macOS 10.15 Catalina on Unsupported Macs

[olrik77]

This is on a MacPro 3,1? To my knowledge, those don't have hibernation, only sleep. Explicitly invoking sleep has been stable for me and I have my machine to sleep after an hour in the Energy Saver system preference panel. Again, I had some problems in the past but it was a very rare event that seemed to disappear with removing the SSE4,2 emulator kext.

Bonjour,

Yes, it is a macPro 3.1

How to remove the SSE4,2 emulator kext.

Thanks,

Serviteur,

 

[Ruslan Shagiev]

You have to apply all patches again for it to work like you did so in previous case

I did! Thats the strange part. I tried using the script from continuity activation tool, nothing. Tried
sudo /usr/libexec/PlistBuddy -c "Set:Mac-94245B3640C91C81:ContinuitySupport true" "/System/Library/Frameworks/IOBluetooth.framework/Versions/A/Resources/SystemParameters.plist"
nothing. Pretty strange. Did Apple change something in this update?

 

[lxmeta]

HDMI to DP will work fine, only thing that won't work are the DP ports on the card itself.

Sorry to bother you again.
Just got my HDMI cable, and plugged it into my Samsung lu28e590ds Monitor, that is supposed to support 4K. On the HDMI port the monitor only shows the boot screen, but when switching to full resolution, the monitor goes black. I can log in with screen sharing, and the monitor is detected. Switching to a lower res/30hz does not help.
I’m assuming now that there must be a mismatch between the GPU and the Monitor. I guess I’ll get another Radeon RX Vega 64...
Any last hints how to solve that?

 

[Terrapater]

Apple must have changed something. You should be able to fix it by using the APFS Boot prefpane, and selecting the drive.

Found a solution o the GPU upgrade forum which is working! Quote from post #5255: Been playing around installing Catalina 10.15.4 over 10.14.3, and after a couple of days had success on a 2011 27”with a GTX765M and 21” with a K2000M, using dosdude 1’s 1.4 patcher app. Found that after first boot the display go’s black, but if you just let it run for 30 mins or so then restart and boot back into the patcher and install Post-Install Patches but plus the APFS Patch, it installed with no black display. Only problem was no WiFi but ran OnyX Maintenance and WiFI came back. Hope this help’s someone.
Just installed the APFS patch additionally and it is working. Also did not loose Wifi!

 

[TGeist]

Yes, you need to re-run the latest macOS Catalina Patcher. Dosdude1 recommends creating a new USB stick with the latest patcher and 10.15.4. Then you install from the USB stick just like you did originally. I think this usually goes smoother.

Thank you!

I want to clarify something:
My previous installation was a complete clean install. I.e. target disk was fully erased.
This time around I want to update a living, running system with data, apps installed and all.

Still the same procedure (of course without erasing the target diet)?

 

[jackluke]

Hello everyone, I updated again my OpenCoreAPFSloader.app and now with some important improvements:

- Enabled all the apple shortcut commands (CMD+S, CMD+V , etc.) to press before volume selection
- Enabled all the EFI hidden partition and the ResetNVRAM from OpenCore menu
- SIP and AMFI fully disabled (that when using OpenCore bootloader will stay disabled even after PRAM reset)
- Added the @parrotgeek1 LegacyUSBInjector.kext to OpenCore kext injection on the prelinkedkernel

Thanks to that kext now from my OpenCore customized bootloader you can load any stock macOS Recovery from any unsupported mac, because you won't encounter more the issue where mouse and keyboard are not responsive.

Moreover it should allow also to complete the OTA update on an USB external Catalina installation without "legacy usb unpowered sleep" issues when the external disk is a root device (@hvds on next 10.15.5 beta 2 you could try my updated OpenCoreAPFSloader.app and OTA update on a USB Catalina installation should proceed correctly).

I attached the updated app on my previous post and also here.

