[Success] Catalina 10.15 * EASY GUIDE * ASUS PRIME Z390-A * Intel i9 9900K * Sapphire Radeon RX Vega 56 Pulse * Asus ThunderboltEX 3 * WORKING TB

[pjowio]

Hello,

I thought that it would be time that I give something back to the community for helping me build my own hackintosh builds.
This is my second build. When I started I thought it would be really easy because I tried to choose hardware with as few as possible installing problems. But when I started to install everything I came to a point where nothing worked anymore, so I tried lots of things and after a lot of trial and error, it finally worked. So here it is:

My goals were:
- Thunderbolt support for low latency audio interface
- Gaming possible (on Windows)
- As much native support as possible

My hardware:
Mainboard: ASUS PRIME Z390-A
CPU: Intel i9 9900K
GPU: Sapphire Radeon RX Vega 56 Pulse (native support for Mac: Source)
Thunderbolt: Asus ThunderboltEX 3 (Use PCIEX16_3 slot and don't forget to connect it to the mainboard header)
+ 16 GB RAM, 750W power supply, CPU Fan
Important: Connect your monitor to your Vega 56 GPU not your internal GPU

What you need:
Download Unibeast, Multibeast (Download from HERE) & Clover Configurator (Download from HERE), Fixes.zip (download at the bottom of my post), Mac OS Catalina (10.15.4) from AppStore (I used this version but other versions might work as well. I upgraded to 10.15.5 without any problems)

Notes: I recommend that you stay in sight of your PC through the whole installation process so you don't miss anything. Even when there are loading screens!
Sometimes you need to press F1 at startup. This is not an installation error. Just press F1 and when you're in UEFI press F10 to save and exit again. Now it should reboot normally.

Pre-install (1/3):
Create a USB installer:
(for a step by step guide follow this guide: Link)
Summary:
Use existing Mac or MacBook for creating a USB installer for your Hackintosh:
- set primary system language to english
- format USB-flash drive (at least 16GB): Name: USB, Format: Mac OS Extended (journaled), Scheme: GUID Partition Map
- run Unibeast and follow the instructions: choose USB, Catalina, UEFI Boot Mode, inject nothing

Pre-install (2/3):
Now your USB Installer is ready, but I needed to add a few steps to reach the installer:
- after installing Unibeast there should be a EFI partition in the 'Finder'. If not, run Clover Configurator and mount the EFI partition of your USB flash drive: 'Mount EFI' -> CAUTION: choose 'EFI on Install macOS Catalina' -> Mount Partition
- unpack Fixes.zip (download at the bottom of my post)
- put SSDT-EC.aml in /EFI/CLOVER/ACPI/patched
(WHY: stuck at installer: Source)
- put EmuVariableUefi-64.efi in EFI/CLOVER/DRIVERS/UEFI
(WHY: stuck at installer: Source)
- replace config.plist in EFI/CLOVER
(detailled config.plist settings:
- open config.plist in EFI/CLOVER with 'Clover Configurator'
- Make SSD/HDD primary boot drive: Boot -> Default Boot Volume -> 'MAC'
- Enable XMPDetection: Boot -> 'XMPDetection=Yes'
- added 'ACPI Patch': -> Acpi (WHY: stuck at boot with new BIOS version (): Source)
- added 'slide=0' boot flag: Boot -> Boot Arguments
- changed CsrActiveConfig from '0x3' to '0x67': Rt Variables -> CsrAciveConfig
(last two WHY: booted only sometimes. Disable System Integrity Protection (SIP): Source)
- Hide windows 10 legacy drives at clover boot menu: GUI -> Scan -> Legacy: Off
- Save
)
- copy 'MultiBeast' and 'Clover Configurator' onto the USB flash drive partition 'Install macOS Catalina'
Now the USB flash drive is ready and you don't need your existing Mac or MacBook anymore for this guide.

