MP 1,1-5,1 Manually Configured OpenCore on the Mac Pro

[w1z]

Not sure if you guys have noticed but somewhere between v0.6.8 and latest release, Cpuid1Data and Cpuid1Mask can be left blank ie.

<key>Cpuid1Data</key>
<data></data>
<key>Cpuid1Mask</key>
<data></data>

This was not the case in previous builds as leaving them blank would result in reboots/panics.

Also, the updated and correct way to implement wegtree is wegtree=1 and not -wegtree as I believe the latter was dropped.

Finally, and this may be dependent on the GPU and macOS version you are using, the following bootargs provide full AMD hardware acceleration/support on my setup, BS 11.4, with MP7,1 BoardProduct

unfairgva=1 wegtree=1

 

[cdf]

So, if I didn't misunderstand, I can't put OC on the same drive I hold main macOS partition and emergency macOS partition (Mojave)...

OC can be installed to any EFI volume. The recommendation in the guide is to install it on a different drive than the one to which Mojave is installed. The reason is that if something goes wrong, you can pull out the drive with OC and boot into Mojave.

with my four drives configuration (one for booting windows, that I guess I must convert to GUID but remains useless for booting macOS), can I get a configuration that let me be operating with a simple reboot, whatever it happens in any of my disks?

Yes, you can use OC for a multi-boot setup. Windows will need to be installed in UEFI mode. The guide covers this.

So if disk A will file (or I misconfigure something), I should be able to reboot from disk B, loosing only the change's I made since last sync operation (like with my actual configuration). But if for some reason files disk C, can I boot with disk A or B? If not, can I clone emergency macOS partition somewhere that let me boot and work with the MacPro, if disk C will file?

On a Mac Pro with an unflashed graphics card, OC needs to be blessed from a natively booted recovery environment before it can work properly. That is where Mojave comes in. As an extra precaution, you can always keep an external back up of Mojave as well.

I hope this clarifies things a bit.

 

[cdf]

the updated and correct way to implement wegtree is wegtree=1 and not -wegtree as I believe the latter was dropped.

I would argue that the correct way is to use the rebuild-device-tree device property. Boot args should be reserved for temporary configurations (or when there are no other alternatives). Of course, this is just a preference; the end result is the same.

 

[z0Nker]

you should see things in chronical order, the latebloom workaround just got out officially yesterday.

but you are correct, 11.2.3 is the stable thing. Until we have a lot of more tests and data points using workarounds is no perfect solution.

I do not know anything about this "late bloom" thing. I assume it is some kind of "Timer delay" to let the PCIe buss to init. ? The MAC Pro 4,1 flashed to 5,1 has been up & running for 3 - 4 days now w/ out any issues Booted from a NVMe. I dont want to turn it off or re boot because last Boot I thought i had my CMP5,1 Bork3ed for good. I was not paying attention, had automatic updates on and upgraded both my NVMe and my SSD to 11.4 by mistake. My MacBook Pro 8,1 & 9.2 both are running fine w/ the "Legacy Patcher" 1st time i used Lagacy patcher & its way easier than the way i installed Open Core on my CMP's it's automatic and leaves less for me to F up. DOSDUDSES1 patch got me spoiled. I had a hell of a time w/ the Configs., .Kexts, Bless, mounting the EUFI partition and such (but i finally got it right thanx to TSIALEX and the Crew....it ran well till 11.4

 

[borgo1971]

OC can be installed to any EFI volume. The recommendation in the guide is to install it on a different drive than the one to which Mojave is installed. The reason is that if something goes wrong, you can pull out the drive with OC and boot into Mojave.

OK. This means that in normal use, Mojave is not necessary. It's just in case... But if I have two Catalina bootable drives, Mojave partition becomes to be a redundant precaution... that is what I like to have ;-) Even if drive C with Mojave partition will corrupt, I can use my MacPro as normal (in the meantime I get a new hard drive for TimeMachine and Mojave partition)

I hope this clarifies things a bit.

Yes, I hope it too. Thanks

 

[Dayo]

OK. This means that in normal use, Mojave is not necessary. It's just in case... But if I have two Catalina bootable drives, becomes to be a redundant precaution

The point about Mojave is that it is natively supported on a cMP5,1 (which the guide in Post 1 is written for) and you should actually interpret "Mojave" in the guide as "Natively Supported Mac OS Instance".

A natively supported Mac OS instance can be booted without OpenCore and if you have an issue with OpenCore, you can boot natively (without OpenCore) into that instance to recover/fix.

