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

[Dayo]

I was able to get everything running

What did you go for in the end? RefindPlus/OpenCore Chain-loading or rEFInd only?

Regarding the exclusion section for refind, if you could explain a bit more how to properly configure it so I don't see all my volumes that aren't bootable/legacy/time machine that would be awesome.

Your best bet in the long run is to get familiar with configuring rEFInd.
See: http://www.rodsbooks.com/refind/configfile.html

I hope you know your work is the most valuable contribution to the mac community without boot screens.

Thanks but I know it's not.
Your thanks should be going to people like DosDude (that's a real legend), the author of rEFInd (An even bigger legend ... plugging away alone and unthanked since 2012) as well as the OpenCore dev team.

 

[startergo]

What did you go for in the end? Refind/OpenCore Chainloading or Refind only?


Your best bet in the long run is to get familiar with configuring Refind.
See: http://www.rodsbooks.com/refind/configfile.html


Thanks but I know it's not.
Your thanks should be going to people like DosDude (that's a real legend), the author of Refind (An even bigger legend ... plugging away alone and unthanked since 2012) as well as the OpenCore dev team.

You are forgetting Christoph Pfisterer who started rEFIt from scratch and rEFInd is a continuation of rEFIt.

 

[Dayo]

I limited to active ones or it would be an extremely long and unmanageable list.

 

[Dayo]

Bumped to v060C

 

[GreppMichaels]

What did you go for in the end? Refind/OpenCore Chainloading or Refind only?


Your best bet in the long run is to get familiar with configuring Refind.
See: http://www.rodsbooks.com/refind/configfile.html


Thanks but I know it's not.
Your thanks should be going to people like DosDude (that's a real legend), the author of Refind (An even bigger legend ... plugging away alone and unthanked since 2012) as well as the OpenCore dev team.

I'm just running Refind for now, I've used opencore before but don't need it for my setup, as I think you made me realize, I just need to learn a bit more how to perfectly configure refind it but it's up and running. But yeah I'm not taking away anything from DosDude,opencore, or the author of Refind, HOWEVER you have found a working solution TO the biggest issue with using any of those platforms, I've been looking for months on solutions for this ever since I first put together an imac with a custom bios on its video card, and now that i've moved into the mac pro realm, you've really helped create an awesome solution combining a bunch of other awesome solutions!

 

[GreppMichaels]

What did you go for in the end? Refind/OpenCore Chainloading or Refind only?


Your best bet in the long run is to get familiar with configuring Refind.
See: http://www.rodsbooks.com/refind/configfile.html


Thanks but I know it's not.
Your thanks should be going to people like DosDude (that's a real legend), the author of Refind (An even bigger legend ... plugging away alone and unthanked since 2012) as well as the OpenCore dev team.

Hey Dayo,

So I just installed Catalina on a second drive and I knew I'd lose my refind abilities but for some reason my Catalina partition has no EFI volume, or atleast the volume I was able to access on my catalina partition is blank. I can boot and reboot my computer fine, but I'm kinda lost as to what's happening.

 

[Dayo]

I'm kinda lost as to what's happening.

Best you ask on the Catalina thread.

 

[Otis White]

Hey Dayo,

So I just installed Catalina on a second drive and I knew I'd lose my refind abilities but for some reason my Catalina partition has no EFI volume, or atleast the volume I was able to access on my catalina partition is blank. I can boot and reboot my computer fine, but I'm kinda lost as to what's happening.

If you're following this guide you are more than likely booting from the EFI in which you originally installed the boot manager. you shouldn't need to access the EFI for Catalina because the original BOOT_x64 is a refind efi. As long as you keep that drive as your original boot volume for your Mac you can boot the Catalina volume. If at the "Apple" boot screen you can see the EFI volume, and you can boot up the refind, then to set it as the constant boot just hold down the control key, then the arrow underneath the EFI volume should go from an arrow up to a circle arrow. If you see that then hit enter and that will stay your startup disk. You will then always boot into the refind Boot screen. There you can pick the volume to boot. Hope that helps.

