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

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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.
hwojtek said:
@cdf - the ROM procedure, is it somehow related to @Syncretic's thread and allow not only boot screens but also the modern GPUs without mods (UEFI2 support)? Or is it more focused on boot screens for known hardware and not UEFI2?
Click to expand...
Astonishingly, while announced at around the same time, EnableGop and @Syncretic’s BootROM modification are, in fact, independent projects. In terms of development, there is no relation between the two; however, in terms of functionality, there is indeed some overlap.

Due to @Bmju, EnableGop is a culmination of developments made over the years in OpenCore—from getting the OC boot menu to show with ProvideConsoleGop (@vit9696) and allowing for modern hardware with ForgeUefiSupport (@joevt, @Dayo, @vit9696, and @Bmju) to starting the Apple Startup Manager with BootKicker (@vit9696 and @Bmju). Although its main purpose is to provide native (pre-OC) boot screen support, it also provides support for graphics cards that require UEFI 2. You can read more about EnableGop here


On the other hand, @Syncretic’s BootROM modification is an extensive modification of the Mac Pro 5,1 firmware that provides not only the functionality of EnableGop but also vastly improved USB support (including USB 3.0 support) and other enhancements (such as easily toggling SIP). More important, it is part of a larger effort to bring AVX emulation to the Mac Pro 5,1.
 
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Question for the group, with OC 0.8.8 on my cmP 5,1 Monterey with RX580 GPU, can I slot in my El Capitan SSD and get visuals? I believe I read that OC allows for newer GPUs to be used on older OS that don't support it. Thanks.
 
h9826790 said:
Only display, no acceleration
Click to expand...
So essentially no different than running El Cap without OC, correct? I originally had my El Cap SSD on my un-OC'd cMP 3,1 (using a GTX 750 TI), but trying to avoid going back-and-forth between 5,1/3,1 machines now. Thanks.
 
motiontrack said:
So essentially no different than running El Cap without OC, correct? I originally had my El Cap SSD on my un-OC'd cMP 3,1 (using a GTX 750 TI), but trying to avoid going back-and-forth between 5,1/3,1 machines now. Thanks.
Click to expand...
As Tommy pointed out, without OC UEFI GOP injection, for non flashed RX580, it won't even display in El Capitan.

If you want to run both El Capitan and Monterey on the same setup with proper acceleration, and has boot screen. A flashed HD7950 can do better than a RX580.
 
First of all - thank you all for your efforts and contributions to this project! It has breathed more life into my 2010 Mac Pro which is fantastic. I was starting to get bombarded with software nags about an unsupported OS.

I started with Mojave on an SSD, and followed the first post in this thread to get Monterey installed on an HDD. Monterey HDD is also where I've got the OpenCore EFI. I've proven this out for a week+ and am ready to install Monterey onto another (not the Mojave) SSD.

The new SSD is from OWC so I don't think (?) it needs any additional support or flashing. I see it both in Mojave and Monterey.

What I am curious about is...well, where to go from here. The initial post suggests OpenCore EFI to live on the drive where the OpenCore-enabled OS is installed. And I think I'd like to do that as I will likely reformat the HDD where OpenCore is now once I've completed this new installation.

Can I / should I:

  • Install OpenCore on the new SSD while I'm booted into Monterey via OpenCore
  • Or boot to Mojave via OpenCore, and then install OpenCore EFI On the new SSD
  • Or boot into Mojave using BootKicker to install OpenCore on the new SSD
  • Or, most intrusively, follow the steps in the first post to boot to Mojave w/ BootKicker, remove OpenCore / revert to native boot loader, and then start the install process "from scratch" on the new SSD
I'd obviously like to do what is easiest, but I also don't want to inadvertently mess up what is currently a functional setup.

Thanks in advance!
 
nwoolls said:
Can I / should I:

  • Install OpenCore on the new SSD while I'm booted into Monterey via OpenCore
  • Or boot to Mojave via OpenCore, and then install OpenCore EFI On the new SSD
  • Or boot into Mojave using BootKicker to install OpenCore on the new SSD
  • Or, most intrusively, follow the steps in the first post to boot to Mojave w/ BootKicker, remove OpenCore / revert to native boot loader, and then start the install process "from scratch" on the new SSD
I'd obviously like to do what is easiest, but I also don't want to inadvertently mess up what is currently a functional setup.
Click to expand...

The easiest way is probably to use BootKicker from your current OC installation. Because that means having two instances of OC (until you bless the new one and delete the old files), you'll want to create a unique label for your new installation.