With just two Catalina instances and no natively supported Mac OS instance available, you will be creating a situation where your supposed precaution relies on Opencore to be booted. If there is any issue with Opencore on your system, you will be unable to boot into either one of the two instances. Simply put, instead of the redundancy you think this creates, you will actually have zero when it comes to OpenCore issues.

So, make sure you follow what the guide tells you to do exactly and don't try to second guess it. If you need an additional Catalina instance (for backup etc), create one separately.

Whatever you do, make sure you have a natively supported Mac OS instance, Mojave or any other, on your system.

 

[paalb]

I do not know anything about this "late bloom" thing.

Latebloom

 

[benmuetsch]

Hello all,

using OpenCore 0.7.0 (by Martin LO) recently on my MacPro5,1, runs great with Mojave and Catalina aswell.
What happens in 10.15.7 is, that the Wifi initially wasn't working, which could be activated / injected via OpenCore.. it works now but WiFi section in the System Profiler looks somehow broken:



Can this be fixed in any way? Also "Airdrop" is missing in the Finder.

Thanks in advance

 

[hwojtek]

Can this be fixed in any way? Also "Airdrop" is missing in the Finder.

Upgrade your hardware to BCM94360CD.

 

[benmuetsch]

Okay, already had a look at this.. seems like a good way.

 

[J3NK0M80]

Help!

I naively updated to 11.4 last weekend and now I'm experiencing all the booting issues mentioned here. Backing up my hard drives now. Hindsights a *****.

I need to revert to 11.2.3. I have downloaded the .app 11.2.3 launcher. Does anyone have a guide on how to install 11.2.3?

I'm running OC 0.7.1

 

[Macschrauber]

Help!

I naively updated to 11.4 last weekend and now I'm experiencing all the booting issues mentioned here. Backing up my hard drives now. Hindsights a *****.

I need to revert to 11.2.3. I have downloaded the .app 11.2.3 launcher. Does anyone have a guide on how to install 11.2.3?

I'm running OC 0.7.1

you can try this workaround if thats not a machine you use for your business.

Latebloom - An experimental workaround for the 11.3+ race condition

UPDATE 27sep21: latebloom is now deprecated/unnecessary. Please see this thread for more information. I have created a kext that may provide a workaround for the Big Sur 11.3+ race condition. Alpha testing with a small group has provided encouraging results, so I'm now posting it publicly...

forums.macrumors.com

 

[J3NK0M80]

you can try this workaround if thats not a machine you use for your business.

Latebloom - An experimental workaround for the 11.3+ race condition

UPDATE 27sep21: latebloom is now deprecated/unnecessary. Please see this thread for more information. I have created a kext that may provide a workaround for the Big Sur 11.3+ race condition. Alpha testing with a small group has provided encouraging results, so I'm now posting it publicly...

forums.macrumors.com

Thanks for getting back. It's my main work machine, so think I better go for the safer option of 11.2.3

 

[J3NK0M80]

Help!

I naively updated to 11.4 last weekend and now I'm experiencing all the booting issues mentioned here. Backing up my hard drives now. Hindsights a *****.

I need to revert to 11.2.3. I have downloaded the .app 11.2.3 launcher. Does anyone have a guide on how to install 11.2.3?

I'm running OC 0.7.1

The best way to do it is to fully wipe the disk, what we call nuke it. Boot Catalina installer, unmount all the mounted containers, recreate the partition table for the real disk and finally do a clean install.

• boot Catalina createinstallmedia using OpenCore
• open Terminal
• run diskutil list to see the list of disks, your real disk and the container will be on the start of the list.
• usually the real disk have a inferior number then the container disk,
  now you have to unmount the container disk, unmount the container diskutil unmount diskXX, remember to change diskXX to the real device.
• format the real disk with diskutil erasedisk jhfs+ Macintosh\ HD GPT diskXX remember to change diskXX to the real device.

Yes, use JHFS+, macOS install will convert it to APFS when the installer reboots automatically. No need to manually do/create anything else unless you have specific needs.

@tsialex is it possible to follow your instructions here to downgrade from 11.4 to 11.2.3? I'm really struggling to boot into 11.4 now, so I think a usb boot option would be the way to go. Thanks!

 

[tsialex]

@tsialex is it possible to follow your instructions here to downgrade from 11.4 to 11.2.3? I'm really struggling to boot into 11.4 now, so I think a usb boot option would be the way to go. Thanks!

Sure.

