macOS 10.15 Catalina on Unsupported Macs

[jhowarth]

Hey all,
Before I go too far, thanks for everyone’s work in giving life to old machines. Your efforts are very much appreciated.
I have a Mac Pro 3,1 running Mojave and I’m currently trying to upgrade to Catalina. I created a boot drive using the latest Catalina Patcher (1.3) with a freshly downloaded copy of the OS.
After booting to recovery, the install goes as normal until the post boot install fails with an error: “macOS could not be installed on your computer. The operation could not be completed. (com.apple.osinstall error -30) Quit the installer to restart the computer and try again.”
View attachment 888874
Any suggestions for how I can proceed?

Have you tried creating a patched usb installer on an 8 Gb or larger memory stick and installing from that?

 

[ASentientBot]

MacBook Pro 15" Mid-2010, Catalina 10.15.2, DosDude patcher 1.3.0
NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M 256 MB
Intel HD Graphics 288 MB

I have problem with very slow maps.google.com, pretty unusable.
Did you have any solution to this problem?

This is probably due to the issues with acceleration in Safari, especially obvious in WebGL tests or games like slither.io with nice-ish graphics. Firefox performs a little better, but something is still clearly wrong.

Since it's almost certainly due to the non-Metal patches and my framework wrappers, I've spent many hours investigating this. Haven't figured it out yet though, so if anyone has a lead, please tell me!

 

[Tim Thomason]

I am stuck in a install loop, am I doing something wrong.

 

[TimothyR734]

View attachment 889235

I am stuck in a install loop, am I doing something wrong.

First off what mac are you trying to install to. 2. you have to apply catalinaswufix patch in the terminal before you restart your mac to install the update

 

[Tim Thomason]

First off what mac are you trying to install to. 2. you have to apply catalinaswufix patch in the terminal before you restart your mac to install the update

hello it is a MacBookPro5,2
I did run the script before installing beta update, restarted the update, it went thru the white screen . no update progress bar, then to the restart to desktop.
still have the beta update window in software update.

 

[amgff84]

Anyone have any good or bad experiences running Catalina on their 2011 Mac mini 5,1 w/Intel HD3000 Graphics? It seemed fine when I tried the beta version on this. Thinking of giving it another go.

 

[TimothyR734]

hello it is a MacBookPro5,2
I did run the script before installing beta update, restarted the update, it went thru the white screen . no update progress bar, then to the restart to desktop.
still have the beta update window in software update.

There is a bit harder way of doing this and that is going to your /Library/Updates folder find the English.dist file and manually edit it you would have to know your boardID and enter it in the var boardID's section then scroll to var NonSupportedModels find macPro 5,2 and delete that one out save and replace it in the updates folder you need to make a copy of it to edit it as it is a locked file like I did with mine but it is for 10.15.2

 

[PeterHolbrook]

There is a bit harder way of doing this and that is going to your /Library/Updates folder find the English.dist file and manually edit it you would have to know your boardID and enter it in the var boardID's section then scroll to var NonSupportedModels find macPro 5,2 and delete that one out save and replace it in the updates folder you need to make a copy of it to edit it as it is a locked file like I did with mine but it is for 10.15.2

Timothy, would you care to clarify whether the above instruction is a one-time operation capable of "fixing" the Software Update issue of Catalina on unsupported machines? I mean, if I simply edit English.dist as you say and then "replace it in the updates folder" (I don't understand what you mean by that), will Software Update work on an old iMac 7,1 where I installed Catalina 10.15.2 via dosdude's patcher? If that works, would it be necessary to redo such editing for newer updates (i.e., when 10.15.4 comes along, et cetera)?

 

[jackluke]

hello it is a MacBookPro5,2
I did run the script before installing beta update, restarted the update, it went thru the white screen . no update progress bar, then to the restart to desktop.
still have the beta update window in software update.

If you're trying to install the OTA update on an external USB Catalina installation it won't work, the reason is you are using a machine without a native APFS firmware and with very legacy IOUSB kext.

