macOS 10.14 Mojave on Unsupported Macs Thread

[0403979]

A couple of questions please.

1. Do I need to run @dosdude1's mac post install (from his mojave patcher app) before reboot after the update?
2. If I need to install beta 4 instead of beta 5, can I use the macOSUpdate package downloaded from my developer beta seed? Reason for this question is that noticed beta 5 performance is worse than beta 4.

P.S. Although I was able to successfully update via OTA (System Preferences | Software Update) on one of my unsupported macs (MBAir4,2), it failed on my unsupported MBPro5,5. So I want to test this "manual" update.

Thanks.

1. You should run it. Some people say you don't need to but you should.
2. You can use any version of pretty much any update package ever with version two. I have only done testing with version one using beta 5 though.
[doublepost=1540729899][/doublepost]Also, let me know how it goes.

 

[joelw135]

You have to convert your Volume into APFS, before attempt that even if enough safe, take a backup of yours personal files, then simply boot from the USB Mojave Installer, launch DiskUtility, from there target your current Mojave HFS Volume, then on the top bar click Edit menu, select "Convert to APFS", wait a while, at next reboot you "can receive official updates".

I thought as it stands very few unsupported Mac's can actually update from software update even if we are beta testers?.
What am I missing?

 

[0403979]

I thought as it stands very few unsupported Mac's can actually update from software update even if we are beta testers?.
What am I missing?

According to @jackluke, only Core 2 Duo devices are having issues, this is possible as they weren't even able to boot before and so firmware updates might be broken too. However, I don't see why they would work on other devices then. I honestly don't know much about the problem, only that I found a crude solution.

 

[joelw135]

According to @jackluke, only Core 2 Duo devices are having issues, this is possible as they weren't even able to boot before and so firmware updates might be broken too. However, I don't see why they would work on other devices then. I honestly don't know much about the problem, only that I found a crude solution.

Not so crude as it works well. Some members say this script or the terminal commands should be run from another drive, is it necessary?

 

[0403979]

Not so crude as it works well. Some members say this script or the terminal commands should be run from another drive, is it necessary?

I would say no, but again, different people have different issues for different reasons. If you want to be safe, do it from another drive. If you don't care too much if it fails then don't bother. At the end of the day, they both should work.
[doublepost=1540731617][/doublepost]

Not so crude as it works well. Some members say this script or the terminal commands should be run from another drive, is it necessary?

The one annoying thing about this method is that you must have SIP disabled and also bypass Gatekeeper because I'm a third party developer and am not recognised and can't bypass SIP. Although, to use Mojave on unsupported Macs you must have SIP disabled so the only annoyance is Gatekeeper.

 

[DuncanGarp]

1. You should run it. Some people say you don't need to but you should.
2. You can use any version of pretty much any update package ever with version two. I have only done testing with version one using beta 5 though.
[doublepost=1540729899][/doublepost]Also, let me know how it goes.

Did step 1 (patch and then reboot) and used beta 5 update package. Did NOT work (still in 10.14 GM).

Oh well, I will just wait for the 10.14.1 GM release, which should be released (based on speculations here) on October 30th during the Apple Event scheduled that day.

 

[0403979]

Did step 1 (patch and then reboot) and used beta 5 update package. Did NOT work (still in 10.14 GM).

Oh well, I will just wait for the 10.14.1 GM release, which should be released (based on speculations here) on October 30th during the Apple Event scheduled that day.

Show me your root drive and your terminal output if possible.

 

[pkouame]

I don't know why, but I do not get transparency in the finder bar in light mode like you have shown in the screenshots. MBP5,5 NVIDIA GeForce 9400m 256MB.
Before patch:
View attachment 798567 View attachment 798568
No transparency in light mode, but that is assumed due to the nonmetal.
After Patch:
View attachment 798569View attachment 798570
Same goes for the App Store sidebar too. I have CoreUI and HIToolBox patches installed for the "hybrid" mode. The first time I installed the patch, I did not get transparency in the sidebar in dark or light mode. I deleted the patches from their respective folders, restarted, installed them again, and restarted. Why is it not transparent? As always , thank you for all the work you have put into this cause, I and everyone else is forever grateful for your accomplishments.

