iM 4,1-14,4 2011 iMac Graphics Card Upgrade

[The_Croupier]

I did, and it works on my MBP 17" Late-2011, my hackintosh, a white MB 2010, but it just won't boot in my iMac

I would appreciate that, however, how can I try the rom when the iMac won't even boot into the USB? I managed to boot the High Sierra Installer from MacOS by changing the startup disk, but I can't do this with the USB, I'm using @xanderon in 's pre-made USB. Also, after installing the old AMD card and booted into the USB ( before putting the K3000M ) it didn't show up in the devices list on my router. After installing HS it did show up with the AMD card, but I've had no luck with the K3000M, even with HS installed...

I'm also thinking about using rEFInd, but it won't show me the picker, and I don't know what entries I have.

If it won't boot in your iMac with all other drives removed then i think your have big problems, perhaps a faulty logic board? Did you try different ram modules?

 

[StephN999]

Bonjour,

The new version of OCLP 0.0.19, fix Broadcom Ethernet on older 2009-2011 Macs. 😁

Thank you very much khronokernel !!!! 👍

Edit: thread error, I wanted to put it on macOS 11 Big Sur on Unsupported Macs Thread. 😅

 

[dream_catcher]

Hi guys for those facing blackscreen issue, try removing that piece of the GPU
it worked for me.

 

[MrZupp]

If it won't boot in your iMac with all other drives removed then i think your have big problems, perhaps a faulty logic board? Did you try different ram modules?

Yes I did, with the card not flashed it boots into HS and everything works well! But I can't manage to flash it

 

[The_Croupier]

Yes I did, with the card not flashed it boots into HS and everything works well! But I can't manage to flash it

I'm talking about the Bootable USB not booting.
You need to flash your card and can only do this with the bootable USB so your main focus should be "why does the bootable usb not work"
You seem to think that the USB is disconnecting shortly after booting GRML as you said you saw the IP on your network. Was the IP still showing when your connection timed out?
Have you tried all the usb ports on your iMac? Have you tried a powered USB hub? Have you tried different RAM configs?
You really are not giving us much information to work with.

 

[MrZupp]

I'm talking about the Bootable USB not booting.
You need to flash your card and can only do this with the bootable USB so your main focus should be "why does the bootable usb not work"
You seem to think that the USB is disconnecting shortly after booting GRML as you said you saw the IP on your network. Was the IP still showing when your connection timed out?
Have you tried all the usb ports on your iMac? Have you tried a powered USB hub? Have you tried different RAM configs?
You really are not giving us much information to work with.

I did try all the ram slots, with single ram in every one of them, even with pairs, and also every usb slot. I have not tried a powered usb hub, I might tr it later. The IP shows up even when I don't have any usb installed and no drives connected, I think that it goes into internet recovery mode or the boot picker since that is searching for network devices when it boots, but I have no control since neither one of the usb ports is seen. Also, I managed to put the USB files on the internal ssd, and when the iMac boots it shows up shortly on my router and after about 30-40 seconds it goes away and never comes back, I've waited even 20 minutes for it hpoing to come back.

 

[The_Croupier]

The IP shows up even when I don't have any usb installed and no drives connected

I think thats impossible.
Internet recovery will not start automatically by itself.

I'm thinking the IP your seeing is from a different device.

Turn off you mac and refresh your router page, does the IP disappear?

Disconnect everything from your network wired and wireless. You router should then have no devices connected and should be showing no IP's
Then connect the ethernet cable to your mac from your router, boot the USB and you should have 1 device connected.

Otherwise boot to HS and look in your network settings for LAN and write down the IP

 

[MrZupp]

I think thats impossible.
Internet recovery will not start automatically by itself.

I'm thinking the IP your seeing is from a different device.

Turn off you mac and refresh your router page, does the IP disappear?

Disconnect everything from your network wired and wireless. You router should then have no devices connected and should be showing no IP's
Then connect the ethernet cable to your mac from your router, boot the USB and you should have 1 device connected.

Otherwise boot to HS and look in your network settings for LAN and write down the IP

I just did this, I experimented with the AMD card and the K3000M in HS, the IP is the same across all the instances, even with no ssd attached and the k3000m installed. I've tried everything that you said, and the IP is the same across the board.

