MP 1,1-5,1 Mac Pro 5.1 with RX560 and Boot Screen

[maitrenageur]

Hi,
I have got a Mac Pro 5.1 mid. 2010 and a separate MSI Aero RX 560 Graphic Card.
The Mac Pro runs with the RX560 but without the boot screen. It makes the OS installation difficult. My researches shows no really solutions regarding to an alternative bios with boot logo support.
But there are a lot of years ago and my hope is, that there is a solution available.
Is there a solution?

 

[ZombiePhysicist]

There is something called OpenCore, it's a boot loader that will give you a boot screen. My understanding is it's stupidly difficult and technically difficult to install, unfortunately. But, if/once you get it installed, it will give you boot screens.

 

[dataid]

OpenCore is supported for Mac 5,1 on a thread in the MacRumors forums. OpenCore is not difficult to install, there is a tutorial on how to install it. There are also several methods for installing it. Here is the link to the WikiPost of the OpenCore thread which explains what it is all about.

MacRumors Forum OpenCore Wiki Post

 

[ZombiePhysicist]

OpenCore is supported for Mac 5,1 on a thread in the MacRumors forums. OpenCore is not difficult to install, there is a tutorial on how to install it. There are also several methods for installing it. Here is the link to the WikiPost of the OpenCore thread which explains what it is all about.

MacRumors Forum OpenCore Wiki Post

Dude, you are far better tech'y than myself. I tried reading through it. It looked like a nightmare. YMMV.

 

[KeesMacPro]

You could get your RX 560 flashed to get a bootscreen.
If you live in Europe:I've got good experiences with MacVidCards in Poland who offers this flashing service and can be found on e.g. eBay.

 

[maitrenageur]

@ZombiePhysicist, @dataid and @KeesMacPro thank you for your prompt support. I will give OpenCore a try. Parallel i will ask MacVidCards for an offer.

 

[AlexMaximus]

Dude, you are far better tech'y than myself. I tried reading through it. It looked like a nightmare. YMMV.

I tried and failed as well. A nightmare in my book. I ended up with a flashed 580 from MVC. Runs great and boot screen And I put a Watercooler on it. Very solid. However, since I am in the process of selling my 5.1, PM me if you are interested in the gpu. The fans are powerd through the gpu board, so no fussing around with sata power cables or such.

 

[sfalatko]

I tried and failed as well. A nightmare in my book. I ended up with a flashed 580 from MVC. Runs great and boot screen And I put a Watercooler on it. Very solid. However, since I am in the process of selling my 5.1, PM me if you are interested in the gpu. The fans are powerd through the gpu board, so no fussing around with sata power cables or such.

To install Opencore you just need to read the first post in that thread. It is a tutorial. If you have questions on some of the steps or what they mean just ask in that thread - there are several members who spend a considerable amount of time helping others install and run opencore.

 

[AlexMaximus]

To install Opencore you just need to read the first post in that thread. It is a tutorial. If you have questions on some of the steps or what they mean just ask in that thread - there are several members who spend a considerable amount of time helping others install and run opencore.

Macrumors is the absolut best Mac Forum on the planet. That’s why I joined a whopping 15 years ago. You guys are the best. In the case of Open Core I do agree with you also. The tutorial works, no problem. In this case it’s fully my own situation, my somewhat lackluster skill set to dig down into those instructions and program lines.
Also, I have just scored an “as-new” iMac Pro with Vega64 for about half the price, backed with full AppleCare+
For the enthusiast of that bad-ass space gray and a focus on silent machines, I could not resist. This purchase was in the back of my head for a long time, hence the unmotivated attitude towards Open Core. Now someone else will be very lucky to get my perfect mint condition MP 5,1 once I have finished transition those valuable Data to this new and reliable iMac Pro. The best machine of the old era, the Pre-Corona era, the pre-global reset era machine. Long live the old world, - my hopeless attempt to go back in time and stay there. Cheers to all member of this outstanding forum, to let me contribute and help with Apple hardware questions. I’ll see you on the iMac side of the forum from now on.

 

[ZombiePhysicist]

To install Opencore you just need to read the first post in that thread. It is a tutorial. If you have questions on some of the steps or what they mean just ask in that thread - there are several members who spend a considerable amount of time helping others install and run opencore.

Dude I think building a nuclear reactor would have less steps. The word "just" just ignores the complexity. Here is where you use the word "just" appropriately. You just run the installer app and it's installed. You just drag and drop the app in the Apps folder and run it.

Nothing about this 5 part (expanded) process is "just". It's a nightmare of intricacy.

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

The below space balls/Star Wars battle cruiser image is not even fully expanded. If you try to expand all of it with the "Spoiler: more details" portions you need to see, the thing is too big to post even in miniaturized form. It's a full on book on how to to install this thing. And it's not even linear. You have more branches in that document than in a Witcher 3 game, ie on having to go get this package, then that package, then configure these packages after downloading that package, then update that bios, then reset this memory, then enter these hieroglyphic values in nvram, and then later those values in nvram, then update this plist, than get those config files an update this portion, but not that portion. It takes hours. Nightmare is being too kind.

That said, bless all those that made the wiki and help make this possible. It's great. But mere mortals need not apply to get this thing installed.

 

[cdf]

Nothing about this 5 part (expanded) process is "just". It's a nightmare of intricacy.

I encourage you to take a closer look. The basic installation consists of "just" the part highlighted in red below.

The rest of the guide is for more advanced configurations. It also covers installing macOS, Windows and Linux. For convenience, the guide often explicitly repeats procedures already explained, perhaps making the content appear more extensive than it is. All the details are provided.

The guide also provides links to other solutions available here on MacRumors that may be more suitable for those who aren't interested in the configuration details.