Here's how to proceed: With your current OC installation still blessed, copy the OC files to your new ESP, keeping the old files in place for now (use whichever OS is more convenient). With your new ESP still mounted, enter the following in Terminal (possibly replacing "OC" by whatever label name you'd like to use):

bless --folder /Volumes/EFI/EFI/BOOT --label OC

The idea here is that when you start BootKicker, your new installation of OC is easily identifiable (otherwise you'd see something like two entries named "EFI Boot"). Now reboot and start BootKicker. Select the entry "OC", then holding Control, press Enter (actually with LauncherOption=Full, you don't really need to hold Control, because the blessing should be automatic). Your new installation of OC will start. Finally, boot into macOS and delete your old OC installation.

Of course, if you have native boot screen support (driver available soon in OC 0.8.9), you can skip BootKicker and use the Apple Startup Manager directly (the new label is useful here too).

I hope this helps!
 
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cdf said:
The easiest way is probably to use BootKicker from your current OC installation. Because that means having two instances of OC (until you bless the new one and delete the old files), you'll want to create a unique label for your new installation.

Here's how to proceed: With your current OC installation still blessed, copy the OC files to your new ESP, keeping the old files in place for now (use whichever OS is more convenient). With your new ESP still mounted, enter the following in Terminal (possibly replacing "OC" by whatever label name you'd like to use):

bless --folder /Volumes/EFI/EFI/BOOT --label OC

The idea here is that when you start BootKicker, your new installation of OC is easily identifiable (otherwise you'd see something like two entries named "EFI Boot"). Now reboot and start BootKicker. Select the entry "OC", then holding Control, press Enter (actually with LauncherOption=Full, you don't really need to hold Control, because the blessing should be automatic). Your new installation of OC will start. Finally, boot into macOS and delete your old OC installation.

Of course, if you have native boot screen support (driver available soon in OC 0.8.9), you can skip BootKicker and use the Apple Startup Manager directly (the new label is useful here too).

I hope this helps!
Click to expand...
Thank you much! I'm trying this out and running into an error on the first step of install.

I'm simply trying to mount the EFI partition on the new drive and getting an error. I've tried a Google of the error and was unable to find anything helpful. Most were regarding Hackintosh setups.

diskutil list results in (abbreviated to show what I'm targeting):

Bash: 
...

/dev/disk2 (external, physical):
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *960.2 GB   disk2
   1:                        EFI                         209.7 MB   disk2s1
   2:                 Apple_APFS Container disk5         960.0 GB   disk2s2
 
...

/dev/disk5 (synthesized):
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:      APFS Container Scheme -                      +960.0 GB   disk5
                                 Physical Store disk2s2
   1:                APFS Volume Monterey SSD            622.6 KB   disk5s1

This is the SSD I'd like to use. But when I try to mount the EFI partition, I get the following:

Bash: 
sudo diskutil mount /dev/disk2s1
Volume on disk2s1 failed to mount
Perhaps the operation is not supported (kDAReturnUnsupported)
If you think the volume is supported but damaged, try the "readOnly" option

I can mount the EFI partition on the Monterey HDD just fine:

Bash: 
sudo diskutil mount /dev/disk4s1
Volume EFI on /dev/disk4s1 mounted

I've tried this under Mojave and Monterey. I've run First Aid in Disk Utility without any obvious errors. I also tried erasing the drive in Disk Utility.
 
nwoolls said:
I also tried erasing the drive in Disk Utility.
Click to expand...

If you don't mind reformatting, make sure to select the entire drive (in Disk Utility, select View > Show All Devices). If you just select the volume (from the default view), the EFI partition actually remains untouched.
 
cdf said:
If you don't mind reformatting, make sure to select the entire drive (in Disk Utility, select View > Show All Devices). If you just select the volume (from the default view), the EFI partition actually remains untouched.
Click to expand...
That did the trick - thank you! I knew this stuff at one point in time but eventually got into "if it ain't broke" mode several years ago.
 
cdf said:
The easiest way is probably to use BootKicker from your current OC installation. Because that means having two instances of OC (until you bless the new one and delete the old files), you'll want to create a unique label for your new installation.

