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Hi guys.

Just a quick question. I came across osxhackers.net and I'd really like to install a newer version of Mac OS as I've a MacBook 4,1 running 10.7 Lion.

In your experience, which version should I go for? Meaning, with which version have the MacBooks 4,1 worked best? Or at least, have had the least issues with?

I wish I could go for Sierra but practically at this point I could use any newer version of Mac OS.

Thank you very much for your time.
 
Hi guys.

Just a quick question. I came across osxhackers.net and I'd really like to install a newer version of Mac OS as I've a MacBook 4,1 running 10.7 Lion.

In your experience, which version should I go for? Meaning, with which version have the MacBooks 4,1 worked best? Or at least, have had the least issues with?

I wish I could go for Sierra but practically at this point I could use any newer version of Mac OS.

Thank you very much for your time.
The maximum I'd recommend is 10.8 Mountain Lion. Anything newer than that will not have graphics acceleration, which will make the machine run like garbage.
 
The maximum I'd recommend is 10.8 Mountain Lion. Anything newer than that will not have graphics acceleration, which will make the machine run like garbage.
[doublepost=1513841765][/doublepost]Yeah, the unfortunate thing about the older (and really any) laptops is that graphics chips can't be upgraded and you are stuck with whatever you've got. The newer OSes require more graphics power than an older laptop will ever be able to supply. Of course, the same issue exists with most Mac desktops as well. Most don't have upgradable graphics chips. The old tower Mac Pros (of which I have an early 2008 model (3,1 identifier)) allow for a few more graphics options with their PCI Express slots, but even they have significant limitations and are expensive to upgrade with the better cards. I will say that I ran 10.8 Mountain Lion for a while, and it is not a bad OS.
 
I´m running Sierra in a Macbook Pro 4.1 , 17 inches, resolution 1920x1200, and it´s completely functional.
6GB ram and a SSD is almost mandatory.

To say that I use it for mail, web, and movies in a 90%
 
The maximum I'd recommend is 10.8 Mountain Lion. Anything newer than that will not have graphics acceleration, which will make the machine run like garbage.

Wow... Just 10.8 you say? :/

I'm running Photoshop CS5 on my current setup and it's not too bad 90% of the time.

If I did in fact push it all the way to at least 10.10 (because of a few apps I need) what would happen as a result to my interaction with Photoshop? Would it be about the same or way worse (slower and lagging etc) ?

Thanks
 
Wow... Just 10.8 you say? :/

I'm running Photoshop CS5 on my current setup and it's not too bad 90% of the time.

If I did in fact push it all the way to at least 10.10 (because of a few apps I need) what would happen as a result to my interaction with Photoshop? Would it be about the same or way worse (slower and lagging etc) ?

Thanks
It would be nearly unusable... Wouldn't recommend it at all.
[doublepost=1513875320][/doublepost]
I´m running Sierra in a Macbook Pro 4.1 , 17 inches, resolution 1920x1200, and it´s completely functional.
6GB ram and a SSD is almost mandatory.

To say that I use it for mail, web, and movies in a 90%
The MacBook Pro 4,1 is completely different than the MacBook 4,1. It has a better GPU that's supported in all versions of Mac OS up to High Sierra.
 
It would be nearly unusable... Wouldn't recommend it at all.
[doublepost=1513875320][/doublepost]
The MacBook Pro 4,1 is completely different than the MacBook 4,1. It has a better GPU that's supported in all versions of Mac OS up to High Sierra.

Ok I guess I'll just stick to 10.7 then... Thanks
 
I would look at going to 10.8, I think it ran better on my 2,1 than 10.7. The process with MacPostFactor is just about as easy as with the DosDudes tools for macOS.

Well I mean, 10.8 isn't really much of an upgrade given that apps-wise (which ofc is the biggest reason for my need to upgrade) it's just as old as 10.7 is.

