OS X El Capitan on Unsupported Macs

[skyfly555]

A workaround for rEFInd - if you cannot install it into your internal HDD/SDD (disk0)

I have had some troubles installing rEFInd after cloning and booting from El Capitan (I will call it EC) after cloning it into the second internal HDD of my MBP2,1. Maybe someone has or will have the same problem.
So, let's go to the solution.

PROBLEM 1: You have booted El Capitan (EC) with SIP enabled one or more times.
Solution: Simply reset NVRAM, boot from a non-EC Mac partition (internal or external one in the unsupported machine), and repeat step 12 you have on post #1, very likely you'll only have to do step 12g, that's it, blessing the disk0s1 (the EFI partition on disk 0), and reboot the machine.

PROBLEM 2: During an upgrade (for example, from 10.11.5 to 10.11.6) your firmware has been upgraded (without your consent/knowledge, that's the way Apple works).
Comment: This has happened to me! Impossible to bless disk0s1. You can install rEFInd on another disk, even bless it in a non-disk0 disk, but not in disk0.
So, after the upgrade, when you go into the EFI folder (what we call ESP in method 3 v2, step 12), you see an EFI folder, you go into it, and you see not only your refind folder, but another folder called "APPLE" with the firmware inside of it.
Solution: Creating a bootable USB stick with rEFInd installed on it, and boot from it.
Steps-fast description:
1- Download refind-flashdrive-0.10.8.zip. Unzip it. You will get an img file. I'm supposing it's in your Downloads folder.
2- Format an USB Drive --> GUID partition / HFS+ Journaled. So, an EFI partition will be created there.
3- Check the name-number of your USB stick. In terminal: diskutil list.
It will be /dev/disk1 or /dev/disk2. I will suppose it's disk1. If not, change /dev/rdisk1 to /dev/rdisk2 into the next step. But, before that, we must unmount it: diskutil unmountDisk /dev/disk1
4- Create the bootable flash drive. In terminal: sudo dd if=~/Downloads/refind-flashdrive-0.10.8/refind-flashdrive-0.10.8.img of=/dev/rdisk1 bs=1m
5- You have it! Plug the USB stick into your unsupported Mac, left USB port is perfect for that, you know why, and power your mac on while pressing alt key. You will see your units and choose the EFI drive. rEFInd will be loaded and, from then, boot your EC partition.

Once you have booted from the USB drive (it's configured with SIP disabled by default), you can try again to bless your disk0, maybe it will work (or not), depending what problem you have (SIP enabled trouble or firmware upgrade trouble). If you cannot install rEFInd into your internal HDD/SDD, you can always leave the stick connected and boot from it all the times you need. A good option is buying a beautiful and small USB stick And once it's booted up you can take the stick out and you will have the port recognised by EC (remember we are using non-perfect USB kexts).

Note 1: I think now I know what's happening to my old MB2,1, a firmware upgrade!
Note 2: It has been crazy. After upgrading to EC 10.11.6 directly with my MBP2,1, and after going into the EFI partition, booting from Yosemite, and deleting the Apple folder with the firmware.scap file, emptying trash... I booted again the computer, and the folder reappeared! And even after creating the booteable rEFInd USB drive, and booting with SIP disabled, the Apple folder reappeared!

In conclusion, be careful with your EFI partitions and, before booting EC, check what's there.
If you upgrade, remember it, after doing that EC won't boot and you will have to reinstall boot.efis, kexts... basically repeating the method 3 v2 steps, because all we do with the method is destroyed with the upgrade process. And, yes, rEFInd, although the folder is there, doesn't boot.

That's all. Good luck with your hacking.

 

[winipcfg]

A workaround for rEFInd - if you cannot install it into your internal HDD/SDD (disk0)

I have had some troubles installing rEFInd after cloning and booting from El Capitan (I will call it EC) after cloning it into the second internal HDD of my MBP2,1. Maybe someone has or will have the same problem.
So, let's go to the solution.

PROBLEM 1: You have booted El Capitan (EC) with SIP enabled one or more times.
Solution: Simply reset NVRAM, boot from a non-EC Mac partition (internal or external one in the unsupported machine), and repeat step 12 you have on post #1, very likely you'll only have to do step 12g, that's it, blessing the disk0s1 (the EFI partition on disk 0), and reboot the machine.

