macOS 11 Big Sur on Unsupported Macs Thread

[algernonpule]

Hi, Ausdauersportler! Thank you for all your work: when I saw your hybrid solution, I thought it was time to bite the bullet and apply your method to my iMac 13,2, and everything seems to be running absolutely fine (even the wi-fi, which I expected to have to patch!).

I do have one minor issue, though, which is that every time I reboot, this happens in verbose mode, which I understood would only happen during the installation process. I can't find a way to go back to normal booting: any suggestions?

With thanks!

 

[Ausdauersportler]

Hi! I'm a micropatcher fanatic, but your words made me want to try OpenCore and I just downloaded OpenCore-Patcher. When starting OC-Patcher I get the options you see below.

Had to read it twice...

First of all: You do not need the hybrid approach since you will not patch your system. You needed the micropatcher all the time only to make the installer run on your now unsupported iMac.

1. Get an USB 16 GB USB stick. Create an Big Sur installer. DO NOT apply the micropatcher!
2. You should start the OCLP program on the particular iMac you are going to use with Big Sur. Just press option 1 and after generating the EFI press 2 to install it onto the prepared USB installer.
3. If you want to store the EFI folder on an internal disk elsewhere to backup use the path printed out to find it before stopping the program. The option 3 is meant for users generating EFI folders for different machines - which is currently broken on some models because the internal hardware detection cannot work then (if you have a modified system using a different GPU).
4. Reboot your iMac pressing alt option and choose Boot EFI (as described on the micropatcher GitHub site)
5. Boot into your unpatched Big Sur or re-install Big Sur if you system has been patched before.

Frankly this is - more or less - exactly the same what you can find on the OCLP download page. Running the OCLP does not break your system.

 

[Ausdauersportler]

Hi, Ausdauersportler! Thank you for all your work: when I saw your hybrid solution, I thought it was time to bite the bullet and apply your method to my iMac 13,2, and everything seems to be running absolutely fine (even the wi-fi, which I expected to have to patch!).

I do have one minor issue, though, which is that every time I reboot, this happens in verbose mode, which I understood would only happen during the installation process. I can't find a way to go back to normal booting: any suggestions?

With thanks!

Just delete the -v from the boot-args.

 

[Ausdauersportler]

empty - it is empty because I had several tabs open and pressed the reply button once too often...

 

[algernonpule]

empty

?

 

[Neo_Hunt]

Hi there! Why people keep saying the reason Late 2013 iMac's were excluded was their Fusion Drive's performance? If that was indeed the case, why on earth the supported iMac 14,4 (21.5" Mid 2014) would not have exactly the same problem?

 

[woefi]

After using 11.0.1 with BarryKNs Patch I tried OpenCore Legacy Patcher (0.0.11, 0.0.13) yesterday and reinstalled a vanilla 11.2.2 over the old 11.0.1 system. Original SN used.
Works fine, no additional patches!

@Ausdauersportler please add to your list: MacBookPro9,2, see signature.

(only problem so far: verbose/text mode at boot and shutdown...)

edit: fixed by removing "-v" in the boot arguments

 

[Ausdauersportler]

Hi there! Why people keep saying the reason Late 2013 iMac's were excluded was their Fusion Drive's performance? If that was indeed the case, why on earth the supported iMac 14,4 (21.5" Mid 2014) would not have exactly the same problem?

The Fusion Drive performance is a complex story. Some got hit very hard by it, others not. You can give it a try with OCLP. In your case the basic idea of a Fusion drive (small expensive SSD to accelerate a big cheap rotating rust) does not really apply and so you *should* not have problems with it.

 

[mwidjaya]

After using 11.0.1 with BarryKNs Patch I tried OpenCore Legacy Patcher (0.0.11, 0.0.13) yesterday and reinstalled a vanilla 11.2.2 over the old 11.0.1 system. Original SN used.
Works fine, no additional patches!

Good to know. Going to swap over to OCLP soon.

Q: Did you have to unpatch first? I mean before reinstalling over the old system.

If I do it, I would have selected 11.2.1.

That way, I can also verify that the software update to 11.2.2 works as well.

 

[Dr_T]

Just delete the -v from the boot-args.

Hey, how is this done? Through terminal or deleting it through the opencore config.plist?

 

[Fernando Nakashoji]

Had to read it twice...

First of all: You do not need the hybrid approach since you will not patch your system. You needed the micropatcher all the time only to make the installer run on your now unsupported iMac.

