macOS 11 Big Sur on Unsupported Macs Thread

[Ausdauersportler]

i have read the documentation.
i'm not very good at these things so i was wondering if anyone had experienced this before.

thanks anyway.

Just another explanation:

If a system makes it to the table within the docs there have been successful installations reported. So you can assume it will work. The process is always the same, so I do not know what experience are you looking for or want to share with us.

The OCLP Programm works straight away, the docs are covering every single step and you are free to give it a go. Download OCLP, run and install OpenCore, reboot into the (already prepared) USB installer and install Big Sur to a different partition or different disk. You so not want to overwrite your single working installation, right?

 

[Rob1n]

Hi, is there any way to patch only the wifi kext separately?
I have Big Sur on my Mac Pro 3.1 using the bigmac patcher.
But in my Mac Pro I have a wifi card that I took from a 2008 MacBook Pro, so the bigmac patcher does not patch for that card. So I was wondering if there is any way to either manually patch the wifi or use another patcher to install it without overriding the rest of the bigmac patches.

 

[bbb555]

Can you upload the 0.1.5 EFI and the 0.1.6 EFI somewhere and post a link?
@Macschrauber @bbb555

I downloaded OCLP from the GitHub releases links.
It turns out the issue was not OCLP, but rather the Big Sur release.
I was initially trying using 11.4 which was hanging/failing to complete.
I just used OCLP 0.1.6 and 11.2.3 release and it has built successfully.
So no issues with OCLP.
Will run OTA updates to get it to 11.4

 

[CharlieRuiz97]

Seems to be 11.2.3 is a good version to start and OTA update from there. You can D/L any release version of macOS from Apple with this tool. https://github.com/corpnewt/gibMacOS 👀

I ended installing Big Sur 11.4 on the 7,1 whitebook, it runs fast (didn't expect it but it's awesome that it's runing fast in the whitebook), but there's a lot of graphic glitches (as expected) (and they don't bother me, they are just minor details, doesn't affect any major task like using affinity designer), the problem is that a lot of apps doesn't work anymore like tableau public 2019.2.0 (the latest one that i could find that can work with my penryn processor, the newer ones says that my processor isn't compatible for some reason(and i need tableau)) another app that doesn't work anymore is iMovie 10.1.12 (the last version of iMovie that didn't require metal(worked well on catalina 10.15.6)) it's say that i need to update iMovie, but the latest version just crashes when open, and other app that kinda works is Keynote 9.1 (the last version that didn't require metal) works but with a lot of graphical glitches and sometimes crashes, and Pastel, an app that worked great on catalina and that is "fully supported" on Big Sur doesn't open anymore(it tries to but closes immediately)... the question is, do you believe that if i install Bug Sur 11.2.3, maybe they can work again on that macOS version or there's some way of running them on 11.4...what do you recommend me, and thanks again mate!... by the way, Big Sur looks fantastic on my 7,1 Whitebook...

 

[Ausdauersportler]

Hi, is there any way to patch only the wifi kext separately?
I have Big Sur on my Mac Pro 3.1 using the bigmac patcher.
But in my Mac Pro I have a wifi card that I took from a 2008 MacBook Pro, so the bigmac patcher does not patch for that card. So I was wondering if there is any way to either manually patch the wifi or use another patcher to install it without overriding the rest of the bigmac patches.

In general:

Micropatcher online docs, last section. On the other hand you can search back the thread while we explored how to patch.

BUT:
Since I do not know which way BigMac went for patching the docs linked above may be completely incompatible with your patched system.

Personal advice:
Change the WiFi card to a supported one or take a look at OCLP to replace your installation entirely. First post of this thread is the place to search for links. One of the main developers of OCLP owns a MacPro3,1, too. First hand support. OCLP achieved support for a bunch of old WiFi cards.

 

[jzrodriguez98]

Most likely. He said on Discord that he'd update the patchers once the fixes are ready. I've tested on Mojave and Big Sur (not Catalina yet) and it's almost on par with other non-Metal GPUs, except for a few extra bugs. For example, screen recordings and VNC are currently broken. So I'd like to fix that if possible.

