[GUIDE] Dell latitude e6540

[appletechgeek]

hello again. a second guide for this lovely laptop.

to get mojave running on this machine. it is pretty easy.
this install is 100% vanilla.
and since everyone's definition of "vanilla" is different.
this install does only require the bootloader to boot and install and work.
this guide may or may not work on your machine.
this machine has different kind of revisions and i dont know if this guide wil work for any other revision apart from 2016.
be-sure to read the entire guide before you perform any steps

here are my specs as following
Intel Core i7 (4th Gen) 4800MQ / 2.7 GHz
16 gb of DDR3L ram
AMD Radeon HD 8790M 2GB (disabled in Mac OS)
Intel HD 4600 1.5GB
500gb SSHD
1920x1080 screen



what works:
touchpad+mouse nipple (Multi touch)
keyboard
intel hd4600(not 100% working. it glitches in apps like chrome or clover configurator i dont have enough time to finish the patching for it yet)
brightness
sleep
audio+audio control buttons
cd drive
*power nap* (havent tested in the long term but it seemed fine)
battery percentage+unplug/replug detection
proper turbo boost speeds
facetime and imessage
apple continuity (recieving calls from/to icloud connected phone in network)
webcam (altho bad quality not sure if thats hardware or software since i barely use it)
what does not work:
amd radeon hd 8790m gpu (not sure if it is possible to get it working)
stock wifi (replaced stock intel with aw-cb160h)
bluetooth (replaced stock with aw-cb160h) *ps this wifi card uses different kinds of antennas and do not fit the laptop antennas without a adapter
sd card slot? (not sure on that one since i dont have sd cards and it doesn't show in system profiler)

STEP 1
to make a bootable usb

grab a app store mojave installer and place it in the applications folder

follow these steps on apple to make a bootable usb
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201372

after you made your usb install clover boot loader

download from the clover github and select install on ESP and do not select UEFI booting only.

after install replace the files on the efi partition with the attached zip

now a rather odd step wich wil be explained later

disconnect your wifi card/lan cable for the moment (yes actually remove the wifi card)

now boot up
the bios setup is pretty simple.
set boot mode to legacy
disable all virtualisation stuff
turn off usb 3 for now (this should work post install)

now plug in your usb drive and select the UEFI entry in the f12 boot menu.

after you loaded the setup open terminal

and type in date 030300002019

and exit.
the reason for the removal of the wifi card/LAN is it wil automatically set date and time back to 2020 when you exit the terminal. thus the installer wil fail

now continue the usual install process. wipe your disk (if needed) and just install.


after install setup your system and install the clover bootloader following the same steps as before and replacing the efi with the attached efi folder.

after you done the bootloader part download clover configurator and change the serial number.

and this is it. it should now be done.

again there is a small problem regarding the intel hd4600. it can be fixed it worked fine in my previous install (just reinstalled the system)


the long term review for this (used for over half a year on the same install) yes. it is good.
it occasionally gets small glitches. like the battery percentage gets stuck (probs due long no reboot and just in sleep mode)
the battery life is way better than windows. and the temperatures too.
the overall speed with a normal ssd is just awesome its swift in basically everything you do
i connected my 1440p 144hz screen to the laptop for a small while and altho it does not surpass 60hz 1440p runs fine.
if you use a dock for the laptop. yes you can. altho not 100% right. the display outputs dont seem to work (internal display turns off)
charging works usb ports works the dock power button also works
and if you boot the laptop with the dock attached. undocking will freeze the laptop. if you boot without the dock attaching/removing the laptop from the dock when the laptop is booted/in sleep mode gives 0 issues
i have some attached photos of both the laptop during install and some photos i took along the way of using this laptop for the last months

ps sorry for any spelling mistakes and stuff. it's pretty late and english is not my fist language. hope you had fun!

 

[appletechgeek]

Intel HD 4600 bug fixing is being worked on. i got a working config but the config includes alot of uneeded patches ect wich wil make it unwise to use as a main.
please keep an eye on this thread as a new fixed and optimized efi folder wil be posted

 

[minhhuy201]

Intel HD 4600 bug fixing is being worked on. i got a working config but the config includes alot of uneeded patches ect wich wil make it unwise to use as a main.
please keep an eye on this thread as a new fixed and optimized efi folder wil be posted

thank you so much for this guide, working for my E6540, I have same problem with HD4600 (chromium browser and clover confinguration flashing) can you fix now?

