macOS 12 Monterey on Unsupported Macs Thread

[TimmuJapan]

I would assume the people using OCLP are doing so because they need to, otherwise they would just use a newer Mac. And on that older Mac they will be doing all of the usual things everybody does, as you listed.

We need to hear from those who fully understand what's going on under the hood to determine whether OCLP is in any way a real risk, and if so, what can be done to mitigate it beyond what we would already need to do regardless of OS.

But surely sticking with an EOL older OS going forward is even more of a risk (?).

If you are going to use any old operating system ( macOS, windows, Linux, etc.) that is Not receiving security updates, it’s probably best to use some kind of third-party antivirus, anti-Trojan, protection…. In this situation, it seems like common sense and smart to use an old OS in conjunction with a trusted third-party security application/antivirus…

I am not an expert in under the hood, but I can tell you that from my understanding of a patched OS or opencore, I don’t see how it could introduce security problems. How in the world would re-enabling dropped graphics and drivers introduce security issues? It shouldn’t, and it doesn’t make any sense to me how it would.

Furthermore, if there was a user, just one user, who had a security problem related to an unsupported macOS, wouldn’t there be at least one comment about this, one anecdotal story, somewhere on the hundreds and hundreds of pages of “macOS on unsupported_____” thread? In all of the unsupported threads here for El Capitan, Sierra , high Sierra, Mojave, Catalina, Big Sur, Monterey, I have NEVER seen one post alleging a specific security breach that was a consequence of using macOS on a dropped device by way of opencore, dosdude1, etc. However, there are posts of people hysterically claiming that we should not trust macOS on unsupported machines—but there is never any proof or anecdote to back up the claim.

 

[plugsnpixels]

Thanks for your comments, good points. I am not personally worried, but when dealing with such a patch on larger corporate scale, well, others need to be convinced...

More comments from others please!

 

[OKonnel]

Thanks for your comments, good points. I am not personally worried, but when dealing with such a patch on larger corporate scale, well, others need to be convinced...

More comments from others please!

On Corporate scale… Uhm… Although OCLP does not alter security, however in a business context you may encounter various problems, with possible and unpredictable legal repercussions also. Anything can happen with employees, inexperienced or geeks... In your place I would avoid. Here we are mainly passionate users and even though I work with Monterey in my unsupported iMac, I am very careful with backups, I am careful with hardware additions and/or with software updates that could cause problems, both System and App or even transform the Mac in a brick.
And if you live in a few countries... it doesn't take long to risk various types of complaints or Tax Agency checks and fines or even serious Copyright infringement charges, etc.
So, in your place I would avoid...

 

[plugsnpixels]

On Corporate scale… Uhm… Although OCLP does not alter security, however in a business context you may encounter various problems, with possible and unpredictable legal repercussions also. Anything can happen with employees, inexperienced or geeks... In your place I would avoid. Here we are mainly passionate users and even though I work with Monterey in my unsupported iMac, I am very careful with backups, I am careful with hardware additions and/or with software updates that could cause problems, both System and App or even transform the Mac in a brick.
And if you live in a few countries... it doesn't take long to risk various types of complaints or Tax Agency checks and fines or even serious Copyright infringement charges, etc.
So, in your place I would avoid...

Thanks, to be precise, computer labs. It's a bit of pickle: Computers gone obsolete, no appropriate replacements forthcoming for the foreseeable future.

Not my personal problem, I present the facts and options and the big boys make the decision. So far for them it is mainly a security concern, so I am trying to address that aspect.

 

[OKonnel]

Thanks, to be precise, computer labs. It's a bit of pickle: Computers gone obsolete, no appropriate replacements forthcoming for the foreseeable future.
Not my personal problem, I present the facts and options and the big boys make the decision. So far for them it is mainly a security concern, so I am trying to address that aspect.

Good! If so, you can tell them that security is safe with macOS Monterey 12.5.1 and OCLP

 

[plugsnpixels]

I'm working on that, need more specific feedback from the forum.

I'll decline to spook them with legal stuff... ;-) We've got genuine Apple hardware and all that!

 

[fairbanx]

"Beach Ball" issues after sleep-wake: For some time I'm experiencing heavy "beach balls" when waking up my Mac Pro. I can't tell exactly when this problem occured (whether it appeared after upgrading Mac OS or OpenCore Legacy Patcher). I had no issues so far and before going to "sleep" my Mac Pro works all fine. After returning from sleep the machine is barely useable, very laggy and slow responsiveness whether it be using apps or network access.

Any fix to that (in case: see my specs below)?

 

[hwojtek]

(in case: see my specs below)?

An attachment of your config.plist would be more useful. The "can't tell exactly when" makes it a guesswork, not a scientific approach.

Next time before putting it to sleep, open up Activity Monitor, all processes, ordered by CPU time. This way once you wake it, you will be seeing if something hogs your CPU.

