MP 1,1-5,1 Installing High Sierra on a 2010 is almost impossible

[les24preludes]

I have a 2010 MP which is - wonder of wonders - actually running High Sierra because the only way i could install it was to upgrade from El Capitan which was previously on the HD. I then managed somehow to make another bootable SSD since the installer seemed to be still in the system. El Capitan is now gone and Safari won't download High Sierra any more.

What I have tried to do is clone the SDD drive with High Sierra on it. I've been trying to do this for a week, watched about 15 YT videos, tried all the methods they suggested and nothing worked, then downloaded Carbon Copy Cloner. I watched the YT tutorial and followed all the instructions. I got a SSD boot disc that started in Disk Utility and wouldn't boot normally with the message "can't run the OS off this disc". I then tried to reformat the SSD I'd used with CCC but disc utility seemed to load off some new version of Disc Utilities and wouldn't open. I took out the cloned disc and the Mac booted normally. So it now looks like I can't even reformat the new SSD. Yeah, great, so how do I erase that? So all attempts at cloning my present boot SSD have failed and I've wasted a whole week faffing around uselessly. Like many, many, many other 2010 Mac Pro users obviously from the amount of threads on this.

So the only thing left for me as far as I can see is to find an old HDD with El Capitan on it, or try and download it from the Apple store since it comes up in my list of purchases and start the whole bloody thing again. I want a bootable copy of High Sierra to upgrade my 2009 5.1 Mac Pro running Sierra. Which won't download High Sierra from the Apple store. I previously spent fruitless hours making a flash drive and copying code but all that failed too.

This is ridiculous. Can anybody suggest anything other than going back to El Capitan that actually works? Sorry, but after a week of all this my patience is gone. I love my 2 Mac Pros but Apple clearly doesn't.

 

[skodises]

I'm not affiliated with this site, and I can't vouch for them other than once having successfully downloaded an installer that I needed- but you might want to consider going here and having a look around. https://mrmacintosh.com/how-to-download-macos-catalina-mojave-or-high-sierra-full-installers/ , and then scroll down.

As always, proceed at your own risk, and your mileage may vary. Having said that, there are a lot of resources there that you might find useful. Once you get the installer you desire, you can then look into the Dosdude1 patchers, or OpenCore, or whatever you need to make them work for you. I'm using the Dosdude1-patched Catalina on my 2010 cMP, and it has been absolutely seamless. I will eventually go to Big Sur, but not today: I always follow the golden rule of production-use Appledom, which is to stay at least one major release behind the bleeding edge of technology...

Hope that helps, and best of luck!

(Moderators- feel free to delete this if it is deemed inappropriate. You can't hurt my feellings by doing so...)

 

[Warrington]

You should download some full installers from Apple. I did this with Opera, not with Safari:

How to download and install macOS – Apple Support (UK)

Download and install current or previous versions of the Mac operating system on compatible Mac computers.

support.apple.com

El Capitan and Sierra are available down that page.

From El Capitan I have started an upgrade to High Sierra and when it finished downloading the full installer, I have "stolen" an entire 5.23 GB copy of 13.6.02 from Applications. So now I have the full installer of High Sierra without the need to download it again from Apple.

 

[Soba]

I've never had any trouble installing High Sierra on a 5,1. It should just work.

Since you've been having problems installing, I suggest creating a bootable USB installer, starting your Mac from the USB drive (hold the Option key when you hear the startup chime, then choose the USB drive when it shows up in Startup Manager), and then using Disk Utility from within the High Sierra installer to erase the drive you want to install to.

Follow the instructions on this page to download High Sierra and create a bootable USB installer (it can take quite a while to complete this process, so let it sit until it finishes) :

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. These steps are primarily for system administrators and other experienced users who are familiar with entering commands in Terminal.

support.apple.com

Your post suggests that you tried this before and it didn't work, but give it another try and let us know what happens from there.