 

[Dayo]

Does not seem he is following the guide as he has just got rEFInd installed ... I presume by following instructions from rEFInd website. I think his boot is probably the DosDude Default but not sure.
Anyway, seemed best to refer back to the Unsupported Catalina Thread.

 

[GreppMichaels]

If you're following this guide you are more than likely booting from the EFI in which you originally installed the boot manager. you shouldn't need to access the EFI for Catalina because the original BOOT_x64 is a refind efi. As long as you keep that drive as your original boot volume for your Mac you can boot the Catalina volume. If at the "Apple" boot screen you can see the EFI volume, and you can boot up the refind, then to set it as the constant boot just hold down the option key (could be command key, can't remember & it should work on your system), then the arrow underneath the EFI volume should go from an arrow up to a circle arrow. If you see that then hit enter and that will stay your startup disk. You will then always boot into the refind Boot screen. There you can pick the volume to boot. Hope that helps.

I followed most of this guide, and another refind guide using the opencore graphics plugin to start as i'm on a rx580, my computer is now solely booting from catalina and it seems something was done enough to my original refind efi boot on my high sierra SSD that re-blessing the efi partition doesn't give me a boot selection screen anymore. I wanted to reformat my High sierra partition but now my concern is I'll have boot issues, I only want to dual boot catalina and win10, if what you're saying is the EFI partition is blank until it's the main boot Or something I guess that makes sense, I'm just worried what's going to happen when I reformat the high sierra partition and why can't I setup the catalina partition with refind and then ween off high sierra.

 

[osxfr33k]

Bumped to v060C

I tried the new version but get an error when I run the bless app. It could be this 2nd SSD its a Samsung model 883 DCT drive one I normally don’t use but I cloned with Carbon Copy Cloner to test new versions of rEFInd on that drive and not mess with my other Samsung EVO 860 SSD drive which has all my movies on it.

Actually this 883 DCT SSD is a superior drive when compared to the EVO 860 but not sure if it’s completely compatible with MacOS?

I am going to clone a 2nd EVO 860 SSD drive the same model that I am currently using now, Samsung EVO 860 and get back with the results in a bit.

Have you had any bless app errors with version v60c? I’m guessing I could run the terminal bless command from the recovery partition.

 

[Dayo]

I tried the new version but get an error when I run the bless app.

What errors exactly?

It could be this 2nd SSD its a Samsung model 883 DCT drive one I normally don’t use but I cloned with Carbon Copy Cloner to test new versions of rEFInd on that drive and not mess with my other Samsung EVO 860 SSD drive which has all my movies on it.

Not related to bless errors

I am going to clone a 2nd EVO 860 SSD drive the same model that I am currently using now, Samsung EVO 860 and get back with the results in a bit.

Not relevant for blessing

Have you had any bless app errors with version v60c?

No. Blessing a file is not related to the contents of that file. Hence, blessing one version or another makes no diference as far as blessing goes.

Typical reason is that the files are not named as they should or you might have disconnected the drive, or you have put it in a different location from what you are trying to bless etc.
It is always basic.

I’m guessing I could run the terminal bless command from the recovery partition.

Should not involve recovery partitions etc. That is an unnecessary complication.
When you have such issues, don't jump towards complicated solutions that would just confuse the matter ... take a step back and review things to make sure the basics are right first.

 

[osxfr33k]

What errors exactly?


Not related to bless errors


Not relevant for blessing


No. Blessing a file is not related to the contents of that file. Hence, blessing one version or another makes no diference as far as blessing goes.

Typical reason is that the files are not named as they should or you might have disconnected the drive, or you have put it in a different location from what you are trying to bless etc.
It is always basic.


Should not involve recovery partitions etc. That is an unnecessary complication.
When you have such issues, don't jump towards complicated solutions.

