[GUIDE] macOS Catalina on ASRock DeskMini 310 with 9th Gen Intel Core CPU, Dual-Boot

[Css13]

Hello,
Finally I've been able to make (almost) everything work on my Mini-PC with Hackintosh and Windows.

I'm writing this quick guide in case someone is having the same or a similar configuration.

HARDWARE
Case: ASRock DeskMini 310 Barebone Mini-PC
Motherboard: H310M-STX
CPU: Intel Core i5 9500 3,00 Ghz (9th Gen)
SSD1: Crucial MX500 CT500MX500SSD4 M.2 500 GB (Windows)
SSD2: Western Digital WDS250G1B0A Blue S-ATA 250 GB (macOS)
RAM: Crucial CT8G4SFS824A 8 GB DDR4 2400 Mhz
Wi-Fi / Bluetooth: BCM94360CS2 Bluetooth 4.0 Wi-Fi Card + BCM94360CS2 BCM943224PCIEBT2 12+6 Pin Mini-PCI to M.2 Adapter

SOFTWARE
macOS Catalina 10.15.x
Microsoft Windows 10
Clover 5018
Clover Configurator

KEXTS
AppleALC
FakeSMC
IntelMausiEthernet
Lilu
USBPorts
WhateverGreen

FEATURES
✔ Ethernet, Bluetooth, USB Type-C, USB Type-A, DisplayPort + Audio, Audio Ports
✔ Graphics acceleration, native Intel UHD 630
✔ Sleep / Stop
✔ iCloud, iMessage, AirDrop and every other Apple service
x HDMI and VGA ports (works with Windows only)
x Wi-Fi (works with Windows only)

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NOTES
• I assume no responsibility or liability for any errors or problems that may occur by consequence of following this tutorial.
• Not so long ago, I heard that it's better to run macOS installer on USB 2.0 drives. I used an USB Type-C 3.1 pen drive instead and it worked perfectly. So feel free to use any kind of USB stick you want.
• I also heard that macOS may have some troubles running on SSD M.2 drives. Since I have both a M.2 and a S-ATA SSD, I directly installed macOS on the S-ATA and used the M.2 one for Windows. I didn't try macOS on a M.2 drive. If you are going to try Catalina with a M.2 drive, please let me know if it works for you or not. — UPDATE: According to some recent feedbacks, macOS should work fine also on a M.2 drive.
• Dual boot won't work if you are using one hard drive with two partitions. Two separate hard drives are needed.
• The following instructions will work also if you want to install macOS only, without Windows and dual-boot. In this case, please skip the steps 1), 5) and 6) below.
• You'll notice that I'm not providing detailed instructions on how to create USB installers. There are hundreds of tutorials on how to do that, so I focused on the rest instead.
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BEFORE INSTALL
• Use a DisplayPort cable. HDMI is not supported natively, so you won't be able to install macOS if you use HDMI. You can apply a frame buffer patch later to make HDMI work, if you don't want to keep using the DisplayPort.
• Configure the BIOS as follows:
Advanced > Chipset Configuration > VT-d: Disabled
Advanced > Chipset Configuration > Onboard HD Audio: Enabled
Advanced > USB Configuration > XHCI Hand-off: Enabled
Security > Secure Boot: Disabled
• Set up an USB pen drive with Windows 10 installer
• Set up another USB pen drive with macOS 10.15.x installer without Unibeast using the Terminal 'createinstallmedia' method and then manually installing on it — as destination volume — the latest version of Clover available here. Then, use Clover Configurator to mount the EFI partition of this pen drive (Mount EFI -> Mount Partition, next to macOS Installer USB stick) so that you can operate in it and replace the whole EFI folder with the one attached below.
• Copy Clover Configurator tool and the EFI folder attached below to another USB drive.
• IMPORTANT: The EFI.zip file attached below was built for macOS Catalina 10.15.1. Before proceeding, please ensure to download and replace Lilu.kext, AppleALC.kext and WhateverGreen.kext with their latest version in the EFI/CLOVER/kexts/Other path.

INSTALL
1) Install Windows 10 on the first drive
2) Install macOS Catalina on the second drive
3) After installing macOS, you should be able to log in and see the desktop / finder. Copy Clover Configurator and EFI.zip to the desktop and remove every connected USB pen drive. As exlpained above, don't forget to update Lilu, AppleALC and WhateverGreen kexts before moving on.
4) Open Clover Configurator and mount the macOS hard drive EFI partition. Replace the EFI folder with the one attached here, like you did in the USB pen drive before installing.
5) Reboot the PC, go to the BIOS and ensure that the default boot partition is macOS EFI Boot Loader. Not the Windows one. Save and reboot.
6) Start Windows and install Wi-Fi and Bluethooth drivers for BCM94360CS2 card available here.
7) Enjoy!