PROBLEM 2: During an upgrade (for example, from 10.11.5 to 10.11.6) your firmware has been upgraded (without your consent/knowledge, that's the way Apple works).
Comment: This has happened to me! Impossible to bless disk0s1. You can install rEFInd on another disk, even bless it in a non-disk0 disk, but not in disk0.
So, after the upgrade, when you go into the EFI folder (what we call ESP in method 3 v2, step 12), you see an EFI folder, you go into it, and you see not only your refind folder, but another folder called "APPLE" with the firmware inside of it.
Solution: Creating a bootable USB stick with rEFInd installed on it, and boot from it.
Steps-fast description:
1- Download refind-flashdrive-0.10.8.zip. Unzip it. You will get an img file. I'm supposing it's in your Downloads folder.
2- Format an USB Drive --> GUID partition / HFS+ Journaled. So, an EFI partition will be created there.
3- Check the name-number of your USB stick. In terminal: diskutil list.
It will be /dev/disk1 or /dev/disk2. I will suppose it's disk1. If not, change /dev/rdisk1 to /dev/rdisk2 into the next step.
4- Create the bootable flash drive. In terminal: sudo dd if=~/Downloads/refind-flashdrive-0.10.8/refind-flashdrive-0.10.8.img of=/dev/rdisk1 bs=1m
5- You have it! Plug the USB stick into your unsupported Mac, left USB port is perfect for that, you know why, and power your mac on while pressing alt key. You will see your units and choose the EFI drive. rEFInd will be loaded and, from then, boot your EC partition.

Once you have booted from the USB drive (it's configured with SIP disabled by default), you can try again to bless your disk0, maybe it will work (or not), depending what problem you have (SIP enabled trouble or firmware upgrade trouble). If you cannot install rEFInd into your internal HDD/SDD, you can always leave the stick connected and boot from it all the times you need. A good option is buying a beautiful and small USB stick And once it's booted up you can take the stick out and you will have the port recognised by EC (remember we are using non-perfect USB kexts).

Note 1: I think now I know what's happening to my old MB2,1, a firmware upgrade!
Note 2: It has been crazy. After upgrading to EC 10.11.6 directly with my MBP2,1, and after going into the EFI partition, booting from Yosemite, and deleting the Apple folder with the firmware.scap file, emptying trash... I booted again the computer, and the folder reappeared! And even after creating the booteable rEFInd USB drive, and booting with SIP disabled, the Apple folder reappeared!

In conclusion, be careful with your EFI partitions and, before booting EC, check what's there.
If you upgrade, remember it, after doing that EC won't boot and you will have to reinstall boot.efis, kexts... basically repeating the method 3 v2 steps, because all we do with the method is destroyed with the upgrade process. And, yes, rEFInd, although the folder is there, doesn't boot.

That's all. Good luck with your hacking.

Thanks for explaining how to install refind on MB2,1 , I am now stuck at your method 3 v2 step 12 about installing refind to the internal HDD. Since the SIP-enabled EC is my only os in the MB2,1 , do I need to install other os like yosemite or even lion in order to use it for installing refind?

I would like to know if I can use the refind flashdrive version to boot the SIP-enabled EC first, and then install refind to the internal HDD(disk0s1)?

Besides other then firmware upgrading, will the security update causes us to bless and rebuild kexts in the EC partition as well

 

[skyfly555]

Thanks for explaining how to install refind on MB2,1 , I am now stuck at your method 3 v2 step 12 about installing refind to the internal HDD. Since the SIP-enabled EC is my only os in the MB2,1 , do I need to install other os like yosemite or even lion in order to use it for installing refind?

I would like to know if I can use the refind flashdrive version to boot the SIP-enabled EC first, and then install refind to the internal HDD(disk0s1)?

Besides other then firmware upgrading, will the security update causes us to bless and rebuild kexts in the EC partition as well

If I were you, seeing your circumstances, I would create the USB rEFInd booteable stick and boot from it.
The worst it can happen is "losing" the left USB port but if you don't have nothing connected to it when booting, it's lost anyway,so I feel you are not losing anything with the stick.

It, sure, will let you to boot EC with SIP disabled, that's totally true.

The second step will be trying to install it on disk0s1, but, first, you need SIP disabled.

