macOS 10.14 Mojave on Unsupported Macs Thread

[Luckygreek]

I linked this guide on the wiki post.

Thanks Julian, I made some changes, hopefully, make it a little less confusing.

[doublepost=1531948990][/doublepost]

I linked this guide on the wiki post.
[doublepost=1531944046][/doublepost]Question for Everyone:
Is anyone actually trying to find a fix for the transparency glitches in light mode or has it been classified as an unfixable issue and is being ignored?

Thanks Julian, I made some changes, hopefully, it'll make it a little less confusing.

 

[0403979]

Trying APFS patcher from El Capitan (SIP disabled), it took about 5 minutes in dumping ROM/writing Patched ROM.
At the end of patching it has created in user main folder two backups:
MacbookAir2,1_APFS.bin 4,2 MB
MacbookAir2,1_backup.bin 4,2 MB

Unluckily after power off, powering on the white led stays 3 seconds with no chime sound, then turns off, after automatically turns on again and stay white solid with black screen.

Tried SMC, PRAM reset, but same result.
I think it's bricked, but it doesn't matter, I had not used it for years.
An experiment gone wrong, it can happen.

I know you didn’t blame me and it’s not my fault but I feel sorry for you.
[doublepost=1531949774][/doublepost]

Trying APFS patcher from El Capitan (SIP disabled), it took about 5 minutes in dumping ROM/writing Patched ROM.
At the end of patching it has created in user main folder two backups:
MacbookAir2,1_APFS.bin 4,2 MB
MacbookAir2,1_backup.bin 4,2 MB

Unluckily after power off, powering on the white led stays 3 seconds with no chime sound, then turns off, after automatically turns on again and stay white solid with black screen.

Tried SMC, PRAM reset, but same result.
I think it's bricked, but it doesn't matter, I had not used it for years.
An experiment gone wrong, it can happen.

Maybe this can help you. I’m going to bed. I’ll check up with this thread tomorrow.

 

[TimothyR734]

Trying APFS patcher from El Capitan (SIP disabled), it took about 5 minutes in dumping ROM/writing Patched ROM.
At the end of patching it has created in user main folder two backups:
MacbookAir2,1_APFS.bin 4,2 MB
MacbookAir2,1_backup.bin 4,2 MB

Unluckily after power off, powering on the white led stays 3 seconds with no chime sound, then turns off, after automatically turns on again and stay white solid with black screen.

Tried SMC, PRAM reset, but same result.
I think it's bricked, but it doesn't matter, I had not used it for years.
An experiment gone wrong, it can happen.

sorry to hear that but maybe if you took the hard drive out and use a usb hard drive kit you can connect it to another Mac and retrieve the back up files to copy the backups to a portable usb device

 

[coolio2004]

My very First attempt with patcher b12 on a MacMini 5,2 was successfull with Db4.Everything is ok except acceleration. Thanx to all for the hard work.

 

[jackluke]

I know you didn’t blame me and it’s not my fault but I feel sorry for you.
[doublepost=1531949774][/doublepost]

Maybe this can help you. I’m going to bed. I’ll check up with this thread tomorrow.

It's fault of no one, that MBA was becoming faulty, needs RAM/GPU reflow every 3 months, needed a logic board replacement sooner or later. Honestly with only 2 GB RAM was useless today, has already done his time. Anyway just for experiment maybe will give a try.

sorry to hear that but maybe if you took the har drive out and use a usb hard drive kit you can connect it to another Mac and retrieve the back up files to copying the to a portable usb device

Sure, already have an external LIF USB SATA adapter. On it doesn't have nothing really important.


To all: any suggestions are welcome, but do not lose the thread main focus, I do have other machines, so really don't worry too much.

 

[TimothyR734]

I was successful using the APFS rom patcher and installing macOS Mojave DB 4 on my iMac 8,1

 

[visberry]

Would someone be able to clarify the Apple File System when using macOS Mojave on a MacBook Pro (mid 2010). I have my Crucial SSD formatted as Apple File System (APFS) now on macOS High Sierra 10.13.6. I really like APFS, so will I be able to update to macOS Mojave in the fall using this patch, and keep APFS and all my data, without formatting the SSD?

 

[Luckygreek]

Would someone be able to clarify the Apple File System when using macOS Mojave on a MacBook Pro (mid 2010). I have my Crucial SSD formatted as Apple File System (APFS) now on macOS High Sierra 10.13.6. I really like APFS, so will I be able to update to macOS Mojave in the fall using this patch, and keep APFS and all my data, without formatting the SSD?

You should be able to, if you're running HS on a SSD shouldn't be a problem, just make sure to NOT install over an existing OS. Also backup files.
Just reread your post, we'll have to see how patch progresses.

 

[visberry]

You should be able to, if you're running HS on a SSD shouldn't be a problem, just make sure to NOT install over an existing OS.