 

[headlessmike]

Good! If so, you can tell them that security is safe with macOS Monterey 12.5.1 and OCLP

The biggest problem I could foresee is if the someone tries to update the machines at a later point (say, to Ventura) and it doesn’t work. It’s a bit risky that OCLP tricks macs into downloading updates that are not supported unless you are prepared to tinker with things.

 

[OKonnel]

The biggest problem I could foresee is if the someone tries to update the machines at a later point (say, to Ventura) and it doesn’t work. It’s a bit risky that OCLP tricks macs into downloading updates that are not supported unless you are prepared to tinker with things.

That's right, @headlessmike . I was trying to reassure the kind @plugsnpixels user about that OCLP introduces no security risk.
Moreover, I also have an iMac 27-inch CPU i7 late 2013, as he says and I use Monterey with this Mac for an important health job, knowing that it is ten thousand times safer than Winzoz... So... if you consider that I use FileVault and that I have activated the Firewall..., you will know well that security is almost absolute and that it is better in macOS Monterey than in Catalina.
I hope that some developers respond to @plugsnpixels and know how to reassure it in a synthetic way. The OCLP developers, however, know that they have already provided a lot of explanations: in the OCLP pages, in GitHub, here, by intervening on Discord...; I doubt they will have more time to provide individual explanations, especially since they are all busy to be able to release an OCLP suitable for macOS Ventura soon and is not easy.

 

[Ausdauersportler]

The biggest problem I could foresee is if the someone tries to update the machines at a later point (say, to Ventura) and it doesn’t work. It’s a bit risky that OCLP tricks macs into downloading updates that are not supported unless you are prepared to tinker with things.

No real sys-admin allows automatic updates. Just disable this feature and update using proper tools the fleet of systems after IT has checked all important tools will work properly with the new macOS version.

This problem was there back in the days when Catalina hit the road offering 64bit app support only. Simply updating broke all 32bit apps even without using patchers or OpenCore.

 

[madvinegar]

Sometimes (not often) I get a silly bug after cold boot. My speakers are not "present" on the top bar and the sound defaults to headphones. There is no option for speakers, it is only headphones, and even if I "kill" the sound and top bar via terminal, I still get headphones as the only option.

A simple reboot fixes that, and all goes back to normal.

Does anyone else face this weird bug...?

 

[headlessmike]

No real sys-admin allows automatic updates. Just disable this feature and update using proper tools the fleet of systems after IT has checked all important tools will work properly with the new macOS version.

This problem was there back in the days when Catalina hit the road offering 64bit app support only. Simply updating broke all 32bit apps even without using patchers or OpenCore.

Sure, but using a tool like OCLP does add extra complexity to the problem since now updating the computer not only runs the risk of breaking support for older software or peripherals, but also to render the machine useless (at least temporarily) in a way that OS updates usually don't. That's why I would be hesitant in installing an unsupported OS version using OCLP on a computer belonging to someone that doesn't fully understand what they are getting themself into. I do however highly recommend friends with older Macs to check out OCLP for themselves and am glad to help them if any issues arise.

 

[rehkram]

I'm working on that, need more specific feedback from the forum.

I'll decline to spook them with legal stuff... ;-) We've got genuine Apple hardware and all that!

No way would any IT pro advise you to run a network of unsupported Macs + OCLP in any kind of "corporate" environment. "Corporate" needs to upgrade its budget and make a deal with Apple for corporate level purchasing, licensing and support.

I can just hear it now; "MacRumors forum members said it would be ok..." . Dortania themselves would never provide such blanket guarantees, and neither should MacRumors forum members. All bets are off when we choose to run macOS versions that are unsupported on our Macs.

I recommend you put your questions directly to Dortania on their Discord forum. I doubt you'll get the reassurance you are seeking though.

 

[plugsnpixels]

Thanks all for your replies!

I'd just as soon not follow this path for multiple Macs; doing it on a few is more reasonable.

The suits will just have to figure it out. I wonder how long Adobe will support Catalina? That day will be interesting for us...

As for the developer and comments about security, I have only seen the single paragraph on their website. Please refer me to the Discord discussion.

 

[Ausdauersportler]

Thanks all for your replies!

I'd just as soon not follow this path for multiple Macs; doing it on a few is more reasonable.

The suits will just have to figure it out. I wonder how long Adobe will support Catalina? That day will be interesting for us...

As for the developer and comments about security, I have only seen the single paragraph on their website. Please refer me to the Discord discussion.

Check the OCLP GitHub page and read carefully, you cannot miss it.

 

[dKupe]

The suits will just have to figure it out. I wonder how long Adobe will support Catalina? That day will be interesting for us...

Indeed! And while we're on the subject, I confess that my motivation to install OCLP and Monterey is Intuit dropping Turbotax support for Catalina for 2022. FWIW their support forum is full of company BS about how they can't possibly offer support for Catalina. And plenty of poor-mouthing on how small a user group Mac users are. How quickly they forgot that Turbotax began life as Macintax from Chipsoft. Ran it on my Mac Plus from day one. Thank god that Intuit spun off Quicken to a much more Mac friendly developer who seems to have no problem supporting older versions of Mac OS.

