What is actually needed to run HS on a Mac Pro 3.1?

[donluca]

Hi everyone,

I'm looking forward getting a Mac Pro 3.1 as a backup machine if my 4.1->5.1 Mac Pro with High Sierra fails.

What do I need to do in order to have the Mac OS installation working seamlessly on both my flashed 4.1 and the 3.1?

Thanks!

EDIT: and while we're at it... are there any significant differences between a Mac Pro 3.0 and a 3.1?

 

[LuisN]

See here: macOS High Sierra (10.13) Unsupported Macs Thread but, to my knowledge Mac Pro 3,1 needs patching that may not be compatible with Mac Pro 5,1 which is fully supported
There's no such thing as a Mac Pro 3.0
I advise you to ask directly to @dosdude1

 

[donluca]

Besides, this is what I feared, which means that I'll have to spend almost 3x to get a Mac Pro 4.1 or 5.1.

Hopefully @dosdude1 will chime in, although he's really busy with Catalina stuff.

That thread has a huge amount of information spread among 185 pages with most of it being "just use the patcher" without indication if just a -no-compat-check nvram flag would suffice or if extra drivers/hacks are needed and whether if they'll conflict with a 4.1/5.1.

 

[LuisN]

Besides, this is what I feared, which means that I'll have to spend almost 3x to get a Mac Pro 4.1 or 5.1.

Hopefully @dosdude1 will chime in, although he's really busy with Catalina stuff.

That thread has a huge amount of information spread among 185 pages with most of it being "just use the patcher" without indication if just a -no-compat-check nvram flag would suffice or if extra drivers/hacks are needed and whether if they'll conflict with a 4.1/5.1.

That 3.0 is part of the serial number that follows: 3.0_8CX... nothing to do with model number.
@dosdude1 patcher doesn't patch anything until you install post-installation patches (wich you don't want to do)
@dosdude patcher installs a vanilla macOS unless you install the post install patches.
I advise you to make an hs installation in an external disk in MP 3,1 and try to boot it in MP 4,1/5,1
just to be sure.

FYI @dosdude1 patcher let's you download the OS an you can select the model of your Mac when installing the patches.
To make things easier, go here: http://dosdude1.com/highsierra/

 

[donluca]

Uhm ok, I'll try and get a 3.1 for cheap and then make a backup of all my data and try applying the 3.1 patches.

I don't really care for stuff like wireless or bluetooth as long as ethernet and USB ports work.

 

[jbarley]

Besides, this is what I feared, which means that I'll have to spend almost 3x to get a Mac Pro 4.1 or 5.1.

Hopefully @dosdude1 will chime in, although he's really busy with Catalina stuff.

That thread has a huge amount of information spread among 185 pages with most of it being "just use the patcher" without indication if just a -no-compat-check nvram flag would suffice or if extra drivers/hacks are needed and whether if they'll conflict with a 4.1/5.1.

FYI:
I can confirm that MacOS 10.13.6 High Sierra running on my MacPro3,1 using dosdudes installer loads and runs just fine on my MacPro4,1/5,1.
Did this very thing last night, booted the MP5,1 from High Sierra on the MP3,1 using FireWire target disk mode. Then I CCCloned the install to a freshly formatted SSD on the MP5,1 and it boots and runs without a hitch.
If anything it is even more responsive and a joy to use.

 

[donluca]

Thank you so much for confirming this! I'll definitely go and get the Mac Pro 3.1!

Now, the only thing I need to understand is how to do this on my existing installation of High Sierra. I guess I just have to run the post-install patch on my Mac Pro 5.1 and select "Mac Pro 3.1" before putting the disk on the Mac Pro 3.1 and that would be it?