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MP 1,1-5,1 MacPro5,1: BootROM thread | 144.0.0.0.0

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The first post of this thread is a WikiPost and can be edited by anyone with the appropiate permissions. Your edits will be public.
handheldgames said:
1. I would not loose the boot manager if I update to the 138 version, right? YES
2. Because I want to stay on 10.13 for now how do I make sure, I can boot from my NVMe SSD? YES
3. A few people said, NVMe needs to get injected under 10.13, but I am already there, so nothing to do there? For boot support, it needs to be added to Firmware
4. Do I even really "need" to update the Firmware at the moment? It's advisable. It fixes microcode and 5.0GT/s on PCIe slots
5. Is there a real advantage for me? (my tasks are Adobe CC/photo editing, a bit FCPX and video decoding with Handbreak). Probably
Click to expand...

And how do I add it to the firmware, if I only have a NVMe drive available from which I am booting and working?
Do I need another drive, booting from there, install the firmware update, quit the installer, inject again the nvme files and boot back into the ssd?
 
misanthrophy said:
And how do I add it to the firmware, if I only have a NVMe drive available from which I am booting and working?
Do I need another drive, booting from there, install the firmware update, quit the installer, inject again the nvme files and boot back into the ssd?
Click to expand...

Yes, you will need some type of secondary boot device. SSD or HDD that you can upgrade the firmware to support NVMe .
 
Ok so there is some fascinating stuff going on here you guys are geniuses! So forgive me if any of those sounds retarded.

Should I just run the firmware update from the latest Mojave Beta?
I have a 2009 4,1>5,1 that is Running HighSierra great! I do have NVMe Samsung 960 500GB but Was able to boot because I married it with a HDD as a Fusion drive. It runs great! and connect at 5GT

The Problem is I have a ASUS RX 480 4GB installed with is working but only at 2.5GT and I have not Audio even though I have the HDMI audio Kext installed. is it safe to let Mojave update the Firmware? and will that fix my Speed/HDMI audio issues?

I'm fine with the fusion drive thing. it is Uber fast and I don't have to deal with hacked firmware. Just want to get the video card Speed up and the HDMI Audio working. I have a Reference RX 580 8GB coming next week I would like to get this sorted before it gets here. I assume that fixing it with the 480 with also work for the 580 when it arrives.


2009 Mac Pro 4,1>5,1
High Sierra 10.13.6
BR: MP51.0089.B00
SMC: 1.39f5
 
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misanthrophy said:
And how do I add it to the firmware, if I only have a NVMe drive available from which I am booting and working?
Do I need another drive, booting from there, install the firmware update, quit the installer, inject again the nvme files and boot back into the ssd?
Click to expand...

You can do this with only a NVMe drive, with some initial trouble. It's the process I use to reconstruct the BootROMs for everyone.

  1. Dump your BootROM with ROMTool
  2. Extract the NVRAM volume with UEFITool from your BootROM and the Apple new one.
  3. Extract the LBSN_BD sector from the old one
  4. Open the old and new NVRAM volumes with a hex editor, select the Base_XX/ssn/hwc/son block from the old and overwrite the new NVRAM with that. Save the new. You created a base NVRAM volume to use with every new Apple BootROM.
  5. Open the new BootROM with UEFITool, replace the NVRAM volume with your populated one. Replace the LBSN_BD sector too. Save the reconstructed new BootROM.
  6. Inject the NVMe DXE to the reconstructed BootROM
  7. Use ROMTool to flash the new reconstructed BootROM

With the populated NVRAM volume and the LBSN_BD sector, you can reconstruct every past or future LOCKED.fd file from Apple.

I'm gonna detail this process soon, I already wrote most of it, but some things need to be streamlined. I'll will do a video to help too.
 
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So does anyone know? Will letting the Mojave Beta upgrade my firmware fix my issue? has anyone had access with this on 4,1>5,1 macPro?
 
calmasacow said:
Ok so there is some fascinating stuff going on here you guys are geniuses! So forgive me if any of those sounds retarded.

Should I just run the firmware update from the latest Mojave Beta?
I have a 2009 4,1>5,1 that is Running HighSierra great! I do have NVMe Samsung 960 500GB but Was able to boot because I married it with a HDD as a Fusion drive. It runs great! and connect at 5GT

The Problem is I have a ASUS RX 480 4GB installed with is working but only at 2.5GT and I have not Audio even though I have the HDMI audio Kext installed. is it safe to let Mojave update the Firmware? and will that fix my Speed/HDMI audio issues?