 

[scach]

Hello,

That's all.
The big trouble of method 3 v1 was having SIP enabled!
So, it's great to know your system is going on
[doublepost=1497414078][/doublepost]
Don't care about the typo
I'm not sure if method 3 v2 can be applied to the installer created by MOSE, check it! I don't know how SIP is managed during the installation of El Cap.
The idea should be using the kexts and boot.efi we use in m3v2 and try to install El Cap having rEFInd pre-installed and configured to disable SIP... I don't know what will happen if you try that.

@skyfly555: Tried to do exactly that but still not able to boot the installer getting in rEFInd the "ERROR: Not Found returned from boot.efi". What is wrong?

 

[skyfly555]

@skyfly555: Tried to do exactly that but still not able to boot the installer getting in rEFInd the "ERROR: Not Found returned from boot.efi". What is wrong?

In what point do you get that? Installing rEFInd to disk0s1? Doing that from the USB booteable rEFInd stick? I've added just now a step I forgot, needed to create the USB with dd (unmounting it).
[doublepost=1497794593][/doublepost]

Thanks for explaining how to install refind on MB2,1 , I am now stuck at your method 3 v2 step 12 about installing refind to the internal HDD. Since the SIP-enabled EC is my only os in the MB2,1 , do I need to install other os like yosemite or even lion in order to use it for installing refind?

I would like to know if I can use the refind flashdrive version to boot the SIP-enabled EC first, and then install refind to the internal HDD(disk0s1)?

Besides other then firmware upgrading, will the security update causes us to bless and rebuild kexts in the EC partition as well

Have you tried to create the USB rEFInd booteable stick? I have just modified the method, because I had forgotten one step. Now it's ok.

 

[scach]

In what point do you get that? Installing rEFInd to disk0s1? Doing that from the USB booteable rEFInd stick? I've added just now a step I forgot, needed to create the USB with dd (unmounting it).
[doublepost=1497794593][/doublepost]
Have you tried to create the USB rEFInd booteable stick? I have just modified the method, because I had forgotten one step. Now it's ok.

@skyfly555: Was little unpresize. rEFInd itself works fine for me. I have issues to boot the USB2.0 installer (created using MOSE 1.42 + m3v2).
[doublepost=1497807285][/doublepost]

@skyfly555: Was little unpresize. rEFInd itself works fine for me. I have issues to boot the USB2.0 installer (created using MOSE 1.42 + m3v2).

Is anybody aware what is the exact comand to boot from EFI shell?
And where do I find detailed rEFInd logs to check for the root cause of "Not Found returned from boot.efi"?

 

[winipcfg]

Have you tried to create the USB rEFInd booteable stick? I have just modified the method, because I had forgotten one step. Now it's ok.

@skyfly555 Yes I successfully created a bootable usb refind, I use it to boot EC with SIP disabled.

Then I install refind to disk0s1 again, now everything work fine.

The only problem I got is when turning on the MB, refind can't scan the EC partition and doesn't show any bootable drive,

I need to press esc for refresh, so that it can scan for the EC drive,

maybe I need to impose a scan delay in the refine.conf to make it appear automatically.

 

[skyfly555]

@skyfly555 Yes I successfully created a bootable usb refind, I use it to boot EC with SIP disabled.

Then I install refind to disk0s1 again, now everything work fine.

The only problem I got is when turning on the MB, refind can't scan the EC partition and doesn't show any bootable drive,

I need to press esc for refresh, so that it can scan for the EC drive,

maybe I need to impose a scan delay in the refine.conf to make it appear automatically.

Great!

It hasn't happened to me but rEFInd seems to have a little bit of trouble with that...
I will explain what happened to me: as I couldn't install rEFInd in disk0, I installed it into my disk1 (I have a second internal disk with a Natural2020 kit). It detects EC, because it's in disk1, but it doesn't detect Yosemite, which is in disk0.

Maybe your case and mine are due to the same reason, but I don't know how it can be solved. A scan delay seems to be a good idea

I can say, too, that now I'm trying to create a new boot.efi, let's call it v3, with the hope of having it disabling SIP permanently, so there will not be more need to use rEFInd.

If I get it done, I'll create a method 3 v3 and I will share the new boot.efi, too, but I don't know if I will get that!
In every case, I'll keep you all informed.

 

[winipcfg]

Great!

