<< Solved >> Can't boot newly installed Catalina (ASUS N552VW-FI202T)

[JamesMaloney]

Still same output once again.

Just to be clear, should I boot the installer or the already present Catalina installation with these configurations you are giving me?

 

[Feartech]

Still same output once again.

Just to be clear, should I boot the installer or the already present Catalina installation with these configurations you are giving me?

you should be booting with the files i gave you otherwise you are wasting my time and yours

whether that be on your main drive or a usb installer, once you get to desktop and you have been using a usb installer, then transfer that clover folder to your hard drive EFI

 

[JamesMaloney]

Of course I'm booting with your files, but booting the installer or the installed os generates different outputs (at least with the latest EFI, below):

- The installed os gets stuck on "Waiting for DSMOS", as before
- The installer stops after a bit showing a prohibition sign

That's why I asked which one I'm supposed to boot

 

[Feartech]

Of course I'm booting with your files, but booting the installer or the installed os generates different outputs (at least with the latest EFI, below):

- The installed os gets stuck on "Waiting for DSMOS", as before
- The installer stops after a bit showing a prohibition sign

That's why I asked which one I'm supposed to boot

you are supposed to boot with the clover folder you keep uploading, no point in uploading something you are not booting from

 

[JamesMaloney]

Finally found the solution to my problems.

First of all, here is a completely working EFI for Catalina on ASUS N552VW-FI202T: https://github.com/xXConcasXx/asus-n552vw-catalina (downloads are under Releases).

Anyway, the EFI alone is not enouth, what really made it for me and allowed me to finally boot correctly was the BIOS version: if it's 300 is fine, any other is not (including the latest, the 304).

So, should you need to downgrade the BIOS, I got you covered: first download the 300 BIOS from here https://www.asus.com/it/Laptops/VivoBook-Pro-N552VW/HelpDesk_BIOS/ and then flash it using Windows, with the aid of the official ASUS tool, WinFlash.

Obviously WinFlash checks if you are trying to install an older version and stops you, but that can be bypassed using cmd and starting the software using the "nodate" flag, which allows you to flash any BIOS firmware you want:

cd "C:\Program Files (x86)\ASUS\WinFlash"
WinFlash.exe /nodate

Once the firmware is flashed, both the installation and the subsequent macOS boots should be fine.

Thanks for the help you have given me, I hope that I have been clear enough.