MP 6,1 MAC OS 14.3 Sonoma won't install on 2013 Mac Pro 6.1 with OCLP 1.3.0

[Flocarino]

Hello All,

Since yesterday I try to install Sonoma 14.3 on a 2013 Mac Pro 6.1 3.5Ghz 64GB RAM 256GB Apple OEM SSD with Apple Studio Display 27", all to no avail, no matter what I try.
The screen goes black and permanently stays this way right after I boot from the USB key, select EFI boot then Install Sonoma....I get the Apple Logo with the progression bar under, but the moment it starts the progress, the screen goes black and stays black, no matter what I try.
The ASD is connected via a Thunderbolt 2 to Thunderbolt 3 adapter and works perfectly in Monterey. I switched to a Samsung 980PRO with Sintech adapter....still nothing.
Zapped the PRAM, reinstalled OS, restarted the whole procedure with OCLP and always stops/goes black at the Apple Logo progression bar when booting from the USB key.
Any suggestions and help will be much appreciated before I toss all this procedure away....

P.S. I tried it in the past on another MP 6.1 but with and LG 4K display and everything went smooth as butter into Sonoma, on the first try. Unfortunately I don't have another HDMI display but I really wonder if the ASD is the cause.
Thank you

 

[Flocarino]

…..still nothing, I’m out of options. I cannot boot from a High Sierra USB key either, same thing, black screen comes on after the Apple logo with the progress bar appears….

 

[dumastudetto]

There's no official support for OCLP.

It's probably time to consider upgrading to a new Mac Pro.

 

[sundhar1]

I would try the below methods to see if you can get any progress
1. Restart the Mac Pro 6,1 and hold down SHIFT key. This will boot into safe mode and any pending install should complete without errors and you may be able to reboot normally after sucessfull install, login and restart.
2. If remote management or screen sharing is enabled, user another device to connect and view if the Mac Pro is displaying something but not visible in the attached monitor.

 

[Flocarino]

There's no official support for OCLP.

It's probably time to consider upgrading to a new Mac Pro.

Oh boy....that's NOT the point...

 

[halledise]

but I really wonder if the ASD is the cause.
Thank you

hmmm.
from what you’ve detailed, i’d say ‘perhaps' to the Studio Display being the problem child.
perhaps you could borrow a similar display to test?
or
run diagnostics on the mac and it may yield some info on your ASD also?
hope that helps …

 

[Flocarino]

Honestly, I was leaning towards the ASD being the problem, due to the adapter and all.
I don't have a regular screen laying around so I guess that I have to buy and used one just for this matter....

 

[halledise]

Honestly, I was leaning towards the ASD being the problem, due to the adapter and all.
I don't have a regular screen laying around so I guess that I have to buy and used one just for this matter....

got an apple store or authorised repairer nearby?
you could carry the MPro in there and hook it up to one of theirs.
might cost you $50-$100, but at least you’d know for sure then …

 

[Flocarino]

I use my ASD with my M1 Mac Mini and it works flawlessly but since it is a new generation comparing with the 2013 Mac Pro….
Otherwise the ASD works perfectly with the MP on the latest Monterey OS along with the Thunderbolt adapter.
Maybe the problem is related to OCLP as well.
thank you

 

[halledise]

I use my ASD with my M1 Mac Mini and it works flawlessly but since it is a new generation comparing with the 2013 Mac Pro….
Otherwise the ASD works perfectly with the MP on the latest Monterey OS along with the Thunderbolt adapte.
thank you

aha.
yes a lotta things changed after monterey and not necessarily for the better.
i reverted to monty after experimenting with ventura and sonoma as it’s simpler, more elegant plus all peripherals will work

 

[Flocarino]

IMPORTANT UPDATE FOR ALL OCLP USERS using a new Apple Studio Display:

I got a cheap LG screen today and plug it to my 2013 Mac Pro via the HDMI input and I can confirm THAT USING OCLP 1.3 with the LATEST Sonoma 14.3 works perfectly, NO MORE BLACK SCREEN in the update/install procedure.
So, installing new OS's via OCLP with the new Apple Studio Display won't work at all, no matter what I tried.
Always use a standard PC display with HDMI inputs.
Afterwards the Mac Pro can be connected to the Apple Studio Display via the Thunderbolt 2 to 3 adapter and all works fine under Sonoma 14.3
So to resume:
1- Sonoma install with OCLP on a Apple Studio Display it's a NO GO--- Black Screen
2- Sonoma install with OCLP on a standard PC display via HDMI port--- Thumbs Up----Smooth Install --- All OK
3-It is like flashing a PC GPU to use in a Mac----You need to do it(install it) in a PC first

 

[halledise]

IMPORTANT UPDATE FOR ALL OCLP USERS using a new Apple Studio Display:

I got a cheap LG screen today and plug it to my 2013 Mac Pro via the HDMI input and I can confirm THAT USING OCLP 1.3 with the LATEST Sonoma 14.3 works perfectly, NO MORE BLACK SCREEN in the update/install procedure.
So, installing new OS's via OCLP with the new Apple Studio Display won't work at all, no matter what I tried.
Always use a standard PC display with HDMI inputs.
Afterwards the Mac Pro can be connected to the Apple Studio Display via the Thunderbolt 2 to 3 adapter and all works fine under Sonoma 14.3
So to resume:
1- Sonoma install with OCLP on a Apple Studio Display it's a NO GO--- Black Screen
2- Sonoma install with OCLP on a standard PC display via HDMI port--- Thumbs Up----Smooth Install --- All OK
3-It is like flashing a PC GPU to use in a Mac----You need to do it(install it) on a PC display first

wow!
that’s most interesting 🧐.
the Mac will only dance with PeeCee 🤓

 

