macOS 10.12 Sierra Unsupported Macs Thread

[RumorzGuy]

Congrats!! You have officially graduated from self professed newbiedom...

See...biting that bullet wasn't that painful after all now was it?

Btw, did u check your recovery partition? As mentioned before you need to select it (check box) during post install. Is your safe mode working? Those may be the last glitches to iron out. Maybe for another day
Enjoy your new Mac.

What bullet? I didn't bite anything. I didn't install anything. I didn't choose the Recovery Partition Patch option either.

HUH??? What then?

Please see point #11 in [URL="https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/macos-10-12-sierra-unsupported-macs-thread.1977128/page-113#post-23567924"]my previous message #2802 my friend.[/URL]

Now that I got my iSight camera working again, I wanted to give you an update on the other two problems; i.e., the broken Safe Mode and the broken Recovery Mode.

Another positive by-product of completely removing VirtualBox from my system, appears to be that it also fixed my recovery mode. I have successfully booted into recovery mode three times now, so I can only conclude that it had something to do with VirtualBox, and I suspect some of the kext files may be the culprits.

Booting into safe mode is still an issue, however.

Taking your suggestion, I removed every single cable from my iMac. This included the following:

1. Ethernet cable to my Apple Airport Extreme.
2. USB cable to WD external hard drive #1.
3. USB cable to WD external hard drive #2.
4. USB cable for wired mouse.

With all cables removed, I tried booting into Safe Mode. Instead, my iMac booted into recovery mode instead.

After that, I reset the SMC again.

Then I zapped the PRAM. I got two bongs this time, so it must have worked.

Then, I tried Safe Mode again. Still no go. My machine still booted regularly with everything loading, including all of my startup items.

So on the positive side, the iSight camera is fixed, and Recovery Mode appears to be fixed. Safe Mode, however, is still a no go.

I am at a loss regarding the latter. If it had something to do with one of my peripherals, it should have worked when all cables were disconnected, I would assume.
[doublepost=1474641228][/doublepost]

Ok, so the virtualbox 'fix' did not persist, and just to see if I could boot into safe mode, (so maybe it wouldn't load the virtualbox extensions) to check if the camera would work or not... and I just get the prohibited symbol every time.. since using 10.3, I have never booted any of my macs into safe mode.. dosdude or anyone that has a 5,3, is it normal behavior to not be able to boot into safe mode on a patched 10.12 system?

Bummer, I was rooting for you too, because that is what worked for me as well . . . except I went the full nine yards and totally uninstalled every single piece of VirtualBox from my live system, since I really don't need it at the moment, being as I am currently running SheepShaver directly under Sierra, as I have been doing since Mountain Lion.

By totally removing VirtualBox from my system, my fixed iSight camera has persisted across reboots.

Removing VirtualBox completely also fixed my Recovery Mode. Only Safe Mode remains broken, which as pkouame already mentioned, is a widely-known issue with certain Mac models apparently, including MacBooks and iMacs, apparently.

If you want the details, please see point #11 in my previous message #2802, my friend.

 

[Ethan H 1234]

So, I have a late 2008 Mac. This is probably another sign I really should buy a new Mac, but my old 'vintage' system works fine currently. In the meantime, If I leave things as they are, and keep running El Capitan what can I expect in the short term? Will updates to the likes of flash player become incompatible, or is it merely just going without some of the new flashy Sierra 'features'? Thanks

 

[RumorzGuy]

Congrats!! You have officially graduated from self professed newbiedom...

So what does that now make me? A self-professed what? Do I get a gold star, or a diploma or something? I mean, I really need some kind of proof of this "promotion" from "newbiedom" to whatever I am now.

 

[pkouame]

I don't save any logs, but there's a Recovery Partition Patch in the post-install tool.

Ok. I see recoverypatch.sh in your embedded macOS Post Install. It copies a prelinkedkernel to Recovery HD. Does it always use the pre-baked one in the Patcher app, or do you build a new one on the fly somewhere else? Curious, since we all have different systems and I think that needs to be system specific to work correctly.