 

[BadBiscuit]

I think thats impossible.
Internet recovery will not start automatically by itself.

I'm thinking the IP your seeing is from a different device.

Turn off you mac and refresh your router page, does the IP disappear?

Disconnect everything from your network wired and wireless. You router should then have no devices connected and should be showing no IP's
Then connect the ethernet cable to your mac from your router, boot the USB and you should have 1 device connected.

Otherwise boot to HS and look in your network settings for LAN and write down the IP

ping {ip_address} -t <= from Windows command prompt
ping {ip_address} -t 3600 <= from macOS terminal

Will show you a response while network on your iMac is working. Shutting it down will result in timeouts, confirming you have the right one. Booting the linux stick (if it boots) should then show a response prior to trying SSH. Perhaps easier than checking router state, though connecting a single device to the router is good advice if your household will tolerate it (mine would not). 🙂

"If it won't ping it won't ssh".

 

[globetribe]

ping {ip_address} -t <= from Windows command prompt
ping {ip_address} -t 3600 <= from macOS terminal

Will show you a response while network on your iMac is working. Shutting it down will result in timeouts, confirming you have the right one. Booting the linux stick (if it boots) should then show a response prior to trying SSH. Perhaps easier than checking router state, though connecting a single device to the router is good advice if your household will tolerate it (mine would not). 🙂

"If it won't ping it won't ssh".

What about a shortcircuit caused by the new card ?

 

[BadBiscuit]

What about a shortcircuit caused by the new card ?

Always a possibility, but in this case I believe it was stated High Sierra would boot and network was working then; just no linux boot (or network if it were booting). Not sure if it was stated if the linux USB stick showed in disk utilities from macOS, but if it doesn't then I would expect a short (assuming the stick shows and works on other machines).

Edit: I went back and re-read, and agree that non-working USB ports seem to be issue, which could be short. Would be interested to know if when high sierra or its installer is booting can the USB linux stick be seen from disk utilities. That would be telling.

 

[Pascal Baillargeau]

Thanks for this. So I have follow these exact steps and somehow I am not having succes. Using the Linux flash method I did however get a lot further then I did before.

what I have done was using open core to boot high Sierra with latest boot rom. Then installed the new gpu and flashed it using windows 7. This did not work and only got black screens and ssh acces.

Now with the Linux method I got much further. I removed windows 7 and then booted from the Linux usb. Using ssh i flashed the card successfully. I used the rx560 2gb ROM. However after this process I still can’t get into Mac OS.

I have two drives and both have different results.

the first drive is a fresh Mac OS high Sierra install which I was booting using open core. After a pram reset I was able to boot this disk after flashing and got an image on my internal and external display. It showed that the message that the iMac was shut down because of a problem and if I want to reopen my windows. But when I press any of the options it freezes. After 30seconds or so the Mac shuts down and restarts automatically. This is the same with the open core loader usb plugged in or not plugged in.

the second ssd is my original high Sierra install I used before this upgrade process. Nothing was done with open core. This one boots and shows the backlight coming on. But then after a minute shuts down and reboots again. But one time I got and apple loading screen with the bar stuck at almost the center position. After that the Mac shut down again and rebooted.

Both cases the iMac does not load into Mac OS and gets stuck. Both are however fully bootable on my macbook.

Can I flash my original bootrom into the iMac. (I have a backup of it) to start fresh.

I find it weird that the internal display is always doing the same as the external and the external is never working like it is suppose to. I really want to first get to the state where the external display is working and the internal display is not. Then I can figure out on my own how to use open core.

I will now reinstall my old card and reinstall high sierra. (I have gotten quite fast in this at the moment 🙂. 10 minutes or less. Then I will install the new card again and see if it wants to boot normally.Is there something else I should also do while I have a display again?

thanks

sieuwe

First thing you have to do is to remove the copper plates on ram chips and put only K5PRO.
Second thing will be to put K5pro on VRM chips too.
Third thing, insulate with scotch tape soldering points on graphic card from heatsink (maybe not needed, ... but maybe needed).
What is the GPU copper plate height? (0, 0.5, 1 mm is common).
Fourth thing, patch AGC.