Pre-install BIOS/UEFI settings (3/3):
Now you need to set the UEFI on your Hackintosh to the right settings: (my BIOS Ver. 1401)
- make sure that only your SSD/HDD where you want to install MacOS is connected to your PC
- insert USB flash drive into USB3.0 port
- boot into UEFI (press 'DEL' when booting your Hackintosh)
- first load optimized defaults (F5)
- afterwards set everything to the following (use Search (F9))
VT-d: Disabled
CFG-Lock: Disabled
Serial Port: Off
XHCI Hand-off: Enabled
OS Type: Other OS
Intel (VXM) Virtualization Technology: Enabled
Legacy USB Support: Auto
Network Stack : Disabled
Fast Boot : Disabled
Launch CSM : Disabled
DRAM Frequency: 'set it to the frequency of your RAM (in my case DDR4-3200MHz)'
- under 'Boot Priority', make USB flash drive first boot priority (drag it to the top)
- save and exit (F10)

Installation (1/2):
Afterwards your hackintosh will boot from the USB flash drive
Important: I had a bug where it seemed that I booted from the USB flash drive but then the EFI from my SSD was used and I got a boot error. To prevent that, make sure, that your USB flash drive is always first boot priority. To make sure, ALWAYS press 'DEL' at the start of a boot to boot into UEFI and choose boot menu (F8) and boot from USB flash drive.
- be fast to prevent autoboot and go to 'Boot macOS Install from Install macOS Catalina' and press ENTER
- wait until loading is done (up to 2 minutes)
- open disk utility, click on 'View' and activate 'Show All Devices'. Then chose your SSD/HDD and erase it: Name: MAC, Format: APFS, Scheme: GUID
- close disk utility and choose 'install macOS' and follow the instructions

Installation (2/2):
After success your hackintosh will reboot into Clover:
- now choose 'Boot macOS Install from MAC' (different from the first time where you choose 'Boot macOS Install ...')
- wait until 'Installing on "MAC"' is finished (around 10 minutes) and when it's finished, the system will reboot: make sure to enter UEFI and boot from USB flash drive again (F8) into Clover
- now choose 'Boot macOS from MAC' and wait (up to 2 minutes) and follow the instructions
Now your installation is finished!

Post-installation:
Once you've reached the Desktop:
- copy 'MultiBeast' and 'Clover Configurator' from your USB flash drive onto the Desktop
- open 'Clover Configurator' and mount the EFI from your flash drive 'EFI on Install macOS Catalina' and copy the whole 'EFI' folder onto your Desktop
- now eject your USB flash drive and remove it from your USB port
- open 'Clover Configurator' and mount the EFI from your SSD/HDD and place the 'EFI' folder from your USB flash drive into the EFI partition of your SSD/HDD
- now run 'Multibeast' to install additional drivers:
Drivers:
Audio: AppleALC
Misc: VirtualSMC + VirtualSMC Plugins + HWMonitorSMC2 HwMonitor Application
Network: IntelMausiEthernet v2.5.0
USB: 3rd Party USB 3.0 + Remove XHCI USB Port Limit + USBInjectAll
(WHY: issue with Thunderbolt, where my keyboard wasn't recognized anymore)
Customize:
SSDT Options: Z390 Series NVRAM Support
Systems Definition: iMac 19,1
- goto 'Build' and click 'Install'
- reboot (when reboot is not successfull, press the reboot button on your PC case)

Congratulations, now you're done!

This build runs stable since installation (1 month ago) and everything works fine.

IMPORTANT: If you plan to make OS updates/ patches, I advise you to clone your SSD/HDD first (you can use Clonezilla or Carbon Copy Cloner for example) and test on the clone drive if the updated OS still boots and works.
- Upgrade to 10.15.5 was successful.


-------

Additionally for Thunderbolt (Asus ThunderboltEX 3):
(If you don't use Thunderbolt, you can skip this)

I'm really happy that thunderbolt finally worked. For me it was very important to profit from thunderbolt's low latency for audio production. I use a Focusrite Clarett 4 Pre Thunderbolt version. (I tried the Focusrite Clarett 4 Pre USB version as well when thunderbolt did not work, but the USB Interface has too much latency (+3,9ms) for my audio production purposes. I guess the USB protocol is not suited for low latency application).