 

[El Pasante]

10.15.5 beta 1 Updated OTA installed successfully through CatalinaOTAswufix.app.
Congratulations to all.

 

[eVasilis]

Hi again

I noticed something else: whenever I try to safe-boot (start holding shift), after the chime my mac pro shuts down. Is this expected with the patched version?

Thanks

 

[kraca]

Hi guys
Why the Chrome browser crashes at start in Catalina? (10.15.4)
Tried old versions, beta version and Chrome Canary also. None can start. Any help please?

 

[jackluke]

Hi again

I noticed something else: whenever I try to safe-boot (start holding shift), after the chime my mac pro shuts down. Is this expected with the patched version?

Thanks

Try the safemode fix, I wrote a simple script that worked for many, check this post: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/macos-10-15-catalina-on-unsupported-macs.2183772/post-28286347

 

[hvds]

Hello everyone, I updated again my OpenCoreAPFSloader.app and now with some important improvements:

- Enabled all the apple shortcut commands (CMD+S, CMD+V , etc.) to press before volume selection
- Enabled all the EFI hidden partition and the ResetNVRAM from OpenCore menu
- SIP and AMFI fully disabled (that when using OpenCore bootloader will stay disabled even after PRAM reset)
- Added the @parrotgeek1 LegacyUSBInjector.kext to OpenCore kext injection on the prelinkedkernel

Thanks to that kext now from my OpenCore customized bootloader you can load any stock macOS Recovery from any unsupported mac, because you won't encounter more the issue where mouse and keyboard are not responsive.

Moreover it should allow also to complete the OTA update on an USB external Catalina installation without "legacy usb unpowered sleep" issues when the external disk is a root device (@hvds on next 10.15.5 beta 2 you could try my updated OpenCoreAPFSloader.app and OTA update on a USB Catalina installation should proceed correctly).

I attached the updated app on my previous post and also here.

This time is still didn't use the new OpenCoreAPFS but followed your manual recipe from post #9607 -

It works! I'm very grateful that I can now use regularly OTA updates to a USB disk in my mid 2009 MBP5,2.

I did as follows:
- take the SSD with 10.15.5b1, OTA completed while connected to SATA, back to USB. Boots fine also there.
- installed 10.15.4 over it with the bootable USB installer (10.15.4/1.4) to have a 2nd chance to install .5b1
- used your CatalinaOTAswufix app to load .5b1
- let the OTA proceed and fail in its gray-on-white phase
- booted into the still intact 10.15.4 (could have also used the internal 10.15.3 SSD) via EFI boot
- replaced prelinkedkernel as you described
- booted into the macOS installer and let it complete and boot (which has to fail)
- booted into the USB installer to apply the 1.4 post install patches
- boots fine, also apply NightShift patch with patch updater.
All fine!

The (previous) OpenCoreAPFS loader was unnesessary this time. At the next occasion I'll try your new one offering the LegacyUSBInjector injection, to have the procedure more automatic.

Thanks jackluke!

 

[jackluke]

This time is still didn't use the new OpenCoreAPFS but followed your manual recipe from post #9607 -

It works! I'm very grateful that I can now use regularly OTA updates to a USB disk in my mid 2009 MBP5,2.

I did as follows:
- take the SSD with 10.15.5b1, OTA completed while connected to SATA, back to USB. Boots fine also there.
- installed 10.15.4 over it with the bootable USB installer (10.15.4/1.4) to have a 2nd chance to install .5b1
- used your CatalinaOTAswufix app to load .5b1
- let the OTA proceed and fail in its gray-on-white phase
- booted into the still intact 10.15.4 (could have also used the internal 10.15.3 SSD) via EFI boot
- replaced prelinkedkernel as you described
- booted into the macOS installer and let it complete and boot (which has to fail)
- booted into the USB installer to apply the 1.4 post install patches
- boots fine, also apply NightShift patch with patch updater.
All fine!