It hasn't happened to me but rEFInd seems to have a little bit of trouble with that...
I will explain what happened to me: as I couldn't install rEFInd in disk0, I installed it into my disk1 (I have a second internal disk with a Natural2020 kit). It detects EC, because it's in disk1, but it doesn't detect Yosemite, which is in disk0.

Maybe your case and mine are due to the same reason, but I don't know how it can be solved. A scan delay seems to be a good idea

I can say, too, that now I'm trying to create a new boot.efi, let's call it v3, with the hope of having it disabling SIP permanently, so there will not be more need to use rEFInd.

If I get it done, I'll create a method 3 v3 and I will share the new boot.efi, too, but I don't know if I will get that!
In every case, I'll keep you all informed.

Actually I didn't follow exactly the same method 3 v2,
instead, I clone EC via firewire from my MBP7,1 to my MB2,1.
I have EC installed on an external HDD for that mbp7,1.
I don't know if this would affect the refind scan result.

BTW it seems the newest usb kext work well for me, as I didn't get any recognize issue even leaving the 2 usb port idle for a while.
I haven't plug in anything to the usb ports when booting the macbook, coz I had installed refind in disk1s1.

Anyway thanks for your contribution! Since you guide is really useful for MB2,1 users like me,
Good luck for your new boot.efi

Edit: I find out that refind is actually installed to disk1s1, even I mount disk0s1 as ESP,
looks like our problem are exactly the same, since I also got a 2nd HDD

Besides in refind.conf, scan_delay helps tackle the refresh issue, so it can be assorted with a shorter timeout to make a autoboot

 

[Zacharybinx34]

Using method 1, I restart - while holding Alt [option] though select the 2nd partition, however it boots to the primary partition os?

 

[skyfly555]

FINALLY, WE HAVE AN ALWAYS-DISABLED-SIP BOOT.EFI

How SIP works
The idea is simple (thanks to @foxlet for enlightening me).
1- You have a variable stored in NVRAM. It's called csr-active-config. It can be: 0x00 SIP enabled; 0x03 SIP partially disabled; 0x67 SIP totally disabled. rEFInd uses 0x10 as SIP enabled, and 0x77 as SIP disabled.
2- boot.efi creates a value into NVRAM if it doesn't exist. By defaut, it's 0x00. If it exists, it reads the csr-active-config we have in NVRAM.
3- Kernel asks csr-active-config value to boot.efi and boot.efi gives that value to the kernel. If kernel asks and boot.efi says nothing, kernel interprets SIP is 0x00, enabled.
Note: So, kernel cannot read csr-active-config in NVRAM, it needs boot.efi to give it to it.

HISTORY OF OUR boot.efis
1- In method 3 v1 (m3v1) I realised boot.efi from Pike (El Capitan-EC version) gave a Kernel Panic (KP) to our EFI32-non-mac-pros computers. So I tried boot.efi from Pike Yosemite branch. It worked but this boot.efi didn't read csr-active-config value and, hence, we had SIP enabled. The m3v1 was created having this is mind and had a workaround to the SIP-enabled issue.
2- Method 3 v2 (m3v2) takes the advantage of the boot.efi created by @vsbalint70. It's created mixing code from Yosemite and El Cap branches of Pike's boot.efis. It reads the csr-config-value and gives it to the kernel. SIP is set to enabled by default (this is how Pike coded his EC boot.efi). The m3v2 is, basically, a workaround to have the SIP-disabled value on csr-active-config inside of NVRAM. We get this done using rEFInd.
3- Method 3 v3 uses a different boot.efi. It's based on the code created by @vsbalint70 (thank you for sharing your code with me). As you may know, I tried, some posts ago, to create an always-SIP-disabled boot.efi (thank you, @mattschwantes , for checking it), but I had two little but significant errors and SIP was not disabled. Taking the code from @vsbalint70 and doing the modifications I had in mind now I have created the boot.efi v3.

