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original Mac Pro & OSX 10.7

bozz2006

bozz2006

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Aug 24, 2007
2,530
0
Minnesota
I have been hearing some conflicting info about compatibility. Perhaps nobody knows the answer to this yet, but I'm wondering if I'll be able to run 10.7 on my original Mac Pro.

Apple states that a core2duo chip will be the minimum requirement to run 10.7. However, there have been many saying that 10.7 will run exclusively on a 64-bit kernel, and the only Macs that can currently run on a 64 bit kernel must have 64 bit EFI. the original Mac Pro has a 32 bit EFI. So I'm confused. Will the original Mac Pro be able to run 10.7 or not?

If not, I'd like to know so I can sell my Mac Pro now for a newer machine that will be able to run 10.7. Thanks for your thoughts.
 
bozz2006 said:
Apple states that a core2duo chip will be the minimum requirement to run 10.7.
Click to expand...

This is correct.

bozz2006 said:
However, there have been many saying that 10.7 will run exclusively on a 64-bit kernel
Click to expand...

This is incorrect.

bozz2006 said:
the original Mac Pro has a 32 bit EFI.
Click to expand...

Most Core 2 Duos also have 32 bit EFI.

bozz2006 said:
So I'm confused. Will the original Mac Pro be able to run 10.7 or not?
Click to expand...

The 2006 Mac Pro can run 10.7 no problem.
 
Are you sure about the 32 bit EFI? I am pretty sure that is incorrect. I know most core2duos run on a 32 bit kernel by default, yet they have 64 bit EFI. Only the earliest intel macs have 32 bit EFI. Most of these Macs have core duo chips, with the Mac Pro being one of the only Macs with core2duo architecture chips and 32 bit EFI. By the time Apple started putting core2duo chips into their consumer machines, I believe they pretty much all had 64 bit EFI.
 
bozz2006 said:
Are you sure about the 32 bit EFI? I am pretty sure that is incorrect. I know most core2duos run on a 32 bit kernel by default, yet they have 64 bit EFI.
Click to expand...

Most Core 2 Duos have 32 bit EFI. 64 bit EFI wasn't across the board until late in the Core 2 Duo's life.

http://www.everymac.com/articles/q&...-bit-macs-64-bit-efi-boot-in-64-bit-mode.html

The list of machines with 32 bit EFI is quite long.

bozz2006 said:
By the time Apple started putting core2duo chips into their consumer machines, I believe they pretty much all had 64 bit EFI.
Click to expand...

Nope. Even machines that came out last year can't run K64.
 
bozz2006 said:
Are you sure about the 32 bit EFI? I am pretty sure that is incorrect. I know most core2duos run on a 32 bit kernel by default, yet they have 64 bit EFI. Only the earliest intel macs have 32 bit EFI. Most of these Macs have core duo chips, with the Mac Pro being one of the only Macs with core2duo architecture chips and 32 bit EFI. By the time Apple started putting core2duo chips into their consumer machines, I believe they pretty much all had 64 bit EFI.
Click to expand...

IIRC All MacBooks only run 32 bit, the Pros run 64 bit
 
Well it sounds like I'll be a happy camper then! My Mac Pro is plenty fast for what I use it for (semi-pro photography and creating home videos), so if it will run 10.7 I will definitely hang on to it. Thank you sir. Still, from that list I can't agree with you that 64 bit EFI came along late in the life of core2 chips. Only the very earliest iterations of the core2 machines have 32 bit EFI.
 
Last edited:
While Apple has been known to drop support fast, one year is too fast even for Apple. Also do remember that Lion is a hybrid of OS X and iOS, isn't the A4 a 32 bit CPU?
 
CaoCao said:
IIRC All MacBooks only run 32 bit, the Pros run 64 bit
Click to expand...

While they do only operate in 32 bit mode, they do have 64 bit EFI and 64 bit processors.

CaoCao said:
While Apple has been known to drop support fast, one year is too fast even for Apple. Also do remember that Lion is a hybrid of OS X and iOS, isn't the A4 a 32 bit CPU?
Click to expand...

They are designing it to have a similar interface as iOS. It's still going to be a different system, so the ipads, for instance, are in a whole different ballpark in this respect.
 
bozz2006 said:
While they do only operate in 32 bit mode, they do have 64 bit EFI and 64 bit processors.



They are designing it to have a similar interface as iOS. It's still going to be a different system, so the ipads, for instance, are in a whole different ballpark in this respect.
Click to expand...

