macOS 11 Big Sur on Unsupported Macs Thread

[MacHacJac]

Hey everyone! After hours of research, determination, and success, I have successfully found many awesome methods to install macOS on unsupported Macs, as well as hackintoshing. I have created this discord server with both hackintosh and real Mac channels, supporting anyone and everyone with a non-supported computer. It is in its preliminary stages, but rest assured, there will soon be content filling the pages. I know there is already a server for this purpose, but I thought that a more newbie-based Mac and hackintosh server would be nice for people who are just entering this realm. Feel free to give me any suggestions on the server and share it with anyone you know that might be interested. So far, this is the only invite link, so share it around! My discord username is Hack Pro 71. Thank you all for all of the support on this and other channels. See you there!

Discord - Group Chat That’s All Fun & Games

Discord is great for playing games and chilling with friends, or even building a worldwide community. Customize your own space to talk, play, and hang out.

discord.gg

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I will start posting tomorrow.

I just want to let you know that I put some resources on my server. More is coming very soon!

 

[TimothyR734]

None of my Macs are supported machines. (I was expecting that Apple would wait another year before dropping the 2012s.) I've been doing these steps on my (2011) MacBookPro8,1 which comes closer to being supported than my MacBook6,1, so it's still an interesting question.

However, my next step (after my next patcher release -- not sure if it'll be tonight, tomorrow, or Saturday) will probably be to look into actually modifying BaseSystem, so that the installer can actually boot with functioning keyboard and trackpad on my MacBook6,1.

Hello, thanks, it works but when i boot with my account, it craches and asks me again my password .
I tried with Parrotgeek.
Any idea ?

Info wold be helpful what crashes are you crashing at the login screen when entering your password

 

[Arnomacmini]

Yeah, that's what I thought. I really need an upgrade
Thanks

Thanks but how to enter in "system preferences" , it crashes after the password and i can't enter in "system preferences" ?
Thanks for your answer .
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Info wold be helpful what crashes are you crashing at the login screen when entering your password

yes , when entering the password it runs ... but again login screen

 

[Alex-Microsmeta]

@ASentientBot you are right, also optimizing BigSur (lowering CPU charge to 4%), BS without acceleration isn't usable... And also without trasparencies Catalina fast and stable is preferable ...Dreaming about your success in fixing Nvidia drivers once again 😊

 

[webg3]

I already have Catalina on a Mac mini Late 2012 but with DOSDUDE's patcher because of my SSD RAID0 configuration. Can I upgrade the existing configuration too BigSur with the existing procedure or is better to do a fresh install (but I need RAID0).

Grts

RAID0 should continue to work, never undo the RAID, treat it as a single drive, as this is how installers identify them, as a single disk.

 

[TimothyR734]

Thanks but how to enter in "system preferences" , it crashes after the password and i can't enter in "system preferences" ?
Thanks for your answer .
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yes , when entering the password it runs ... but again login screen

you might want to reboot into you BS install usb make sure SIP is disabled and you have nvram boot-args="-no_compat_check"

 

[Arnomacmini]

you might want to reboot into you BS install usb make sure SIP is disabled and you have nvram boot-args="-no_compat_check"

Thanks a lot, ok for SIP , but how to do the "nvram boot-args="-no_compat check" ?
Could you please tell me how to verify or change it ?
Thanks a lot .

 

[TimothyR734]

in your BS usb install in the terminal type nvram -p and look to see if it says no_compat_check

 

[Barry K. Nathan]

in your BS usb install in the terminal type nvram -p and look to see if it says no_compat_check

That's not the problem. (If -no_compat_check is the problem, you'll get the prohibited sign and won't even make it to the login screen.) It's the need to Reduce Transparency again. Post #1673 by jackluke has information on how to do it.

 

[Barry K. Nathan]

So are you saying that, at the end of these commands, the volume, when booted on your unsupported machine, now allows 'sudo mount -uw /' to work? Or are you just saying that the use of chroot in the kmtuil calls allows that alone to slip past the seal?

