MP 1,1-5,1 Windows 10 freezing issues with OpenCore

[TECK]

Is anyone running Windows 10 on a cMP 5,1 NVMe drive with an Sapphire Pulse RX 580 GPU? I want to know if you have any freezing problems, I'm constantly plagued by Windows Logo freezes or freezes during Windows normal use.

Update: See #32 and #33 for Windows 10 detailed install steps.

 

[nobullone1964]

Mine works fine.

 

[Norbert Mikołajczyk]

Is anyone running Windows 10 on a cMP 5,1 NVMe drive with an Sapphire Pulse RX 580 GPU? I want to know if you have any freezing problems, I'm constantly plagued by Windows Logo freezes or freezes during Windows normal use.

I have Catalina with OC on NVME and Windows 10 on another old PCIE card, all working great, fingers crossed.

 

[TECK]

Big Sur works perfect for me also, on one of the Samsung 970 EVO Plus installed on a Syba SI-PEX40129. This card has 2 NVMe slots, second where Windows 10 runs. You guys followed @cdf procedure to install Windows, like I did?

 

[nobullone1964]

Easiest for me was to install Windows via DVD. This gives you a legacy installation. I used Winclone to change the drive from Legacy to UEFI so OpenCore will see it.

Edit: I would disable OpenCore first before going this route. After the installation is complete then re-enable OpenCore and then switch the drive to UEFI and reboot. I forgot to mention that the installation was to a SATA SSD, then made an image and moved to NVME. Legacy installation won't install to NVME so this was my choice. It is stable and except for fan noise while gaming all is well.

 

[startergo]

Is anyone running Windows 10 on a cMP 5,1 NVMe drive with an Sapphire Pulse RX 580 GPU? I want to know if you have any freezing problems, I'm constantly plagued by Windows Logo freezes or freezes during Windows normal use.

Try booting Windows through RefindPlus to eliminate issues with OC. RP also has Certificate protection.

 

[TECK]

@cdf I don't like the idea of replacing the OC BOOTx64.efi. I mean, there are many people who installed Windows and have no issues. Doesn't OC have cert protection also? This was discussed in your thread. @Dayo can you please chime in? What exactly do I need to do since I already all software installed?

Right now, Big Sur disk is on Syba SI-PEX40129 Channel 0 and Windows disk is on Channel 1. I'm going to invert them and see if I get the same error. I also noticed one strange thing, every time I upgrade Windows, it fails to boot and I'm welcomed by the frozen blue logo. After many forced stops starts eventually I get an auto-repair which sometimes works and sometimes does not. Is the most incredible pain in the ass.

 

[TECK]

Mine works fine.

I just noticed you use the same Syba card, is your Windows disk on channel 0 or 1? Where is OpenCore installed, on one of the NVMes?

My setup is:
- Mohave on SATA1 SSD
- OC + Big Sur on Syba NVMe CH0
- Windows 10 on Syba NVMe CH1

 

[nobullone1964]

I just noticed you use the same Syba card, is your Windows disk on channel 0 or 1? Where is OpenCore installed, on one of the NVMes?

My setup is:
- Mohave on SATA1 SSD
- OC + Big Sur on Syba NVMe CH0
- Windows 10 on Syba NVMe CH1

The drive numbers 0 and 1 alternate, but always are either of the two (Windows 10 or Mojave). OpenCore is on the 240GB SATA SSD in the tray below the superdrive. That drive is strictly for that use and holds all my software installations in the main partition.

 

[TECK]

OpenCore is on the 240GB SATA SSD

I see your OC is on a true internal SSD, not an NVMe like myself. Right now the only internal drive I have is Mojave. When I say channels, I mean the CH0 and CH1 design present into Syba SI-PEX40129, which uses ASM2824 PCIe switches.

@cdf, what would be the impact if I move OC into Mojave disk? If I reset the NVRAM will the blessing be removed from the Mojave disk?

It seems that nobody is running OC on an dual NVMe disk. If you do, please share your setup in detail.

 

[cdf]

@cdf, what would be the impact if I move OC into Mojave disk? If I reset the NVRAM will the blessing be removed from the Mojave disk?

If something goes wrong, it's useful to physically remove OC along with all unsupported versions of macOS and to boot natively into Mojave. You lose that ability if OC and Mojave are on the same disk. Note that when you reset the NVRAM, there is no blessing: the Mac will just choose whatever it sees first, which may or may not be your Mojave disk.

