APFS support enabled in High Sierra for cMP

[Squuiid]

Thought I'd start a thread where we can analyse Apple's APFS support for cMP in the latest High Sierra beta out today.
Release notes state Mid 2012 only. I'm hoping that's not the case!
Please post any findings below.

 

[Draeconis]

Thought I'd start a thread where we can analyse Apple's APFS support for cMP in the latest High Sierra beta out today.
Release notes state Mid 2012 only. I'm hoping that's not the case!
Please post any findings below.

Be interested to see if this strictly applies to the 'mid 2012' model, despite the fact it's identical to the mid 2010. And barely different from the 2009..

 

[SoyCapitanSoyCapitan]

Does it come with firmware update?

 

[LightBulbFun]

Yeah you get a firmware update! first time the 5,1 has gotten a firmware update in ages! I did not get it when updating from DP1 to DP5 but if you make a DP5 installer, it says you must update your boot rom before you can install and it tells you how, the shut down button did not work for me but going to the apple menu and hitting shut down worked for me then i followed the normal hold power button until flashing power light and bam it did the firmware update! and im using a flashed 4,1 to 5,1 Mac Pro! so yeah looks like flashed 4,1s are so identicial they happily take the High sierra boot rom update!

this is the old boot rom

and this is the new boot rom!

 

[Squuiid]

AWESOME! Wonder if we get NVMe boot as an added bonus?!

 

[FrancoisC]

AWESOME! Wonder if we get NVMe boot as an added bonus?!

If it does, I might just get a 4.1 (would flash it!) or 5.1!

 

[Synchro3]

Yes!

Does it work with third party EFI cards without issues?

NVME support?

PCI-E fan issue after cold start solved?

Support for non EFI cards?

Network install support?

USB 3 boot support? (totally forgot that, thanks to ActionableMango!)

 

[LightBulbFun]

yeah im not sure what the change are would be nice if apple gave us a change log for this stuff , im going to guess APFS support is one LOL but i wonder if anything else changed, I did notice that instead of it going say from MP51.007F.B03 to say B05 like what macs normally do when they get a firmware update, it went to MP51.0083.B00 so yeah... make of that what you will (interestingly the MacBookPro9,1 also did the same reset to B00 thing with its firmware update included in B5 where as in other firmware updates its just gone up from say B17 to B22)

BTW I just checked in CPU Z and the BIOS date is the 27th of the 7th 2017 ...

 

[Squuiid]

LBF, do you have a non-EFI video card? Any changes on that front? Boot screen perhaps ?

 

[ActionableMango]

AWESOME! Wonder if we get NVMe boot as an added bonus?!

And USB3 boot?

 

[Squuiid]

And USB3 boot?

Lol. We're throwing out quite the wish list for this firmware. Probably wishful thinking unfortunately.

 

[LightBulbFun]

ill have to make some tests, but I do have several video cards i can test but I dont own any Mac OS X supported USB3 cards sadly or any NVMe drives... (im also curious if windows will boot in EFI mode with the 7950 running mac EFI as before it would crash at the EFI windows boot loader stage way before any sort of video drivers load plus it also happened with a USB installer and those dont contain video drivers, if i removed the 7950 or switched it to legacy BIOS it would boot fine...)

BTW here is the Firmware update thingy i mentioned earlier

 

[SoyCapitanSoyCapitan]

Proof that Apple screwed 4,1 customers. It was always natively able to support a firmware update direct from Apple without external hacks. This company has zero value for its customers.

They should add 4,1 back to list of supporters machines according to your successful firmware update.

And they should make sure wifi, Bluetooth and graphics drivers aren't crippled in any of the OS they support.

 

[LightBulbFun]

Proof that Apple screwed 4,1 customers. It was always natively able to support a firmware update direct from Apple without external hacks. This company has zero value for its customers.

do keep in mind that this Mac Pro 4,1 had been updated to the usual 5,1 firmware before hand, but it does show once a 4,1 is updated to 5,1 firmware apple has basically no way of telling them apart hell the 4,1 and 5,1 share the same board ID for example, which is VERY unusual for a Mac (im pretty sure they are the only Macs to do so...) other macs like Mac Mini 1,1s and iMac 4,1s do have different board IDs to their 2,1 and 5,1 counterparts so even when flashed to said 2,1 and 5,1 firmware OS X Lion for example, will still complain about an unsupported mac due to the flashed macs still having their 1,1 and 4,1 respective board IDs

 

[Draeconis]

do keep in mind that this Mac Pro 4,1 had been updated to the usual 5,1 firmware before hand, but it does show once a 4,1 is updated to 5,1 firmware apple has basically no way of telling them apart hell the 4,1 and 5,1 share the same board ID for example, which is VERY unusual for a Mac (im pretty sure they are the only Macs to do so...) other macs like Mac Mini 1,1s and iMac 4,1s do have different board IDs to their 2,1 and 5,1 counterparts so even when flashed to said 2,1 and 5,1 firmware OS X Lion for example, will still complain about an unsupported mac due to the flashed macs still having their 1,1 and 4,1 respective board IDs

Not so unusual when you think that between the 2009 and 2010 Mac Pro there's basically no difference.

