- Joined
- Dec 31, 2016
- Messages
- 193
- Motherboard
- AsrockZ270M Extreme4
- CPU
- i5-7600K
- Graphics
- RX 560
- Mac
- Classic Mac
- Mobile Phone
Components
Asus Maximus VIII Gene Z170 mATX Motherboard
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B012NH1MCM/?tag=tonymacx86com-20
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132569
CORSAIR Vengeance LPX 16GB 2x (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 2666
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B013GZ5PD2/?tag=tonymacx86com-20
https://www.newegg.com/global/au/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233835
Intel Core i5-7600K LGA 1151
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MRRPPQS/?tag=tonymacx86com-20
https://www.newegg.com/global/au/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117728
Noctua NH-U12S Processor Cooler
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00C9EYVGY/?tag=tonymacx86com-20
https://www.newegg.com/global/au/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIAADY44C5851
Samsung SM951 128GB M.2 PCIe 3.0 x4 AHCI SSD
eBay search for SM951 SSD
GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 1050 2GB (GV-N1050D5-2GD)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MEGB6LK/?tag=tonymacx86com-20
https://www.newegg.com/global/au/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125920
Phanteks Enthoo Evolv Galaxy Silver Aluminum (3mm), Tempered Glass
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01F0KVP2Q/?tag=tonymacx86com-20
https://www.newegg.com/global/au/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811854059
Fenvi FV-T919 802.11AC A/B/G/N/AC Desktop Wifi Card
Seagate Desktop HDD ST3000DM001 3TB SATA 6.0Gb/s
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005T3GRLY/?tag=tonymacx86com-20
https://www.newegg.com/global/au/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148844
Cooler Master V650 - 650W Compact Fully Modular 80 PLUS Gold Power Supply
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0185C5XXS/?tag=tonymacx86com-20
https://www.newegg.com/global/au/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171100
Already Owned
Moshi Luna backlit keyboard
Apple Magic Mouse
LaCie d2 3TB USB-Thunderbolt hard drive
Comments
Background
I have had a successful Sierra 10.12.6 build, following Stork’s and Pastrychef’s guides, for nearly eight months. I tried upgrading to High Sierra several times, and also tried a clean install. There was always some problem. Given that my configuration was not too different from others that made the transition successfully, I suspect I had some undetected issues with installed software. But I am a compulsive fiddler, always looking to improve or try something new.
I did finally get a clean install of HS working quite well on an external USB 3 hard drive, but I was still having problems with waking from overnight sleep. Searching the web for answers, I came across a website where they used a quite different installation process, and I tried it with a clean install. It worked so well that I have been able to avoid the lag problems with Nvidia drivers for both 10.13.3 and the supplemental update. Everything I have tried works, except for Handoff, and I put that down to my confusing Apple Id and iCloud with a number of installs and user accounts. What follows is my summary of the method I followed, based on their guides. Their standard High Sierra EFI is attached at the end of this guide summary.
1. Creating the installer
The USB installer is created with the well-known terminal command below. I have named the installer drive "USB-HS"
Transfer prebuilt EFI Bootloader
Once the step above is complete, the prebuilt installer EFI is put on the installer USB.
Configure config.plist
The prebuilt EFI folder contains four config.plists
Choose the appropriate one and rename the plists if necessary.
There are also extra steps and instructions for Pentium users, but I won’t go into those.
I have a Kaby Lake CPU, so I deleted all except the default config.plist.
Installer tweaks
There are steps for MSI motherboard users only. Basically, they insert OsxAptioFix2Drv-free2000.efi in drivers64UEFI and delete OsxAptioFix3Drv.efi.
For Asus/Gigabyte motherboard users, for proper shutdown, it advises to open the config.plist with Clover Configurator, check FixShutdown in ACPI, and Save.
Also in Clover Configurator, in Boot, for Asus, Asrock and MSI motherboards users are advised to set darkwake=1 for Asus, darkwake=8 for Asrock and MSI, and then Save.
2. BIOS settings
For boards that have these settings, the recommendations are:
3. Installing macOS
Insert the installer USB in the appropriate USB port, and reboot to the Clover Menu.
3 (a) Disable APFS conversion?
If you want to prevent conversion of your target disk (if it’s an SDD) to APFS, the steps are:
The available volumes are listed. Choose your target drive and enter:
minstallconfig.xml will populate in the Terminal pane. Use the arrow keys to move to and highlight the ‘t’ in true, then press delete 4 times, removing true. Type i to enter insert mode, type in false, and press Esc key.
