Gigabyte GA-Z270XP-SLI, i7-7700K, Samsung 960 PRO, 10.12.6

[exquirentibus]

@frontgear Wow - I can imagine how fast a RAID of M2's, or the even faster Flash solutions would be?? And there are yet even faster types of flash on the very near horizon!

I've got a few dumb questions, it's a bit late for me and I've forgotten everything I thought I knew!

When I look at the SSDT.ZIP you uploaded using Win7, I can see an SSDT.aml file inside, but when I un-zip it using OS X, I see just the SSDT binary.

We put the SSDT_NVMe-Pcc.aml file in the EFI/CLOVER/ACPI/patched folder.

Somehow, it seems like I should copy the SSDT.aml there, but ... I should really unzip it using Sierra and place the SSDT (ACPI Machine Language Binary) file into the EFI/CLOVER/ACPI/patched folder? That 'Other' folder is for many types of files? .aml, binary, etc?

And your SSDT-USB.dsl.zip (which contains the dsl file)? You have the SSDT-USB going in the EFI/CLOVER/ACPI/patched folder, but ... I've got to compile that dsl first to get the SSDT-USB binary?

Onwards ... thru the fog!!!

 

[frontgear]

Attached are 4 sets of files and their contents:

Kexts_Other_Installer.zip:

1. FakeSMC.kext
2. HackrNVMeFamily-10_12_6.kext
3. IntelMausiEthernet.kext
4. USBInjectAll.kext
5. XHCI-200-series-injector.kext

Kexts_Other_Post_Install.zip:

1. AppleALC.kext
2. Lilu.kext
3. Z270XPSLISATAControllers.kext

SSDT_Files.zip:

1. SSDT_NVMe-Pcc.aml
2. SSDT-USB.aml
3. SSDT-XCPM.aml

NVWebDriverLibValFix.kext.zip:

1. NVWebDriverLibValFix.kext

The NVWebDriverLibValFix.kext is only used to address the issue with iBooks not displaying PDF or ePub files correctly. So if you are not using iBooks, don't worry about this file.

I am currently using native macOS CPU Power Management so I got rid of the SSDT.aml file. The kext file for native macOS CPU Power Management is the SSDT-XCPM.aml file you see above.

Lilu.kext and AppleALC.kext files are for sound (ALC1220).


.....
Building the USB Install drive
When you are building the USB Installer drive, your EFI/CLOVER/kexts/Other folder should have these files:

The EFI/CLOVER/ACPI/patched folder should have these files:

And, of course, the config.plist file.

Those are the files you will need to get the Sierra Installer working.


.....
Post-Install Files
For post-install, these files go to EFI/CLOVER/kexts/Other folder on your 960 Pro (or Sierra drive), not the USB drive:

The EFI/CLOVER/ACPI/patched folder on your 960 Pro (or Sierra drive) should have these files:

The /Library/Extensions folder on your 960 Pro (or Sierra drive) should have these files:

And the config.plist file.

The NVidiaGraphicsFixup.kext is only needed if you have an Nvidia GTX 9xx or GTX 10xx graphics card. So if you don't use either one, disregard that file.

The Other folder is only for kexts. You should not put anything else there.

 

[exquirentibus]

And the config.plist file.

Thanks so much for the new zip's and full explanations of where they should go. I should be able to test all this and get my box to boot later today.

Has your config.plist changed since you last uploaded it in your post #3 https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/...-samsung-960-pro-10-12-6.228981/#post-1560101 ?

Also - in your SSDT_Files.zip, instead of SSDT-USB.aml, there's just SSTD-USB? All three of the files show a type 'ACPI Machine Language Binary', but the other two have .aml suffixes? Does this matter?

What has your experience been like running 10.12.6 with all these additions on your box? Does it ever crash or cause any problems? Are there any "gotcha's" to be aware of?

My plan is to use Carbon Copy for regular backups to a 2nd hard disk or SSD. Now that Visual Studio is on the Mac, I might even try my hand with writing some C# code to backup (and restore) the EFI partitions (as Bombich as said they will never touch the EFI partitions).

Are you aware of a script or program that would take the name of a kext as a parameter and output the kext's version? It would be great to find a way to document all the kexts, aml's, SSDT's, etc. with a version & timestamp - as these do get updated on a regular basis for hackintoshes. If it output a hierarchy showing the locations (writing to a pdf), this would be a great way to document a system, and to be able to check for outdated kexts?

 

[frontgear]

Nothing has changed in the config.plist file.

Some pointers.

1. Go to Boot screen and either remove the Default Boot Volume or change it to reflect the name of your Sierra drive. In my config.plist file, I have it boot directly to my "Sierra HD" drive after 1 second. The # of seconds to wait is defined in the Timeout field below it.