Funny if you think about this really; between 2009 and 2017, Apple only released one true newer model of the Mac Pro. And by all accounts.. the new Mac Pro will be in 2019. So one new model.. in a decade.

 

[SoyCapitanSoyCapitan]

Not so unusual when you think that between the 2009 and 2010 Mac Pro there's basically no difference.

Funny if you think about this really; between 2009 and 2017, Apple only released one true newer model of the Mac Pro. And by all accounts.. the new Mac Pro will be in 2019. So one new model.. in a decade.

And they hardly updated the graphics APIs we rely on since Jobs died. So we can say that this decade has been a non-event for Mac Pro community.

 

[ActionableMango]

but it does show once a 4,1 is updated to 5,1 firmware apple has basically no way of telling them apart

If they really wanted to bother, I imagine they could poll the SMC firmware version or the hardware serial number. Obviously not worth the effort though.

 

[LightBulbFun]

If they really wanted to bother, I imagine they could poll the SMC firmware version or the hardware serial number. Obviously not worth the effort though.

the problem I could see with that is especially with the Serial number, those are subject to change, and if you use those as a check for something and some users genuine machine has something wrong with that, it could end up screwing over that genuine user, for example I have come across macs that have missing serial numbers, I own a PowerMac G4 Sawtooth that has no serial number in OpenFirmware for example.
[doublepost=1502141000][/doublepost]BTW in the EFI partition of the APFS formatted HDD (and only HDD i had installed at the time) I found these 2 files, maybe someone like MVC or @netkas could dig around in them and see if theres anything of interest

 

[Kris Kelvin]

I failed to upgrade the firmware on my Mac Pro 2009 (flashed to MacPro5,1). After the regular firmware update procedure (flickering light, beep, 5 minute wait, automatic reboot), the firmware is still MP51.007F.B03.

Since I'm using a Radeon RX 580, I don't have a bootscreen and can't tell if the progress bar is actually displayed and/or if a kernel panic occurs somewhere along the way.

What I've tried (unsuccessfully):

• Removing external devices
• Removing PCIe SSD
• Removing PCIe USB 3 Adapter

How long did the firmware upgrade take for you?

PS: No need to peek at the EFI partition. The firmware files are also found in the installer package in
/Contents/Resources/Firmware.

 

[LightBulbFun]

I failed to upgrade the firmware on my Mac Pro 2009 (flashed to MacPro5,1). After the regular firmware update procedure (flickering light, beep, 5 minute wait, automatic reboot), the firmware is still MP51.007F.B03.

Since I'm using a Radeon RX 580, I don't have a bootscreen and can't tell if the progress bar is actually displayed and/or if a kernel panic occurs somewhere along the way.

What I've tried (unsuccessfully):

• Removing external devices
• Removing PCIe SSD
• Removing PCIe USB 3 Adapter

How long did the firmware upgrade take for you?

PS: No need to peek at the EFI partition. The firmware files are also found in the installer package in
/Contents/Resources/Firmware.

Just a heads up to update the firmware on a Mac Pro 4,1 or 5,1 you have to install an EFI video card (this is true also if your flashing a 4,1 to a 5,1) if you dont have a EFI video card then it wont update

Thanks for the path ill have to poke around in there.

 

[Draeconis]

Just a heads up to update the firmware on a Mac Pro 4,1 or 5,1 you have to install an EFI video card (this is true also if your flashing a 4,1 to a 5,1) if you dont have a EFI video card then it wont update

Thanks for the path ill have to poke around in there.

Now that's interesting. Luckily I still have my Mac Edition 680

 

[haralds]

I have a Mid 2010 5,1 with upgraded processors (3.06GHz 6 cores), GPU, and WiFi board. The update did not touch the firmware. Looks like that will need hacking.

Boot ROM Version: MP51.007F.B03 - before and after update.

 

[Fangio]

Can confirm the firmware upgrade works with 4,1/5,1 and a flashed EFI card (280X).

Had already updated to 17A330h. I've then downloaded the full installer from the Appstore, and when it started I was greeted with the same instructions as shown by LBF. Performed the firmware upgrade, automatic reboot, and now have MP51.0083.B00.

 

[Faraday]

Yeah you get a firmware update! first time the 5,1 has gotten a firmware update in ages! I did not get it when updating from DP1 to DP5 but if you make a DP5 installer, it says you must update your boot rom before you can install and it tells you how, the shut down button did not work for me but going to the apple menu and hitting shut down worked for me then i followed the normal hold power button until flashing power light and bam it did the firmware update! and im using a flashed 4,1 to 5,1 Mac Pro! so yeah looks like flashed 4,1s are so identicial they happily take the High sierra boot rom update!

View attachment 712003 this is the old boot rom

View attachment 712005and this is the new boot rom!

PLEEEEEEASE let this include booting from PCIe NVME m.2 SSDs...

Anyone tested yet ?

 

[haralds]

Can confirm the firmware upgrade works with 4,1/5,1 and a flashed EFI card (280X).

Had already updated to 17A330h. I've then downloaded the full installer from the Appstore, and when it started I was greeted with the same instructions as shown by LBT. Performed the firmware upgrade, automatic reboot, and now have MP51.0083.B00.

Guess. I might try the full installer.