1. Get an USB 16 GB USB stick. Create an Big Sur installer. DO NOT apply the micropatcher!
2. You should start the OCLP program on the particular iMac you are going to use with Big Sur. Just press option 1 and after generating the EFI press 2 to install it onto the prepared USB installer.
3. If you want to store the EFI folder on an internal disk elsewhere to backup use the path printed out to find it before stopping the program. The option 3 is meant for users generating EFI folders for different machines - which is currently broken on some models because the internal hardware detection cannot work then (if you have a modified system using a different GPU).
4. Reboot your iMac pressing alt option and choose Boot EFI (as described on the micropatcher GitHub site)
5. Boot into your unpatched Big Sur or re-install Big Sur if you system has been patched before.

Frankly this is - more or less - exactly the same what you can find on the OCLP download page. Running the OCLP does not break your system.

Hello Ausdauersportler,

I'm actually on BS 11.2 with BarryKN's Micropatcher and thinking of moving to OCLP.
After step 5, how to boot from internal drive? Restarting OCLP program and choose install on Internal Drive or should I use the MountEFI method described here?

Thanks!

 

[Ausdauersportler]

Hey, how is this done? Through terminal or deleting it through the opencore config.plist?

Edit the config.plist using ProperTree, XCode, emacs, vi

 

[OKonnel]

1) Had to read it twice...
...(...omissis...)...
2) Frankly this is - more or less - exactly the same what you can find on the OCLP download page. Running the OCLP does not break your system.

1) I understand that I forced you to read twice... Unfortunately I am very analytical in writing ... and perhaps too fussy.
That said, thank you for being very kind! Life will reward you.

2) As for the fact that it's all explained on the page I downloaded OCLP from, you are absolutely right! It was my fault not having read the instructions because, stupidly, I didn't scroll the page!!! It's not like me... What a donkey!... I got lost in a bubble of water and I look like a fool...

 

[Ausdauersportler]

1) I understand that I forced you to read twice... Unfortunately I am very analytical in writing ... and perhaps too fussy.
That said, thank you for being very kind! Life will reward you.

2) As for the fact that it's all explained on the page I downloaded OCLP from, you are absolutely right! It was my fault not having read the instructions because, stupidly, I didn't scroll the page!!! It's not like me... What a donkey!... I got lost in a bubble of water and I look like a fool...

There is another secret: This particular page got an update just two days before and the former one and it’s instruction set was more cryptic ...

Everything is ok and the biggest reward is a happy day above the ground! More you cannot expect.

 

[algernonpule]

Just delete the -v from the boot-args.

Thank you! Once I'd worked out that it was the config.plist on the EFI volume, not the one on the main installer volume, that worked a treat! (I used BBEdit to edit the file, if that's of help to anyone.)

 

[woefi]

Q: Did you have to unpatch first?

No I did not.
If I understand correctly, reinstalling over an existing system should overwrite all changes made by barrys micropatcher.
But I do wonder if I should also do a PM reset to be sure...

 

[RogueB]

Hello to all,

Reporting successful installation of Big Sur 11.3-beta-3 on 2012 iMac 13,2 with 27" screen, i7 at 3.4 GHz CPU and
1 TB fusion drive. Previous system was 11.2.2.



Method used: @Barry K. Nathan micro patcher 0.5.1 - see page 351 post# 8767 for installation details and cross-references. All functionality is present (including internal speakers), and there is no discernible performance penalty for using fusion drive, when comparing with other OS X variants (installed on same drive).



Another successful installation of 11.3-beta-3 on 2009 MacBook Pro 5,2 with 17", C2D at 3.06 GHz, 1TB Samsung SSD. Previous system was 11.2.2


Method used: BigSurFixes by @jackluke and @ASentientBot's Hax3lib - see page 351 post# 8767 for installation details.

All functionality expected for that model is present. There is, however, no GPU acceleration (a known issue).

I am following with interest discussion regarding the OCLP method by @khronokernel, particularly the "hybrid" variant developed by @Ausdauersportler. It seem to have worked well for @algernonpule, among others, whose machine is near twin to my iMac's. I may attempt this approach with the next major OS update, or sooner, should Apple stop providing full installers(?)

Thank you to all the developers who have extended the useful "lives" of many, very capable machines.

Hope this post is of help.

 

[johnrak]

Updated to 11.2.2 with iMac micropatcher 0.5.4. I used the old fashion patching procedure without OC.

