macOS 10.15 Catalina on Unsupported Macs

[mdbuddin]

Beyond pat


Beyond patching OSInstall.mpkg/Distro... file. What else needs to be patched to make a full installer that can run. When I open the 10.15 installer app it gets stuck on, you cannot install 10.15 on this mac, so there is a check that I am missing or something in NVRAM that I can edit? If I can get that to work, I am can help MP 3,1 and 5,1 out a bit more.
[doublepost=1559917973][/doublepost]

That's a good Machine.

Here is my rundown.

I was not able to patch the 10.15 installer to work natively. I will detail what I did.

1. from Mojave with SIP off I ran:
sudo nvram boot-args="-no_compat_check"

2. Take a drive out off your MP3,1 MP4,1 or MP5,1
3. Using an external case, connect the drive to a supported mac.
4. Format drive APFS
5. Install Catalina
6. After install, close the Welcome Screen
7. It will as you to shutdown
8. Insert drive on your MP.
9. Boot up to Mojave. If on MP3,1 remove Telemetry.plugin (it's in the User something Plugins folder)
10. Boot up Catalina
11. Be very patient and wait. It will be very slow the first time without Networking.
12. After 10 min. Catalina should be booted. It will get faster.
13. Firewire and Ethernet network work. So I connected an old box (2006 Mac Mini and shared it's WiFi)
14. WiFi may not work out of the box. I am avoiding it til a how-to is out.
15. Sound may not work. I am using a USB sound adapter. Works fine. will patch it with a how-to for sound is out.
16. Bluetooth works but bluetooth input devices may not work when in Safe Mode. (Word to the wise here).
17. One you get networking working! Ethernet, Firewire or you got luckly with WiFi, the boot will be blazing fast. I think the betas are phoning home to the AppleStore. I've even different messages in verbose mode about it and it barfs when networking out off. When on, all the lag in starting up goes away.

With some creativity with Ethernet or Firewire Networking for Internet and USB Sound, I am running Catalina with Metal on a MP 3,1 and only have removed Telemetry. It's not perfect, but it's as plain vanilla as I could get and with this setup, updates should be easier.

I will be cloning this setup to try to get WiFi and Sound working. I am sure you guys have figured that out. Also want to get a full installer working for the MPs. Those are my goals in the meantime.

Hope this helps.

If I can get assistance an bypassing things to allow a full installer to run, I may try to help further an maybe have a post installer script that helps MacPro 3,1 and 5,1 users. I got the OSInstaller patched, but am missing something the app UI that has another blocker.

so You did not add the board to the plist ?

 

[ASentientBot]

so You did not add the board to the plist ?

You never need to touch PlatformSupport.plist. The -no_compat_check boot argument fixes the (\) symbol (equivalent to "this version of OS X is not supported... reason: Mac-..." in verbose mode) and the Installer checks are unrelated; they all happen within OSInstall.mpkg's Distribution file.

Not sure why people keep trying to mess with those plists.

 

[Starplayr]

Barebones Catalina up and running on mbp 5,3 (dual nvidia gpu)

• initial install on a supported Mac to an external USB stick formatted as APFS (GUID of course)
• Only needed:
  • LegacyUSBInjector.kext in S/L/E -> regenerated a prelinkedkernel on a supported Catalina Mac with SIP disabled
  • removal of telemetry of course
  • nvram boot-args="-no_compat_check -v" (opted out of -x)
• no other framework patches (yet)
• no other kext patches (yet)
• no acceleration (yet)
• keyboard - mouse - bluetooth work (how I transferred the screenshot below)
• sound - video - wifi - brightness control still inoperative since I haven't applied kexts that address those yet
• takes a while to start to get to initial setup and login UI
• Here's a screenshot

View attachment 841518

For me boot time is way faster if you have networking working during boot.
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so You did not add the board to the plist ?

No. And I also did not have luck with the boot plist for the comp. check which is on the days drive. So I used the sudo nvram command instead that does the same thing.

 

[pkouame]

For me boot time is way faster if you have networking working during boot.
[doublepost=1559921322][/doublepost]
No. And I also did not have luck with the boot plist for the comp. check which is on the days drive. So I used the sudo nvram command instead that does the same thing.

The startup "slowness" was just due to not applying @ASentientBot 's kext stall fix. After that the setup process (without wifi or networking) was as to be expected.

 

[pbyfield01]

You have to edit the platform support plist in the Catalina installer so it doesn’t block you from installing it.

Whats the path to it and what exactly do I change inside it?
[doublepost=1559921659][/doublepost]

I’m getting the too. It’s something easy, i just can’t remember what I did before to get around it. Maybe verbose mode will lead to something

Hm let me know if you figure it out please

 

[haralds]

Got it installed on a Mac Pro 5,1 with updated BTLE WiFi card and AMD Radeon 7970 4GB by installing on a disk via supported MacBook Pro and bootargs. I modified the whitelist for BLE Watch Unlock, but that is not (yet?) working.
Should be able to turn on SIP in a bit.
Initial runs had a lot of white screens, loading bars, and spinning balls. But everything's has settled down nicely.
HomeBrew is working at least with SIP off.
External boot on a MacBook Pro mid 2018 required the right T2 settings (external boot allowed, allow older release of macOS,) an installed release version of Mojave on the external disk to boot into, Beta Profile installed, and the an update after download.
All other approaches would not install.

