Hey guys, I have a problem I've been fighting for the last week or so. I've bought a MacPro11,1 retina (late 2013) without the NVME SSD, have installed an aftermarket NVME drive, it shows up during install, I can install on it, but after the initial install it does not boot from it, and it does not appear in startup manager. I currently have in the running of a USB stick with 10.13.6 and I found out that the boot ROM version is MBP111.0138.B14, what is the latest version you guys have for the EFi and Boot ROM versions. How can I update that? or do I need to find an original Apple NVME for this model? Thank you in advance for your reply!
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Updating late 2013 macbook pro retina NVME gone wrong
- Thread starter CrimsonKingx007
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Do you know what OS was on the machine before you installed the NVME? You may need to find a real apple SSD, install sierra, then update to high sierra before the machine will recognize the NVME. You need to actually do an OS update on a working drive inside the machine to get the firmware update necessary for NVME.
Do you know where i can find a working Apple SSD for this model? and not sell a kidney to buy it
That’s a tricky one. Every once in a while on eBay. Beetstech has a 128 for 50 bux. Beyond that it’s anyone’s guess.
10.13 will update the firmware before you install the NVMe drive. Then you can install your NVMe drive. If you want that to be your boot drive just restart into internet recovery and follow the on screen instructions.
Alright, I ordered it from them (the last one for 40 bucks) hope it works as it's OEM so it technically should boot from it without firmware updates.
Internet recovery installs Mavericks, and that one does not even see my NVME drive, so it's a nogo.
High Sierra is what you need (or newer - I would probably go with Catalina, but your choice)
This support article will help you with that, as well as the steps to create a bootable USB installer.
support.apple.com
This support article will help you with that, as well as the steps to create a bootable USB installer.
Create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Support
You can use a USB flash drive or other secondary volume as a startup disk from which to install the Mac operating system.
Unfortunately, this does not solve anything. I have installed 10.13, 10.14, 11 all of them, they just do not boot from the NVME drive after the initial install. the SSD is not OEM, I bought the OEM one and will try again as soon as it arrives.High Sierra is what you need (or newer - I would probably go with Catalina, but your choice)
This support article will help you with that, as well as the steps to create a bootable USB installer.
Create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Support
You can use a USB flash drive or other secondary volume as a startup disk from which to install the Mac operating system.
Try installing with that NVME in an external USB enclosure.
But, I have read that FIRST install should be with a real Apple (OEM) PCIe card. That is supposed to ensure that the firmware gets updated. But, installing with your new NVME card in an external USB should also work. Once you have a system that boots from the enclosure, you can then move that card to the internal slot.
Which NVME SSD is the one that you want to use when you get things "booting"? (what is the one that you have been trying so far?)
The firmware that you have NOW, depends on what system has been installed on your MacBookPro11,1. High Sierra or Mojave, should be version 162.0.0.0.0 and Catalina or higher will likely be 432.60.3.0.0 (Information from the experts at eclecticlight.co )
But, I have read that FIRST install should be with a real Apple (OEM) PCIe card. That is supposed to ensure that the firmware gets updated. But, installing with your new NVME card in an external USB should also work. Once you have a system that boots from the enclosure, you can then move that card to the internal slot.
Which NVME SSD is the one that you want to use when you get things "booting"? (what is the one that you have been trying so far?)
The firmware that you have NOW, depends on what system has been installed on your MacBookPro11,1. High Sierra or Mojave, should be version 162.0.0.0.0 and Catalina or higher will likely be 432.60.3.0.0 (Information from the experts at eclecticlight.co )
As i stated in the initial question, I have a boot ROM version of MBP111.0138.B14 not the xxx.xx.x.x.x format even
and when i try to update that through Mavericks to B16 or B15 i do not remember what that was, it is restarting and downloading the firmware update again and again, without actually updating it (it goes through the process of the update but the boot ROM stays the same)
Yes, your MBPro is displaying the old firmware format. You can update to later firmware (which will then display the newer number format) by installing Mojave or newer, or just updating a Sierra system (or anything newer) with the last/latest security update.
You must install either High Sierra or something later to be able to use a third-party NVME as the boot drive.
Attempting updates through Mavericks aren't helpful (as you have discovered), your MBPro won't update to the newer numbering system until you install a newer version of macOS, and is just a waste of your time, when you really want to use the new NVME drive that you bought for that purpose.
