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LarrikinAus

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 11, 2016
72
67
Can someone help doing a disk image (dmg) for recovery of the virgin installed MacOS on MacPro 3,1? This would be awsome, as it did not work for me.

No one will do that for you as the Beta versions are copyright and subject to NDA.

What failed? Any error messages? Where did you get up to in the steps?
 
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nounousomes

macrumors newbie
Jun 18, 2008
16
3
No one will do that for you as the Beta versions are copyright and subject to NDA.

What failed? Any error messages? Where did you get up to in the steps?

It never booted back, the installer starts and freezes and missed up my El Captain boot permissions too :(
[doublepost=1466684417][/doublepost]
I just installed 10.12 on my Mac Pro 2008 from 8 gb USB Stick.

Worked fine.
Can you share how?
 

drewsof07

macrumors 68020
Oct 30, 2006
2,018
445
Ohio
It never booted back, the installer starts and freezes and missed up my El Captain boot permissions too :(
[doublepost=1466684417][/doublepost]
Can you share how?
You installed a first beta over top of a current 10.11 install?

957243243-foto-animal-gracioso-hamster.jpg
 

vivo

macrumors 6502
Jun 18, 2015
370
107
You installed a first beta over top of a current 10.11 install?

957243243-foto-animal-gracioso-hamster.jpg

Normally I do a clean install but this time i was too lazy to reinstall all au & vst plugins etc.
[doublepost=1466704036][/doublepost]
It never booted back, the installer starts and freezes and missed up my El Captain boot permissions too :(
[doublepost=1466684417][/doublepost]
Can you share how?

1. Mount InstallESD.dmg
2. open BaseSystem.dmg (I use 'open BaseSystem.dmg' from terminal after '
cd "/volumes/OS X Install ESD"/ ' (all within the ' ')
3. With DiskUtility I restored Base System to a 8gb usb stick
4. Copy BaseSystem.dmg & BaseSystem.chunklist to the root of usb stick
5. Edit USB:/system/library/coreservices/playformsupport.plist with the MacPro3,1 id's
6. Copy Packages from InstallESD to usb/system/library/installation
7. in /usb/system/library/installation/ edit InstallableMachines.plist again add Macpro3,1 id
8. Replace OSInstall.mpkg in /usb/system/library/installation/packages/
9. boot from stick & install
 

nounousomes

macrumors newbie
Jun 18, 2008
16
3
I did clean install, nothing worked painlessly except the installation from my 2010 MacBook pro via target mode. Worked without a problem at all.


Normally I do a clean install but this time i was too lazy to reinstall all au & vst plugins etc.
[doublepost=1466704036][/doublepost]

1. Mount InstallESD.dmg
2. open BaseSystem.dmg (I use 'open BaseSystem.dmg' from terminal after '
cd "/volumes/OS X Install ESD"/ ' (all within the ' ')
3. With DiskUtility I restored Base System to a 8gb usb stick
4. Copy BaseSystem.dmg & BaseSystem.chunklist to the root of usb stick
5. Edit USB:/system/library/coreservices/playformsupport.plist with the MacPro3,1 id's
6. Copy Packages from InstallESD to usb/system/library/installation
7. in /usb/system/library/installation/ edit InstallableMachines.plist again add Macpro3,1 id
8. Replace OSInstall.mpkg in /usb/system/library/installation/packages/
9. boot from stick & install
 

raymanster

macrumors 6502
Feb 13, 2008
357
128
UK
Thank you for these instructions, all works for me on my 2008, even my wifi works.

One tip, definitely make your boot recovery more then 10 GB, I used 20 GB. At first I tried using just 10 GB as my SSD is only 120 GB but then it failed to copy one of the directories as there was no space left.

At first I was lazy and tried target disk mode, but it didn't work using my 2009 and the 2008 as the target disk. It wouldn't boot into the installer.
 

pkouame

macrumors 65816
Jul 7, 2016
1,054
2,319
I didn't have any of the issues you describe and didn't have to disable SIP to create the installer. I'm not sure how I'd replicate them either. Anyway, glad you got it sorted :)
Hi and thanks for the tut. Question: where does your OSInstall.mpkg come from? Can you please expand on the mod to make it work with Sierra? It is not the one shipping with either Sierra DP1 or Sierra OB.
Thanks in advance,.
 

MattMaber

macrumors newbie
Jun 15, 2016
8
4
I read this thread few times. So, the process can be simplify to 2 big steps.