App Store validation of Apps has some issues. This appears to be known problem.

Tip: Make sure that your target partition is running Mojave with everything installed and running that your heart desires. Then upgrade.

 

[pkouame]

@ASentientBot - just added your IOHIDFamily patch to my barebones configuration and it works like a champ! Cuts down on Catalina boot time a lot. (Not sure what it does but) Thanks!

 

[HiImWeird]

- convert InstallESD.dmg (on that disk) to read/write and patch OSInstall.mpkg (the usual Distribution edits caused an error with signing, so I ended up replacing with the one from High Sierra in the end... need a better fix, though)

How did you get this to work? i also don't have a supported machine.

 

[0403979]

Yeah, it's tricky. The only way I got it to install (I don't have access to a supported Mac):
- use createinstallmedia to make a bootable disk/partition
- convert InstallESD.dmg (on that disk) to read/write and patch OSInstall.mpkg (the usual Distribution edits caused an error with signing, so I ended up replacing with the one from High Sierra in the end... need a better fix, though... anyone know how @dosdude1 does this?)
- set -no_compat_check in NVRAM (or you can edit com.apple.Boot plist files, but there are a few in different folders... plus, the installer will partially complete, then reboot to another (\) and require another edit to a file on the target volume's Preboot)
- install to APFS using the bootable installer

Edit: more details added.

The patched installers created by both our patchers contain patches to remove the signature check. There is no way to use the modern macOS installer with a modified OSInstall.mpkg file. You're welcome to try binary patches to remove the check but there is nothing I have been able to do about it.

 

[jackluke]

How did you get this to work? i also don't have a supported machine.

First you need the full "Install MacOS 10.15 beta.app" about 6,5 GB to download.

Showing packages inside the Catalina.app/Contents/SharedSupport/InstallESD.dmg

then you have to convert this 6 gb dmg (read-only) into RW, since to by-pass the Installer checks you need to downgrade the OSInstall.mpkg inside that dmg (I guess also using the one inside the @dosdude1's Mojave Patcher should work).

Then I guess you should re-convert it to read-only. Otherwise maybe refused when mounted in Ramdisk, not sure.

I don't remember the exactly steps maybe you should also codesign it, I followed similar steps one year ago for Mojave beta1-2.

I usually followed the other method that is to restore the BaseSystem.dmg to a 10 gb partition and then copy the Packages manually from an InstallESD.dmg , definitely more editable than handling with those tricky "dmg" , but with a bit effort I guess is do-able.

 

[ASentientBot]

The patched installers created by both our patchers contain patches to remove the signature check. There is no way to use the modern macOS installer with a modified OSInstall.mpkg file. You're welcome to try binary patches to remove the check but there is nothing I have been able to do about it.

I'm aware of this problem; that's why I used the package from the High Sierra installer since it's technically officially Apple-signed.

Now, would you mind elaborating on your "patches to remove the signature check"? (I'm a little confused because you mention them, but then you say there is nothing you can do about it...? What do you mean?)
[doublepost=1559926401][/doublepost]

maybe you should also codesign it

That's the trouble -- I can codesign -f -s - /a/self/signed/executable but it seems like I need a legit Apple developer certificate to use productsign to sign a package. Hence my curiosity about Julian's workaround.

 

[jackluke]

I'm aware of this problem; that's why I used the package from the High Sierra installer since it's technically officially Apple-signed.

Now, would you mind elaborating on your "patches to remove the signature check"? (I'm a little confused because you mention them, but then you say there is nothing you can do about it...? What do you mean?)
[doublepost=1559926401][/doublepost]
That's the trouble -- I can codesign -f -s - /a/self/signed/executable but it seems like I need a legit Apple developer certificate to use productsign. Hence my curiosity about Julian's workaround.

Sometimes I used another method from a Recovery Terminal environment using the "installer" unix exec, and other times also as @Starplayr , @tsialex and others posted, I used a RAW disk (USB External hdd) to install on VM, or cloning from a supported system, I mean there are many ways.

The fact is the "official" apple createinstallmedia does create a USB Installer with the full Install.app and all its dmg to be mounted in RAM, while restoring BaseSystem.dmg lets say lightens and surely much more things are replaceable with less effort, also for example expanding and editing apart the Core.pkg distribution.

 

[HiImWeird]

First you need the full "Install MacOS Catalina.app" about 6,5 GB to download.