Neither. I'm saying that the combination of:

1. csrutil authenticated-root disable
2. Mounting the underlying volume (either instead of, or in addition to, a snapshot -- "instead of" if you're inside the recovery environment, i.e. the installer USB, or "in addition" if you're running on the live system)
3. Running bless on the mounted underlying volume, after I've done kmutil & kcditto, to create a new snapshot

slips past the seal.


A couple more points:

kmutil seems more reliable when in the recovery environment than in the running system, but it's possible that the changes for making LegacyUSBInjector work will also make kmutil work reliably from me on a live system.

prelinkedkernels are the opposite -- relatively easy to do on a live system once it's already running from a prelinkedkernel, but seemingly impossible to do from inside the recovery environment (kextcache just punts to kmutil and nothing useful happens). This is probably related to the fact that I haven't been able to boot the installer USB from a prelinkedkernel (and that may be related to the fact that I haven't started trying to modify BaseSystem yet).

 

[jhowarth]

Neither. I'm saying that the combination of:

1. csrutil authenticated-root disable
2. Mounting the underlying volume (either instead of, or in addition to, a snapshot -- "instead of" if you're inside the recovery environment, i.e. the installer USB, or "in addition" if you're running on the live system)
3. Running bless on the mounted underlying volume, after I've done kmutil & kcditto, to create a new snapshot

slips past the seal.


A couple more points:

kmutil seems more reliable when in the recovery environment than in the running system, but it's possible that the changes for making LegacyUSBInjector work will also make kmutil work reliably from me on a live system.

prelinkedkernels are the opposite -- relatively easy to do on a live system once it's already running from a prelinkedkernel, but seemingly impossible to do from inside the recovery environment (kextcache just punts to kmutil and nothing useful happens). This is probably related to the fact that I haven't been able to boot the installer USB from a prelinkedkernel (and that may be related to the fact that I haven't started trying to modify BaseSystem yet).

If you get a chance, try patching IOUSBHostFamily.kext/Contents/Info.plist and IOUSBHostFamily.kext.orig/Contents/PlugIns/AppleUSBHostPlatformProperties.kext/Contents/Info.plist instead of including LegacyUSBInjector.kext to see if that also produced a bootable kc on unsupported machines that require Legacy USB.

 

[thielsa]

I was able to get the Parrotgeek technique to work on my MacPro 5.1. Initially I was stuck partway through. I decided to switch my video card to my original one to see if it would help. A few cancel signs popped up during the install process. I rebooted and the install continued. Eventually I saw the Big Sur setup screen. The computer boots on its own. I installed Big Sur on a separate drive so I can switch back to Mojave if I have an issue. Everything seems to work. I have an updated WiFi/bluetooth device. The WiFi shows a slash through it but it functions. So far so good.

 

[jackluke]

Thanks but how to enter in "system preferences" , it crashes after the password and i can't enter in "system preferences" ?
Thanks for your answer .
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yes , when entering the password it runs ... but again login screen

In few words to skip the "non-metal GPU" BigSur Finder login crash you need to replace this file: BigSur com.apple.universalaccess.plist.zip
in this path: /Volumes/BigSur Data/Users/yourusername/Library/Preferences/

Try this attached from Catalina or another macOS with APFS support, it should work.

@RogueB you need the same fix for non-Metal GPU and also try this:
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...unsupported-macs-thread.2242172/post-28643133

 

[MrWeenus]

You can disable the dGPU and force the use of the iGPU by setting the appropriate NVRAM command.
(This was successfully used on systems with solder problems of discrete GPUs to at least have a stable system again with only having the performance of the integrated GPU).
Try this in single user mode during boot (and exit to resume booting):
nvram fa4ce28d-b62f-4c99-9cc3-6815686e30f9:gpu-power-prefs=%01%00%00%00

(all 0 above are zeros, not letter O).