1) boot as target disk mode and install Sierra by another supported Mac.

2) Reboot into recovery partition, and use terminal to run "sudo rm /Volumes/[Main Drive Name]/System/Library/CoreServices/PlatformSupport.plist"

Am I miss something?

Woah, yes
I installed Sierra on an external USB to try on my MBP

Doing this then editing the PlatformSupport.plist as per the main instructions has worked, of course my WIFI doesnt work
 
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MattMaber

macrumors newbie
Jun 15, 2016
8
4
even if I spent the £35 on the wifi, I'm not sure id be happy running an unsupported OS on my work mac.
Will this still update as apple rolls out OS updates?
 

Tobsen

macrumors regular
Apr 29, 2002
138
74
Germany
Maybe a dump question, but how do get the beta updates on the MacPro 3,1? The AppStore says there is no update aviable …
 

Jeff1394

macrumors newbie
Sep 8, 2016
1
0
Hi guys, got the "BOOTIE" partition to boot but after I start the install, after a few seconds I get the "OS X could not be installed on your computer unidentified error: 0" Any ideas?

Thanks!
 

rantangan

macrumors newbie
Sep 21, 2016
1
0
I'm using the released version and I got OSInstall.mpkg appears to be missing or damaged message. I replaced it with the original file, I got this hardware is not supported.

I guess I'm almost there. Just need the right OSInstall.mpkg.
 

toddgcole

macrumors newbie
Sep 21, 2016
1
0
Thank you very much for this guide...unfortunately, stuck at step #42 with the release version. If I use the OSInstall.mpkg from the link you provide, I receive the following message -

"Failed to open macOS Installer.

The path /System/Installation/Packages/OSInstall.mpkg appears to be missing or damaged."

If I replace with the original OSInstall.mpkg, I receive the "this hardware is not supported" message.

If someone could post a link to an updated OSInstall.mpkg for the release version of Sierra it would be greatly appreciated.
 
Last edited:

Ludacrisvp

macrumors 6502a
May 14, 2008
797
363
Anyone else having iMessage crashing / graphical elements missing from iMessage?

Running so far so good on MacPro 3,1 (Early 2008).
After install completed, but before reboot I launched terminal and replaced the PlatformSupport.plist file with the one used by the installer partition so that I could boot into macOS without issue.


EDIT:

iMessage having issues ... crashed several times.
Graphical elements missing in iMessage on the display I'm running off of the 8800GT card (non issue on GTX650 card). iMessage crashes when moving between displays running on different cards.
Using Nvidia web drivers vs OEM Apple drivers make no difference in this.
 

Ludacrisvp

macrumors 6502a
May 14, 2008
797
363
Anyone else having iMessage crashing / graphical elements missing from iMessage?
The problem was due to Metal, Sierra does a lot more use of Metal in the GUI and the 8800GT doesn't support this apparently.
I've flashed the GTX650 with a custom EFI rom to get boot screen support and have retired my original 8800GT mac card and haven't seen any issues since.
 

PartTimeMacUser

macrumors newbie
Oct 27, 2016
1
2
So I was not able to get 10.12 to work with LarrinkinAus's steps. I kept getting the "Failed to open macOS Installer. The path /System/Installation/Packages/OSInstall.mpkg appears to be missing or damaged." error. Nor was I was I able to get dosdude1's patcher to work (the drive would never boot).

I am using a Mac Pro 3,1 (2009, Harpertown). I was able to find a very easy work around, but this will probably not be an option for most people as it requires more than one computer.

If you have access to a computer that 10.12 is supported on you can basically just do the install normally, then adjust the PlatformSupport.plist and pop the drive or copy the image onto your Mac Pro 3,1.

Example:

I popped two drives into a newer Mac Pro 5,1 (Mid 2010). I installed 10.11 on Drive A (this is just so I can easily adjust the PlatformSupport.plist). Then I used DiskMaker X to create a 10.12 USB install drive.

I then installed 10.12 onto Drive B normally. I went ahead and went through all the initial setup steps (setting up iCloud, creating a user, etc).

I then booted back into Drive A and opened up Drive B via Finder.

I went to the root of Drive B (my 10.12 disk) and went to /System/Library/CoreServices/

I copied the PlatformSupport.plist file to my desktop (since it is locked), then opened it with TextEdit.