 

[nobullone1964]

I have to add that I feel booting an operating system that can't boot on its own is not worth the trouble. I have tried @dosdude1 latest Catalina and that works fine with OpenCore. If OpenCore were to fail it will boot on its own like Mojave. Just like Catalina, I'd wait for the finale of Big Sur before even making an attempt to use it. Secondly, as stated before, use something else for OpenCore (a USB, sole SSD or HHD). When things go bad you can just pull it, but bear in mind to remove the Windows disk before you reboot and do any fixes (avoiding Rom conflicts).

As for Windows 10...pull all other drives from the computer and install in legacy mode with the DVD. Once you confirm it os functioning correctly (booting on its own) take it out and put other drives back and configure OpenCore. Then add the legacy drive to be converted to UEFI. OpenCore should then see it.

@TECK, you may want to re-install Windows on top to fix any glitches, if any. Or, do a fresh install. I use Winclone for the EFI conversion. It literally takes seconds to do. You'll need a PC to use the drive to convert to UEFI in Windows.

I hope these thoughts were of some use.

 

[TECK]

Note that when you reset the NVRAM, there is no blessing: the Mac will just choose whatever it sees first, which may or may not be your Mojave disk.

I see, but that would be the same like leaving the SATA1 SSD where Mojave is in place and removing the Syba SI-PEX40129 where the Big Sur and Windows exist. My goal is to determine if running OC on a dual NVMe setup makes Windows go ballistic.

@TECK, you may want to re-install Windows on top to fix any glitches

That's what I usually do, after each Windows upgrade as is always broken. Looks like based on @cdf explanation and your input, I could order an SSD disk and use it only for OC. It sucks but based on your experience you do not have any issues with Windows and you have an identical setup as mines, except the OC SSD.

 

[nobullone1964]

I see, but that would be the same like leaving the SATA1 SSD where Mojave is in place and removing the Syba SI-PEX40129 where the Big Sur and Windows exist. My goal is to determine if running OC on a dual NVMe setup makes Windows go ballistic.


That's what I usually do, after each Windows upgrade as is always broken. Looks like based on @cdf suggestion, I could order an SSD disk and use it only for OC. It sucks but based on your experience you do not have any issues with Windows and you have an identical setup as mines, except the OC SSD.

A separate drive for OpenCore is a failsafe. Look on eBay for a small 20GB drive. I'm about to get one for myself. I'm also considering one of those micro USB to plug in the rear of the chassis. The Windows problem could be drivers, also. Windows 10 requires the original bootcamp and an iMac bootcamp if using a trackpad 2 and updated bluetooth card.

On a side note...I looked over my Syba card before installation and saw no markings for 0 and 1.

 

[tsialex]

My goal is to determine if running OC on a dual NVMe setup makes Windows go ballistic.

Not the same config as yours, since I have 4(SSD7101A-1 v1.01) + 1(Angelbird Wings) NVMe blades, and I don't have any problems with W10.

 

[Dayo]

@cdf I don't like the idea of replacing the OC BOOTx64.efi. I mean, there are many people who installed Windows and have no issues. Doesn't OC have cert protection also? This was discussed in your thread. Dayo can you please chime in?

Sorry missed this till just now.

OC has cert protection indeed and originates this. The one in RefindPlus is a copy of the OC implementation.

I believe all @startego was asking you to do is to try booting Windows without OC to see whether the issue is OC specific. To do this, you need a tool that will protect your NVRAM from UEFI Windows which RefindPlus can (the protection needs to be explicitly switched on).

There is no big deal in temporarily renaming the OC boot loader, putting a different file in and rebooting. You don't even need to bless again. After the test is done, mount the ESP, delete the temp file and rename the OC one back.

Best way however is just to use MyBootMgr to implement a setup on a flash drive, this activates the NVRAM protection, use the "soft" bless feature to do the test and delete the flash drive once done. Soft Bless will bless for one reboot only.

If the issue is replicated after booting into Windows through RefindPlus, then you know it is Windows related ... maybe with the NVMe location. If not, then you know it is OC related.

I believe that was the suggestion being made.

 

[tsialex]

Sorry missed this till just now.

OC has cert protection indeed and originates this. The one in RefindPlus is a copy of the OC implementation.

I believe all @startego was asking you to do is to try booting Windows without OC to see whether the issue is OC specific. To do this, you need a tool that will protect your NVRAM from UEFI Windows which RefindPlus can (needs to be explicitly switched on).

