macOS High Sierra (10.13) Unsupported Macs Thread

[Intell]

Take for example my MacBookPro5,5. The last macOS version it ran prior to my installing 10.12 using @dosdude1's tool was 10.9.5. It has never seen or had installed 10.10 or 10.11. And, if my recollection is correct, not only does @dosdude1's tool fool the updater into thinking it is OK to install onto a macbookpro5,5, it is unlikely that the 10.12 and 10.13 updaters include any necessary firmware updates for the hardware embedded in my Mac! That means that –IF– 10.10 or 10.11 did include firmware updates applicable to my hardware, my Mac isn't running those firmware versions. I'm guessing—just on my own humble experience with several hundred installed Macs (mine, friends', clients' for which I am responsible)—given how not-so-great 10.10 and 10.11 were UX-wise, that this is probably a likely scenario for a LOT of users running unsupported Macs. My standing advice to my clients has been to avoid 10.10 and 10.11, and many are still on 10.9.5… some are getting Sierra and High Sierra now, but usually (thanks to the unrelenting passage of time and Apple's slow bug-fixing AND slow new-model-release schedule) by new hardware rather than upgrading.

Which has left me wondering… should I maybe take a spare hard drive and some spare time and install 10.10 and then 10.11 just to grab any/all firmware updates those OSes have to offer? Should this perhaps be a "one more thing!" troubleshooting step for some of the users on these forums who have been reporting weirdities like keyboard and display backlighting problems that have no clear cause? (Might could just install 10.11, I'm guessing firmware updates are
encompassing, not "combos"; which would save the time. Also, I'm guessing most firmware updaters would update but not downgrade firmware; so once a Mac has been "touched" by 10.11, even going back to 10.9.5 wouldn't see the various firmwares go back to previous versions… which could lead to odd backwards-compatibility issues as well.)

Thoughts?

Additionally, going back to my thought of a site where all of the various firmware/updater version information would/could/should be compiled… does anyone have thoughts about what the best way would be to GET that information? Is there a command-line tool that spits all that out?

Advising your clients to stay on a lower, no fully unsupported, OS is very bad advice. You risk exposing them to security flaws. Furthermore, not running the latest firmware is a very bad practice and you should revisit the advice to give to people that pay you to keep their machines and networks secure. Apple's current security methodology is only the latest version is the most secure. This means that even 10.12 and 10.11 are still getting updates, they are not getting all of the updates that 10.13 is. 10.11 is still getting firmware updates and they are applied with the latest security updates. There is a cumulative EFI firmware pkg with the security and OS installer packages that update the firmware to the latest version. There already exists a well vetted and nicely filled out list of Macs and what the latest firmware version is and should be.

 

[coasterOneEightThree]

Mac Pro 3.1 with Radeon HD 5770 (two displays connected). Updated from Sierra to 10.13.2 without problems. But there's one minor issue: A black screen on wake. Worked on Sierra, but now it doesn't. Only power off/on solves this.

An SMC reset also didn't help.

Any hints? Thanks in advance ...

 

[mnsiw]

Follow the instructions below for modifying the update so it can be installed on an unsupported machines.
The instructions below mention the 10.3.1 update but just substitute the 10.13.2 Combo update for it.

Thanks Caputo, I'm going to try this.

 

[bopajuice]

Advising your clients to stay on a lower, no fully unsupported, OS is very bad advice. You risk exposing them to security flaws. Furthermore, not running the latest firmware is a very bad practice and you should revisit the advice to give to people that pay you to keep their machines and networks secure. Apple's current security methodology is only the latest version is the most secure. This means that even 10.12 and 10.11 are still getting updates, they are not getting all of the updates that 10.13 is. 10.11 is still getting firmware updates and they are applied with the latest security updates. There is a cumulative EFI firmware pkg with the security and OS installer packages that update the firmware to the latest version. There already exists a well vetted and nicely filled out list of Macs and what the latest firmware version is and should be.

So does this mean that older Macs that do not support the latest and (not so greatest OS) are not secure?

Very frustrating when an older OS runs better than the latest one.

 

[slooksterPSV]

Ok reinstalled we’re good for now. I think that my system had some corrupt PRAM values. Either way I’m running the latest update thanks to dosdude1 and OnyX and curl

 

[adamcarts]

I had to contact dosdude1 to revert my Macbook Pro Mid 2009 back to El Capitan as it had become painfully slow on High Sierra. Sometimes with a 20 minute boot time and apps would take minutes to open. I reinstalled El Capitan and it was flying again. Unfortunately I couldn't open my photo's in the Photos app due to the library being updated for High Sierra. So I had another go at reinstalling High Sierra. This time a fresh install, which I didn't do first time around. I would like to report that everything is now zipping along on High Sierra. With all the updates applied I had to use OnyX automation. I have no idea what the original problem was but it is almost like having a new computer again. Thank you very much to dosdude1 for all your help and assistance.

 

[galoot]

I'm about to pull the trigger and update my MacbookPro5,2 (17 inch, mid 2009). The only concern I have is permanently disabling SIP. Is that a major security hole?

