<< Solved >> Can only boot using USB /Can't use Clover Config.

[mantroll]

Hi,
I'm trying my first install of Sierra on an HP 8300 Elite. Things seem to have gone well in that I have Sierra installed -however, I can only boot using the USB; if the USB is not plugged-in, Sierra won't load (screen is blank apart from a flashing '_' sign.

I used the installation guide from @trs96. It was clear enough up until Step 8: Clover Configurator. The link to CC doesn't work, in that when i hit the download button i'm taken to a blank screen and no download happens. I downloaded Clover v2.4k_r4411-UEFI pkg from a link on this site, and while the package installed, i can't find /don't know how to open CC... there is no app as such.

So, I think the only part of this i can't do is the EFI partition (not that i know what an EFI partition actually is Does anyone have an idea of where I've gone wrong, or what i haven't done that i need to?

Appreciate your help.
Regards

 

[trs96]

I downloaded Clover v2.4k_r4411-UEFI pkg from a link on this site

First, put your hardware in your profile: https://www.tonymacx86.com/account/account-details
For the motherboard section put HP 8300 SFF (or whatever form factor you have)

If you run Multibeast and make the choices as per the guide you won't have to download Clover. Multibeast installs it for you on your SSD's EFI partition. So if you ran Clover again, that's probably why you can't boot from your SSD without using the Unibeast drive. Here's a visual to help you better understand what an EFI partition is.

 

[trs96]

The link to CC doesn't work, in that when i hit the download button i'm taken to a blank screen

I just tested the link and download and they both worked fine for me. You may have to disable your adblocker or what ever else is preventing you from downloading CC.
As the guide states, any terms like EFI that you don't understand can be looked up in the Glossary.

CustoMac Glossary: Explanations of Common Terms

CustoMac Glossary: Explanations of Common Terms 4K / 8K Intel Processors and Chipsets ACPI I2C AHCI Kernel ATX / EATX / microATX / Mini-ITX Kext BIOS M.2 boot0 error MAS Chimera MBR Clover Mobo Codec mSATA DisplayPort / MiniDP MultiBeast DSDT NVMe DVI PCIe / MiniPCIe ECC memory .plist files...

www.tonymacx86.com

 

[mantroll]

First, put your hardware in your profile: https://www.tonymacx86.com/account/account-details
For the motherboard section put HP 8300 SFF (or whatever form factor you have)

If you run Multibeast and make the choices as per the guide you won't have to download Clover. Multibeast installs it for you on your SSD's EFI partition. So if you ran Clover again, that's probably why you can't boot from your SSD without using the Unibeast drive. Here's a visual to help you better understand what an EFI partition is.

View attachment 405538
Thanks for the super-fast reply.

I've managed to download Clover from the guide's link (used Safari rather than Firefox, don't know why Firefox didn't work, but yes, it was a browser issue) and have CC as an app now:

I'm looking at the Tools/Mount EFI screen, and the HDD is not showing an EFI, either in the 'Partition Scheme' or 'EFI Partition' boxes; i'm only getting Apple_HFS as a disk type... Does this mean that the HDD does not have a bootable partition, and that i messed up somewhere right at the beginning of the process?

 

[trs96]

I'm looking at the Tools/Mount EFI screen, and the HDD is not showing an EFI, either in the 'Partition Scheme' or 'EFI Partition' boxes; i'm only getting Apple_HFS as a disk type

It should show as an HFS formatted drive. Try using the EFI mounter app and see if that will mount it.

EFI Mounter v3

MacMan's version of Koen2X's EFI Mounter v2. Modified to use the diskutil command and supports running on systems with up to 10 disks attached.

www.tonymacx86.com

If it doesn't try running Multibeast again and choose the UEFI quickstart option. Make sure you are using MB version specific for Sierra.

 

[mantroll]

It should show as an HFS formatted drive. Try using the EFI mounter app and see if that will mount it.

EFI Mounter v3

MacMan's version of Koen2X's EFI Mounter v2. Modified to use the diskutil command and supports running on systems with up to 10 disks attached.

www.tonymacx86.com

If it doesn't try running Multibeast again and choose the UEFI quickstart option. Make sure you are using MB version specific for Sierra.

I'm going to start from scratch, paying more attention to every little step, because i think my initial try was a bit sloppy and i jave a better grasp of the procedure now. I'll get back to you with the result. Regards.

 

[mantroll]

@trs96
So, i re-did my installation from scratch, and have progressed a wee bit further. After running Multibeast with recommended settings from your guide, i ejected the USB and restarted the computer. This time it loads from the HD, but, it is really, really slow: the progress bar hangs about three-quarters of the way up, for about 10 mins, and when it does finally complete, i'm presented with a white-screen, which i haven't been able to get beyond.

The Apple logo is also at a low-resolutuion i.e. big, throughout. When i load from the HD with the USB installed, the logo is only at low-res/big for a few moments, after which there is a brief white-screen followed by the full-res (smaller) logo, after which the OS loads quickly and is fully operational.

I've tried it a couple of times, including repeating the Multibeast installation (by loading with USB connected).

Any ideas?

Check-points:

1.) The Multibeast options are slightly different to the settings in your guide:
Driver> FakeSMC v6.25-333-g05e0f4be.1759; Bootloader> Clover v2.4k r4173 UEFI Boot Mode, are the only options available. Also, i haven't installed the FakeSMC Plugin or HWMonitor yet, as you said not to in your guide. Is this correct?

2.) My BIOS is 'K01 v02.99'; is this the same as BIOS 'v02.99 Rev.A' ?

3.) Under System Report, Hardware Overview, the Model Identifier is iMac14,2. In Multibeast i set this to iMac13,2... perhaps this is because i'm booting with the USB installed, rather than without, just thought i'd mention it in case it was relevant.

 

[mantroll]

RESOLVED!

OK, Sierra is now booting from the HD

For newbies like myself who are having trouble with (what i now know to be) a pretty simple installation on an HP 8300, where i was messing-up:

I was erasing the HD in Disk Utility before booting the OS from the Clover boot screen. This time, i erased it after the installer had loaded -this is Step 4.6 in the Unibeast Sierra Guide -for some reason i didn't attention to the sequential-order i.e. that it was Step 4.6 and not Step 4.4, for example.

Everything is booting fine and fast.

Thanks @trs96 for the intial pointers, which helped me realise there was something simple i'd overlooked in the Guide, rather than a horribly complicated technical thing.