There is no big deal in temporarily renaming the OC boot loader, putting a different file in and rebooting. You don't even need to bless again. After the test is done, mount the ESP, delete the temp file and rename the OC one back.

Best way however is just to use MyBootMgr to implement a setup on a flash drive, this activates the NVRAM protection, use the "soft" bless feature to do the test and delete the flash drive once done.

If the issue is replicated after booting through RefindPlus, then you know it is Windows related ... maybe with the NVMe location. If not, then you know it is OC related. If I had to guess, I would say it is tied to the NVMe installtion.

@TECK already have a never booted image, so he can do any tests with pure UEFI Windows and then flash it back.

 

[TECK]

Not the same config as yours, since I have 4(SSD7101A-1 v1.01) + 1(Angelbird Wings) NVMe blades, and I don't have any problems with W10.

Is your OC EFI on one of the NVMe disks?

 

[tsialex]

Is your OC EFI on one of the NVMe disks?

Yes, I keep it on the Samsung 970 Pro that is inside my Angelbird Wings.

 

[TECK]

Yes, I keep it on the Samsung 970 Pro that is inside my Angelbird Wings.

Both Samsung 970 EVO Plus drives have 2B2QEXM7 revision. I'm going to put the OC EFI on Windows drive, but it should not do make any change.

Edit: The Windows disk has a /Boot/bootx64.efi, is this normal?

[floren@zeus ~]$ ls -lah /Volumes/EFI/EFI/
total 4
drwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff   512B 20 Sep 02:23 .
drwxrwxrwx@ 1 floren  staff   512B 13 Feb 01:27 ..
drwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff   512B 20 Sep 07:25 Boot
drwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff   512B 20 Sep 02:22 Microsoft
[floren@zeus ~]$ ls -lah /Volumes/EFI/EFI/Boot/
total 3046
drwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff   512B 20 Sep 07:25 .
drwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff   512B 20 Sep 02:23 ..
-rwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff   1.5M 15 Jan 18:18 bootx64.efi

 

[TECK]

@startergo You asked me is the drives are internal in Device Properties, how do I check that?

 

[startergo]

@startergo You asked me is the drives are internal in Device Properties, how do I check that?

View attachment 1730201

I guess that distinction is for OSX only.

 

[TECK]

So far I noticed the following pattern:
Windows works without issues, until an upgrade occurs. Once the upgrade occurs and I'm asked to reboot, I lose Bluetooth keyboard at OC boot picker and I'm forced to use wired Mac keyboard, in order to select the Windows drive (I cannot set it anymore by default in Big Sur). Then I get the dead Windows logo, forcing me to shut down the Mac while holding the power button.

After two reboots into Big Sur, I go back to Windows disk and this time I'm prompted with an Automatic Repair logo. I get several repair options, but I select the one called "Exit and Login to Windows." The usual upgrade percent happens and I'm able to login into Windows.

What I did today different after upgrade was to download the latest Pulse RX 580 drivers and updated the Microsoft drivers that were installed. I extracted the drivers package and in Device Manager I right clicked on Radeon RX 580 and selected to update drivers, then I pointed the installer to the extracted directory.

I did all this because I did not wanted to have all the bloat added, the drivers install took quite a lot of time, at least 10 minutes, while the screen flickered several times.

Now I need to wait until next upgrade and see if the I still experience this issue.

@cdf or anyone else, what I need your help with is the /Boot/bootx64.efi clarification on Windows drive.

 

[cdf]

@cdf or anyone else, what I need your help with is the /Boot/bootx64.efi clarification on Windows drive.

OpenCore automatically finds \EFI\Microsoft\Boot\bootmgfw.efi, so you should be able to remove that BOOTx64.efi file (after backing it up just in case). You might also want to use LauncherOption in case an update overwrites the OC
BOOTx64.efi, although that shouldn't happen if Windows is on a separate disk.