 

[Sedulous]

Updated to 10.13.2 today on the Macbookpro 5,2. Works great. Computer even wakes up now without any issues and brightness works right off the bat. I manually updated though and ran the post installer again for good measure. The only thing I can figure with the issues I was having in 10.13.1 is either they were specifically related to that version and the update fixed it or it didn't play well with the post installer for whatever reason. It also could have been updating through the app store instead of doing it from scratch which I think I might just take the time to do in the future to make sure there aren't any mishaps. At any rate very happy! Thanks for the help guys.
[doublepost=1513206397][/doublepost]

Same here. I don't think its supposed to do that but as long as it runs like it should beyond that point I'm a happy guy.

I think I solved double boot issue. At some point I tried the new APFS... didn't feel it was worth trouble and went back to AFS. Even though I erased disk, the EFI partition that supported the APFS was still there. And that seems to be the cause. After removing ALL the partitions (I used the DISKPART tool in Windows) and reinstalling patched OS 10.13.2, double boot is gone along with recurring issue I had with weird script running and failing at boot). Hope that helps.

 

[bmcdannald]

Mac Pro 3.1 with Radeon HD 5770 (two displays connected). Updated from Sierra to 10.13.2 without problems. But there's one minor issue: A black screen on wake. Worked on Sierra, but now it doesn't. Only power off/on solves this.

An SMC reset also didn't help.

Any hints? Thanks in advance ...

I have the same problem. Everything was fine under Sierra, and everything was even fine under 10.13.1. Version 10.13.2 must have introduced something new. I even tried doing a clean install restoring apps only, and it still does the same thing. This is making me consider going back to Sierra.

 

[galoot]

I'm about to pull the trigger and update my MacbookPro5,2 (17 inch, mid 2009). The only concern I have is permanently disabling SIP. Is that a major security hole?

The upgrade seems to have gone well. After booting from the USB drive and upgrading, my laptop rebooted and displayed a circle with a line through it. I rebooted to the USB drive, applied the default patches, and then the laptop booted into High Sierra. Another patch update appeared, which I accepted and rebooted again. Since then I've updated a half dozen apps through the App Store and everything seems to be working fine so far.

I'm still a bit concerned about lack of SIP, but at least the application I needed High Sierra for works.

 

[Intell]

So does this mean that older Macs that do not support the latest and (not so greatest OS) are not secure?

Very frustrating when an older OS runs better than the latest one.

Yes, if it isn't running the latest version of macOS, 10.13.2 as of this post, it is insecure. If it isn't running a fully patched 10.11.6, it is extremely insecure and should not be used for anything at all.

 

[slooksterPSV]

...
I'm still a bit concerned about lack of SIP, but at least the application I needed High Sierra for works.

SIP is a protection feature that is important but keeping your system patched and installing trusted software will be your best defense. Using appropriate anti malware tools help too. I went through the same process for the 5th time but... my Mac’s not supported so oh well beggars can’t be choosers.

 

[NazgulRR]

Would this work on a 2009 mac mini with a DIY fusion drive? I.e. can you upgrade it to High Sierra whilst keeping the DIY Fusion drive in place and on HFS+?

 

[harlleysathler]

Would this work on a 2009 mac mini with a DIY fusion drive? I.e. can you upgrade it to High Sierra whilst keeping the DIY Fusion drive in place and on HFS+?

I didn't test with a DIY Fusion Drive (I used to use Sierra on one), but I'm typing this on a 2009 Mac mini running High Sierra (10.13.2). The installation was smooth as the computer daily use.

 

[Surgeon One]

Just download the Onyx application, use it to run its Automation script. That will fix the issue.

First off, let me applaud your efforts--thanks for the patcher and all of your hard work which resulted in the same....

Right now, I'm having a difficult time with the 10.13.2 update...I let the apple store install the 10.13.2 update and all hell broke loose...I get a grey screen with a grey box in the center with multiple languages telling me that something caused the start up to fail and it will reboot in a few seconds or press any key to reboot?! Then is just continues as the same until I turn off the computer.

I downloaded and applied your high sierra installation patch to the installation package for the native installer from the macOS High Sierra 10.13.2(17C88).dmg....reset PRAM...Used terminal to disable SIP...all to no avail.

Any suggestions or help would be appreciated. I have a MacPower Book 5.3 mid/late 2009...nothing has really changed...I ended up reinstalling 10.13.1 from a patched USB installer using your patcher and all seems to work, again. But still a no go with 10.13.2...

Please advise.

 

[ribero]

Hi All !

I'm successfully using the HS Patch on my MacPro 3,1 booting it on the internal SSD formatted APFS with Fire Vault enabled. So far so good.

What I miss a lot is a way to start the Mac on "recovery mode" (to restore a local APFS snapshot using TimeMachine for example).

I know that it's impossible to boot in recovery mode using AFPS. Instead I boot on the HighSierra Patch USB Drive but it's an install disk not a recovery disk and it misses the "Restore using time machine" menu entry whitch should launch a wizard to select a TimeMachine source (server, external drive, local APFS drive).