Instead the OTA script will work only on an internal SATA disk Catalina install.

But also on an external USB disk when using an APFS native machine with more recent IOUSB kext .
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Timothy, would you care to clarify whether the above instruction is a one-time operation capable of "fixing" the Software Update issue of Catalina on unsupported machines? I mean, if I simply edit English.dist as you say and then "replace it in the updates folder" (I don't understand what you mean by that), will Software Update work on an old iMac 7,1 where I installed Catalina 10.15.2 via dosdude's patcher? If that works, would it be necessary to redo such editing for newer updates (i.e., when 10.15.4 comes along, et cetera)?

Almost nothing on unsupported machine is a one-time operation fix, after any minor or major system update
patches should be re-applied, for example after each minor update apple copy back the telemetry plugin that doesn't allow to boot any Core2Duo machine unless removed.

 

[Bravo2zero]

I know this reply may have been done to death but here goes

how do you upgrade from an old copy of 10.15.0 to something a little later 10.15.2 for example ?

My kids both have 24" iMac 2009 with dosdudes patch installed running very first Beta of Catalina for months now. I know it probably been asked 10000 times before but I don't fancy 400 pages of searching and there's no sticky on page one to advise me on the process.

Cheers.

 

[GDMSR]

I know this reply may have been done to death but here goes

how do you upgrade from an old copy of 10.15.0 to something a little later 10.15.2 for example ?

My kids both have 24" iMac 2009 with dosdudes patch installed running very first Beta of Catalina for months now. I know it probably been asked 10000 times before but I don't fancy 400 pages of searching and there's no sticky on page one to advise me on the process.

Cheers.

You need to download the latest patcher which will then download the latest Catalina version. Although a 're-install' of the system, your personal data files will not be lost.

 

[crjackson2134]

I know this reply may have been done to death but here goes

how do you upgrade from an old copy of 10.15.0 to something a little later 10.15.2 for example ?

My kids both have 24" iMac 2009 with dosdudes patch installed running very first Beta of Catalina for months now. I know it probably been asked 10000 times before but I don't fancy 400 pages of searching and there's no sticky on page one to advise me on the process.

Cheers.

Download the newest Catalina Patcher. Use the patcher to download the newest Catalina build.
Use the patcher to install Catalina.

 

[0134168]

I know this reply may have been done to death but here goes

how do you upgrade from an old copy of 10.15.0 to something a little later 10.15.2 for example ?

My kids both have 24" iMac 2009 with dosdudes patch installed running very first Beta of Catalina for months now. I know it probably been asked 10000 times before but I don't fancy 400 pages of searching and there's no sticky on page one to advise me on the process.

Cheers.

Make an USB patched installer, and just go.

 

[upbythomas]

I guess I've patched the Catalina AirDrop to use AirDrop without a BT 4.0 usb dongle.

I've re-enabled the AirDrop legacy feature "Don't see who you're looking for?" and "Search for an Older Mac" that from Catalina was dropped.

"Older Macs" in AirDrop are considered by apple all the machines without a BT 4.0 internal device, so those with a BT 2.1 internal device.


Here are the steps from Catalina Terminal:

sudo mount -uw / ; killall Finder

open /System/Library/CoreServices/Finder.app/Contents/Resources/Base.lproj/

Ovewrite the file AirDropInfoView.nib attached with the one inside that path.

After replace no need to reboot just from Catalina Terminal: killall Finder

The only file attached is suffice in my case (probably because of my previous manual patch on the
Brcm4360 driver used) to allow using the BT 2.1 , but consider that some very legacy machines may need to replace from Mojave the entire folder attached, the Mojave AirDrop.app should be re-placed inside the /Catalina/System/Library/CoreServices/Finder.app/Contents/Applications/


On the picture attached both the machines use their default Bluetooth 2.1+EDR internal device, the other one is MacBook7,1 with HighSierra installed, and the HS one can detect this Catalina MacBookPro6,2 .

