macOS 14 Sonoma on Unsupported Macs Thread

[macpro_mid2014]

Hi, I have a 2014 MacBook Pro (MacBookPro11,3) the version with dual graphics (IRIS and NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M), and I want to install macOS Sonoma using OpenCore Legacy Patcher (OCLP). I also want to import my Time Machine backup afterward. What is the best way to install Sonoma and then import the backup?

Previously, I managed to do an over-the-air (OTA) update without having to format my drive, but I can't remember the exact steps I took. If there are issues, can I revert and reinstall Big Sur using my Time Machine backup?

Additionally, does it make sense to do this upgrade on my MacBook Pro 2014?

Thank you very much!

Hi,

First do a Time Machine backup of your Big Sur installation.
Download OCLP 1.5.0 (.pkg) and double click it, so OCLP is installed in your MBP.
Click /Applications/OpenCore-Patcher.app to open it.
Click Build and Install OpenCore on the window that popped up.
I suggest you initially install OCLP on a USB stick, not your main disk.
Reboot your computer with the option key pressed, so you can choose the EFI partition instead of Big Sur
After it loads the EFI (OpenCore), the next screen will show your Big Sur installation (Macintosh HD is the default name for many people). In 5 seconds, it will boot your Big Sur installation.
After Big Sur boots, go to System Settings and check for update.
Sonoma should appear as an option. You can do an OTA installation then.
Ofter the installation completes, you can boot in SafeMode (pressing the shift key) and install root patches through OCLP's Post Install Root Patch
Reboot again and you should have a working Sonoma with all your previous data on it.

It makes all sense. Sonoma runs very smoothly on my machine (11,2).

 

[Sven G]

I use Danish as my language, and the names in Finder are "Skrivebord" (Desktop) and "Dokumenter" (Documents).
The folders you are referring to are may be controlled by settings in the iCloud system. Suggest you check which language is chosen at the bottom of this site: https://appleid.apple.com/account/manage
Mine is Danish.

Thank you. Everything seems to be OK on the main language front: but, in any language I choose to boot into, the Desktop and Documents folders (synced with iCloud) aren’t localised anymore (see image below). Don’t remember when this strange behaviour began; but after experimenting in a fresh macOS Sonoma 14.5 virtual machine, the same happened: so, OCLP isn’t the culprit. Must be something on the iCloud side: but rather difficult to troubleshoot. Maybe it will be corrected with Sonoma 14.6, who knows…

(… Talking about localisations, it’s curious to see that, for example, in German the Library folders are not localised by design and called simply “Library”; while in Italian they should be called Biblioteca (similarly to Bibliotek in Scandinavian languages, Bibliothèque in French or Biblioteca in Spanish), but are instead called “Libreria” (which is a bookshop, not a library). Probably there are also other translation quirks, in other languages.)

… Problem solved (and nothing to do with OCLP):

touch ~/Desktop/.localized

touch ~/Documents/.localized

… force quit and relaunch Finder and Dock, and voilà:

… problem solved (so, maybe, for some strange reason, the localisation info hadn’t been synced across iCloud…?)…!

 

[peppolone]

Hi,

First do a Time Machine backup of your Big Sur installation.
Download OCLP 1.5.0 (.pkg) and double click it, so OCLP is installed in your MBP.
Click /Applications/OpenCore-Patcher.app to open it.
Click Build and Install OpenCore on the window that popped up.
I suggest you initially install OCLP on a USB stick, not your main disk.
Reboot your computer with the option key pressed, so you can choose the EFI partition instead of Big Sur
After it loads the EFI (OpenCore), the next screen will show your Big Sur installation (Macintosh HD is the default name for many people). In 5 seconds, it will boot your Big Sur installation.
After Big Sur boots, go to System Settings and check for update.
Sonoma should appear as an option. You can do an OTA installation then.
Ofter the installation completes, you can boot in SafeMode (pressing the shift key) and install root patches through OCLP's Post Install Root Patch
Reboot again and you should have a working Sonoma with all your previous data on it.

It makes all sense. Sonoma runs very smoothly on my machine (11,2).