If the insertion is correct press :wq to save or :q! if you made an error, and then you can retry by reentering
Close Terminal and restart the computer from the top Apple menu.
4. Complete the Install
When restart occurs from step 3 or from 3 (a) if you disabled APFS conversion, select Boot macOS install from <name of your target volume>. The computer will restart during the installation and you repeat that choice.
5. First boot
The computer restarts when the install in complete and you choose Boot macOS from <name of your target volume>. Then you do the normal steps – Country, keyboard identification, etc.
Before you eject your installer USB and change the boot volume priority in BIOS:
6. Results
There may still be some things to tweak – sound, or Wi-Fi. I needed none of those for my configuration, beyond selecting the internal speakers and my Logitech webcam for sound input.
I installed the Nvidia web driver for 10.13.3 (the 156 version) and had no detectable lags. After a couple of days use, I did the 10.13.3 supplemental update and installed the Nvidia 161 drivers. Again no detectable lag. EtreCheck says the performance is excellent.
I did actually let the High Sierra install convert my Samsung SM951 to APFS, and it seems to be working without any glitches.
Asus Maximus VIII Gene Z170 mATX Motherboard
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B012NH1MCM/?tag=tonymacx86com-20
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132569
CORSAIR Vengeance LPX 16GB 2x (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 2666
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B013GZ5PD2/?tag=tonymacx86com-20
https://www.newegg.com/global/au/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233835
Intel Core i5-7600K LGA 1151
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MRRPPQS/?tag=tonymacx86com-20
https://www.newegg.com/global/au/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117728
Noctua NH-U12S Processor Cooler
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00C9EYVGY/?tag=tonymacx86com-20
https://www.newegg.com/global/au/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIAADY44C5851
Samsung SM951 128GB M.2 PCIe 3.0 x4 AHCI SSD
eBay search for SM951 SSD
GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 1050 2GB (GV-N1050D5-2GD)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MEGB6LK/?tag=tonymacx86com-20
https://www.newegg.com/global/au/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125920
Phanteks Enthoo Evolv Galaxy Silver Aluminum (3mm), Tempered Glass
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01F0KVP2Q/?tag=tonymacx86com-20
https://www.newegg.com/global/au/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811854059
Fenvi FV-T919 802.11AC A/B/G/N/AC Desktop Wifi Card
Seagate Desktop HDD ST3000DM001 3TB SATA 6.0Gb/s
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005T3GRLY/?tag=tonymacx86com-20
https://www.newegg.com/global/au/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148844
Cooler Master V650 - 650W Compact Fully Modular 80 PLUS Gold Power Supply
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0185C5XXS/?tag=tonymacx86com-20
https://www.newegg.com/global/au/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171100
Already Owned
Moshi Luna backlit keyboard
Apple Magic Mouse
LaCie d2 3TB USB-Thunderbolt hard drive
Comments
Background
I have had a successful Sierra 10.12.6 build, following Stork’s and Pastrychef’s guides, for nearly eight months. I tried upgrading to High Sierra several times, and also tried a clean install. There was always some problem. Given that my configuration was not too different from others that made the transition successfully, I suspect I had some undetected issues with installed software. But I am a compulsive fiddler, always looking to improve or try something new.
I did finally get a clean install of HS working quite well on an external USB 3 hard drive, but I was still having problems with waking from overnight sleep. Searching the web for answers, I came across a website where they used a quite different installation process, and I tried it with a clean install. It worked so well that I have been able to avoid the lag problems with Nvidia drivers for both 10.13.3 and the supplemental update. Everything I have tried works, except for Handoff, and I put that down to my confusing Apple Id and iCloud with a number of installs and user accounts. What follows is my summary of the method I followed, based on their guides. Their standard High Sierra EFI is attached at the end of this guide summary.
1. Creating the installer
The USB installer is created with the well-known terminal command below. I have named the installer drive "USB-HS"
Code:
sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ High\ Sierra.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --applicationpath /Applications/Install\ macOS\ High\ Sierra.app --volume /Volumes/USB-HS/
Transfer prebuilt EFI Bootloader
Once the step above is complete, the prebuilt installer EFI is put on the installer USB.