Next picture I unplug this Catalina USB SSD external and plug to the MacBook7,1 and from MacBookPro6,2 I run a Mojave, lets check it out.

In both cases it's bidirectional working.

I've tried also from a MacBook7,1 Mavericks AirDrop to discover and be discovered from Catalina and it's totally working.

My AirDrop "Search for an Older Mac" method works also on Catalina supported Macs, that are not allowed to discover and be discovered from legacy machines, since apple dropped the "Search for an Older Mac" function from Catalina.

Instead replacing on a supported Catalina this AirDropInfoView.nib brings back that function, AirDrop will work and allow to discover/discovered also very legacy Macs (I guess until 10.7 OSX Lion when AirDrop was introduced by apple).

Thanks ! Works perfectly on my 13,3 Late 2016 15” MacBook Pro on Catalina 10.15.2 !

 

[ASentientBot]

There is a bit harder way of doing this and that is going to your /Library/Updates folder find the English.dist file and manually edit it you would have to know your boardID and enter it in the var boardID's section then scroll to var NonSupportedModels find macPro 5,2 and delete that one out save and replace it in the updates folder you need to make a copy of it to edit it as it is a locked file like I did with mine but it is for 10.15.2

You guys don't need to go to all the effort to fix those blacklist/whitelist arrays, you can just add return true; right at the beginning of the InstallationCheck(prefix) function!

 

[crjackson2134]

You guys don't need to go to all the effort to fix those blacklist/whitelist arrays, you can just add return true; right at the beginning of the InstallationCheck(prefix) function!

Being less savvy than many here, can you tell me where is, or what file holds, the InstallationCheck(prefix) ? I'd like to give this a go and see what happens...

 

[deeveedee]

MacBook Pro 15" Mid-2010, Catalina 10.15.2, DosDude patcher 1.3.0
NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M 256 MB
Intel HD Graphics 288 MB

I have problem with very slow maps.google.com, pretty unusable.
Did you have any solution to this problem?

I have Catalina 10.15.2 running on my HackBookPro6,2 (NVidia G3100m graphics, I7-620m, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD). I'm using only the NVidia graphics (not Intel HD). maps.google.com runs perfectly on my laptop. I suspect my system specs are virtually identical to yours. I'd be happy to help if you think I can. I'm not sure what to suggest - I also used DosDude Patcher 1.3.0 and Catalina 10.15.2.

EDIT: I thought of one thing that I did after my install that is probably different from what you did: I removed LegacyUSBVideoSupport.kext from /Library/Extensions. Run 'sudo kextcache -i /' after you remove the kext (copy it to a safe place where you can restore it if necessary). I'm not sure that this has anything to do with the slow graphics issue (I never tested before removing the kext and don't see the problem now). I only removed this kext when chasing down another problem (which ended up not being related to the kext) and I never restored the LegacyUSBVideoSupport.kext since it didn't appear to make any difference for me. I'm only mentioning this to be clear about differences in the way we used this Catalina patcher.

If I'm allowed to post a link to the forum where my complete solution is documented, let me know and I'll post the link.

 

[Bero]

EDIT: I thought of one thing that I did after my install that is probably different from what you did: I removed LegacyUSBVideoSupport.kext from /Library/Extensions. Run 'sudo kextcache -i /' after you remove the kext (copy it to a safe place where you can restore it if necessary).

If I'm allowed to post a link to the forum where my complete solution is documented, let me know and I'll post the link.

Hi deeveedee,

Why you removed LegacyUSBVideoSupport.kext from /Library/Extensions? What is the reason? Because of slow acceleration of GPU before you removed this kernel extension?

Thank you

 

[timthomason]

There is a bit harder way of doing this and that is going to your /Library/Updates folder find the English.dist file and manually edit it you would have to know your boardID and enter it in the var boardID's section then scroll to var NonSupportedModels find macPro 5,2 and delete that one out save and replace it in the updates folder you need to make a copy of it to edit it as it is a locked file like I did with mine but it is for 10.15.2

thank you. i think ill waits for dosdude1 installer if there is going ro be one..