Thank you so much! So, I’m making the Time Machine backup just as a precaution, right? That’s great. But is it possible to do everything without a USB stick (I did it before without one)? Right now, I only have one disk available, and I’ve put the backup on it. Your name is a guarantee in my case!

 

[macpro_mid2014]

Thank you so much! So, I’m making the Time Machine backup just as a precaution, right? That’s great. But is it possible to do everything without a USB stick (I did it before without one)? Right now, I only have one disk available, and I’ve put the backup on it. Your name is a guarantee in my case!

Sure, you can install OpenCore on Macintosh HD.
If you decide to roll back to Big Sur later, you will have to reformat Macintosh HD and that would get rid of the OC installed on it.
The Time Machine backup is just to ensure you can go back to your original Big Sur installation if anything goes wrong.

What is the size of your Macintosh HD? If you have enough free space available, you can test drive Sonoma and still keep your old partition intact.

 

[peppolone]

Okay, thank you! I’ll try to install it after the football final. No, I prefer to do it OTA and format the entire disk if needed. it's 500gb with free 330gb

 

[peppolone]

Sure, you can install OpenCore on Macintosh HD.
If you decide to roll back to Big Sur later, you will have to reformat Macintosh HD and that would get rid of the OC installed on it.
The Time Machine backup is just to ensure you can go back to your original Big Sur installation if anything goes wrong.

What is the size of your Macintosh HD? If you have enough free space available, you can test drive Sonoma and still keep your old partition intact.

I had to reboot twice into the EFI to see the OTA updates. The first time, it was just spinning. Now, it’s downloading Sonoma 😁😁😁

 

[peppolone]

Hi,

First do a Time Machine backup of your Big Sur installation.
Download OCLP 1.5.0 (.pkg) and double click it, so OCLP is installed in your MBP.
Click /Applications/OpenCore-Patcher.app to open it.
Click Build and Install OpenCore on the window that popped up.
I suggest you initially install OCLP on a USB stick, not your main disk.
Reboot your computer with the option key pressed, so you can choose the EFI partition instead of Big Sur
After it loads the EFI (OpenCore), the next screen will show your Big Sur installation (Macintosh HD is the default name for many people). In 5 seconds, it will boot your Big Sur installation.
After Big Sur boots, go to System Settings and check for update.
Sonoma should appear as an option. You can do an OTA installation then.
Ofter the installation completes, you can boot in SafeMode (pressing the shift key) and install root patches through OCLP's Post Install Root Patch
Reboot again and you should have a working Sonoma with all your previous data on it.

It makes all sense. Sonoma runs very smoothly on my machine (11,2).

Wow, done! It took me over an hour, and I was afraid something might go wrong, which is why I waited so long to do it. But it was so simple. Thank you so much for the instructions! I used the GUI version, and as mentioned before, I had to reboot twice into the EFI partition to get the Sonoma update available. Upon reboot, even though I pressed shift before applying the patch, I saw Sonoma with very high resolution and tiny characters. After applying the patch, everything went back to normal. Can I now delete OCLP from the desktop? Is there anything I should check to make sure everything is okay? 🥳💪👍

I have a few questions. How do I remove the screen with the disk at boot? If I choose the wallpaper with the hills, is it normal that the animated landscape doesn't appear on the login screen? Why is there an "rm" item among the background login items? If I make a Time Machine backup on Sonoma and then, for some reason, go back to Big Sur, can I import it? Can I keep automatic updates system enabled?

 

[Sven G]

^^^ For the first question, see here:

Post-Installation | OpenCore Legacy Patcher

… that is, deselect the option to show the boot picker and then build and install OpenCore again (and, as you have already root patched the system, the OpenCore-Patcher app should now have been installed in /Library/Application Support/Dortania, with an alias in /Applications, so the one on the desktop can be deleted).

The rm entry in the background login items is simply the built-in /bin/rm command, which seems to be used by the OCLP RSR Monitor feature, whose settings can be found in /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.dortania.opencore-legacy-patcher.rsr-monitor.plist.

