macOS 10.14 Mojave on Unsupported Macs Thread

[Dayo]

My gut tells me that unless I'm able to update the EFI I probably won't be able to use APFS.

Your gut is right since the 3,1 firmware does not support APFS unless you flash it as I have done with mine for instance.

However, with tools such as RefindPlus and OpenCore, you don't need to as they can either provide this capability or load apfs drivers for you.

If you do want to flash your Mac, you can follow this process:

 

[internetzel]

Thank you for that link, @internetzel
Interestingly enough, I found a similar process in the following YouTube video

However, even following those steps to the letter, I still got the same error when trying to boot from my hard drive. I then booted into the Mojave Patcher USB boot disk to see if I could select my internal drive as the startup disk (before following the above process I was unable to select it without an error). This time I was able to select it as a startup disk, but when it booted up I got the same terminal boot screen with the verbose output resulting in the same error "Boot file not found, exiting..."

So I bit the bullet and erased my drive and reformatted as HFS+ again and now am in hour 5 of a 14 hour restore from Time Machine Backup

Other than following the steps listed at the URL you posted, did you have to update your MacPro 3,1 EFI via some installer/updater? My gut tells me that unless I'm able to update the EFI I probably won't be able to use APFS.

On a related note, have you noticed any benefits of using APFS over HFS+? If I'm not going to get any performance/stabilty benefits I may just convince myself to stick with HFS+ and not jump through any more hoops.

Thanks again!

Well, as you may see in my signature I'm using an iMac late 2009 which does have native APFS support in its firmware.
In case your EFI firmware doesn't have native APFS support you'll need to use at least one of the available methods to add that.
I didn't have any type of backup so I had to make it boot again.

And yes, I did notice a performance impact when I still had the original 3.5" 7200 rpm HDD installed - booting and application launch took much longer compared to HFS+. Because of that I finally upgraded to an SSD.

 

[brian.tully]

Your gut is right since the 3,1 firmware does not support APFS unless you flash it as I have done with mine for instance.

However, with tools such as RefindPlus and OpenCore, you don't need to as they can either provide this capability or load apfs drivers for you.

If you do want to flash your Mac, you can follow this process:

Thanks for the info, @Dayo !
I'm still unclear as to whether I need to manually create the Preboot partition on my boot drive, since converting from HFS+ to APFS via Disk Utility doesn't seem to do that.
I recently upgraded my MacPro 3,1 hard drive to an SSD and am using the OWC Accelsior S PCIe adaptor (https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/SSDACL6G2TB/) to connect the drive over the dual lane PCIe 2 bus, which is at least 2x faster than the standard drive bay connection. However, based on the video link you posted, it seems like the APFS ROM Patcher is only compatible with Intel chipsets, whereas my SSD drive attached to the PCIe adaptor shows up under System Info as "Generic AHCI Controller". My old "spinner" drive is still attached to the internal drive bay and it shows "Intel ESB2 AHCI", but that's not the drive/bay I want to convert to APFS. I'm guessing I need to stick with HFS+ for my SSD boot drive attached via PCIe?

 

[Dayo]

I was unsure about the "Generic AHCI Controller" thing as well when I did mine but it is not a factor. it is what the actual SATA Bays show that is important.

I believe all MacPro3,1 have intel chipsets but not an expert. Someone like @tsialex can confirm.

not the drive/bay I want to convert to APFS.

You don't enable APFS on one single bay/port but provide APFS capability to the entire computer in the firmware. Once that is in place, you can convert a disk and be able to boot/use that disk.

What you had done before was convert a disk to APFS and then tried to boot it on a computer that does not "understand" APFS. You got the "Boot file not found, exiting..." error because a 3,1 cannot navigate APFS to find the required Boot file unless the firmware is flashed for APFS support. After you flash it, it will be able to find and load the file.

Flashing is one option to get the machine to "speak" APFS as mentioned earlier. Think of it as like uploading a language to someone's brain in The Matrix.