CONCLUSION
I'm posting here the new boot.efi, I call it v3. How does it work?
Simple.
1- If there's no csr-active-config value in NVRAM, it creates it. I have left it to be 0x00.
2- Because this isn't important: boot.efi doesn't read NVRAM csr-active-config value.
3- This boot.efi ALWAYS gives to the kernel the 0x67 value.
4- So, kernel doesn't have any way to know if boot.efi is giving a value read in NVRAM or a "fake" value, and, hence, it accepts it happily.
5- This method is compatible with rEFInd, but you don't need rEFInd. If you are curious, you can install this boot.efi, and change the SIP values from rEFInd (when it boots, it's done going to the shield and pressing the space key). You will see, once EC is booted, on terminal, typing csrutil status, SIP is always disabled, doesn't matter the csr-active-config value you put into NVRAM. You can even reset NVRAM, EC will boot with SIP disabled too.

So, what's m3v3? Basically, m3v2 without rEFInd, with this new boot.efi I'm posting here in this very moment, and with having a precaution related to the firmware updates that has messed my MB2,1 up (now, my MB is working again in perfect condition).

If you have done m3v1 or m3v2 yet, you can change your boot.efi to this new one. I recommend it.

Please, download the file, unzip it, and rename it to boot.efi

Today or tomorrow I will post m3v3 in post #1.

NOTE: If you have an EFI64 unsupported machine (like MB3,1 or MB4,1), I don't know if you can use this boot.efi, so, if you use the default EC boot.efi, you have to use m3v2 (and rEFInd) to have SIP disabled. Sorry, I don't have an EFI64 Mac to check if it can work with this EFI32 boot.efi
Please, if you have one, and you check it, tell us your results.

 

[skyfly555]

Actually I didn't follow exactly the same method 3 v2,
instead, I clone EC via firewire from my MBP7,1 to my MB2,1.
I have EC installed on an external HDD for that mbp7,1.
I don't know if this would affect the refind scan result.

BTW it seems the newest usb kext work well for me, as I didn't get any recognize issue even leaving the 2 usb port idle for a while.
I haven't plug in anything to the usb ports when booting the macbook, coz I had installed refind in disk1s1.

Anyway thanks for your contribution! Since you guide is really useful for MB2,1 users like me,
Good luck for your new boot.efi

Edit: I find out that refind is actually installed to disk1s1, even I mount disk0s1 as ESP,
looks like our problem are exactly the same, since I also got a 2nd HDD

Besides in refind.conf, scan_delay helps tackle the refresh issue, so it can be assorted with a shorter timeout to make a autoboot

Hi, @winipcfg,

Related to the ESP partitions.

Mount disk0s1 EFI/ESP partition and check if there is an "apple" folder inside of "EFI" folder you find in ESP partition.
If this is the case you will have /EFI/EFI/APPLE/Extensions/firmware.scap

This firmware gives tones of troubles! You have to destroy it!

So, delete Apple folder, empty trash, go to /Volumes/Capitann/usr/standalone/i386/, you will find another firmware.scap there. Delete it, empty trash and reboot. If you don't delete firmware.scap from /Volumes/Capitann/usr/standalone/i386/, everytime you boot EC will copy it to your ESP partition on disk0. It can even copy it to the disk1, if you have it!

If that's there, EC cannot boot if you lose your kexts.cache folder or it can even give you KPs. And you cannot bless disk0s1 and rEFInd cannot be installed there!

Now, I have given to you the last new step/finding that will be in m3v3 This is specially disturbing with EC 10.11.6. If you don't delete the firmware.scap into /usr/standalone/i386, you feel like it was immortal, seeing it again in again into the ESP partition, after having deleted it
[doublepost=1497953881][/doublepost]

@skyfly555: Was little unpresize. rEFInd itself works fine for me. I have issues to boot the USB2.0 installer (created using MOSE 1.42 + m3v2).

I recommend you trying the new boot.efi v3, maybe it can help you.

 

[winipcfg]

Hi, @winipcfg,

Related to the ESP partitions.

Mount disk0s1 EFI/ESP partition and check if there is an "apple" folder inside of "EFI" folder you find in ESP partition.
If this is the case you will have /EFI/EFI/APPLE/Extensions/firmware.scap

This firmware gives tones of troubles! You have to destroy it!

So, delete Apple folder, empty trash, go to /Volumes/Capitann/usr/standalone/i386/, you will find another firmware.scap there. Delete it, empty trash and reboot. If you don't delete firmware.scap from /Volumes/Capitann/usr/standalone/i386/, everytime you boot EC will copy it to your ESP partition on disk0. It can even copy it to the disk1, if you have it!

If that's there, EC cannot boot if you lose your kexts.cache folder or it can even give you KPs. And you cannot bless disk0s1 and rEFInd cannot be installed there!