The (previous) OpenCoreAPFS loader was unnesessary this time. At the next occasion I'll try your new one offering the LegacyUSBInjector injection, to have the procedure more automatic.

Thanks jackluke!

Well done @hvds !

But you can quickly test my updated OpenCoreAPFSloader.app, after installed it, then from OpenCore menu try simply to boot manually your external stock USB 10.15.5 Recovery, and if it works also with responsive trackpad and keyboard means that next time you don't need more to replace manually the prelinkedkernel.

To boot into the 10.15.5 macOS Recovery allow at least 5 minutes, because recovery loading is a bit slow but it should work.

 

[coasterOneEightThree]

Till Mojave apple allowed some kind of "AirDrop legacy" that worked also on Atheros wifi cards, from Catalina they merged all the continuity features with a kind of AirDrop enhanced, and only certain recent Broadcom Wifi cards patching the AirPort Brcm4360 Wifi driver can work.

Thank you, @jackluke!

This hurts a little, but I've been just discovering this opportunity:

Snapdrop

Instantly share images, videos, PDFs, and links with people nearby. Peer2Peer and Open Source. No Setup, No Signup.

snapdrop.net

From the FAQ:

GitHub - SnapDrop/snapdrop: A Progressive Web App for local file sharing

A Progressive Web App for local file sharing . Contribute to SnapDrop/snapdrop development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

This is a good substitute for all in the same situation. It works great with all devices (even PCs or Android mobile phones/tablets, for example!) on the same network. Good enough at home, not so good in a company's network, since the device names in the browser's window are very general and therefore difficult to distinguish. You can only send one file at a time, but you can also help yourself for several files by zipping them beforehand.

 

[hvds]

Well done @hvds !

But you can quickly test my updated OpenCoreAPFSloader.app, after installed it, then from OpenCore menu try simply to boot manually your external stock USB 10.15.5 Recovery, and if it works also with responsive trackpad and keyboard means that next time you don't need more to replace manually the prelinkedkernel.

To boot into the 10.15.5 macOS Recovery allow at least 5 minutes, because recovery loading is a bit slow but it should work.

Installed your new OpenCoreAPFSloader, and used it to boot Recovery of my external SSD.
Trackpad and Keyboard (in Terminal of Recovery) work fine. Thanks!

 

[Barry K. Nathan]

Hi everybody: no idea at all about my problem ? 🙏

Two likely causes, in my experience:

1. Check the date and time on your Mac. (Use the "date" command in Terminal once you start up from the patched USB stick.) It doesn't need to be exactly correct -- even if it's off by a few days that's close enough for the installer to run, maybe even if the month is wrong -- but if the year is wrong, you'll get spurious "This copy of the macOS Install Whatever application is damaged" messages.

2. Maybe your USB stick went bad. Try another one.

 

[fabiojuniorr]

if you have the CatalinaAutoMount in the /Library/LaunchDaemons folder delete the original then place the the patched one

Well it did work, the only thing is that when I restart my MacBook, I have to go over trackpad settings again and set it the way I want it. Do you know any workaround?

 

[Barry K. Nathan]

I have the imac mid 2011. I have 3 drives internally in it. Two are SSD and one is mechanical (used for backup). I have Catalina on 1tb ssd and Mojave and High Sierra on the 500gb ssd partioned. Lately my 500 gb SSD keeps unmounting by itself. On restart it does not show. While using option key it still doesnot show.
After I have shutdown the computer for an hour or more and then on booting with option key pressed I see all drives and am able to go to the respective OS installed.

I cannot update Mojave and High Sierra because of this issue of SSD unmounting by itself.

Any insight would help.

Your 500GB SSD is dying. (Eventually it's going to unmount itself for the last time and never show up again.) How old is it? If it's still under warranty, you should pursue warranty replacement.

 

[Henk Poley]

If someone wants to take a stab as fixing "Safari: Not enabling extension due to security measures" before Apple ships the fixes. Here is the assembly diff between the working Mojave en broken Catalina synthetic click filtering.