2. Go to Gui screen and change the Screen Resolution to whatever resolution your monitor can handle (e.g.: 1920 x 1080). Mine is set to 2560x1440 because I have an Apple 27" Cinema LED Display.

3. With the latest Clover Configurator, on the SMBIOS screen, you can randomize the Serial Number and Board Serial Number by clicking Generate New (label #1 in the below pic) and Up-Down button (label #2). When you click on #2, each time you select an iMac18,3 option, it will fill in a different Serial Number and Board Serial Number. When you click on #1, it will generate a new Serial Number. This is important if you want to use Messages and FaceTime. Note the SmUUID field on this screen. This field must be filled in with the same number as the Custom UUID described next.

4. On the System Parameters screen, clicking Generate New will generate a new Custom UUID number. This Custom UUID number must be copied and pasted to the SmUUID field on the SMBIOS screen. A must for Messages and FaceTime.

So far, the machine has been running absolutely fine. I can have it sleep and wake-up at will, or it will sleep by itself according to the # of minutes set in Energy Saver.

 

[exquirentibus]

I followed your suggestions on changing my Config.Plist. I'm not going to enter my wifi password, so I haven't dealt with changing the serial numbers, etc. yet (I won't be on the Internet until I've changed them)- but I made your specific suggestions above about the screen (now at 1280 x 1024) and boot volume (totally cleared it).

I'm booting using an Install USB created with the method you'd suggested https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/how-to-create-a-macos-sierra-public-beta-installation-usb.195077/. I haven't been able to get to the point where I'd install.

I've tried using a USB3 port and a USB2 port. With the USB 2.0 port, after the Apple logo and the progress bar gets about 3/5 of the way finished, I finally get the circle with the line through it. When the circle has appeared, the verbose output on the screen is all garbled. But, previous to this, the verbose output looks fine.

The only differences in our systems would be:

1. I'm using an nVidia GTX-285 - which I understand has been natively supported by OSX for years.

2. My USB port usage is slightly different. I think my Bluetooth USB port is one that you don't use and set to ignore - and I've got 2 USB 2.0 ports and 2 USB 3.0 ports on the front of my computer.

I used your USB setup to minimize the variables for now.

I had previously been able to install to an internal hard drive using Unibeast (but hadn't gotten it working to boot on it's own) so the computer is stable (and I've run MemCheck all night).

 

[frontgear]

That's the infamous HID: Legacy shim 2 error, which means your USB 3.0 cannot be read. Is your USB drive 2.0 or 3.0? What files do you have in the kexts/Other and SSDT/patched folders?

What about your BIOS settings? See screenshots below for recommended settings.

Can you post your config.plist file?

If you want to stay within the 15-port limit, then exclude some other ports if you are using all the USB2/USB3 headers. There are a few ports on the back plate that can be excluded. You just have to modify the uia_exclude= argument to exclude the appropriate port(s). For instance, if your Bluetooth is using HS11 (USB 2.0 Header #2) then remove the HS11 from the uia_exclude argument.

 

[exquirentibus]

I'm using a USB 3.0 drive. I can probably copy it over to a USB 2.0 drive.

I have all my kexts/etc. in Clover just as you outlined.

You BIOS setup is different In the BIOS tab where you have a red square besides 'secure boot', I don't have anything that says secure boot. And I'm not sure how to view the other screen that has 'key management'

I realize I'll have to change the USB config, and I've done so, but ... if your setup works, that's one less thing to go wrong so I can deal with the missing bluetooth later when I get it to boot.

 

[frontgear]

Try this config.plist file.

 

[exquirentibus]

I see you turned on nv_disable=1, turned on inject nVidia, turned off nvidiaWeb. Thanks for taking the time!

I'm doing an install using UniBeast to a USB just for testing, and when that's finished installing, I'll use your new config!! If UniBeast just changes the USB limits, it could end up overrunning buffers and corrupting some files, so I'd much rather install from a perfectly configured setup without using UniBeast at all (the direction you are wisely taking).

BTW - I found that when I got the infamous HID: Legacy shim 2 error, I could pull my thumb and move it from a USB 2.0 port on the front to a USB 3.0 port on the front, and the install would start going again keep going for a Lot longer.

Out of curiosity, why is your BIOS screen different from mine? I googled quite a bit for those missing fields, and I still have no clue?

 

[frontgear]

The config.plist file you had been using prior to the latest came from my post-install. I have a GTX 970 hence the NvidiaWeb option and no nv_disable=1 or Inject NVidia. I also changed darkwake option.

I have the latest BIOS, which I believe is F7.

Btw, when you are inside the BIOS, you can plug in a USB drive and when you hit F12, it takes a snapshot of the screen and saves the file on your USB drive as .BMP file.