 

[ZombiePhysicist]

I encourage you to take a closer look. The basic installation consists of "just" the part highlighted in red below.

The rest of the guide is for more advanced configurations. It also covers installing macOS, Windows and Linux. For convenience, the guide often explicitly repeats procedures already explained, perhaps making the content appear more extensive than it is. All the details are provided.

The guide also provides links to other solutions available here on MacRumors that may be more suitable for those who aren't interested in the configuration details.

View attachment 1751363

Thanks, there is also the maintenance part and the part that deals with OS updates, so it's more than just that. Also, while other sections deal with "advanced" installs, it's not clear if that does or does not apply to you without reading it.

IMO, it's not straight forward. But fair minded folks can agree to disagree and still be fair minded. So as always, YMMV.

 

[sfalatko]

Thanks, there is also the maintenance part and the part that deals with OS updates, so it's more than just that. Also, while other sections deal with "advanced" installs, it's not clear if that does or does not apply to you without reading it.

IMO, it's not straight forward. But fair minded folks can agree to disagree and still be fair minded. So as always, YMMV.

Indeed we can disagree however I did love your response. Very true that there are a lot of instructions to read through covering a lot of different conditions. The Macrumors forums are really the best around and there are really great people helping others keep our Macpros alive as long as possible.

Personally, I have enjoyed working with Opencore as it lets me keep my Macpro5,1 living longer using the latest operating system and I don't mind working my way through the instructions. I do only use Opencore on a USB stick (at least while it is still very actively being developed) for updates. I normally boot without it however I do have a flashed graphics card so can get a boot picker without OC.

Regards,
sfalatko

 

[JMVB]

Dude, you are far better tech'y than myself. I tried reading through it. It looked like a nightmare. YMMV.

I followed this video and works like a charm

Not difficult at all

(i don't know if it is an official or recommended installation method, but works good for me)

 

[maitrenageur]

Here is my feedback to my post.

Everything is still running, with OpenCore support. It was not necessary to write a new bios to my graphic card. Open Core supports graphic cards (in my case) without special BIOS requirements.

I followed the predefined OpenCore environment by Martin, located here at MacRumors (Link). With following benefit:

- Common Graphic Card support.
- Boot screen (in black).
- Boot menu support with all boot devices.
- Standard macOS upgrade offer to Big Sur. Now i have mac Big Sur installed (from Mojave).

I installed FreeBSD on a second hard drive as test. The boot menu shows the FreeBSD installation and now i can select between macOS, Rescue Disk or FreeBSD. Windows is not in my focus, here i have no experiences.

The OpenCore environment is for me in the moment a running black box and has a bitter aftertaste for me. Reason is, i don't understand the right commands and values of the OpenCore configuration in the moment. Especially in context with a Mac Pro. Perhaps i find a german speaking OpenCore expert for a dialogue.

Anyway, thank you very much to this community.

 

[sfalatko]

Here is my feedback to my post.

Everything is still running, with OpenCore support. It was not necessary to write a new bios to my graphic card. Open Core supports graphic cards (in my case) without special BIOS requirements.

I followed the predefined OpenCore environment by Martin, located here at MacRumors (Link). With following benefit:

- Common Graphic Card support.
- Boot screen (in black).
- Boot menu support with all boot devices.
- Standard macOS upgrade offer to Big Sur. Now i have mac Big Sur installed (from Mojave).

I installed FreeBSD on a second hard drive as test. The boot menu shows the FreeBSD installation and now i can select between macOS, Rescue Disk or FreeBSD. Windows is not in my focus, here i have no experiences.

The OpenCore environment is for me in the moment a running black box and has a bitter aftertaste for me. Reason is, i don't understand the right commands and values of the OpenCore configuration in the moment. Especially in context with a Mac Pro. Perhaps i find a german speaking OpenCore expert for a dialogue.

Anyway, thank you very much to this community.

@maitrenageur - I understand perfectly. My approach to opencore is very minimalist. Right now I only boot into opencore to do software updates. I have a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 that has been flashed so I get a boot screen without opencore/opencanopy and only need OC for upgrading Catalina and Big Sur.

My suggestion is review the first post and the accompanying config.plist. It starts with a minimalist approach to changes. For your setup with the AMD RX 560 I would study part II (Enabling the Graphical Boot Picker and Enabling Hardware Acceleration). Those two parts should be the only modifications you would need to add to the "stock" config.plist.

Regards,
sfalatko

 

[knyght]

I installed a RX580 GPU into my 5,1 Mac Pro to be able to install Mojave couple years back. Now I want to upgrade to Monterey but that is a problem because I no longer get a boot screen. If I re-install the old GPU will that work so I can get a boot screen and boot from an external USB drive with Monterey on it?

 

[Macschrauber]

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

 

[knyght]

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

Thank you. I successfully installed opencore and now get a boot screen. But I am not seeing the bootable external drive I created with the instructions from Mr. Macintosh on how to install Monterey. How do I see the external on the boot screen?

 

[Macschrauber]

double check your boot stick, you should see it thru opencore.

 

[knyght]

What am I checking for? I see the external on the desktop, mounted. It says Install MacOS Monterey.

 

[Macschrauber]

If it can boot on a supported machine.

 

[uranium235_cn1]

What am I checking for? I see the external on the desktop, mounted. It says Install MacOS Monterey.

Did you get your GPU new? if so, I can help you mod the BIOS, after you flash your GPU you will have a boot screen.

 

[flat4]

You can install EnablerGOP and it could make it easier, no opencore needed I believe.

 

[tsialex]

I'm always surprised by people who respond to threads that have been dead for years.

Who waits for a response for more than 20 months?