 

[14dcutaneo]

Ideally you would want to download MacOS High Sierra and create a bootable USB. If the download from the App Store won't work, then try using Dosdude1's tool to download a copy. Don't actually use the tool to make a bootable USB because your system is fully compatible

http://dosdude1.com/highsierra/

Once the download is finished, create a bootable USB with these instructions from Apple:

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. These steps are primarily for system administrators and other experienced users who are familiar with entering commands in Terminal.

support.apple.com

 

[Warrington]

the installer seemed to be still in the system

... means there is (or at least there was) a copy of Install macOS High Sierra.app in Applications folder.

Every time you want a fresh install, just put a copy of Install macOS High Sierra.app in Applications folder and start from there. Even if you are already running High Sierra, you can start a fresh install of High Sierra on another drive, based on that full installer. It is way faster than downloading it again from Apple.

Frankly, I don't understand why people insist on creating bootable USB's. If you have the full installer and a working system, starting a fresh install from Applications is way faster and easier.

 

[Soba]

Frankly, I don't understand why people insist on creating bootable USB's. If you have the full installer and a working system, starting a fresh install from Applications is way faster and easier.

1) It's possible the installer that is in the Applications folder is an old version from as much as 4 years ago. Old versions of the installer contain numerous bugs and also will not contain the latest BootROM update, which can cause problems later or leave a system exposed to major security problems. There are countless posts on this forum about this exact issue.

2) The original poster is posting here because the installer is not working as expected. Downloading the current installer and creating a clean USB installer is a logical troubleshooting step.

Download the current installer direct from Apple.

 

[les24preludes]

I've never had any trouble installing High Sierra on a 5,1. It should just work. Since you've been having problems installing, I suggest creating a bootable USB installer, starting your Mac from the USB drive (hold the Option key when you hear the startup chime, then choose the USB drive when it shows up in Startup Manager), and then using Disk Utility from within the High Sierra installer to erase the drive you want to install to. Your post suggests that you tried this before and it didn't work, but give it another try and let us know what happens from there.

I tried this about 6 times, downloaded endless code and created 2 USB flash drives neither of which worked. I know it works for some but having tried multiple times this is low on the methods I want to try right now. But thanks - it is an option.

I did manage to erase the SSD I tried to clone so that's my destination drive. I'll see if I can download through El Capitan.

 

[Soba]

I tried this about 6 times, downloaded endless code and created 2 USB flash drives neither of which worked. I know it works for some but having tried multiple times this is low on the methods I want to try right now. But thanks - it is an option.

I did manage to erase the SSD I tried to clone so that's my destination drive. I'll see if I can download through El Capitan.

Please describe what did not work and what behavior you see when you try to run the installer.

 

[les24preludes]

... means there is (or at least there was) a copy of Install macOS High Sierra.app in Applications folder.

Every time you want a fresh install, just put a copy of Install macOS High Sierra.app in Applications folder and start from there. Even if you are already running High Sierra, you can start a fresh install of High Sierra on another drive, based on that full installer. It is way faster than downloading it again from Apple. Frankly, I don't understand why people insist on creating bootable USB's. If you have the full installer and a working system, starting a fresh install from Applications is way faster and easier.

There was, maybe, but nothing there now. Just a file called Install Mojave. Install High Sierra is gone. Yes - it would be great to have this file, but how?

I tried using my old El Capitan HDD to boot the Mac, but I now it just just goes into Disc Utilities and can't get out of it. The screen says OS X Base System. So now I can't even boot off El Capitan. CCC has fucced the boot up and looks like it's put some extra piece of something into the system that wasn't there before. Great. So how do I get all that crap off my computer now? This is unbelievable.

 

[14dcutaneo]

There was, maybe, but nothing there now. Just a file called Install Mojave. Install High Sierra is gone. Yes - it would be great to have this file, but how?

Please refer to my post above on how to download it.

 

[14dcutaneo]

I tried this about 6 times, downloaded endless code and created 2 USB flash drives neither of which worked. I know it works for some but having tried multiple times this is low on the methods I want to try right now. But thanks - it is an option.

I did manage to erase the SSD I tried to clone so that's my destination drive. I'll see if I can download through El Capitan.

