[Guide] Install High Sierra or Mojave on the Dell Optiplex 7010 / 9010 Desktop PC - Revision II

[Grizz]

Looking for advice. I have a completely fresh install of HIGH SIERRA - followed the guide to the letter.

Everything seems to be working. I have UEFI booting, Full graphics control, Sound from the HDMI monitor.

Now I am ready to tackle the updates.

SHOULD I or SHOULD I NOT??

The last time I did these, the machine wanted to reboot, I said OK. It stopped on a black screen with White Apple. Progress bar moved about 10% and stayed there. I let it sit for an hour, then all of the sudden, the screen went all 'out of phase'.

Is it possible to do these? Is there a special procedure to installing these?

iCloud so is working fine. Shows the ONE Mac Mini and the same serial number that CLOVER CONFIG TOOL is showing when I load the config.plist file from the EFI folder on the HDD.

Thanks,
Grizz

 

[trs96]

Hello trs96, What do you think about adding "Mini PCI-E Version V8.0 EXP GDC Laptop External Independent Video Card Dock" for adding DGPU on USFF form factor? Will this work?

You mean using the Wifi slot to connect a video card ? No idea if that will work adequately or even work at all. This situation indicates why it may be a better choice to go with the SFF form factor with a PCIe x16 and a x4 slot available.
The SFF or even the DT lets you install an internal LP graphics card. Nothing has to stick out of the case and create desktop clutter, what you want to avoid by buying a USFF model in the first place.

Let us know how this works out. An interesting experiment. That's how we learn new things.

 

[trs96]

Now I am ready to tackle the updates.

Was the boot drive clone a success ? Did it boot normally and everything works ?

 

[Grizz]

Was the boot drive clone a success ? Did it boot normally and everything works ?

Apparently the CLONE was a success.

It boots fine from the HDD without the UNIBEAST installed. Still cannot get it to boot directly to the Desktop -it always stops at the CLOVER screen....and I have to choose HighSierra_SSD to boot. I do not even have to use the -v (or any other options). It boots, and I prompted for password within 5 seconds of choosing the ICON.

Grizz

 

[trs96]

Still cannot get it to boot directly to the Desktop

Well, don't try to fix that again. Much easier to press the return key to boot rather than going all
the way back to SL again for re-install. If your clone is working well. Try the updates on that first
and see how they work. If they cause problems just leave them alone for now.

PS: You did test the clone drive with the main macOS boot drive disconnected completely ?

 

[Grizz]

Important Final Step: Backup your working EFI folder and make a clone of your System drive
Put a copy of your finalized EFI folder onto your Unibeast installer USB. That way you can easily replace it if your hard drive's config.plist gets corrupted. Don't mount the EFI partition of your Unibeast drive. Simply drag and drop the folder onto the flash drive. Leave the existing Unibeast EFI folder where it is.

You can also make a complete Clone of your system drive by using Acronis True Image after you have everything installed and working exactly the way you want it. Use Kyhi's WinPE boot USB. Using Acronis True Image this way is completely free. Click the link below for the guide on this.

I am not sure that I am doing this correctly.

I am not seeing an EFI "FOLDER" on the HighSierra_SSD....which one am I making a copy of.

So far all I have done is CLONED the entire drive to another EXT_HDD.

Perhaps pictures or a more expanded description is needed to make this fool-proof.

Grizz

 

[trs96]

I am not seeing an EFI "FOLDER" on the HighSierra_SSD....which one am I making a copy of.

So far all I have done is CLONED the entire drive to another EXT_HDD.

EFI partitions always have to be mounted with either EFI mounter App or Clover Configurator app. Then you'll see the EFI folder. Did you use Acronis to do the cloning ?

 

[Grizz]

I used ACRONIS - but CLONE did not work. I used BACKUP to backup the 2 partitions on the SSD.

The SSD the drive I attempted to CLONE is only 160GB. It would not CLONE.

But I got no errors on the BACKUP. I do not have another 500GB or larger EXTERNAL that I can use to CLONE.

Unless I can shrink the HighSierra_SSD - I do not think that I can CLONE.

Grizz

 

[trs96]

I used ACRONIS - but CLONE did not work. I used BACKUP to backup the 2 partitions on the SSD.

The SSD the drive I attempted to CLONE is only 160GB. It would not CLONE.

But I got no errors on the BACKUP. I do not have another 500GB or larger EXTERNAL that I can use to CLONE.

Unless I can shrink the HighSierra_SSD - I do not think that I can CLONE.

Grizz

If you don't have a bootable clone yet just wait on the updates for now. They are not critical.

 

[micuss]

Ok so first off thanks for the guide, I used to build hackintoshes back at the beginning years ago but have not tried in a long time. I bought a 7010 MT because if this guide and now I cannot for the life of me get it to work. I have tried both High Sierra and Mojave and have repeated the guide countless times now and seems like I am missing something as I cannot even get the installer to finish loading. I had a mini stroke a few years ago and am medicated now so my mind is not as sharp as it once was, forgive me. This is where I keep getting stuck at boot, any help would be greatly appreciated.