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macOS 11 Big Sur on Unsupported Macs Thread
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I'm returning to Mac-land after an absence of several months, and I'm now trying to install Big Sur for testing (MouSSE and other projects). It's not going well. I've tried @Starplayr's Big Mac, @Barry K. Nathan's micro-patcher, various suggestions from @jackluke, and my own modifications, to no avail. Tried the usual things (reset PRAM, reset SMC, used direct install from Catalina, used multiple different flash drives for self-boot install, downloaded the installer multiple times). The hardware works flawlessly on Catalina. I'm not 100% sure where the problem is, but I think it might boil down to this one question:
Can you install Big Sur on a Mac Pro 3,1 using only an AMD RX5x0 card?
The way the installer behaves, I'm guessing maybe the Big Sur AMD video driver contains SSE4.2 instructions, and without MouSSE loaded, it silently fails. Is there a way for me to incorporate MouSSE into the installer itself? (I know that Apple is using cryptographic "seals" on the volumes now, so adding a kext to the installer may be difficult or impossible.) I'm not running OpenCore yet (using ReFind for now), would OpenCore provide a possible avenue to "pre-install" MouSSE before the Big Sur installer runs?
Alternatively, can you install (not run) Big Sur using a non-Metal video card, then install a Metal card for actual operation? Or am I barking up the wrong tree here?
Anyone have a success story when installing Big Sur on a MP3,1 using either an AMD RX5x0 or an old non-metal card (e.g. ATI 2600 or NVIDIA 8800)?
Can you install Big Sur on a Mac Pro 3,1 using only an AMD RX5x0 card?
The way the installer behaves, I'm guessing maybe the Big Sur AMD video driver contains SSE4.2 instructions, and without MouSSE loaded, it silently fails. Is there a way for me to incorporate MouSSE into the installer itself? (I know that Apple is using cryptographic "seals" on the volumes now, so adding a kext to the installer may be difficult or impossible.) I'm not running OpenCore yet (using ReFind for now), would OpenCore provide a possible avenue to "pre-install" MouSSE before the Big Sur installer runs?
Alternatively, can you install (not run) Big Sur using a non-Metal video card, then install a Metal card for actual operation? Or am I barking up the wrong tree here?
Anyone have a success story when installing Big Sur on a MP3,1 using either an AMD RX5x0 or an old non-metal card (e.g. ATI 2600 or NVIDIA 8800)?
Hi!
Have a slightly different setup but I can report an issue with AMD RX460/RX480/RX580 cards
AMD video cards will not be recognised after patching · Issue #105 · barrykn/big-sur-micropatcher
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/macos-11-big-sur-on-unsupported-macs-thread.2242172/post-29227069 https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/macos-11-big-sur-on-unsupported-macs-thread.2242172/page-...
github.com
It turns out that after initial installation the Big Sur works with the AMD video card perfectly but after patching (or adding a single even unrelated kernel extension like a WiFi patch) the video output is gone (white screen) and you have to use OpenCore and spoof the iMacPro1,1 ID to get it back - which you would do anyway to get the AMD video acceleration like 4K H.264 and 4K HEVC enabled.
Unfortunately you did not wrote a single word about what your specific problem is....
Of course you can add kernel extensions after patching, please read the micro patcher docs about modifying a system yourself.
GitHub - barrykn/big-sur-micropatcher: A primitive USB patcher for installing macOS Big Sur on unsupported Macs
A primitive USB patcher for installing macOS Big Sur on unsupported Macs - barrykn/big-sur-micropatcher
github.com
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I was fortunate with my mid 2012 rMBP then, being older still.
Thanks, that worked. I booted off my USB drive and selected the EFI disk created by barrykn's patcher and was able to boot afterwards.
Can anyone recommend me a good free course for obj-c (or a guy who is willing to code my post-install for me for free)? It seems that I'll need to learn obj-c to make a GUI post-install as Swift won't work.