I don’t really care about disabling the GPU because I don’t have any problems with it. But it’s annoying because the battery life takes a huge hit while the gpu is active

 

[jackluke]

6. set the value "DoNotSeal" to "True" in the UpdateOptions.plist in folder macOS install data

Great find, I will test this on next beta 3, and I am enough sure that your method will work, because apple is not new to use dictionary keys to disable or enable a "macOS Install Data" feature, for example they did a similar thing for HighSierra (and Mojave too):

they used for the USB macOS Installer (stage1 installer):

<key>ConvertToAPFS</key>
<true/>

while for the macOS Install Data (stage2 installer) they used instead:

<key>Do APFS Convert</key>
<true/>

 

[ResEdit_ResEdit]

6. set the value "DoNotSeal" to "True" in the UpdateOptions.plist in folder macOS install data
What folder is it in?

See here:

 

[ricoc90]

6. set the value "DoNotSeal" to "True" in the UpdateOptions.plist in folder macOS install data
What folder is it in?

At the root of your big sur volume.

 

[ResEdit_ResEdit]

I am going to try now this in Terminal:
/Applications/Install\ macOS\ Big\ Sur\ Beta.app/Contents/Resources/startosinstall --DoNotSeal TRUE

Crossing finger that this works. 🙂

Epic fail:
unrecognized option `--DoNotSeal'
Usage: startosinstall --volume <target volume path>

Arguments
--license, prints the user license agreement only.
--agreetolicense, agree to the license you printed with --license.
--rebootdelay, how long to delay the reboot at the end of preparing. This delay is in seconds and has a maximum of 300 (5 minutes).
--pidtosignal, Specify a PID to which to send SIGUSR1 upon completion of the prepare phase. To bypass "rebootdelay" send SIGUSR1 back to startosinstall.
--installpackage, the path of a package (built with productbuild(1)) to install after the OS installation is complete; this option can be specified multiple times.
--eraseinstall, (Requires APFS) Erase all volumes and install to a new one. Optionally specify the name of the new volume with --newvolumename.
--newvolumename, the name of the volume to be created with --eraseinstall.
--preservecontainer, preserves other volumes in your APFS container when using --eraseinstall.
--forcequitapps, on restart applications are forcefully quit. This is the default if no users are logged in.
--usage, prints this message.
--volume, path to the target volume.
--user, an admin user to authorize installation.
--passprompt, collect a password for authorization with an interactive prompt.
--stdinpass, collect a password from stdin without interaction.

Example: startosinstall --volume /Volumes/Target

 

[Arnomacmini]

That's not the problem. (If -no_compat_check is the problem, you'll get the prohibited sign and won't even make it to the login screen.) It's the need to Reduce Transparency again. Post #1673 by jackluke has information on how to do it.

Hye,
I tried reduce transparency with the solutions but always reboot at login screen user and password ... I did with combination of keys but perhaps i have to replace the file in plist but how to open the library in login screen ? Command line like for Airdrop in Catalina perhaps ?
Any idea ?
Thanks for your help, and anybody idea could be helpful.

 

[jhowarth]

Neither. I'm saying that the combination of:

1. csrutil authenticated-root disable
2. Mounting the underlying volume (either instead of, or in addition to, a snapshot -- "instead of" if you're inside the recovery environment, i.e. the installer USB, or "in addition" if you're running on the live system)
3. Running bless on the mounted underlying volume, after I've done kmutil & kcditto, to create a new snapshot

slips past the seal.


A couple more points:

kmutil seems more reliable when in the recovery environment than in the running system, but it's possible that the changes for making LegacyUSBInjector work will also make kmutil work reliably from me on a live system.

prelinkedkernels are the opposite -- relatively easy to do on a live system once it's already running from a prelinkedkernel, but seemingly impossible to do from inside the recovery environment (kextcache just punts to kmutil and nothing useful happens). This is probably related to the fact that I haven't been able to boot the installer USB from a prelinkedkernel (and that may be related to the fact that I haven't started trying to modify BaseSystem yet).

