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

[sfalatko]

Greetings everyone. I'm looking to get some questions answers before I dive into OpenCore.

I'm running a Mac Pro 5,1

• OS High Sierra (HHD) used mainly as a backup/native OS for utility
• OS Mojave x2 (SSD and NVME)
• OS Win 10 (SSD)
• Boot menu works due to Mac-flashed GPU
• Bootcamp app works on Win 10 for me
• I keep every OS on its own physical drive, not partitioned.

My situation:
I want the option to use a more current Mac OS, so I came here to research OpenCore. Other hacks didn't seem as stable or as useful as OpenCore.

As long as OpenCore won't break my Win 10 install, I'm ready to go. This leads me to the questions I have.

I read that it matters if the Win 10 install was by USB or DVD (EFI vs BIOS) I do not know if my Win 10 install is an EFI install or a BIOS install. According to what I read, it's an EFI if USB installed, and BIOS if DVD installed. Now, when I installed Win 10, I learned you should NEVER install Windows using USB because it could brick your Mac, so I took my Win 10 USB install stick and created a DVD from it to install Windows. It worked. Everything is running happily at present. I just rebuilt this Mac Pro (hardware and software) from a previous one that was electrically fried, thus I'm in no mood to break my newly working system.

Questions:

1. Does it make any difference that I used a USB install stick to create the DVD install of Win10? (ie EFI vs BIOS) My guess is likely not, but I'd like to know from someone who can definitely answer it anyway.
2. How do I verify that Win 10 is an EFI install or not? Using Disk Utility only showed me the standard info, NTFS MBR.
3. So if it turns out that it's a BIOS install, how do I use OpenCore and not break my Win 10 install? It's a pretty fresh install, only a few months old, nicely broken in, fiddled with all the privacy stuff/registry/system files/etc to prevent MS crap I don't want, etc... to the point where I'm comfortable. I don't want to do it all again. So I am not keen on the idea of rebuilding it. Perhaps after I install OpenCore, I could reinstall fresh Win 10, but restore over it with my Win backup image?
4. If I install OpenCore, can I uninstall it if this doesn't work out for me?
5. At first, I thought OpenCore was simply tied to the HD where one wants to install the newer Mac OS, but now I'm beginning to wonder if this isn't changing the firmware because I don't see how it matters to my Win 10 install if OpenCore is living on an entirely separate HD that I can remove. If it's changing the firmware, it makes more sense to me. I'd like some clarity on this point.

I very much appreciate any answers to the above.
Thank you!

+ 🪟 = Best of both worlds

Some answers....

You have a BIOS install. Since you have a Mac Flashed GPU you can keep your BIOS install and use OpenCore - you just can't use OpenCore to boot windows. To boot windows you will need to use the Apple boot picker - hold the Option Key during boot and then select your windows install at the Apple boot picker to boot windows.

To test your system and decide if you like OpenCore you can install OC on a usb stick (using the method in Post #1 just target a USB stick rather than an internal drive for your EFI partition). Using the Option key to boot you select your USB stick to boot from the Apple boot picker and then you will get the OC boot picker and can pick your other (not natively supported macOS versions) to boot.

But ... some potential complications.... what kind of GPU do you have? NVIDIA GPUs are not supported in BigSur/Monterey without root patching (which needs OCLP) which is possible but complicates things.

Keep asking the questions - lots of expertise here and what you want to do is very possible.

Regards,
sfalatko

 

[7ecapilot]

This is the expected behaviour.

EnableGop only let your cMP able to show boot screen with modern graphic card's UEFI GOP. It won't make the cMP gain any macOS support beyond Mojave.

If you hold Option key to boot, you should select OpenCore first, and then further select Monterey inside OpenCore boot picker.

What ended up happening here is that I hadn't reset NVRAM, so, that 2 EFI partitions that had OpenCore on them (PCIe NVME and SATA SSD) didn't show up initially when I rebooted with the Option key. I just chose the OS booter and the system didn't start because, of course, OpenCore hadn't loaded. So, now after having reset NVRAM, the Option key boot shows me 2 EFI partitions (I am using OCLP so they are pretty blue icons). I've set the SATA as the startup disk with Ctrl-Enter on its EFI Boot selector and now I have OpenCore running from a different drive than the OS. That has been my goal as I have, twice now, munged my OC configuration on my OS disk. Makes me less paranoid that my putzing about will cause me to lose my OS disk.

Thanks to everyone that has contributed to keeping these machines viable. Really astounding work to make modern componentry and new OSes available to 13 year old computers. My hat's off to you.