I'm fine with the fusion drive thing. it is Uber fast and I don't have to deal with hacked firmware. Just want to get the video card Speed up and the HDMI Audio working. I have a Reference RX 580 8GB coming next week I would like to get this sorted before it gets here. I assume that fixing it with the 480 with also work for the 580 when it arrives.


2009 Mac Pro 4,1>5,1
High Sierra 10.13.6
BR: MP51.0089.B00
SMC: 1.39f5
Click to expand...

I never updated with a Fusion drive before, but if you upgraded to MP51.0089.B00 with your combo, the process will be exactly the same. Download the latest Mojave Public Beta and upgrade to 138.0.0.0.0.

One last thing: Apple Mojave installer rejected installing with some RX480, @handheldgames one.
 
tsialex said:
I never updated with a Fusion drive before, but if you upgraded to MP51.0089.B00 with your combo, the process will be exactly the same. Download the latest Mojave Public Beta and upgrade to 138.0.0.0.0.

One last thing: Apple Mojave installer rejected installing with some RX480, @handheldgames one.
Click to expand...
I have a Apple Nvidia Quadro 4000 I install during that process as well as I keep only the original 640GB drive installed


that should work right?
 
calmasacow said:
I have a Apple Nvidia Quadro 4000 I install during that process as well as I keep only the original 640GB drive installed


that should work right?
Click to expand...
If it's a Metal one (Kepler Quadro 4000 and not a Fermi Quadro 4000). Check for Metal Support (System Information > Graphic/Displays > Metal).

If it's a Fermi one, and you really want to do this before the RX 580 arriving, dump your BootROM and I'll reconstruct the 138.0.0.0.0 BootROM for your Mac Pro and you can flash it with ROMTool.
 
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Only today I had time to read the latest Mojave Release Notes, Apple still warns that you have to upgrade to 10.13.6 before installing Mojave, that started with DP5.

Notes and Known Issues

General

Known Issues

• Mac Pro (mid 2010 and mid 2012 models) must first be updated to macOS High Sierra 10.13.6 before updating to macOS Mojave. (41798700)
Click to expand...

Maybe Apple wants your Mac Pro to be on MP51.0089.B00 before upgrading to 138.0.0.0.0? Or maybe some problem upgrading earlier macOS releases?
 
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tsialex said:
Maybe Apple wants your Mac Pro to be on MP51.0089.B00 before upgrading to 138.0.0.0.0? Or maybe some problem upgrading earlier macOS releases?
Click to expand...

Considering that Apple removed MicroCodes from one bootrom upgrade .. only the bug reports filed by the "you know who " members here got their attention .. . I would surmise that you are correct !

Personally, I'm going to stay on '89 bootrom until Mojave goes GM .. the long haul to 10.13.6 tired me out.

Now, compared to three years ago .. I have USB 3.1 with no sleep issues + I can boot High Sierra from an M.2 PCIe blade + I can finally stop using SATA II. + I have 7 EFI flashed/ 5.0 GT/s

I call that a big, huge, cMP life extending win . . . that we ( the Mac Pro users group ) won for everyone.

Apple so easily could have just given the above ( plus SATA III ) to us to us with a snap of their fingers .. anytime from 2009 but they in their wisdom chose not to.
 
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MIKX said:
Apple so easily could have just given the above to us to us with a snap of their fingers .. anytime from 2009 but they in their wisdom chose not to.
Click to expand...

Yep, they could did all of that years ago, but that would have killed the trashcan even more than the stupid self-imposed thermal corner…

MP5,1 is still alive only because Apple has no ****ing alternative.
 
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Tim Cook obviously seems to want all of us to go iCloud, Mac Book Pro USB C . etc.

It' s obviously aimed at having us get into the " 3 year upgrade to stay cool " mode.

He just doesn't see that the ( example ) 2009 ~ 2010 cMPs allowed their treasured "Pro Users " to enjoy Apple only software PLUS have the ability to easily upgrade to PCIe SATA II + USB 3.1 PCIe + NVMe sata or M.2 . . etc.

