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

[Dayo]

2) When we want to boot HS or earlier - boot OpenCore config 2 -> rEFInd -> further boot HS / Sierra (HWAccel will be disabled)

This is the one that needs testing. There is a chance that the HWAccel items from OC would propagate through boot from rEFIt Variant.

EDIT: 2020-04-03
See 2020-04-03 Amendment to Post 1,524

 

[Nick_P]

....snip....

4. Load the resulting .bin file into TextEdit. Search contents for the word 'Secure'.
5. If you have any matching results STOP. Your BootROM already has problems, it doesn't need more.

....snip....

Dumb question, when I load the dumped .bin file in textedit, it shows nothing but garbled text. I do a search anyway for "secure", and have no hits.

I then downloaded a hex editor (Hex Fiend), and that only showed me a bunch of numbers, plus garbled text. I also searched for "secure" in this app, and found no hits.

Did I do this correctly? Or is there something I'm missing to be able to view these files in plain English, and then do a search of the word "secure"?

Thank you.

 

[h9826790]

Dumb question, when I load the dumped .bin file in textedit, it shows nothing but garbled text. I do a search anyway for "secure", and have no hits.

Did I do this correctly?

Normal and correct.

You should see something like this when you load the dumped BootROM image file in TextEdit

 

[Nick_P]

Thank you h9826790. Yes, that's what I see.

 

[Kenn2183]

OpenCore on Legacy Apple Hardware

This guide explains how to use the excellent OpenCore (OC) bootloader on a Mac Pro 5,1 (with upgraded Westmere Xeons and Boot ROM version 144.0.0.0.0) to install, run, and update macOS Catalina, resulting in a clean, unpatched operating system no different than what you would find on a supported Mac.

The main advantage of using OC vs other tools on a Mac Pro 5,1 is that it makes Software Update work.

View attachment 882160​

Another advantage is boot screen.

In a historic development, OC developer @vit9696 has brought basic boot-picker support to the Mac Pro 5,1 with standard UEFI GOP graphics cards (special thanks to @startergo for the relentless testing)! You can read about it here.

Guide

This guide provides a simplified hands-on approach to installing and configuring OC.

1. Setup

Disk A. Newly APFS-formatted drive (GUID scheme)

This is where OC and a clean install of Catalina will go.

Disk B. macOS Mojave

Installation and configuration will be done from here. (To ensure a bootable fallback after an NVRAM reset, it is recommended that Disk B be a SATA disk in Bay 1 and that it always be present alongside Disk A.)

2. Materials

A. The application "Install macOS Catalina" (the full installer)

B. OpenCore

See the releases page of the project site. Download OpenCore-0.5.6-RELEASE.zip. The uncompressed folder will be referred to here as "OpenCore."

C. Basic configuration file

Provided in this post. Download config.zip. The uncompressed file is "config.plist".

The configuration described in this guide should be perfectly safe. However, because OC is a very powerful tool, it is important that you fully understand all configuration options before deviating from the guide. You are encouraged to take a look at the very comprehensive manual available in the OpenCore folder.

Because OC is in active development, the configuration file for the current version (0.5.6) will likely be incompatible with future (or past) versions.

3. Installing OC

a) Mount the EFI partition of Disk A: To find the identifier of the partition, enter the following in terminal:

diskutil list

The identifier will be something like "disk0s1;" the next step will assume that this is the case.

sudo diskutil mount /dev/disk0s1

You may need to authorize this. The partition should mount as /Volumes/EFI and appear as "EFI" in Finder.

b) Copy the OpenCore/EFI folder to the EFI partition. The resulting folder, /Volumes/EFI/EFI, should contain the folders OC and BOOT.

c) Copy config.plist to /Volumes/EFI/EFI/OC.

4. Configuration

The file config.plist can be edited with any plist editor and even with TextEdit; the following steps will assume TextEdit.

a) Open config.plist with TextEdit.

b) Enable the VMM flag: Find the Cpuid1Mask entry, and carefully change AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA== to AAAAAAAAAAAAAACAAAAAAA==. The value should now be the same as for Cpuid1Data.