· Mount the Install USB EFI with Clover Configurator
· Open the partition
· Delete the EFI folder in the mounted partition
· Copy the High Sierra EFI folder provided (copy is at the end of this summary)
· Paste the copied EFI into the mounted EFI partition.
· Open the partition
· Delete the EFI folder in the mounted partition
· Copy the High Sierra EFI folder provided (copy is at the end of this summary)
· Paste the copied EFI into the mounted EFI partition.
Configure config.plist
The prebuilt EFI folder contains four config.plists
· config-Backup.plist
· config-Haswell.plist
· config-Skylake.plist
· config.plist (for Kaby Lake CPU)
· config-Haswell.plist
· config-Skylake.plist
· config.plist (for Kaby Lake CPU)
Choose the appropriate one and rename the plists if necessary.
There are also extra steps and instructions for Pentium users, but I won’t go into those.
I have a Kaby Lake CPU, so I deleted all except the default config.plist.
Installer tweaks
There are steps for MSI motherboard users only. Basically, they insert OsxAptioFix2Drv-free2000.efi in drivers64UEFI and delete OsxAptioFix3Drv.efi.
For Asus/Gigabyte motherboard users, for proper shutdown, it advises to open the config.plist with Clover Configurator, check FixShutdown in ACPI, and Save.
Also in Clover Configurator, in Boot, for Asus, Asrock and MSI motherboards users are advised to set darkwake=1 for Asus, darkwake=8 for Asrock and MSI, and then Save.
2. BIOS settings
For boards that have these settings, the recommendations are:
- Virtualization : Enabled
- VT-d : Disabled
- XHCI Hand-Off : Enabled
- Legacy USB Support: Auto/Enabled
- IO SerialPort : Disabled
- Network Stack : Disabled
- XMP Profile : Auto / Profile 1/Enabled
- UEFI Booting set to Enabled and set Priority over Legacy
- Secure Boot : Disabled
- Fast Boot : Disabled
- OS Type: Other OS
- Wake on LAN : Disabled
- Integrated Graphics : Disabled
- Graphics: PEG/PCIe Slot 1
- Initial Display Output : PCIe 1 Slot
- Integrated Graphics : Enabled
- Graphics: IGD/Integrated/iGPU/CPU Graphics
- DVMT Pre-Allocated : 128M
3. Installing macOS
Insert the installer USB in the appropriate USB port, and reboot to the Clover Menu.
- Choose to boot OS X install from Install macOS High Sierra.
- When the installer loads, use Disk Utility to format the target disk as usual, i.e. Mac OS Extended (Journalled), GUID Partition Map. Close Disk Utility.
- Choose Install macOS High Sierra.
3 (a) Disable APFS conversion?
If you want to prevent conversion of your target disk (if it’s an SDD) to APFS, the steps are:
- Again select Boot OS X install from Install MacOS High Sierra (your USB installer)
- Open the Terminal through the Utilities menu and type
Code:
ls -1 /Volumes
Code:
cd /Volumes/<name of your target volume>
cd “macOS Install Data”
vi minstallconfig.xml
If the insertion is correct press :wq to save or :q! if you made an error, and then you can retry by reentering
Code:
vi minstallconfig.xml
4. Complete the Install
When restart occurs from step 3 or from 3 (a) if you disabled APFS conversion, select Boot macOS install from <name of your target volume>. The computer will restart during the installation and you repeat that choice.
5. First boot
The computer restarts when the install in complete and you choose Boot macOS from <name of your target volume>. Then you do the normal steps – Country, keyboard identification, etc.
Before you eject your installer USB and change the boot volume priority in BIOS:
- use Clover Configurator to mount the installer USB EFI and open the partition,
- copy the installer EFI folder to your desk top, unmount the installer EFI, eject the installer USB.
- mount your new High Sierra system EFI partition using Clover Configurator and open the partition
- paste the installer EFI folder from the desktop over the new volume’s existing EFI folder, selecting Replace when you are prompted that the EFI folder already exists.
6. Results
There may still be some things to tweak – sound, or Wi-Fi. I needed none of those for my configuration, beyond selecting the internal speakers and my Logitech webcam for sound input.
I installed the Nvidia web driver for 10.13.3 (the 156 version) and had no detectable lags. After a couple of days use, I did the 10.13.3 supplemental update and installed the Nvidia 161 drivers. Again no detectable lag. EtreCheck says the performance is excellent.
I did actually let the High Sierra install convert my Samsung SM951 to APFS, and it seems to be working without any glitches.