Yosemite on the other hand would give me access to a whole different set of necessary apps (or at least updates of already existing apps on my system.)
 
Yes, it isn't much of an upgrade but should run a bit better.

You think so? Like, even though it's not normally supported by my MacBook?

So, if I get it right, just to make a ranking it would be:
1. (best option) upgrade to 10.8
2. stay just the way I am (10.7)
3. (worst option) upgrade to Mavericks (or any newer version of Mac OS)

Is that correct? Tyvm
 
You think so? Like, even though it's not normally supported by my MacBook?

So, if I get it right, just to make a ranking it would be:
1. (best option) upgrade to 10.8
2. stay just the way I am (10.7)
3. (worst option) upgrade to Mavericks (or any newer version of Mac OS)

Is that correct? Tyvm

Pretty much sums it up.
 
Pretty much sums it up.

Hmm ok.. thats interesting. :/

Why is that though? I mean Mavericks and Mountain Lion don't seem (at least to me) like they differ that much in terms of their needs of hardware support.

To quote one phrase I remember seeing around a lot back in the day: "If your Mac supports Mountain Lion it also supports Mavericks", do you remember this one?

I dunno that much about computers and stuff it just seems strange.

I'll definitely give Mountain Lion a try though thank you guys for the tip ☺
 
Hmm ok.. thats interesting. :/

Why is that though? I mean Mavericks and Mountain Lion don't seem (at least to me) like they differ that much in terms of their needs of hardware support.

To quote one phrase I remember seeing around a lot back in the day: "If your Mac supports Mountain Lion it also supports Mavericks", do you remember this one?

I dunno that much about computers and stuff it just seems strange.

I'll definitely give Mountain Lion a try though thank you guys for the tip ☺

Its the GMA x3100 in your 4,1. There was no 64 bit driver for them, thats why every macbook below a 5,1 was left behind with Lion if I remember correctly. There used to be some hackinthosh kexts floating around that would enable partial acceleration if I remember correctly.
 
i have Sierra 10.12.5 and i need update to 10.12.6. Can i do it manualy by downloading the Comboupdate ?
 
I can't seem to install Sierra on a mid 2009 Macbook Pro (MBP 5,5) using dosdude1's patcher and instructions. Installation from external drive begins but hangs and then throws the error “macOS could not be installed on your computer” and “No packages were eligible for install. Contact the manufacturer ...”

My steps taken are below. Any tips? TIA
EDIT: FIXED! See below

Sierra Patch Tool v4.2.7
Sierra Installer: tried both 12.6.03 & 12.5.03

—On a natively supported mac: after verifying installer, Patcher installs Sierra Installer to 16GB partition (Extended/Journaled/GUID) on external drive & completes w/no errors. Verbose output:
/dev/disk4 GUID_partition_scheme
/dev/disk4s1 EFI
/dev/disk4s2 Apple_HFS /Volumes/OS X Install ESD
—After booting from external installer on target mac, I use Disk Utility to erase (new) internal SSD on MBP, formatted MacOS Extended/Journaled/GUID
—Choose option to install MacOS on internal SSD, progress bar starts w/ 12 minutes to complete, but then stalls “macOS could not be installed on your computer” and “No packages were eligible for install...” errors, must restart to quit
—Install process partially creates a 12.6 recovery partition, but can’t boot from the recovery partition (circle with slash)
—When booted from external drive w/installer partition (named “OS X Base System”), I can run csrutil disable from terminal and it says “disabled, restart” to take effect, but no difference, same error on next install attempt.
—Had a copy of 10.6 Snow Leopard lying around, installed that first, tried installing Sierra on top, and hangs at same place, also destroys the existing OS install (circle slash on startup from internal drive w/10.6)
—Tried remaking the patched installer a few times, same error

EDIT: FIXED!

