MP 1,1-5,1 RefindPlus|OpenCore by MyBootMgr

[Dayo]

In my OC_UPD the identifier was Mac-AA95B1DDAB278B95 iMac19,1, the OC_ALT has no identifier at all.

Correct. It starts from OC_ALT but yeah, it does spoof IMac19,1 which is why the multi-screen setup does not work.

Next release will add an option for Multiscreen based on MacPro7,1 (if indicated). The IMacPro1,1 version will still be available in such cases as "OC_LEG" (Legacy) for those that need Mojave and earlier.

 

[Farravi]

Hello everyone.

Firstly I’d like to thank everyone who has made efforts to help the cMP and Mac community in general. @Dayo and others.

So :

I have gone down this path of using Mybootmgr as the other methods bore no fruit.

For starters, I went into time machine and went back a few days before the OC and OCLP procedure in order to avoid any conflict.

I have stumbled across this message on the 2nd hurdle after following the MybootMgr installation instructions.

I rebooted normally using the CMND+OPT+R key and went into recovery, entered the command (As per the instructions) in Terminal and restarted.

I then proceeded with ConfigFactory App and then moved onto DeployConfig. It asked me for ESP and i did and pointed it to Disk3.

but then after choosing Disk 3, I get a msg ' Leave EFI partition mounted and I choose 'yes' (also choose 'no' previously) to no effect. Nothing happens.

So i then proceed to next step which is launch 'boot blesser' app and i get the same error msg(error msg below) which is baffling. What am i doing wrong here?

 

[Farravi]

Has it got to do anything with the fact that my the OS i am using sitting on Mac Pro SSD HD is on an external drive connected via the PCI or the fact that it is an APFS volume(Disk 1) and the designated EFI partition i am pointing to is Mac OS extended version sitting 'internally'?

Maybe i am better off installing a fresh copy of Mojave.

Please advise how you’d set it up in terms of partitions / format etc.

 

[Dayo]

The message tells you what the roadblock is ... you are trying to run some of the apps while booted into Mac OS via OpenCore but those specific apps require that you are booted in natively. Has nothing to do disks or partitions:

Do you not have a Mac OS instance you can boot without using OpenCore?

I rebooted normally

That is, what exactly do you mean by "normally" here? Seems this means selecting Mac OS from OpenCore, right?
If so, you can't proceed with blessing and not having a Mac OS instance that you can load without using OpenCore is a bad idea.

EDIT: A new version of MyBootMgr is due by tomorrow. You can hold off and try that instead if sure you are indeed not booted in via OpenCore in the instances above but if can't boot Mac OS without OpenCore, will be no use. There is of course a way to get around this but best follow the stated requirements if you don't already know how to.

 

[Farravi]

Hello Dayo

Thanks for your reply.


I didn’t even know that OC was installed and the pre-boot screen I get is the only tell tale sign. I don’t know how to go into it nor come out of it.

I’d like to install a fresh copy of Mojave and go from there.

Can you please advise what kind of partitions I need and recommendations in how to set up Mojave once I boot into recovery.

I will feel more confident starting from scratch as I feel I’ve used too many processes to get OC running.

Your advise will be appreciated.

is the

 

[Dayo]

Requirements depend on things like which cMP and GPU Models you have. Many users put such information in their signatures so that others can see this without needing to ask. OTOH, some users are against this and believe it pollutes web searches. Anyway, since you have OpenCore up and running, there is no need to do it all over with yet another method.

If you have a cMP model that can boot Mojave without OpenCore (such as the 5,1) along with a GPU that supports Mojave, you could simply disable OpenCore and be left with a native instance as follows:

1. Mount the ESP (EFI folder) containing your OpenCore Implementation
   1. You can use the TweakESP App in the MyBootMgr package to mount any ESP
2. Delete the BOOT and OC folders in the ESP
   1. Might be worth mounting each ESP available and deleting any such folders present
3. Go to System Preferences, select your Mojave disk and click the Restart button there

This is based on having a cMP model that can do this such as a 5,1 or flashed 4,1. If running a 3,1 or Vanilla 4,1 instead, you need to install ElCapitan (or earlier) and leave your OpenCore Mojave alone.