I've figured it out using the same method as @ASentientBot, But thank you for offering the help (unless your methood is better)

 

[Badruzeus]

If you're interested, here's WindowServer crash logs on LoginUI (non-Metal Nvidia GT 520 / Fermi) using all untouched System files (Vanilla GeForce, NVDAGF100Hal, NVDAResman, Frameworks, etc..):

 

[mdbuddin]

You never need to touch PlatformSupport.plist. The -no_compat_check boot argument fixes the (\) symbol (equivalent to "this version of OS X is not supported... reason: Mac-..." in verbose mode) and the Installer checks are unrelated; they all happen within OSInstall.mpkg's Distribution file.

Not sure why people keep trying to mess with those plists.

Previously at some point when installing on a machine that was unsupported i did change the plist ..Several years ago . I assure you it is not something i would do unless someone told me to...

 

[David403]

You never need to touch PlatformSupport.plist. The -no_compat_check boot argument fixes the (\) symbol (equivalent to "this version of OS X is not supported... reason: Mac-..." in verbose mode) and the Installer checks are unrelated; they all happen within OSInstall.mpkg's Distribution file.

Not sure why people keep trying to mess with those plists.

If you used a supported Mac to install and used -no_compat_check to bypass the distribution file, you can't clear the NVRAM.

See @tsialex's Post #105 Page 5 of - MP5,1: What you need to do to make Catalina work with MacPro5,1

 

[0403979]

I'm aware of this problem; that's why I used the package from the High Sierra installer since it's technically officially Apple-signed.

Now, would you mind elaborating on your "patches to remove the signature check"? (I'm a little confused because you mention them, but then you say there is nothing you can do about it...? What do you mean?)
[doublepost=1559926401][/doublepost]
That's the trouble -- I can codesign -f -s - /a/self/signed/executable but it seems like I need a legit Apple developer certificate to use productsign to sign a package. Hence my curiosity about Julian's workaround.

Those patches consist of using an older version of the installer app and framework in the bootable installer. These older versions don't work with installing Catalina due to the APFS data volume not being handled properly by them.

 

[jackluke]

I've figured it out using the same method as @ASentientBot, But thank you for offering the help (unless your methood is better)

Not the method but the result matters. I prefer the full installer.app cause contains other useful stuffs, among which the BaseSystem.dmg that is in few words a OSX GUI Recovery Environment and it's still a standalone HFS bootable partition, I hope apple won't convert it in APFS on 10.16 .

 

[HiImWeird]

Not the method but the result matters. I prefer the full installer.app cause contains other useful stuffs, among which the BaseSystem.dmg that is in few words a OSX GUI Recovery Environment and it's still a standalone HFS bootable partition, I hope apple won't convert it in APFS on 10.16 .

I am booted in the the os after install now, I am currently testing time machine resotre in the setup assasitant to see if that works. I don't see apple moving to APFS bootable installer for 10.16 as the 10.15 throws errors about being bootable (I'll have to look at the error again)

 

[jackluke]

Those patches consist of using an older version of the installer app and framework in the bootable installer. These older versions don't work with installing Catalina due to the APFS data volume not being handled properly by them.

Yes, this new "APFS Data" is tricky, but as I pointed earlier, I guess it's not so much the "APFS Data" Volume the true issue, but rather the "APFSCatalinaVolumeSystem" that is as isolated from the rest, to make matters worse the "APFS Data" contains also the root "/" of Catalina, of course the fact that the "/Library/" (the one used for Users and Settings) are contained in this new path "/Device/" complicates things more.

 

[Techuntr]

So I am still new to programming and how the macOS works. I am not understanding how to get this installer to work, can anyone give me a detailed step by step on how to get this going? I have read this whole thread and still am having trouble grasping what is going on. (This isn’t a main machine, its just one to test and play with the macOS) 2009 MacBook 6,1

 

[jackluke]

I am booted in the the os after install now, I am currently testing time machine resotre in the setup assasitant to see if that works. I don't see apple moving to APFS bootable installer for 10.16 as the 10.15 throws errors about being bootable (I'll have to look at the error again)

Yes, but as you can see using an APFS Container, the APFS Recovery is indeed an APFS "BaseSystem", so APFS is eligible to become a bootable Installer in future.

 

[HiImWeird]

Yes, but as you can see using an APFS Container, the APFS Recovery is indeed an APFS "BaseSystem", so APFS has the papers in order to become a bootable Installer in future.

Oh right, This would me cutting off the macs without APFS support? or would this cut the whole project (for 10.16) due to the way older machines handle APFS?

 

[ScreenSavers]

So I am still new to programming and how the macOS works. I am not understanding how to get this installer to work, can anyone give me a detailed step by step on how to get this going? I have read this whole thread and still am having trouble grasping what is going on. (This isn’t a main machine, its just one to test and play with the macOS) 2009 MacBook 6,1

These are not instructions on how to do this- you’ll have to wait for a tool if there ever is one. This is where the experts (Not me!) discuss how to get it working and what modifications are needed.

 

[Techuntr]

These are not instructions on how to do this- you’ll have to wait for a tool if there ever is one. This is where the experts (Not me!) discuss how to get it working and what modifications are needed.

Oh, sorry about that, well if anyone needs me to test anything on this old machine, @ me and I’ll do it, I’m always watching this thread.