MP 6,1 BootROM not updating - any way to wipe a dosdude1 installation?

[okanthony]

UPDATE/FIX: The OEM SSD I bought (Toshiba 661-7459 for MbAir 13-14) was not compatible with my MP6,1. Replaced it with a Samsung SSAUX 661-8136 and was able to update the firmware, allowing me to install the EVO as APFS. Not sure if dosdude1 installation broke anything in the first place... sorry Collin. Everything running very smooth now and headache finally subsiding


Sorry for the upcoming novel; I've just been at this for almost a week now with no luck.

TL;DR: Clean installs not working on my 6,1, but do work on my brother's 6,1. Is there any way to "undo" a Dosdude1 installation? I want to clean install 10.14.6 but every time I run the installer, it restarts to the OSX Utilities from the USB. I'm using an Apple OEM SSD (661-7459).


Background:

This 6,1 originally had the gen1 OWC Aura SSD inside with Sierra installed. I used dosdude1's High Sierra patcher to install 10.13.6 and his BootROM patcher - this worked well and the OWC Aura will still run HS when used. Some programs I use require 10.14+, so I tried dosdude's Mojave patcher with no luck. I bought a Samsung 970 EVO + OEM SSD and would like to upgrade to 10.14.6 using these from now on. So far, I think I'm getting stuck at the firmware update stage.

Current BootROM: MP61.0116.B16
SMC ver: 2.20f18


Attempts:

- Install OEM SSD, use USB "createinstallmedia" to install High Sierra after NVRAM reset; HS begins installation, reboots to USB OSX Utilities menu. Question mark folder when rebooting w/no USB.

- Install OEM SSD, use USB "createinstallmedia" to install Catalina after NVRAM reset; Catalina begins installation, reboots to USB OSX Utilities menu. Question mark folder when rebooting w/no USB.

- Install EVO SSD, use USB "createinstallmedia" to install Catalina after NVRAM reset; begins installation, reboots to "error occured while verifying firmware".

- Install OEM SSD, use USB "createinstallmedia" to install El Capitan after NVRAM reset; El Cap begins installation, reboots to USB OSX Utilities, sometimes not showing OEM SSD unless I reboot + reset NVRAM again

- Here's the kicker: Install OEM SSD on my brother's 6,1 (which has updated BootROM), use USB "createinstallmedia" to install El Cap/HS/Catalina; everything works as it should. Reinstall working OEM SSD in my 6,1, boots to question mark folder.


Guesses:

- I definitely need to update the firmware/BootROM, but it's skipping/getting hung up on that process. Maybe this is has to do with the BootROM package I used from dosdude1's HS+Mojave page? Is there a way to undo whatever this package does?

- The OEM SSD is too "new" for the hardware/firmware that's currently installed? I read the 661-7459 is meant for the 2013-14 MacBook Air, but it should be compatible with the 6,1 right?

- The OWC Aura is configured to APFS and will still run HS - maybe the dosdude1 APFS patch is still running? I used his script to remove patches, but maybe something is still messing with the fresh OEM install?

- This is a hardware problem and I need to replace something somewhere.


Thanks to anyone willing to take this on with me. I've lost almost a week of work at this point and am feeling very defeated.

Edit 1: Recovery mode + internet recovery boot with the Mavericks installer - they both don't seem to recognize the OEM or EVO. No drives show up in Disk Utility or "diskutil list"

 

[wizer8]

hello I have a similar problem as in the last part of your text. but it happens that my sister's macbook air 2011 had catalina 10.5 installed, apply the patches but now it does not start or boot I do not know if it is because the ssd was in apfs format when updating the so and now it does not recognize it even in recovery hopefully they can help.

 

[KeesMacPro]

TBH installing a patched OS on a supported Mac is asking for trouble...
The MP 6,1 can run up to Catalina natively, so why complicate it?

Anyway I'd do the following:
-remove all 3rd party hardware and restore the MP back completely to the OEM state it was when it left Cupertino in 2013.
-do a triple NVRAM reset
-download the latest version of El Capitan (on your brother's MP 6,1)
-make a usb installer and test if it works (on your brother's MP 6,1)
-once booting your MP from the installer first delete the OEM HDD/SSD and format to HFS+ with diskutilities
-install El Capitan on the internal OEM drive.

Once you got it installed and running , check for updates of the OS,install them and afterwards download High Sierra and upgrade to HS (without usb , just from the app folder)
Once HS works, check for updates of the OS ,install them .
After that you could upgrade to Mojave following the same procedure.
Dont reformat the internal OEM drive, the installer takes care of that.