 

[Ognjen Bozic]

Is there anyone that can help me with VMM issue?

 

[PeterHolbrook]

Is there anyone that can help me with VMM issue?

Have you studied post #1? I think it has everything there is to know.

 

[Ognjen Bozic]

Have you studied post #1? I think it has everything there is to know.

Yep otherwise I wouldn't ask for help. Still can't boot when I change C to A in cpuid1mask.

 

[StormLord]

Hi,
I got a MP 4,1 dual that I will update the flash to 5,1 with NVME and HD7970 flashed with bootscreens
What is the best solution to use for this machine?
Open Core or Open Core legacy patcher ?
Mind you I will use an SATA SSD for bootcamp, and another SATA SSD for Mojave that I need for some 32bit applications.

 

[PeterHolbrook]

Yep otherwise I wouldn't ask for help. Still can't boot when I change C to A in cpuid1mask.

You might have missed at least one vital portion of the instructions set forth in post #1. Look for "hybridization".

 

[PeterHolbrook]

Hi,
I got a MP 4,1 dual that I will update the flash to 5,1 with NVME and HD7970 flashed with bootscreens
What is the best solution to use for this machine?
Open Core or Open Core legacy patcher ?
Mind you I will use an SATA SSD for bootcamp, and another SATA SSD for Mojave that I need for some 32bit applications.

I have a cMP5,1 with the same GPU as yours, but all my disks are rotational. "Vanilla" OpenCore works very well for me on my main Monterey disk. If you want to run Ventura, however, regular OpenCore won't work for now, so you could try using OCLP.

 

[beni73]

Hi.

I hope someone can help me. I have a mac pro 3.1 updated to 5.1 and using Big Sure. Suddenly stop giving signal to the monitor. The graphics card was a GTX 660 TI which, according to what I have read in the forum, gives problems but it worked correctly for 6 months. I bought a second hand GTX 670 but when I start the computer, spits a lot of lines of code and I don't understand what the problem is

Thanks for your help

 

[StormLord]

I have a cMP5,1 with the same GPU as yours, but all my disks are rotational. "Vanilla" OpenCore works very well for me on my main Monterey disk. If you want to run Ventura, however, regular OpenCore won't work for now, so you could try using OCLP.

Thanks for the answer, I didn't know that open core does not support Ventura already.
OCLP then it is!

 

[MacHosehead]

I have a mac pro 3.1 updated to 5.1

I wasn't aware you could update a MacPro3,1 to 5,1 firmware. Are you using OCLP?

The graphics card was a GTX 660 TI which, according to what I have read in the forum, gives problems but it worked correctly for 6 months. I bought a second hand GTX 670 but when I start the computer, spits a lot of lines of code and I don't understand what the problem is

Both the GTX 660 TI and the GTX 670 use the GK104 Nvidia GPU so either should work with Big Sur. I sense something else is going on.

 

[tsialex]

I wasn't aware you could update a MacPro3,1 to 5,1 firmware. Are you using OCLP?

Not possible, completely different platform, must be a typo. It's only possible to cross-flash an early-2009 to a MP5,1 firmware.

 

[beni73]

Not possible, completely different platform, must be a typo. It's only possible to cross-flash an early-2009 to a MP5,1 firmware.

It´s an early 2009

 

[NC12]

It´s an early 2009

So a 4,1 then

 

[PeterHolbrook]

Thanks for the answer, I didn't know that open core does not support Ventura already.
OCLP then it is!

OpenCore does support Ventura, but not on non-AVX processors, unless you patch macOS. That’s where OCLP comes in. This thread doesn’t promote patching. So, for now, no Ventura.

 

[NightmareJD]

Hi, I have a Mac Pro 2012 with SSD & AMD Vega 56 gpu flashed. I have Ventura installed. I have had no issues with Opencore Legacy Patcher up until recent. Ever since Opencore Legacy Patcher 0.6.2 I cannot properly patch my Vega 56 and so in turn runs extremely slowly. Everything works fine up to and including 0.6.1 but ever since then not. Has anyone else has this issue? I had to resort back to 0.6.1 for things to work properly again but cannot even upgrade passed Ventura 13.2. Please any input would be greatly appreciated

 

[NC12]

Hi, I have a Mac Pro 2012 with SSD & AMD Vega 56 gpu flashed. I have Ventura installed. I have had no issues with Opencore Legacy Patcher up until recent. Ever since Opencore Legacy Patcher 0.6.2 I cannot properly patch my Vega 56 and so in turn runs extremely slowly. Everything works fine up to and including 0.6.1 but ever since then not. Has anyone else has this issue? I had to resort back to 0.6.1 for things to work properly again but cannot even upgrade passed Ventura 13.2. Please any input would be greatly appreciated