So my question is : is there a way to add this option in the menu of the patched HS install disk ?
Or may be some command line to restore a specific snapshot when booting using the USB High Sierra Patch installer ?

I also tried to build a recovery disk using "Recovery HD Partition" tool (from https://www.hackintosh-montreal.com/t6645-macos-high-sierra-recovery-hd-partition-usb-installer) but the generated disk only works for booting supported Mac...

Well I'm stuck with no solution to restart the Mac on way it allows me to do some TimeMachine restoration.

Any suggestion ?

Thanks !

 

[Sedulous]

First off, let me applaud your efforts--thanks for the patcher and all of your hard work which resulted in the same....

Right now, I'm having a difficult time with the 10.13.2 update...I let the apple store install the 10.13.2 update and all hell broke loose...I get a grey screen with a grey box in the center with multiple languages telling me that something caused the start up to fail and it will reboot in a few seconds or press any key to reboot?! Then is just continues as the same until I turn off the computer.

I downloaded and applied your high sierra installation patch to the installation package for the native installer from the macOS High Sierra 10.13.2(17C88).dmg....reset PRAM...Used terminal to disable SIP...all to no avail.

Any suggestions or help would be appreciated. I have a MacPower Book 5.3 mid/late 2009...nothing has really changed...I ended up reinstalling 10.13.1 from a patched USB installer using your patcher and all seems to work, again. But still a no go with 10.13.2...

Please advise.

You are seeing a kernel panic. Maybe others have solution. Can you boot to recovery volume?

 

[coasterOneEightThree]

I have the same problem. Everything was fine under Sierra, and everything was even fine under 10.13.1. Version 10.13.2 must have introduced something new. I even tried doing a clean install restoring apps only, and it still does the same thing. This is making me consider going back to Sierra.

Thanks for the confirmation, bmcdannald. There's another weird thing I've discovered. If I want to preview larger image files via space bar, parts of previewed images are covered by a big colored area (green, blue or red), also in preview fullscreen mode.

I've read somewhere that these two issues also happen with supported Macs, so maybe they might just be bugs which hopefully will be fixed in 10.13.3 ...

 

[Dr.Bleed]

I think I solved double boot issue. At some point I tried the new APFS... didn't feel it was worth trouble and went back to AFS. Even though I erased disk, the EFI partition that supported the APFS was still there. And that seems to be the cause. After removing ALL the partitions (I used the DISKPART tool in Windows) and reinstalling patched OS 10.13.2, double boot is gone along with recurring issue I had with weird script running and failing at boot). Hope that helps.

That helps a lot actually. Seemed like if I let my computer sit any period of time and it shut off it would get to the Apple logo and then shut off. I'd have to do a PRAM reset and then run the post installer to turn off SIP. Kind of a PITA. I'll try this when I get home this evening.

 

[olad]

Every time a beta update comes, and it installs successfully on the 17", MBP4,1, I (silently) thank those who have made it possible for the laptop to continue to use the latest (and best?!). 17D25b just installed without a hitch. Thank you guys on this forum, especially @dosdude1.

 

[yusford]

I'm in an MP 3.1, all good and super fast, test installation in an external hard drive usb. Apogee audio interface ensemble ok, the volume slider on the desktop does not work, change volume through the apogee software. my video card is a gtx 680 mac edition, 3 screens working ok hdmi ok , but I do not understand why I can not install the nvidia drivers, at the moment the generic drivers work well., any solution for the volume slider or teak increase cards? volume on the keyboard? the next test is in raid sdd software of the internal bays

 

[pietrogregorini]

With 10.13.2 I got the same GPU issue that some people experienced before on past updates (MBP 5,3 Mid 2009). Isn't that weird that I never experienced this bug before till 10.13.1? WTF.

 

[Surgeon One]

You are seeing a kernel panic. Maybe others have solution. Can you boot to recovery volume?

Thanks for the inquiry. No, no panic kernel and no I can't boot from the disk recovery, BUT, I can boot to the USB installer...

I get this problem whether I let the Apple Store update to 10.13.2 or whether I use the native install disk version...

Never had this problem with any of the other Sierra or High Sierra updates...so I am stuck at 10.13.1...

~Eric

 

[Sedulous]

Thanks for the inquiry. No, no panic kernel and no I can't boot from the disk recovery, BUT, I can boot to the USB installer...

I get this problem whether I let the Apple Store update to 10.13.2 or whether I use the native install disk version...

Never had this problem with any of the other Sierra or High Sierra updates...so I am stuck at 10.13.1...

~Eric

Does it also kernel panic when attempting to boot to recovery or do you get the “prohibited” symbol? If you are getting prohibited symbol, that just means your recovery partition was un-patched when you ran the post-install tool. You can boot with your patched USB 10.13.x drive and rerun the post install tool... but this time be sure to select the patch recovery partition option. After that, you should be able to boot to recovery drive. Not sure what best way forward would be but if you can boot to recovery drive then issue is limited to software.

 

[mrploppy]

Just noticed that when I restart my MacBook Pro 5,1 running 10.3.2 that it chimes twice - not together, but some seconds apart. Anybody know what this means and is it OK?