Here's how to proceed: With your current OC installation still blessed, copy the OC files to your new ESP, keeping the old files in place for now (use whichever OS is more convenient). With your new ESP still mounted, enter the following in Terminal (possibly replacing "OC" by whatever label name you'd like to use):

bless --folder /Volumes/EFI/EFI/BOOT --label OC

The idea here is that when you start BootKicker, your new installation of OC is easily identifiable (otherwise you'd see something like two entries named "EFI Boot"). Now reboot and start BootKicker. Select the entry "OC", then holding Control, press Enter (actually with LauncherOption=Full, you don't really need to hold Control, because the blessing should be automatic). Your new installation of OC will start. Finally, boot into macOS and delete your old OC installation.

Of course, if you have native boot screen support (driver available soon in OC 0.8.9), you can skip BootKicker and use the Apple Startup Manager directly (the new label is useful here too).

I hope this helps!
Click to expand...
So I've done this, but I'm not seeing the label I specified (OC SSD Boot) on startup, either in the first screen or BootKicker. I also tried doing the original command from the first post in recovery mode without luck (bless --mount /Volumes/EFI --setBoot --file /Volumes/EFI/EFI/BOOT/BOOTx64.efi —label 'OC SSD Boot').

I checked bless —help and don't see a label parameter. I also don't see it on the man page. Is it possible 'EFI Boot' is running from my SSD? Any way to check? I only see one 'EFI Boot' at startup.

Edit: scratch that. I do see it on the man page, but only for some of the modes. Not sure why it isn't showing on boot. Still wondering if there's a way to determine "what" I booted with.
 
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nwoolls said:
Still wondering if there's a way to determine "what" I booted with.
Click to expand...

Yes. You can use ExposeSensitiveData=1. Then enter the following command after rebooting:

nvram 4D1FDA02-38C7-4A6A-9CC6-4BCCA8B30102:boot-path

This will give you the OC boot path. You can also generate a debug log (see Maintenance > Debugging).
 
cdf said:
Yes. You can use ExposeSensitiveData=1. Then enter the following command after rebooting:

nvram 4D1FDA02-38C7-4A6A-9CC6-4BCCA8B30102:boot-path

This will give you the OC boot path. You can also generate a debug log (see Maintenance > Debugging).
Click to expand...
Thank you! I was able to use that to confirm it is the original installation of OpenCore booting, not the one on the new SSD.

I'm at a bit of a loss here: I've run 'bless' both ways and don't see the option at startup.

Additionally, I have started the Monterey installer twice now, targeting the new SSD, but after the installer reboots my system, there is no option for continuing the installation on startup. I just have my normal options for Mojave and Monterey. Pressing <space> also does not reveal an option to continue the installation.
 
nwoolls said:
Additionally, I have started the Monterey installer twice now, targeting the new SSD, but after the installer reboots my system, there is no option for continuing the installation on startup. I just have my normal options for Mojave and Monterey. Pressing <space> also does not reveal an option to continue the installation.
Click to expand...

Hmm. It seems like your SDD is just not seen during preboot. One option at this point would be to generate an OC debug log or to use OpenShell to verify this hypothesis.
 
cdf said:
Hmm. It seems like your SDD is just not seen during preboot. One option at this point would be to generate an OC debug log or to use OpenShell to verify this hypothesis.
Click to expand...
Thanks for your patience and guidance.

I've done a few things, including what you recommended.

I used BootKicker to disable the working OC install on the HDD. I rebooted to confirm I was back to the native macOS boot loader.

Then I booted into recovery mode and used the commands in post #1 to bless the OC on the SSD. I did this with verbose output and have attached the output. No dice - rebooting went right back to the native macOS boot loader.

I rebooted into recovery mode and used the commands to re-bless the OC on the HDD. Again I did this with verbose output and attached the results. I don't see any major differences. Rebooting picked up OC on the HDD.

I copied the debug files over to the HDD ESP along with the recommended config changes and booted to macOS Monterey on the HDD. I've attached that output as well.

The SSD in particular is '/PCI0@0/IOU2@1/I2PS@0/PPB4@4/PXS4@0 = PciRoot(0x0)/Pci(0x1,0x0)/Pci(0x0,0x0)/Pci(0x4,0x0)/Pci(0x0,0x0)'. It is an 'OWC Aura P12 Pro 1.0TB'.

The working HDD with OC is 'PciRoot(0x0)/Pci(0x1F,0x2)/Sata(0x4,0x0,0x0)/HD'.
 

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nwoolls said:
Then I booted into recovery mode and used the commands in post #1 to bless the OC on the SSD. I did this with verbose output and have attached the output. No dice - rebooting went right back to the native macOS boot loader.
Click to expand...
The SSD in particular is '/PCI0@0/IOU2@1/I2PS@0/PPB4@4/PXS4@0 = PciRoot(0x0)/Pci(0x1,0x0)/Pci(0x0,0x0)/Pci(0x4,0x0)/Pci(0x0,0x0)'.
Click to expand...