 

[dosdude1]

Ok. I see recoverypatch.sh in your embedded macOS Post Install. It copies a prelinkedkernel to Recovery HD. Does it always use the pre-baked one in the Patcher app, or do you build a new one on the fly somewhere else? Curious, since we all have different systems and I think that needs to be system specific to work correctly.

The prelinkedkernel is NOT system specific, it is simply a single file containing the kernel and kexts from the system.

 

[RumorzGuy]

So, I have a late 2008 Mac. This is probably another sign I really should buy a new Mac, but my old 'vintage' system works fine currently. In the meantime, If I leave things as they are, and keep running El Capitan what can I expect in the short term? Will updates to the likes of flash player become incompatible, or is it merely just going without some of the new flashy Sierra 'features'? Thanks

It really depends on your personal needs and your workflow. If you are content with your current setup, then maybe you don't need to install macOS Sierra on that old of a machine. Even if you do decide to install Sierra, as with me and quite a few others, it will probably be the very last OS that you will be able to install on it anyway.

Apple's biggest Sierra bait has been Siri. Do you really need Siri? By my account, the desktop version of Siri is very unimpressive and very deficient, and much less than what I personally expected.

Do you need a few more default apps that implement tabs in them? For me personally, it is no biggie.

Sierra does offer more stability, and security fixes; but again, if you are running a stable system with all the apps that you currently need, then maybe you should hold off on Sierra.

Another point to consider is all of the problems many of us have been having here with installing Sierra on our old machines. Apps have broken, and even some basic OS functionality -- such as the camera -- have broken as well. Are you prepared to possibly encounter some very frustrating problems on that old machine if you install Sierra?

I am not trying to paint a totally dark picture here, but this is the reality of the situation with many of us here. Just look at how many pages this thread has already taken up, as we have tried to work through the problems which have resulted from our installing Sierra on our unsupported machines. That will tell you a lot.

But in the end, it is your choice. Maybe you will have an easy installation with no problems, or at least nothing major like some of us have experienced.

If you do decide to install Sierra, there are some very experienced folks participating in this thread who will be willing to help you through your issues. In fact, in my case, it was comments from a MacRumors newbie who helped me to get my iSight camera working again. It kind of amazed me, because we had been discussing and trying out all of these different things, and then a newbie came along and pointed me in the right direction.

So everyone plays a part here, big or small.

 

[pkouame]

The prelinkedkernel is NOT system specific, it is simply a single file containing the kernel and kexts from the system.

Hmmm. My understanding of prelinkedkernel (from its man page and experience) is that it can be tailored for different purposes, architectures, bundle ids, compressed, symbol stripped, forced to authenticate or not, etc...Just wondering how you built yours. Thanks.

 

[foxlet]

What bullet? I didn't bite anything. I didn't install anything. I didn't choose the Recovery Partition Patch option either.

HUH??? What then?

Please see point #11 in my previous message #2802 my friend.

Now that I got my iSight camera working again, I wanted to give you an update on the other two problems; i.e., the broken Safe Mode and the broken Recovery Mode.

Another positive by-product of completely removing VirtualBox from my system, appears to be that it also fixed my recovery mode. I have successfully booted into recovery mode three times now, so I can only conclude that it had something to do with VirtualBox, and I suspect some of the kext files may be the culprits.

Booting into safe mode is still an issue, however.

Taking your suggestion, I removed every single cable from my iMac. This included the following:

1. Ethernet cable to my Apple Airport Extreme.
2. USB cable to WD external hard drive #1.
3. USB cable to WD external hard drive #2.
4. USB cable for wired mouse.

With all cables removed, I tried booting into Safe Mode. Instead, my iMac booted into recovery mode instead.

After that, I reset the SMC again.

Then I zapped the PRAM. I got two bongs this time, so it must have worked.

Then, I tried Safe Mode again. Still no go. My machine still booted regularly with everything loading, including all of my startup items.