I then mimicked LarrinkinAus's steps of adjusting the strings:

-------
31. Inside the file, go down to the last entry which will look something like this:

<string>Mac-942B5BF58194151B</string>

Replace the Mac-942B5BF58194151B text with your clipboard data which is your board ID that you copied in step 27. So it should now look something like

<string>Mac-F42C88C8</string>

36. Whilst remaining in the same file, scroll further down (it should only be a few lines down) to where you see:

<string>MacPro6,1</string>

change this to:

<string>MacPro3,1</string>

37. Save the file and exit


------

I then copied the edited PlatformSupport.plist file from my desktop and replaced the original file on Drive B.

Then I pulled Drive B (10.12) and popped it into my Mac Pro 3,1 and booted no problem. I used this patch: http://swdist.furcode.co/ and then I was able to update to 10.12.1

Note: After updating to 10.12.1 I had to repeat the steps for adjusting the PlatformSupport.plist using my other computer.

I was also able to create an image (using Carbon Copy Cloner) of the now "hacked" 10.12.1 image and install it on other drives/computers (using DeployStudio, but CCC would work too).
 

raymanster

macrumors 6502
Feb 13, 2008
357
128
UK
I did something similar, booted my 3,1 in target disk mode, and ran the Sierra installer from another Mac installing to the 3,1. Then from the 3,1 I booted from a USB containing dosdude1's utility and patched the plist.

I even managed to run the latest update a few days ago by using Ausenabler.

I used SuperDuper to create a base clone of the 3,1 install, and then another image of my customised install which I update every now and again.
 

StuLaFish

macrumors newbie
May 12, 2007
4
0
Westchester County, NY
PASSED-Ran the following command from the Terminal to get the board id and saved the it on the iMac:
ioreg -lp IOService | grep board-id
PASSED-Connected mac3,1, via firewire, to my 2010 iMac which is Sierra supported.
PASSED-Downloaded Sierra on the iMac
PASSED-Booted mac3,1 in target disk mode; both drives showed up on the iMac.
PASSED-Launched the Sierra installer.
PASSED-Selected the disk "extra" as the target for the installation.

NOT SURE-The installer started and after copying some files the iMac restarted and went directly into the installer. The installation continued without error until it finished at which time the iMac restarted again.

Things started as described, however, I stepped away, and I'm not exactly sure what I returned to find. :(

NOT SURE-The restart caused the iMac to run Sierra (using the "extra" drive from mac3,1) and was waiting for me to enter a password to continue. At this point I shutdown both computers. I restarted the iMac and held down the Option key which allowed me to select the iMac's normal start up disk. Once the iMac restarted I once again restarted mac3,1 in target disk mode.

My Mac Pro actually shut down (at some point), not restarting as described above. And, my MacBook Pro3,1 remained in Target Disk Mode. When I started the Pro, I didn't seem to have to change the Startup Disk.

FAILED (miserably)-Once the drives were again visible on the iMac I used the Terminal to edit the PlatformSupport.plist file. The command I used was: sudo view /Volumes/extra/System/Library/CoreServices/PlatformSupport.plist
The view command is a variant of Vi so you'll need to know Vi to edit the file. I added a line for the board id for the value we got from the command we ran earlier and a line for the model properties using the value of MacPro3,1.
Of course the command:
sudo rm /Volumes/[Main Drive Name]/System/Library/CoreServices/PlatformSupport.plist
can work just as well.

I could not, for the life of me, edit the .plist file, which appeared as Locked in TextEdit. And I "googled" and tried everything I could possible find. This command thing is not really my forte, and so, even though I understand the adding a line concept, it didn't happen, as much as I would have liked things to work.

Any words of wisdom?

Could it be that my MacBookPro3,1 doesn't have the necessary processor capabilities to handle the upgrade to Sierra? Someone mentioned the following, which nobody else seemed to touch upon: "The MacBookPro 3,1 isn’t supported by this patch, due to the CPU not supporting SSE4.1." Unfortunately, I'm not really sure what it means.

So close, yet so far.

NEVER GOT HERE-After editing and saving the PlatformSupport.plist file I shutdown mac3,1. I then restarted mac3,1 while holding the Option key which allowed me to select the drive "extra" to startup from. The computer started and asked me for my password after which the setup program started and eventually I was in macOS Sierra.

So that's it. This is the same process I used for my 2008 Xserves for OS X 10.9 and 10.10 and should work with some of the other computers that are now no longer supported. Enjoy[/QUOTE]
 
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