One other question. I have been trying to avoid setting "amfi_get_out_of_my_way=1" in nvram in case it fouls up my patched Catalina drive booting. Have you tried using a com.apple.Boot.plist in /Volumes/Preboot/*/System/Library/CoreServices/ with something like...

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
        <key>Kernel Cache</key>
        <string>System\Library\KernelCollections\BootKernelExtensions.kc</string>
        <key>Kernel Flags</key>
        <string>-no_compat_check amfi_get_out_of_my_way=1</string>
</dict>
</plist>

to pass 'amfi_get_out_of_my_way=1'? I am unclear if the com.apple.Boot.plist works for kc's as well as prelinked kernels and if 'Kernel Cache' should be pointing at BootKernelExtensions.kc or SystemKernelExtensions.kc?

 

[Bruno Berchielli]

Installed today on my Macbook Retina mid-2012 (10,1) i7 2,6ghz, 16GB following Parrot Geek guide https://parrotgeek.com/bigsur/ (thank you!).

Everything seems to work good out of the box, as I have updated my wireless card a few years ago.

The only problem that I'm facing is that Geforce 650M seems to be always on, even though the option to auto switch to the iGPU is activated in the battery menu in Bug Sur.

Anyone have a fix for that? I'm afraid of the impact in battery life that this can cause.

Thank you

 

[jackluke]

Hye,
I tried reduce transparency with the solutions but always reboot at login screen user and password ... I did with combination of keys but perhaps i have to replace the file in plist but how to open the library in login screen ? Command line like for Airdrop in Catalina perhaps ?
Any idea ?
Thanks for your help, and anybody idea could be helpful.

That combination of keys doesn't work more on BigSur, so you need to replace this file (that is a binary encoded plist so you can't use a plain text editor, just replace it): BigSur com.apple.universalaccess.plist.zip

in this path: /Volumes/YourBigSurLabel - Data/Users/yourusername/Library/Preferences/

if you have on the same machine another macOS or an external bootable HighSierra or Mojave or Catalina you can use this script: BigSur reducetransparency fix.command.zip

 

[borp99]

I am going to try now this in Terminal:
/Applications/Install\ macOS\ Big\ Sur\ Beta.app/Contents/Resources/startosinstall --DoNotSeal TRUE

Crossing finger that this works. 🙂

Epic fail:
unrecognized option `--DoNotSeal'
Usage: startosinstall --volume <target volume path>

Hi, as mentioned in my #2,049 post, I followed a minimally circulated YouTube clip method to install an unsealed BS beta 2, by hard shutting down 1/2 way through the last (3rd phase) install screen progress bar and then selected the System drive with the Option key on the reboot and every restart after that. Even though one member commented that this was 'tenuous', the remaining installer files 'are' carried on with and a full unsealed OS results. Good luck 🙂

 

[LuisN]

Installed today on my Macbook Retina mid-2012 (10,1) i7 2,6ghz, 16GB following Parrot Geek guide https://parrotgeek.com/bigsur/ (thank you!).

Everything seems to work good out of the box, as I have updated my wireless card a few years ago.

The only problem that I'm facing is that Geforce 650M seems to be always on, even though the option to auto switch to the iGPU is activated in the battery menu in Bug Sur.

Anyone have a fix for that? I'm afraid of the impact in battery life that this can cause.

Thank you

I have that behavior too but it says 6 hours left, so... who cares

 

[Bruno Berchielli]

I have that behavior too but it says 6 hours left, so... who cares

Wow your Retina 2012 still lasts 6 hours?

I swaped my battery at Apple last week, before they ended the repairs for this machine and the battery only lasts 3h30. Will call them about this.

Tks