[DynamicIslander]

IMPORTANT UPDATE FOR ALL OCLP USERS using a new Apple Studio Display:

I got a cheap LG screen today and plug it to my 2013 Mac Pro via the HDMI input and I can confirm THAT USING OCLP 1.3 with the LATEST Sonoma 14.3 works perfectly, NO MORE BLACK SCREEN in the update/install procedure.
So, installing new OS's via OCLP with the new Apple Studio Display won't work at all, no matter what I tried.
Always use a standard PC display with HDMI inputs.
Afterwards the Mac Pro can be connected to the Apple Studio Display via the Thunderbolt 2 to 3 adapter and all works fine under Sonoma 14.3
So to resume:
1- Sonoma install with OCLP on a Apple Studio Display it's a NO GO--- Black Screen
2- Sonoma install with OCLP on a standard PC display via HDMI port--- Thumbs Up----Smooth Install --- All OK
3-It is like flashing a PC GPU to use in a Mac----You need to do it(install it) in a PC first

Do you mind giving me a source on how to install macOS Sonoma on Mac Pro 2013 with OCLP?

 

[damefrikis]

Hi! I'm interested on how is it going with Sonoma and Mac Pro 2013. Does it work well? Is the graphics acceleration working on the D300/500/700?

Thanks!

 

[tsialex]

Is the graphics acceleration working on the D300/500/700?

Apple hardware assisted video compression/video decompression/color grading/pixel moving via VideoToolbox API requires a Polaris AMD GPU or newer (AMD GPUs from 2016, like RX 460/480/560/580 and newer) and does not work with D300/D500/D700.

 

[damefrikis]

Thanks. So you don't recommend Mac pro 2013 as a step up from mini late 2012, do you?

What cheap alternative would you recommend? Mac pro 2012 and buy a graphics card and install.usb 3 ports PCI or which will be a cheap but interesting machine around 400 euros?

 

[tsialex]

Thanks. So you don't recommend Mac pro 2013 as a step up from mini late 2012, do you?

What cheap alternative would you recommend? Mac pro 2012 and buy a graphics card and install.usb 3 ports PCI or which will be a cheap but interesting machine around 400 euros?

Depends on your workflow, for someone that needs to run something like earlier ProTools and need PCIe slots, a MacPro5,1 is perfect. For anyone needing macOS releases past Monterey, a MacPro5,1 is not a good choice and you should avoid it, same/worse for MacPro6,1.

If I was buying anything today, I'd get a 2018 Mac mini, you can get eGPU working relatively easily and can run current macOS releases natively. I'd also keep an eye open for a 2nd hand late-2019 Mac Pro, even if it's much more expensive than the alternatives.

 

[damefrikis]

Thx

Just saw a really cheap mini 2012 i7 and the ability to use OCLP to install latest version and for 160 euros it was a bargain. Simply wanted a little more horsepower under the hood for general purposes. Also seem MBP 2015 but I guess it has ATI R9 or something like that... I think I'll stick to my new Mac mini toy, I was excited on the 6.1 pro but the graphics card lack of support is a shame

 

[tsialex]

Thx

Just saw a really cheap mini 2012 i7 and the ability to use OCLP to install latest version and for 160 euros it was a bargain. Simply wanted a little more horsepower under the hood for general purposes. Also seem MBP 2015 but I guess it has ATI R9 or something like that... I think I'll stick to my new Mac mini toy, I was excited on the 6.1 pro but the graphics card lack of support is a shame

2012 (or even the 2014) mini is a poor choice to run modern macOS releases. It's worse than a MacPro6,1 because of the Intel integrated GPU and the missing AVX2.0. Runs almost perfectly up to Monterey, but is not so good after that.

For this price point you can maximize the RAM/upgrade to a decent size SATA SSD and use as a native Catalina Mac without thinking too much about it.

 

[damefrikis]

Thanks again. Catalina runs like a charm but I can't stand not being able to use latest applications versions. That's the main reason I left apple iMac several years ago, because the lack of support of new OS versions and applications. I'll stick to Ventura and enjoy the mini for general purposes. Really disappointed about the trash can

 

[tsialex]

Really disappointed about the trash can

Disappointed why exactly? HEVC hardware assisted compression/decompression started to be added to the GPUs ASICs released around 2016ish timeframe, almost three years later than the MacPro6,1. No sense in be disappointed with something that was standardized years later after the MacPro6,1 release and is not supported by the hardware.

Any other Mac before 2017 will not work for full VideoToolbox hardware assisted acceleration. Some 2016 Macs with Iris Pro also have partial support, but it's a very low performance, useful only for low bit rates.

 

[damefrikis]

Because with a 2012 mini there's partial graphics acceleration H264 compatibility and not im the trashcan I was thinking will be a interesting update (buying the basemodel and putting inside a 12 core CPU by myself) to max it out

 

[Flocarino]

Do you mind giving me a source on how to install macOS Sonoma on Mac Pro 2013 with OCLP?

There you go: