MP 1,1-5,1 MacPro5,1: What you have to do to upgrade to Mojave (10.13/10.14 BootROM upgrades instructions thread)

[macjunkie2013]

Whoo hoo!

Updated my Mid2010 (modelID MacPro5,1) from Sierra (10.12.6) to High Sierra (10.13.6) to Mojave (10.14.1)

Before I started the upgrade I removed the MSI RX 580 and replaced it w the original ATI Radeon 5770. During the swap I pushed the SMC reset button.

The System specs at the time I started the upgrade to High Sierra:
Mid 2010 Mac Pro 5.1 Dual 3.46 X5690 64GB Ram Boot ROM Version: MP51.007F.B03
Slot 1 (Apple ATI Radeon 5770 1 GB ZML MC742ZM/A) Connected via DVI-D to Dell UltraSharp U2412M and a Wacom Cintiq 22HD via HDMI
Slot 2 OWC Accelsior S w 1 TB WD Blue Boot Drive, w 10.12.6 installed. (OWC Accelsior S PCIe) + (WD Blue 1TB Internal SSD Solid State Drive - SATA)
Slot 3 Ableconn PU31-1A1C USB 3.1 Gen 2 w USB C (Ableconn PU31-1A1C USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) Type-C)

STEP #1 I downloaded the Full High Sierra Installer (5.24GB) and the Mojave Installer (6.01GB)
STEP #2 Upgrade the boot ROM to MP51.0089.B00. and then reboot to confirm the ROM update
STEP #3 Upgrade to 10.13.6 using the "Install macOS HighSierra.app"
STEP #4 Shut down and remove the ATI 5770, PUSH the SMC reset button, and install MSI RX 580.

The System specs at the time I started the upgrade to Mojave:
Mid 2010 Mac Pro 5.1 Dual 3.46 X5690 64GB Ram Boot ROM Version: MP51.0089.B00
Slot 1 MSI RX 580 (MSI Radeon RX 580 DirectX 12 RX 580 GAMING X 8G 8GB) Connected via DVI-D to Dell UltraSharp U2412M and a Wacom Cintiq 22HD via HDMI
Slot 2 OWC Accelsior S w 1 TB WD Blue Boot Drive, w 10.12.6 installed. (OWC Accelsior S PCIe) + (WD Blue 1TB Internal SSD Solid State Drive - SATA)
Slot 3 Ableconn PU31-1A1C USB 3.1 Gen 2 w USB C (Ableconn PU31-1A1C USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) Type-C)

STEP #5 Upgrade to Mojave using the "Install macOS Mojave.app"
NOTE: I left BOTH displays connected on via DVI-D the other HDMI. If you get a black screen upon boot w Mojave, it is possible that by unplugging the DVI-D cable (when running) will help the HDMI connected monitor to display. I had no issues during the install, it took longer than High Sierra to install. After the install I wanted to boot into recovery mode and did have a black screen issue, by unplugging DVI_D I was able to display in RM.

Boot ROM Version : 140.0.0.0.0

FYI: In Mac 10.12.6 the MSI Radeon RX 580 was exactly identified. In Sierra 10.14.1, it is exactly identified as "Radeon RX 580 8192 MB"

 

[UniqueUserName]

I'm trying to upgrade my 2010 cMP to Mojave. Got my bootrom upgraded to xx89xx using High Sierra, but when I pull my EFI video card and replace it with a XFX branded Radeon RX560, I just get a black screen. Tried all of the outputs of the card, still nothing. I hear the drive spinning and get the happy bootup sounds, but never anything on the screen. Is XFX one of the third-parties that doesn't work with MacOS?

 

[tsialex]

I'm trying to upgrade my 2010 cMP to Mojave. Got my bootrom upgraded to xx89xx using High Sierra, but when I pull my EFI video card and replace it with a XFX branded Radeon RX560, I just get a black screen. Tried all of the outputs of the card, still nothing. I hear the drive spinning and get the happy bootup sounds, but never anything on the screen. Is XFX one of the third-parties that doesn't work with MacOS?

Did you ever installed AirDisplay? AirDisplay cause this problem.

To troubleshoot install 10.13.6 into a empty drive and test the GPU.

 

[UniqueUserName]

Thanks! I'll try tonight. I didn't knowingly install AirDisplay.

Can you get to a recovery boot without the EFI video card installed?

 

[tsialex]

Thanks! I'll try tonight. I didn't knowingly install AirDisplay.

Can you get to a recovery boot without the EFI video card installed?

Recovery and USB installs works with RX-460/480/560/580, after the Recovery/Installer loads the driver, screen works.

 

[macjunkie2013]

UniqueUserName

In my Mojave install post above I detailed a couple steps that might help you?

#1 Did you push the SMC reset button when you swapped out the cards?
#2 Another option, as least for testing is to plug in two monitors, one via HDMI, the other DVI, and when you get to the black screen unplug the DVI monitor (powered on and running) as the HDMI monitor might then start displaying the desktop?

Regards

JH

 

[UniqueUserName]

Loaded fresh High Sierra, same result: Darkness
Tried a regular DVI-D monitor: Darkness on both monitors

After replacing the card back to the standard mac one, Mac OS logs a kernel panic. Not sure if that means much.

Will try the SMC reset. I should have tried that first,,,
[doublepost=1543631510][/doublepost]Tried the NVRAM reset, got the beep, still dark on both DVI-D monitor and HDMI one. Is it possible that this particular third party card just isn't compatible? I thought all of these manufacturers made the cards the same and just slapped their own brand name on it? I'm going to try to track down an MSI RX560 this weekend.

Update2: After wasting lots of time on this, I am pretty sure the problem is power delivery. I got an ancient GeForce GTX 560 to work in Mojave (non-accelerated, of course) and it uses both of the 6-pin ports. The XFX RX560 has a spot for one 6-pin power cable. The MSI "Gaming" RX560 referenced in apple's documentation (which I understand now to be the ITX model?) draws all its power from the motherboard, no extra power needed. XFX does come with a 4-pin old-style power supply to 6-pin adaptor which may be able to draw more amps but the 2010 Pro doesn't have 4 pin plugs to use. This card might work in the 2009 Pro using that pigtail. Sending the card back to its home.

 

[AletheianAlex]

Just a note for those getting the installer to update their firmware to 140.xxxxx, and may not have read through the entire thread: I tore my hair out for 2 days before I finally tried a different install drive from another machine. My Kingston SSD didn't work, but an SK Hynix drive I had lying around worked fine. I flashed with that and then installed to the Kingston drive. I was afraid Mojave might not play nice with my striped HFS software RAIDs, but it is fine. Was on 10.12, so I walked it through 10.13 before Mojave install. I also tried an install on the Hynix drive, and the system seems to run much smoother from it, even though it eventually installed on the Kingston, so I'll be grabbing another SSD when I have the chance.

New APFS file system only touched boot SSD. I added an HFS+ SSD to run some apps off since performance was abysmal under APFS (some audio apps and games, etc), and APFS broke some links/symlinks and lost a bit of data in some hard linked dev chains too that had to be recovered, boo. So make sure to back up just before installing.

For posterity, system specs are: 4,1 flashed to 5,1, hex core 3.46 x3690, 3 sticks of generic 1333 ecc server ram, EVGA GTX670 + OEM GT640, PCIe USB3, PCIe SATA, 2x SSD, 2x RAID0 HDD, 2x HDD JBOD. All working fine. WiFi is recognized, but doesn't work (can't remember if it worked before since I never used it), but Bluetooth works fine.

 

[macjunkie2013]

I was wondering if APFS would cause issues. I have not experienced anything yet, would love to hear more since I just upgraded.

 

[kam2018]

I have 5,1 12 core 2010-2012 mac pro with 64 GB Ram and Sapphire Nitro RX 580 (8GB) GPU. I installed Mojave on one of my drives that had High Sierra (10.13.6). Looks like Mojave installed but with the RX 580 I get a black screen but with the ATI Radeon 5770 its fine. What should I do? Clean install?

 

[tsialex]

I have 5,1 12 core 2010-2012 mac pro with 64 GB Ram and Sapphire Nitro RX 580 (8GB) GPU. I installed Mojave on one of my drives that had High Sierra (10.13.6). Looks like Mojave installed but with the RX 580 I get a black screen but with the ATI Radeon 5770 its fine. What should I do? Clean install?

https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...grade-to-mojave.2142418/page-24#post-26861959

 

[kam2018]

Huh?