When I used @jackluke Opencore to update Beta 10 on my MBP mid 2012, I got stuck black screen, just opened the bottom cover and disconnected the battery for ten seconds and then plugged it back in, and voila, problem solved....
Thank you for the timely warning -
was about to install BS on a MBP11,1 (late 2013) 13", one of the apparently bricked types.
I better wait...
Our unsupported ones seem to enjoy better support than this.
I guess you are referring to OTA updates through OpenCore4s1 spoofing setup, but anyway there was a major issue with opencore feature run-efi-updater that is ignored from newer BigSur 11.0.1 so there was an attempt of firmware update scheduled in nvram, that on most machines failed, probably also reset PRAM after stage1 installer would have ignored the firmware update.
Anyway I can assure that my OpenCore setup included on "BaseSystem fix" don't contain any board id spoofing so no risk of unwanted EFI firmware update, the installer is mainly based on ASentientBot Hax3 dylib to allow installation on unsupported Mac and it's safer method.
True.
When installing from a bootable flash drive (made with createinstallmedia), the RX570 screen never displays anything. Watching the GPU fans and the lights on the flash drive and keyboard, it looks like it might be in a boot loop - long load time, then lights off for a few seconds, then repeat. I have let this run for hours, no difference. Tried multiple flash drives, multiple copies of the installer, multiple USB ports.
When installing directly from Catalina, it does the first pass, then reboots and does the second pass (displays progress bar from "29 minutes remaining" down to about 5-6 minutes), then reboots into a no-display boot loop (again, watching the keyboard lights and GPU fans, it looks to be dying and rebooting about every 30 seconds). Hard powerdown & reboot does not help. Booting back to Catalina, I see the Big Sur disk is at least partly laid out, with an extra "Update" partition and an empty EFI partition, but does not seem to be bootable. Patching the disk at this point does not improve things, it still makes a ~30 second no-display boot loop. As I understand it, there should be 1-2 more reboots in a normal installation, but I'm stuck at this one.
In all cases, boot-args = "-v -no_compat_check amfi_get_out_of_my_way=1", but despite the "-v", I still see no output. (As stated earlier, the video hardware is known to be fully functional under Catalina and Mojave. Target disk is an SSD that had been a working Catalina installation, so it's also functional.) I have tried formatting the target disk as both APFS and JHFS+ (I applied the APFS BootROM patch long ago.). I have tried removing all drives except for the installer and target disk.
The "AMD video cards not recognized after patching" problem you linked is something I'll watch out for, but I'm not even getting that far.
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I bet if you'd install BigSur with ASentientBot Hax3 method it's even safer than apple stock EFI firmware update for supported Mac, because the Hax3 ignores any firmware updates, it allows even to install BigSur on non-APFS Mac .
But you don't tried yet "BaseSystem fix" that works also with refind, also with non Metal GPU and also with legacy USB input devices, simply from Utilities "Hax3 installer quick fix", after some seconds the patched InstallAssistant automatically opens and will allow to install on target disk.
After the stage2 installer 29 minutes remaining and stage3 bootloop, reboot the "BaseSystem fix", apply "BigSurFixes legacy USB patches", if you still have a bootloop then reboot the "BaseSystem fix" and apply "BigSur stage3 installer fix" and again "BigSurFixes legacy USB patches", reboot then it should boot the BigSur desktop.
Coincidence who EFI bricked through OpenCore4s1 spoofing setup had an iMac with Haswell architecture, that is the minimal supported Big Mac, but there are also unsupported BigSur Mac with Haswell architecture (and wifi ac), while instead Ivy Bridge that used OpenCore4s1 don't EFI bricked, anyway OTA updates after that "run-efi-updater" major issue are not advisable.
But I repeat "BaseSystem fix" doesn't contain any OpenCore spoofing setup, it's safe.