( In actual fact we no longer need depend on internal ( hot ) SATA II spinner HDDs. External USB 3.1 -single, dual, quad drive slot docks can easily handle those thus removing heat sources and increasing airflow inside the cMP case . . .thus further extending our cMP's lives, speed, effectiveness & usability.)

Probably the 2012 cMPs will be the absolute last viable for mac OS 10.15.x. . then we may well have to ask Dosdude1 to help up fake our SysInfo hardware info :p
 
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The Spirit said:
i am allready on DP8.
can i only update the firmware somehow or do i need a complete install of DP7?
Thanks
Click to expand...
You need to download the full installer for any newer version than DP7/PB6 and run it to upgrade the firmware.
 
tsialex said:
You need to download the full installer for any newer version than DP7/PB6 and run it to upgrade the firmware.
Click to expand...
so will i do a complete install or only a firmware update?
just using the installinstalmacos.py
will this work, because this will donwload dp7.
Thanks a lot, still new to this firmware thing.
 
The Spirit said:
so will i do a complete install or only a firmware update?
just using the installinstalmacos.py
Click to expand...
Just open the installer, it will ask to upgrade your firmware.

Yes, you can use installinstallmacos.py to download Mojave DP9.
 
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tsialex said:
Could you please post pictures of the connectors on your board. I'd like to see it.
[doublepost=1535669640][/doublepost]
Read the @handheldgames GoogleDocs https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WNkM9LuGPq1sArO9EedWBHYq14NU7m-mDBLAWWJipyM/edit?usp=sharing
Click to expand...

Hello tsialex

I am running rom 089 on three Mac Pro’s, 4,1 to 5,1, and two 5,1. All three are injected with the NVMe driver and are booting High Sierra on Lycom DT-120, Samsung M.2. If I update to the 138 rom, I can follow handheldgames GoogleDocs and inject my NVMe driver I used to inject my 089 rom into my 138 rom and flash back with the ROMTool? Thanks for you help.
 
macguru8 said:
Hello tsialex

I am running rom 089 on three Mac Pro’s, 4,1 to 5,1, and two 5,1. All three are injected with the NVMe driver and are booting High Sierra on Lycom DT-120, Samsung M.2. If I update to the 138 rom, I can follow handheldgames GoogleDocs and inject my NVMe driver I used to inject my 089 rom into my 138 rom and flash back with the ROMTool? Thanks for you help.
Click to expand...

Yes, you can do that. But if you had any trouble with iCloud/iMessage/FaceTime or strange boot delays, do not do it. Compress your dump and PM me it, I'll check if you have any corruption in the firmware.

I checked 26 BootROM dumps so far, 11 of them had problems.
 
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tsialex said:
Just open the installer, it will ask to upgrade your firmware.

Yes, you can use installinstallmacos.py to download Mojave DP9.
Click to expand...

got this error in terminal:

curl: (56) Recv failure: Connection reset by peer

Could not replicate http://swcdn.apple.com/content/down...webck7tx90cmpuso3fu9e5b/RecoveryHDMetaDmg.pkg: Command '['/usr/bin/curl', '-fL', '--create-dirs', '-o', './content/downloads/41/02/041-01261/ob0saka8hntwebck7tx90cmpuso3fu9e5b/RecoveryHDMetaDmg.pkg', 'http://swcdn.apple.com/content/down...webck7tx90cmpuso3fu9e5b/RecoveryHDMetaDmg.pkg']' returned non-zero exit status 56
 
The Spirit said:
got this error in terminal:

curl: (56) Recv failure: Connection reset by peer

Could not replicate http://swcdn.apple.com/content/down...webck7tx90cmpuso3fu9e5b/RecoveryHDMetaDmg.pkg: Command '['/usr/bin/curl', '-fL', '--create-dirs', '-o', './content/downloads/41/02/041-01261/ob0saka8hntwebck7tx90cmpuso3fu9e5b/RecoveryHDMetaDmg.pkg', 'http://swcdn.apple.com/content/down...webck7tx90cmpuso3fu9e5b/RecoveryHDMetaDmg.pkg']' returned non-zero exit status 56
Click to expand...

I've erased my cached RecoveryHDMetaDMG.pkg to check and It's working here:

Screen Shot 2018-09-01 at 14.03.07.png Screen Shot 2018-09-01 at 14.06.46.png
 
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