So not installing over High Sierra is just clicking Install, Macintosh HD, and then Install. No formatting though.

 

[AirDark]

There's a version of rEFInd that can enable/disable SIP if installed and booted from USB: https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...nsupported-macs.1889851/page-37#post-24695866

Read all of "Problem 2" for instructions. There is an option within rEFInd that lets you enable and disable SIP when necessary.

Thanks for solution, I’ve tried but at the moment with progression bar after reboot, the Mac ri-reboot and the sip is again disabled, tomorrow try to install from zero without sip patch if work... thanks at all guys!!!

 

[Luckygreek]

So not installing over High Sierra is just clicking Install, Macintosh HD, and then Install. No formatting though.

NO, do NOT install over an existing OS

did you read OP?

 

[pkouame]

So not installing over High Sierra is just clicking Install, Macintosh HD, and then Install. No formatting though.

Highly recommended to FORMAT/ERASE your hard disk first! ( of course - save your stuff if you need to )

 

[Aletancredo]

Patch your device with the software update patch.

Hi Julian, now it is working. Thank you for your help.

 

[nekton1]

This site explains how to rewrite the Mac boot rom after a failed patch.
https://ghostlyhaks.com/blog/blog/hacking/18-apple-efi-bypass
Requires a RPi, ROM clip, original ROM back up and some patience but doable.

 

[pkouame]

I found the original link in the 10.12 forum: #4160, the source for the new version inside the SUFaker folder (the old version, for sierra is C the newer version for HS is ObjC), and can be build with the build-new.sh. I don't know if it will be build fine with current Xcode versions or not.

@Czo - just closing the loop on this. I compiled both versions of SUVMMFaker (C and OBJ-C) using the latest Xcode 10 beta (on HS) without issue. Tested it by triggering a system software update from dev b3 to dev b4. I used the latest bundled command line clang-1000.10.40.1. All seems fine. A few linker warnings on the objc version (which may be due to its beta status or my configuration), but as a dylib ended up ok. Code signing makes an xcode-build (via UI or command line) problematic as Apple requires a dylib be signed the same way as its parent. Haven't found a way around that, but it's not critical for this.

As an aside - have you checked the latest Mojave SUCatalogDataManager headers here https://github.com/w0lfschild/macOS...ks/SoftwareUpdate/1140/SUCatalogDataManager.h . It seems like Apple is still evolving the beta interfaces for software updates with some new properties: _isCatalogEVProtected and _currentlySetCatalogURL plus a bunch of whole new methods. Some changes are afoot... Hopefully none that will affect us. Cheers.

 

[roysterdoyster]

Erasing first is better.

YES, did the trick. Success. Thanks alot.

 

[0403979]

YES, did the trick. Success. Thanks alot.

You’re welcome.

 

[Larsvonhier]

Erasing first is better.

We had pointed this out a couple of times. Posted my own experiences with various attempts of fresh vs. atop installations...
[doublepost=1531984322][/doublepost]

I know you didn’t blame me and it’s not my fault but I feel sorry for you.
[doublepost=1531949774][/doublepost]

Maybe this can help you. I’m going to bed. I’ll check up with this thread tomorrow.

No, unfortunately not for Air 2,1.

But: One other "victim" of the failed APFS ROM patcher reported that leaving on his MacBook Air 2,1 for a prolonged time (10-15min.) with just the front LED lighted (no other sign of life) had it finally up and running again. He had to wait this time every time after turning on the MacBook, though.
Finally he fixed it with a flasher script he found for some other context and could restore the old ROM contents again with it...

If nothing else helps, you can unbrick the machine by replacing the boot-ROM. It´s available on ebay from various sources, flashed for the Air2,1 and for approx. US$10 - 20,- (or EUR).
A bit of "under the microscope" soldering is involved, though!

 

[Kaitozaki]

Really no one is gonna help me?

It wont boot...im stuck here...

So i found the solution to my problem, i convert my hfs+ to apfs via terminal in the macos installer menu...

Diskutil apfs convert (disk1s2)

( ) Input your disk name

< original video here credits to the person, although i could not do it in the main desktop terminal, error was to conversion is done in macos installer terminal as what i did...

THIS WILL NOT CLEAR/ FORMAT/ OR ERASE ANY DATA ON YOUR DRIVE! IT IS SAFE AS I CONFIRMED MYSELF...

 

[jackluke]

This site explains how to rewrite the Mac boot rom after a failed patch.
https://ghostlyhaks.com/blog/blog/hacking/18-apple-efi-bypass
Requires a RPi, ROM clip, original ROM back up and some patience but doable.

I don't think I can do that. For my capabilities replacing a logic board would be more easy.

We had pointed this out a couple of times. Posted my own experiences with various attempts of fresh vs. atop installations...
[doublepost=1531984322][/doublepost]
No, unfortunately not for Air 2,1.