I would suggest that you do the system install with either Mojave or Catalina.
Make sure that whatever you choose for the macOS install, that you check that you have an internet connection when you begin the install.
Finally, if you now have an Apple OEM SSD, insert that in your MBPro, install macOS (Mojave or newer). That should result in updated firmware, in addition to the system itself, and you should then be good for swapping to your third-party NVME SSD.
You must install either High Sierra or something later to be able to use a third-party NVME as the boot drive.
Attempting updates through Mavericks aren't helpful (as you have discovered), your MBPro won't update to the newer numbering system until you install a newer version of macOS, and is just a waste of your time, when you really want to use the new NVME drive that you bought for that purpose.
I would suggest that you do the system install with either Mojave or Catalina.
Make sure that whatever you choose for the macOS install, that you check that you have an internet connection when you begin the install.
Finally, if you now have an Apple OEM SSD, insert that in your MBPro, install macOS (Mojave or newer). That should result in updated firmware, in addition to the system itself, and you should then be good for swapping to your third-party NVME SSD.
Unfortunately, i have installed the Apple SSD and it acts just like the third party one, I try to install Catalina on it, it restarts after the initial install, and then boots back into the bootable USB I have created, and when I try to pick a startup disk directly from the menu it does not see the Apple SSD, but f I plug in my USB stick that has High Sierra installed on it, it does see, recognize and work with the Apple SSD installed in the machine.
Welp, can say that the original Apple SSD didn't do anything. It still cannot boot from it. it does install on it, but after the initial restart, it does not continue booting from it and does not appear in disk startup. I will try an M2 Enclosure now because that's the last thing I can think of by myself.
Ok what os is on the apple ssd? You should start out with sierra, then, once the machine is booted, update with high sierra. While performing the update, the machine will reboot several times, and will perform the firmware update. If the machine can’t recognize the apple ssd with sierra on it, then there’s something wrong with the ssd, the machine, or possibly both.
So you are telling me that, I can install it on a USB drive and boot normally from it, work with both Apple SSD and non-Apple SSD (for files applications and such) Without any problems, but as soon as i install any version of OSX on the m2SSD it magically stops recognizing it? I stated numerous times that the SSDs work fine, they both are brand new. the problem is as follows.
-insert a USB stick with any version of OSX (tried them all, from Lion to Catalina)
-format M2 SSD (everything is working and is fine)
-Start install of OSX (everything seems great, no errors in logs)
-Restart to continue the install
-Returns to the USB bootable installer (if I remove the USB stick and try without it I get the folder with a question mark and I cannot find it in startup disk)
That’s possible, yes. Until the machine’s firmware is updated from sierra or earlier to high sierra, it will not recognize a non-apple NVME internally for booting. It just won’t. I went through this process with my old 2013. If you install an OS on the apple drive internally and it still won’t boot, then I suspect either corrupted firmware or a logic board problem. Maybe that’s why the machine came without an ssd to begin with.
Also, the bootrom you posted is pre-NVME, if that’s what’s on your machine it simply will not boot with a non-apple drive. You have to go through the process of updating to high sierra so the updater can see you have an older bootrom and it will then update it to an NVME compatible version, something like 111.0142.Bxx
Something is not right in that booting from a USB installer with the Apple SSD installed should update the bootrom to match the OS being installed.
I purchased a mid-2014 13" Pro (identical to the late 2013 Pro 13" except for CPU) that had no SSD. I installed an Intel 600p NVMe drive but also would not boot from the NVMe because the MacBook's bootrom was pre-High Sierra. I then installed an Apple SSD, booted from a Catalina USB installer, installed the OS, and the confirmed that the MacBook was not running a Catalina bootrom which allowed me to re-install the NVMe drive. There was no need to update the bootrom OS-by-OS.
It's possible there is something wrong with the logic board as previously mentioned.
Scratch that question, the hardware test, says that the Seral number cannot be found and doe not continue.
With the MacBook powered off, press the power button and hold down the "D" key or Option+D.
Use Apple Diagnostics to test your Mac - Apple Support (CA)
Apple Diagnostics, formerly known as Apple Hardware Test, can check your Mac for hardware issues.
Hmmmm. It’s starting to look more like a logic board problem. If you knew someone else with a retina Mac who’d be willing to test, you could install the apple ssd in their machine and see if it formats and installs the OS. I think the diagnosis idea is the right one.