 

[appletechgeek]

thank you so much for this guide, working for my E6540, I have same problem with HD4600 (chromium browser and clover confinguration flashing) can you fix now?

currently working on that. i have mostly fixed that problem. apart from some small issues.
hdmi does not go past 60 hz (black screen) it does show 144hz, i think the hd4600 is not patched 100% yet
enabling usb 3 seems to break the bluetooth and webcam connection to the os (not sure yet i am investigating that)
for some reason the port bluetooth is connected to is duplicated with another actual usb 3.0 port on the system (according to regIO and hackintool)

i've tried with a guy from another forum for about 2 weeks to get the stuff working 100% stable
right now biggest issue was waking from sleep resulted into a black screen with/without backlight wich has been fixed but it resulted into the above mentioned problems.


if perhaps someone reading this know how i would beable to fix this it would make me incredibly happy too

i wil soon make a new thread relating the problems if i cant fix this on my own.

 

[Petros]

Hi there,
check out my EFI, I got an almost fully working Catalina install. You'll have to adjust SSDTs and DSDT to your laptop's specs, mine has an Intel 4810MQ with 16gb ram. I've removed SMBIOS entries, fill them in using MacBook Pro 11,1. I had Mojave before switching to Catalina, didn't keep the previous EFI Folder but changes should be minimal.

Let me know what works and what doesn't.

 

[lagrim]

currently working on that. i have mostly fixed that problem. apart from some small issues.
hdmi does not go past 60 hz (black screen) it does show 144hz, i think the hd4600 is not patched 100% yet
enabling usb 3 seems to break the bluetooth and webcam connection to the os (not sure yet i am investigating that)
for some reason the port bluetooth is connected to is duplicated with another actual usb 3.0 port on the system (according to regIO and hackintool)

i've tried with a guy from another forum for about 2 weeks to get the stuff working 100% stable
right now biggest issue was waking from sleep resulted into a black screen with/without backlight wich has been fixed but it resulted into the above mentioned problems.


if perhaps someone reading this know how i would beable to fix this it would make me incredibly happy too

i wil soon make a new thread relating the problems if i cant fix this on my own.

Hello appletechgeek!

Were you able to resolve the little video errors?

I really grated your guide, because my e6450 currently runs OSX Mojave very smooth, but I have a little problem.

My problem is that if I attach the HDMI after boot OSX, the external display is not detected.

If I atach the HDMI before power on and the internal display open, the HDMI also not works.

If I attach the HDMI before power on but with the internal display closes, the HDMI works really fine, but if I open the laptop to try activate the internal display, the HDMI seems mantain the link with the computer, but the external and internal display, only shows a black image.

This issue only occours with OSX and I know that resolve this things is not your job, but I followed a lot of guides and only your guide and Clover files are mostest stable than others.

If you can help me or provide me a clue, I really gratefull with you.
I really sorry if my english is poor, is not my maternal language, but I try articulate the best than I can do.

 

[Petros]

Check the EFI folder I posted above, copy my GPU entries in the Devices/Properties section of Clover. I have no issues with connecting HDMI monitors or anything else display related. The USBPorts.kext I made also solves any webcam/bluetooth/USB3 issues as mentioned further up in the thread.

I've since switched to mackbookpro11,5 SMBIOS and have a fully functional laptop running 10.15.4, only issue I have is that CPU drops to 800mhz frequency after wake when not connected to AC, but the more I dig into it, the more I think it's BIOS and not OSX related.

 

[gastonjoe]

Hi there,
check out my EFI, I got an almost fully working Catalina install. You'll have to adjust SSDTs and DSDT to your laptop's specs, mine has an Intel 4810MQ with 16gb ram. I've removed SMBIOS entries, fill them in using MacBook Pro 11,1. I had Mojave before switching to Catalina, didn't keep the previous EFI Folder but changes should be minimal.

Let me know what works and what doesn't.

Hi, I'm newbie on hackintosh. I use your EFI, but I'm getting stuck on Apple logo with glitch screen. May you create some tutorial for me? My PC used Intel 4800MQ. Thanks before..

 

[Feartech]

Hi, I'm newbie on hackintosh. I use your EFI, but I'm getting stuck on Apple logo with glitch screen. May you create some tutorial for me? My PC used Intel 4800MQ. Thanks before..

try enabling csm in your bios

 

[lagrim]

Hi, I'm newbie on hackintosh. I use your EFI, but I'm getting stuck on Apple logo with glitch screen. May you create some tutorial for me? My PC used Intel 4800MQ. Thanks before..

You can still enable the legacy and UEFI boot options, these works for me.
Or a little workaround is close your laptop and wait to SO loaded or attach a external hdmi display.