You need to always have a native version of Mac OS in place (that your Mac can boot without needing OpenCore).

---

What I think is going on is that you had Mojave working natively on a 5,1 and now want to move to something like Big Sur (hence the attached USB). You then tried to implement OpenCore with an aim to upgrade Mojave to Big Sur.

Well. that is not a good idea at all as it would mean you only have an unsupported version of Mac OS, Big Sur, present on your cMP. What you need to do is have an instance of a supported version (such as Mojave if I am correct in my assumption of your cMP) and have any unsupported instances, such as Big Sur, as totally separate additional instances.

Never put yourself in a situation where the only Mac OS instance available is an unsupported one that needs OpenCore to boot. So, to move to Big Sur, you need to add it to your existing Mojave instance and not Replace/Overwrite the Mojave instance. That is, go and buy a disk, format it as APFS and install Big Sur on it.

 

[Farravi]

---

What I think is going on is that you had Mojave working natively on a 5,1 and now want to move to something like Big Sur (hence the attached USB). You then tried to implement OpenCore with an aim to upgrade Mojave to Big Sur.

Spot on.

cMP 5,1 2010, Mojave is installed natively using Vega 56 with pixlax mod. I thought I could upgrade from Mojave to Big Sur using OC and wanted to install a supported version of Windows via OC.

Well. that is not a good idea at all as it would mean you only have an unsupported version of Mac OS, Big Sur, present on your cMP. What you need to do is have an instance of a supported version (such as Mojave if I am correct in my assumption of your cMP) and have any unsupported instances, such as Big Sur, as totally separate additional instances.

When you say "separate additional instances" do you mean install on a separate HD and load it via OC.

Never put yourself in a situation where the only Mac OS instance available is an unsupported one that needs OpenCore to boot. So, to move to Big Sur, you need to add it to your existing Mojave instance and not Replace/Overwrite the Mojave instance. That is, go and buy a disk, format it as APFS and install Big Sur on it.

I see your point about having an unsupported OS i.e. Big sur. I already have 2 x 2TB SATA drives which i can utilise for Big Sur i would imagine and leave Mojave on the PCI SSD HD.

Not sure how, but after restarting as soon as i saw the Opencore menu (as per my previous photo) i pressed 2 and it took me to the following screen :

Although, it does not always allow me to enter into this mode after pressing 2 as it continues to load Mac OS Mojave.

 

[Dayo]

You have a mishmash of conflicting setups and need to calm down, get things back to a place where your Mac is booting into Mojave natively by removing OC (and now, RP as well) and then start over.

There is no need to get into a rush on this and you need to sort the basics out first. The failure to do this is why things have not worked out with your previous attempts by other methods and your attempts to keep trying just complicate things. Sort the basics out and go from there ... but only after sorting the basics.

Setting out the actions again in more detail:

1. Remove the Big Sur USB that seems to be permanently attached.
   1. It could potentially mess things up
   2. There is no need to have it attached in the first place since you are not yet ready to actually use it anyway.
2. Use MyBootMgr's TweakESP app to mount every available ESP in turn and delete the contents of the EFI folder in each one.
   1. Run it to mount a different ESP each time and delete any items inside EFI folder found if present.
   2. If the app keeps offering you one particular volume to mount, use the Override button to get a list of available ESPs and go through each entry on that list.
3. After deleting any items inside every such folder on every disk where present, restart your computer and reset your NVRAM (Best do a 4-Chime Reset)
   1. You should be booted into Mojave without going through OpenCore.
   2. At this point, you have removed OpenCore and RefindPlus and you machine is booting natively.
   3. Name your existing Mac OS disk as Macintosh HD
      1. Not compulsory but convenient as it is the default name for the main disk on Macs
      2. I will use this name to refer to this disk from now
4. Go into System Preferences -> Startup Disk, select Macintosh HD and click the Restart button there.
   1. This will make this the default disk on boot.
   2. Do this even though you were booted into this by default before.
5. Shut down and go buy yourself a small SSD drive (keep your 2 TB drives for other things)
   1. Connect the new disk to Bay 1, boot into Macintosh HD, format the new disk as APFS and call it Mojave
   2. Clone Macintosh HD to Mojave
      1. You can use Carbon Copy Cloner ... I believe it has a working trial. Every Mac user should have this
   3. If you want to install Windows later, buy a second disk of whatever size you think you might need and connect this to a free bay.
6. Wait for MyBootMgr v075 to be posted
   1. Download this and follow the steps in Post 1 to implement MyBootMgr.
   2. Use one of your old HFS+ drives to host RP/OC and choose Macintosh HD as your default start up disk.
7. When RP/OC is set up, you can upgrade Macintosh HD as you desire and install Windows on the other disk you got.