Remark: VMM flag spoofing is only possible with Westmere Xeons. Nehalem and older Xeons don't have the hardware requirements to support Apple Hypervisor and can't enable VMM flag spoofing.

c) If your display is HiDPI (retina), find UIScale and change AQ== to Ag==.

d) Close the file. It should be saved automatically (select OK if informed about there being no permanent version storage).

5. Booting

a) Reboot into recovery mode by entering

sudo nvram "recovery-boot-mode=unused" && sudo reboot recovery

You may need to authorize this. Be patient. Mac Pro boot times can be long, especially when booting into recovery mode.

b) Carry out step 3a (sudo is not needed in recovery).

c) Set the partition for booting:

bless --mount /Volumes/EFI --setBoot

If the above fails, try:

bless --mount /Volumes/EFI --setBoot --file /Volumes/EFI/EFI/BOOT/BOOTx64.efi --verbose

d) Shut down the Mac and do an SMC reset (unplug the power cord, wait 15 seconds, plug the power cord back in, wait 5 seconds, and then press the power button).

Remark: Being installed on Disk A, OC can have trouble seeing Disk B. Doing an SMC reset helps ensure that Disk B is seen when OC starts.

e) Power up the machine. If you see the simple boot picker, let it timeout to the default selection. OC should boot Disk B (currently the only macOS system).

Be patient. Mac Pro boot times can be long. If it seems that the machine is not booting up. Hold the power button to shut down the machine. Do an NVRAM reset on the next power up (immediately press and hold Option, Command, P, and R, and release after 20 seconds or after you hear the second startup chime). The Mac should boot without OC. Recheck all the steps above.

f) Booted into the system on Disk B, verify that it is indeed OC that has booted the system by entering this in terminal:

nvram 4D1FDA02-38C7-4A6A-9CC6-4BCCA8B30102:opencore-version

You should see REL-056-2020-03-02.

You can also verify that the VMM flag is present by entering

sysctl machdep.cpu.features

You should see VMM in the list of features.

Congratulations for making it this far! The hard part is done.

6. Installing Catalina

a) Booted into the system on Disk B, run Install macOS Catalina. Install to Disk A.

The machine will reboot. If you see the simple boot picker, let it timeout to the default selection. Eventually you should see the installation progress bar.

b) Complete the installation.

From now on, OC should boot Catalina on Disk A by default. You can also select the desired system from the boot picker. Moreover, OC will respect the selection in Startup Disk.

7. Updates

Software Update should just work when the VMM flag is set.

8. A More Native System

Because the VMM flag causes a performance loss (about 5%) and disables power management, it is a good idea to only enable the flag when installing or checking for updates. To disable the flag, reverse step 4b and reboot.

9. Uninstalling OC

a) Carry out step 3a.

b) Delete the /Volumes/EFI/EFI folder.

c) Reboot and do an NVRAM reset. Mojave should start.

Acknowledgements

A big thank you to the talented developers of OpenCore for making all of this possible.

Hello I followed all instructions and I used the config plist in this post and I booted back into Mojave fine and I installed Catalina just fine and when the system rebooted to finish the Catalina install I got a circle with a line in it and the system shut down

 

[Macschrauber]

Hello I followed all instructions and I used the config plist in this post and I booted back into Mojave fine and I installed Catalina just fine and when the system rebooted to finish the Catalina install I got a circle with a line in it and the system shut down

You need to add

sudo nvram boot-args="-no_compat_check"

In nvram,

To do rootless must be deactivated. Do it in Recovery.

Csrutil disable

I stepped into the samle little trap, thinking vmm setting would bypass this.


Btw:

could this be made by an entry in the config file?

Could someone add this to the instructions in post 1?

 

[dvbcheck]

When in recovery mode, open terminal, then type:

csrutil enable --without nvram Return
nvram boot-args="-no_compat_check" Return

 

[cdf]

could this be made by an entry in the config file?

Could someone add this to the instructions in post 1?

The thing is, the config already includes -no_compat_check. Having to add it directly to the NVRAM indicates that you are actually booting without OpenCore.

 

[JM-Prod]

Delete, seems my question was answered.