I used the bigMac approach to install on my flashed 4,1-5,1 Mac Pro. So easy to drag and drop into termina. Very much like parrotgeeks old way of fooling the installer to install onto a spare internal blade drive. Works like a dream and no need to patch anything.
macpro 2009
12core 3.46ghz
96gb 1333mh
4tb high point raid
radeon VII 16g
radeon rx480 8gb with boot screen
Just installed final release (20B29) on my Late 2012 Mac mini; like with earlier betas, install went without a hitch using @Barry K. Nathan's method. But I now have the oddest bug occurring with Finder that never occurred with any of the betas (or any earlier version of macOS): In Finder Preferences, there is the option "New Finder windows show:" where a folder name must be entered to designate the default folder that comes into view when Finder is opened. (Like always, I'm using my User folder.)
Now, whenever I click on the Finder icon in the Dock, Finder comes to the foreground as the active window -- but, now, every time, it opens a new tab of the selected "New Finder windows show" choice. Finder is only supposed to open this folder when Finder's being opened from a closed state. Now Finder is opening a new, duplicate tab or window every time it's activated from the Dock, even when Finder is already open on the screen. It's startling to see this happen every time I activate Finder -- and somewhat annoying.
Is anyone else experiencing this behavior since installing the final release? If so, I'll post on the Apple Support forum.
Now, whenever I click on the Finder icon in the Dock, Finder comes to the foreground as the active window -- but, now, every time, it opens a new tab of the selected "New Finder windows show" choice. Finder is only supposed to open this folder when Finder's being opened from a closed state. Now Finder is opening a new, duplicate tab or window every time it's activated from the Dock, even when Finder is already open on the screen. It's startling to see this happen every time I activate Finder -- and somewhat annoying.
Is anyone else experiencing this behavior since installing the final release? If so, I'll post on the Apple Support forum.
I have found that on my Mac Pro I need the original gpu and after the second reboot finishes I then need to manually boot it into the installer partition to finish up. For what ever reason, after the second reboot it won’t automatically do it. But doing it manually has always allowed it to finish properly.
Hi,
I am reading this thread since the first Beta because I am using a 15" MBP 2012 non retina (former MBP 2011 with replaced logic board) and was disappointed to see that Big Sur isn't supported by my Mac. Again, since I used High Sierra for over a year after Mojave release (which wasn't supported by it) till I replaced the logic board.
I have to thank all of you who make this patchers happen! Now I wanted to try it, too.
I successfully installed a fresh Big Sur on an external SSD, just followed Barrys Tutorial, really easy. I will test it for a while and if everything works I will replace my system on the internal SSD. I think I'll wait until the release of 11.1.
What I can say is that on this fresh system everything works so far.
But I still have questions regarding updating from Catalina. What do you think is better? Installing Big Sur over the Catalina installation or format the Disk, install Big Sur and restore the Time Machine Backup? Or would you even go with a completely fresh install?
I am reading this thread since the first Beta because I am using a 15" MBP 2012 non retina (former MBP 2011 with replaced logic board) and was disappointed to see that Big Sur isn't supported by my Mac. Again, since I used High Sierra for over a year after Mojave release (which wasn't supported by it) till I replaced the logic board.
I have to thank all of you who make this patchers happen! Now I wanted to try it, too.
I successfully installed a fresh Big Sur on an external SSD, just followed Barrys Tutorial, really easy. I will test it for a while and if everything works I will replace my system on the internal SSD. I think I'll wait until the release of 11.1.
What I can say is that on this fresh system everything works so far.
But I still have questions regarding updating from Catalina. What do you think is better? Installing Big Sur over the Catalina installation or format the Disk, install Big Sur and restore the Time Machine Backup? Or would you even go with a completely fresh install?
The interesting thing is that I don't have these issues. The only thing I noticed is that the gfxCardStatus logo is a little bit off the menu bar. But it seems to switch normally.
I also don't have these issues. Or what do you exactly mean with "multimedia" keys? All the functions on the F-Keys work normally in Catalina. Spotlight also works fine.
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Just reporting back in...