What else can I do no matter what it will not bless EFI and the files are correct it’s only one drive connected what can go wrong?

let me get the error to you before you reply and I’ll edit this post

 

[Dayo]

Mount the EFI partition and confirm the files are on that disk in the first place.

 

[osxfr33k]

Mount the EFI partition and confirm the files are on that disk in the first place.

That’s the very first thing I always do. The error message is:

Could not Firm Bless REFInd Boot Manager. Make sure all files are copied to correct locations or try again if running after a cold start.

 

[Dayo]

Typical reason is that the files are not in place as the error message says.
Do you have an /EFI/BOOT/BOOTx64.efi file in place?

Go over the process of putting the files in the location again carefully.
Also, no need to disconnect other drives. Might be complicating things.

 

[osxfr33k]

Typical reason is that the files are not in place as the error message says.
Do you have an /EFI/BOOT/BOOTx64.efi file in place?

Go over the process of putting the files in the location again carefully.
Also, no need to disconnect other drives. Might be complicating things.

Actually when I am testing a new version I always do. I already had one SSD drive Catalina Data partition crap out on me from force shutting down so many times from black screens will not take that chance again.

 

[Dayo]

Your call but fact is that the failure of the SSD had nothing to do with this.
In developing this, I must have force shutdown over 1000 times.

All I can say is that if follow the guide step by step, word for word, implement the recommended steps and avoid the not recommended ones, you are guaranteed not to have any issues.

Once you start second guessing it and doing your own thing, then it's in your hands.
Doesn't mean you will have issues, just that if you do have any, you will need to figure it out yourself.

 

[joevt]

That’s the very first thing I always do. The error message is:

Could not Firm Bless REFInd Boot Manager. Make sure all files are copied to correct locations or try again if running after a cold start.

Show your work (screen shot or copy/paste).

 

[startergo]

If :

<key>RequestBootVarRouting</key>
            <true/>

And you boot through OC bless will not work. You need to boot from rEFInd directly to the OSX. Better yet use CTRL+ENTER from the boot picker to bless a drive

 

[osxfr33k]

@Dayo great job on this release we have legacy GOP back again working flawless with the nvidia 8800. Thanks for this great effort and time you have put in.

Was this some library or some other issue that broke it from v059a through v060b?

 

[Dayo]

Was this some library or some other issue that broke it from v059a through v060b?

Was just a simple old fashioned coding bug.

we have legacy GOP back again working flawless with the nvidia 8800.

BTW, it's not GOP. That GPU does not support GOP and relies on UGA.

The coding issue was that a block of code, that tries UGA when GOP is not available, was bypassed in some instances due to a change in an if/else structure in the code.

Note that the BootKicker feature that can kick you into the Mac boot screen from Refind (if required and if running an Official GPU a Fully Compatible GPU) requires GOP and that it will not work with Legacy Official GPUs Legacy Fully Compatible GPUs that rely on UGA, such as your Nvdia 8800, unless of course, if the GPU has already been updated/modified to provide GOP support.

@startergo found that EVGA seems to still be providing GOP updates for its legacy units if requested.

 

[startergo]

Note that the BootKicker feature that can kick you into the Mac boot screen from Refind (if required and if running an Official GPU) requires GOP

On top of the GOP the card should have a valid EFI vbios to show the boot screen. Realistically this is all 700 series Kepler cards with MVC vbios. In theory the 600 series GOP may be added to the MVC vbios (if not already added by MVC), but I don't think it is so easy. Nvidia cards with newer GPU architecture than Kepler will only work properly in 10.13.6 HS.

 

[Dayo]

the card should have a valid EFI vbios

That's what "Official GPU" as opposed to "Custom GPU" refers to.
Lifted from OpenCore usage

 

[startergo]

That's what "Official GPU" as opposed to "Custom GPU" refers to.
Lifted from OpenCore usage

For me "official GPU" is GPU sold by Apple. The last one sold by Apple was HD7950. Everything else is custom GPU. There is no official 700 series GPU.