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The Ultimate Low Cost Big Sur Hackintosh - Core i5 Dell Optiplex 3020 SFF

But now, upon selecting Mac to boot, a huge line of text will scroll through before it begins to show the Apple logo. I've disabled all the Debug flags in config.plist but it still happens.
If you remove the verbose flag (-V) you shouldn't see any lines of text. I would try an NVRAM reset and see if it goes away after that. If you can buy even a 120GB Sata SSD to put the OS onto, boot times will improve greatly. Using APFS on an HDD makes it painfully slow to boot up. So, shop around for some budget SSDs and then clean install Monterey to it. I've used PNY SSDs and they've have been very reliable and affordable. If you have more to spend get a Crucial MX500 in the 250GB size.
 
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.....Audio seems to work fine (except in safe mode, but no big deal) ........

It's funny because when I have called Apple for support sometimes regarding audio problems, they have told me on the phone "boot the machine in safe mode to help diagnose your audio problems," but it is on the apple website that audio is disabled in safe mode on Macs. Oh, those geniuses! :clap:
 
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It's funny because when I have called Apple for support sometimes regarding audio problems, they have told me on the phone "boot the machine in safe mode to help diagnose your audio problems," but it is on the apple website that audio is disabled in safe mode on Macs. Oh, those geniuses! :clap:

Huh, I wasn't aware of that. I guess that means I can work for Apple support huh? :p Honestly this is the first time I'm using MacOS since maybe the early 90s, but I've been in the Linux scene for awhile and Mac was always on my mind, especially when a buddy of mine showed me Garageband and Logic Pro long ago. Linux and Windows both have great DAWs but none particularly impresses me when it comes to recording live instruments. I've used Garageband earlier and I'm astonished at how powerful, but yet how simple the interface is. Even has built-in amp sims and virtual drummers right out of the box. For the first time I feel like I don't have to fiddle around with settings, buffers, etc and instead just get down to recording.

Glad to be part of the community!

If you remove the verbose flag (-V) you shouldn't see any lines of text. I would try an NVRAM reset and see if it goes away after that. If you can buy even a 120GB Sata SSD to put the OS onto, boot times will improve greatly. Using APFS on an HDD makes it painfully slow to boot up. So, shop around for some budget SSDs and then clean install Monterey to it. I've used PNY SSDs and they've have been very reliable and affordable. If you have more to spend get a Crucial MX500 in the 250GB size.

Thanks, somehow I missed the verbose flag. It's all good now! Definitely plan on getting an SSD soon enough. My main PC has a PNY sata 3 SSD so it's always a pain to use any machine with a HDD. We've come a loooong way that's for sure. Anyway, I appreciate the help!
 
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Note that the USB ports kext doesn't include the internal USB 2.0 header (HS07/08). You can add that to the kext's info.plist yourself if you'd like to use it for BT. The 3020 MT does have that internal header. Make sure to set it to 255 (internal) to prevent sleep/wake problems.

Those with a PCIe Wifi/BT card can connect the BT cable to the internal header on their MT board. SFF owners must use one of the back panel USB 2.0 ports.

Hi, can I unplug the front USB header on the SFF to use Bluetooth? I don't need access to USB ports on the front.
 
can I unplug the front USB header on the SFF to use Bluetooth? I don't need access to USB ports on the front.
Good question, never tried that. I'm not sure if that is a standard 9 pin USB 2.0 header or not. You can try it but I would research it on Dell's website and elsewhere to find out exactly how the pin layout is set up. The 3020 owner's manual is attached at the end of post #2. Doesn't go into a lot of detail regarding the front panel connections.

Screen_Shot_1.jpg
 
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If anyone wants to try connecting BT internally and keep their front USB 2.0 ports here is a splitter that may work.


I wouldn't expect sleep to work when using this adapter but who knows ? Report back if you try this.
I have used a similar internal splitter, bluetooth works, front panel works. There may be an error says that io panel error when start up, F2 to bypass, need to short the two pins from right for the first row
Screen_Shot_1.jpeg

Sleep still testing though , having some problem when in deep sleep
 
I have used a similar internal splitter, bluetooth works, front panel works. There may be an error says that io panel error when start up, F2 to bypass, need to short the two pins from right for the first row
View attachment 546654
Sleep still testing though , having some problem when in deep sleep
Hey, I was planning on doing something similar. Can you elaborate on the sleep issues?
 
Great Deal on Amazon Alert. Max out your 3020's Ram with 16GB.

A 16GB DDR3L 1600 MHz Ram kit from Timetec for just $45 !

Screen Shot 6.jpg
 
Hey, I was planning on doing something similar. Can you elaborate on the sleep issues?
After installing the internal splitter, it will not wake up from sleep, just black screen
try to mapping usb port to internal, but still cannot solve the issue, now just change the display-off time to 2hours to prevent the sleeping problem.

Still need to figure out what causing the screen not wake up
 
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