Big Sur on HP EliteDesk 800 G4/G5 Mini - The Perfect MacMini8,1 Hackintosh - OpenCore

[rafale77]

@deeveedee Via HP BIOS Configuration Utility (BCU) we can edit this parameters in the BIOS configuration.

I have used the BCU... to change my HP BIOS logo to an apple logo. I don't think these are are the only thing that makes it a G5 though because they have different BIOS versions.

 

[deeveedee]

If I understood correctly, the system-specific parameters determine which BIOS versions are acceptable:

After these parameters are entered and verified, the parameters are committed to non-volatile memory and become read-only for the end user. These system-specific parameters determine enabled features, the acceptable BIOS versions, etc.

... so yes, once you change the parms of a G4 to those of a G5, then theoretically, you'd flash with a G5 BIOS (which is now permitted because the system-specific parms are those of a G5). Not sure that the HP flash utility would permit the flash from G4 to G5 BIOS.

EDIT: Here's some additonal information to consider carefully before trying to convert a G4 Mini board to a G5 Mini board: I have a G5 Mini motherboard that is an HP "service" board (not intended for retail). It has a BIOS version "01.07.01 October 19, 2020" that is not publicly available. There is no way to update this "service" BIOS to the latest publicly available BIOS, because the BIOS updaters will not pass validation of the existing 01.07.01 BIOS image. This "service" motherboard is a G5 Mini motherboard (has the correct system-specific parameters, accepts G5 Mini i7 and i9 CPUs without issues and runs Windows 10 and macOS perfectly), but it cannot be updated to a publicly available G5 Mini BIOS. It may be that changing a G4 motherboard to a G5 motherboard (by changing the Feature Byte and other parms) may be possible, but it may not be possible to subsequently change the G4 BIOS to a G5 BIOS.

 

[deeveedee]

I'll never take for granted the fact that we're running macOS on our Windows PCs. These EliteDesk Minis think they're Macs! The Big Sur 11.5 update was painless with the OC 0.7.1 EFI attached to Post #1.

Spoiler: GB5 CPU Benchmark

 

[rafale77]

I just upgraded as well but the lazy bum I am stayed with OC 0.6.9

 

[deeveedee]

If you want to create a very inexpensive HackMini8,1, I have seen pricing on EBay as follows (these go quick, so you have to watch for them) (prices in USD without shipping and tax):

• 32GB DDR4 2666 (2x16): $100 - OR - 16GB DDR4 2666 (2x8): $50
• Barebones HP EliteDesk 800 G4 Mini 65W (no CPU, no memory, no HD, no SSD): $50-70. (search for "DM 65W 800 G4" and try searches with "EliteDesk" and "Mini." Also search for Prodesk 600 G4, since others have claimed that the EFI in Post #1 works with the Prodesk Mini).
• Genuine 90W HP power adapter: $10-$17 (search for the part number PPP012D-S)

Add an i5 8th Gen CPU and an SSD and you have a killer rig for very little money. Also watch for complete assemblies (that don't require purchasing the individual components) and there are still good deals to be found.

EDIT: If you are building your rig from component parts, do your research on CPUs. The price differences between i7 and i9 (if you have the G5 Mini) and between 8th gen and 9th gen (again if you have the G5 Mini) are quickly diminishing. I paid $250 for an i9-9900 (before tax/shipping). The i7-8700 isn't much less. While you may be buying a CPU that's overkill for your Mini, you may find that it's worth the price in case you decide to build another rig in a larger case that can handle the heat dissipation.

NOTE: If you purchase a complete assembly (with NVMe SSD), HP may use a Samsung NVMe SSD that has given me problems with Big Sur. If the rig you purchase includes a Samsung manufactured "HP NVMe SSD," you may need to replace the SSD to avoid problems with macOS. The WD Black NVMe SSDs work great for me.

See my revised comments about the i9-9900 here.

 

[trs96]

Here's an option for adapting the DP outputs to HDMI 2.0. I just got one in and the build quality is off the charts. This will never break unless you take a sledge hammer or chain saw to it.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B086QQT48Y/?tag=tonymacx86com-20
The casing on each end is metal. Perfect for connecting to a 4K television with HDMI 2.0 ports.

 

[deeveedee]

@trs96 What framebuffer-conX-type do you specify in config.plist DeviceProperties for UHD630 when you use this adapter? Since it's HDMI 2.0, do you need any other framebuffer DeviceProperties for UHD630 in our HackMini8,1?

 

[trs96]

@trs96 What framebuffer-conX-type do you specify in config.plist DeviceProperties for UHD630 when you use this adapter? Since it's HDMI 2.0, do you need any other framebuffer DeviceProperties for UHD630 in our HackMini8,1?

I'm using it with my Dell Optiplex 9020 with i7-4790 and HD4600 graphics. All it requires on a 7020 or 9020 is the DVMT pre-allocation bumped up to 64MB.

I don't own one of these HP G4s yet but they do look really good for the price. The Dell 9020M micro is similar but quite a bit older. I've never tried one of those yet.

 

[RyanFromQA]

I just wanted to add my success story from using this guide.


Hardware:

• HP ProDesk 600 G4 Small Form Factor (SFF)
• i5-8500
• 32GB Ram (2x8gb G.Skill and 2x8gb Crucial)
• 500GB WD Black NVME drive
• 1TB Intel 660p NVME drive in a PCI-e adapter
• No WLAN/BT
• No SD Reader
• DisplayPort-to-HDMI adapter running 1440p monitor

What's working:

• Graphics (recognized as Metal2 compatible)
• Network
• Sound
  • Rear and front ports are working
• All USB (haven't tried the type-c yet)
• CD Drive
• Dual-Boot to a sata SSD with Windows 10

What's not working:

• Sound over DisplayPort/HDMI
• There's a Wifi Icon in the taskbar even though I don't have WLAN, and I can't get rid of it without meddling in the OC Config.

Process:
I followed a kind of convoluted process to install it, because my initial forays into OpenCore were ... intimidating.

• Prepped the BIOS as instructed
• Installed Catalina with Clover via @deeveedee's other guide
• Installed the OC 0.7.1 EFI onto a USB stick, changing only the serial number
  • (I left the EFI of my SSD alone in case I needed to revert to catalina)
• Installed the Big Sur update from Catalina
  • After the first reboot, inserted and booted from OC on the USB
  • Selected MacOS Installer from boot menu
  • Continued doing this for several boot loops
  • After it seemed like I wasn't getting anywhere, I tried resetting NVRAM from the OC menu
  • Big Sur completed installing successfully
• Replaced my EFI with the EFI from the USB stick

All in all it was super painless. Thanks @deeveedee for doing all the hard work on creating this EFI!

 

[deeveedee]

@RyanFromQA Nice job! Do you mind posting your EFI? Delete the ROM, MLB, SystemSerialNumber, SystemUUID in the PlatformInfo>Generic section of the config.plist before you post your EFI. Thanks!