MP 1,1-5,1 My experience of install Windows 10 on 3,1

[SheetLorde]

Some weird things I find, cannot explain, but this is what I see:
1. Windows installer cannot boot from USB. In theory it should, we can boot the macOS installer from USB no problem, but not Windows Installer. SATA port can boot no problem. If you do not have a windows desktop, what you can do is buy a USB to SATA converter, then make SATA boot drive by mounting it as USB drive. Haven't try DVD, DVD might works.
2. Windows can only be installed on a MBR partition disk.
3. Even after installation, the Windows boot manager cannot be booted. You need to first boot the windows installer, then launch the installed Windows 10 in the installer.
4. Even using the Windows Installer trick in step 3, you still cannot boot your Windows in your NVME disk. I tried.

The best way of installing Windows 10 on Mac Pro 3,1 is:
1. Get a PC and two SATA disks.
2. Make one disk the Windows Installer.
3. Install Windows 10 on the second disk.
4. Plugin both disks to Mac Pro. Boot Windows Installer then select boot from the installed volume. Yes, Windows 10 is robust enough to boot from PC to Mac without reinstallation.

 

[Dayo]

The best way of installing Windows 10 on Mac Pro 3,1 is:
1. Get a PC and two SATA disks.
2. Make one disk the Windows Installer.
3. Install Windows 10 on the second disk.
4. Plugin both disks to Mac Pro. Boot Windows Installer then select boot from the installed volume. Yes, Windows 10 is robust enough to boot from PC to Mac without reinstallation.

if installing UEFI Windows, this process would leave you with all sorts of Windows certificates written to your NVRAM that can result in a bricked MacPro. Just booting the Windows installer is enough.

The risk of bricking may be lower on cMP3,1 but better to avoid. @Macschrauber has a shell script that can tell you how many certificates have already been written to your NVRAM by using this approach. You might want to ping him for a copy and guidance on how to remove them.

Anyone following those instructions for UEFI Windows must make sure they are using a properly configured current version of Opencore or RefindPlus to avoid this issue.

Alternatively, install Legacy Windows. An easy method is this:

Bare Metal Windows on cMP

PART 1 of 3 This is a guide to installing Windows 10 Bare Metal on Classic MacPros without Bootcamp or similar. This is one of many ways to do this but is a straightforward method. This guide is for installing Legacy Windows as opposed to UEFI Windows but can be used for installing UEFI...

forums.macrumors.com

Can also be used for UEFI Windows safely if using Opencore or RefindPlus.

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

The best way of installing Windows 10 on Mac Pro 3,1 is:
1. Get a PC and two SATA disks.
2. Make one disk the Windows Installer.
3. Install Windows 10 on the second disk.
4. Plugin both disks to Mac Pro. Boot Windows Installer then select boot from the installed volume. Yes, Windows 10 is robust enough to boot from PC to Mac without reinstallation.

I used only 1 HDD.
I booted the HDD installer and installed Windows right onto the same HDD.

 

[lifegeur]

I used only 1 HDD.
I booted the HDD installer and installed Windows right onto the same HDD.

Could you describe EXACTLY how you did this please?
Bootcamp does not gives me the "place your windows disk" error, even though a burned DVD with the ISO in the slot. If I try through unetbootin, I hold down the option button at startup but no alternative disk (except macos startup) is given as an option (neither usb-startup disk or SSD STA)

 

[Macschrauber]

The dumper also reads a Mac Pro 3.1 Firmware. Just SIP needs to be disabled like with all other dumpers I know.

Or use Mavericks if you have.

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

Could you describe EXACTLY how you did this please?
Bootcamp does not gives me the "place your windows disk" error, even though a burned DVD with the ISO in the slot. If I try through unetbootin, I hold down the option button at startup but no alternative disk (except macos startup) is given as an option (neither usb-startup disk or SSD STA)

1. On a Windows PC
Use Rufus to create a Windows USB installer, with the target disk is a USB box containing a HDD.
After done, remove the HDD from the USB box and install it to the Mac Pro.

2. On the Mac Pro.
Boot the machine, select the newly installed HDD as booting device.
Windows installer will start to run, when it ask you to select the destination disk, select the HDD itself.

3. After finishing the install, Windows will restart, but as the HDD contain 2 options: Windows installer and Windows OS, it will let you select which to run.

 

[freqrider]

I tried your method. Windows installer boots on PC but not on mac in sata. I get ACPI Bios error. Did you format the installer MBR? Does it work with openCore?

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

I tried your method. Windows installer boots on PC but not on mac in sata. I get ACPI Bios error. Did you format the installer MBR? Does it work with openCore?

You can read post#1 again.
Mac Pro 1,1~3,1 can only boot Windows from MBR partition, not GPT partition.

And OpenCore is for installing MacOS to unsupported hardware, not for installing Windows 10 to supported hardware (Yes, classic Mac Pro are supported hardware for Windows 10)

 

[Macschrauber]

Take care of Windows Certificates for MP3.1 also.

Even if the 3.1 cannot boot uefi Windows from a USB drive somehow a fellow managed it to get one on his 3.1

I can remove it but its a high risk something get bricked by reflashing the firmware. There is no way of failback on 3.1 (like desoldering the spi flash chip and reprogramm it externaly on 4.1 and 5.1 CMP).

serial from firmware: CK8……..XYL
Boot0001 is EFI\OC\OpenCore.efi
8 Memory Configs (ok)
0 xml (ok)
1 Kernel Panic Dumps
0 iCloud Tokkens (ok)
1 Microsoft Certificates (very bad!)
1 BluetoothActiveControllerInfos (ok)
1 BluetoothInternalControllerInfos (ok)
2 current-network (ok)
11 AAPL Path Properties (ok)
31616 Bytes free space of 65472

 

[tsialex]

I can remove it but its a high risk something get bricked by reflashing the firmware. There is no way of failback on 3.1 (like desoldering the spi flash chip and reprogramm it externaly on 4.1 and 5.1 CMP).

MP3,1 BootROM images can't be reconstructed by UEFITool, the generated image is not valid and will be a brick at the first reboot after flashed. Don't ask why I have a pile of 5 early-2008 boards that I bricked myself waiting for the FWB removal.

 

[Macschrauber]

MP3,1 BootROM images can't be reconstructed by UEFITool, the generated image is not valid and will be a brick at the first reboot after flashed. Don't ask why I have a pile of 5 early-2008 boards that I bricked myself waiting for the FWB removal.

ok, I assumed the correct checksums will be vaild.

what makes me wonder is that for example DosDudes APFS DXe inserter dont bricks a MP3,1

 

[tsialex]

ok, I assumed the correct checksums will be vaild.

what makes me wonder is that for example DosDudes APFS DXe inserter dont bricks a MP3,1

Nothing to do with checksums, UEFITool reconstructed images miss part of a module, that it don't understand. If you don't manually re-add everything missing, it will brick instantly after the reboot.