EDIT: After switching to light mode, the dark mode sidebar transparency is gone too.

Looks to me like you're in some sort of non-vibrant "flat" mode instead. Check your Preferences Accessibility settings for reduce transparency tweaks. And double check the frameworks you have replaced. I would reset to the original ones, then start from scratch with the latest v1.1. You should only need two.

 

[Loyd-01a]

Hello,

I did not notice that some had a persistent problem installing beta on their Core 2 Duo.
I salute the great work of @0403979.

However, I also had the boot problem that does not end after updating to 10.14.1 Beta 1.

The solution I've been using for my MB7,1 (macbook mid 2010) since then and that worked successfully for all betas, Beta 5 icluded (see my precedents posts) is:

----------------------------

1. When macOS reboot the first time during the update process, restart on the USB containing the patcher and then patch and do "Force rebuild cache".

2. macOS will reboot to continue the installation of the update, but do not let him do but rather redo the same thing as before and repatch a second time !

3. When restarting, macOS will manage to continue installing the update to the end !

--------------------------------------------

Mystery ??? why it needs to patch twice? I do not know. Maybe @dosdude1 or others can answer to this ?

2nd thing and for me it is the most important: it is that the version of Patcher that allows this is not part of the most recent (1.2.2 ...) but it seems to me that it is perhaps the version 0.1b7 of Patcher (I kept a USB key with Mojave Beta 4 and 0.1b7)!

I had a question (see my post # 8785) to know how to know the version of the Patcher installed on a USB, but I had not received a answer to this.

If anyone knows how to know the exact version of Patcher on my old USB key, I can communicate the information to explore what has changed between 0.1b7 and 1.2.2 and that poses a problem with the Core 2 Duo!

Let's explore ;-)

Thank you

Edit : no change in the firmware after betas updates

 

[0403979]

Hello,

I did not notice that some had a persistent problem installing beta on their Core 2 Duo.
I salute the great work of @0403979.

However, I also had the boot problem that does not end after updating to 10.14.1 Beta 1.

The solution I've been using for my MB7,1 (macbook mid 2010) since then and that worked successfully for all betas, Beta 5 icluded (see my precedents posts) is:

----------------------------

1. When macOS reboot the first time during the update process, restart on the USB containing the patcher and then patch and do "Force rebuild cache".

2. macOS will reboot to continue the installation of the update, but do not let him do but rather redo the same thing as before and repatch a second time !

3. When restarting, macOS will manage to continue installing the update to the end !

--------------------------------------------

Mystery ??? why it needs to patch twice? I do not know. Maybe @dosdude1 or others can answer to this ?

2nd thing and for me it is the most important: it is that the version of Patcher that allows this is not part of the most recent (1.2.2 ...) but it seems to me that it is perhaps the version 0.1b7 of Patcher (I kept a USB key with Mojave Beta 4 and 0.1b7)!

I had a question (see my post # 8785) to know how to know the version of the Patcher installed on a USB, but I had not received a answer to this.

If anyone knows how to know the exact version of Patcher on my old USB key, I can communicate the information to explore what has changed between 0.1b7 and 1.2.2 and that poses a problem with the Core 2 Duo!

Let's explore ;-)

Thank you

You can probably check the post install tool to check roughly.
[doublepost=1540733221][/doublepost]Does anyone know how exactly dosdude patched the OSInstaller framework? I copied the Sierra one which works on supported devices but the installer tells me there's an issue when I test it on my unsupported Mac. His framework works but I'd like to patch it myself so I want to know he patched it.

 

[jackluke]

Premise: The APFS Recovery is totally different from the HFS Recovery HD, if you have restored the USB Mojave Patcher into your internal partitioned drive, the APFS Recovery simply won't work, because it requires an untouched APFS Container/Scheme structure, so if you have many partitions or many physical disks, don't waste time using the following method.