If you follow this as set out, all will be good. There is no need to rush things as said, but you are of course free to decide to skip and/or change stuff as you see fit but at that point, you own the process and outcomes. Good luck.

PS: The first two lines of your signature are unreadable. Seems you have assumed everyone uses dark mode but even on that, the last line is basically unreadable instead.

 

[Dayo]

Updated MyBootMgr to v075
See change log in Post 1 for details

 

[Farravi]

Thank you for taking out the time to reply to my query. I appreciate it.

I will attempt to execute your instructions and report back.

P.S thank you for pointing out the colourful theme of the signature, i'm hoping the colour i have chosen now is legible in both dark and light themes/backgrounds.

 

[JedNZ]

@Dayo I’m getting a white screen freeze immediately after selecting the default OC option on v0.7.5.

Usually I get some text printed to the top left-most corner of my screen immediately after selecting one of the OC options in the RefindPlus GUI, and the screen usually goes blank (black) before the OpenCore picklist appears. However all I’m getting is a bright grey screen and there is no response to keyboard inputs. Just about to test the other OC options (OC_Alt etc) to see if any issues with them.

Update: OC_Alt does the same thing. With the first Legacy option I get two text boxes - top left in black is
“* Paused for Error or Warning *
Press Any Key to Continue” and at the top middle of the screen in a red rectangular text box it says
“Error: ‘Load Error’ When Loading OpenCore.EFI”.

The second Legacy option (the 4th option from the left) behaves the same as OC_Alt.

Any suggestions?

 

[Dayo]

Not sure to be honest ... Might be a permissions issue as I did change a setting relating to that in the packaging.
I have replaced the package with one based on how it was before.
Please download and try that ... after the server resets

 

[Dayo]

Updated MyBootMgr to v075a
See change log in Post 1 for details

 

[JedNZ]

OC takes me to the OpenCore picklist - I select my Mojave boot drive, screen goes dark and after about ~30 secs it shows the Apple logo but almost immediately it restarts me back to RefindPlus.

I then selected OC_ALT and the OpenCore picklist didn’t show but it booted me to my Mojave boot drive after my predefined 30 sec, and boots me into my Mojave Recovery drive.

The third OC legacy option (iMacPro1,1) throws up the “Paused for an error…” and “Error: ‘Load Error’…” text screen which bounces me immediately back to the RefindPlus screen (no restart).

And the 4th OC option (legacy iMac19,1) goes black screen - doesn’t show OpenCore picklist but after 30 secs boots into my Mojave Recovery drive.

Not quite sure what to make of this.

Update:
Interestingly, BigSur does boot up fine using OC, the first option in RefindPlus.

Working my way through comparing (FileMerge) my working 0.7.3a and the new 0.7.5a config.plist files trying to understand the differences.

 

[Dayo]

Not quite sure what to make of this.

Reason for multiple instances is that each is targeted at different Mac OS Versions.
MacPro7,1 cannot boot Mojave but can boot Catalina and newer.

Suppose it needs further explanation in Post 1 but who reads such anyway?

EDIT: The ConfigFactory Debug Log outlines what each instance is for.