I hope this can be helpful to everyone having a configuration like mine.
And since some minor stuff is not working, like HDMI and Wi-Fi on macOS, any suggestion on how to fix it would be very appreciated.

Good luck!

Thanks to liminghuang for the help!​

 

[montormabur]

so you swap your wifi card to bcm94360cs2 but still not detected on mac os?

 

[Css13]

so you swap your wifi card to bcm94360cs2 but still not detected on mac os?

ASRock DeskMini 310 does not come with a pre-installed Wi-Fi / BT Card. I had to buy one and I opted for a BCM94360CS2 + M.2 adapter in order to avoid any issue, but as you can see my plan didn't work.

The fun fact is that Bluetooth works perfectly on Mac and Wi-Fi works on Windows, so I would exclude is something related to the adapter or the card itself. Moreover, in macOS the card is detected (in "System Report") and active, but it does not detect any Wi-Fi network (while on Windows it does).

 

[Css13]

Just updated to 10.15.2 (after updating Lilu.kext, AppleALC.kext and WhateverGreen.kext to the latest version) without any issue.

 

[Angelized]

Hi, I successfully used your guide and EFI folder to install Catalina onto my deskmini. The only thing I can't get to work is iMessage and FaceTime. It keeps telling me to contact apple support if I want to use iMessage. I think it is related to NVRAM. Because when I do the NVRAM test as described here https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/native-nvram-available.192920/. I don't get the saved result. Is this working for you? Thank you for this guide and helping me creating the (almost) perfect Deskmini Hackingtosh

 

[Css13]

Hi, I successfully used your guide and EFI folder to install Catalina onto my deskmini. The only thing I can't get to work is iMessage and FaceTime. It keeps telling me to contact apple support if I want to use iMessage. I think it is related to NVRAM. Because when I do the NVRAM test as described here https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/native-nvram-available.192920/. I don't get the saved result. Is this working for you? Thank you for this guide and helping me creating the (almost) perfect Deskmini Hackingtosh

Hello and thank you for your comment. I'm glad this guide has been helpful to someone with my configuration.

I just ran the NVRAM test as you suggested, and I can't see any saved result as well. Maybe I have some issues with the NVRAM as well, anyway I can ensure iMessage (also with iCloud sync) and FaceTime work perfectly.

Did you try to log-out from your Apple ID, restart, then log-in again? Otherwise I would suggest you to create a new user account in System Preferences. If none of them works, the issue could also be caused by your Wi-Fi / BT card.

Good luck and please let me know.

 

[SuperBug18]

@Css13 To make your wifi work, try installing AirportBrcmFixup kekt.
HDMI works with a frame buffer patch.
Haven't had any issues with installing MacOS on an m.2 drive.

 

[Css13]

@Css13 To make your wifi work, try installing AirportBrcmFixup kekt.
HDMI works with a frame buffer patch.
Haven't had any issues with installing MacOS on an m.2 drive.

Thank you @SuperBug18. Glad to know it works on a M.2 drive as well.
About HDMI I read something about it but I didn't have time to set it up, so keeping the DisplayPort is a good compromise for me at the moment.
For the Wi-Fi card, I already tried to install that kext but it didn't work anyway. I'm afraid it depends on the low-quality Mini-PCI to M.2 adapter I'm using (even if it works fine on Windows).

 

[Angelized]

Hello and thank you for your comment. I'm glad this guide has been helpful to someone with my configuration.

I just ran the NVRAM test as you suggested, and I can't see any saved result as well. Maybe I have some issues with the NVRAM as well, anyway I can ensure iMessage (also with iCloud sync) and FaceTime work perfectly.

Did you try to log-out from your Apple ID, restart, then log-in again? Otherwise I would suggest you to create a new user account in System Preferences. If none of them works, the issue could also be caused by your Wi-Fi / BT card.

Good luck and please let me know.

I have reinstalled but with a different ROM and MLB values in clover configurator and now it is working . The previous values weren't valid I guess. Thank you!

 

[user7743]

Great thread, thanks for posting this. It has been my reference guide for going buying some hardware. I love the small size of the DeskMini 310. I am currently waiting for all to be delivered and put it all together.
Ive never built a Hackintosh before and have a question. I have built the memory stick with Catalina and used Clover to add the EFI partition content. Now to the question - after installing Catalina, how do I go about making sure the OS disk is bootable (after install from the USB drive) and has all of the kexts etc that are needed? Without having gone through the process IRL, there is a gap here for me.
Thanks for any pointers.