Before starting this "APFS Recovery fix part2" you should have applied first APFS Recovery fix part1

To those who failed in booting APFS Recovery (due to their wrong gpt/EFI entries) may try these steps (harmless for their main system), boot in Mojave normal mode and launch Terminal:

diskutil list
[locate your "APFS Volume Recovery" typically on disk1s3 otherwise on diskXs3]

diskutil mount diskXs3

diskutil apfs changeVolumeRole diskXs3 R

the next important step to adjust correctly your CMD+R Recovery position is:
diskutil apfs updatePreboot diskXs1
(I've tested and it's safe but use with caution)

then type: open /Volumes/Recovery
landing on Finder double click on the random-numbers-letters folder aka "gpt Volume-UUID".

Now using TextEdit or any other plain-text editor launch com.apple.boot.plist

Inside it, in this place add the orange part close and save:

<string>root-dmg=file:///Your-random-numbers-letters/BaseSystem.dmg -no_compat_check -v</string>

Now, reboot and hold CMD+R after power-on chime, if you still can't reach APFS Recovery, post here the verbose screen to helping diagnosticate.

 

[0403979]

Premise: The APFS Recovery is totally different from the HFS Recovery HD, if you have restored the USB Mojave Patcher into your internal partitioned drive, the APFS Recovery simply won't work, because it requires an untouched APFS Container/Scheme structure, so if you have many partitions or many physical disks, don't waste time using the following method.

To those who failed in booting APFS Recovery (due to their wrong gpt/EFI entries not to the manual patching steps) may try these steps (harmless for their main system), boot in Mojave normal mode launch terminal:

diskutil list
[locate your "APFS Volume Recovery" typically on disk1s3 otherwise on diskXs3]

diskutil mount diskXs3

diskutil apfs changeVolumeRole diskXs3 R

(this should be next step but I'm still inspecting so avoid for now "diskutil apfs updatePreboot diskXsY")

then type: open /Volumes/Recovery
landing on Finder double click on the random-numbers-letters folder.

Now using TextEdit or any other plain-text editor launch com.apple.boot.plist

Inside it, in this place add the orange part close and save:

<string>root-dmg=file:///Your-random-numbers-letters/BaseSystem.dmg -no_compat_check -v</string>

Now, reboot and hold CMD+R after power-on chime, if you still can't reach APFS Recovery, post here the verbose screen to helping diagnosticate.

I have many partitions but not on one container, just on one disk. Should this work for me? Also, what happens if we just add -no_compat_check but don't use the changeVolumeRole command?

 

[jackluke]

I have many partitions but not on one container, just on one disk. Should this work for me? Also, what happens if we just add -no_compat_check but don't use the changeVolumeRole command?

I don't know if it could work especially if you restored the USB Installer in one partition, but this won't break your system, changeVolumeRole is safe, I refer only to updatePreboot command to avoid, you can try also without changeVolumeRole but add the orange lines in your APFS Recovery com.apple.boot.plist .

 

[Loyd-01a]

Hello,

I did not notice that some had a persistent problem installing beta on their Core 2 Duo.
I salute the great work of @0403979.

However, I also had the boot problem that does not end after updating to 10.14.1 Beta 1.

The solution I've been using for my MB7,1 (macbook mid 2010) since then and that worked successfully for all betas, Beta 5 icluded (see my precedents posts) is:

----------------------------

1. When macOS reboot the first time during the update process, restart on the USB containing the patcher and then patch and do "Force rebuild cache".

2. macOS will reboot to continue the installation of the update, but do not let him do but rather redo the same thing as before and repatch a second time !

3. When restarting, macOS will manage to continue installing the update to the end !

--------------------------------------------

Mystery ??? why it needs to patch twice? I do not know. Maybe @dosdude1 or others can answer to this ?