 

[kam2018]

https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...grade-to-mojave.2142418/page-24#post-26861959

Under 10.13.6 my RX 580 card works fine
[doublepost=1543825489][/doublepost]

Did you ever installed AirDisplay? AirDisplay cause this problem.

To troubleshoot install 10.13.6 into a empty drive and test the GPU.

Under 10.13.6 my RX 580 works fine, no black screen

 

[tsialex]

Under 10.13.6 my RX 580 card works fine
[doublepost=1543825489][/doublepost]


Under 10.13.6 my RX 580 works fine, no black screen

AirDisplay problem occurs with Mojave.

 

[zoltm]

Whoo hoo!

Updated my Mid2010 (modelID MacPro5,1) from Sierra (10.12.6) to High Sierra (10.13.6) to Mojave (10.14.1)

Before I started the upgrade I removed the MSI RX 580 and replaced it w the original ATI Radeon 5770. During the swap I pushed the SMC reset button.

The System specs at the time I started the upgrade to High Sierra:
Mid 2010 Mac Pro 5.1 Dual 3.46 X5690 64GB Ram Boot ROM Version: MP51.007F.B03
Slot 1 (Apple ATI Radeon 5770 1 GB ZML MC742ZM/A) Connected via DVI-D to Dell UltraSharp U2412M and a Wacom Cintiq 22HD via HDMI
Slot 2 OWC Accelsior S w 1 TB WD Blue Boot Drive, w 10.12.6 installed. (OWC Accelsior S PCIe) + (WD Blue 1TB Internal SSD Solid State Drive - SATA)
Slot 3 Ableconn PU31-1A1C USB 3.1 Gen 2 w USB C (Ableconn PU31-1A1C USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) Type-C)

STEP #1 I downloaded the Full High Sierra Installer (5.24GB) and the Mojave Installer (6.01GB)
STEP #2 Upgrade the boot ROM to MP51.0089.B00. and then reboot to confirm the ROM update
STEP #3 Upgrade to 10.13.6 using the "Install macOS HighSierra.app"
STEP #4 Shut down and remove the ATI 5770, PUSH the SMC reset button, and install MSI RX 580.

The System specs at the time I started the upgrade to Mojave:
Mid 2010 Mac Pro 5.1 Dual 3.46 X5690 64GB Ram Boot ROM Version: MP51.0089.B00
Slot 1 MSI RX 580 (MSI Radeon RX 580 DirectX 12 RX 580 GAMING X 8G 8GB) Connected via DVI-D to Dell UltraSharp U2412M and a Wacom Cintiq 22HD via HDMI
Slot 2 OWC Accelsior S w 1 TB WD Blue Boot Drive, w 10.12.6 installed. (OWC Accelsior S PCIe) + (WD Blue 1TB Internal SSD Solid State Drive - SATA)
Slot 3 Ableconn PU31-1A1C USB 3.1 Gen 2 w USB C (Ableconn PU31-1A1C USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) Type-C)

STEP #5 Upgrade to Mojave using the "Install macOS Mojave.app"
NOTE: I left BOTH displays connected on via DVI-D the other HDMI. If you get a black screen upon boot w Mojave, it is possible that by unplugging the DVI-D cable (when running) will help the HDMI connected monitor to display. I had no issues during the install, it took longer than High Sierra to install. After the install I wanted to boot into recovery mode and did have a black screen issue, by unplugging DVI_D I was able to display in RM.

Boot ROM Version : 140.0.0.0.0

FYI: In Mac 10.12.6 the MSI Radeon RX 580 was exactly identified. In Sierra 10.14.1, it is exactly identified as "Radeon RX 580 8192 MB"

_______

Woo Hoo x2

Thanks to macjunkie2013's recap on the procedures. Also big thanks to tsialex and h9826790's confirmation, I took the leap of faith doing the High Sierra and then Mojave upgrade with a Gigabyte RX 460 4G card with more or less the above procedure without much issues.

I did all CLEAN install for both HS and Mojave.

I manage to upgrade the firmware to MP51.0089.B00 then 140.0.0.0, without any black screen issues.

I have been quite happy with Sierra on the machine but going thru all these hassles preparing for the arrival of the NVME stick that I scored in the recent Black Friday deal.