Can you be more specific about what did not work with the flash drives? Keep in mind they will take a while to boot from, and you might not have a boot screen while they are loading. Your screen may remain black until everything is fully loaded

 

[Warrington]

Old versions of the installer contain numerous bugs and also will not contain the latest BootROM update, which can cause problems later

I totally agree. This is why a fresh install needs to be started and a copy of the full installer "stolen" from Applications for future use. That full installer is downloaded today from Apple, not 4 years ago.

This is what I wrote in post #2

The solution offered by @14dcutaneo will also work, I did that for obtaining the full Mojave installer.

 

[Soba]

I totally agree. This is why a fresh install needs to be started and a copy of the full installer "stolen" from Applications. That installer is downloaded today from Apple, not 4 years ago.

This is what I wrote in post #2

Yes, and that installer remains in the Applications folder indefinitely. If it was downloaded years ago, it will still be there, and if someone launches it, they will be using an old installer. There are also hacked installers, patched installers, et cetera out in the world that are not reliable, but which people often download without knowing the difference.

In this era of fast broadband, instructing a user to just download the current installer from Apple is much easier than trying to figure out what version they have and confusing the issue further.

This is a support forum where all of us are basically working for free to help people who are often in dire straits. The goal is to take the most direct and least uncertain route to victory.

 

[Warrington]

Yes, and that installer remains in the Applications folder indefinitely

No, it doesn't. The OP just wrote that the installer is no longer there.

After a successful install of High Sierra, the system will delete the full installer from Applications. This is why you need to put it there every time you want a fresh install and this is why you need a copy of it, kept in a different place.

"the most direct and least uncertain route to victory" is to keep a collection of full installers, downloaded today from Apple. The current High Sierra installer available from Apple is from 2018, they no longer offer new versions.

 

[les24preludes]

No, it doesn't. The OP just wrote that the installer is no longer there. After a successful install of High Sierra, the system will delete the full installer from Applications. This is why you need to put it there every time you want a fresh install and this is why you need a copy of it, kept in a different place. "the most direct and least uncertain route to victory" is to keep a collection of full installers, downloaded today from Apple.

You are correct. The installer auto-deletes. I've deleted CCC and managed to restart in El Capitan.

Regarding the bootable flash drive, it would do my head in to go over all those steps again. I followed all the instructions on a few Macrumors threads, wrote out and re-wrote out code about 15 times but no dice. Another day when I'm feeling fresher maybe.

My hope now is to download using El Capitan. Worked before - the only thing that did.

 

[Warrington]

There is no need to create a bootable flash drive, I never did.

El Capitan will download the full installer in Applications. Before the first restart, you only have to make a copy of it, for future use.

 

[ryanmillercg]

You should download some full installers from Apple. I did this with Opera, not with Safari:

How to download and install macOS – Apple Support (UK)

Download and install current or previous versions of the Mac operating system on compatible Mac computers.

support.apple.com

El Capitan and Sierra are available down that page.

From El Capitan I have started an upgrade to High Sierra and when it finished downloading the full installer, I have "stolen" an entire 5.23 GB copy of 13.6.02 from Applications. So now I have the full installer of High Sierra without the need to download it again from Apple.

I used this to upgrade my grandparent's iMac from 10.8 recently, and it worked well. No boot needed, just download + copy the installers to the target machine where you can run and install.

 

[les24preludes]

There is no need to create a bootable flash drive, I never did. El Capitan will download the full installer in Applications. Before the first restart, you only have to make a copy of it, for future use.

This looks right to me and many thanks.

Unfortunately I've run into another problem. When I tried to access the Apple store I messed up the password twice and though I do know the right password and could enter it correctly again, Apple won't let me do so and directs me to password recovery which just comes up with a blank screen. I get pins on my mobile but they're no use since the information is being sent to a @mac.com email and I don't know how to access it. I use Gmail or Aol and nothing appears in those. Nothing seems to appear in the Mail programme that comes with the OS either which I've never used. So I can't download from the App store until I sort that out. Another problem I really don't need. How do I access a @mac.com email?