 

[brian.tully]

I was unsure about the "Generic AHCI Controller" thing as well when I did mine but it is not a factor. it is what the actual SATA Bays show that is important.

I believe all MacPro3,1 have intel chipsets but not an expert. Someone like @tsialex can confirm.


You don't enable APFS on one single bay/port but provide APFS capability to the entire computer in the firmware. Once that is in place, you can convert a disk and be able to boot/use that disk.

What you had done before was convert a disk to APFS and then tried to boot it on a computer that does not "understand" APFS. You got the "Boot file not found, exiting..." error because a 3,1 cannot navigate APFS to find the required Boot file unless the firmware is flashed for APFS support. After you flash it, it will be able to find and load the file.

Flashing is one option to get the machine to "speak" APFS as mentioned earlier. Think of it as like uploading a language to someone's brain in The Matrix.

Thanks so much for clarifying and confirming. Now that my Time Machine restore has completed (14 hours!) and am back to HFS+ and a booting machine, I'll consider applying dosdude1's APFS ROM Patcher. Indeed my SATA bays are all Intel ESB2 AHCI controllers (no NVidia in sight), so thanks for confirming that I'll be able to convert and boot my SSD that's attached to the PCIe "Generic AHCI Controller".

 

[honeycombz]

I saw that many people were using Mojave Patcher on their MacPro 3,1 with APFS, and that there were performance benefits with APFS over HFS+. When installing Mojave Patcher (upgrading from El Capitan) I didn't see an option to convert to APFS, so I assumed it wasn't possible at the time. But seeing that others were using APFS had me reconsider. I read that it's possible to convert to APFS from the Recovery Boot https://www.macobserver.com/tips/how-to/upgrade-mac-apfs-after-high-sierra/ and just gave it a try. The conversion to APFS only took a few minutes. However now when I try to boot, I see console/terminal output at the boot screen, along with a message something to the effect of the "boot file could not be found. exiting now". I booted up to my Mojave Patcher USB and then tried to select my hard drive as the startup disk, but get a message "Running bless to place boot files failed".

Did I just brick my Mac?

Since the conversion to APFS can't be reversed, is my only option to erase the drive and reformat as HFS+ and do a restore from Time Machine backup?

Assuming that gets my Mac working again, does this mean I cannot use APFS on my MacPro 3,1 -- even with Mojave Patcher?

Can someone please help me so I can stop hitting my head against my desk?
Thanks in advance.

I ended up figuring out if I converted to APFS before installing Mojave things went a lot smoother. Ran into this only when installing Mojave and then converting to APFS after. Also, you can use disk utility in the usb patch installer to unmount the drive and convert. If you have converted your drive to APFS after just reinstall Mojave and that issue shoukd resolve.

 

[brian.tully]

I ended up figuring out if I converted to APFS before installing Mojave things went a lot smoother. Ran into this only when installing Mojave and then converting to APFS after. Also, you can use disk utility in the usb patch installer to unmount the drive and convert. If you have converted your drive to APFS after just reinstall Mojave and that issue shoukd resolve.

Thanks for the response. I'll keep that in mind if I ever get the courage to try the APFS ROM Patcher and try the process again. ✌️

 

[MacFoxG4]

I have tried to run the Mojave patcher on my early 2009 Mini, but I can’t get it to boot. It gets stuck at the loading screen with the Apple logo and a blank progress bar. After about ten minutes the Mini will go to sleep, but when I wake it up there is nothing on the monitor. I then have to manually shut off the Mini. I have tried both a 32GB USB flash drive as well as an empty partition on the SSD. I also tried zapping the NVRAM. None of these things worked.

Anything else I can try to get the patcher to boot?

 

[K two]

Thank you for that link, @internetzel
Interestingly enough, I found a similar process in the following YouTube video

However, even following those steps to the letter, I still got the same error when trying to boot from my hard drive. I then booted into the Mojave Patcher USB boot disk to see if I could select my internal drive as the startup disk (before following the above process I was unable to select it without an error). This time I was able to select it as a startup disk, but when it booted up I got the same terminal boot screen with the verbose output resulting in the same error "Boot file not found, exiting..."