Hope this help in case anyone is concerned with the Gigabyte RX 460 with Mojave.

My next question is, what is the best way for me to migrate my current installation to the new Mojave install.

Thanks and best to this excellent community.

E

 

[Nimmi23]

Hi there,

Thanks for the detailed instructions. Because I am not very techie I just wanted to verify a couple of things before moving on with this, and thanks in advance for taking the time to respond.

1. I am running 10.13.2 on a Mid 2009 MP updated to 5,1 - is it ok to continue installation on this machine?

2. Boot ROM Version is: MP51.0084.B00 - I assume this will get upgraded directly to the desired boot version with the 10.13.6 installer from AppStore?

3. My current graphics card is a flashed GTX680 (non Mac version). In System Information it shows Metal: Supported, feature set macOS GPUFamily1 v3 - would I still need to install a compatible graphics card before starting the process?

4. Mojave will not upgrade from 10.13.6 from the AppStore download? Only from USB? Is a cleaninstall a requirement or an option?

5. Waiting on NVidia to release a Web Driver for Mojave...

 

[tsialex]

Hi there,

Thanks for the detailed instructions. Because I am not very techie I just wanted to verify a couple of things before moving on with this, and thanks in advance for taking the time to respond.

1. I am running 10.13.2 on a Mid 2009 MP updated to 5,1 - is it ok to continue installation on this machine?

Yes.

2. Boot ROM Version is: MP51.0084.B00 - I assume this will get upgraded directly to the desired boot version with the 10.13.6 installer from AppStore?

Update to 10.13.6, then download the full Mac App Store installer, do as the first post shows, to upgrade to MP51.0089.B00.

3. My current graphics card is a flashed GTX680 (non Mac version). In System Information it shows Metal: Supported, feature set macOS GPUFamily1 v3 - would I still need to install a compatible graphics card before starting the process?

No.

4. Mojave will not upgrade from 10.13.6 from the AppStore download? Only from USB? Is a cleaninstall a requirement or an option?

A Mac with GTX 680 can't be upgraded by createinstallmedia USB install, nor Mojave installed by createinstallmedia USB install. Re-read the first post.

5. Waiting on NVidia to release a Web Driver for Mojave...

GXT 680 is supported by Apple native NVIDIA drivers.

 

[AletheianAlex]

I was wondering if APFS would cause issues. I have not experienced anything yet, would love to hear more since I just upgraded.

Shouldn't be a big deal for most, but the conversion seemed to change hard links to symlinks that referenced nothing, so that broke a few things. I also had some shared projects, with small changes, that were duplicated several times. Luckily I do most work on external RAIDS, but I had a few things in my home dir. Disk times also increased temporarily for large projects containing lots of small linked file changes, so I'll be moving all those to an HFS drive until I figure it out, but that is getting off topic since it is not an install issue.

 

[kam2018]

AirDisplay problem occurs with Mojave.

I don't have airdisplay turned on or anything like that...also there is no airdisplay feature in display settings like in high sierra

 

[tsialex]

I don't have airdisplay turned on or anything like that...also there is no airdisplay feature in display settings like in high sierra

Air Display is a 3rd party program that install kexts incompatible with Mojave and RX-4xx/5xx GPUs. Do not mistake Air Display with AirPlay.

Do a clean install of Mojave into another drive, since recovery works, it's probably some incompatibility with your current macOS install.

 

[kam2018]

Air Display is a 3rd party program that install kexts incompatible with Mojave and RX-4xx/5xx GPUs. Do not mistake Air Display with AirPlay.

Do a clean install of Mojave into another drive, since recovery works, it's probably some incompatibility with your current macOS install.

No I don't have AirDisplay installed. I will try clean install.

 

[tsialex]

No I don't have AirDisplay installed. I will try clean install.

Did you installed it in the past? The kexts are kept into the system over the years, most people are finding this now.

 

[kam2018]

Did you installed it in the past? The kexts are kept into the system over the years, most people are finding this now.

Na...never had to

 

[tsialex]

Na...never had to

Other people had problems with other apps, the most common problematic one is Air Display.

 

[kam2018]

Other people had problems with other apps, the most common problematic one is Air Display.

Thanks...btw clean install didn't work either. Disk utility> format drive (APFS) > install Mojave...installation works but black screen with Radeon RX 580...fine with 5770