 

[macpro_mid2014]

View attachment 2397060

Wow, done! It took me over an hour, and I was afraid something might go wrong, which is why I waited so long to do it. But it was so simple. Thank you so much for the instructions! I used the GUI version, and as mentioned before, I had to reboot twice into the EFI partition to get the Sonoma update available. Upon reboot, even though I pressed shift before applying the patch, I saw Sonoma with very high resolution and tiny characters. After applying the patch, everything went back to normal. Can I now delete OCLP from the desktop? Is there anything I should check to make sure everything is okay? 🥳💪👍

I have a few questions. How do I remove the screen with the disk at boot? If I choose the wallpaper with the hills, is it normal that the animated landscape doesn't appear on the login screen? Why is there an "rm" item among the background login items? If I make a Time Machine backup on Sonoma and then, for some reason, go back to Big Sur, can I import it? Can I keep automatic updates system enabled?

Moreover, in my case MBP11,2 in OCLP before I click Build and Install OpenCore, I have to go to OCLP -> Settings -> Advanced -> FeatureUnlock and set it to Partial, otherwise I had some freezes in some apps such as Safari.
Test drive your installation and if it freezes sometimes (you would have to hard reboot it to recover), try the FeatureUnlock to Partial.
Congrats!

The rm is related to the service installed by OCLP.

 

[peppolone]

Moreover, in my case MBP11,2 in OCLP before I click Build and Install OpenCore, I had to go to OCLP -> Settings -> Advanced -> FeatureUnlock and set it to Partial, otherwise I had some freezes in some apps such as Safari.
Test drive your installation and if it freezes sometimes (you would have to hard reboot it to recover), try the FeatureUnlock to Partial.
Congrats!

The rm is related to the service installed by OCLP.

I'm currently using it, and it's incredibly fast—seems even quicker than Big Sur. I also use Safari and haven’t encountered any issues. In fact, I had a problem on Big Sur recently where images would get corrupted while scrolling on certain sites after the latest updates, even after formatting. So far, I haven’t experienced any freezes. 😃
Maybe I don’t need the partial Feature Unlock because I have an Nvidia card?
Can I keep automatic updates enabled, or do I need to disable them?

 

[peppolone]

^^^ For the first question, see here:

Post-Installation | OpenCore Legacy Patcher

… that is, deselect the option to show the boot picker and then build and install OpenCore again (and, as you have already root patched the system, the OpenCore-Patcher app should now have been installed in /Library/Application Support/Dortania, with an alias in /Applications, so the one on the desktop can be deleted).

The rm entry in the background login items is simply the built-in /bin/rm command, which seems to be used by the OCLP RSR Monitor feature, whose settings can be found in /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.dortania.opencore-legacy-patcher.rsr-monitor.plist.

After building and installing OpenCore again, do I need to repatch?

 

[Sven G]

No, it shouldn’t be necessary, if everything works normally after rebooting: just verify, in the OpenCore-Patcher app, that all applicable root patches are already installed.

 

[Bmld]

Hi, I have a 2014 MacBook Pro (MacBookPro11,3) the version with dual graphics (IRIS and NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M), and I want to install macOS Sonoma using OpenCore Legacy Patcher (OCLP). I also want to import my Time Machine backup afterward. What is the best way to install Sonoma and then import the backup?

Previously, I managed to do an over-the-air (OTA) update without having to format my drive, but I can't remember the exact steps I took. If there are issues, can I revert and reinstall Big Sur using my Time Machine backup?

Additionally, does it make sense to do this upgrade on my MacBook Pro 2014?

Thank you very much!

Hello

read this post if you want to test Sonoma and keep Big Sur :https://forums.macrumors.com/thread....2391630/page-177?post=32812869#post-32812869

 

[Bmld]

Hello,

Since Ventura the fonction to schedule switch off / on has disappeared. You can add this function with my free software : http://bmaillard.free.fr/programmer/

 

[macpro_mid2014]

I'm currently using it, and it's incredibly fast—seems even quicker than Big Sur. I also use Safari and haven’t encountered any issues. In fact, I had a problem on Big Sur recently where images would get corrupted while scrolling on certain sites after the latest updates, even after formatting. So far, I haven’t experienced any freezes. 😃
Maybe I don’t need the partial Feature Unlock because I have an Nvidia card?
Can I keep automatic updates enabled, or do I need to disable them?

