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davidodwell

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 21, 2023
12
0
My 2009 Mac Pro was successfully flashed to 5,1. Now I am trying to complete DosDudes Catalina Patcher.

So this is a 2009 5,1 dual 2.26 quad core processors, running High Sierra...10.13.6, 8 gig of memory, GPU is a Radeon 580..8 gig as well,

The Step I can not complete is near the end...the Mac Pro will not boot back up with the "option" key allowing me to select the boot drive. It just will not boot with the "option" key depressed.

I have a wired Apple Keyboard. I have tested all the keys and they all pass.
I have reset the NVRAM 5 times....that's 5 chimes in a row.
I have disconnected the keyboard and mouse
I have turned off Bluetooth

Nothing works to boot with the "Option" key.

These are all suggestions from here and Google.

The Mac Pro just will not boot with the "Option" key under any circumstances. I have every reason to believe the rest of the Catalina Patcher would work fine after that step.

For what it is worth this Mac Pro will not boot into recovery mode either. It would not boot into recover mode before I flashed the firmware to 5,1. I had to disable the SIP through other means. It is currently still disabled. Opps...the SIP is reenabled!!! I did not do that and I wonder if it must be disabled for any of this to work???

I hope I have covered everything I have tried. Very happy to answer any specifics. Someone here knows!!!

Thank you

David in North Carolina
 
When you install a PC non third-party flashed GPU, you loose pre-
The Step I can not complete is near the end...the Mac Pro will not boot back up with the "option" key allowing me to select the boot drive. It just will not boot with the "option" key depressed.

Your AMD Radeon RX 580 is third party flashed? Or your Mac Pro have EnableGop injected?

Pre-boot configuration support only works with AppleOEM GPUs, third-party flashed GPUs or EnableGop injected Mac Pros.
 
When you install a PC non third-party flashed GPU, you loose pre-


Your AMD Radeon RX 580 is third party flashed? Or your Mac Pro have EnableGop injected?

Pre-boot configuration support only works with AppleOEM GPUs, third-party flashed GPUs or EnableGop injected Mac Pros.
My 2009 Mac Pro was successfully flashed to 5,1. Now I am trying to complete DosDudes Catalina Patcher.

So this is a 2009 5,1 dual 2.26 quad core processors, running High Sierra...10.13.6, 8 gig of memory, GPU is a Radeon 580..8 gig as well,

The Step I can not complete is near the end...the Mac Pro will not boot back up with the "option" key allowing me to select the boot drive. It just will not boot with the "option" key depressed.

I have a wired Apple Keyboard. I have tested all the keys and they all pass.
I have reset the NVRAM 5 times....that's 5 chimes in a row.
I have disconnected the keyboard and mouse
I have turned off Bluetooth

Nothing works to boot with the "Option" key.

These are all suggestions from here and Google.

The Mac Pro just will not boot with the "Option" key under any circumstances. I have every reason to believe the rest of the Catalina Patcher would work fine after that step.

For what it is worth this Mac Pro will not boot into recovery mode either. It would not boot into recover mode before I flashed the firmware to 5,1. I had to disable the SIP through other means. It is currently still disabled. Opps...the SIP is reenabled!!! I did not do that and I wonder if it must be disabled for any of this to work???

I hope I have covered everything I have tried. Very happy to answer any specifics. Someone here knows!!!

Thank you

David in North Carolina
Another fact...this Mac Pro has always booted very slowly...minutes. Also it has one 1 Tb SATA drive.
 
The Radeon RX 580 is Metal and Apple supported.

A PC GPU being METAL supported, being a model that was suggested by Apple in a Apple Support article for Mojave GPU and etc, have absolutely nothing to do with the GPU providing Boot Screens/Boot Picker when installed to a MacPro5,1.

Read again this post:


Even the Apple eGPU developers kit (that had a Sapphire Pulse RX 580) didn't had pre-boot configuration support.

