Gigabyte Z390 M Gaming build with working NVRAM

flatlander48 said:

The image below shows my card reader. Above it is a CD/DVD unit that communicates via SATA. Cables out the back of the card reader are a Molex for power, a SATA, the USB 2.0 that runs to F_USB2 and a USB-A cable that connects to a USB 3.0 port on the back panel.

So...

• What I gather from the USB Port document is that I have the ability to specifically select which ports to disable. For the 3x 2.0 ports, I can choose to select 2 of the 3 to disable, for example.
  • How do the card readers communicate? It appears that the only choices are either USB or SATA. If it is USB, does that count as additional port(s)? If they do communicate over USB, then will disabling any (or all) of the USB ports on the reader prevent the card readers from functioning? (Crudely worded, I know)
  • The 3.0 port on the card reader connects to a USB-A 3.0 port on the back panel. For 3.0 ports, is that counted as 1x or 2x?
• ESB 3.0 ports require 2.0 and 3.0 definitions. I assume this is what allows backward compatibility. Is it possible to disable the 3.0 definition and have the port function only as a 2.0?
• If I use a 3.0 port to connect to a hub with, say, 3x 3.0 ports, is that counted as 1x, 3x or 4x 3.0 ports? The reason that I ask is that when finished, my Hackintosh is going into a compartment under my desk with a door. It would be easier to connect a hub and place it external to the computer compartment rather than leaving the door open when I want to connect USB ear phones, for example.
  
  View attachment 501901

Click to expand...

Hi there.

To answer your points:

Those USB2.0 ports are probably connected to just one motherboard header. Usually this means they are actually a "hub". Because of this you cannot configure them, only the 1x motherboard header.

The card-reader is most likely connected to a USB header or port.

Yes, when you perform port-configuration you can chose to ignore USB3 and only have USB2 working.

As mentioned above, the ports on a hub have no 'identity', they are actually just the base port - which can be configured.

flatlander48 said:

The image below shows my card reader. Above it is a CD/DVD unit that communicates via SATA. Cables out the back of the card reader are a Molex for power, a SATA, the USB 2.0 that runs to F_USB2 and a USB-A cable that connects to a USB 3.0 port on the back panel.

So...

• What I gather from the USB Port document is that I have the ability to specifically select which ports to disable. For the 3x 2.0 ports, I can choose to select 2 of the 3 to disable, for example.
  • How do the card readers communicate? It appears that the only choices are either USB or SATA. If it is USB, does that count as additional port(s)? If they do communicate over USB, then will disabling any (or all) of the USB ports on the reader prevent the card readers from functioning? (Crudely worded, I know)
  • The 3.0 port on the card reader connects to a USB-A 3.0 port on the back panel. For 3.0 ports, is that counted as 1x or 2x?
• ESB 3.0 ports require 2.0 and 3.0 definitions. I assume this is what allows backward compatibility. Is it possible to disable the 3.0 definition and have the port function only as a 2.0?
• If I use a 3.0 port to connect to a hub with, say, 3x 3.0 ports, is that counted as 1x, 3x or 4x 3.0 ports? The reason that I ask is that when finished, my Hackintosh is going into a compartment under my desk with a door. It would be easier to connect a hub and place it external to the computer compartment rather than leaving the door open when I want to connect USB ear phones, for example.
  
  View attachment 501901

Click to expand...

The card reader is most likely USB 3.

This device looks like two hubs. My guess is, one is a three port USB 2 hub and the other is a USB 3 hub where all those different memory card types work off of.

If you really want to keep things simple, you can just use my EFI as-is but the three USB 2 ports on this device won't work.

Be careful with the eSATA port. By default, macOS doesn't support SATA hot plugging. You will have to add a patch to enable that.

McMauro said:

I have now switched the steering features off and will observe how it works for a while.

Wish You all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Click to expand...

UtterDisbelief said:

Hi there.

To answer your points:

Those USB2.0 ports are probably connected to just one motherboard header. Usually this means they are actually a "hub". Because of this you cannot configure them, only the 1x motherboard header.

The card-reader is most likely connected to a USB header or port.

Yes, when you perform port-configuration you can chose to ignore USB3 and only have USB2 working.

As mentioned above, the ports on a hub have no 'identity', they are actually just the base port - which can be configured.

Click to expand...

Yes, there is only one 2.0 cable going from the card reader to F_USB2.

pastrychef said:

The card reader is most likely USB 3.

This device looks like two hubs. My guess is, one is a three port USB 2 hub and the other is a USB 3 hub where all those different memory card types work off of.