Can't give an ETA yet, but feel free to join the Unsupported Macs or OCLP server on Discord if you want to keep up with our progress! So far we've only tried the patches on my Hackintosh (5850) and @moosethegoose2213's iMac (6750m?), so we'll need more testers at some point.

Hello @ASentientBot I can test with my Mac Mini mid 2011 which has a Radeon HD6630 gpu. Where can I find the patcher you are testing with added Terascale 2 support?

 

[Ausdauersportler]

Hello @ASentientBot I can test with my Mac Mini mid 2011 which has a Radeon HD6630 gpu. Where can I find the patcher you are testing with added Terascale 2 support?

It is still not public. Join the OCLP Discord server to get a closer look.

 

[CharlieRuiz97]

hi,
any luck on MacBook Pro 6,1 2010 17" model to install macOS Big Sur?

thanks

The 6,1 MacBook pro is one of the OCPL supported models, if you wanna install big sur, start here https://dortania.github.io/OpenCore-Legacy-Patcher/INSTALLER.html#downloading that's the guide that will help you go through every step, is easy to follow and you will have your mac running in Big sur in no time.... to obtain OCPL (the opencore patch) go here https://github.com/dortania/OpenCore-Legacy-Patcher/releases and to download Big Sur you can use this tool https://github.com/corpnewt/gibMacOS or an easy way is to look for the version that you want on this page macOS Big Sur Full Installer Database. Download Directly from Apple! (mrmacintosh.com) and download the installAssistant.pkg that you want and from there you're ready to go!... Good luck mate, share your experience later... Enjoy! ^_^

 

[Dilli]

Currently this happens with 0.1.6 even on an iMac11,3 startup up the Monterey installer.

At which stage did you take this picture? After first or second reboot or when basically starting up the installer? If this happened after copying and after the first reboot just power off the system and reboot. It should recover from that and picking up the installation process where it hung before.

I took this screenshot after running the OCLP installer initially in verbose mode right at the beginning. I waited 2-3 hours but no progress. Just can't get to the recovery window. The progress bar hangs just before the apple logo.
I did not get to the 2nd boot at all. I powered off and tried but no success.

 

[dukebound85]

has anyone run oclp on a big sur supported mac that may not have all big sur features? (ie sidecar)

 

[Dilli]

deleted by self.

 

[Dilli]

has anyone run oclp on a big sur supported mac that may not have all big sur features? (ie sidecar)

Yes as you can read in my signature my iMac does no support Airdrop, hands off $ sidecar

 

[mdgm]

Yes as you can read in my signature my iMac does no support Airdrop, hands off $ sidecar

I think @dukebound85 meant Macs that officially support Big Sur, not 2011 Macs that don't officially support Big Sur. The idea from his post I guess is wondering if OCLP would unlock Big Sur features that won't work through an official install.

 

[dukebound85]

I think @dukebound85 meant Macs that officially support Big Sur, not 2011 Macs that don't officially support Big Sur. The idea from his post I guess is wondering if OCLP would unlock Big Sur features that won't work through an official install.

yes, this is what I am asking about

 

[Bmju]

has anyone run oclp on a big sur supported mac that may not have all big sur features? (ie sidecar)

Minimal Google fu ("OpenCore sidecar") and the kind folks at Dortania tell me the current state of play is: https://dortania.github.io/OpenCore-For-Legacy-Macs/post-install/sidecar.html

 

[Wickintime]

I have been trying to upgrade my iMac 13,1 from Catalina to Big Sur. My iMac was upgraded a year ago to 16Gb RAM, a 500Gb SSD and a later wi-fi card.

However, I have a problem.

I can create the bootable USB. I get as far as downloading the OCLPatcher and it builds the Open Core no problem, but when I get to the "Install to USB/internal drive” it does not see my USB drive. The heading reads - Missing Disks? Ensure they have an EFI or FAT32 partition. It then lists "a. disk 0 which is my SSD or B. Back and please select etc.

I’ve tried using OCLP 0.1.5 and also OCLP 0.1.6 but the result is the same. I've tried Kingston and Scandisk USBs of varying sizes and in different USB port on my iMac. I've been through the whole process several times but none of the USBs appear.

I'm obviously missing something, so where do I go from here?

 

[Dilli]

deleted.