This is what I have:

 

[houser]

This is what I have:

It might be sensible and prudent to disable "install Security Response files.." even though there has been very few so far. Last time I checked OCLP had issues with those for obvious reasons. FWIW YMMV

 

[macpro_mid2014]

It might be sensible and prudent to disable "install Security Response files.." even though there has been very few so far. Last time I checked OCLP had issues with those for obvious reasons. FWIW YMMV

Yes, it is prudent indeed!

I keep it on because Apple seems to have abandoned the RSR. But living it off is a cautious mesure for sure.

Also, it allows for the XProtect/XProtect Remediator to be updated promptly.

 

[houser]

Yes, it is prudent indeed!

I keep it on because Apple seems to have abandoned the RSR. But living it off is a cautious mesure for sure.

Also, it allows for the XProtect/XProtect Remediator to be updated promptly.

Yes Apple appears to have abandoned RSR, at least for now. However some people here on the forum ended up with broken installs when this was left on and it attempted to install an RSR so I use Silent Knight manually for the XProtect updates for now which appears to work well. FWIW.

 

[cab_007]

14.6 b4 (23G5075b) is out, installed on my 10,1 mbpr and so far no issues post OCLP root patching.

 

[macpro_mid2014]

14.6 b4 (23G5075b) is out, installed on my 10,1 mbpr and so far no issues post OCLP root patching.

Since no new features are expected in Sonoma anymore, therefore no surprises, I decided to move to the developer betas since Sonoma 14.6b1.
Running Sonoma 14.6b4 and Safari 18 beta without any issues on my MBP11,2...
OCLP 1.5.0 rocks!

 

[PropClear]

If you need KDK installed (only if KDK is needed) rename your current KDK to KDK_14.6_23G5075b.kdk and KDK_14.6_23G5075b.pkg to still avoid the wrong download and repatch after b4 install.

 

[MacRumors3590]

I could use a little help:
Installed Beta3 14.6 with no issues when patching with 1.6n.
Updated to 14.6 Beta4 and it fails to patch.
Nete:
Subprocess failed.
Command: ['/Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/com.dortania.opencore-legacy-patcher.privileged-helper', '/usr/bin/kmutil', 'create', '--volume-root', '/System/Volumes/Update/mnt1', '--update-all', '--variant-suffix', 'release', '--allow-missing-kdk']
Return Code: 31
Standard Output:
Error Domain=KMErrorDomain Code=31 "Error occurred while building a collection:
1: One or more binaries has an error which prevented linking. See other errors.
2: Could not use 'com.apple.driver.usb.cdc' because: Malformed vtable. Super class '__ZTV27AppleUSBHostCompositeDevice' has 289 entries vs subclass '__ZTV26AppleUSBCDCCompositeDevice' with 268 entries
com.apple.driver.usb.cdc specific:
1: Malformed vtable. Super class '__ZTV27AppleUSBHostCompositeDevice' has 289 entries vs subclass '__ZTV26AppleUSBCDCCompositeDevice' with 268 entries
" UserInfo={NSLocalizedDescription=Error occurred while building a collection:
1: One or more binaries has an error which prevented linking. See other errors.
2: Could not use 'com.apple.driver.usb.cdc' because: Malformed vtable. Super class '__ZTV27AppleUSBHostCompositeDevice' has 289 entries vs subclass '__ZTV26AppleUSBCDCCompositeDevice' with 268 entries
com.apple.driver.usb.cdc specific:
1: Malformed vtable. Super class '__ZTV27AppleUSBHostCompositeDevice' has 289 entries vs subclass '__ZTV26AppleUSBCDCCompositeDevice' with 268 entries
}
checking collections...
Warning: com.apple.driver.KextExcludeList was not found!
updated kernel binaries (Mach-O UUID changed from <unknown> to <unknown>)
rebuilding release collections:
boot kernel collection
system kext collection
failed to build release collection:
One or more binaries has an error which prevented linking. See other errors.
Could not use 'com.apple.driver.usb.cdc' because: Malformed vtable. Super class '__ZTV27AppleUSBHostCompositeDevice' has 289 entries vs subclass '__ZTV26AppleUSBCDCCompositeDevice' with 268 entries
com.apple.driver.usb.cdc:
Malformed vtable. Super class '__ZTV27AppleUSBHostCompositeDevice' has 289 entries vs subclass '__ZTV26AppleUSBCDCCompositeDevice' with 268 entries
Standard Error:
None



Please reboot the machine to avoid potential issues rerunning the patcher

Thanks!