If your AMD Radeon RX 580 is not third-party flashed or your Mac Pro BootROM had EnableGop injected, you won't have pre-boot configuration support at all. A UEFI PC GPU that supports GOP won't work with Apple GOP without a firmware interface/shim to make the two compatible, so , no pre-boot configuration support.
 
Last edited:
This tech talk is just a little above my head but I am learning fast.

So a couple of points:

1. The Mac Pro works fine with the Radeon 580.

2: Here is the GPU data:

Radeon RX 580:

Chipset Model: Radeon RX 580
Type: GPU
Bus: PCIe
Slot: Slot-1
PCIe Lane Width: x16
VRAM (Dynamic, Max): 8192 MB
Vendor: AMD (0x1002)
Device ID: 0x67df
Revision ID: 0x00e7
Metal: Supported, feature set macOS GPUFamily1 v3
Displays:
100002487:
Resolution: 1920 x 1080 (1080p FHD - Full High Definition)
UI Looks like: 1920 x 1080 @ 60 Hz
Framebuffer Depth: 24-Bit Color (ARGB8888)
Main Display: Yes
Mirror: Off
Online: Yes
Rotation: Supported
Automatically Adjust Brightness: No
Connection Type: DisplayPort

So it appears to be ok and it works ok....so I am unclear what might be inappropriate about it.

I have benchmarked it with Heaven 2009....not the newest out there but graphics from the 580 were remarkable.

Thanks

David in NC

;
 
Not flashed, so, no Boot Screens/Boot Picker and only have the display working AFTER macOS loads the drivers.
 
Thank you tsialex,

Please tell me where to read up on “not flashed”, no Boot Screens/Boot Picker and only have the display working after macOS loads the drivers.

And the big question how can I correct it?

Thank you again for all your help!!

David from NC
 
Thank you tsialex,

Please tell me where to read up on “not flashed”, no Boot Screens/Boot Picker and only have the display working after macOS loads the drivers.

You GPU is missing any EFI info (called EFI Driver Version with System Information). See the example below taken from a Mac Pro with a MacVidCards flashed AMD RX 580:

Code:
Radeon RX 580:

  Chipset Model:	Radeon RX 580
  Type:	GPU
  Bus:	PCIe
  Slot:	Slot-1
  PCIe Lane Width:	x16
  VRAM (Total):	8 GB
  Vendor:	AMD (0x1002)
  Device ID:	0x67df
  Revision ID:	0x00e7
  EFI Driver Version:	MacVidCards
  Metal:	Supported, feature set macOS GPUFamily2 v1
  Displays:
22M34:
  Resolution:	1920 x 1080 (1080p FHD - Full High Definition)
  UI Looks like:	1920 x 1080 @ 60 Hz
  Framebuffer Depth:	30-Bit Color (ARGB2101010)
  Display Serial Number:	407NDJX0B356
  Main Display:	Yes
  Mirror:	Off
  Online:	Yes
  Rotation:	Supported
  Automatically Adjust Brightness:	No


So, it's a PC un-flashed GPU and no pre-boot configuration support.

And the big question how can I correct it?

Thank you again for all your help!!

David from NC

The cheapest way is a payed BootROM reconstruction service, but you can also replace the GPU with a flashed one, send the GPU to MacVidCards Europe to flash and etc.
 
Hey tsialex,

Well I snuck up on the problem slowly and I think I have arms around it!

It turns out MacVidCards is located in California.

I have option of having them EFI flash my 580 for about $90 or buy one theirs already flashed!!!

You saved the day!!

Thank you

David from NC
 
Hey tsialex,

Well I snuck up on the problem slowly and I think I have arms around it!

It turns out MacVidCards is located in California.

I have option of having them EFI flash my 580 for about $90 or buy one theirs already flashed!!!

You saved the day!!

Thank you

David from NC

A BootROM reconstruction service that already includes EnableGop injection for pre-boot configuration support with a UEFI GOP GPU like the RX 580 is just $60+taxes and you won't have to send anything physically.

It's a lot more sensible, since you have an early-2009 cross-flashed Mac Pro that some time down the road will need a BootROM repair anyway.
 
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