So on the positive side, the iSight camera is fixed, and Recovery Mode appears to be fixed. Safe Mode, however, is still a no go.

I am at a loss regarding the latter. If it had something to do with one of my peripherals, it should have worked when all cables were disconnected, I would assume.
[doublepost=1474641228][/doublepost]

Bummer, I was rooting for you too, because that is what worked for me as well . . . except I went the full nine yards and totally uninstalled every single piece of VirtualBox from my live system, since I really don't need it at the moment, being as I am currently running SheepShaver directly under Sierra, as I have been doing since Mountain Lion.

By totally removing VirtualBox from my system, my fixed iSight camera has persisted across reboots.

Removing VirtualBox completely also fixed my Recovery Mode. Only Safe Mode remains broken, which as pkouame already mentioned, is a widely-known issue with certain Mac models apparently, including MacBooks and iMacs, apparently.

If you want the details, please see point #11 in my previous message #2802, my friend.

You should probably file a bug that Virtualbox doesn't release some devices properly from its USB filter under Sierra.

 

[Ethan H 1234]

It really depends on your personal needs and your workflow. If you are content with your current setup, then maybe you don't need to install macOS Sierra on that old of a machine. Even if you do decide to install Sierra, as with me and quite a few others, it will probably be the very last OS that you will be able to install on it anyway.

Apple's biggest Sierra bait has been Siri. Do you really need Siri? By my account, the desktop version of Siri is very unimpressive and very deficient, and much less than what I personally expected.

Do you need a few more default apps that implement tabs in them? For me personally, it is no biggie.

Sierra does offer more stability, and security fixes; but again, if you are running a stable system with all the apps that you currently need, then maybe you should hold off on Sierra.

RumorszGuy, thanks for such a comprehensive reply! To be honest, I was not really even considering attempting to install Sierra, it was more a fear of gradually losing functionality if I stayed with El Capitan, and I just wondered if or how soon that would happen. To be specific, I have a MacBook (13-inch, Aluminum, Late 2008), scrambling towards somehow upgrading to Sierra is just a sticky-plaster on a geriatric system

I don't use Siri, I use the apps for browsing, youtube, some photo editing (which is when my mac shows it's age)... pretty basic functions! I was just worried about simple things like not being able to watch youtube suddenly because the latest version of flash player isn't compatible (I know there are alternatives). I've had in the back of my mind for a while that a 2008 system is probably coming to the end of it's usefulness, but at the moment it's fairly reliable. (As an aside, by coincidence my camera stopped working a while back, for no reason! I didn't use it much anyway so it's been dormant ever since).

Thanks again for your reply!

 

[Didier92300]

Hello,
I'm new on that forum !
I've tried several times to upgrade on Sierra on my Mac Pro early 2008 3,1 without any success...
I succeed realize the patched USB but when I boot on it my screen stayed black as if the system didn't have the correct driver for my graphic card (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti).
So I'm unable to upgrade to Sierra at the moment...
Any ideas to help me ?
Thanks !
Didier

 

[pkouame]

You should probably file a bug that Virtualbox doesn't release some devices properly from its USB filter under Sierra.

Hey. Are you planning on providing a full installer again a la GM a while ago ? Thanks.

 

[foxlet]

Hey. Are you planning on providing a full installer again a la GM a while ago ? Thanks.

Yes, but it might be delayed a bit. Currently I'm testing out bootable APFS disks with macOS for a different package.

 

[RumorzGuy]

Ok, so the virtualbox 'fix' did not persist, and just to see if I could boot into safe mode, (so maybe it wouldn't load the virtualbox extensions) to check if the camera would work or not... and I just get the prohibited symbol every time.. since using 10.3, I have never booted any of my macs into safe mode.. dosdude or anyone that has a 5,3, is it normal behavior to not be able to boot into safe mode on a patched 10.12 system?

I would like to suggest that you try the following:

1. Run the VirtualBox uninstaller script that is located in the VirtualBox DMG.

This will remove all of VirtualBox's main components; most importantly, all of those pesky kext files.