 

[Ausdauersportler]

Hello Ausdauersportler,

I'm actually on BS 11.2 with BarryKN's Micropatcher and thinking of moving to OCLP.
After step 5, how to boot from internal drive? Restarting OCLP program and choose install on Internal Drive or should I use the MountEFI method described here?

Thanks!

If you never played/worked with OC before install it on the USB drive as mentioned. You can later get it from there and copy it over to the internal EFI partition using the OpenCore guides you found yourself.

If you exactly know what an internal EFI partition is then install it there, because you always know how to get rid of it!

There is no right or wrong, it is more about convenient or not.

 

[segers909]

d

I've got an iMac 27" 2010 with a K610M that I've installed Big Sur on thanks to your micropatcher fork. It works really well, but I have one issue: I cannot manage to install opencore on the internal drive. Running "config-opencore.sh" seems to work fine with no errors, but when rebooting the Mac I don't get Opencore. So I currently have to keep the USB installer connected and boot opencore from there. Any ideas for what I'm doing wrong? Thank you for the great work.

 

[mwidjaya]

If you exactly know what an internal EFI partition is then install it there

Yes, this is the bit I am a bit uncertain about as well.

I do see on the github, there is an open issue for enhancement for this.

"Would allow for easy transfer of drive between USB and internal drive once setup, also allows users to easily disable -v in their config.plist"

Add EFI disk mounting and editing post-install · Issue #74 · dortania/Opencore-Legacy-Patcher · GitHub

 

[Ausdauersportler]

I've got an iMac 27" 2010 with a K610M that I've installed Big Sur on thanks to your micropatcher fork. It works really well, but I have one issue: I cannot manage to install opencore on the internal drive. Running "config-opencore.sh" seems to work fine with no errors, but when rebooting the Mac I don't get Opencore. So I currently have to keep the USB installer connected and boot opencore from there. Any ideas for what I'm doing wrong? Thank you for the great work.

Works as designed!

It is currently meant to use the USB to hold the OpenCore EFI folder. I do not want (currently) to force users to write an EFI on the internal disk. You can - of course - manually move over the EFI folder.

 

[KennyW]

I've got an iMac 27" 2010 with a K610M that I've installed Big Sur on thanks to your micropatcher fork. It works really well, but I have one issue: I cannot manage to install opencore on the internal drive. Running "config-opencore.sh" seems to work fine with no errors, but when rebooting the Mac I don't get Opencore. So I currently have to keep the USB installer connected and boot opencore from there. Any ideas for what I'm doing wrong? Thank you for the great work.

I just move the OC to an SD card and boot from it in the SD slot.
You save a USB port. And when you need the SD slot, just pull the card out and insert your other SD cards for work. Afterwards, you can put the OC SD card back before any rebooting.

In fact, the same applies to your USB Installer. It is utilised during booting and can be taken off afterwards.

 

[Allistah]

I have a iMac12,2 with a K4100M and a BCM943602CDP WiFi/BT card. I've been using the Barry Micropatcher with a few fixes of my own with success so far. I've done 2-3 updates using this method.

I'm tired of having to make new full installers on a USB drive and go through the whole boot process install, then patch things after.

If I went the route of OC, will I be able to just update OTA or will I still have to do patching after every time it updates OTA?

 

[KennyW]

I have a iMac12,2 with a K4100M and a BCM943602CDP WiFi/BT card. I've been using the Barry Micropatcher with a few fixes of my own with success so far. I've done 2-3 updates using this method.

I'm tired of having to make new full installers on a USB drive and go through the whole boot process install, then patch things after.

If I went the route of OC, will I be able to just update OTA or will I still have to do patching after every time it updates OTA?

I don't feel it is too troublesome in the update process. I use the iMac Micropatcher with standard OC 0.6.6 on an SD card.

With CatalinaOTAswufix, full installer of Big Sur updates will be shown in Software Update, and can be directly downloaded and installed over your existing Big Sur volume.

After the update with automatic rebooting is completed, just insert the prior Big Sur USB Installer and run the patch.kext.sh. It will patch your Big Sur volume. There is NO need to make a new full USB installer each time for an update unless you want to keep the latest version of Big Sur in your USB Installer.

With OCLP, it could be even easier to get the OTA minor updates without additional patching but the problem of sound and ethernet still need to be worked on before it may become the king of all the Big Sur installers.