 

[Macschrauber]

The thing is, the config already includes -no_compat_check. Having to add it directly to the NVRAM indicates that you are actually booting without OpenCore.

not really for me, I started from scratch on an untouched machine (mp4.1, X5677 with 144.0.0.0), following the instructions from post 1 word by word (and downloading oc and config file), installed Catalina from Mojave and run into the forbidden sign when catalina booted to phase 2 installation.

I know all the treatments with Catalina, hacked the installer when first beta came out, so I know all the basics.

Maybe oc was bypassed when catalina installer booted the 1st time into phase 2 after installing by another host system?

And tho, others run into the same situation like @Kenn2183 posted.

I wanted to replicate what a new user / maybe my client does and followed post 1

When I find time I redo all and peek into nvram settings. Somehow installer phase 2 hasnt got it.

 

[startergo]

not really for me, I started from scratch on an untouched machine (mp4.1, X5677 with 144.0.0.0), following the instructions from post 1 word by word (and downloading oc and config file), installed Catalina from Mojave and run into the forbidden sign when catalina booted to phase 2 installation.

I know all the treatments with Catalina, hacked the installer when first beta came out, so I know all the basics.

Maybe oc was bypassed when catalina installer booted the 1st time into phase 2 after installing by another host system?

And tho, others run into the same situation like @Kenn2183 posted.

I wanted to replicate what a new user / maybe my client does and followed post 1

When I find time I redo all and peek into nvram settings. Somehow installer phase 2 hasnt got it.

Which Catalina version? Hope it is not one of the 10.15.4 betas?

 

[cdf]

Hope it is not one of the 10.15.4 betas?

I'm on the latest beta with no issue.

 

[jscipione]

That iStat Menu issue fixed for a few months already. Anyway, this is the package to enable HEVC encoding (if you have the applicable GPU).

Activate AMD hardware acceleration

I created a new "easy to install package" as per many requested (based on the official OpenCore). [The attached package updated to 1.0.0] For those who only need HWAccel, post #594 has everything you need. This new package mainly offer HWAccel + boot screen. Also, this package should work in...

forums.macrumors.com

I'm going to reply on this thread instead of the Mac Pro CPU Compatibility List thread because I don't want to post about this topic there which is unrelated to Mac Pro CPU Compatibility. You say that the iStats Menu issue has been fixed for a few months already and that the package enables HEVC encoding with applicable GPU. I already installed the Open Core patch that you posted and it did give me HEVC encoding support in Handbrake... I just couldn't see the option for some reason.

I have seen some people showing screenshots that show that they have HEVC support and I've come to understand that the software they're using is VideoProc. Well, they're having a Spring sale so I bought a copy. VideoProc says that HEVC is enabled. Screenshot attached (so I can be cool too.) So I guess HEVC acceleration is working.

 

[h9826790]

I'm going to reply on this thread instead of the Mac Pro CPU Compatibility List thread because I don't want to post about this topic there which is unrelated to Mac Pro CPU Compatibility. You say that the iStats Menu issue has been fixed for a few months already and that the package enables HEVC encoding with applicable GPU. I already installed the Open Core patch that you posted but it didn't give me HEVC encoding support, at least not in Handbrake. Is there something else I should have to do to enable HEVC encoding support other than install the "easy install" Open Core patch such as install some iMac Pro 1,1 code? Maybe Handbrake just doesn't support HEVC encoding through videotoolbox. I was talking to the Mac Handbrake maintainer, and he said that it should support HEVC if it detects it, but maybe that's not true.

I have seen some people showing screenshots that show that they have HEVC support and I've come to understand that the software they're using is VideoProc. Well, they're having a Spring sale so I bought a copy. VideoProc says that HEVC is enabled. Screenshot attached (so I can be cool too.) So I guess HEVC acceleration is working, it's just not supported in Handbrake.
View attachment 900008

Both H264 and HEVC hardware encoding work in Handbrake (tested on my own cMP as per the following video)

From your screen capture, you have HWAccel activated correctly by using OpenCore. And it should work in Handbrake.

How you determine that doesn't work? Freeze? Crash? Lack of VTB option?