However, it will not touch the VM images that you have in ~/VirtualBox VMs, or whatever that folder is called that is located at the top level of your home folder. The VMs will be preserved.

If I recall correctly, the uninstaller script also does not touch the two plist files in ~/Library/Preferences. At least I think there are two of them. I did this hours ago, so I am not sure.

It will leave one or two empty folders in place. I think one is in ~/Library/Application Support, IIRC.

Just use Spotlight to find any lingering evidence of a VirtualBox installation on your hard drive.

2. Once you have uninstalled VirtualBox -- and maybe put your "VirtualBox VMs" folder in a safe place -- completely shut down your machine.

3. Reboot your machine in regular mode, not in Safe Mode or Recovery Mode.

4. Run System Profiler -- a.k.a. System Information app in the "Utilities" folder -- or just look at the System Report when you do an "About This Mac". See if your camera is now listed again under Hardware/Camera.

5. If the camera is listed, verify by running FaceTime and Photo Booth.

Depending on the results of those five steps, you will confirm one way or another if one or more of VirtualBox's kext files are the culprits. Personally, I am convinced that they are . . . and for a lot of other people who also have VirtualBox installed, and who just don't know it yet.

At this point, it is decision time:

Which do you want and need more at the moment, VirtualBox or your iSight camera?

In my case, as I said in another post, I had already been thinking about removing VirtualBox anyway, since I have been running SheepShaver directly under the OS, since Mountain Lion. VirtualBox with a Mountain Lion VM was just my backup system for my SheepShaver setup, but I can do without it.

If VirtualBox is the culprit in your case as well -- as it seems to be -- until the folks at Oracle can fix this problem, I think the above is the only choice available, unless one of the coding gurus here can figure out a way to make VirtualBox play nice with macOS Sierra.

Just my personal suggestion for what it is worth.

Oh, one thing I forgot to add . . .

If you discover, as I did, that VirtualBox is the culprit, then maybe after you do the above, you can try reinstalling it, and see if the problem still persists.

In other words, maybe installing VirtualBox AFTER you already have macOS Sierra installed might make a difference in how well it plays with Sierra. After all, I am willing to bet that this problem is being caused on the machines of people who ALREADY had VirtualBox on their machines BEFORE they upgraded to Sierra.

So maybe it's worth a shot.

 

[pkouame]

Yes, but it might be delayed a bit. Currently I'm testing out bootable APFS disks with macOS for a different package.

Way Cool!

How's performance on APFS? Does it live up to Apple's claims?

 

[RumorzGuy]

You should probably file a bug that Virtualbox doesn't release some devices properly from its USB filter under Sierra.

I would foxlet, except to be honest, I am really not experienced enough to fully understand all of this stuff, which means I wouldn't even know how to explain it to them. And if they start asking me complicated questions about it, I would be like "DUH".

Besides, they might ask me to reinstall VirtualBox for testing, and after all of this, I am really not prepared to do that in the least.

I agree though that someone who really grasps what is happening between Sierra and VirtualBox should report it to them. In fact, I have already begun to wonder if they might not already be aware of it, considering the scope of the problem on the latest macOS. I haven't used VirtualBox in a great while now, and I don't visit Oracles VB forums, so I really don't know how much they may already know.

 

[waveman]

Can you shot the full screen? I need all the texts. It is a upgrade install over El Capitan? Which El Capitan version? Which folders exists on /Library/Extensions/? Have you any external mouse or keybord? Which brand and type?

Screen attached. It panics at the and of the loading process

It was an update over the latest version of El Capitan.

After the update my computer restarted itself and I noticed a crossed circle sign. Then, I restarted it and boot again from USB to finish with the post-install procedure where I selected the option to force cache rebuild. It restarted and I ended up with a broken system.

I don't have anything connected right now but normally I work with Logitech G5 mouse, and i use USBoverdrive software for it.