 

[Umarx]

Thanks for this. So I have follow these exact steps and somehow I am not having succes. Using the Linux flash method I did however get a lot further then I did before.

what I have done was using open core to boot high Sierra with latest boot rom. Then installed the new gpu and flashed it using windows 7. This did not work and only got black screens and ssh acces.

Now with the Linux method I got much further. I removed windows 7 and then booted from the Linux usb. Using ssh i flashed the card successfully. I used the rx560 2gb ROM. However after this process I still can’t get into Mac OS.

I have two drives and both have different results.

the first drive is a fresh Mac OS high Sierra install which I was booting using open core. After a pram reset I was able to boot this disk after flashing and got an image on my internal and external display. It showed that the message that the iMac was shut down because of a problem and if I want to reopen my windows. But when I press any of the options it freezes. After 30seconds or so the Mac shuts down and restarts automatically. This is the same with the open core loader usb plugged in or not plugged in.

the second ssd is my original high Sierra install I used before this upgrade process. Nothing was done with open core. This one boots and shows the backlight coming on. But then after a minute shuts down and reboots again. But one time I got and apple loading screen with the bar stuck at almost the center position. After that the Mac shut down again and rebooted.

Both cases the iMac does not load into Mac OS and gets stuck. Both are however fully bootable on my macbook.

Can I flash my original bootrom into the iMac. (I have a backup of it) to start fresh.

I find it weird that the internal display is always doing the same as the external and the external is never working like it is suppose to. I really want to first get to the state where the external display is working and the internal display is not. Then I can figure out on my own how to use open core.

I will now reinstall my old card and reinstall high sierra. (I have gotten quite fast in this at the moment 🙂. 10 minutes or less. Then I will install the new card again and see if it wants to boot normally.Is there something else I should also do while I have a display again?

thanks

sieuwe

I am in an exact same situation as you are, minus the windows part. I am now thinking of formatting my internal ssd and install dosdude1 patched High Sierra anticipating it will have the kext or other updates for newer amd card and particularly for my wx4130. Earlier i was given some wrong instructions inspired by nvidia environment, so be careful and keep 1st post as guidance all along. Also use the bigger search machine, you may get lucky.

 

[Ausdauersportler]

I am in an exact same situation as you are, minus the windows part. I am now thinking of formatting my internal ssd and install dosdude1 patched High Sierra anticipating it will have the kext or other updates for newer amd card and particularly for my wx4130. Earlier i was given some wrong instructions inspired by nvidia environment, so be careful and keep 1st post as guidance all along. Also use the bigger search machine, you may get lucky.

This is ridiculous. High Sierra is supported natively. There’s no need to install any patches to get the card running - if it is working at all.

You are poking in the dark without a plan.

 

[sieuwe01]

I would strongly encourage you to restart the full procedure with only one drive connected with latest version of high Sierra

edit : is it copper plate on vram ? Best way to burn the card

Thanks for the help. Using the old gpu I formatted the ssd and reinstalled high Sierra using a usb. After that I installed the wx4130 with now only one copper plate and k5 pro on the vram . The plates where different height and I checked the paste on the heat sink and it was spread out nicely. So I think it was not an issue.

After booting the iMac I was first greeted with a loading screen on both displays. I also was able to move my mouse in this screen. The progress bar did however not continue. And after a minute the iMac shuts itself down and restarted. Now however I am only getting a black image with the backlight on. Then after a minute automatically reboots. This boot loop happens for ever. The only things plugged into the iMac was the ssd, network cable, Mouse and keyboard. No open core usb or other Ssd.

I think somehow open core is still on the iMac since the internal display was working. How can I fully uninstall it? I have performed multiple pram resets and still the same boot loop with backlight only happens.

I can ssh into the system while the backlight is on. So the system is sort of alive🙂

The VRAM does not get hot easily - I used my card for testing purposes, even a short period of benchmarking, without any K5 pro or other cooling means installed on the RAM chips.
Only way that might work out is if you install much thinner copper plates to the VRAM and a thick one onto the GPU die.

Yes this was exactly what I did. The paste on the gpu die was spread out nicely so good contact was made. But now I have removed the plates and only use k5 on the vram and a 1mm plate on the dei.