Now, I have given to you the last new step/finding that will be in m3v3 This is specially disturbing with EC 10.11.6. If you don't delete the firmware.scap into /usr/standalone/i386, you feel like it was immortal, seeing it again in again into the ESP partition, after having deleted it
[doublepost=1497953881][/doublepost]

I recommend you trying the new boot.efi v3, maybe it can help you.

Wonderful coding achievement! Hope this can solve the SIP issue on MB2,1 permanently, thank you.

But can we switch back to a black background and white apple boot screen like the one used for refind by @vsbalint70 ?

Or does the boot.efi need to be recompiled?

 

[Zacharybinx34]

Using method 1, I restart - while holding Alt [option] though select the 2nd partition, however it boots to the primary partition os?

I tried typing the Sudo command but it didn't work.

I typed
sudo bless --folder /Volumes/OS X Base System --file /Volumes/OS X Base System/boot --setBoot

the error I get is:

Can't determine mount point of '/Volumes/OS' and ''

 

[mcintosh13]

I installed OSX El Capitan on my Mac Mini 2,1 2007 2ghz C2D with Macpostfactor method, it rebooted installed successfully and finished up fine. Upon rebooting it shows OSX hackers logo and errors out. I believe the OS installed fine but it wont boot into it. Does anyone have any ideas about how to get this to boot to El Capitan.

 

[skyfly555]

I installed OSX El Capitan on my Mac Mini 2,1 2007 2ghz C2D with Macpostfactor method, it rebooted installed successfully and finished up fine. Upon rebooting it shows OSX hackers logo and errors out. I believe the OS installed fine but it wont boot into it. Does anyone have any ideas about how to get this to boot to El Capitan.

Method3 v2 or v3 is what you need.

 

[mcintosh13]

Is it at all possible to do this without another mac and external hard drive?

 

[skyfly555]

Wonderful coding achievement! Hope this can solve the SIP issue on MB2,1 permanently, thank you.

But can we switch back to a black background and white apple boot screen like the one used for refind by @vsbalint70 ?

Or does the boot.efi need to be recompiled?

Hmmm...

I don't know, I have just taken the MSVC project @vsbalint70 gave me and just changed two lines (the most important lines in all the source code)! The rest is untouched.
[doublepost=1497980287][/doublepost]

Is it at all possible to do this without another mac and external hard drive?

I understand you have El Capitan into a partition of your Mac.
Now you cannot boot your mac? Or do you have a second partition with some other mac OS version installed on it?
[doublepost=1497980550][/doublepost]

Wonderful coding achievement! Hope this can solve the SIP issue on MB2,1 permanently, thank you.

But can we switch back to a black background and white apple boot screen like the one used for refind by @vsbalint70 ?

Or does the boot.efi need to be recompiled?

Checked with my EFI32 MB2,1

This new boot.efi is great, I have checked it with my two old EFI32 Macs, the MBP2,1 and the MB2,1 SIP disabled, and without using rEFInd

 

[mcintosh13]

It just has a single partition with El Cap successfully installed on it but the machine will not boot into the OS it just loads up a OS X Hackers logo and pops up a box that says An unknown error occurred! with a button that says shutdown or one that says reboot.


The system was booting and functioning great with 10.8.4 installed with Macpostfactor method, would the machine work better with 10.9 or 10.10 if 10.11 is not possible with this method? I'm trying to get the newest version possible because a lot the apps I need no longer support 10.8.4 in their current versions, any light on this would be appreciated!

 

[scach]

Hi, @winipcfg,

Related to the ESP partitions.

Mount disk0s1 EFI/ESP partition and check if there is an "apple" folder inside of "EFI" folder you find in ESP partition.
If this is the case you will have /EFI/EFI/APPLE/Extensions/firmware.scap

This firmware gives tones of troubles! You have to destroy it!

So, delete Apple folder, empty trash, go to /Volumes/Capitann/usr/standalone/i386/, you will find another firmware.scap there. Delete it, empty trash and reboot. If you don't delete firmware.scap from /Volumes/Capitann/usr/standalone/i386/, everytime you boot EC will copy it to your ESP partition on disk0. It can even copy it to the disk1, if you have it!