But: One other "victim" of the failed APFS ROM patcher reported that leaving on his MacBook Air 2,1 for a prolonged time (10-15min.) with just the front LED lighted (no other sign of life) had it finally up and running again. He had to wait this time every time after turning on the MacBook, though.
Finally he fixed it with a flasher script he found for some other context and could restore the old ROM contents again with it...

If nothing else helps, you can unbrick the machine by replacing the boot-ROM. It´s available on ebay from various sources, flashed for the Air2,1 and for approx. US$10 - 20,- (or EUR).
A bit of "under the microscope" soldering is involved, though!

Tried your suggestion here is the behavior:
- Power on: white led 3s then off, then stay white solid with turned off lcd
- after 5 minutes fans turns on
- after 10 minutes chassis becomes a little hot (sometime white led fadein/fadeout)
- after 30 minutes it stays white solid with lcd off (fans louder, chassis hotter, LCD off)
- if I close the LCD lid, the white led becomes brighter as if sleep function is detected, anyway same result it's definitively bricked

I gave myself explanations:
- Maybe my MBA2,1 (C2D 2,13 Ghz) had different boot rom among the world
- Patching from a lower macOS than El Capitan would have been better
- The internal SSD buffer was too fast in dumping/writing, a spinning slower hdd would be better in this

I am not sure just replacing a boot-ROM could work since the components on the logic board could have some chips/ids differences. Maybe if I provide the binary backup of my MBA2,1 to the seller could rewrite the EEPROM chip.

 

[waydabber]

Everything works perfectly on my Late 2009 iMac 27" (iMac 11,1 model, Core i7 with Radeon HD 4850) except for the usual light mode transparency glitch. I hope this will be sorted out since I like light mode more than dark mode.

@dosdude1, thanks for everything!

 

[jackluke]

So i found the solution to my problem, i convert my hfs+ to apfs via terminal in the macos installer menu...

Diskutil apfs convert (disk1s2)

( ) Input your disk name

< original video here credits to the person, although i could not do it in the main desktop terminal, error was to conversion is done in macos installer terminal as what i did...

THIS WILL NOT CLEAR/ FORMAT/ OR ERASE ANY DATA ON YOUR DRIVE! IT IS SAFE AS I CONFIRMED MYSELF...

Would be very interesting if someone someday develops a binary script to convert/revert back from APFS to HFS+ without formatting, but I think this is almost impossible.

 

[MacRick182]

In this thread, advancements in running macOS 10.14 (Mojave) on unsupported systems will be discussed.​

Current Hardware Support Status:

• Video Cards
  • Pre-Metal AMD video cards (Radeon HD 6xxx series and older): Drivers will load, but full acceleration will not be achieved. in Developer Preview 3/Public Beta 2 the drivers don't even load anymore
  • Pre-Metal nVidia video cards (GeForce 5xx series and older): Drivers will load and full acceleration will be achieved, but menu bar and Finder sidebar will look weird in the light mode. Also some weird menu bar anomalies in dark mode, but much less apparent. Random kernel panics have also been reported with these cards. Kernel panic issues have been fixed! nVidia GPUs now work with no issues other than the anomalies described above.
  • Pre-Metal Intel iGPUs (Intel HD Graphics 3000 and Intel HD Graphics "Arrandale/1st Gen"): Drivers will load and full acceleration will be achieved. Menu bar/Finder sidebar anomalies described above will also be present. No kernel panics or any instability issues have been reported with Intel iGPUs thus far.
• Machine Support
  • Any system that uses a Core 2 Duo (Penryn) CPU or later will be able to run Mojave.
  • Core 2 Duo/nVidia MCP79/89/i965-based systems will no longer kernel panic on boot! The potential cause of this kernel panic has been found and eliminated by replacing com.apple.telemetry.plugin in S/L/UserEventPlugins with the High Sierra version.
  • Mac Pro Early-2008 (3,1) systems had the same kernel panic issue, and as such, Mojave will run on them with replaced com.apple.telemetry.plugin.

Installing for Testing:

To install on your machine, you can download and run my "macOS Mojave Patcher" application, which will let you download a copy of the latest Public Beta from Apple, and create a bootable USB installer for use on unsupported systems. It contains all the patches necessary to achieve the hardware support listed above. At this point, it is recommended that you install Mojave on one of these unsupported systems for testing only, and NOT as your main/daily use OS. Older versions of the patcher can be found here.

Installation Guide:
Users using this patcher for the first time can follow a user-made installation guide here.

Demonstration Video:
A video demonstrating Mojave running on various unsupported Macs with the Mojave Patcher can be found here.