As for the kexts, it's hard to provide a full list via mobile phone. Is there anything in particular I should try to find there?

Another thing I found is that when I go to Recovery mode, I don't have an option to reinstall El Capitan, only Sierra. I cannot go for a clean install as I don't have a full backup and I'm not sure how to do it at this point via terminal.

Also, when I opened Safari from Recovery partition, I noticed that the keyboard wasn't working.

The only hope is to run Sierra installer from USB, and then use Terminal to save the system and find a way to boot Sierra up.

 

[Czo]

Find a kext, that non standard! In /Library/Extensions is not the same as /System/Library/Extensions, so shot the output of the ls command. Maybe the logitech driver cause that problem (it's not the first time in the history).

 

[RumorzGuy]

RumorszGuy, thanks for such a comprehensive reply! To be honest, I was not really even considering attempting to install Sierra, it was more a fear of gradually losing functionality if I stayed with El Capitan, and I just wondered if or how soon that would happen.

I didn't directly address that part of your comments, because the answer to it seemed rather obvious to me. Yes, your machine will gradually lose more and more of its functionality over the next few years, and maybe sooner than later. Apple will stop providing compatible updates for the software that you currently use. Third party developers will move up the system requirements for the software that they write, because they don't have the time, energy or money to keep supporting old and outdated versions of their apps. It is the way of the beast, and there is nothing that we can do to change that.

Exactly how soon that will happen is anyone's guess. As I said, I would say sooner rather than later, given the current age of our old machines. You don't state what kind of Mac you have, but I can tell you that iMacs -- that is, all-in-ones -- are not built to last nearly as long as older models where there was a lot of breathing space. Everything is so crammed in there nowadays, building up heat, etc. My early 2009 iMac is already showing its age. It is sluggish; the screen is getting dark areas due to screen burn; etc.

I'd say that by 2020 -- or maybe sooner -- all of us who use machines that are 7-8 years or older, will be forced to purchase new machines. But that is just a guess on my part.

 

[brkr1]

I have a MacBook Pro 5.4 from mid-2009 (2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 8 GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 9400M, 240 GB SSD). I downloaded Sierra on a supported Mac, wrote it to a USB drive and patched it with dosdude1's tool.
Then I installed it on a secondary partition on said mid-2009 MacBook Pro, and after the patch, it works just as well as El Capitan. Even the iSight webcam is working.
The only thing that no longer works is double tap and hold on the trackpad to drag. But I can live without it, all the other gestures still work.
However, I'm making a full Time Machine backup and waiting until the public release of 10.12.1 before attempting to upgrade my main El Capitan installation, because I want to make sure the updates also install fine (having to patch them using dosdude1's other tool is fine).

TBH I'm fine with El Capitan, but it's not fair Apple shrug off people who gave more money to them. Sierra is supported on the 2009 white Macbook which has the same exact hardware as the more expensive 2009 Macbook Pro.

1. From the Apple menu, choose System Preferences.
2. Click the Accessibility icon.
3. Choose Mouse & Trackpad from the options on the left.
4. Click Trackpad Options.
5. Place a checkmark next to "Enable dragging."
6. From the related pop-up menu, choose “three finger drag” so there's a checkmark next to it.
7. Click OK.

Maybe not exactly what you were looking for, but imo it's way better than actually click/hold the trackpad with one hand and drag with the other hand.

 

[waveman]

Find a kext, that non standard! In /Library/Extensions is not the same as /System/Library/Extensions, so shot the output of the ls command. Maybe the logitech driver cause that problem (it's not the first time in the history).

I don't use any Logitech kext, only USBoverdrive.kext. Apart from that, nothing unusual. Ideally, it would be great to be able to start Sierra in safe mode, but it's not possible, because it strips the -no_compat_check out from boot args, and therefore showing crossed circle while booting.

 

[aquaticflow]

I would like to suggest that you try the following:

1. Run the VirtualBox uninstaller script that is located in the VirtualBox DMG.

This will remove all of VirtualBox's main components; most importantly, all of those pesky kext files.