2nd thing and for me it is the most important: it is that the version of Patcher that allows this is not part of the most recent (1.2.2 ...) but it seems to me that it is perhaps the version 0.1b7 of Patcher (I kept a USB key with Mojave Beta 4 and 0.1b7)!

I had a question (see my post # 8785) to know how to know the version of the Patcher installed on a USB, but I had not received a answer to this.

If anyone knows how to know the exact version of Patcher on my old USB key, I can communicate the information to explore what has changed between 0.1b7 and 1.2.2 and that poses a problem with the Core 2 Duo!

Let's explore ;-)

Thank you

Edit : no change in the firmware after betas updates

View attachment 798952

In Applications/Utilities folder inside the USB here is what I found related to the Patcher.

For the version of Mojave'Beta:

 

[DuncanGarp]

Show me your root drive and your terminal output if possible.

Here you go ...

Terminal output

patch first before reboot.

Root drive after reboot.

 

[0403979]

Here you go ...

Terminal output
View attachment 798959
patch first before reboot.

Root drive after reboot.
View attachment 798958

I mean your boot drive, not your patcher drive. I'd also like to see your downloads folder.

 

[DuncanGarp]

I mean your boot drive, not your patcher drive. I'd also like to see your downloads folder.

That is my boot drive (see first image). 2nd image is my download folder.



download folder

 

[0403979]

In Applications/Utilities folder inside the USB here is what I found related to the Patcher.

View attachment 798955

For the version of Mojave'Beta:

View attachment 798957

That should be patcher ~0.1b8 and installer 14.0.12 or macOS Mojave 10.14.0 Developer Beta 3/macOS Mojave 10.14.0 Public Beta 2
[doublepost=1540736816][/doublepost]

That is my boot drive (see first image). 2nd image is my download folder.
View attachment 798964


download folder
View attachment 798966

Two questions, why are there dmgs on your boot drive and can I see the payload folder?

 

[Loyd-01a]

That should be patcher ~0.1b8 and installer 14.0.12 or macOS Mojave 10.14.0 Developer Beta 3/macOS Mojave 10.14.0 Public Beta 2
[doublepost=1540736816][/doublepost]

So test it ! Prepare a USB with 0.1b8 patcher and do the beta update. apply the patcher twice just after the first reboot during the update process.

It will works !

 

[0403979]

So test it ! Prepare a USB with 0.1b8 patcher and do the beta update. apply the patcher twice just after the first reboot during the update process.

It will works !

I can't, beta 8 is not available for download.

 

[Loyd-01a]

I can't, beta 8 is not available for download.

I still have the installer. Were can I upload it ?

 

[0403979]

I still have the installer. Were can I upload it ?

I mean the patcher.

 

[DuncanGarp]

That should be patcher ~0.1b8 and installer 14.0.12 or macOS Mojave 10.14.0 Developer Beta 3/macOS Mojave 10.14.0 Public Beta 2
[doublepost=1540736816][/doublepost]
Two questions, why are there dmgs on your boot drive and can I see the payload folder?

If you mean the BaseSystem.dmg and AppleDiagnostics.dmg, then they must have been left over from before since they are dated last June. Took them out and rebooted, same result (still in 10.14 GM).

Is there anything specific in the Payload folder that you need to check? Here's the folder contents ...



...

 

[0403979]

If you mean the BaseSystem.dmg and AppleDiagnostics.dmg, then they must have been left over from before since they are dated last June. Took them out and rebooted, same result (still in 10.14 GM).

Is there anything specific in the Payload folder that you need to check? Here's the folder contents ...

View attachment 798987

...

Everything looks fine in all of the screenshots. Maybe try it again?

 

[Loyd-01a]

I mean the patcher.

Ok !
I thought you were talking about the beta of Mojave.

Here are 0.1b7 and 0.1b9.

macOS Mojave Patcher 0.1b7

macOS Mojave Patcher 0.1b9

I think 0.1b7 will do the job.

If it's not the case, I will search also for 0.1b8 in Time Machine if I can find it.

Credits of course to @dosdude1.