So I bit the bullet and erased my drive and reformatted as HFS+ again and now am in hour 5 of a 14 hour restore from Time Machine Backup

Other than following the steps listed at the URL you posted, did you have to update your MacPro 3,1 EFI via some installer/updater? My gut tells me that unless I'm able to update the EFI I probably won't be able to use APFS.

On a related note, have you noticed any benefits of using APFS over HFS+? If I'm not going to get any performance/stabilty benefits I may just convince myself to stick with HFS+ and not jump through any more hoops.

Thanks again!

The APFS patch which the DD patcher v.1.3.7 installs works just fine, if ROM patching is not possible. APFS runs quicker on a SSD.

 

[K two]

I have tried to run the Mojave patcher on my early 2009 Mini, but I can’t get it to boot. It gets stuck at the loading screen with the Apple logo and a blank progress bar. After about ten minutes the Mini will go to sleep, but when I wake it up there is nothing on the monitor. I then have to manually shut off the Mini. I have tried both a 32GB USB flash drive as well as an empty partition on the SSD. I also tried zapping the NVRAM. None of these things worked.

Anything else I can try to get the patcher to boot?

Build a new patcher. Run the DD patcher v.1.3.7 from the /Utilitiesƒ and not the .dmg.

 

[MacFoxG4]

Build a new patcher. Run the DD patcher v.1.3.7 from the /Utilitiesƒ and not the .dmg.

Where is /Utilitiesf?

 

[brian.tully]

The APFS patch which the DD patcher v.1.3.7 installs works just fine, if ROM patching is not possible. APFS runs quicker on a SSD.

I already have DD patcher v.1.3.7 installed, but the APFS patch was never installed (I was never prompted to install it so I didn't even know it was included). Does it only get installed if the drive has already been converted to AFPS? I installed Mojave Patcher on my MacPro 3,1 which previously was running El Capitan, so the the boot drive was still HFS+. Are you saying that I need to convert the drive to APFS first and then reinstall the MojavePatcher and things should work automatically without doing the ROM patcher? I feel like the documentation could be improved on this step.

Thanks in advance!

 

[K two]

Where is /Utilitiesf?

The /Utilities ƒ (folder) in the /Applications ƒ the Patch Updater will appear there after a successful install.

 

[K two]

I already have DD patcher v.1.3.7 installed, but the APFS patch was never installed (I was never prompted to install it so I didn't even know it was included). Does it only get installed if the drive has already been converted to AFPS? I installed Mojave Patcher on my MacPro 3,1 which previously was running El Capitan, so the the boot drive was still HFS+. Are you saying that I need to convert the drive to APFS first and then reinstall the MojavePatcher and things should work automatically without doing the ROM patcher? I feel like the documentation could be improved on this step.

Thanks in advance!

Boot back into the v.1.3.7 patcher and under the install patches option, the bottom option, within those selections is APFS Patch. I've never installed the patch after-the-fact but it should work. You'll know it stuck if booting back into Mojave and a scrolling screen of characters appears.

 

[MacFoxG4]

The /Utilities ƒ (folder) in the /Applications ƒ the Patch Updater will appear there after a successful install.

I don't see those folders in any of my volumes.

Maybe I will just stick with High Sierra on this Mini. I was able to successfully create a patched High Sierra Installer volume using DosDude's High Sierra Patcher when I was running El Capitan on this Mac and I was able to successfully install and run High Sierra on this Mac using that patched installer, yet I can't do the same with Mojave. Under both El Capitan and High Sierra, DosDude's macOS Mojave Patcher says the process to make the installer volume completed successfully, yet whenever I try to boot from that volume I am never able to get past that loading screen.

 

[brian.tully]

Boot back into the v.1.3.7 patcher and under the install patches option, the bottom option, within those selections is APFS Patch. I've never installed the patch after-the-fact but it should work. You'll know it stuck if booting back into Mojave and a scrolling screen of characters appears.