 

[JedNZ]

I didn’t explain myself - I’m not sure what to make of my failed boot attempts. And you’d be proud of me for reading the info, even if it means I end up realising I know even less about all of these things lol

 

[Dayo]

I didn’t explain myself - I’m not sure what to make of my failed boot attempts.

That was clear and what my response tried to address.

For example, your default instance, a MacPro7,1 one, failed and will always fail when trying to boot Mojave but worked and will always work for Big Sur.

This is by design .... MacPro7,1 was released after Mojave and does not boot Mojave. The same applies to the IMac19,1 which is for updating Catalina and newer (Big Sur and newer really, but will do Catalina).

You need to use a different instance for Mojave.

 

[Dayo]

Updated MyBootMgr to v075b
See change log in Post 1 for details

 

[Dayo]

This is by design .... MacPro7,1 was released after Mojave and does not boot Mojave.

This now a bit more nuanced as of v073b; based on whether Monterey is indicated in ConfigFactory or not:

• If indicated, MacPro7,1 based instances will be set up to boot Catalina and newer
• If NOT indicated, MacPro7,1 based instances will be set up to boot Big Sur and older

In all cases, what can be booted will be shown with each OpenCore instance in RefindPlus:

• "Pre Monterey" = Big Sur and Older
• "Post Mojave" = Catalina and Newer

 

[Farravi]

@Dayo

I've got a USB key 128gb and 2tb SATA storage that I'd like for the setup you mentioned above, matter of weeks until I get some money and I'll order a 128/256gb SATA 2.5 drive.

Is it feasible with what I currently have now?

 

[Dayo]

You should be able to clone the current Mojave instance to the USB and can stick this in a drawer as although desirable, it is not compulsory that the native instance is always connected ... just available for when needed.

Alternatively, you could use the connected disk if that's what you have to hand. Note though that if it is HDD, the APFS format apparently does not play nice with HDD and is best with SSD ... not confirmed personally.

 

[Farravi]

Hello

Whilst i've been using ConfigFactory, the questions asked for HFS / EFI,

I've been trying to get my head round APFS / Mac OS Journaled as well as GUID parition Map / Master reboot record /  partition map.

So from doing a bit of reading, I am going to use 1 of my 2TB HDD drives as APFS (successor to Mac os Journaled)[see Note 1 below] calling it Storage A and keep the other 2TB HDD drive as Mac Os Journaled for the sake of Time Machine and call it Storage B - Time Machine.

My default startup disk Macintosh HD is APFS as it's a SSD connected via PCIe.

Storage A will be the best for installing OC instances e.g. Big Sur / Windows, albeit I have no clue how to do this and whether i can use both OS on one HDD. I understand it's advisable to keep all instances on separate physical drives including the startup disk.

Have i got this right? it's alot to get my head round and I feel any more will result in a 🤯

Note 1 : I changed Storage A back to HFS+(Mac OS Journaled) as ConfigFactory recommended it for Full automation.

Edit : had an error and have attached the debug log below recommended by the prompt.

 

[kirreip]

Best thanks to Dayo for all your work and the guide.

Since Mojave will probably not get any more updates, I finally took the time to install OpenCore. Since I wanted to keep my existing Windows 10 (Legacy mode) and already had RefindPlus installed for some time, I decided to go the MyBootMgr way. And almost everything worked out. I am now on Big Sur and my Windows 10 installation continues to work (but I had to use the Windows 10 installation DVD to fix the boot).

What still does not work is the HW Acceleration. I have already tried several things (including the instructions in the OpenCore thread) but it still does not work. But I am confident it will work (in Mojave without OpenCore I did it with Lilu and Whatevergreen. So I know it can work).

So again: Thanks to Dayo.

 

[Dayo]

What still does not work is the HW Acceleration.

GPU Acceleration should work on the setup created if indicated. There may be a deeper issue at play since you said following a manual process does not work for you either ... not surpirising since ConfigFactory simply automates the same process.

You can attach the ConfigFactory debug log and the generated config.plist for a look.

 

[kirreip]

Here is my config file

Edit: removed config file since it contained wrong entries or entries in the wrong place. See below.