If you really want to keep things simple, you can just use my EFI as-is but the three USB 2 ports on this device won't work.

Be careful with the eSATA port. By default, macOS doesn't support SATA hot plugging. You will have to add a patch to enable that.

Click to expand...

Makes sense that the card readers would work with the 3.0 port. It would seem unlikely that someone would align the card readers with the slower 2.0 port.

Currently I don’t have any eSATA devices and at the moment I’m not anticipating any. Good to know, however.

Thanks guys!

Somewhat on-topic as my build is a similar motherboard: I'm thinking of finally getting around to moving past Mojave (now that my massive project to leave Aperture behind is nearing quasi-completion).

A few questions that come out of this:
-Are there big changes required to go from OpenCore suitable for Mojave to newer mac operating systems? I mean more about changes to the config.plist etc., not so much OpenCore itself, I'm on a recent OC - 0.64 I think).
-Out of habit, I'm thinking I will get to BigSur by going through Catalina first. Stupid? Partly this way so that I can let Big Sur get to another point release. (There's not much in Big Sur that I actually need...)
-I really do need to keep a working version of Mojave around - almost entirely in case I need to actually do something in Aperture. Is this as simple as just keeping a Mojave boot disk around (likely external that I can connect if needed)?

I do have another Mac. I'll keep on Mojave separately, but would like to upgrade it eventually too so all of these are kind of 'live' questions, if not urgent.

A related question - I think I may have screwed up by not 'purchasing' the Catalina edition while it was the current one. Is this still a thing or can you just get it even if you haven't purchased before? Any links or help?

[editadd] Found a way to get Catalina if not available on app store, use the dosdude'S Catalina patcher, it has a function to download Catalina. (You can use it even if you're not going to use the patcher)

I'm taking my first baby steps by installing Catalina on a MacBook Air.

Armoured said:

-Are there big changes required to go from OpenCore suitable for Mojave to newer Mac operating systems? I mean more about changes to the config.plist, etc., not so much OpenCore itself, I'm on a recent OC - 0.64 I think).

Click to expand...

You will need to update OpenCore or Clover to one of the latest releases to be able to install Big Sur.
The latest revisions of OpenCore and Clover require updated config.plists as there are new properties.
The latest versions of OpenCore and Clover should have no problems booting Mojave or Catalina either.

Armoured said:

-Out of habit, I'm thinking I will get to Big Sur by going through Catalina first. Stupid? Partly this way so that I can let Big Sur get to another point release. (There's not much in Big Sur that I actually need...)

Click to expand...

That's up to you to decide. I've always been a day 1 updater and have never really had major problems. The only time I did encounter major problems was due to Nvidia Web Drivers and that had nothing to do with Apple.

As the version numbering of Big Sur suggests, it's a major update to macOS. Besides the eye candy, there are a lot of under the hood changes. With all this in mind, it's still been really solid for me.

Armoured said:

-I really do need to keep a working version of Mojave around - almost entirely in case I need to actually do something in Aperture. Is this as simple as just keeping a Mojave boot disk around (likely external that I can connect if needed)?

Click to expand...

Yes.

pastrychef said:

The latest revisions of OpenCore and Clover require updated config.plists as there are new properties.

That's up to you do decide. I've always been a day 1 updater and have never really had major problems. The only time I did encounter major problems was due to Nvidia Web Drivers and that had nothing to do with Apple.

Click to expand...

Thanks much! Are the new properties quite complex? Any changes needed to previous properties? And I take it no changes of note in OC/Clover that are essential for Catalina (if running on a recent OC)?

I hear you about Nvidia - one reason I'm so behind on versions was Nvidia (put off changing anything for quite a while), then the aperture/64 bit issue. (Okay, I do blame Apple for that.)

I probably will cycle through Catalina first just to let me shake things out.

Armoured said:

Thanks much! Are the new properties quite complex? Any changes needed to previous properties? And I take it no changes of note in OC/Clover that are essential for Catalina (if running on a recent OC)?

I hear you about Nvidia - one reason I'm so behind on versions was Nvidia (put off changing anything for quite a while), then the aperture/64 bit issue. (Okay, I do blame Apple for that.)

I probably will cycle through Catalina first just to let me shake things out.

Click to expand...

Yes. In my opinion, the new properties in the config.plists are quite cryptic. I suggest that you you grab the latest OpenCore and Clover EFI folders from post #1 and copy all the Quirks. Those Quirks will work on any Z390 motherboard.

Much appreciated, you are a gentleman and a quirky scholar.