The current compatibility list:

• Xserve Early-2008 (2,1) and later
• Mac Pro Early-2008 (3,1) (works perfectly except for UI glitches if not equipped with Nvidia metal-capable GPU, AMD GCN/HD7xxx/R9-xxx/RX xxx cards don't work, some may have unsupported Wi-Fi modules)
• Mac Pro Early-2009 (4,1) (some may have unsupported Wi-Fi modules) although, it makes more sense to upgrade it to a 2010/2012 and then install officially
• iMac Early-2008 to Late-2011 (works perfectly on Radeon HD 2xxx - 4xxx series GPUs, except for UI glitches, no acceleration on machines with newer ATI/AMD GPUs (Radeon HD 5xxx - 6xxx), some may have unsupported Wi-Fi modules)
• MacBook Air (2,1) Early/Mid-2009 (works perfectly except for UI glitches and unsupported Wi-Fi modules)
• MacBook Air Mid-2010 to Mid-2011 (works perfectly except for UI glitches)
• MacBook Late-2008 (Aluminum), MacBook early-2009 to Mid-2010 (works perfectly except for UI glitches)
• MacBook Pro Early-2008 (works perfectly except for UI glitches and unsupported Wi-Fi modules)
• MacBook Pro Late-2008 to Mid-2010 (works perfectly except for UI glitches)
• MacBook Pro Early/Late-2011 13" (works perfectly except for UI glitches)
• MacBook Pro Early/Late-2011 15"/17" (works perfectly except for UI glitches only if AMD GPU is disabled. No acceleration with active AMD GPU)
  
• Mac mini Early/Late-2009 (3,1) (works perfectly except for UI glitches and unsupported Wi-Fi modules)
• Mac mini Mid-2010 (4,1) (works perfectly except for UI glitches)
  
• Mac mini Mid-2011 (5,1) (the HD 3000 variant works perfectly except for UI glitches)

A possibility for some computers is a Thunderbolt external GPU.
This needs to be investigated more, and requires kext patches.
The following unsupported models are Thunderbolt capable:

• MacBook Pro (Early/Late 2011)
• MacBook Air (Mid 2011)
• Mac mini (Mid 2011)
• iMac (Mid 2011)

Yet a third possibility is to upgrade the MXM slot GPU on 2009-2011 iMacs. This has not been investigated yet.

Manual Patch Tutorial:
MacBook6,1 or MacBook7,1 owners who would like to patch their system manually can follow this tutorial made by @ASentientBot. The new cleaner patch for Nvidia kernal panics can be found here.

UI Glitches Workaround for non-metal GPUs:
A functional but unideal workaround for transparency related UI glitches in light mode is to enable Reduce Transparency in System Preferences > Accessibility. This is recommended for users using light mode on an affected device. This is not fix, this is a workaround since most users probably want to use transparency. For some reason, this is not needed for the new system wide dark mode as transparency works much better there.

Special Thanks:
@Badruzeus - the first to discover that 10.12 OpenGL drivers work in 10.14
@ASentientBot - fixed Nvidia Kernel panic, iSight, and Core 2 Duo panic
@jackluke - narrowed down cause of Core 2 Duo panic to the telemetry plugin; noticed that IOAccelerator framework from 10.14 beta 1 fixes some Nvidia glitches
@dosdude1 - Developed Mojave Patcher

Mojave Releases:
2018/06/04 Developer Preview 1 = 18A293u
2018/06/19 Developer Preview 2 = 18A314h
2018/06/26 Public Beta 1 = 18A314k
2018/07/03 Developer Preview 3 = 18A326g
2018/07/06 Public Beta 2 = 18A326h
2018/07/16 Developer Preview 4 = 18A336e
2018/07/17 Public Beta 3 = 18A336e

Installer Versions:
2018/06/04 Developer Preview 1 = 14.0.08
2018/06/19 Developer Preview 2 / Public Beta 1 = 14.0.11
2018/07/03 Developer Preview 3 / Public Beta 2 = 14.0.12
2018/07/16 Developer Preview 4 / Public Beta 3 = 14.0.14


Moderator Note:

Please do not ask for, or provide help getting developers profile information to access unauthorised beta software on MacRumors. If you are not a developer, sign up to the Apple Beta Software Program to get the official public beta releases.

[doublepost=1531988957][/doublepost]Do you need Nvidia Web Drivers if you would use a Nvidia card in a Mac Pro 3.1?
Sorry if it was already asked

 

[0403979]

Would be very interesting if someone someday develops a binary script to convert/revert back from APFS to HFS+ without formatting, but I think this is almost impossible.

Image the APFS volume, delete the container which will convert it to an HFS volume, restore the image to the new HFS volume.

 

[jackluke]

Image the APFS volume, delete the container which will convert it to an HFS volume, restore the image to the new HFS volume.

I meant "on the fly" inside the same internal disk from a recovery, as the script for apfs converting, without imaging/restoring any other disk partitions. Anyway don't think it will work, if you image an APFS volume it remains an APFS volume, nothing else.