It was an obscure date bug that I uncovered only when I tried installing 10.11 El Capitan from the same external drive, which failed because the installer “could not be verified.” Opening Terminal and typing “date” turned up a day/time set to 2010 (date from the factory?). Typing “date” and the correct time in MMDDHHmmYY format into Terminal solved the issue and allowed the patched Sierra Installer to continue. Funnily, 10.6.3 was so old that it didn’t have a problem ...

Problem and fix explained here: http://osxdaily.com/2015/01/19/fix-...ant-be-verified-error-occurred-preparing-mac/

That’s what I get for actually following instructions and unplugging the battery when installing a new SSD ...
 
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I installed High Sierra without any Problem on my MacBookPro 5,1. Unfortunately Win 10 is running to slow Parallels. So i decided to install Bootcamp and Win 10. With a few tricks it worked.

My problem is now, when i press "option" during the start only the bootcamp windows partition appears.
How can i reactivate the High Sierra partition?

EDIT: Solved, i just ran again "macOS Post Install" this fixed the problem.
 
Last edited:
i have Sierra 10.12.5 and i need update to 10.12.6. Can i do it manualy by downloading the Comboupdate ?
Yes you can do it it but you need to modify the Distribution file in the Combo.pkg.
Here is a list of instructions, please note they refer to the 10.13.1 update for High Sierra just substitute the Sierra 10.12.6 Combo update.


Modifying the 10.13.1 Update for High Sierra.

Download 10.13.1 Update.
Open 10.13.1 Update.
Move 10.13.1Update.pkg to Desktop.
Open Terminal.
Enter pkgutil --expand ~/Desktop/macOSUpd10.13Update.pkg ~/Desktop/Expanded

Open Expanded folder and then open Distribution file in BBEdit

Change Distribution file, change Board iD line 33 to <your Macs boardID> at line 41 remove <your Mac model>

Save As .xml file to the Desktop

In Terminal chmod +x ~/Desktop/distribution.xml
Remove the extension .xml
Move new Distribution file to Expanded folder replacing the original
In Terminal pkgutil --flatten ~/Desktop/Expanded ~/Desktop/Modified.pkg

Using the .pkg extension is crucial.
The Modified package on your desktop should now allow you to install the latest update
 
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Hoping someone might be able to help me. .

I have the late 2008 Alu MB 5,1 - I have used the patch tool to download and create my install USB drive. The patch tool confirms success.

I went through the steps to disable SIP

When booting from the USB drive, the boot hangs about half way through the progress bar under the apple, and the 'NO' symbol appears. .

Any help or suggestions would be much appreciated. Thank you.
 
Hoping someone might be able to help me. .

I have the late 2008 Alu MB 5,1 - I have used the patch tool to download and create my install USB drive. The patch tool confirms success.

I went through the steps to disable SIP

When booting from the USB drive, the boot hangs about half way through the progress bar under the apple, and the 'NO' symbol appears. .

Any help or suggestions would be much appreciated. Thank you.
Try a different USB drive, some have issues are cannot complete the booting process for whatever reason.
 
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Thank you @dosdude1 !! I'll give this a go once I procure another USB drive. .

And thank you for all your amazing work on this!! I am speechless as to how much effort you seem to have put in helping people with this. I hope people with successful installs are generous in their donations :)
 
Hey so this thing is fantastic, and I'm loving running Sierra on my 2009 MacBookPro (5,5). Works great, but I can't get the Recovery partition to mount. I tried to install the Recovery patch from the patch tool, but it doesn't seem to do anything.

I notice that my boot drive doesn't appear in the "Select Volume" dropdown of "macOS Post Install" until I manually mount the drive from Disk Utility. Is that normal? It's a FileVault drive, and I have to enter my password when I mount it.

When I do that, and then choose the boot drive from "Select Volume" and check "Recovery Partition Patch" and click "Patch", I see the progress dialog pop up briefly, but then it disappears. I don't get any sort of "This was successful" message.

And then when I reboot with Cmd-R, I get the circle with the slash through it.

Help!
 
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