• https://lapcatsoftware.com/articles/enable-extensions.html
• https://twitter.com/x/status/1242863717274062854

 

[jhowarth]

Bonjour,

Yes, it is a macPro 3.1

How to remove the SSE4,2 emulator kext.

Thanks,

Serviteur,

I use the following commands...

sudo mount -uw /
cd /Library/Extensions
sudo rm -rf AAAMouSSE.kext
cd /
sudo kextcache -i /

The next time you run Patch Updater, it will notice that AAAMouSSE.kext and offer to reinstall that patch. Just click the 'Don't Remind Me Again' button and it won't bother you until you do the next full install of the upcoming 10.15.5.

 

[edgyimager]

I did! Thats the strange part. I tried using the script from continuity activation tool, nothing. Tried
sudo /usr/libexec/PlistBuddy -c "Set:Mac-94245B3640C91C81:ContinuitySupport true" "/System/Library/Frameworks/IOBluetooth.framework/Versions/A/Resources/SystemParameters.plist"
nothing. Pretty strange. Did Apple change something in this update?

Try signing out of iCloud, reboot, then sign back in. I have had to do that some of the time when updating both Mojave and Catalina.

 

[tchung5]

I meant build a USB installer instead of directly installing. I’m having issues with 1.4 too.

Installed from a USB drive worked! Thanks
[automerge]1585855897[/automerge]
There's a glitch for Patch 1.4. The brightness slider is messed up.

 

[jackluke]

To those who have issues using the Catalina Patcher "Install to this machine" method on unsupported mac (mainly the non-APFS firmware machine or supported till El Capitan), I guess if you try and install first the OpenCoreAPFSLoader.app , re-using the "Install to this machine" and after reboot picking the "macOS Installer" from the OpenCore menu, it should work on any unsupported mac.

After installation (meant as upgrade installation), boot from the USB Catalina Patcher, re-apply post-install patches (that will also remove OpenCore), and your upgrade should work.

 

[olrik77]

I use the following commands...

sudo mount -uw /
cd /Library/Extensions
sudo rm -rf AAAMouSSE.kext
cd /
sudo kextcache -i /

The next time you run Patch Updater, it will notice that AAAMouSSE.kext and offer to reinstall that patch. Just click the 'Don't Remind Me Again' button and it won't bother you until you do the next full install of the upcoming 10.15.5.

I used your commands...but still in the patch updater :

Have I to run the commands after booting of installer ?

Serviteur,

 

[Tim Thomason]

Thank you, @jackluke!

This hurts a little, but I've been just discovering this opportunity:

Snapdrop

Instantly share images, videos, PDFs, and links with people nearby. Peer2Peer and Open Source. No Setup, No Signup.

snapdrop.net

From the FAQ:

GitHub - SnapDrop/snapdrop: A Progressive Web App for local file sharing

A Progressive Web App for local file sharing . Contribute to SnapDrop/snapdrop development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

This is a good substitute for all in the same situation. It works great with all devices (even PCs or Android mobile phones/tablets, for example!) on the same network. Good enough at home, not so good in a company's network, since the device names in the browser's window are very general and therefore difficult to distinguish. You can only send one file at a time, but you can also help yourself for several files by zipping them beforehand.

Works like a charm

 

[davidgmjacobson]

Firstly, kudos to all the contributors: I wished to try out Catalina, so I installed version 10.15.4 on an external drive using macOS Catalina Patcher v1.4 by @dosdude1, and I was surprised at how smoothly it runs!

Unfortunately, when I returned to High Sierra (which I kept on my internal drive), Screens 4 by Edovia now crashes on launch. The only thing that I know has changed in High Sierra is the reported hardware configuration (e.g. Macmini4,1 -> MacMini5,3), which the application may be relying on.

1) Is this the only thing that is changed in the base system?
2) Is there a way to reverse these changes?

Thank you,
David