If that's there, EC cannot boot if you lose your kexts.cache folder or it can even give you KPs. And you cannot bless disk0s1 and rEFInd cannot be installed there!

Now, I have given to you the last new step/finding that will be in m3v3 This is specially disturbing with EC 10.11.6. If you don't delete the firmware.scap into /usr/standalone/i386, you feel like it was immortal, seeing it again in again into the ESP partition, after having deleted it
[doublepost=1497953881][/doublepost]

I recommend you trying the new boot.efi v3, maybe it can help you.

@skyfly555: Finally I gave up on the installer and cloned a pre-installed 10.11.6 from a USB stick to my external USB disk. Afterwards I applied your m3v2 plus your v3 boot.efi. What should I say. It works like a charm!!! Now my MB 2,1 (mid 2007) is running with EC. You are simply the best.
The next challenge would be to somehow port Sierra. The question is how to omit the check on the chipset.

 

[scach]

@skyfly555: Finally I gave up on the installer and cloned a pre-installed 10.11.6 from a USB stick to my external USB disk. Afterwards I applied your m3v2 plus your v3 boot.efi. What should I say. It works like a charm!!! Now my MB 2,1 (mid 2007) is running with EC. You are simply the best.
The next challenge would be to somehow port Sierra. The question is how to omit the check on the chipset.

@skyfly555: any posibillity to make sleep work on MB 2,1 (mid 2007)?

 

[mattschwantes]

@skyfly555: any posibillity to make sleep work on MB 2,1 (mid 2007)?

Please let us know if you find a better graphics Kext. None currently seem to be using all 64MB on the MB2,1.

 

[skyfly555]

@skyfly555: Finally I gave up on the installer and cloned a pre-installed 10.11.6 from a USB stick to my external USB disk. Afterwards I applied your m3v2 plus your v3 boot.efi. What should I say. It works like a charm!!! Now my MB 2,1 (mid 2007) is running with EC. You are simply the best.
The next challenge would be to somehow port Sierra. The question is how to omit the check on the chipset.

Sierra is related to the kernel, Sierra kernel uses SSE4 instructions and our Core2Duos 7000 series doesn't support that. Our hope are AMD hackintosh people on insanelymac, if they can create a kernel supporting non-SSE4 AMDs, that kernel would support our C2Ds. But they are far from that at this moment.
[doublepost=1498080591][/doublepost]

Please let us know if you find a better graphics Kext. None currently seem to be using all 64MB on the MB2,1.

Hi, @mattschwantes,

I attach the latest GMA950 kexts, from OSXH GMA 950 kext installer.

To install them, unzip the attached file, copy the kexts to /S/L/E, change permissions (step 8 from m3v2 in post #1), and from terminal type: sudo kextcache -i /
Reboot your MB2,1 and tell us what happened!
[doublepost=1498080711][/doublepost]

@skyfly555: any posibillity to make sleep work on MB 2,1 (mid 2007)?

This is related to graphical kexts, it seems if there is no QE/Ci, computer can sleep but it cannot wake up. Some people install NoSleep to avoid sleeping the computer when closing the lid accidentally. Now we have SIP disabled you can install it without any troubles.
[doublepost=1498080832][/doublepost]I'm happy to see we finally have a great EFI32 boot.efi, it has changed our life! When I have time, I'll update method 3 to post #1. At the moment, we can get a good result using m3v2 with boot.efi v3 and without rEFInd.

 

[scach]

This is related to graphical kexts, it seems if there is no QE/Ci, computer can sleep but it cannot wake up. Some people install NoSleep to avoid sleeping the computer when closing the lid accidentally. Now we have SIP disabled you can install it without any troubles.

Thank you. I am aware of the work around with NoSleep. But sleep feature is very useful for an old macbook w/o battery. So is there really nothing which can be done besides preventing sleep?

 

[skyfly555]

Thank you. I am aware of the work around with NoSleep. But sleep feature is very useful for an old macbook w/o battery. So is there really nothing which can be done besides preventing sleep?

Hello @scach,

I think we only have two options:
1- Go back to Mountain Lion. Full QE/CI, hence, sleep feature. If your unique problem is Internet surfing, you have Waterfox, a branch of Firefox, fully supported from Mac OS X 10.7 and beyond.
2- Install 32bit Windows 7/8/8.1/10. Full hardware acceleration and sleep even hibernation features.