First thing you have to do is to remove the copper plates on ram chips and put only K5PRO.
Second thing will be to put K5pro on VRM chips too.
Third thing, insulate with scotch tape soldering points on graphic card from heatsink (maybe not needed, ... but maybe needed).
What is the GPU copper plate height? (0, 0.5, 1 mm is common).
Fourth thing, patch AGC.

I don’t think insulation was needed. The second display should work without the patch?

I am in an exact same situation as you are, minus the windows part. I am now thinking of formatting my internal ssd and install dosdude1 patched High Sierra anticipating it will have the kext or other updates for newer amd card and particularly for my wx4130. Earlier i was given some wrong instructions inspired by nvidia environment, so be careful and keep 1st post as guidance all along. Also use the bigger search machine, you may get lucky.

Yes I have searched on this forum and on google. I however do not find anyone who has the exact symptoms as I have.

 

[Pascal Baillargeau]

I think somehow open core is still on the iMac since the internal display was working. How can I fully uninstall it? I have performed multiple pram resets and still the same boot loop with backlight only happens.

Did you put opencore on the hidden EFI partition?

 

[Umarx]

This is ridiculous. High Sierra is supported natively. There’s no need to install any patches to get the card running - if it is working at all.

You are poking in the dark without a plan.

Thanks for the tip, I will try a clean install of HS instead. I know I am missing something crucial but not sure what. Hope this works. Thanks to you and all for your support.

 

[globetribe]

Thanks for the tip, I will try a clean install of HS instead. I know I am missing something crucial but not sure what. Hope this works. Thanks to you and all for support.

Hey Urmax. I would advise you that : replace GPU with stock one, perform clean install of HS. Do PRAM / SMC reset at least 3 times (just to be sure). leave the computer running some time (just to be sure again). After that restart the procedure from scratch. Finger crossed !

 

[londonhab]

Hi all, new to the forum. I have recently completed a GPU upgrade to my Mid 2011 27 using a K4100M - all seemed to have gone reasonable well. iMac boots no issues and all works except the Bluetooth. First boot - bluetooth didn't work so went through a checked all the connectors on the logic-board, rebooted seemed to work fine so screwed screen in and closed her up and now the BT is not working again! Reboot it a few more times and it works again. The bluetooth board wasn't moved or shifted during the install - anything else I should be checking? I could find anywhere that tells me where the BT goes in to the logic-board which I guess would be a good place to start my checks.

Any advice gratefully received.

 

[The_Croupier]

Hi all, new to the forum. I have recently completed a GPU upgrade to my Mid 2011 27 using a K4100M - all seemed to have gone reasonable well. iMac boots no issues and all works except the Bluetooth. First boot - bluetooth didn't work so went through a checked all the connectors on the logic-board, rebooted seemed to work fine so screwed screen in and closed her up and now the BT is not working again! Reboot it a few more times and it works again. The bluetooth board wasn't moved or shifted during the install - anything else I should be checking? I could find anywhere that tells me where the BT goes in to the logic-board which I guess would be a good place to start my checks.

Any advice gratefully received.

Bluetooth tees into the eyesight connector port next to the wifi card

 

[londonhab]

Bluetooth tees into the eyesight connector port next to the wifi card

Thanks for the quick reply - Just confirm we're talking about this connector?

 

[bluecrowHH]

Hey guys i managed to get into OS High Sierra with the old HDD. Nonetheless with all other SSDs including a fresh install of High Sierra i get a black screen internal and external. What am i doing wrong. I tried to understand the kext update part but i really dont get those posts....any hint? (Wx4130)
Thanks and best wishes!

 

[The_Croupier]

Y

Thanks for the quick reply - Just confirm we're talking about this connector?

View attachment 1750800

Yep, sorry my pic previously didn't attach?

 

[passatgt]

Thanks for the quick reply - Just confirm we're talking about this connector?

View attachment 1750800

Yes, thats it. And actually the BT module is on the left side of the machine, just below the LCD board.

 

[Alessandro De Santo]

From post 1 the k3000m need only 2 pipe heat sink it’s true or maybe mistake?
I have ati 5670 on my iMac 27 with 2 pipe.....
Thanks