After installing succesfully an OS , check the BootRom version.
Except for El Capitan, it should upgrade after a completed install.

Once up and running smooth Mojave (including updates) you can install back the 3rd party hardware and if desired install Catalina.

I hope to be of some help...

 

[KeesMacPro]

hello I have a similar problem as in the last part of your text. but it happens that my sister's macbook air 2011 had catalina 10.5 installed, apply the patches but now it does not start or boot I do not know if it is because the ssd was in apfs format when updating the so and now it does not recognize it even in recovery hopefully they can help.

I recommend to post your issue in the MacBook Air Forum:

MacBook Air

ultra-thin laptops

forums.macrumors.com

 

[MisterAndrew]

I don’t understand why you used the dosdude patch on the 6,1. It supports the latest OS natively. When you start it up hold the option key down so you can select the correct volume. When you’re at the boot menu I think if you hold control down the arrow turns into a circular arrow so that will select that volume as default.

 

[MisterAndrew]

I would try booting from an external disk and install Mojave to your internal drive from the install app downloaded from the App Store on the external disk.

 

[okanthony]

I don’t understand why you used the dosdude patch on the 6,1. It supports the latest OS natively. When you start it up hold the option key down so you can select the correct volume. When you’re at the boot menu I think if you hold control down the arrow turns into a circular arrow so that will select that volume as default.

Trust me, I was kicking myself for it. A hard lesson learned.

But my (poor) reasoning was that my MP came with a 3rd party OWC drive was installed that wasn't compatible with APFS - I needed Mojave and thought this would be an easy update. Definitely wish I knew what the dosdude1 patcher was capable of before I installed it.

 

[okanthony]

TBH installing a patched OS on a supported Mac is asking for trouble...
The MP 6,1 can run up to Catalina natively, so why complicate it?

Anyway I'd do the following:
-remove all 3rd party hardware and restore the MP back completely to the OEM state it was when it left Cupertino in 2013.
-do a triple NVRAM reset
-download the latest version of El Capitan (on your brother's MP 6,1)
-make a usb installer and test if it works (on your brother's MP 6,1)
-once booting your MP from the installer first delete the OEM HDD/SSD and format to HFS+ with diskutilities
-install El Capitan on the internal OEM drive.

Once you got it installed and running , check for updates of the OS,install them and afterwards download High Sierra and upgrade to HS (without usb , just from the app folder)
Once HS works, check for updates of the OS ,install them .
After that you could upgrade to Mojave following the same procedure.
Dont reformat the internal OEM drive, the installer takes care of that.

After installing succesfully an OS , check the BootRom version.
Except for El Capitan, it should upgrade after a completed install.

Once up and running smooth Mojave (including updates) you can install back the 3rd party hardware and if desired install Catalina.

I hope to be of some help...

Thank you for this. Unfortunately I received this MP6,1 second-hand, with 3rd party SSD + RAM installed.

As for an update/fix: I brought it into a local shop and they confirmed that the OEM SSD I bought, a Gen3 Toshiba for the 2013-2014 Macbook Air (661-7459) was not compatible with this particular MP6,1. The reason, who knows - apparently it works fine in other MP6,1s.

Maybe the firmware was just so old? I don't know. But THANK YOU folks for chiming in with the valuable ideas!

 

[KeesMacPro]

Definitely wish I knew what the dosdude1 patcher was capable of before I installed it.

The DosDude is a magnificent tool, but meant for unsupported Macs.

The key to get your MP6,1 BootRom updated is the internal drive.
TBH i'm not 100% sure the MacBook SSD you got will be seen as OEM by the BootRom updater.
In case the procedure I described will not work, you will have to install an original MP6,1 SSD to get the latest BootRom.
You could buy one or ask your brother to make a clone on a backup disk ,delete it ,format it to HFS+,and mount this SSD
in your MP to do the whole update.
Afterwards you can install one of your SSDs again.

 

[okanthony]

The DosDude is a magnificent tool, but meant for unsupported Macs.

The key to get your MP6,1 BootRom updated is the internal drive.
TBH i'm not 100% sure the MacBook SSD you got will be seen as OEM by the BootRom updater.
In case the procedure I described will not work, you will have to install an original MP6,1 SSD to get the latest BootRom.
You could buy one or ask your brother to make a clone on a backup disk ,delete it ,format it to HFS+,and mount this SSD
in your MP to do the whole update.
Afterwards you can install one of your SSDs again.

Nailed it and beat me to the update. Thank you again for your help!