 

[Ausdauersportler]

I have been trying to upgrade my iMac 13,1 from Catalina to Big Sur. My iMac was upgraded a year ago to 16Gb RAM, a 500Gb SSD and a later wi-fi card.

However, I have a problem.

I can create the bootable USB. I get as far as downloading the OCLPatcher and it builds the Open Core no problem, but when I get to the "Install to USB/internal drive” it does not see my USB drive. The heading reads - Missing Disks? Ensure they have an EFI or FAT32 partition. It then lists "a. disk 0 which is my SSD or B. Back and please select etc.

I’ve tried using OCLP 0.1.5 and also OCLP 0.1.6 but the result is the same. I've tried Kingston and Scandisk USBs of varying sizes and in different USB port on my iMac. I've been through the whole process several times but none of the USBs appear.

I'm obviously missing something, so where do I go from here?

Honestly the first thing I do is searching for a documentation and read it

Creating macOS Installers | OpenCore Legacy Patcher

 

[ghost82]

Sharing my theme for opencanopy, BigSurFlat!



Zip file updated and fixed
Attached zip contains resolution for monitor width of 1920px (1x), additional resolutions backgrounds available here:

File on MEGA

mega.nz

 

[Rob1n]

In general:

Micropatcher online docs, last section. On the other hand you can search back the thread while we explored how to patch.

BUT:
Since I do not know which way BigMac went for patching the docs linked above may be completely incompatible with your patched system.

Personal advice:
Change the WiFi card to a supported one or take a look at OCLP to replace your installation entirely. First post of this thread is the place to search for links. One of the main developers of OCLP owns a MacPro3,1, too. First hand support. OCLP achieved support for a bunch of old WiFi cards.

Thank you for the advice!
I will probably wait before going to opencore. dosdude1 posted on the thread of macOS Monterey that he will be making a patcher without open core for that version of macOS. So I will be waiting for that to release and then updating to Monterey.

I do have to say that I am very tempted tho with all open core has to offer, but I prefer waiting for dosdude1 because I really like his work and have used his patchers a lot in the past.

 

[justperry]

I restored my 2012 Mac Mini to Big Sur after trying to install Monterey from a Time Machine backup, sadly I get this.
Anyone know how to recover from this?

I first boot the OCLP in the picker, then choose the SSD with BS.
I get this below, I also sometimes get a lot more text to eventually come to a point it says CPU halting, this problem most likely is easy to solve, PRAM might be messed up after trying to install Monterey.

 

[Ausdauersportler]

I restored my 2012 Mac Mini to Big Sur after trying to install Monterey from a Time Machine backup, sadly I get this.
Anyone know how to recover from this?

I first boot the OCLP in the picker, then choose the SSD with BS.
I get this below, I also sometimes get a lot more text to eventually come to a point it says CPU halting, this problem most likely is easy to solve, PRAM might be messed up after trying to install Monterey.

View attachment 1790884

Rebuild your OC config and disable SecureBootModel - it is one of the options. You can just install the very same version of Big Sur on top of your current installation to enable SBM, again. Alternatively one can modify the preboot partition, which got a little bit corrupted on your journey to Monterey.

 

[justperry]

Rebuild your OC config and disable SecureBootModel - it is one of the options. You can just install the very same version of Big Sur on top of your current installation to enable SBM, again. Alternatively one can modify the preboot partition, which got a little bit corrupted on your journey to Monterey.

Thanks, that helped....a bit, have the other issue now.

That helped with the first issue, I had several OC installed on disks/usb sticks so that's why I had one issue like the one in the picture but then later had the other issue (which is the current one) of My Mac booting but CPU being halted (No kernel panic) and then shuts down.
I try to find the log so I can post it here later on.
Have to put my Mac Mini in Target disk mode to retrieve the logs.

 

[justperry]

Rebuild your OC config and disable SecureBootModel - it is one of the options. You can just install the very same version of Big Sur on top of your current installation to enable SBM, again. Alternatively one can modify the preboot partition, which got a little bit corrupted on your journey to Monterey.

I also still have one extra Update disk, leftover from Monterey????
Target disk mode, Orange ones is the Mini.

 

[justperry]

Erm...where are my logs, is this because the ssd system is not mounted?