 

[NC12]

I have a 2010 MP which is - wonder of wonders - actually running High Sierra because the only way i could install it was to upgrade from El Capitan which was previously on the HD. I then managed somehow to make another bootable SSD since the installer seemed to be still in the system. El Capitan is now gone and Safari won't download High Sierra any more.

What I have tried to do is clone the SDD drive with High Sierra on it. I've been trying to do this for a week, watched about 15 YT videos, tried all the methods they suggested and nothing worked, then downloaded Carbon Copy Cloner. I watched the YT tutorial and followed all the instructions. I got a SSD boot disc that started in Disk Utility and wouldn't boot normally with the message "can't run the OS off this disc". I then tried to reformat the SSD I'd used with CCC but disc utility seemed to load off some new version of Disc Utilities and wouldn't open. I took out the cloned disc and the Mac booted normally. So it now looks like I can't even reformat the new SSD. Yeah, great, so how do I erase that? So all attempts at cloning my present boot SSD have failed and I've wasted a whole week faffing around uselessly. Like many, many, many other 2010 Mac Pro users obviously from the amount of threads on this.

So the only thing left for me as far as I can see is to find an old HDD with El Capitan on it, or try and download it from the Apple store since it comes up in my list of purchases and start the whole bloody thing again. I want a bootable copy of High Sierra to upgrade my 2009 5.1 Mac Pro running Sierra. Which won't download High Sierra from the Apple store. I previously spent fruitless hours making a flash drive and copying code but all that failed too.

This is ridiculous. Can anybody suggest anything other than going back to El Capitan that actually works? Sorry, but after a week of all this my patience is gone. I love my 2 Mac Pros but Apple clearly doesn't.

You could try upgrading to Big Sur via opencore, it runs really well especially given the age of the machine. Monterey works as well but there are some USB 2.0 issues

 

[les24preludes]

You could try upgrading to Big Sur via opencore, it runs really well especially given the age of the machine. Monterey works as well but there are some USB 2.0 issues

Seriously? Big Sur on a 2010 Mac Pro? At the least it needs a metal enabled GPU which I don't have. As I understand it High Sierra is the most recent OP that runs correctly without a metal GPU.

 

[Warrington]

How do I access a @mac.com email?

I never used @mac.com email and I never intend to do it.

As I explained in the very beginning, I started with the full installer of El Capitan, downloaded from that Apple page with Opera, not with Safari. After installing El Capitan on a new drive, I left only that drive in Mac Pro and it downloaded the full High Sierra installer without asking me anything.

I'm old school, I started with MS-DOS 5.0 and back in the day it was completely wrong to depend on Apple, on Microsoft or on anyone else.

 

[Warrington]

High Sierra is the most recent OP that runs correctly without a metal GPU

It is. And is better to master High Sierra first, to be able to install it at will, before going to OpenCore and Big Sur.

 

[NC12]

Seriously? Big Sur on a 2010 Mac Pro? At the least it needs a metal enabled GPU which I don't have. As I understand it High Sierra is the most recent OP that runs correctly without a metal GPU.

Yeah there is a whole forum dedicated to running the opencore boot loader on the mac pro, it enables hardware acceleration, boot screens on pc gpus that support Metal, and allows you to run modern versions of MacOS with few problems. If you aren’t very savy with modifying the config file and everything then the Open Core Legacy Patcher works well as it does all the leg work for you and adds support for USB 2.0 and legacy bluetooth cards. It also updates the recovery partition and provides the support software needed to use modified Thunderbolt 3 cards

 

[les24preludes]

Thanks NC12 - very interesting. Beyond my skill level probably unless I desperately need a later OS.

Warrington - you've been great as well as all you other guys.

Spent 2 hours on Apple chat trying to install from Yosemite which was incredibly complicated and needed code after the password, but even that failed.

in the end it was stupidly simple. I have High Sierra already so I booted in command/R and selected Reinstall OS. This then allowed my to install High Sierra on a new SSD in another sled. I'm amazed I didn't read this anywhere, either online or on Youtube. None of the "clone your drive" videos even mentioned it. It's downloading now....... hope it actually works!!!