- install ClarettThunderboltDriver (when installation gets blocked: System Preferences -> Security -> General -> Allow App) (what it does: it installs SSDT-PMC.aml into EFI/CLOVER/ACPI/patched) (Download Thunderbolt Driver from HERE (Focusrite Website (Driver for Focusrite Clarett 4 Pre))
- restart
- boot into UEFI and use following settings (I recommend not to use Search):
- Go to Advanced Mode (F7) -> Advanced -> Thunderbolt(TM) Configuration:
Discrete Thunderbolt(TM) Support: Enabled
Native OS security for TBT: Disabled
Thunderbolt Boot Support: Disabled
Tbt Dynamic AC/DC L1: Disabled
Wake From Thunderbolt(TM) Devices: Off
Security Level: No Security
SW MSI on TBT hot-plug: Enabled
ACPI Notify on TBT Hot-plug: Enabled
TBT Root port Selector: PCIEX16_3 (in my case I used third PCIEX16 slot like the manual recommends)

- Go to Discrete Thunderbolt(TM) Configuration:
Thunderbolt Usb Support: Enabled
GPIO3 Force Pwr: On
GPIO filter: Enabled
Enable CLK REQ: Disabled
Enable ASPM: Disabled
Enable LTR: Disabled
Enable PTM: Disabled
Enable TBT ASPM: L1.1 & L1.2

- Go to DBTB Controller 0 Configuration:
DBTB Controller 0: Enabled
DTbt Root Port Type: PCH Root Port
TBT Host Router: Two Port
- Go back to Thunderbolt(TM) OS Select:
Windows 10 Thunderbolt support: Disabled
- Go back to 'Advanced' -> Platform Misc Configuration:
PCI Express Native Power Management: Disabled
- save and exit


You can try to experiment with those settings if you need the Thunderbolt adapter for a different purpose. In my case, this worked for me because I only needed it for my Audio Interface. USB worked as well.

---------

Additional Harddrives:
If you have any additional drives like Linux or Windows 10:
- connect them to your hackintosh
- boot into UEFI
- under 'Boot Priority', make MAC drive first boot priority (drag it to the top)
- save and exit
Now you can chose any OS that you want to boot in Clover

--------

I hope that this guide can help a few people.
Have fun with it

 

[elastik]

Hi, is there a way to use thunderboltEX 3 Card without having Windows installed?
I do have catalina, but my thunderbolt card is not beeing recognised as thunderbolt. only as usb-c.

Any Ideas?

 

[kodiackie]

I read most of the posts for Prime Z390-A setup. But this one is the best one!
Thank you!

 

[ChemGirl]

Thank you so much! I tried installing this before but I must have missed something. Your instructions were able to get Catalina up and running for me. Now I just have my audio to tinker with (the 3 options in multibeast didn't work) and arrange my drives so I can boot into Mac before windows.

THANK YOU!!!!

 

[vaneb]

Wow! Wonderful guide; great! Thanks
Do you think that these guide/configuration could help for a Build with GA z390 Gaming X? (CPU i5 and Graphic card msi rx580)

 

[kodiackie]

> You can try to experiment with those settings if you need the Thunderbolt adapter for a different purpose. In my case, this worked for me because I only needed it for my Audio Interface. USB worked as well.

I connected the USB Type-C (Thunderbolt) port on ThunderboltEX 3 to a mobile monitor which only has a Thunderbolt input interface. It works like a charm without adding any additional configurations!

Thank you again!

PS: Only the thing which is not working for me with this guide is graphic.
Due to the fact that I am using an iGPU (UHD630), I am having the "7MB" GPU memory issues.

My Hackintosh set up is:

• i5-9400
• Asus Prime Z390-A
• Team DDR4 3200Mhz(PC4-25600) 16GBx2
• Crucial P5 500GB 3D NAND NVMe Internal SSD - CT500P5SSD8
• ThunderboltEX 3 PCIe card

 

[kodiackie]

After updating the config.plist with Devices>IntelGFX=0x0, UHD630 started working properly recognizing it as 1536MB!

 

[pjowio]

Thanks for the great feedback. I'm really happy that I can help a few people

 

[pjowio]

Hi, is there a way to use thunderboltEX 3 Card without having Windows installed?
I do have catalina, but my thunderbolt card is not beeing recognised as thunderbolt. only as usb-c.

Any Ideas?

That's a good question. I installed the drivers on Windows first, but I don't know if this influenced Mac OSX. For me it was mostly the BIOS settings, that made it work. You should give it a try.

 

[pjowio]

Thank you so much! I tried installing this before but I must have missed something. Your instructions were able to get Catalina up and running for me. Now I just have my audio to tinker with (the 3 options in multibeast didn't work) and arrange my drives so I can boot into Mac before windows.

THANK YOU!!!!

Same for me. It were mostly the little steps that I missed while trying to install Mac OSX, that made everything crash
So you're welcome!