The list of bootable file systems reported by OC lacks the drive. So while the drive is seen in both macOS and Recovery, it is not seen during preboot...

OWC Aura P12 Pro 1.0TB: This is an NVMe drive, right? In that case, I wonder if your Mac Pro has the latest BootROM necessary for NVMe booting. Can you verify System Information > Hardware Overview > System Firmware Version?
 
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cdf said:
The list of bootable file systems reported by OC lacks the drive. So while the drive is seen in both macOS and Recovery, it is not seen during preboot...

OWC Aura P12 Pro 1.0TB: This is an NVMe drive, right? In that case, I wonder if your Mac Pro has the latest BootROM necessary for NVMe booting. Can you verify System Information > Hardware Overview > System Firmware Version?
Click to expand...
'System Firmware Version: 138.0.0.0.0'
 
That's the issue: NVMe boot support starts with 140.0.0.0.0. You'll need to upgrade your BootROM (the latest version is 144.0.0.0.0):

forums.macrumors.com

MP5,1: What you have to do to upgrade to Mojave (BootROM upgrade instructions thread)

Please fully read this first post, you will probably find that you have one or more problems described into the various notes below. Mojave will only install if you have upgraded your BootROM to the current release and your Mac Pro have a Metal capable GPU*. If you are trying to install Mojave...
forums.macrumors.com forums.macrumors.com
 
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cdf said:
That's the issue: NVMe boot support starts with 140.0.0.0.0. You'll need to upgrade your BootROM (the latest version is 144.0.0.0.0):

forums.macrumors.com

MP5,1: What you have to do to upgrade to Mojave (BootROM upgrade instructions thread)

Please fully read this first post, you will probably find that you have one or more problems described into the various notes below. Mojave will only install if you have upgraded your BootROM to the current release and your Mac Pro have a Metal capable GPU*. If you are trying to install Mojave...
forums.macrumors.com forums.macrumors.com
Click to expand...
That did the trick and all of your previous commands worked well afterward, including the custom ESP label. Thank you!
 
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I'd like to hear from anyone who has gone to macOS 12.6.3. Can you reinstall macOS?
I have been on macOS 12.6.3 and when I try to reinstall macOS from recovery mode or macOS on a USB stick, it says "The required firmware update could not be installed." and I am unable to install it.

The solution I found is to format the SSD in HFS+ format once in High Sierra, then boot into a later OS (Moterey this time), format the SSD in APFS format and install the OS.
This does not seem to be a sufficient solution. I then try to reinstall the OS again and the installation still stops with the same error. For example I install macOS 12.6.2 and then update to 12.6.3. I am no longer able to do this either. For example I may not be able to update to macOS 12.6.4+.

Is this problem something blocked in macOS 12.6.3 or is there something wrong with my Mac Pro?
When I do that reinstallation process, the volume name in the boot picker is "Macintosh HD - Data". Is there any way to change this?

OpenCore is Ver. 0.8.8.
 
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ZNDK said:
I'd like to hear from anyone who has gone to macOS 12.6.3. Can you reinstall macOS?
I have been on macOS 12.6.3 and when I try to reinstall macOS from recovery mode or macOS on a USB stick, it says "The required firmware update could not be installed." and I am unable to install it.

The solution I found is to format the SSD in HFS+ format once in High Sierra, then boot into a later OS (Moterey this time), format the SSD in APFS format and install the OS.
This does not seem to be a sufficient solution. I then try to reinstall the OS again and the installation still stops with the same error. For example I install macOS 12.6.2 and then update to 12.6.3. I am no longer able to do this either. For example I may not be able to update to macOS 12.6.4+.

Is this problem something blocked in macOS 12.6.3 or is there something wrong with my Mac Pro?
When I do that reinstallation process, the volume name in the boot picker is "Macintosh HD - Data". Is there any way to change this?

OpenCore is Ver. 0.8.8.
Click to expand...
Try this before you boot into recovery partition

 
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Hey guys!
I'm noob and really hoping for help - my Mac Pro 5.1 with Opencore has been in 'sleep' for 24 hours. I got home, press power button and saw this. Bootkick, OpenShell and Reset NVRAM.
Can't even get into Recovery Mode. I think the problem is the SSD drive (but what could happen if the mac was in sleep mode?)

Maybe there is a way to uninstall Opencore?

Thank you!
 

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