Weird. I did what you suggested, but APFS Patch is greyed out for me. Any ideas?

 

[K two]

I don't see those folders in any of my volumes.

Maybe I will just stick with High Sierra on this Mini. I was able to successfully create a patched High Sierra Installer volume using DosDude's High Sierra Patcher when I was running El Capitan on this Mac and I was able to successfully install and run High Sierra on this Mac using that patched installer, yet I can't do the same with Mojave. Under both El Capitan and High Sierra, DosDude's macOS Mojave Patcher says the process to make the installer volume completed successfully, yet whenever I try to boot from that volume I am never able to get past that loading screen.

You can't find this? The Utilities ƒ is in there.

 

[K two]

Weird. I did what you suggested, but APFS Patch is greyed out for me. Any ideas?

View attachment 1720005

Under Options was Disable APFS Booter checked? If so, the APFS Patch will not be installed.

 

[MacFoxG4]

View attachment 1720022

You can't find this? The Utilities ƒ is in there.

I only have a Utilities folder in there, but not a Utilities f. The patcher updater in my Utilities folder is the one for High Sierra, which is the OS my Mini is currently running.

 

[jbarley]

Weird. I did what you suggested, but APFS Patch is greyed out for me. Any ideas?

View attachment 1720005

In a previous post you mentioned being back on HFS, if this is still the case then yes the APFS patch will show as disabled because it iss of no use on a HFS file system.

 

[K two]

I only have a Utilities folder in there, but not a Utilities f. The patcher updater in my Utilities folder is the one for High Sierra, which is the OS my Mini is currently running.

I only have a Utilities folder in there, but not a Utilities f. The patcher updater in my Utilities folder is the one for High Sierra, which is the OS my Mini is currently running.

ƒ is shorthand for folder. You found it. Run the v.1.3.7 patcher from there. The macOS installer can remain in the D/L ƒ. ?

 

[K two]

In a previous post you mentioned being back on HFS, if this is still the case then yes the APFS patch will show as disabled because it iss of no use on a HFS file system.

The point s/b cannot install Catalina on HFS+.

 

[joevt]

Weird. I did what you suggested, but APFS Patch is greyed out for me. Any ideas?

Is Macintosh HD the volume that contains Mojave?
Instead of the APFS Patch, try the Driver#### method to load the APFS driver.

Mac Pro 3,1 NVMe support + Upgrade Guide + Questions

Adding NVMe and apfs support to MacPro3,1 without flashing ROM or using a EFI boot loader or Shell: You can place the EFI drivers on a EFI or FAT or HFS+ partition, then set Driver#### and DriverOrder NVRAM variables using the commands discussed here. In my example below, I chose a folder...

forums.macrumors.com

 

[brian.tully]

Under Options was Disable APFS Booter checked? If so, the APFS Patch will not be installed. View attachment 1720024

I'm using Mojave Patcher, not Cataline Patcher. There is no Options menu under Mojave Patcher, just "Utilities Launcher". When I click "continue" under the MacOS window, there are the following menu items:
"macOS Installer | File | Edit | Utilities | Window"
Under the Utilities menu, there is no "Disable APFS Booter" item.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[brian.tully]

Is Macintosh HD the volume that contains Mojave?
Instead of the APFS Patch, try the Driver#### method to load the APFS driver.

Mac Pro 3,1 NVMe support + Upgrade Guide + Questions

Adding NVMe and apfs support to MacPro3,1 without flashing ROM or using a EFI boot loader or Shell: You can place the EFI drivers on a EFI or FAT or HFS+ partition, then set Driver#### and DriverOrder NVRAM variables using the commands discussed here. In my example below, I chose a folder...

forums.macrumors.com

Yes, Macintosh HD is the volume that contains the patched Mojave. I quickly looked over that thread you linked to and unfortunately it went way over my head. I'll try to read it over again when I'm not half-asleep to see if some of it sinks in Thanks.