 

[MacRumors3590]

If you need KDK installed (only if KDK is needed) rename your current KDK to KDK_14.6_23G5075b.kdk and KDK_14.6_23G5075b.pkg to still avoid the wrong download and repatch after b4 install.

I did this and it still fails to patch for me...
By the way 14.6B3 patches fine.
See my post

 

[MacRumors3590]

I could use a little help:
Installed Beta3 14.6 with no issues when patching with 1.6n.
Updated to 14.6 Beta4 and it fails to patch.
Nete:
Subprocess failed.
Command: ['/Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/com.dortania.opencore-legacy-patcher.privileged-helper', '/usr/bin/kmutil', 'create', '--volume-root', '/System/Volumes/Update/mnt1', '--update-all', '--variant-suffix', 'release', '--allow-missing-kdk']
Return Code: 31
Standard Output:
Error Domain=KMErrorDomain Code=31 "Error occurred while building a collection:
1: One or more binaries has an error which prevented linking. See other errors.
2: Could not use 'com.apple.driver.usb.cdc' because: Malformed vtable. Super class '__ZTV27AppleUSBHostCompositeDevice' has 289 entries vs subclass '__ZTV26AppleUSBCDCCompositeDevice' with 268 entries
com.apple.driver.usb.cdc specific:
1: Malformed vtable. Super class '__ZTV27AppleUSBHostCompositeDevice' has 289 entries vs subclass '__ZTV26AppleUSBCDCCompositeDevice' with 268 entries
" UserInfo={NSLocalizedDescription=Error occurred while building a collection:
1: One or more binaries has an error which prevented linking. See other errors.
2: Could not use 'com.apple.driver.usb.cdc' because: Malformed vtable. Super class '__ZTV27AppleUSBHostCompositeDevice' has 289 entries vs subclass '__ZTV26AppleUSBCDCCompositeDevice' with 268 entries
com.apple.driver.usb.cdc specific:
1: Malformed vtable. Super class '__ZTV27AppleUSBHostCompositeDevice' has 289 entries vs subclass '__ZTV26AppleUSBCDCCompositeDevice' with 268 entries
}
checking collections...
Warning: com.apple.driver.KextExcludeList was not found!
updated kernel binaries (Mach-O UUID changed from <unknown> to <unknown>)
rebuilding release collections:
boot kernel collection
system kext collection
failed to build release collection:
One or more binaries has an error which prevented linking. See other errors.
Could not use 'com.apple.driver.usb.cdc' because: Malformed vtable. Super class '__ZTV27AppleUSBHostCompositeDevice' has 289 entries vs subclass '__ZTV26AppleUSBCDCCompositeDevice' with 268 entries
com.apple.driver.usb.cdc:
Malformed vtable. Super class '__ZTV27AppleUSBHostCompositeDevice' has 289 entries vs subclass '__ZTV26AppleUSBCDCCompositeDevice' with 268 entries
Standard Error:
None



Please reboot the machine to avoid potential issues rerunning the patcher

Thanks!

UPDATE:
Went back to 14.6 B3 and all is fine.

 

[StefanAM]

I did this and it still fails to patch for me...
By the way 14.6B3 patches fine.
See my post

1. Download Kernel_Debug_Kit_14.6_build_23G5066c.dmg.
2. Delete all in /Library/Developer/KDK's.
3. Install Kernel_Debug_Kit_14.6_build_23G5066c.dmg.
4. Rename inside /Library/Developer/KDK's, KDK_14.6_23G5066c.kdk to KDK_14.6_23G5075b.kdk.
5. Apply OCLP.
6. You're done!