 

[sfalatko]

Thanks for getting back. It's my main work machine, so think I better go for the safer option of 11.2.3

One thing to consider - if it is your main work machine you might be better on Catalina where you will get security patches. Staying on 11.2.3 brings some risk.

 

[J3NK0M80]

One thing to consider - if it is your main work machine you might be better on Catalina where you will get security patches. Staying on 11.2.3 brings some risk.

Good idea, will do. Thanks both!

 

[haralds]

I thought I had read about this somewhere, but cannot find a reference.

Is there a way to temporarily disable SIP on the graphics boot picker?

 

[sfalatko]

There is a way to disable SIP from the OC bootloader - modify your config.plist and you will have a toggle at the OC Bootpicker

1. AllowToggleSip
   Type: plist boolean
   Failsafe: false
   Description: Enable entry for disabling and enabling System Integrity Protection in OpenCore picker.
   This will toggle Apple NVRAM variable csr-active-config between 0 for SIP Enabled and a practical default value for SIP Disabled (currently 0x26F).
   Note 1: It is strongly recommended not to make a habit of running macOS with SIP disabled. Use of this boot option may make it easier to quickly disable SIP protection when genuinely needed - it should be re-enabled again afterwards.
   Note 2: OC uses 0x26F even though csrutil disable on Big Sur sets 0x7F. To explain the choice:
   • csrutil disable --no-internal actually sets 0x6F, and this is preferable because CSR_ALLOW_APPLE_INTERNAL (0x10) prevents updates (unless you are running an internal build of macOS).
   • CSR_ALLOW_UNAPPROVED_KEXTS (0x200) is generally useful, in the case where you do need to have SIP disabled, as it allows installing unsigned kexts without manual approval in System Preferences.
   • CSR_ALLOW_UNAUTHENTICATED_ROOT (0x800) is not practical as it prevents incremental (non-full) OTA updates.
     Note3: For any other value which you may need to use, it is possible to configure CsrUtil.efi as a TextMode Tools entry to configure a different value, e.g. use toggle 0x6F in Arguments to toggle the SIP disabled value set by default by csrutil disable --no-internal in Big Sur.

 

[cdf]

I thought I had read about this somewhere, but cannot find a reference.

Is there a way to temporarily disable SIP on the graphics boot picker?

Yes, by enabling AllowToggleSip.

 

[Chrisl33]

I successfully installed Catalina and also Big Sur 11.2.3 on seperate drives using OpenCore patcher and can boot between either of them. However when I try and set system preferences to boot to Mojave 10.14.6 it ignores it and restarts in Catalina. From the OpenCore boot picker if I choose any drive other then Catalina or Big Sur I get a circle with a line through and no startup. Other then wiping both Catalina and Big Sur drives does anyone have a suggestion?
Thank you, Chris

Update: I pulled the Catalina and Big Sur drives and could then choose my other startup drives, everything worked.
I think I will wipe the 2 x drives and start again on them.

 

[yukdave]

Latebloom

Is the 11.4 causing all hackintoshes to fail?

 

[PeterHolbrook]

A request for self-bless functionality for Macs with a functional Boot Manager

Yesterday, in an effort to figure out a significant issue related to BS 11.4 booting and the existence of multiple partitions of different types on one single disk, I formatted said disk and installed Mojave using a USB pen drive. The end result of this process was that my OC EFI partition was no longer blessed, and I couldn't figure out how to re-bless it using Mojave's Terminal (it seems Mojave can't see Big Sur's system volumes). I ended up booting up BS 11.2.3 without OC and doing the re-blessing. However, things might become more difficult in Monterey. Perhaps booting Monterey without OC will be next to impossible on a Mac Pro 5,1? If this is the case, would it be feasible to give OpenCore some kind of self-bless functionality for Macs with a functional Boot Manager? In other words, to be able to press Alt when the chime is heard at boot time, then pick the relevant EFI partition and, as soon as OpenCore kicks in, have it bless its own EFI partition on its own? Naturally, this functionality should be just an option in config.plist.

 

[Macschrauber]

is that not just the same as holding ctrl key while selecting in efi boot picker?

 

[PeterHolbrook]

is that not just the same as holding ctrl key while selecting in efi boot picker?

No. Holding Ctrl while selecting a boot volume in the OpenCore boot picker will only select that particular volume as the default booting volume once OpenCore has kicked in, but that OpenCore itself can't be selected for blessing. The way it is now, the OpenCore EFI needs to be blessed outside OpenCore.