Catalina compatibility...Old guard? Help Please!

[Arim713]

Hello Goodnight. Does anyone know if macOS catalina would work on a dual xeon device? to be more exact with my signature server (changing 1060 to an rx 480). I was thinking it would be better to recycle my current server for macOS and with the money I would have spent on an x58 pc put together an x79 server to replace the current one

 

[Going Bald]

Hello Goodnight. Does anyone know if macOS catalina would work on a dual xeon device? to be more exact with my signature server (changing 1060 to an rx 480). I was thinking it would be better to recycle my current server for macOS and with the money I would have spent on an x58 pc put together an x79 server to replace the current one

At this point I would recommend you go with Mojave if you want to upgrade the Mac OS on the server. Catalina is not mature enough yet to use as a server OS IMHO.
If you can get Mojave running, te only thing you would need to get Catalina running is to disable the hardware check that prevents Catalina installation on systems earlier than the late 2013 desktop trashcan Mac Pro (i.e. MacPro5,1 and earlier using the Westmere/Westmere EP CPUs) when Apple switched to the IvyBridge/IvyBridgeEP CPUs.

 

[RandomNumber]

Regarding "disabling the hardware check", is it just as simple as adding the -no_compat_check boot argument into Clover NVRAM? I must be missing some small piece of the puzzle because having added that to my NVRAM the install is still interrupted with the "This software is not supported on your system." message. I did apply the update to 10.15.3 I mentioned in post "20 but had to do so by booting with imac 14,2 SMBIOS. I'd prefer to crack the "-no_compat_check" nut if possible because the only SMBIOS left for my system to officially have support is imac 14,2 & I suspect that will be dropped soon and in point of fact my system works much better with MPro 5,1. Appreciate any help!

 

[Going Bald]

Regarding "disabling the hardware check", is it just as simple as adding the -no_compat_check boot argument into Clover NVRAM? I must be missing some small piece of the puzzle because having added that to my NVRAM the install is still interrupted with the "This software is not supported on your system." message. I did apply the update to 10.15.3 I mentioned in post "20 but had to do so by booting with imac 14,2 SMBIOS. I'd prefer to crack the "-no_compat_check" nut if possible because the only SMBIOS left for my system to officially have support is imac 14,2 & I suspect that will be dropped soon and in point of fact my system works much better with MPro 5,1. Appreciate any help!

Here is the Clover config.plist from my Mojave testing SSD for the X58A-UD7 without a serial number. You can add your own s/n try it if you wish.

 

[semson]

Deleted, result is not consistent!
Clover 5070 + MacPro5,1 works but other combinations are not consistent. Try it by your own.

Hello @RandomNumber, I have quiet similar setup as yours. I postpone my Catalina upgrade till
10.15.3, was waiting some other success before migrating to it. Obviously many similar setup are retired, I need to try it myself.

Surprisingly, the upgrade was smooth. Everything looks fine, except losing 4K output on DP, HDMI still works (more research's needed). But very soon I notice the CPU stuck at lowest ratio @12x, spent quiet some nights before getting the initial success, in short both SMBIOS and Bootloader matter.

Clover 5070: MacPro 5,1 + "- no_compat_check" boot argument works on HDMI output, DP gives black scren.
Clover 5103: not workable combination
OpenCore: seems work also, not tested extensively as the config files is quiet complicated.

 

[semson]

By the way, I found it by chance that on Clover 5103/iMacPro1,1, there could be some chance that turbo frequency may work after sleep/wake.

 

[Hackintoshron]

At this point I would recommend you go with Mojave if you want to upgrade the Mac OS on the server. Catalina is not mature enough yet to use as a server OS IMHO.
If you can get Mojave running, te only thing you would need to get Catalina running is to disable the hardware check that prevents Catalina installation on systems earlier than the late 2013 desktop trashcan Mac Pro (i.e. MacPro5,1 and earlier using the Westmere/Westmere EP CPUs) when Apple switched to the IvyBridge/IvyBridgeEP CPUs.

Hey Going Bald (and everyone)! I think you helped me a while back on my build. This may be useful to some of you.

I have the GA-X58A-UD3R (v 2.0) with 12GB of RAM and an SSD hooked up to a PCIe SATA 3 card that I just revived since I got my new rig last year. I have been able to install and run Catalina on it. This is what I did to get it to clean install and run and some of the issues I faced.

#1 Issue – The first issue I faced right off the bat is a bios issue with booting Catalina and my SATA 3 interfaces.
This board goes up to FH version bios and that is the source of my problem. On this bios version, Catalina disk created with latest UniBeast will simply not boot into the clover boot menu. Instead, it dies before the clover boot menu appears with random pink numbers and letters all over the screen. I have Marvell 9230 chipset on both my internal SATA 3 ports and my PCIE SATA 3 card. Tried another card with Marvell 9230 chipset and even tried flashing the Marvell chips to later firmware versions. Didn't have another card with a different chipset to test with so I don't know if this problem is with just Marvell 9230 or with any SATA 3. I even tried removing everything else connected to the motherboard but the drive inside of the machine and it fails to get to the boot loader screen every time.

#2 Issue– I have a PowerColor Radeon RX 560 4GB in this machine. After the default UniBeast installer boots past clover, the installer goes to a black screen although it is running because I can hear sounds when I press certain keys.