 

[jscipione]

Both H264 and HEVC hardware encoding work in Handbrake (tested on my own cMP as per the following video)

From your screen capture, you have HWAccel activated correctly by using OpenCore. And it should work in Handbrake.

How you determine that doesn't work? Freeze? Crash? Lack of VTB option?

It was working the whole time I just didn’t see the option, PiBKaC error. HEVC encoding time for a 1080 movie went from ~5hrs to 24m. No crash, working fine. I still need to test on my 4K TV but it seems to be working.

 

[startergo]

I'm on the latest beta with no issue.

How did you install it? I remember you said you had beta 2 before. Did you update 10.15.3 with the VMM flag or did you install it with USB installer?

 

[cdf]

How did you install it? I remember you said you had beta 2 before. Did you update 10.15.3 with the VMM flag or did you install it with USB installer?

I updated to beta 5 with the VMM flag using Software Update after manually enrolling my machine.

 

[ironmanny1]

I recently got everything working on my Mac Pro, Open Core, AMD Hardware Acceleration, Boot Screen. EFI Protection for windows is good news. I've erased my legacy Windows 10 on my 2.5 SSD. However, when installing via USB with EFI, I get errors after the partitioning Windows 10 for installation. Is this because of opencore? I don't want to disable opencore and try to install windows 10 in EFI because of the boot Cert issue. Any methods of installing Windows 10 EFI with opencore safely?

Update:

Okay, I found out why the Windows 10 Installation was failing when trying to install. I got Windows 10 EFI installed by, Booting my Mac with opencore on a usb stick. Right Before I would do a custom install and partition the drive I would disconnect my OpenCore USB Stick. Windows now would install when I select my 2.5 SSD. I had to delete the partition and click next. Windows would now proceed installing without erroring out. When windows asked to restart the the computer, I would plug my Opencore USB stick back in. Windows 10 is now installed Successfully.

 

[Macschrauber]

Which Catalina version? Hope it is not one of the 10.15.4 betas?

No no 10.15.3 Full Installer started from Mojave

I have looked into the config file and of course there is the setting for no compat check in the file.

I replay the whole thing to double check next week.

 

[JM-Prod]

10.15.4 beta seems to be running fine, over all better than 10.15.3 at least

Regarding Open Core and boot screen: Is it possible to configure OC, so that the computer only stops at the boot menu when holding down the option key?

 

[h9826790]

10.15.4 beta seems to be running fine, over all better than 10.15.3 at least

Regarding Open Core and boot screen: Is it possible to configure OC, so that the computer only stops at the boot menu when holding down the option key?

<key>ShowPicker</key>
<false/>

Then hold Esc key to boot, not Option key.

 

[JM-Prod]

<key>ShowPicker</key>
<false/>

Then hold Esc key to boot, not Option key.

Thanks, I'm not following the OC development, but do you think it's likely that OC will look and behave the same way as the original Apple Boot menu in future versions?

 

[cdf]

I'm not following the OC development, but do you think it's likely that OC will look and behave the same way as the original Apple Boot menu in future versions?

With OpenCanopy, it's certainly looking that way.

 

[h9826790]

Thanks, I'm not following the OC development, but do you think it's likely that OC will look and behave the same way as the original Apple Boot menu in future versions?

As cdf pointed out, the Apple style boot manager is possible.

For holding option to boot OpenCore boot picker on cMP. I am not 100% sure. And TBH, I don't think it's a good idea.

At this moment, hold Option to boot (with a Mac EFI UGA graphic card) is the ultimate method to recovery from stuck at boot (due to very very wrong OC config, and the user has no other preventative measurement, etc). Therefore, we better keep this ultimate firewall.

IMO, there is nothing wrong to hold Esc to boot, in fact, may be better to keep it this way.

 

[Itconnects]

Hope everyone is well in social quarantine.

I have a couple of questions. My 5.1 is not sure if it wants to wake or sleep during sleep with open core blessed. Has this issue been solved? Fans keep ramping up and down, and I can hear a clicking noise every once in a while

An Apple folder keeps appearing in my EFI even after its deleted

How exactly does one turn on protectsecureboot in config.plist ?