Mac Pro Rev A - EFI 32 vs 64

[artinnj]

Hi,

Forgive a newbie, but I have a Clovertown 8-core Mac Pro that is stuck with EFI 32. I had to use the published hacks to get Vista 64 bit loaded onto my Boot Camp partition. Now I am seeing things on the web that any new graphics cards which would be great for Snow Leopard will not be compatible because their firmware will be for EFI 64, not 32.

If Apple does not deliver EFI 64 for this machine with Snow Leopard, I am beginning to think that the only solution to get a decent graphics card in that box would be to install an EFI-X boot dongle into my Mac Pro once they have the drivers for the new graphics cards.

Apple would have a very weak case about not running Mac OS X on Mac hardware because once booted I would still be running on Mac hardware. The only thing they can claim is the "you voided your warranty" posts that I have been seeing from people who bring their Macs in for service with rEFIt installed.

Is there a simpler solution to get a new graphics card into my machine?

Thanks in advance,

Art

 

[Cindori]

You don't need any hacks to get Windows 64 bit working on Boot Camp on the first generation Macs. I have it myself, no problems.

 

[jeanlain]

That 32-Bit EFI in first Mac Pros is a shame. Why hasn't Apple released a firmware update already?

I am not sure that the EFI-X boot dongle will replace the Mac Pro's EFI. The dongle is designed for PCs with a BIOS, and standard graphic cards with BIOS.

But fortunately, ATI codes firmwares using EBC (EFI Byte Code), so ATI GPUs are compatible with all Mac Pros.
Nvidia seems incapable of this. Why, I could not tell.

 

[gugucom]

That is absolutely right. XP 64 is a problem due to the lack of driver support but Vista 64 or 7 - 64 is no problem at all. Vista has been done since early 2008. I have Vista 64 even running on a 2006 MacBook Pro which never was released by Apple. It just requires Bootcamp 2.1 drivers initially for best results. You also have to start Bootcamp by running the Vista64.msi file instead of startup from the Leopard driver image. If you don't have the proper 64 bit drivers on your Leopard disk there is a Rapidshare download which can be googled under Bootcamp 2.0.1

 

[artinnj]

The 64 bit Vista install problem is a known issue for Mac Pro Rev A.

See Dragonforce's solution in the following link:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/676985/