Actually I think my MacBook from Early 09 has a 32 bit EFI
 
Lion works on all Macs if you remove a plist called PlatformSupport.


Yes, Apple made a file to block out first gen Macbooks. Lion actually supports all intel macs.
 
Cindori said:
Lion works on all Macs if you remove a plist called PlatformSupport.


Yes, Apple made a file to block out first gen Macbooks. Lion actually supports all intel macs.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't get to comfy with this. Apple is likely to cut 32 bit binaries before the final release.
 
Cindori said:
Lion works on all Macs if you remove a plist called PlatformSupport.


Yes, Apple made a file to block out first gen Macbooks. Lion actually supports all intel macs.
Click to expand...

Does it work naturally on first generation Mac Pros?
 
This will bring down the value of my late 2006 iMac to that of a PPC. My iMac isn't even four years old yet.
 
There is nothing in Lion that would get me go out and buy a new Mac Pro if Apple decided to cut off support for Mac Pro 1,1. I'm planning to ride this baby until it drops dead. With the addition of an SSD bootdrive, it's actually a lot more responsive than it was new, and it was plenty fast to begin with. Unless you're usung software that that can take advantage of more than 4 cores, you're trcked out 2010 Mac Pro will be lucky to be twice as as fast as my 2006 quad 2.66 for most tasks, nowhere near 4-6X claimed by Geekbench. I can see myself using this machine well into 2013. Hopefully Apple will still be making Mac Pros then.
 
They can still remove 32-bit binary for apps like the Finder. In that case, core duos won't run Lion.
Apple could very well do that to save space, since 32-bit processors aren't officially supported.
 
If I make the move, it wouldn't be for a new Mac Pro. Most every Mac they sell now is powerful enough for my needs. Most likely I'd go for a Mac Mini. If they, by the grace of Jobs (heh, see what I did there?), release a 4-core version in the upcoming refresh, I'd be happy with that. But if my Mac Pro Classic is able to run 10.7 I'll stick with it for sure.
 
bozz2006 said:
If I make the move, it wouldn't be for a new Mac Pro. Most every Mac they sell now is powerful enough for my needs. Most likely I'd go for a Mac Mini. If they, by the grace of Jobs (heh, see what I did there?), release a 4-core version in the upcoming refresh, I'd be happy with that. But if my Mac Pro Classic is able to run 10.7 I'll stick with it for sure.
Click to expand...

I think you'll be better off with a low end MBP then, which is likely to top the Mini's specs, plus you'll have portability. I just can't see the Mini as anyone's primary machine, especially after coming from a Mac Pro.
 
bozz2006 said:
I have been hearing some conflicting info about compatibility. Perhaps nobody knows the answer to this yet, but I'm wondering if I'll be able to run 10.7 on my original Mac Pro.

Apple states that a core2duo chip will be the minimum requirement to run 10.7. However, there have been many saying that 10.7 will run exclusively on a 64-bit kernel, and the only Macs that can currently run on a 64 bit kernel must have 64 bit EFI. the original Mac Pro has a 32 bit EFI. So I'm confused. Will the original Mac Pro be able to run 10.7 or not?

If not, I'd like to know so I can sell my Mac Pro now for a newer machine that will be able to run 10.7. Thanks for your thoughts.
Click to expand...

A 64bit EFI is not a requirement for a 64bit kernel, 32bit EFI can boot a 64bit kernel just fine. Your machine can run in pure64 right now, on several OSs. The restriction on 64bit OSX kernels booting on older machines is purely an arbitrary Apple restriction, and looks like it'll vanish with 10.7.

goMac said:
This is correct.

Most Core 2 Duos also have 32 bit EFI.
Click to expand...

This is not true, however the first iterations do.

Cindori said:
then Mac Pro 1,1 2,1 wouldnt be able to run it.
Click to expand...

Yes it will, as I said earlier in this post, the 1,1 and the 2,1 are fully 64bit OS capable machines, and since Apple's explicit restriction is 64bit CPU 10.7 will run fine at release.
 
seek3r said:
A 64bit EFI is not a requirement for a 64bit kernel, 32bit EFI can boot a 64bit kernel just fine. Your machine can run in pure64 right now, on several OSs. The restriction on 64bit OSX kernels booting on older machines is purely an arbitrary Apple restriction, and looks like it'll vanish with 10.7.
Click to expand...

Oh thank god, finally the complaining will stop...
 
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