MP 1,1-5,1 Mac Pro 5,1 USB 3.0 & 3.1 Card

[Agustin Karque]

Hello guys, im writing because i can’t find a direct solution to my problem…
I recently bought a Pci Card with 3 usb 3.0 type A and 2 type c. It has the Fresco FL1100 chip.
My mac is a 4,1 with 5,1 firmware on it, 2 6 core cpu and Rx580 gpu. Currently running Mojave on a SSD nvme.
From the reviews i saw in the product, the card should work plug and play, but that didn’t happen of course. I searched for drivers and that kind of stuff, i found only one but they seem to be made for Yosemite or lower. I don’t know how to install them or even if they are really necessary. The card works, it has power, the leds come on but it isn’t recognized by the system.
I’m looking for help, so any tip or experience that you have is well received, thank you!

 

[Macschrauber]

If it is in Slot 3 or 4 - test it in Slot 1 or 2.

3 and 4 is routed thru a PCI Chip what can die. I heard of that and also have one Board with this damage.

 

[Agustin Karque]

If it is in Slot 3 or 4 - test it in Slot 1 or 2.

3 and 4 is routed thru a PCI Chip what can die. I heard of that and also have one Board with this damage.

I’m sure that’s not the case, all pci works. I moved the nvme testing all slots and they work fine. The problem seems to be the logic process behind, the card works but it’s not recognized.
Now I’m trying to re install MacOS El Capitan and downgrade the firmware to see if it’s recognized there.

 

[tsialex]

downgrade the firmware to see if it’s recognized there.

Apple firmware tools only allow you to install greater than current installed firmware versions, never the same or earlier. Don't waste your time with this.

 

[Agustin Karque]

Apple firmware tools only allow you to install greater than current installed firmware versions, never the same or earlier. Don't waste your time with this.

Thank you

 

[hvds]

Thank you

I'm using a different machine, MacBookPro5,2 (mid 2009). I use a dual USB3 expresscard/34 from nanoTECH which has an FL1100 chip. Sorry that I came across this thread only now.

It works fine with Big Sur 11.6.2 and 11.6.3RC, as it did with Catalina. With the latest OCLP version 0.4.1 one can even boot via such an USB3 port.

It does not work anymore with any Monterey version, that is, mouse or keyboard connected to USB3 work fine. But when connecting a storage device to USB3:
(1) a running Monterey (booted from elsewhere) will freeze;
(2) when booting Monterey (from elsewhere) while a storage device is plugged into USB3, the boot hangs and the verbose log seems to indicate a missing NMI interrupt (see attached photo);
(3) when booting Monterey from USB3, OCLP sees the disk correctly, but during boot same thing happens as in (2), unsurprisingly.

I guess something around the XHCI disk driver in Monterey is in error.

If someone has similar experience, I'd be glad to know, because using USB3 for access to an external disk (and now even for booting) is fast and thus convenient. Thanks.

 

[pc297]

Can rEFIt/rEFInd/OCLP be used on a classic MP to boot from an external drive attached to a PCIe USB card?

 

[hwojtek]

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/opencore-on-the-mac-pro.2207814/page-483?post=31788122#post-31788122

 

[pc297]

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/opencore-on-the-mac-pro.2207814/page-483?post=31788122#post-31788122

Thanks! So OpenCore and FL1100

 

[pc297]

Silly question, does OCLP require an original mac or mac-flashed graphics card, or will the display fire up with an unflashed PC VGA graphics card?

 

[hwojtek]

OpenCore on the Mac Pro

This guide explains how to use the excellent OpenCore boot loader to install, run, and update the latest version of macOS on the MacPro5,1, resulting in a clean, unaltered operating system just like on a supported Mac.

forums.macrumors.com

 

[Ausdauersportler]

I'm using a different machine, MacBookPro5,2 (mid 2009). I use a dual USB3 expresscard/34 from nanoTECH which has an FL1100 chip. Sorry that I came across this thread only now.

It works fine with Big Sur 11.6.2 and 11.6.3RC, as it did with Catalina. With the latest OCLP version 0.4.1 one can even boot via such an USB3 port.

It does not work anymore with any Monterey version, that is, mouse or keyboard connected to USB3 work fine. But when connecting a storage device to USB3:
(1) a running Monterey (booted from elsewhere) will freeze;
(2) when booting Monterey (from elsewhere) while a storage device is plugged into USB3, the boot hangs and the verbose log seems to indicate a missing NMI interrupt (see attached photo);
(3) when booting Monterey from USB3, OCLP sees the disk correctly, but during boot same thing happens as in (2), unsurprisingly.

I guess something around the XHCI disk driver in Monterey is in error.

If someone has similar experience, I'd be glad to know, because using USB3 for access to an external disk (and now even for booting) is fast and thus convenient. Thanks.

If you are brave you might try to re-flash the firmware of your MacBookPro5,2 using the same drivers OCLP has included (assuming you have enabled these in the settings and use it currently).

But I have to admit I never tried this on any other system than the single iMac12,2.

 

[Frixo Cool]

Hi! Is there anyone with PCI USB 3.0 card in Mac Pro 5,1 using OCLP and latest Sonoma? Currently I use 12.7 Monterey, but I would love to move to Sonoma. I know about USB 2.0 hub requirement for the installation but I am worried about some kernel panic reports with some PCI USB cards? Any hints?

Thanks!

 

[h9826790]

Hi! Is there anyone with PCI USB 3.0 card in Mac Pro 5,1 using OCLP and latest Sonoma? Currently I use 12.7 Monterey, but I would love to move to Sonoma. I know about USB 2.0 hub requirement for the installation but I am worried about some kernel panic reports with some PCI USB cards? Any hints?

Thanks!

I have a spare drive installed Sonoma for test run. No problem with KT-4004.