 

[deeveedee]

Hi deeveedee,

Why you removed LegacyUSBVideoSupport.kext from /Library/Extensions? What is the reason? Because of slow acceleration of GPU before you removed this kernel extension?

Thank you

No - sorry about my confusing response. I never tested "slow graphics" behavior that you described before removing the kext. I only removed the kext, because I was chasing down another issue (that ended up not related to the kext) and I never restored the kext after it appears unnecessary for my system.

I only mentioned it to be clear about possible differences in the way we used this Catalina patcher.

Also, when I ran the post install utility, I applied only the Legacy Video patch and the patch updater (selected only two post install options). My system did not need any of the other patches. Again, mentioning this only to be clear about possible differences in the way we used the patcher (in case it offers any clues about the "slow graphics" problem). Again, I have never witnessed the slow graphics problem and am only presenting the way I used the patcher.

 

[nathansz]

Just wanted to pop by to thank everyone for all of their work

and also to report that I installed catalina on 2011 27" iMac in preparation for a gtx 770m that is shipping

I'm typing this on it now and even with the 6970 still in it (which I've already baked once and is starting to die again) it seems surprisingly usable so far. much more so than when I tried Mojave on it before


interestingly, I haven't installed Macs fan control yet and the hard drive fan isn't going crazy

 

[Zahilla]

Can someone please explain why the Radeon 6xxx and 5xxx series are not supported with graphics acceleration but OLDER graphics series like the 2xxx and 4xxx ARE supported? I don't understand because they both don't support metal and the 2xxx and 4xxx are older

 

[StarIlia]

To rule out the internal drive cable, you´d also have to remove the internal drive completely, otherwise the file system there will be mounted, and indexing (spotlight) and other services will access it, still possibly causing the problem. But chances are, the cable might not be the culprit!
So...
Another thing to check: RAM integrity, just to rule out HW related failures.
Best option here would be to download the platform-independent RAM tester, burn it on CD, boot from it and let it run for a while (100% coverage of all different tests is normally not neccessary as RAM bit cell or addressing errors show up quite early).
Link here. Runs on all intel machines, PC and Macs. Free version of Memtest86 is sufficient.

On weekends, I turned off the internal disk completely, loaded and worked with the external one. All the same, there are reboots, as you can see, this is not the problem. About the memtest program-it is not possible to write it to a flash drive.... I can't understand anything, the term says that there is no file path.

 

[Larsvonhier]

On weekends, I turned off the internal disk completely, loaded and worked with the external one. All the same, there are reboots, as you can see, this is not the problem. About the memtest program-it is not possible to write it to a flash drive.... I can't understand anything, the term says that there is no file path.

Good that this HW failure can be ruled out.

As I have never created a flash drive for the MemTest86, I can only speculate: It might be that you had the wrong partitioning on your USB drive... try Master boot record and FAT filesystem, that should work.
Or (what I did) burn a bootable CD ;-)

 

[deeveedee]

This is probably due to the issues with acceleration in Safari, especially obvious in WebGL tests or games like slither.io with nice-ish graphics. Firefox performs a little better, but something is still clearly wrong.

Since it's almost certainly due to the non-Metal patches and my framework wrappers, I've spent many hours investigating this. Haven't figured it out yet though, so if anyone has a lead, please tell me!

@ASentientBot - As I was explaining to @Bero , my HackBookPro6,2 does not have the "slow graphics" problem (at least as measured by viewing maps.google.com). There are two differences between my system and a real MBP6,2 that might be related: 1) My system does not have Intel HD Graphics enabled (no MUX that switches between Intel and Nvidia) and 2) My Nvidia G3100M has 512MB RAM. I have attached my "About" screen and IOReg dump in case this helps you.

EDIT: If @Bero 's posted specs are correct, his GT330 has an allocated 256MB RAM. I thought the MBP6,2 had 512MB graphics memory allocated for the GT330 (and 256MB for Intel HD), so maybe the patched drivers are incorrectly detecting available graphics memory?