#3 Issue – After installation is complete, no acceleration on the RX 560 even though the system says it is installed and supported.

#4 Issue – DSDT (from database here) seemed to cause some instability with the machine, especially with restarts and shutdowns, especially when overclocking.

How Issues were solved:

#1 – Solved only by reverting the bios back to FF. Even tried FG1 (beta) and it does the exact same thing as FH bios. With FF the machine acts (relatively) normal. Same SATA3 interfaces boot fine! Only problem with the FF bios is that it seems to be a bit unstable for overclocking, but if I don't overclock the machine, it runs fine. FH bios is more stable for overclocking, but FF is more stable for installation and running the machine in Catalina.

#2 – Solved by adding Lilu and Whatevergreen (latest versions from Github) to the UniBeast Catalina install flash drive. Once I add that, I could see the screen over my HDMI and DP connections on that GPU driving my 55" LG TV (that's my default display).

#3 – Solved by removing "Inject ATI" flag from config.plist and by switching SMBIOS to MacPro 7,1 from the installer's iMac 14,2. Machine runs faster and acceleration works. Checked in video proc as well as playing several large movies, 1080p and 2160p. Using this SMBIOS causes a message to display that your memory is misconfigured on booting, but seems to be only cosmetic.

#4 – Solved by removing DSDT. It's amazing how well the latest clover produces a picture of your hardware now! No DSDT needed in my case. Machine is booting with Clover_v2.5k_r5104. Beware of r5105 as it seems to stope config for it to boot after it's menu is displayed.

 

[ryanejohnson]

Hey Going Bald (and everyone)! I think you helped me a while back on my build. This may be useful to some of you.

I have the GA-X58A-UD3R (v 2.0) with 12GB of RAM and an SSD hooked up to a PCIe SATA 3 card that I just revived since I got my new rig last year. I have been able to install and run Catalina on it. This is what I did to get it to clean install and run and some of the issues I faced.

#1 Issue – The first issue I faced right off the bat is a bios issue with booting Catalina and my SATA 3 interfaces.
This board goes up to FH version bios and that is the source of my problem. On this bios version, Catalina disk created with latest UniBeast will simply not boot into the clover boot menu. Instead, it dies before the clover boot menu appears with random pink numbers and letters all over the screen. I have Marvell 9230 chipset on both my internal SATA 3 ports and my PCIE SATA 3 card. Tried another card with Marvell 9230 chipset and even tried flashing the Marvell chips to later firmware versions. Didn't have another card with a different chipset to test with so I don't know if this problem is with just Marvell 9230 or with any SATA 3. I even tried removing everything else connected to the motherboard but the drive inside of the machine and it fails to get to the boot loader screen every time.

#2 Issue– I have a PowerColor Radeon RX 560 4GB in this machine. After the default UniBeast installer boots past clover, the installer goes to a black screen although it is running because I can hear sounds when I press certain keys.

#3 Issue – After installation is complete, no acceleration on the RX 560 even though the system says it is installed and supported.

#4 Issue – DSDT (from database here) seemed to cause some instability with the machine, especially with restarts and shutdowns, especially when overclocking.

How Issues were solved:

#1 – Solved only by reverting the bios back to FF. Even tried FG1 (beta) and it does the exact same thing as FH bios. With FF the machine acts (relatively) normal. Same SATA3 interfaces boot fine! Only problem with the FF bios is that it seems to be a bit unstable for overclocking, but if I don't overclock the machine, it runs fine. FH bios is more stable for overclocking, but FF is more stable for installation and running the machine in Catalina.

#2 – Solved by adding Lilu and Whatevergreen (latest versions from Github) to the UniBeast Catalina install flash drive. Once I add that, I could see the screen over my HDMI and DP connections on that GPU driving my 55" LG TV (that's my default display).

#3 – Solved by removing "Inject ATI" flag from config.plist and by switching SMBIOS to MacPro 7,1 from the installer's iMac 14,2. Machine runs faster and acceleration works. Checked in video proc as well as playing several large movies, 1080p and 2160p. Using this SMBIOS causes a message to display that your memory is misconfigured on booting, but seems to be only cosmetic.

#4 – Solved by removing DSDT. It's amazing how well the latest clover produces a picture of your hardware now! No DSDT needed in my case. Machine is booting with Clover_v2.5k_r5104. Beware of r5105 as it seems to stope config for it to boot after it's menu is displayed.

Hey! Thanks for this post. I haven’t tried anything yet, but I have a feeling it’s going to be invaluable to getting my system going.
Greatly appreciated!

 

[trs96]

I have the GA-X58A-UD3R (v 2.0) with 12GB of RAM and an SSD hooked up to a PCIe SATA 3 card that I just revived since I got my new rig last year. I have been able to install and run Catalina on it. This is what I did to get it to clean install and run and some of the issues I faced.

Would be a good idea if you would make this mini-guide for the X58A motherboard into a separate post in Catalina Desktop Guides so more GA-X58A owners will find it. Put the full motherboard model into the title of the post.

 

[Hackintoshron]

Would be a good idea if you would make this mini-guide for the X58A motherboard into a separate post in Catalina Desktop Guides so more GA-X58A owners will find it. Put the full motherboard model into the title of the post.

Will do as soon as I figure out how. Never made a guide before.