"Why did you choose MacOS Mojave? Catalina is newer and works without patching."
- Good suggestion.

".... neither of these are supported with security updates anymore, maybe not such a good idea for your mother to "traverse the internet", especially if she's doing online shopping or banking."
- THIS ^ is a problem, to be sure. I knew enough to instruct her to not use this machine (as it is) for those purposes. I think she may have though all the same on a few occasions. Unfortunately, which was the cause for some anxiety on my part. Lack of security patches is a cuase for concern.

 

[McScooby]

Save yourself & your mother the grief & just get a M1/M2 mini?

 

[m0u5t@ff@]

Save yourself & your mother the grief & just get a M1/M2 mini?

 

[Boyd01]

I was using whatever version of FCP was current for Catalina back then. The way the app store works, AFAIK, you will not be able to download these old versions unless you had previously installed them on a compatible Mac.

The 2012 Mini just sits on my LAN today, running file sharing, connected to gigabit ethernet with four 5-tb USB hard disks connected. Used as a time machine destination for my primary Mac and for archival storage.

I just quickly installed VLC 3.0.18 on that 2012 Mini and it seemed to work fine with a few video files I have on that machine. Did not do any in-depth testing, that machine is "headless" so I was just accessing it with screen sharing. But VLC didn't crash or complain about the graphics card.

 

[m0u5t@ff@]

"whatever version of FCP was current for Catalina back then"
- Correct. If I update to Catalina, better chances of this working as well.
Plus the Security updates, etc etc

"The 2012 Mini just sits on my LAN today, running file sharing, connected to gigabit ethernet with four 5-tb USB hard disks connected. Used as a time machine destination for my primary Mac and for archival storage."
- What a configuration! Notes duly taken. Gives me ideas as to what to do with extra HD's lying around

".....But VLC didn't crash or complain about the graphics card."
- ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

- Thanks again.

 

[m0u5t@ff@]

In making an attempt to install macOS Catalina, the initial reason why I had set up the machine is partially coming back to me. The HD isn't APFS formatted. iAvoided that file format for,.... reasons. The Catalina installer wll only install on APFS mformatted drives.

 

[McScooby]

Bump the RAM to 16GB & the Intel Graphics 4000 then has 1.5GB allocated to it IIRC.

 

[m0u5t@ff@]

Good suggestion @McScooby
Right you are that more RAM then would be allocated to the Graphics Acceleration

I found THIS :

16GB Memory Upgrade for MacBook Pro, iMac, and Mac mini

Upgrade your pre-2013, non-retina MacBook Pro with up to 16GB of RAM. Memory is also compatible with 2011-2015 iMac and 2011-2012 Mac mini.

eshop.macsales.com

 

[Heindijs]

I don’t know what the problem is. Also, IINA is a much better option than VLC on macOS.
And if you’re gonna patch the machine (which as some people pointed out, is unnecessary for Mojave), why no patch it with OCLP to Monterey? You’ll get a much more modern and supported OS that way.

 

[m0u5t@ff@]

Thanks to all who responded.

I will upgrade the Ram when the Modules arrive. This is the first I've heard of IINA, I'll give that a try to for her. Maybe it'll be easier for her to use. Shoutout to @Heindijs for the suggestion.

I found this MacRumors thread concerning the topic :

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/is-iina-a-decent-and-safe-alternative-to-vlc.2313515/