 

[TECK]

@cdf I'm going to backup and delete the /Volumes/EFI/EFI/Boot directory on the Windows disk, I believe this will fix the issue:

[floren@zeus ~]$ sudo diskutil mount /dev/disk1s1
Password:
Volume EFI on /dev/disk1s1 mounted
[floren@zeus ~]$ ls -lh /Volumes/EFI/EFI/
total 2
drwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff   512B 20 Sep 07:25 Boot
drwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff   512B 20 Sep 02:22 Microsoft
[floren@zeus ~]$ ls -lh /Volumes/EFI/EFI/Boot/
total 3044
-rwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff   1.5M 15 Jan 18:18 bootx64.efi
[floren@zeus ~]$ ls -lh /Volumes/EFI/EFI/Microsoft/
total 11
drwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff   5.0K 20 Sep 02:22 Boot
drwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff   512B 20 Sep 02:22 Recovery
[floren@zeus ~]$ ls -lh /Volumes/EFI/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/
total 11438
-rwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff    28K 14 Feb 18:07 BCD
-rwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff    32K 20 Sep 10:15 BCD.LOG
-rwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff     0B 20 Sep 10:15 BCD.LOG1
-rwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff     0B 20 Sep 10:15 BCD.LOG2
-rwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff    64K 14 Feb 20:14 BOOTSTAT.DAT
drwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff   1.5K 20 Sep 02:22 Fonts
drwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff   512B 20 Sep 02:22 Resources
drwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff   512B 20 Sep 02:22 bg-BG
-rwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff   4.9K  7 Dec  2019 boot.stl
-rwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff   1.5M 15 Jan 18:18 bootmgfw.efi
-rwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff   1.5M 15 Jan 18:18 bootmgr.efi
drwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff   1.0K 20 Sep 02:22 cs-CZ
drwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff   1.0K 20 Sep 02:22 da-DK
drwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff   1.0K 20 Sep 02:22 de-DE
drwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff   1.0K 20 Sep 02:22 el-GR
drwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff   512B 20 Sep 02:22 en-GB
drwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff   1.0K 20 Sep 02:22 en-US
drwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff   1.0K 20 Sep 02:22 es-ES
drwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff   512B 20 Sep 02:22 es-MX
drwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff   512B 20 Sep 02:22 et-EE
drwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff   1.0K 20 Sep 02:22 fi-FI
drwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff   512B 20 Sep 02:22 fr-CA
drwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff   1.0K 20 Sep 02:22 fr-FR
drwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff   512B 20 Sep 02:22 hr-HR
drwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff   1.0K 20 Sep 02:22 hu-HU
drwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff   1.0K 20 Sep 10:14 it-IT
drwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff   1.0K 20 Sep 02:22 ja-JP
-rwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff    31K  7 Dec  2019 kd_02_10df.dll
-rwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff   370K  7 Dec  2019 kd_02_10ec.dll
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-rwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff    43K  7 Dec  2019 kd_02_15b3.dll
-rwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff    43K  7 Dec  2019 kd_02_1969.dll
-rwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff    31K  7 Dec  2019 kd_02_19a2.dll
-rwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff    20K  7 Dec  2019 kd_02_1af4.dll
-rwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff   291K  7 Dec  2019 kd_02_8086.dll
-rwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff    19K  7 Dec  2019 kd_07_1415.dll
-rwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff    48K  7 Dec  2019 kd_0C_8086.dll
-rwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff    17K  7 Dec  2019 kdnet_uart16550.dll
-rwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff    27K  7 Dec  2019 kdstub.dll
drwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff   1.0K 20 Sep 02:22 ko-KR
drwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff   512B 20 Sep 02:22 lt-LT
drwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff   512B 20 Sep 02:22 lv-LV
-rwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff   1.3M 20 Sep 01:50 memtest.efi
drwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff   1.0K 20 Sep 02:22 nb-NO
drwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff   1.0K 20 Sep 02:22 nl-NL
drwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff   1.0K 20 Sep 02:22 pl-PL
drwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff   1.0K 20 Sep 02:22 pt-BR
drwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff   1.0K 20 Sep 02:22 pt-PT
drwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff   512B 20 Sep 02:22 qps-ploc
drwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff   512B 20 Sep 02:22 ro-RO
drwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff   1.0K 20 Sep 02:22 ru-RU
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drwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff   512B 20 Sep 02:22 sr-Latn-RS
drwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff   1.0K 20 Sep 02:22 sv-SE
drwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff   1.0K 20 Sep 02:22 tr-TR
drwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff   512B 20 Sep 02:22 uk-UA
-rwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff   9.6K  7 Dec  2019 winsipolicy.p7b
drwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff   1.0K 20 Sep 02:22 zh-CN
drwxrwxrwx  1 floren  staff   1.0K 20 Sep 02:22 zh-TW