This thread is not for OCLP, you should ask the OCLP discord server

 

[NightmareJD]

This thread is not for OCLP, you should ask the OCLP discord server

Ok, this said open core at the top and people have talked about in this post plus don’t trust discord (don’t ask 🙄). Thanks anyway

 

[flaubert]

Perhaps @cdf could change the title of this thread to “OpenCore for the Mac Pro (not for OCLP support)”? It seems like we’re forever batting away folks that that think OpenCore == OCLP!

 

[MacNB2]

Perhaps @cdf could change the title of this thread to “OpenCore for the Mac Pro (not for OCLP support)”? It seems like we’re forever batting away folks that that think OpenCore == OCLP!

FYI OCLP is OpenCore. The clue is in the name : OpenCore Legacy Patcher.
To imply OpenCore =/= OCLP is a little incorrect.

OCLP just happens to be a canned solution for specific set of Mac's for folks who do not want to (or more likely cannot) configure OpenCore manually from basics as described in this thread. It's a automated OpenCore generator (as opposed to the manual configuration described in this thread).
It generates and installs fully configured OpenCore EFI onto your system and also patches the macOS to add older drivers for standard Mac peripherals for the specific Mac if needed.

Yes it is a very different way to achieve the same goal...to run macOS on unsupported Mac's.
Learnings from here were put into OCLP and vice versa, learnings from OCLP were implemented here.

And yes...supporting OCLP here is not appropriate that's why a separate thread was created but OCLP folks chose not to use it as their "platform" for support.
Since that thread is not a sticky thread, it does not appear at the top along with this thread so folks trying to use OCLP naturally gravitate here as they know OCLP is OpenCore.

 

[PeterHolbrook]

@MacNB2: Yes, we all know what OCLP is. It's precisely because it's a "canned solution" that usually patches macOS that we generally decide NOT to use OCLP. My two sons have obsolete iMacs. I suggested that the should use OCLP, just because, more likely than not, it would be extremely hard for "vanilla" OC to work on those machines. However, I prefer NOT to use OCLP on my Mac Pro 5,1 in order to get Ventura compatibility. It might be foolhardy, but I prefer to wait for an alternative solution, i.e., AVX support built into the BootROM. If that is ever achieved, I won't need to patch the operating system. So, for me it's OC and Monterey for now.

 

[Macschrauber]

Well, its kinda both of two worlds. I use OCLP on my basic builts as I dont want to upgrade wifi and Bluetooth on each box.

On the other side I sometimes fine tune the OCLP generated setups. Adding SSDTs for example. Also it is way much better to understand what OCLP does when you know all the basics.

 

[MacNB2]

@MacNB2: Yes, we all know what OCLP is. It's precisely because it's a "canned solution" that usually patches macOS that we generally decide NOT to use OCLP. My two sons have obsolete iMacs. I suggested that the should use OCLP, just because, more likely than not, it would be extremely hard for "vanilla" OC to work on those machines. However, I prefer NOT to use OCLP on my Mac Pro 5,1 in order to get Ventura compatibility. It might be foolhardy, but I prefer to wait for an alternative solution, i.e., AVX support built into the BootROM. If that is ever achieved, I won't need to patch the operating system. So, for me it's OC and Monterey for now.

I think you missed the point. That is, "we all know" is obviously not true.
OC is a bootloader that needs to be configured for each system.
OCLP is a tool that automatically configures OC for a specified system (and can optionally patch macOS later).

This thread describes how to configure OC manually and produces OC EFI.
OCLP configures OC automatically and produces OC EFI.

The point is they both produce OC EFI....just different methods but they are not different which some folks tries to make them out be.

When you say "So, for me it's OC and Monterey for now" what you really mean is "So, for me it's manually generated OC for booting Monterey for now".

I too prefer to configure my OC manually as described in this thread.

 

[PeterHolbrook]

^When I said “We all know” I meant people who have been following this thread for months and who have encountered frequent requests of clarification that pertain only to OCLP. As I said, I recommended that my sons should use OCLP on their old computers, so I know what it is. And, for now, I don’t want it for my computer.

 

[paalb]

I feel that the fundamental problem is that they deserve help and are asking in the wrong forum, because most of us who are following this do not know enough about OCLP to be of any use. A better title, something like @flaubert suggests might help.