However, it will not touch the VM images that you have in ~/VirtualBox VMs, or whatever that folder is called that is located at the top level of your home folder. The VMs will be preserved.

If I recall correctly, the uninstaller script also does not touch the two plist files in ~/Library/Preferences. At least I think there are two of them. I did this hours ago, so I am not sure.

It will leave one or two empty folders in place. I think one is in ~/Library/Application Support, IIRC.

Just use Spotlight to find any lingering evidence of a VirtualBox installation on your hard drive.

2. Once you have uninstalled VirtualBox -- and maybe put your "VirtualBox VMs" folder in a safe place -- completely shut down your machine.

3. Reboot your machine in regular mode, not in Safe Mode or Recovery Mode.

4. Run System Profiler -- a.k.a. System Information app in the "Utilities" folder -- or just look at the System Report when you do an "About This Mac". See if your camera is now listed again under Hardware/Camera.

5. If the camera is listed, verify by running FaceTime and Photo Booth.

Depending on the results of those five steps, you will confirm one way or another if one or more of VirtualBox's kext files are the culprits. Personally, I am convinced that they are . . . and for a lot of other people who also have VirtualBox installed, and who just don't know it yet.

At this point, it is decision time:

Which do you want and need more at the moment, VirtualBox or your iSight camera?

In my case, as I said in another post, I had already been thinking about removing VirtualBox anyway, since I have been running SheepShaver directly under the OS, since Mountain Lion. VirtualBox with a Mountain Lion VM was just my backup system for my SheepShaver setup, but I can do without it.

If VirtualBox is the culprit in your case as well -- as it seems to be -- until the folks at Oracle can fix this problem, I think the above is the only choice available, unless one of the coding gurus here can figure out a way to make VirtualBox play nice with macOS Sierra.

Just my personal suggestion for what it is worth.

Oh, one thing I forgot to add . . .

If you discover, as I did, that VirtualBox is the culprit, then maybe after you do the above, you can try reinstalling it, and see if the problem still persists.

In other words, maybe installing VirtualBox AFTER you already have macOS Sierra installed might make a difference in how well it plays with Sierra. After all, I am willing to bet that this problem is being caused on the machines of people who ALREADY had VirtualBox on their machines BEFORE they upgraded to Sierra.

So maybe it's worth a shot.

I don't really care about the camera, and haven't really used it that much since I got this mbp in 2009 ... and I do use Virtualbox for various things, so I'm not gonna delete it... I think I may even just restore to the 10.11 backup I have this weekend anyways... I can always come back to 10.12 if I want to later.. I'm just starting to get a little worried about if Apple changes something in the future that doesn't allow the patcher to work, and also kinda scared at the prospect of an update failing, and then not being able to boot, etc. I'm sure my worries are unwarranted, but this is the only Mac I currently have, and do use it on a daily basis for work.

One thing I will miss is that 10.12 does seem to run faster for me than 10.11 in quite a few tasks...

Unfortunately I will probably have to lose my recovery partition. I'll probably have to delete it since it will be 10.12 and the main partition will be 10.11..

 

[Czo]

I don't use any Logitech kext, only USBoverdrive.kext. Apart from that, nothing unusual. Ideally, it would be great to be able to start Sierra in safe mode, but it's not possible, because it strips the -no_compat_check out from boot args, and therefore showing crossed circle while booting.

Safe mode is -x but i think first remove all non standard kext from that installation.

 

[RumorzGuy]

I don't really care about the camera, and haven't really used it that much since I got this mbp in 2009 ... and I do use Virtualbox for various things, so I'm not gonna delete it...

I am basically the same way. I only FaceTime occasionally with my daughter and granddaughter, and that is about it.

As I have mentioned before, in early 2015, I set up VirtualBox with a Mountain Lion VM, so that I could run SheepShaver in a protected environment. That way, regardless of when Apple completely kills 32-bit apps running on macOS -- that day is probably coming soon -- I would still be able to keep running SheepShaver inside of VirtualBox, as long as VirtualBox is updated for macOS.