 

[bmac89]

Has anyone used the Monterey patcher on a 2009 or older mac? How about spinning hard drive? Please share your experience with performance.

I have an 2009 iMac 9,1 with 8gb RAM and spinning hard drive stuck on El Capitan 10.11.6. Obviously an SSD will always perform better but is it even worth running Monterey on spinning drive? How is the experience?

 

[hwojtek]

is it even worth running Monterey on spinning drive? How is the experience?

Glacial.

 

[OKonnel]

Has anyone used the Monterey patcher on a 2009 or older mac? How about spinning hard drive? Please share your experience with performance.

I have an 2009 iMac 9,1 with 8gb RAM and spinning hard drive stuck on El Capitan 10.11.6. Obviously an SSD will always perform better but is it even worth running Monterey on spinning drive? How is the experience?

Go to —> http://dosdude1.com/catalina/
I use this patcher with Catalina in two MacBook 13-inch unibody 2008/2009 (8 and 16 GB of RAM and a fast SSD instead of the original mechanical HD) and it works fine.
Of course, you always have to read all the instructions and even the existing tips, but with Catalina your old Mac runs smoothly.
After installation, you can refine everything with patches to make OTA updates, to use Safari extensions and to allow some apps to always start on the first try, without crashes.

 

[sinbad21]

Sometimes (not often) I get a silly bug after cold boot. My speakers are not "present" on the top bar and the sound defaults to headphones. There is no option for speakers, it is only headphones, and even if I "kill" the sound and top bar via terminal, I still get headphones as the only option.

A simple reboot fixes that, and all goes back to normal.

Does anyone else face this weird bug...?

I have something similar, actually no icon for sound in the top bar, and no icon for battery.

 

[bmac89]

Go to —> http://dosdude1.com/catalina/
I use this patcher with Catalina in two MacBook 13-inch unibody 2008/2009 (8 and 16 GB of RAM and a fast SSD instead of the original mechanical HD) and it works fine.
Of course, you always have to read all the instructions and even the existing tips, but with Catalina your old Mac runs smoothly.
After installation, you can refine everything with patches to make OTA updates, to use Safari extensions and to allow some apps to always start on the first try, without crashes.

Thanks. I have patched Catalina on 2010 MacBook with an SSD and it runs well although I don’t use it as my main operating system. I think the SSD makes all the difference. Not sure Catalina on 2009 iMac with spinnig hard drive will be much/any better than Monterey but I haven’t tried.

 

[dKupe]

Hey gang-

Holy smokes has Apple quietly pulled Monterey 12.5.1? Check this out. I was in the process of installing OCLP and Monterey onto my Late-2013 iMac 14,2. Here is what I found as I proceeded through to creating a Monterey Installer. I'm running the latest OCLP 0.4.10.

1) Note that there are two occurrences of the latest 12.5.1 (21G83). Not sure why that is, but those are the latest builds as listed here. I choose the first one in this example.

2) Download confirms 12.5.1 (21G83)

3) When the download is complete, note that the Monterey Installer is for v 12.5 (21G82) Yikes! I checked and that is the only occurrence of "Install macOS Monterey" on my computer.

I then repeated steps one to three again using the second occurrence of MacOS 12.5.1 (21G83) and got the same result.

And to make it even stranger, 12.5 (21G82) isn't even an option if you display the full extended list of Installers.

Any ideas what's going on here gang? I'm very reluctant to proceed until I get this figured out. Thanks!

 

[hwojtek]

Check if direct download from Apple (https://swcdn.apple.com/content/dow...6llesta7af6cjvcxlyj8mxvf/InstallAssistant.pkg) gets you 12.5.1 or 12.5. If the latter, it may be they pulled 12.5.1 again, which is a non-issue anyway.

 

[Shadow Demon]

Has anyone used the Monterey patcher on a 2009 or older mac? How about spinning hard drive? Please share your experience with performance.

I have an 2009 iMac 9,1 with 8gb RAM and spinning hard drive stuck on El Capitan 10.11.6. Obviously an SSD will always perform better but is it even worth running Monterey on spinning drive? How is the experience?

With a default install, it is slow especially on boot. However, with SIP disabled, processes can be removed using the launchctl terminal command. I have done this with a Mac Mini 6,1 (Late 2012) with 4MB RAM and 500GB HD. Since it connected to a TV and used as a media server, there is alot of stuff I don't need enabled that is running in the background. It is bit of trial and error along with reading the terminal man pages where available. Spotlight and its associated processes have got to be the first to go. Never disable bluetoothd process even if the hardware isn't present, launchd process will go crazy and eat up your CPU. I took out Notification Center and Control Center with no problem (replaced it with iStat Menus). It works great playing music, looking at photos, playing videos. Safari runs significantly quicker. Boots quick compared to default. After surgery, it is easily as fast as Mojave. If SIP is reenabled, all processes disabled will be enabled again to get back to the default.