After several frustrating panics, and inability to Unlock with Apple Watch, I was about to throw in the towel. Then I decided to re-install (on top of existing) Big Sur, from my patched USB installer.
Amazingly, my Apple Watch unlock started working, and no KPs so far. Happy camper here.
After several frustrating panics, and inability to Unlock with Apple Watch, I was about to throw in the towel. Then I decided to re-install (on top of existing) Big Sur, from my patched USB installer.
Amazingly, my Apple Watch unlock started working, and no KPs so far. Happy camper here.
Dang, I installed a kext in /Library/Extensions that is causing the system to KP. How do I get rid of them? Can I boot off the recovery drive and somehow access the folder to delete those files?
UPDATE:
Got it figured out, booted off the install media, opened terminal, went to /Volumes/Big Sir/Library/Extensions and deleted the kexts I wanted deleted. Then had it re-patch the kexts and that would set everything up again. Rebooted and they were gone.
The only thing that is not right on this 2011 iMac is that the brightness is not right like it is in Mojave. I tried installing the AppleBacklightFixup.kext in /Library/Extensions but it didn't do anything.
How do make the appropriate exits to fix the backlight levels?
UPDATE:
Got it figured out, booted off the install media, opened terminal, went to /Volumes/Big Sir/Library/Extensions and deleted the kexts I wanted deleted. Then had it re-patch the kexts and that would set everything up again. Rebooted and they were gone.
The only thing that is not right on this 2011 iMac is that the brightness is not right like it is in Mojave. I tried installing the AppleBacklightFixup.kext in /Library/Extensions but it didn't do anything.
How do make the appropriate exits to fix the backlight levels?
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I deleted them, and still had the KPs. Only the re-install seems to have fixed it (so far).
If you don't have boot screen, then maybe you need firewire kprintf or install a 16x50 serial card and use serial kprintf to get some logging output onto another computer.
Does the RX570 have a GOP driver that loads during boot? Use RefindPlus? Get a dump of the RX570 rom (use the Rom Image and Rom Size numbers from dh -d -v with dmem on a computer that can use EFI Shell; then the dmem output can be converted to binary - or use an AMD flasher utility to get the rom). Boot into EFI Shell on MacPro3,1, loadpcirom the binary you created, see if it returns an error (you don't need the RX570 installed for this check).
If there's an incompatible version error, then there's a way to get around that (PM if you want to try). Otherwise RefindPlus should work (it will put UGA on top of the GOP driver).
I have a 2012 Mac Pro with a Radeon HD 7950 graphics. I have a hard drive ready, GUID partitioned. Mac OS Extended(journaled) format. I downloaded:
https://github.com/BenSova/Patched-Sur/releases/download/v0.0.3/Patched-Sur.dmg
Followed directions. Ended with this:
What am I doing wrong? I've tried it several times
https://github.com/BenSova/Patched-Sur/releases/download/v0.0.3/Patched-Sur.dmg
Followed directions. Ended with this:
What am I doing wrong? I've tried it several times
Attachments
I've been having problems with the BigMac patcher (Mac 3,1 2.8 Ghz 8 core) as well and I went ahead and downloaded it again since some minor changes (documentation?) seem to have happened in the last day.
I went ahead and created a boot USB stick according to the instructions and tried to boot this way. It seemed to boot, and then after some machinations during a reboot, it came back to Catalina without seeming to do anything. The target drive is a 500 Gb SSD that's internal to machine, empty and formatted originally for JHFS+. Bottom line....I didn't get to the installer at all so I'm not sure what's going on here.
I had run the preinstall script before and it looked like the nvram settings were ok.
And my video card is a Nvidia GeForce 680, flashed for Mac. It's Metal and should work.
Any ideas?
Did you select public release? You could try downloading the install assistant directly from Apple, install it and then click View other versions in Patched Sur > Find an Installer and then select the Install MacOS Big Sur installer in your applications and see if that works.
Hope this helps.