In case you are wondering, I use SheepShaver to run my old Hotline server, as well as my old Mac-based BBS, for folks who get a little nostalgic about the old days of Mac computing. I also want younger computer users to know about our computing history on the Mac, and how we communicated prior to the arrival of the Internet and WWW.

However, for quite some time now, I have been running SheepShaver directly under Mavericks, then El Capitan, and now Sierra. VirtualBox has just been sitting there dormant . . . at least until today when I finally deleted it.

I think I may even just restore to the 10.11 backup I have this weekend anyways... I can always come back to 10.12 if I want to later..

True indeed.

I'm just starting to get a little worried about if Apple changes something in the future that doesn't allow the patcher to work,

That is indeed a very real possibility, and I wouldn't put it past them. I mean, we must wonder if they might even visit this thread in order to determine how to frustrate our plans.

and also kinda scared at the prospect of an update failing, and then not being able to boot, etc.

That is why I conduct two daily, full backups of my internal startup drive to two WD external USB hard drives. My life's work is on this machine, and I can't afford to lose it.

I'm sure my worries are unwarranted, but this is the only Mac I currently have, and do use it on a daily basis for work.

Same here. I am on my last machine. My 27" iMac already bit the dust many months ago, because I do a lot on these machines. This 24" is almost 8 years old, and when it goes, I will have no choice but to purchase a new machine.

One thing I will miss is that 10.12 does seem to run faster for me than 10.11 in quite a few tasks...

I am not sure yet if it is faster for me or not, but it is stable. It would probably be faster if I didn't have so many third party apps on it, some of which hook into the OS to extend it in different ways.

Unfortunately I will probably have to lose my recovery partition. I'll probably have to delete it since it will be 10.12 and the main partition will be 10.11..

Oh well. Sometimes sacrifices have to be made.

 

[Ethan H 1234]

I didn't directly address that part of your comments, because the answer to it seemed rather obvious to me. Yes, your machine will gradually lose more and more of its functionality over the next few years, and maybe sooner than later. Apple will stop providing compatible updates for the software that you currently use. Third party developers will move up the system requirements for the software that they write, because they don't have the time, energy or money to keep supporting old and outdated versions of their apps. It is the way of the beast, and there is nothing that we can do to change that.

Exactly how soon that will happen is anyone's guess.

Aye, it wasn't obvious to me, hence why I asked it haha. I knew that *over time* things would lose functionality, but I just wondered if anyone had more of an idea of how soon that would be in practice.

Thanks for your detailed response though, mate, really appreciate it!

 

[quillo]

Your comment is a little ambiguous.

When you say "everytime I boot from it", are you referring to trying to boot from the USB installer flashdrive that you created, or are you referring to trying to boot from macOS Sierra that you just installed on your internal startup drive, using your flashdrive?

If it is the latter, one common response here has been that you may have forgotten to use the post-install option that is located on your USB installer flashdrive.

In other words -- and I was meaning to tell dosdude1 that maybe he needs to make this a little clearer in his instructions -- immediately after macOS Sierra is installed on your internal hard drive do not let your machine boot from your internal hard drive. That will mess things up for you.

Instead, as soon as macOS Sierra is installed on your internal hard drive, shut down your machine if you can.

What you want and must do, is reboot your machine holding down your option/alt key so that you can boot right back into the USB installer flashdrive that you made, and then select the post-install option before you even try to boot into the macOS Sierra that you just installed on your internal startup drive.

I think this might be one point that some folks are missing, from the comments I have read here. After they install macOS Sierra on their internal hard drive, they are letting their machine boot into that just-installed system, before they have run post-install from their USB installer drive. As I said, if you do that, from what I have read in this thread, you will get the prohibited sign.

Sorry yes, I meant the usb flash drive, I've tried 3 different drives. I actually can't even get into the installer it just shows me the slashed circle everytime I try to boot from the usb.